We are in the eighteenth lesson in the chain of lineage of the history of the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek, the fourth part. 5608 (תר"ח), what happened in 5608? It is written briefly: he prints the Likutei Torah. But behind these four words there is history. We already read earlier that in 5597 (תקצ"ז) he printed the book Torah Or, which is the first part, and it takes almost more than ten years, until 5608, in order to print the second part, Likutei Torah.
What happened in the meantime? Following the informing by the maskilim, in the month of Tevet of 5597 all the Jewish printing houses in Russia were closed, including the print shop in Kapust, where the Torah Or was printed. They managed to print the Torah Or, and afterward the print shop was closed. What the Russians permitted were two printing houses: one printing house in Vilna, active, and a second printing house, with basic approval, in Zhitomir. The printing house in Vilna barely withstood the pressure of the demands of all the Jewish communities to print siddurim, chumashim, mishnayos, foundational books. The Vilna printing house had work over its head, and it was impossible to insert anything additional.
The second printing press in Zhitomir, which in principle was also approved, but until the approval and its opening actually came into effect took time, until 5608. In 5608, when they received actual permission to operate the press, they printed the second part of Torah Or, and then it received a new name, Likutei Torah.
Another thing happened between the printing of Torah Or and the printing of Likkutei Torah: during those ten years, the chassidim became aware that the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek had notes, glosses, and commentaries on the maamarim of the Alter Rebbe, and they very much requested and began to urge him that when he prints the second part of Likkutei Torah, he should also include within it all his commentaries and all his glosses. At first he did not agree, and in the end he agreed, and it was included.
What happened? As detailed in Migdal Oz, in brief: the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek dreamed that the Alter Rebbe appeared to him and asked him to print. But he decided that he would not tell anyone the dream. Afterwards, this very same dream was dreamed by three of the sons of the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek. Each one on his own came to his father and said to him, "Father, I dreamed such and such," and then the Tzemach Tzedek agreed, and all of his glosses were entered into the second part, into Likkutei Torah. As one sees very many parentheses in Likkutei Torah, which are the glosses of the Tzemach Tzedek.
The following detail written here, [in the year] 5614: A protest against the demand of the ministry, based on the proposal of Lilienthal, to shorten the prayer book for the Jewish boys and to institute an abridged Chumash for the Jewish children. We have already spoken several times before about the maskilim, who caused a great many problems. They fought in all sorts of ways to uproot every divine, spiritual matter from the Jewish children, pushed all kinds of assemblies and denunciations, and wanted to introduce changes into education. That Lilienthal, whose name is mentioned here, was among the leading maskilim. He was born in Munich, Germany, and was raised in an environment of those who had abandoned religion and of assimilationists, and caused much trouble when he came to Russia.
Whoever wants to see the entire length of the details of the story can find it in the kuntres "The Tzemach Tzedek and the Haskalah Movement." There is a long and detailed response by the Tzemach Tzedek to their demand to abridge the Chumash. They said, why is it necessary to include all the stories? There are stories that children are not supposed to hear and not supposed to know, and they tried all sorts of ways to shorten and cut out things. The Tzemach Tzedek writes at length a response to every claim, with detailed reasoning as to why it is unfounded. For example, regarding the matter of removing certain verses that ostensibly are irrelevant, he elaborates that the Torah is the Torah of Hashem, and every single thing is Divine, and it is not possible for human intellect to interfere and say what belongs and what does not. Everything must remain as it is, everything is from Hashem. A complete elaboration on each and every thing. This was in that same year, 5614.
The next thing: 5616. What happened then? His courtyard burned down, the courtyard of the Rebbe, the tzaddik of Lubavitch. There was a very great fire, and five crates full of manuscripts. Here it is written very briefly, and there are more details about this elsewhere. There was a very great fire in Lubavitch at that time. It did not only burn the courtyard of the Tzemach Tzedek, but it spread, and many houses were burned.
Many of the manuscripts of the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek he did not keep with himself. He dispersed them and gave some to the house of the shamash, and some to the house of the rav, for various reasons. The Tzemach Tzedek had many writings there. By the rav alone there were twenty enormous volumes, which included twelve volumes in nigleh and eight in Chassidus. In nigleh, for example, he had two thousand pages, in which the Tzemach Tzedek completed all the simanim in the Shulchan Aruch of the Alter Rebbe that were burned—the Tzemach Tzedek completed everything. There is a tremendous amount there. The Tzemach Tzedek deposited this in the hands of the rav.
It is told that when the fire broke out, the Rebbe himself ran to the shammes's house. The shammes is a simple man, and does not know how to appreciate the treasure he has, and in a fire people are in a panic and save whatever they can. So the Tzemach Tzedek ran to the shammes's house in order to save the manuscripts. As he arrived at the shammes's house, he sees the shammes himself coming out with the chest and shouting, "Rebbe, I saved it!" That is to say, the shammes understood what he had.
The rabbi did not run for the Rebbe. The Rebbe sent a Jew who was called Tzvi the Yellow, apparently he was a redhead. He sent him and said to him: "Run to the rabbi's house and help him get out the...". It turns out the rabbi saved for himself a sack of feathers and a beehive of honey, and the whole precious chest that he had he did not remember at all. Tzvi the Yellow tried and they did not succeed, got stuck in the door, there are descriptions there. They did not manage to save it, it simply burned. The Rebbe was very, very strict with him. A long time afterward he understood that the Rebbe was very strict with him for gathering his private belongings and forgetting the main thing, which had been entrusted to him in the house.
Let us continue. In [5]621, in Teves, he was widowed. The Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, the Rebbetzin of the Tzemach Tzedek, passed away in Teves. After she passed away, the Tzemach Tzedek said, "My world has grown dark for me," and this was five years until the passing of the Rebbe himself. During the last five years, although he had often been a strong, mighty man, and there are remarkable descriptions of how little he slept and how he hardly needed to eat and so on, in the last five years he was, lehavdil, ill and suffering very, very difficult afflictions. And after the passing of the Rebbetzin he stopped receiving chassidim for yechidus. He said that his counsel had been taken from him, all sorts of expressions. The moment the Rebbetzin passed away there was a decline in the whole matter. This was in Teves 621. The Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, may her resting place be honored, is in Lubavitch; there is the Ohel of the Rebbetzins in Lubavitch, and there she is located.
The last matter in this passage concerns the passing of the Rebbe himself. On Wednesday, the eve of Thursday, that is, on Wednesday night, at twelve thirty-seven in the night, the eve of Thursday the thirteenth of Nissan 5626, he passed away. This was the passing of the Tzemach Tzedek, and that same day is also the day of the passing of Rabbi Yosef Karo, on the thirteenth of Nissan. There is a hint in the sefer Migdal Oz on a verse from Megillat Esther. The verse says, "And the king's scribes were summoned at that time in the first month, on the thirteenth day thereof." It is written there that "the king's scribes" alludes to the Beit Yosef, who wrote the Shulchan Aruch, and to the Tzemach Tzedek, who wrote a great deal. Both of them, the king's scribes—when were they summoned to the King? On the thirteenth of Nissan, the day of their passing.