Hebrew Manuscripts : Hasidic discourses

Dov Baer Schneuri (Schneersohn), Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Lyady

Hebrew Manuscripts

<p style='text-align: justify;'><p>According to the title page, all the discourses in this codex are by Dov Baer Schneuri (Schneersohn) (1773-1827) (RDB). In fact, however, several short discourses by his father and predecessor, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Lyady (1745-1827) (RSZ), are inserted, possibly as fillers for half-empty pages. (See items 10, 11, 15, 18, 19, 23.) RSZ founded Habad/Chabad Hasidism. Upon his passing, two centers emerged within Habad: RDB succeeded his father as rebbe, establishing his court in the village of Lubavitch (Lyubavichi, Rudnyansky District of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, very close to Belarus), his dynasty thus coming to be known as Chabad-Lubavitch, which continues to the present day; and one of RSZ’s great disciples, Rabbi Aaron ha-Levi Horowitz, set up court in Staroselye (alt. Starosselje, Province of Mohilev). RDB expansively unpacked the theological concepts set forth by his father, thus making available to the Hasidim new dimensions of contemplative depth, breadth, and application. </p><p>This codex is particularly important, inasmuch as many of its discourses were either copied from manuscripts in the Rebbe’s own handwriting or were collated against those manuscripts.</p><p>It is clear that in the 1980s editors at the Habad-Lubavitch publishing house, ‘Kehot Publication Society’, consulted images of this manuscript amongst others in their efforts to edit and publish the full range of Habad-Lubavitch literature. In the notes contained in their published volumes, they refer to this manuscript as ז (811) or simply 811.</p><p>In most cases, the lemma is taken from the weekly Torah portion, read as part of the Sabbath service. </p></p>