Treasures from the Rebbe's Library

The story of an important Halachic work, its second edition which was never printed, and how 20 pages of this work, in manuscript form, were discovered in the Rebbe's library.

Rav Mosshe Isserles, more famously known as the 'Rema', is most well known for his work on the Shulchan Aruch, which has been included in all editions of Shulchan Aruch since 1578.

But it would take another century and then some for his commentary on the Tur, the Darkei Moshe, to be printed. Until then it circulated only in manuscript form.

The Rebbe's library owns several such manuscripts. 

One of the earliest Halacha Seforim to be published was the Arba’ah Turim, often called simply the Tur.

Authored by Rav Yaakov ben Asher, son of the Rosh, it is an important Halachic work that serves as a vital bridge between the early Rishonim and the Shulchan Aruch.

Special edition for the Siyum Harambam: One of the earliest Seforim to be printed was the Rambam’s Mishneh Torah. Learn about the earliest prints, the dramatic fight between two non-Jewish printers over the Rambam, and its tragic results.   

Among the 1,500 Haggados owned by the Rebbe’s library, there are a number of them that have a special connection to Chabad.

Rabbi Berel Levine discusses several of them, starting from the Haggada of the Baal Shem Tov and concluding with the Haggada authored by our Rebbe.

In this special Pesach edition of ‘Treasures from the Rebbe’s Library’, Chief Librarian Rabbi Berel Levin discusses the most unique and rare Haggados that are owned by the Rebbe’s library.

In the mind 1830s, the Slavita Print House, then headed by Reb Shmuel Aba and Reb Pinchas Shapiro, began printing the fourth edition of the Slavita Shas.

At the same time, the Romm publishing house in Vilna began printing an edition of their own.

A dispute broke out between them, one that roiled the Jewish world. The end was a tragic one.

How is that connected to the small Torah known as ‘The Rebbe’s Sefer Torah’?

Following the passing of the Alter Rebbe, Reb Moshe Shapiro, rov of Slavita and head of the Slavita Press, began printing a new edition of the “Alter Rebbe’s Shas.” 

At the same time, another Chabad Chossid, Reb Yisroel Yaffee, began printing his own edition of the Talmud in Kopust. 

When a dispute broke out over printing rights, the two sides agreed to go to the Mitteler Rebbe to mediate their dispute.

In 1800, the Alter Rebbe was personally involved in publishing a new edition of the Talmud and of the Tur.

The Alter Rebbe even chose which print to base the new edition on, and other details of the printing.

Why then is this episode in the life of the Alter Rebbe not well known? 

After the setbacks in the printing of the Talmud due to the various decrees, the printing finally resumed after 25 years.

But even as the printing of the Talmud resumed, there was one print that took a place of prominence: The Talmud printed in Amsterdam. The printer, Emanuel Banbanisti, invested much time and effort to ensure the highest standard of editing. He also incorporated the edits of the Maharshal, as printed in his Chochmas Shlomo.

In 1551, apostates brought slanderous accusations against the Talmud before the Pope, with the result that a decree was issued to burn the Talmud throughout Italy. A severe penalty was to be imposed upon anyone who kept any Talmudic tractates. 

Of necessity, the study of the Talmud was replaced with the study of the Rif, which contains selections from the halakhic discussions in the Talmud.

In this episode, we explore some of the earliest printings of the Rif, and one unique manuscript edition.

When cataloging the historic volumes of Talmud in the Central Chabad library, the librarians discovered something strange.

For some reason, there were a number of booklets of the Rosh, which had been printed at the end of volumes of the Talmud, had been separated and bound together.

Chief Librarian Rabbi Berel Levine suggests an explanation, one that delves into the history of the burning of the Talmud in Italy in 5314.

“Printed in the Year גמר”א”

In 1483 Joshua Solomon Soncino opened a Hebrew press in Soncino, Italy. The press, one of the first Hebrew presses, printed almost twenty books in approximately five years.  

Among the books he published were volumes of the Talmud. 

He began printing with tractate Berakhot, completed in 1484 (the numbers of the corresponding Hebrew year, 5244, are numerically equal to the word “Gemara”). 

Soncino Split-Off  

Gershon, one of the members of the Soncino family moved from Soncino to Pesaro, Italy, where he continued printing.

Like the other members of his family, he retained the last name Soncino, after the city where they had begun their printing empire. 

Gershom Soncino opened his press in Pesaro in 1507, and continued to print for twenty years, until 1527, publishing more than fifty books, about half Talmudic tractates, printed between 1509-1519. 

Finally: The First Complete Shas
The first Bomberg Talmud- 1520-23

In 1520, Daniel Bomberg, a Christian who was one of the most important printers of Hebrew books, began printing the Talmud.

He published the editio princeps – the first printed edition – of the entire Talmud  in Venice from 1520-23.

Handwritten manuscripts of Talmud, transcribed before the invention of the printing press, can be found in many libraries. However, one manuscript in the Rebbe’s library is different than the others…

The first edition of the Talmud was printed in Guadalajara, Spain, from 1482 and onwards. It was printed by the press of Solomon ben Moses ha-Levi ibn Alkabez, which was at the time a Hebrew press of distinction.

The tractates published by this press contained the text of the Talmud and Rashi’s commentary, without Tosfos. The Guadalajara tractates are printed with the text in square letters and Rashi is printed in a cursive Sephardic script. 

Ten years later, in 1492, the expulsion of the Jews from Spain occurred, and along with it came a mass burning of Hebrew books. As a result, not even one complete set of this remarkable Talmud remains in existence, with only small fragments, or at most a number of pages, to be found in select libraries. On public auctions, a single folio from this Talmud can sell for upwards of $5,000.

The Rebbe’s library owns seventeen folios from this Talmud. In his lecture, Chief Librarian Rabbi Berel Levine explains how the library came to be in possession of these folios, and the remarkable story of their discovery.

The first episode of 'Treasures from the Rebbe's Library' showcases the very first dated Hebrew work to be published.

Printed in Regio di Calabria in 1475, Rashi al Hatorah was the first Hebrew work to be printed with a date, thus allowing us to ascertain when it was printed.

The book contains Rashi’s commentary on the Torah as a standalone volume, which was common during the incunabular period. It was only later that Chumashim were printed with Rashi’s commentary in the same volume.

Published by Abraham ben Garton ben Isaac, it was printed in the Hebrew press of Regio di Calabria, which was open for a very brief period of time.

The sefer is extremely rare with only a few known copies in existence. The Rebbe’s library has two leaves from the book, which were taken from the binding of later works, as detailed in Rabbi Levine’s lecture.