3673 —אין נותנים הסכמות על ספרים והערות על נתיב ישר

B"H, 25 Tammuz, 5715.

Brooklyn.

Haraha"g vavac"h iy"a nu"n etc. Avraham HaLevi

Shalom u'Vrachah!

In response to your letter from the 3rd of Tammuz, in which you write that you sent several booklets from your sefer "Netiv Yashar" and request an endorsement: It is already known that it is not customary among us, for various reasons, to give endorsements on sefarim. May Hashem grant you success to increase Torah and glorify it—Torah that leads to action out of fear of Hashem and love of Hashem, as the Zohar and Tikunei Zohar state that only through awe and love does it ascend above. It is well known the saying of our Rebbe the Alter Rebbe (author of Tanya—the halachic authority in the hidden dimension of Torah—and Shulchan Aruch—the halachic authority in the revealed dimension), that this is also hinted at in Shas Pesachim 50b.

As is my custom, I have added some notes to your booklets in the margins.

With blessings for success in all the above.

Notes and as our Sages say: Be one who asks questions etc., and thus the teaching is clarified etc. Am I not aware that I am speaking correctly? (Bava Metzia 84a). And even though one does not ask questions on derush (homiletics):

Booklet 1 at its beginning: That grasses were not explicitly commanded "according to its kind." Based on Yerushalmi Kilayim ch.1 halacha 7, it is clear that there is no prohibition or at least no obligation here (see Tosafot s.v. "hirchiv," Chullin 60a with Maharsha there, Torah Shelemah and others).

Booklet 2 at its beginning: "From a thread to a sandal strap." Even a sandal strap is property but not life itself. Simply put: A thread—which belongs to head ornaments/clothing (Shabbat 256)—to a sandal strap—which relates to the foot.

Booklet 3 at its beginning: Be'er Sheva—according to pshat (simple meaning), the names differ between Bereishit 21:31 etc., and Bereishit 26:33 as explained by Sforno.

Booklet 4 at its beginning: The camel is kelipat nogah. See Me'orei Or entry "Chazir," which is klipat nogah (and therefore only the pig will be returned to us in the future—not camel, hyrax, or hare). It alone has unique signs; unlike camel which shares with hyrax/hare. In Parshat Re'eh it appears separately. Why did he omit camels? a) According to pshat—Yaakov's messengers rode camels (see Bereishit Rabbah ch.76 s.v. "vatarakavna al hagmalim") so there was no need to mention them; yet he mentioned servant—since a messenger could be his son etc. b) According to drush—Bereishit Rabbah says camel hints at its impurity sign regarding Esav who was impure while Yaakov was pure; thus he did not mention it (see more in Torah Or by Alter Rebbe beginning Parshat Vayishlach where Yaakov thought Esav had already been refined).

Booklet 5 at its beginning: On the interpretation of "leimor" (“to say”)—that it is imprecise. On the contrary, adding "leimor" indicates complete clarity and precision (see Ramban Shemot 6:10). Here too one can explain similarly—not just hearing generally but also stating with complete clarity.

Summary

The Rebbe teaches that while endorsements are not given for sefarim as a matter of policy, one should focus on increasing Torah study with awe and love of Hashem. He encourages careful study and provides constructive feedback for growth in learning and clarity.