Siddur HaRav (Baal HaTanya), with Commentary According to Kabbalah and Chassidut – Two Parts in Two Volumes – ...

Siddur HaRav (Baal HaTanya), with Commentary According to Kabbalah and Chassidut – Two Parts in Two Volumes – Kopust, 1816 – First Edition of Maamarei HaSiddur (Siddur im Dach). Marginallia.

Order of prayers for the whole year according to the Arizal Nusach", with "the meaning of the words according to the kavanot of the Arizal", two parts, by HaAdmor HaZaken, Rebbe Shneur Zalman of Liadi (Lyady), the Baal HaTanya. Kopust (Kopys): R. Yisrael Yoffe, a prominent disciple of the Baal HaTanya, 1816.

First edition of Maamarei HaSiddur – discourses pertaining to the Siddur (Siddur im Dach).

The prayer rite in this siddur, the anthology of laws and the two Chassidic essays (HaKol Kol Yaakov and He'ara LeTikun Chatzot) were composed by the Baal HaTanya, and printed in his lifetime in several editions. This is the first edition containing his essays on the meaning of the words of the prayers according to Kabbalistic and Chassidic teachings, which did not appear in preceding editions. These essays are based on discourses delivered mainly on Shabbat eves, before his sons and several elite disciples. The discourses were recorded and brought to print by his son Rebbe Dov Ber Shneuri, known as the Mitteler Rebbe of Lubavitch (Lyubavichi). This siddur is known amongst Chabad followers as Siddur im Dach (Divrei Elokim Chaim – words of the Living G-d).

Some of the discourses were recorded and edited by Rebbe Dov Ber in his own style, with the addition of explanations and expansions, and some of the essays are a verbatim transcription of his father's words, without any of his own additions, "his words as they are, without any additions or omissions". In his foreword, R. Dov Ber describes the system of recording his father's discourses. He writes about the discourses which he edited and expanded upon, how he reviewed them time and again, to ensure they are understandable and accessible to all ages. Conversely, the discourses transcribed verbatim, regarding the meaning of the words of the prayers, from HaShamayim MeSaprim until VaYevarech David, were edited by the Rebbe himself, who was delighted with them, as they are written concisely yet contain much for those who comprehend the allusions.

A large portion of the essays printed in the siddur are discourses on the Zohar said by the Baal HaTanya regularly on Shabbat eves. His son writes regarding these discourses that it is plainly obvious that the Rebbe benefitted from Divine inspiration, revealing to him the hidden realms of the Torah (foreword to Biurei HaZohar, Kopust, 1816).

The printer and editor, R. Yisrael Yoffe (1740?-1828), was a prominent disciple of the Baal HaTanya, who exchanged profound correspondence with his teacher on topics of service of G-d. In his later years, he immigrated to Eretz Israel, settling in Hebron. His grandson, R. Chaim Yosef David Azulai (a disciple of the Tzemach Tzedek) described him as an eminent Torah scholar, a great Chassid and one of the first Chassidim attached to the Baal HaTanya.

The Baal HaTanya entrusted R. Yisrael Yoffe with the task of publishing one of the editions of the siddur, directing him with oral and written instructions. The latter acclaimed this prominent siddur on the title page: "Underwent meticulous and precise proofing".

Two volumes.

Part I: [2], 104; 54 leaves. 20 Cm.

Overall in Very Good condition, worming to first 4 pages, pages 4-12 with lighter worming, stain to page 12, candle wax drippings, worming to last 12 pages, otherwise in very nice shape.

Part II: 68; 99 leaves. 20 Cm.

Overall in Very Good condition, old repair to title page, worming to first 2 pages, pages 3-4 with lighter marginal worming, stains, candle wax drippings, last page with large water stain.

New leather bindings.

''Siddur HaRav''

The siddur compiled by the Alter Rebbe, Rebbe Shneur Zalman of Liadi – the Baal HaTanya, was printed in his lifetime in several editions, in Shklow and Kopust (Kopys). His brother, R. Yehuda Leib (Maharil) of Janowitz, author of She'erit Yehuda, describes the work involved in arranging the siddur: "Apart from perfecting the text, to conform with the Kavanot of the Arizal, he also perfected the grammar". Rebbe Shalom Dov Ber of Lubavitch wrote about it: "It is well known that he devoted 20 years to preparing the prayer text, producing a new version every year, until the twentieth version came out purified, refined and cleansed". The Baal HaTanya himself commended his siddur, "I corrected the siddur, making it identical to the siddur of Anshei Knesset HaGedola…". According to traditions handed down to his descendants, in order to ascertain the correct version of the text, the Baal HaTanya studied and critically examined 60 (according to some – 32) different versions of prayer books, including 8 versions of the Siddur HaAri.

The Baal HaTanya included in his siddur many instructions and laws pertaining to the prayers. These laws often differ from the laws recorded in his Shulchan Aruch. In his siddur, he tends to rule based on Rishonim and Kabbalists, whilst in his Shulchan Aruch, he follows the opinions of Acharonim, predominantly that of the Magen Avraham. Wherever the rulings in the siddur are in conflict with those in his Shulchan Aruch, Chabad chassidim abide to the rulings in the siddur, since it was composed after the Shulchan Aruch (as his grandson, the Tzemach Tzedek, testifies in his novellae on Tractate Shabbat).

The Baal HaTanya also included in his siddur two Chassidic essays composed especially for the siddur. The first (p. 8a) is titled HaKol Kol Yaakov (this essay was reprinted in the Shklow 1806 edition of the Tanya, at the end of the book), and the second (p. 95a), He'ara LeTikun Chatzot.

As mentioned, the siddur was published in several editions during the lifetime of the Baal HaTanya. With each edition, he improved and further corrected the text and laws. However, the editions printed in his lifetime are not extant. Rabbi Avraham David Lawat relates, in his preface to Shaar HaKollel (Vilna, 1896), that he succeeded in obtaining the Shklow 1803 edition, and two subsequent editions printed in Kopust in the Baal HaTanya's lifetime (the Shklow and Kopust editions mentioned by R. Lawat were lost with time; only one copy, lacking title page, was discovered in recent years).

After the Baal HaTanya's passing in 1813, his siddur was printed in two volumes, in Kopust 1816. The prayer rite of the Kopust edition is mostly based on the last edition printed in Baal HaTanya's lifetime, apart from some sections which were left according to earlier editions, mostly in terms of vocalization. Since then, the siddur was printed in over two hundred editions.

Stefansky Chassidut, no. 409.

Copy of the Rebbe Yisrael Hager (1876-1940), Rebbe and Rabbi in Radauti, immigrated to the USA in 1913 and established his Beit Midrash in New York.

It stands to reason that he inherited this Holy Siddur from his illustrious forefathers.