6777 —שנת הולדת אדמו"ר הזקן (תק"ה) ומקורות לתולדות נשיאי חב"ד

B"H, 19 Adar II^[1], 5719
Brooklyn.

Mr. Eliezer Tash, may he live long^[2]

Shalom u'Vrachah!

In reply to your letter of 12 Adar II,

in which you ask several questions concerning the history of the leaders of Chabad and its chronicles. It is surprising that apparently you are entirely unaware of the literature, relatively extensive, that has been published in recent years in this field, and which is also to be found in the Holy Land, may it be built and established^[3]. The printing of several books on this subject was also reported in the newspapers there; and if you are interested in this, it would be proper for you to contact Rabbi Avraham Chanoch Glitzenstein, P.O.B. 46, Lod^[4].

As to your questions in particular:

a) The year of birth of our master the Alter Rebbe, author of the Tanya and the Shulchan Aruch^[5]:

We heard it several times orally from my father-in-law, the Rebbe^[6], and it is found in several places in his printed notes and memoirs, that it was on the 18th of Elul of the year 5505^[7]. There is a long story about this, from the period of the pregnancy and the birth, part of which has been published in collections and memoirs that have already appeared in print. And it is understood that in a field such as this, a family tradition is the most reliable, especially when it rests on several stories in different areas, in each of which there is a proof regarding the year of birth.

As to your question, where did the error come from among several of the writers of the chronicles of Chabad, who fix the year as 5507:

In several matters such as these, in which the researchers in the early period were few – and the chronicles of Chassidus in general are among them – when one considers how the information developed, one very often sees that one person stated a rumor and a conjecture, more or less well founded [and very often precisely "less"], and those who came after him brought it without examination, without adding that it is a conjecture. And anyone who knows the history of the Jews in the period of our master the Alter Rebbe, in Russia, knows that documents, and even oral traditions, regarding years of birth are extremely few; moreover, because of decrees and the like, the indication of the age of a boy or a girl was often falsified. Apparently the writers of the history of Chabad relied on the words of the Beis Rebbi^[8] and of the book Toldos HaRav which preceded it, who also had nothing on this but a conjecture. [It is surprising that precisely the one source from which the date 5507 can be inferred was not copied in the sources mentioned – I mean the introduction by the sons of our master the Alter Rebbe to his Shulchan Aruch, the passage beginning "And after many years, etc.", "when he was thirty years old, etc.", "in the holy community of Mohilev, etc."^[9] – and the conjecture is close to certain that his being there was connected with the journey to the Holy Land of several of the disciples of the Maggid of Mezritch, which was in the year 5537^[10] – and I asked my father-in-law, the Rebbe, about this, for then the Alter Rebbe would have been thirty-two years old; and he answered me that in general, in writing the introduction, they were not so^[11] precise about the dates of the years. [In addition, in that introduction it is not so clear whether the intention is the time of beginning the study of the Talmud for the sixteenth time or of its completion.]^[12] In any case, there is not enough in the above to contradict a detailed tradition handed down from generation to generation.]

b) Material about the Rebbe, Rabbi Shmuel (the Rebbe Maharash)^[13], is found in the book Toldos Maharash, which is to be found with several of our fellow Chassidim and in libraries in the Holy Land. And it is known that he wrote – in the language of the Chassidim and the family tradition – "retzeptin" (prescriptions)^[14], in Latin of course, in the style of physicians, etc., although obviously he did not study at universities and the like. Likewise there were in his library several books on the science of medicine, some of them also not in the Holy Tongue^[15].

c) As to what you write about the chain of the leaders of Chabad:

You will find about this in the appendix to the Kuntres Toras HaChassidus^[16], and briefly, in outline, in the introduction to the collection Hayom Yom, especially in the third edition (New York, 5717); these too are to be found with several of our fellow Chassidim and in libraries in the Holy Land.

d) As to the conclusion of your letter, that the matter is urgent: I will repeat the wonder expressed at the beginning of this letter^[17]. When one writes an article in any field whatsoever, and especially for an encyclopedia – that is, something that must be of benefit to the public – it is a great wonder that one does this before researching the books in that field, or at least its reference works^[18]. And since you mention the book of Mr. Eliezer Steinman^[19], several books that have appeared in print in this field are cited there.

With respect and with blessing,

The Secretary

Publisher's notes

Printed: part of it in Likkutei Sichos vol. 12, p. 187, part in vol. 14, p. 354, and completed from the secretariat's copy.

Notes

1. 19 Adar II (י"ט אד"ש): אד"ש = אדר שני, Adar II. 19 Adar II 5719 was Sunday, 29 March 1959; the recipient's letter of 12 Adar II was Sunday, 22 March.

2. Mr. Eliezer Tash, may he live long (מר אליעזר שי' טש): שי' = שיחי', "may he live long". As the end of the letter shows, he was writing an article on the history of the Chabad leaders for an encyclopedia, asked the Rebbe several questions about it, and closed by saying that the matter was urgent.

