5488 —התעסקות בכתבי יד וגישת חסידים למחבר המאמרים

B"H, 28 Iyar, 5717.

Brooklyn.

Machatun Haraha"ch iy"a nu"n anaf etz avot zach haraayon Avraham Yehuda

Shalom u'Vrachah!

In response to your letter from the 23rd of Iyar regarding the handwritten booklets and their organization, clarification about which discourses have been printed or not, etc. I do not know which of Anash in Eretz HaKodesh is knowledgeable in such matters, and it is a pity that from the outset they were brought to Eretz HaKodesh and not sent here. Even though there are many distractions here—and unfortunately not all are joyful ones—still, due to proximity, someone else could have dealt with this since I could at least supervise from time to time. Your honor should investigate locally if there is an expert in these matters and speak with him.

Surely you also know the conduct of Chassidim from generation to generation: they did not concern themselves "so much" with who authored a discourse or whether it was printed or not. As is known from some of Anash, all discourses of our Rebbeim are considered as Halachah leMoshe miSinai (law given to Moshe at Sinai), as is well known from our Sages. What difference does it make if this law was revealed by this Nasi or another? Especially since it is understood that there is no practical difference here as there is in the revealed part of Torah, where there are many rules such as Halachah follows so-and-so versus another or Halachah follows the later authorities; all this does not apply in the esoteric part of Torah where there are no questions or disputes, etc.

Even though I completely reject this approach—and at times I discussed this matter even with my father-in-law, the Previous Rebbe (of blessed memory)—and it is understood that he also did not agree with this view, nevertheless it seems that this is one of those things where Chassidim behave as they do. May it be G‑d's will that they should never have greater faults or errors than these...

With blessing—in the language of my father-in-law, the Previous Rebbe—for receiving the Torah with joy and inwardness.

Summary

The Rebbe teaches that while proper organization and attribution are important, Chassidim have traditionally focused more on absorbing spiritual teachings than on authorship details. The main goal remains internalizing Torah with joy and depth.