The Chofetz Chaim's Manuscripts and the Baal Shem Tov's Siddur

00:21 We have discussed in the previous lectures about the collections of the library of printed sefarim that was scanned and posted on the site of the library. Parallel to that, we have scanned and posted the whole collection of the bound manuscripts in this library. The library has a huge collection of manuscripts, including about three thousand volumes of manuscripts. Most of them are chasidus of the Chabad Rebbeim. About one hundred and fifty volumes are in the original handwriting of the Rebbeim of Chabad that wrote Chasidus beMorim. About two thousand of the volumes in these collections, in this collection are copies that scribes copied beMorim of the Rebbeim of Chabad. But not only, there is about a thousand volumes that are in other subjects. There are sefarim, chiburim, halacha and Shailes and Tshuvas. There are sefarim in Kabbalah and other subjects. The library had decided to scan them all and post them on the site of the library that everyone should be able to see by himself the original handwriting of the beMorim of the Rebbeim, Tshuvas, Halacha and Kabbalah and others. Including the Siddur of the Baal Shem Tov in the handwriting. The Baal Shem Tov ask, asked the scribe to copy for him the Siddur of the Arizal, the Siddur with the Kavanas of Arizal. He should be able to see the Kavanas Arizal while davening. In those days, the Siddur Arizal was not published yet, so he asked the scribe to copy it for him. It's interesting that in middle of Shemoneh Esreh he told

03:27 the scribe, "When you come in middle of Shemoneh Esreh before the page of Shemei Atfilo, please, please leave two pages blank for my pupils. Each one should write a one line of a risk, request of Hashem for what he really needs." And while the Baal Shem Tov will daven in this Siddur when he comes before the Shemei Atfilo, he would look on their requests and pray for them. This Siddur is scanned and posted on our site together with all other kisvei yad that we have. But also sefarim in Halacha and Shailas and Tshuvas that are not from Chabad. For example, we have part of the Mishneh Berurah in the original handwriting of the Chafetz Chaim that is also scanned and posted on the site of the library. And the same is sefarim in Kabbalah. We have the original Kisvei Kodesh of Shmoneh She'urim of the Arizal. When the Arizal used to say, give lectures on Kabbalah, his talmid, Rabbi Chaim Vital would write it down in a pamphlet for itself. Over the years, he wrote about hundreds of these pamphlets. After his passing, his son, Rabbi Shmuel Vital decided to make order in these hundreds of pamphlets. He copied them all in his handwriting and divided it into eight groups of subjects and each pamphlet found its proper place in the proper sha'ar that is related to the subject. Altogether, he wrote eight volumes. Six of them are here in the library. We scanned them all and posted on our site, on the site of

06:11 the library. When someone wants to see the original handwritings, the volumes of manuscripts in this library, he would have to go to chabadlibrary.org/catalog and there he'll find in the line in top a series of catalogs. He would have to press and select the catalog of Kisvei Yad, the manuscript cat-catalog. There he would be able to find anything he's looking for, either by the title, either by the author, either by the place, time or many other ways to look for something that he's looking for. And when he will get the proper sefer, he would press on it and that would be a link to the card, the catalog card with a description, specific description of that volume. And in the bottom of that description, he would have a link to the copy of this volume of this manuscript.