The Rebbe’s Maamar comes first!

00:00 Once, a chossid came to the Rebbe Maharash. The Rebbe Maharash asked him, “What are you learning? Which subjects?” The chossid said, “I learn the Likkutei Torah for the week. Then I learn the maamarim of the Mitteler Rebbe, and after that the maamarim of the Tzemach Tzedek—manuscripts and notebooks.” The Rebbe Maharash asked him, “And my maamarim?” The chossid said, “[unclear], I don’t have time to learn them.” The Rebbe Maharash said, “My maamarim must be learned first.” [unclear] Chassidus doesn’t mean that a chossid can sit and learn [unclear], nor is it enough just to say that plainly. You don’t go looking for the notebooks [unclear], to sit on an island and learn Chassidus twenty-four hours a day—he isn’t going to become the Rogatchover Gaon.