I found that over the years Chitas has become like davening for me. BH since there is no question in my mind about davening it doesn’t make me sweat thinking about it. Chitas took a few years but I think it’s the same. Now just have to view rambam that way as well.

The only time I ever kept a long streak of rambam was when I did it in the morning. This 1 AM thing….

At the end of the day, there’s a reason learning only works when libo chafetz—when the heart desires it—as Chazal taught and the Rebbe strongly emphasized. When taking on a major undertaking like learning three perokim a day, this inner motivation is not optional; it’s essential.

That’s why, in reality, around 90% of the “big mashpi’im and Chassidim” who promote the daily Rambam cycle end up merely reading it—to varying degrees—rather than truly learning it. There’s just no way around it.

Ask yourself: how many people do you know who actually do the three-perokim cycle? Now ask: how many of them are real experts in the Rambam, despite completing it every year? Exactly. It proves a simple and undeniable point.

So if someone tries learning three perokim a day without libo chafetz, it’s almost inevitable that they’ll retain very little. That defeats the whole purpose of the takana. When it comes to mesirus nefesh—throwing ourselves into the fire for the Rebbe—we’ll do it without hesitation. But when it comes to real learning, retaining, benefitting, and enjoying—it has to align with our intellectual and emotional makeup. There’s no shortcut around that.

Anyone familiar with the Rebbe’s farbrengens and igros knows that the Rebbe set a high bar in all areas. The Rebbe demanded serious iyun in nigleh and Chassidus, avodas hatefilah, dedication to the mivtzoim, etc.

At the same, time the Rebbe told individuals to prioritize and know what they are capable of by speaking to their mashpia.

How do you resolve these two opposites?

The answer is simple: As an ideal, we need to aspire for the full thing. But in practice there is an order of priorities.

Grabbing one horaa at the expense of all the others is a Chassidus shel shtus and against the Rebbe’s own instructions.

“Hmm… is it a made-up hergesh or not?”

This question should only be asked about something the Rebbe hasn’t spoken about and published *dozens* of times.

Regarding the Rambam, the Rebbe made the takkanah as clear as can be, time and time again: the mainstream track that everyone should aspire to is Shlosha Prokim, finishing כל התורה כולה in a year.

If someone is able to do Shlosha Prokim but settles for Perek Echad – it amounts to bittul Torah.

If it is impossible for someone to do Shlosha Prokim, they should feel pained that they are forced to do Perek Echad (אונס רחמנא פטריה), and that feeling of pain itself will somewhat compensate for what they are lacking by doing Perek Echad.

All of this has been made clear by the Rebbe on many occasions. Dismissing it as a “hergesh” is just an excuse to take the easy way out.

M. Shmei

How many of us learn Rambam like we do the other subjects?

How often do we pass by a word that we don’t understand and think that the word is not a make it or break it to understanding pshat?

When we buy groceries with our wives shopping list, do we also skip over the words that are hard to understand? Is that also not a make it or break it?

One of the most prominent Rabbonim in Crown Heights always emphasizes that the Rebbe meant Rambam “benosaf la’shiurim hakvuim”, which is… you know, Gefes.

On the other hand, when I asked a respected mashpia years ago in Yeshiva for permission to downgrade to 1 perek in order to better enjoy the learning, his answer was, “I’m afraid you’ll end up learning 1 like you currently learn 3…”

I liked this article—it touched on every question I had.

For starters, basic practices of Yidden for generations doesn’t need a written source. As explained in Hilchos Talmud Torah (2:1), Gemara is a basic element of Torah study, without which one is a “boor.”

Likewise, the Tzemach Tzedek told his grandchildren who were learning Choshen Mishpat, “Torah means Gemara with Rashi” (Lsheima Ozen p. 47).

In other places, we find emphasis on Gemara learning: Likutei Torah Devorim 84b – Learning Gemara even though halacha is in Shulchan Aruch; Hemshech 5666 p. 572 – grabbing the Gemara whenever there is time; Igros Kodesh Rayatz vol. 8 p. 584 – daily learning Gemara is the tool for hiskashrus.

The Frierdiker Rebbe instructs to learn an amud of Gemara each day (Lsheima Ozen p. 126).

You can find additional sources here:
https://yagdiltorah.org/pdf/gemara.pdf

although i tend to connect with a more ‘natural’ kind of hiskashrus,

i feel that it is of utmost importance – to have kabolas ol,

and yet i feel that in our times, we neef a much bigger koch in the avodas hasimcha.

we can be kabolas olniks from today till tommorrow,
if we don’t learn to have simcha –

we are not achieving the goal

I’m not against learning Gemara daily, but where does it say that it’s bread and butter? In Halacha it says פרק א שחרית ופרק א ערבית , that could mean a perek in tanach or in Mishnah.

Using the idea of “shtari kodem” actually weakens your argument…