לקוטי שיחות חלק ד׳ הוספות - יום הכפורים

Yom Kippur

. . . In reply to your question regarding the Shulchan Aruch of the Alter Rebbe (siman 614, se'if 3) — "שהרי גושי הארץ מגיע לרגליו ומרגיש שהוא יחף" ("for the clods of the earth reach his feet and he feels that he is barefoot"): this is the language of the Rambam, Hilchos Shevisas Asor (ch. 3, halachah [OCR unclear]) — as is noted in the Shulchan Aruch there — but in the Rambam it says "קושי" ("hardness") and not "גושי" ("clods").

The answer is: In the Rambam, Rome printing of the year 5240 (1480), it reads "קושי הארץ מגיעין לרגליו" ("the hardness of the earth reach his feet") — "reach" (מגיעין) in the plural, referring to "hardness" (קושי), which is singular! We must therefore say that there is a printer's error here. And since, in any case, no source is found that one must necessarily feel the hardness [of the ground], and that feeling the clod is not sufficient — the Alter Rebbe understood that the error was that the printer exchanged a gimmel for a kuf, and it should read "גושי" ("clods"), in the plural.

Similarly to the above, in the Shulchan Aruch of the Alter Rebbe as well (in the latest printing^*) it reads "גושי" ("clods") in the plural and "מגיע" ("reaches") in the singular! Perhaps it should read "מגיעי'" with the addition of a stroke (the sign of abbreviation) at the end of the word. This requires further study. One should look into and compare the above in the various printings of the Rambam and of the Shulchan Aruch of the Alter Rebbe.

(From a letter of [OCR unclear: date])

. . . Regarding what you wrote concerning the recitation of "ולקחת סולת" ("And you shall take fine flour") on Yom Kippur that falls on Shabbos:

a) It is not sufficient that it is mentioned in the [order of the] Avodah, since the reason for reciting it is "ונשלמה פרים שפתינו" ("and let our lips stand in place of bullocks") — that whoever occupies himself with the Torah [of the offering, it is considered as if he offered it], etc. (see the Shulchan Aruch of the Alter Rebbe, Mahadura Basra, end of siman 1). b) It cannot be said in its order, since the Musaf prayer includes both the Musaf of the day and the Musaf of Shabbos. And the showbread comes between [OCR unclear].

Regarding what you wrote, that the services of Yom Kippur must be performed specifically in order, etc. — that applies specifically to those performed in the white garments (Yoma 60a). And especially the showbread, which pertains to Shabbos and not to Yom Kippur. See also the Rambam, Hilchos Avodas Yom HaKippurim, ch. 5, halachah 1; Zevachim (91a): "תדיר ושאינו תדיר — תדיר קודם" ("the frequent and the infrequent — the frequent comes first"); and [OCR unclear].

(From a letter of [OCR unclear: date])

Notes

*) And so it is in several printings, among them: [OCR unclear: list of printings and years].

Key Lesson

In these letters the Rebbe shows how carefully the exact wording of the Rambam and the Shulchan Aruch must be studied — even a single letter (a gimmel or a kuf) can change the halachah, so one should compare the various printings. He also explains that "ולקחת סולת" is said because studying the laws of an offering takes the place of bringing it, which is why merely mentioning it in the Avodah is not enough.