The Rebbe Rashab: The 3 Kuntreisim

00:02 The Chve'it beis nisin the Yemai Lula, Yemai Stalkos of the Rebbe Rashab in the year Taf Reish Pe 1920. We're entering now Shnas Ama, the hundredth year. He was in Rostov, Mitzoei Shabbos until Sunday. We'll discuss, Im yirtze Hashem, the different kuntresim or booklets that were published in the early nineteen-forties, right after Kol Ha'As publication-- publishing house was established. And these are the kuntresim of the Rebbe Rashab, as we'll mention further. And the first introduction, seemingly in Taf Shin Gimel nineteen forty-three, the Rebbe who was in charge of Kol Ha'As and everything that was released through Kol Ha'As was reviewed by the Rebbe. The Rebbe cited sources in various sefarim and in general edited everything. So the Rebbe writes as follows, introducing what Kol Ha'As sefarim will be, uh, reflect and basically the contents of the sefarim how they related Rebbeim. The Ma'areches Eitz HaChassidim, the Rebbe says, which is Kol Ha'As, is approaching now the phase of pub-publishing Cheveres HaSeles Ha'ir, which means a list of different Cheveres booklets of the Rebbeim. The Shalsheles, this chain of light, Shalsheles Ha'ir, is like a, a chain of rings. The first ring will be the light of the Tzedakah u'Mishpat, and that's how it'll, it'll continue ring after ring, Rebbe after Rebbe until the previous Rebbe. As the plan is, every Cheveres will include an overview of the life of the Rebbe, a list of his sefarim and Chidushei Torah of his Ma'amarim or letters that were not published until now. For many reasons, the Rebbe

02:29 says the first Cheveres that will come out will be of the Rebbe Rashab, and that is the Cheveres Kuntres HaMeich LaNar, which is the Tzava'ah. The first Tzava'ah of the Rebbe Rashab, it was in eighteen eighty-eight that the Rebbe Rashab was diagnosed with a serious illness, and he wrote then his first Tzava'ah. He was then twenty-seven years old. A long, a long, uh, Tzava'ah booklet, Nigla, Chassidus, Kabbalah, instructing how to raise the-- his child, the previous Rebbe, who was then eight years old. It was written in Lubavitch in the year, as mentioned, Taf Reish Mem Ches. And the Rebbe concludes, and this is the first introduction to something that is published by Kol Ha'As. Veyihy Ratzon, that it should be the will of Hashem, that very soon we should be able to find the means necessary to publish the Ma'amarim that explain the basic concepts of Torah Chassidus and are known under the title Hemsek Yom Tef Shoni Shishon Reish Samech Vav, which means the Hemsek of Taf Reish Samech Vav, which was a series of sixty-one Ma'amarim in the year nineteen oh six. Very deep Ma'amarim, and also the Hemsek of Besosh Ekdimo, Taf, uh, Tef, which is nineteen twelve, and it continued for the next three and a half years, a hundred and forty-four Ma'amarim. And again, very deep concepts in Chassidus that were explained in the, in the series of these Ma'amarim. This was the first hagdah that the Rebbe wrote, Benegea, the aim of what will be published eventually and hopefully,

04:37 as the Rebbe says, Veyihy Ratzon. Additional kuntresim that were published from the Rebbe Rashab, there was one, Kuntres HaTefilah, that came out late 1941. In addition to that, there was a Kuntres HaMa'ayan that came out in 1943, and there was a Kuntres Eitz Chayim that came out in 1946 together with Kuntres HaAvodah. These various kuntresim, each one was written by the Rebbe Rashab, and it was right after the Yeshivat Temchei Tmenim was founded. Rebbe Rashab then released Kuntres HaTefilah, how to daven, Kuntres Eitz Chayim, how to learn and the, and the necessity of learning Nigla and Chassidus, and Kuntres HaAvodah, Benegea, to refining the Middos. Im yirtze Hashem, in the next installment, we'll discuss the Rebbe's input in these various kuntresim. The Hemsek to the earlier installment Been a gear to the Kontrasim of the Rebbe Rashab, continuing now Be'ezras Hashem with installment number two, discussing the work of the Rebbe as he prepared and released the Kontrasim of the Rebbe Rashab to press. The Rebbe writes in the introduction to Kuntras Umaiyan, and gives us an interesting background of the publishing of the first Kontrasim of the Rebbe Rashab, uh, which were published in the United States in the early '40s. The Rebbe writes as follows: It was the second day of Nisan, taf shin beis, the yom ha'hol of the Rebbe Rashab, and at a fabringen of a group of Talmidi Atmimim, a suggestion was accepted to make-- establish a certain fund to print the maymurim of the Rebbe Rashab. The name of

07:14 the fund is called Keren Shalom. With the consent of the previous Rebbe, it was decided to firstly publish the three Kontrasim of the Rebbe Rashab, Kuntras Umaiyan, Kuntras Itz Chaim, and Kuntras HaVedah. The Kuntras HaFillah was already published in late 1941, chet taf shin beis. This is the background that Rebbe gives us in regards to the first Kontrasim published by Kohes, Kontrasim of the Rebbe Rashab. Describing his work, the Rebbe writes intro-- in the introduction to Kuntras HaVedah, published in 1946, that the kudus following the order of the previous Rebbe, Rebbe writes, "I divided the chapters into sifim, into paragraphs, into, um, uh, m- smaller sections, and I also added a small, uh, maftea, a table of contents, and some comments in the, uh, bottom of the pages." And the Rebbe continues that the purpose of the ha'aros source-- citing sources or ha'aros in general are to cite two, three places that a person should be able to look it up and understand it in greater depth and broaden his knowledge in the topic that is brought in the Kontras. And the Rebbe continues that as it is in the other publications of Eitz haChasidim, I tried, shtadalti, to cite s- s- sources, seforim that are around. In other words, seforim that are not in manuscripts, but people have these seforim, so they have access to it, so they're able to look it up, and it would be helpful in researching and understanding what is, uh, included in this Kontras or seforim that are being

