לעֶרנעֶן בְּכָל יוֹם אַ פַּרְשָׁה חוּמָשׁ מִיט פֵּרוּשׁ רַשִׁ"י (זוּנְטאָג בִּיז שֵׁנִי, מאָנְטאָג בִּיז שְׁלִישִׁי וכו'), אֲמִירַת תְּהִלִּים בְּכָל יוֹם, גּוֹמֵר זַיין דעֶם תְּהִלִּים שַׁבָּת מְבָרְכִים — דאָס דאַרְף מעֶן אָפְּהִיטעֶן, דאָס אִיז נוֹגֵעַ אִיהְם, זַיינעֶ קִינְדעֶר אוּן קִינְד'ס קִינְדעֶר.

Studying a passage of Chumash every day with the commentary of Rashi (reading the first aliyah of the coming Shabbos on Sunday, the second on Monday, and so on), reciting [the daily bracket of chapters of] Tehillim every day, reciting the entire Book of Tehillim on Shabbos Mevarchim — these things must be carefully observed. Doing so impacts the individual, his children, and his grandchildren.

A Story with an Echo

The Rebbe Rayatz made this statement as an introduction to a story.1 He related that once the Baal Shem Tov saw that the Heavenly Court had issued a harsh decree against a particular Jewish community. He sought various means to nullify it, but saw that the Court would not allow it to be reversed. Yet, in the heavenly realms to which he ascended in his endeavors to abolish the decree, he perceived a particularly bright light. Inquiring as to its source, he was told that it was generated by a simple villager who used to recite the entire Book of Tehillim five times every day.

The Baal Shem Tov journeyed to that villager and asked him: “Would you give up your share in the World to Come if you knew that by doing so you could save an entire Jewish community?” The villager consented at once and the decree was nullified.

Now, this villager was not a hidden tzaddik. He was an ordinary man whose Torah learning was scant, but his artless dedication to reciting the letters of the Torah generated tremendous spiritual power.

After telling the above story, the Rebbe Rayatz concluded: “Take for example a glazier who gets up in the morning and davens. Then, after taking a bite to eat, he takes some glass in hand and begins looking how to make a few pennies. How good would it be if at the same time he would go around saying words of the Torah! That would shed light wherever he went.”