Toras Chaim (Chabad)

Toras Chaim
Toras Chaim, 1826 edition, Kapust
AuthorRabbi Dovber Schneuri, the second Chabad Rebbe
Published
  • Kapust, 1826 (first edition)[1]
  • Warsaw, 1866[2]
  • Kehot Publication Society, Shanghai, 1946
  • Kehot Publication Society, Brooklyn, NY, 1975, 1993, 2004
Pages1,812 (current hardcover edition)
ISBN0-8266-5588-2

Toras Chaim (Hebrew: תורת חיים, "Torah of Life") is a two-volume work of Hasidic discourses on the books of Genesis and Exodus by the second rebbe (hereditary hasidic leader) of the Chabad dynasty, Dovber Schneuri.[1][3] The work is arranged according to the weekly Torah portion.

The treatises in Toras Chaim long and complex, and elucidate of concepts discussed in Likutei Torah/Torah Or.[4]

Publication

Kapust

The first printing of Toras Chaim occurred during Rabbi Dovber's lifetime; it was printed in Kapust in 1826.[1] This edition contained Hasidic treatises covering just the first half of the book of Genesis.[5]

Warsaw

The next edition of Toras Chaim was published in Warsaw, in 1866. The edition was published by Rafael Mordechai Schneerson, the great-nephew of Dovber Schneuri, together with Schneur Schneerson, a grandson of Dovber. This edition included treatises covering the second half of the book of Genesis.[5]

Shanghai

In 1946, the Chabad yeshiva in Shanghai and the central Chabad publishing house, Kehot Publication Society, republished the Warsaw edition of Toras Chaim. Additionally, a series of unpublished Hasidic treatises by Dovber covering the book of Exodus were included in a separate second volume. The edition was published. The second volume was never typeset. Instead, those treatises remained a photocopy of the original handwritten transcripts.[5][6]

Brooklyn

The central Chabad publishing house in Brooklyn, Kehot Publication Society, republished Toras Chaim in 1974,[7] 1993[6] and 2004. The 2004 edition is a 1,812 page, three-volume set; the Exodus treatises have been typeset and all treatises include extensive footnotes and annotations.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c The Mittler Rebbe Archived 2015-11-07 at the Wayback Machine. ChabadLibrary.org. Accessed April 5, 2014.
  2. ^ Miller, Chaim. Maimonides: 13 Principles. Kol Menachem Press. Accessed April 5, 2014.
  3. ^ Kabbala and Chassidism. Chabad.org. Accessed April 4, 2014.
  4. ^ Schneerson, Menachem Mendel. Igros Kodesh Vol. 19. Kehot Publication Society. Brooklyn: New York. p. 55.
  5. ^ a b c Schneerson, Rafael Mordechai. "The Publication of Toras Chaim of the Mitteler Rebbe." Oholei Shem 4:7. Machon Oholei Shem - Lubavitch. Kfar Chabad: Israel. (1992): pp. 73-74.
  6. ^ a b "Editor's preface." Toras Chaim. Kehot Publication Society. 1993.
  7. ^ Catalog of Copyright Entries. Third Series: 1975: January-June. Library of Congress. Copyright Office. 1976.
  8. ^ Kehot Book Page. Kehot Publication Society. Accessed April 7, 2014.