Time in the Teachings of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi

6. Setting time for Torah study in the context of Rashaz’s leadership.
The teachings of Rashaz demonstrate that adherence to the Torah, which entails the 
transformation of self and the sanctification of the world, can be achieved through 
the seemingly trivial ritual of Torah study at set times. The precept of Torah study at 
set times, framed in halakhic literature as a means of motivating even the unscholarly 
classes to a routine of daily study, has been endowed in Rashaz’s sermons with 
mystical and magical significance. This reinterpretation of setting times for Torah 
study should be considered not only in the framework of Rashaz’s concept of time 
prayer for an hour or an hour and a half (T4, 1:103a, and see Etkes, 
Ba’al ha-Tanya
, 104), but he also 
seems to understand that working members of his communities were prevented by their mundane 
obligations from investing too much time in prolonged prayer (T5, 161b-2a, and see Etkes, 
Ba’al ha-
Tanya
103-4). Rashaz relates the deferred time of prayer to the status of different classes of souls: 
the souls that originate in the world of 
Atsilut
pray according to the time of prayer set specifically for
that supernal world, while the souls that originate in the lower worlds of
Beri’ah 
and 
Yetsirah
, which 
are more distanced from God, need to wait until the souls of 
Atsilut 
have finished praying before 
commencing their own prayers, at which point they can gather the particles of the innermost light of 
Ein Sof
leftover from the prayer of the souls in the world of 
Atsilut
; the souls of 
‘Asiyah
, however, 
owing to their engrossment in materiality, do not have any access to this aspect of the light of 
Ein Sof
, 
and are therefore forbidden to delay their prayers but must comply with the normative set times. In 
practical terms, this means that while the most distinguished righteous men [
tsadikim muflagim
] are 
allowed to delay their prayers, simple men and ignoramuses [
‘amei ha-arets
] are forbidden to do so. 
See Mondshine, 
Migdal ‘oz
, 378-80. According to Heilman, (
Bet rabi
, 89a), Rashaz himself used to 
prolong the morning prayers until 2 p.m. 

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202 
but also in the wider context of his unique style of leadership, marked by his 
endeavour to empower ordinary people to re-evaluate their mode of religious service, 
and to create a more inclusive Judaism, which was eventually to become the emblem 
of the Habad movement.
138
The emphasis placed on the precept of setting times for Torah study 
exemplifies some conspicuous trends in Rashaz’s style of leadership and in the early 
Habad community. It shows the level of spiritual independence enjoyed by Habad 
Hasidim under the leadership of Rashaz: although he was eager to provide guidance 
in divine service to his followers, he nonetheless held each and every Hasid 
responsible for his own spiritual achievements.
139
The “Liozna Regulations” bear 
witness to Rashaz’s continuous efforts to set limits on access to his court for the 
growing number of his followers.
140
It is therefore plausible that the elevation of 
routine Torah study at set times as spiritual engagement was aimed to create the 
138
See also Hallamish, “Mishnato ha-‘iyunit,” 309, where he suggests that Rashaz’s positive attitude 
to nonscholarly folk, exceptional when compared to the scholarly ethos of Lithuanian Jewry, 
contributed to the growing popularity of Hasidism in general and Habad in particular. Hallamish’s 
opinion on Rashaz’s exceptional attitude to ordinary men is based on Rashaz’s instruction to call up 
businessmen to the Ark on the Sabbaths and Festivals (T4, 1:103a) and not on his egalitarian 
approach to Torah study, which also should be mentioned, in particular when comparing Rashaz to 
his mitnagdic contemporaries. Thus, for example, the Vilna Gaon, according to a tradition transmitted 
by his student and cousin Avraham Ragoler (for information on him see Fishman,