Hayom Yom: 6 Adar II

It is a tradition among the elders of anash1 that the Tanya is a compilation of words of counsel given by the Alter Rebbe to anash at yechidus during the years 5540-5550 (1780-1790). In the summer of 5552 (1792) he began arranging the Tanya in the form it now has. A year later, there were already numerous copies, and in time, there were corruptions of the text and even falsifications. For that reason the Rebbe then moved quickly to have it printed.

Another version: For twenty years the Rebbe wrote his work, the Tanya, painstakingly examining every last word. By the year 5555 (1795) the text was pure and clarified and he granted permission to copy it. When copies became numerous and corrupted he had it printed.

The Tzemach Tzedek related that on the first Rosh Hashana of his life (in 5550, 1789) the Alter Rebbe spoke on the statement in the Talmud, He is administered an oath, Be a tzadik... This discourse is in fact the first three chapters of Tanya.