09:56 published in the present. Which means that the Rebbe used sources which were basically accessible for people to be able to look it up and understand the topic at hand in greater depth and in a-- with a gaining a broader knowledge. Im yirtze Hashem, in the next installment, we'll discuss the maamar of Kuntras Umaiyan. The hemshech to the earlier installments been a gear to the Kontrasim of the Rebbe Rashab, continuing now Be'ezras Hashem with installment number three, discussing Kuntras Umaiyan. Kuntras Umaiyan is the title of the beginning of this hemshech of maymurim that began on yud beis tammuz taf reish samech gimel, the yom ha'oleth of the previous Rebbe, and the Rebbe Rashab continued this hemshech for about seven weeks till Shabbos Parshat Eikev, taf reish samech gimel. This is 1903. The hemshech begins with the posek, "Umayyan yeitzem mibeis Hashem vehishko es nachal hasitim." This hemshech, which consists from about over 60 pages, enlightens the person with insights on the Inyan of Parnassa, on the Inyan of the study of Chasidus, and so on. It was at a time that Anash needed to be inspired been a gear to learning, going out to the Beis HaMidrash in the evening, filling the bottom of Midrashim, sitting and learning as it was in the earlier times And the Rebbe Rashab in the Kuntres HaMaayan Hemsha actually is inspiring anash with Torah and Yiras Shamayim and perspectives on many different topics, unique topics in life. Kuntres HaMaayan is considered one of the basic sefarim in Chassidus. The previous

12:33 Rebbe and the Rebbe would suggest to beginners in the study of Chassidus to learn Kuntres HaMaayan. There is also an introduction of the previous Rebbe, which is about fifty pages, describing the background, what took place then, why there was a need that this Hemsha should be delivered. The one that prompted this introduction should be published is the Rebbe. The Rebbe asked, requested by the previous Rebbe for a moboy, an introduction to Kuntres HaMaayan, and the previous Rebbe responds in a letter to the Rebbe on Yud Beis Tammuz, that very same day that the Rebbe Rashab began saying this Hemsha, Kuntres HaMaayan, Yud Beis Tammuz taf shin gimel, forty years later. The previous Rebbe writes, "With this, I want to, to fulfill your request in regards to the moboy for Kuntres HaMaayan." And the previous Rebbe says that this will be based on events that are recorded in his diary, in the previous Rebbe's diary from Teves taf resh samech, which means early nineteen hundred till Elul taf resh samech gimel, late nineteen oh three. The previous Rebbe describes the matzav then, the, uh, environment, the, uh, aura, the atmosphere, and then we have the moboy which is, uh, put together at the beginning of this Hemsha. I was echi in taf shin nun alef, in nineteen ninety-one. A personal experience when I gave a shiur in Mesivta of the Torah, an overview of the moboy since the moboy is fifty pages and the bachurim in yeshiva do not get a chance to read the moboy.

15:11 They just begin immediately the maamer, the Hemsha. So therefore, in order to give a background for the bachurim, there was a shiur that was given that gives an overview of what actually took place then that prompted this Hemsha. And in addition to other activities that I was doing at that time, so I send it all in to the Rebbe. And the Rebbe answered. It was then the standard answer, meskabal vetach, it was received and appreciated, and this should be an ongoing, uh, activity and with an increase as our sages tell us, and also bless us that one who in-increases in Yanum of Peh and Kedusha, so he also receives an increase from above, from the Aibishter whose bracha-brachos are merubah, a lot. And this is also an auspicious time coming from Chei de Sivan. This is the third month from Nisan, and this is when the Torah, which Torah is divided also into three sections, Torah, Nevi'im, and Ketuvim. So it's also three given to a nation which is divided into three sections. Kehanevi'im, Yisraelim. Nischades, which is also Yemei Felisoi. And we find ourself on Chei de Sivan, which is Chei de Sivan, the geulah of the previous Rebbe, Vaanasi Hu Hakeil, the whole generation. In the year Ho-Hoye Tei Chesh, Nasar, Ener, Neflois. This is the abbreviation of, um, Tinosi Asker Al Atzien. This was Chei Sivan earlier in the day. The Rebbe went to the Eyal. When the Rebbe came back from the Eyal, Lekrinsky tells me that the Rebbe answered something,

17:18 Beneger Tereshima, that I send in about Kuntres HaMaayan. To me, it was a total surprise. As mentioned earlier, I received an answer. I did not expect anything additional. The Rebbe answered while at the Eyal, and the Rebbe wrote as follows, "Mohir, express." In other words, it should be given over immediately. The Rebbe addresses my name, Lahar Halama Sheyichia Zelikson, which is, uh, Mem Alef Cholaron, Sheyichia Zelikson. Kedai, it's worthwhile, Sheyeit Seleer Bechad Hakeitzim, that this shiur should be published in one of the booklets. The Leyki Piershem Shalish Echad, not like one individual person gives it out. Vikal Lohovi, it's understood on its own that it would be more dignified if it is published by a-an official kevitz. Ubesmichos Lechad Hageulah, which is Yud Beis Tammuz. Again, a connection of Kuntres HaMaayan and Yud Beis Tammuz. This was the response of the Rebbe. It was then given to the Krach Abad, who published it as an article, the Hemsha to the Rebbe's Iroha.