By COLlive reporter
After being returned in an emotional ceremony to the Rebbe’s office at 770 Eastern Parkway, a rare and historic manuscript was finally returned to its rightful place in the Chabad Central Library on Friday.
The sefer was accompanied to the Library by West Coast Head Shliach Rabbi Baruch Shlomo Cunin on behalf of Aguch of Russia, the Rebbe’s Mazkir Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky, and Head Librarian Rabbi Sholom Ber Levine.
Also in attendance were Rabbi Yossi Friedman of Kehos and Rabbi Mendel Cunin.
Speaking from the Library, Rabbi Shlomo Cunin reminded of the importance of saving the Library of the Chabad Rebbeim from the Russian government, a task the Rebbe charged him with decades ago. He and his family have spent the decades since tirelessly dedicated to working on the rescue.
“These books have the holy neshamos of all the Rebbeim,” Rabbi Cunin said. “The Rebbe said to us last time we were in Yechidus, ‘tell the people that every moment that these holy books are in captivity, there is the Mitzvah of Pidyon Shevuim – to redeem captives.’ It is one of the highest Mitzvos to save them.
“All the Rebbeim are captives, because people are holding the books. We have to release the captives. The greatest blessing you can bring to the children and grandchildren would be to bring the books back here, and when we do that, who knows which will be the last book in exile, because of the coming of Moshiach,” Rabbi Cunin said.
The assembled then broke into joyous singing and dancing.
The sefer returned on Friday is the property of the library of Agudas Chasidei Chabad in Brooklyn, NY, and has been returned to its rightful home after several months of intense negotiation. It was transported to the United States from Israel by Rabbi Moshe Orenstein, Rosh Yeshiva of Tomchei Temimim in Netanya, Israel.
This most recent episode is another chapter of Chabad’s long-running legal claims against Russia to recover the “Schneerson collection” archive and library, seized by the Nazis and held illegally by Russia.
In February 2023, the manuscript “Meshivas Nefesh,” was put up for sale at a public auction in Jerusalem, Israel. The manuscript was originally authored by the noted kabbalist Rabbi Yaakov Tzemach in the seventeenth century and has since then never been published.
The present copy was transcribed in 1867 and contains 168 handwritten pages. Additionally, the manuscript has a fascinating letter appended to it, penned by Rabbi Yaakov Meir ben Shlomo Zalman Grodenski, Rabbi in Minsk, which reveals a little-known effort to publish the manuscript for the masses.
Most significant is the label prominently displayed on the endpaper of the present copy reading “Otzar Sifrei Kodesh” — collection of holy books, collected by Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneerson, the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe.
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