We are in the twentieth lesson in the chain of lineage, in the life story of the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek in the sixth part. Today we will study about the books of the Rav the Tzemach Tzedek.
Alef, Derech Mitzvosecha, the Book of Commandments. This is a book that includes the reasons for the commandments according to the Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid, and what the Alter Rebbe taught. And in this book, Derech Mitzvosecha, there are also attached a pamphlet called Shoresh Mitzvas HaTefillah, and several additional pamphlets.
Regarding the root of the mitzvah of prayer that is printed in Derech Mitzvosecha, there is an interesting story. The Alter Rebbe once called for his granddaughter, the Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, who was the wife of the Tzemach Tzedek. He instructed her to bring him something from the kuntreisim that her husband had written for himself. She did not know what to bring, so she took one of the kuntreisim that contained several of her husband's writings, among which was the root of the mitzvah of prayer of the Tzemach Tzedek, and she brought it to her grandfather, the Alter Rebbe.
It is told that the Alter Rebbe saw this. He called for his brother, the Maharil, and called for the chassid Rabbi Pinchas of Reizes, and said to them: "I want to tell you that I have here received a very special discourse from my grandson," and he recited the blessing of Shehecheyanu with Sheim uMalchus. They answered amen, and he added that it should be a Torah teaching that would be drawn down to his descendants and his descendants' descendants.
But the story has a not-so-simple continuation. Time passed, and the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek did not hear about this that year. Simchas Torah arrived, and in the middle of the dancing on Simchas Torah, the chassidim, among whom the rumor had already spread that the Alter Rebbe had recited the blessing of Shehecheyanu and so on, told the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek: Do you know that the grandfather received your writings and recited the blessing of Shehecheyanu? The Rebbe was very displeased with this act, that his wife had brought, without his permission, the writings he had written, to the grandfather, to the Alter Rebbe, and he was very angry and told his wife that he was going to divorce her because of this.
And the rebbetzin argued and said to him: "I heard that honoring a grandfather is greater than honoring a father, so what could I have done? And you too are obligated in his honor, for he raised you. What could I have done?" But he said to her: "Since I already spoke, we must examine halachically whether I am permitted to continue with this." This lasted about two months and more, during which there was some sort of estrangement.
In the end, and I am abbreviating, the one who appeased the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek was the Alter Rebbe himself. The Alter Rebbe called for him and told him that he would establish with him a fixed study schedule, twice a week nigleh, three times a week Chassidus, only so that there would be shalom bayis anew. And then the Tzemach Tzedek himself was reconciled, and he himself already brought all his writings to his grandfather. This is the story regarding the root of the mitzvah of prayer, which is found in the first book, "Derech Mitzvosecha."
The second book, beis, "Derech Emunah, the Book of Inquiry." Concerning this book there is a saying in Hayom Yom, where it is referred to, that the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek wrote it in connection with the journeys he had to Petersburg, where he had to answer various matters related to faith, so he composed this book. It is a book that deals with very fundamental questions in matters of faith. There are proofs there regarding the creation of the world anew, that the Holy One, blessed be He, creates the world at every moment, to refute all the other opinions. And in the book he relates to the well-known thinkers, to the Kuzari, to the Rambam, to the Semag, and discusses their words.
This book, when it was first printed in Poltava, the publisher called it "Derech Emunah," but our Rebbeim, our leaders, call this book "Sefer HaChakirah." Therefore, both are written here, "Derech Emunah," "Sefer HaChakirah," which are two names for the same book.
The next matter, the letter gimmel, "Ohr HaTorah, 42 volumes," forty-two volumes of Ohr HaTorah, and he details them: Bereishis, 7 volumes; Shemos, 8 volumes; Vayikra, 4 volumes; Bamidbar, 6 volumes; Devarim, 7 volumes; Nach, 3 volumes; Tehillim Yahel Ohr, one volume; Megillas Esther, one volume; Shir HaShirim, 3 volumes; Ohr HaTorah on the sayings of Chazal and various topics; Ohr HaTorah on the siddur and prayer.
