''Torah Or/Likutei Torah'' is a compilation of Chassidic treatises, ''maamarim'', by the first Chabad Rebbe, Rabbi
Shneur Zalman of Liadi
Shneur Zalman of Liadi ( he, שניאור זלמן מליאדי, September 4, 1745 – December 15, 1812 Adoption of the Gregorian calendar#Adoption in Eastern Europe, O.S. / 18 Elul 5505 – 24 Tevet 5573) was an influential Lithuanian Jews, Li ...
. The treatises are classic texts of
Chabad philosophy
Chabad philosophy comprises the teachings of the leaders of Chabad-Lubavitch, a Hasidic movement. Chabad Hasidic philosophy focuses on religious concepts such as God, the soul, and the meaning of the Jewish commandments.
Teachings are often draw ...
arranged according to the
Weekly Torah portion
It is a custom among religious Jewish communities for a weekly Torah portion to be read during Jewish prayer services on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. The full name, ''Parashat HaShavua'' ( he, פָּרָשַׁת הַשָּׁבוּעַ), is po ...
, and are studied regularly by Chabad Chassidim.
[Hayom Yom, 3rd Shevat, Eng. Ed., Kehot Publication Society, 2005
Rubin, Eli]
The Oral Teachings of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Lyadi
''Chabad.org''. Accessed April 3, 2014.
The work was published originally in two parts. The first part, ''Torah Or'', was first printed in 5597 (1837) in Kopust, with treatises, most of them from 5556 (1796) through the end of 5572 (1812), covering
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
and
Exodus
Exodus or the Exodus may refer to:
Religion
* Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible
* The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan
Historical events
* Ex ...
, the first two books of the
Pentateuch
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the sa ...
, with several discourses on Shavuot and Pesach. The second half was published in
Zhytomyr
Zhytomyr ( uk, Жито́мир, translit=Zhytomyr ; russian: Жито́мир, Zhitomir ; pl, Żytomierz ; yi, זשיטאָמיר, Zhitomir; german: Schytomyr ) is a city in the north of the western half of Ukraine. It is the Capital city, a ...
in 5608 (1848) under the title ''Likutei Torah'', covering
Leviticus,
Numbers
A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The original examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...
and
Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy ( grc, Δευτερονόμιον, Deuteronómion, second law) is the fifth and last book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called (Hebrew: hbo, , Dəḇārīm, hewords Moses.html"_;"title="f_Moses">f_Moseslabel=none)_and_th ...
, the final three books of the Pentateuch, Song Of Songs, the festivals, Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.
[
]
''Likutei Torah''
The second volume of the work, ''Likutei Torah'', was published by Rabbi Schneur Zalman's grandson, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn
Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (September 9, 1789 – March 17, 1866) also known as the Tzemach Tzedek (Hebrew: "Righteous Sprout" or "Righteous Scion") was an Orthodox rebbe, leading 19th-century posek, and the third rebbe (spiritual leader) of th ...
, the third Rebbe of Chabad. It was printed in Zhytomyr, after informers had the government close the print shop in Kopust where ''Torah Or'' was printed. Despite initial reluctance, Rabbi Menachem Mendel published his grandfather's teachings together with his own brief notes on various treatises, after the Alter Rebbe, his grandfather, reportedly appeared to him and his three sons in a dream, asking them to publish the glosses and comments. Rabbi Shmuel Schneersohn told his son, Sholom Dovber, that "the ''maamarim'' which are printed in ''Likutei Torah'' were selected by my father (the Tzemach Tzedek) out of two thousand ''maamarim''."
Adapted English edition
An English adaptation of ''Likutei Torah/Torah Or'' by Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Wagshul was released in 2007 and March 2014. The 2007 adapted English edition translates and elucidates selected treatises from ''Torah Or'', the 2014 edition includes treatises from ''Lekutei Torah''.Lekutei Torah in English
''Collive.com''. Accessed April 3, 2014.
Another English adaption of the Mamarim was published in 2016 by Rabbi Yaakov Goldstein, director of shulchanaruchharav.com. The Mamarim are not a direct translation of the Hebrew original, but rather a content summary of the Mamar. Each Parsha features a single selected Mamar from amongst the many Mamarim that are printed in the Hebrew original, giving the reader a taste and glimpse of the full content of this monumental work. The main goal is for the reader to receive the content knowledge of the most fundamental Mamarim written by the Alter Rebbe, and for him to be given the tools for how to implement this knowledge within his daily life. Each Mamar concludes with a lessons box that summarizes the practical life lessons that we can derive from the Mamar. Also included are interesting parables that we find easy to relate to and help us to digest the content being studied, and internalize it.
References
External links
on Chabad.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Likutei Torah Torah Or
Chabad-Lubavitch texts
Hasidic literature
Sifrei Kodesh
The Chassidishe Parshaon Shulchanaruchharav.com