Detailed
Description |
|
On the halkhot and minhagim of the Nusah Ari prayer-book of R. Shneur Zalman of Lyady arranged by R. Abraham Haim ben Mehahem Mendel Noe. The Nusah Ari rite of prayers, one of the three basic orders of prayers of Ashkenazim, was arranged by R. Shneur Zalman. It was, in fact, his belief that he knew “a little about learning, but nothing about prayer” in 1764 that motivated Him to learn about Hasidism from R. Dov Baer the Maggid of Mezhirech, leader of the hasidic movement. The title page describes it as including all the piskei siddur of the admor zaken (R. Shneur Zalman). There is an introduction from R. Noe and a glossy portrait of R. Shneur Zalman. The text is comprised of 192 paragraphs of halakhot and minhagim with annotations from R. Noe.
R. Shneur Zalman of Lyady (Ba’al ha-Tanya, 1745–1813), founder of Habad Hasidism was, according to family traditions, was born in Liozna, Belorussia, on the 18th of Elul. After his marriage in 1760 he devoted himself to Torah study. In Mezhirech he became one of the inner circle of the Maggid’s pupils. He also studied as a friend and pupil with Abraham b. Dov Baer. Although R. Shneur Zalman was one of the youngest pupils, the Maggid had a high opinion of him, and in 1770 delegated to him the task of composing a new and up-to-date Shulhan Arukh. R. Shneur Zalman worked on this book for many years, but published only small parts of it. About one-third was printed posthumously (the rest had been destroyed by fire) and is known as the "Shulhan Arukh of the Rav" (1814). Though not a hasidic work, it represents - as the Maggid had intended - a great halakhic achievement. It evidences R. Shneur Zalman's superb Hebrew style, his ability to provide lucid explanation, and profundity without complexity. It became an authoritative halakhic source among the Hasidim of Lubavich.
In 1774, during the early period of the opposition to Hasidism by traditional Jewry, R. Shneur Zalman and R. Menahem Mendel of Vitebsk went to Vilna in an attempt to meet with R. Elijah b. Solomon, the Gaon of Vilna, and reach some kind of understanding between the Hasidim and Mitnaggedim, but the Gaon did not agree to meet them. After R. Menahem Mendel went to Erez Israel with many of his followers, R. Shneur Zalman was left with two others as a deputy leader in Rydzyna (Reisen, Belorussia and adjoining areas). In 1788 R. Menahem Mendel formally appointed Shneur Zalman as hasidic leader of Reisen: this was really only a post facto appointment, as he already had many devoted personal pupils. It had become apparent that R. Shneur Zalman had created a distinct type of Hasidism, to become known as Habad (see Habad system, below). In 1797 he published (anonymously) his Likkutei Amarim ("collected sayings") which became known as the Tanya. A masterly and systematic exposition of Hasidism, it was accepted as the
R. Shneur Zalman was one of the great Jewish personalities of his age, as great a scholar in talmudic studies as in Kabbalah. He had a wide knowledge of science and mathematics, and his powers as a systematizer were enhanced by a fine style. Yet he was also a mystic, and deeply emotional; he composed hasidic melodies and was a charismatic leader. All these qualities blended in a strangely harmonious way. His work is masterly on every subject, an almost unique combination of mysticism and common sense. His other important works are Likkutei Torah (Zhitomir, 1848), Torah Or (1836), and Ma'amarei Admor ha-Zaken (1958–60). |
