6817 —תאריכי מאמרי החסידות ואיסוף ידיעות עליהם

B"H, 18 Nissan^[1], 5719
Brooklyn.

The veteran and Chassid, a G‑d-fearing man, distinguished and honored, etc.^[2], Rabbi Alter, may he live long^[3]

Shalom u'Vrachah!

We acknowledge receipt of your letter of 11 Nissan; surely you have meanwhile also received my letter of that same date...^[4]

As to what you write about a manuscript booklet^[5] of maamarim on which dates from the years 5555^[6], etc., are recorded: it is understood that I am interested in knowing these dates. So too regarding Torah Or and Likkutei Torah^[7], of which you write, for only very few of their dates are known to me at present [although a search is still needed in a number of old manuscript booklets, in which the date was sometimes preserved as well; it seems, however, that the early Chassidim were not at all particular about this. Not only that, they did not even take note of whose maamar it was, with the argument: what practical difference does it make, since this is not a matter of dispute where the halachah follows So-and-so^[8]]. Since then I have begun to collect information on this [which has so far actually yielded an index of the maamarim of the Rebbe Maharash and an index of the maamarim of the Rebbe Rashab – may the memory of the righteous and holy be for a blessing for the life of the World to Come, whose souls are in the hidden treasuries on High, may their merit protect us^[9]].

With respect and with blessing.

Because of the holiness of the festival, the Rebbe shlita did not come to sign, and I am signing in his name^[10]

Secretary

Publisher's notes

Rabbi Alter, may he live long (הרב אלתר שי'): Hilewitz, Johannesburg. Further letters to him: above, vol. 16, letter 5839, and the references in the notes there; below, letter 6870.

Notes

1. 18 Nissan (ח"י ניסן): 18 Nissan 5719 was a Sunday, one of the days of Chol HaMoed Pesach.

2. The veteran and Chassid… distinguished and honored (הוו"ח אי"א נו"נ): הוו"ח = הוותיק וחסיד, "the veteran and Chassid"; אי"א = איש ירא אלקים, "a G‑d-fearing man"; נו"נ = נעלה ונכבד, "distinguished and honored".

3. Rabbi Alter (הרב אלתר שי'): Hilewitz, Johannesburg (as in the publisher's note). Rabbi Dr. Alter HaLevi Hilewitz (5666–5754; 1906–1994), born in Zembin; as a youth he studied for a short time in Tomchei Temimim in Lubavitch in the days of the Rebbe Rashab, and in Jerusalem he was one of the editors of the Encyclopedia Talmudit. In 5711 (1951) he went to Johannesburg, South Africa, where he headed Jewish education and served as rabbi and halachic authority; among his works is Chakrei Zemanim (Wikipedia). The Rebbe's letters to him, on matters of Torah and research: vol. 3, letters 453 (on the works of the Tzemach Tzedek published under the Rebbe's editorship), 495, 516, 563; vol. 7, letter 1952; vol. 16, letter 5839; this letter; and below, letter 6870 (19 Iyar 5719, on a phrase in Kuntres Etz HaChaim and Shaarei Orah).

4. Of that same date… (מיום האמור...): That is, of 11 Nissan. The dots at the end mark that the rest of the letter was not printed.

5. Manuscript booklet (ביכל): Yiddish: a booklet or notebook; here, a handwritten notebook in which Chassidim copied maamarim of Chassidus (plural: bichlach).

6. 5555 (תקנ"ה): The year 5555 (1794–95), in the time of the Alter Rebbe.

7. Torah Or and Likkutei Torah (תו"א ולקו"ת): The collections of the Alter Rebbe's maamarim, Torah Or and Likkutei Torah. The Rebbe wishes to know the dates of the maamarim in these works too, of which the recipient wrote, since he knows the dates of very few of them at present.

8. What practical difference does it make… the halachah follows So-and-so (למאי נפק"מ... והלכה כפ'): נפק"מ = נפקא מינה, "practical difference"; כפ' = כפלוני, "like So-and-so". In matters of halachah one must know who said each statement, for when the Sages disagree, the ruling follows one of them; in maamarim of Chassidus there is no dispute to be decided, so the early Chassidim argued that it made no difference who said a maamar, and did not trouble to record its author and date.

9. An index of the maamarim of the Rebbe Maharash and… the Rebbe Rashab (מפתח מאמרי אדמו"ר מוהר"ש ומפתח מאמרי אדמו"ר מוהרש"ב): לע"ע = לעת עתה, "so far"; מוהר"ש = מורנו הרב שמואל, the Rebbe Maharash; מוהרש"ב = מורנו הרב שלום בער, the Rebbe Rashab; זצוקללה"ה = זכר צדיק וקדוש לברכה לחיי העולם הבא; נבג"מ = נשמתו בגנזי מרומים; זי"ע = זכותו יגן עלינו. On the index of the Rebbe Rashab's maamarim the Rebbe wrote in Nissan 5709: מכין אני עתה לדפוס מפתח מאמרי כ"ק אדנ"ע... ומחפשו אני בביכלעך והנחות אנ"ש והתמימים, "I am now preparing for print an index of the maamarim of the Rebbe [Rashab]… and I search for it [the maamar] in manuscript booklets and in the transcripts of Anash and the Temimim" (vol. 3, letter 473); in Cheshvan 5710 he wrote that the index was published for 20 Cheshvan (letter 545; see also letter 517).

10. Because of the holiness of the festival… in his name (מפני קדושת המועד... והנני חותם בשמו): כ"ק אדמו"ר שליט"א = "our holy master, teacher and Rebbe, may he live long and good days, amen". The letter was written on Chol HaMoed, and because of the holiness of the festival the Rebbe did not sign it himself; the secretary signed in his name.

Summary

The Rebbe (through his secretary, as it was Chol HaMoed) tells the recipient, a rav in Johannesburg, that he is keenly interested in the dates recorded on an old manuscript booklet of maamarim from 5555 and on, and on the maamarim of Torah Or and Likkutei Torah. The early Chassidim recorded neither dates nor authors, holding it made no practical difference; the Rebbe has been gathering such information, which so far produced indexes of the maamarim of the Rebbe Maharash and the Rebbe Rashab.