3807 —מנהגי חב"ד, נוסחי תפילה, ותיקונים מנהגיים עם הרב ברוך נאה

B"H, Days of Selichos, 5715.

Brooklyn.

Haraha"g veHaraha"ch iy"a nu"n Moheh Boruch Naeh

Shalom u'Vrachah!

In response to your letter from the 25th of Elul with its enclosure:

a) Regarding the Megillah—our custom according to the instruction of my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe, is to shake twice when reciting [the letter] hazos (“this letter”) and “this second Purim letter.” (In Hayom Yom the word “hazos” was omitted; this was corrected in Likkutei HaMinhagim at the end of Megillas Esther as printed by Kehot.)

b) Concerning what I noted in my comments on the wall calendar of the Kollel that “u’chasveinu b’sefer” (“and inscribe us in the book”) is an error: I meant one of two things—either it should also say “haChaim” (“of life”), as written in Ketzos HaShulchan siman 21 se’if 4; or it suffices to say only “u’chasveinu.” This is also implied by Derech HaChaim and is logical. Thank you for your notes on the versions “Avoteinu” or “Artzeinu.”

c) Regarding your comments on the vocalization of piyutim in the machzor for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur: much needs to be checked in this vocalization. It seems there are many errors due to typesetting mistakes made without attention; once an error takes root it is hard to remove. Unfortunately, at present there is no expert available to address this.

As we approach the new year that is coming upon us and all Israel for good and blessing, I hereby express my blessing to you and all yours—a blessing for a good inscription and sealing for a good and sweet year materially and spiritually.

With blessing.

Regarding what I added in Minchah of Rosh Hashanah—“Shabbat”—my intent was indeed to exclude a fast day since there is a haftarah then. This is obvious.

Regarding your comment on the Ne’ilah piyut “Anu leih v’eineinu leih” from Sukkah 53b: it is a mitzvah to maintain a version that has become widespread. It can be said that therefore they changed this version from the language of the Mishnah there and placed “v’eineinu” earlier to separate them and indicate they are different matters. Similarly, one can say that a congregation is different (see Bach Orach Chaim siman 61; Peri Megadim and Machatzis HaShekel there on Magen Avraham se’if katan 9). I later saw references noting that this matter is discussed in She’eilas Shalom Mahadura Tinyana; I do not have it at hand.

Summary

The Rebbe clarifies Chabad customs regarding Megillah reading, prayer text accuracy, and liturgical pronunciation. He emphasizes careful adherence to tradition while allowing for necessary corrections and offers heartfelt blessings for a good new year both materially and spiritually.