3. The Holy Land, may it be built and established (אה"ק ת"ו): אה"ק ת"ו = ארץ הקודש תבנה ותכונן.

4. Rabbi Avraham Chanoch Glitzenstein, P.O.B. 46, Lod (הרב אברהם חנוך שי' גליצנשטיין, ת.ד. 46, לוד): ת.ד. = תא דואר, "post-office box". R. Avraham Chanoch Glitzenstein of Lod (5689–5775), secretary of the Tomchei Temimim yeshivah in Lod and editor of Bitaon Chabad, and later the author of Sefer HaToldos on the Chabad Rebbeim. The Rebbe corresponded with him extensively on books and publications about Chabad (see, e.g., vol. 14, letter 5288).

5. The Shulchan Aruch (השו"ע): השו"ע = השלחן ערוך.

6. Orally from my father-in-law, the Rebbe (בע"פ מכ"ק מו"ח אדמו"ר): בע"פ = בעל פה, "orally"; כ"ק מו"ח אדמו"ר = כבוד קדושת מורי וחמי אדונינו מורנו ורבנו, the Previous Rebbe, R. Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn.

7. The 18th of Elul of the year 5505 (ח"י אלול שנת תק"ה): בכ"מ = בכמה מקומות, "in several places". 18 Elul 5505 = 1745. So also in Hayom Yom, 18 Elul: יום הולדת את רבינו הזקן – תק"ה, "The birthday of our master the Alter Rebbe – 5505."

8. The Beis Rebbi (הבית רבי): Beis Rebbi by R. Chaim Meir Heilman (Berdichev, 5662), on the first three leaders of Chabad: the Alter Rebbe, the Mitteler Rebbe and the Tzemach Tzedek.

9. The introduction by the sons of the Alter Rebbe to his Shulchan Aruch (הקדמת בני רבנו הזקן להשו"ע שלו): ד"ה = דבור המתחיל, "the passage beginning"; ק"ק = קהלה קדושה, "the holy community". The words of the introduction by the author's sons to the Shulchan Aruch HaRav: "And after many years in which he added wondrous wisdom to his wisdom, in depth and in breadth – as when he was thirty years old, when he reviewed the entire Talmud with all the Rishonim and Acharonim sixteen times, as we heard from his holy mouth that when he was in the holy community of Mohilev on the river Dniester he reviewed the entire Talmud for the sixteenth time, standing, night and day…" If he was thirty when he was in Mohilev, and he was there in 5537, he was born in 5507.

10. The journey of several disciples of the Maggid to the Holy Land in 5537 (עליית כמה מחסידי הרב המגיד ממעזריטש לאה"ק ת"ו שהי' בשנת תקל"ז): The aliyah of the disciples of the Maggid of Mezritch, led by R. Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk, to the Land of Israel in 5537 (1777). The Alter Rebbe joined the group, and stayed behind at the request of the Chassidim.

11. So (כ"כ): כ"כ = כל כך.

12. The beginning… or its completion (לזמן התחלת… או לסיומו): הש"ס = ששה סדרים, "the Talmud"; ובכ"א = ובכל אופן, "in any case". It is not clear whether "when he was thirty years old" refers to beginning the sixteenth review of the Talmud or to completing it, so it is no clear proof of his age when he was in Mohilev.

13. The Rebbe Maharash (אדמו"ר מוהר"ש): ע"ד = על דבר, "about"; אדמו"ר מוהר"ש = אדמו"ר מורנו הרב רבי שמואל, the fourth leader of Chabad; אנ"ש = אנשי שלומנו, "our fellow Chassidim".

14. "Retzeptin" (prescriptions) ("רעצעפטין"): Medical prescriptions (Yiddish retzept, a physician's prescription) – hence "in Latin, in the style of physicians".

15. The Holy Tongue (לה"ק): לה"ק = לשון הקודש, Hebrew.

16. Kuntres Toras HaChassidus (קונטרס תורת החסידות): למ"ש = למה שכתב, "as to what you write"; עד"ז = על דבר זה, "about this". Kuntres Toras HaChassidus is by the Previous Rebbe, R. Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, published by Kehot.

17. The wonder expressed at the beginning of this letter (התמי' שבראש המכתב): התמי' = התמיהה. The wonder at the start of the letter: that he is apparently unaware of the literature published in this field.

18. Its reference works (ספרי השמוש אשר בו): ז.א. = זאת אומרת, "that is"; עכ"פ = על כל פנים, "at least". ספרי השמוש: the reference books of that field.

19. Mr. Eliezer Steinman (מר אליעזר שטיימן שי'): The writer Eliezer Steinman (5652–5730), author of the series Be'er HaChassidus, two volumes of which, Mishnas Chabad, appeared in 5717; R. A. Ch. Glitzenstein was involved in their publication. In Adar II 5717 the Rebbe asked R. Glitzenstein whether he had visited "Mr. A. Sh.", and the publisher's note there reads: "apparently – Eliezer Steinman" (vol. 14, letter 5288). The printed text spells the name שטיימן.

Summary

In a letter signed by his secretary, the Rebbe answers a man preparing an encyclopedia article on the Chabad leaders, wondering that he has not consulted the existing literature, and refers him to R. Avraham Chanoch Glitzenstein. The Alter Rebbe was born on 18 Elul 5505, by the Previous Rebbe's detailed family tradition; the date 5507 arose from conjecture, and the one source that implies it, the sons' introduction to the Shulchan Aruch, is not precise about years. He also points him to sources on the Rebbe Maharash and on the chain of the Chabad Rebbeim.