This is an enormous collection about which the Rebbe spoke on many occasions, regarding these seforim, whose printing the Rebbe greatly endeavored to promote. There are all kinds of expressions the Rebbe said, that the maamarim of the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek are inclusive of everything—from the Talmud Bavli and Yerushalmi, and the seforim of Kabbalah, and the Midrashim, Sifri and Sifra. The Rebbe once, in Poltava, said that darshanim can obtain there, in the maamarim in "Ohr HaTorah," a great deal of material from these seforim. These are waters that have no end. He said that the Torah of the Tzemach Tzedek is a foretaste of the chiddush of Moshiach, nigleh and Chassidus, all blended together. This is an enormous treasure of the seforim "Ohr HaTorah" of the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek.
Among the books appeared "Tehillim Yahel Or," which are the maamarim of the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek on Tehillim. At first this was printed as a book unto itself in Poltava in the year 5678. The publisher called it "Yahel Or," but afterwards these treatments were included within the series of books "Ohr HaTorah."
The next item, number 4, "Tzemach Tzedek Responsa (She'elot uTeshuvot), Novellae on the Mishnayot, Halachic Rulings, 8 volumes." What is most famous, when people say "the books of the Tzemach Tzedek," they are referring to the "She'elot uTeshuvot" (Responsa) books of the Tzemach Tzedek. The Tzemach Tzedek wrote hundreds, more than a thousand, responsa to various halachic questions. A very large portion of the material was burned in the great fires that occurred in Lubavitch. What we have in the She'elot uTeshuvot deals mainly with the section of Even HaEzer. It is known that Rabbi the Tzemach Tzedek wrote many responsa on topics related to agunot and to permitting them.
The book is called "Tzemach Tzedek," after the gematria of the name of the Rebbe, the Tzemach Tzedek. The word "tzemach" has the gematria of one hundred thirty-eight, exactly the gematria of the first name, Menachem. And "tzedek" is one hundred ninety-four, the gematria of the second name, Mendel. Therefore these books are called by this name.
The following, Kitzurim VeHe'aros to the sefer Likutei Amarim Tanya. There are writings that the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek wrote on the Tanya, the Rebbe gathered and edited them, and this is one of the seforim that the Rebbe distributed to each one of the crowd on the eve of Rosh Hashanah 5759, on the completion of two hundred years since the birth of the Tzemach Tzedek. The Rebbe distributed to each one by his own hand this sefer: "Kitzurim VeHe'aros LeTanya."
6. Bi'urei HaZohar, two volumes, elucidations that the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek wrote on the Zohar.
Zayin, Sefer HaLikkutim, Dach of the Tzemach Tzedek, twenty-seven volumes. What is Sefer HaLikkutim? In the winter of 5647, the Rebbe gave an instruction to print this series, which is called Sefer HaLikkutim. One could say briefly that it is an encyclopedia of entries from the series "Ohr HaTorah" that we mentioned earlier. "Ohr HaTorah" consists of maamarim, and a person who is searching for a particular topic finds it very difficult to locate where the topic is, because there are waters without end. The Rebbe requested that they create a book that would be like an encyclopedia, that would divide the maamarim of the Admur, not whole maamarim but literally excerpts arranged by topics. A person searching for a particular topic according to the alphabet would find all the excerpts on that topic in a very organized fashion, from the teachings of the Rav, the Tzemach Tzedek. This is called "Sefer HaLikkutim," and it comprises twenty-seven volumes out of the "Ohr HaTorah."
There is a kuntres of maamarim on the sayings of Chazal in Tractate Bava Metzia and in Bava Basra. This is already found today within the Tzemach Tzedek's works on the Shas.
9. Here appears the maamar "Ushavtem Mayim," which once was published as a book in its own right, a pamphlet.
And the last item is the Igrot Kodesh, two volumes, the Igrot Kodesh of the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek. There is here simply a sea of Torah, a sea of books that truly contains an infinite amount.