Priceless Siddur of Baal Shem Tov Visible For the First Time

By COLlive reporter

The Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad in Brooklyn’s Crown Heights area has recently completed the monumental project of scanning the collection of Kisvei Yad (handwritten manuscripts) in its possession and uploading it online for the benefit of the public.

The library’s collection includes close to 3,000 manuscripts, mostly of Chabad teachings. Approximately 200 of them were written by the Chabad Rebbes. One rare item is the siddur that has notes written by the Baal Shem Tov, founder of Chassidism, on its margins. The physical siddur wasn’t available for public views for years, but can now be seen in full online.

Also included in the collection are thousands of notes, sources and indexes written by the Rebbe.

“Making this collection public serves a great purpose for anyone learning a Ma’amer who wants to check the source to verify that the copy is accurate, or to look up differences in Nussach between various manuscripts,” said Rabbi Berel Levine, Director of the Rebbe’s Library adjacent to 770 Eastern Parkway.

For each of the thousands of the Rebbeim’s printed Drushim, starting from the Alter Rebbe’s Tanya, Likkutei Torah and Torah Ohr, there’s a reference to which Ksav Yad it’s taken from. Some are from the Rebbeim’s Ksovim themselves, and some are from various Kisvei Yad, titled by the volume number in the collection.

Aside from the Drushim of the Rebbeim in Chassidus, there are also many volumes of Teshuvos, Kabbalah, and Drush, both of our Rebbeim and their Talmidim, as well as other Rabbanim and Rebbes from over the generations. The bulk of the materials were already published over time in the Kovtzim of Yagdil Torah and other Kovtzim.

Click here to view the catalog (all rights of the materials published in this collection from the Rebbeim and their Talmidim, are reserved to Kehot Publication Society):
https://chabadlibrary.org/catalog/index.php?catalog=mscatalog

The collecting of Kisvei Yad of Chassidus began already at the beginning of the Alter Rebbe’s Nesius, at a time when the Alter Rebbe hadn’t yet published any of his Seforim. The Alter Rebbe’s brother, HaRav Hakodesh R’ Yehudah Leib, the Rov of Yanovitch and author of “She’eris Yehudah”, would write down the Ma’amarim the Alter Rebbe would say each Shabbos. Many copies of these “Hanachos” would be made that would be distributed amongst the thousands of Chassidim. Even before the “Tanya” had been printed, it was being circulated amongst Chassidim as written copies. Thus, a collection of Kesovim of Chassidus Chabad began to take shape.

These Kisvei Yad were stored by Chassidim, and not in the Alter Rebbe’s home. But two generations later, his grandson and successor, the Tzemach Tzedek, worked to gather all the Kisvein Yad into one place, and so began a centralized collection of Kisvei Yad that was always kept at the headquarters of Chassidus Chabad.

The collection grew with time, either by way of acquiring additional Kisvei Yad of Rebbeim of the previous generation, or by the current Rebbe’s Drushim that he would either write down himself or that he would publicly recite and the Chassidim would write down and create copies of. This collection was always passed down from each Rebbe to his successor.

The collection was not spared the vicissitudes of time. A small number of volumes ended up by other inheritors of the Rebbeim after they passed away. The fires that ravaged the city of Lubavitch didn’t spare the collection, and many were burned. When the Russian government transferred the Rebbeim’s Seforim collection to the library in Moscow, it transferred together with it some 500 volumes of Kisvei Yad.

Still, the collection mostly did remain in the possession of the Chabad headquarters. Also, the volumes that ended up by other inheritors, were eventually purchased by the Rebbeim and their Chassidim and returned to the Rebbeim’s possession.

So it was until the Nazis conquered Poland in 1939. At that time, most of this holy and precious collection was lost for 38 years. But Hashem did not withhold his kindness, and years later the collection was found in the Warsaw library, and in 1977 was returned to the Central Chabad Library in New York. Those Kesovim were also now scanned, and are available on the library’s website.

Also the Kesovim that are still in Russia, are now displayed on the website of the library of Agudas Chasidei Chabad as well.