Editing Hayom Yom (section)

== Reference of Rebbe Rayatz ==
"I can rely with God's help on the special divine assistance I have been granted, that anything I establish for the benefit of the masses, the Holy One Blessed Be He helps that sooner or later, through various circumstances, the matter comes to fruition." With this special expression, spoken by the holy Rebbe Rayatz during a farbrengen on the last day of Pesach 5700 (1940), the Rebbe Rayatz chose to reveal the plan for compiling the "Hayom Yom" calendar.

Following these words, the Rebbe said that all Chabad customs needed to be established in a special book alongside short aphorisms and stories, and that everything should be arranged according to daily life, like a kind of 'daily portion' for the Chabad Chassidic community. "Such an organized compilation," said the Rebbe Rayatz, "can only be made by a deep 'pnimi', someone fundamentally organized, with broad and deep knowledge."

The great work was presented before the Rebbe Rayatz, as the Rebbe wrote in a letter sent to Rabbi Yaakov Landau: "All the customs I printed in 'Hayom Yom' were inserted according to the instructions of my father-in-law, the Rebbe, and before printing they were once again before his eyes (and there were some he ordered to omit, saying they were not instructions for the public)." The Rebbe once expressed that the printing of the book was by command of the Rebbe Rayatz, and the Rebbe further stated that one can tangibly see the influence of the aphorisms in the book since it was printed. Similarly, in a talk on the 19th of Kislev 5749 (1988), the Rebbe expressed regarding "Hayom Yom" - "This small book, which was printed during the lifetime of the leader of our generation, was before his eyes in the utmost detail."

The Rebbe Rayatz was very happy when he received the printed work from the hands of Rabbi Shlomo Aharon Kazarnovsky, and expressed with amazement: "This calendar is daily spiritual nourishment!"

On another occasion, he said to Rabbi Chodakov with a special melody: "Hayom Yom! Der tog iz tog!" [=The day is a day]...

In a letter from those days, the Rebbe Rayatz writes to one of the Chassidim: "You have surely received the book 'Hayom Yom', which is a book in a small format - as a Chassid should see himself - but filled with pearls and gems from mighty and strong treasures. This is, thank God, a creation of true Chassidic quality. God has blessed, without an evil eye, my son-in-law, the Gaon Rabbi Menachem Mendel, that he could build this glorious Chassidic palace with its 383 rooms, in a way that day by day utters speech - each day says something. This is the day in its true meaning, Hayom Yom, that each day is a day."

The Rebbe Rayatz himself would study "Hayom Yom," and even showed several times how one can "live" with the daily aphorism. In many letters, the Rebbe Rayatz quotes the "Hayom Yom" aphorism for that day, and uses it as a guide in his instructions - on that day - to those who turned to him. At a farbrengen on Shavuot 5703 (1943), the Rebbe Rayatz expressed that one who keeps the "Hayom Yom" study portions can approach the receiving of the Torah in a "completely different way"!