7668 —מספר הטבילות בערב שבת ומקורות בהלכה

B"H, 13 Sivan, 5721.

Brooklyn.

Haraha"g Haraha"ch iy"a nu"n oseik b'tzt"z rav pe'alim etc. Moreinu HaRav Chananya Yom Tov Lipa shiyichyeh

Shalom u'Vrachah!

... You wrote that you heard in my name that I said there is generally a custom to immerse five times on Erev Shabbos, and you write that you found opinions of two, three, four, thirteen, fourteen (and not all are speaking about immersion on Erev Shabbos), but not five — I do not know the basis for this report. For although there is a source for five immersions — and in Sefer Pri HaAretz (Parshas Lech Lecha, also cited in Sefer Baal Shem Tov Parshas Yisro section 125) it is brought in the name of the holy Reb Avraham etc., son of the great Maggid of Mezritch — and note also the five immersions of the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur (see Likkutei Torah by our Rebbe the Alter Rebbe at the end of Parshas Pinchas). Furthermore, from these five immersions each one is higher than the next: for chullin, ma'aser, terumah, kodashim, mei parah (Chagigah chapter 2 mishnah 6; see also Pri Etz Chaim Shaar HaBerachos chapter 5). But who am I to decide between all these stated opinions.

Also note that our Rebbe the Alter Rebbe in his Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim section 606 paragraphs 11-12) brings the opinion that immersion for one who had a seminal emission is once; for teshuvah — three times. In Shelah (cited in Machatzis HaShekel there) there are two opinions: fourteen and thirty-nine. The Shelah elaborates at length in Shaar HaOtiyot letter Kuf (page 104b) and in his tractate Yoma at page Teshuvah. This was printed in Likkutei Sichos volume 7 page 315.

Summary

The Rebbe discusses various traditions regarding immersions before Shabbos and highlights how diverse halachic sources offer different numbers and rationales. He refrains from issuing a final decision, emphasizing humility before established opinions.