The Project to Translate Torah Or and Likkutei Torah

On the occasion of 17 Adar, yahrtzeit of a beloved and deeply respected member of our community, R’ Gedaliah Shaffer, of blessed memory, we are privileged to announce an initiative undertaken in his honor and already quietly underway for a few years: a translated and elucidated English edition of the entire Torah Or and Likkutei Torah.

What the Steinsaltz Edition did for Talmud Bavli in Hebrew, what the Schottenstein Edition accomplished in English, The Translation Project intends to do for Torah Or and Likkutei Torah. The scope of the undertaking invites the comparison: the text is, based on word count, over half the size of the entire Shas. And yet, for too long, it has remained inaccessible to too many.

The “Written Torah of Chassidus”

Torah Or and Likkutei Torah occupy a singular place in the canon of Chabad Chassidus. They form, in addition to the Tanya, its Torah shebe’Kesav. Every major concept, every spiritual framework, every perspective that defines the Chabad philosophy and approach to divine service finds its authoritative source within these pages. As the Rebbe said, all of Chassidus Chabad is, in a fundamental sense, rooted here.

The 429 maamarim of these two volumes are not the work of a single hand or a single moment in time. They are a multigenerational act of transmission, sanctity, and love spanning the first three generations of Chabad. The Alter Rebbe, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, is their author; his teachings comprise the framework of Chabad Chassidus. His son, the Mitteler Rebbe, Rabbi DovBer of Lubavitch, was present at the original delivery of many of these maamarim and took upon himself the sacred work of transcribing them from his father’s spoken words. His grandson, the Tzemach Tzedek, Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch, compiled, edited, and organized the collection as we know it today, investing 32,000 hours of his life in that effort. Each of the later Rebbeim continued to review these texts, correcting errors that had crept in, adding clarifications and illuminating glosses, ensuring that what reached the reader was as faithful and luminous as possible.

Beyond the Rebbeim, a constellation of devoted figures contributed to the text before us. The Alter Rebbe’s brother, R’ Yehudah Leib (Maharil); his son, Reb Moshe; his devoted chassid Reb Pinchas Roizes; each played major roles in the transmission and preservation of these teachings. The sacred inheritance we hold in our hands today was shaped across generations by love, devotion, and extraordinary care. That is a part of what makes it so precious. And that is part of what has made its inaccessibility to many so painful.

A Treasure Too Long Locked Away

For much of the English-speaking world, these works have simply been out of reach. The Hebrew can be demanding. The Kabbalistic concepts can be difficult to many, and are multi-layered, presupposing a familiarity with Zohar, with the teachings of the Arizal, with a whole architecture of spiritual concepts to which many readers, even learned ones, have never been formally introduced. An extraordinary wealth of wisdom, of depth, of inspiration sits just beyond grasp.

Over the decades, much work has been done by various scholars and organizations. To name a few, in Hebrew, Chassidus Mevue’eres and Torah Or/Likkutei Torah HaMevuar, along with the contributions of Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz, have opened many discourses to Hebrew readers. In English, Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid שי’ Wagshul’s Words of the Living G-d; Sichos in English’s Festivals by Rabbi Eliyahu שי’ Touger, who continues to work on Lessons in Torah Or/Likkutei Torah; Rabbi Menachem שי’ Katz’s Lessons in Torah Or & Likutay Torah. We stand on the shoulders of all of these efforts, and we are grateful for every one of them.

What has never existed, and what The Translation Project sets out to create, is a complete edition: every maamar, every point, every concept addressed. Ultimately, indeed, “aleh ayin’s”, each of the the Tzemach Tzedek’s thousands of “annotations and illuminations” (“הערות והארות”, in the words of the Frierdiker Rebbe). Ultimately, we hope, the additions, citations, clarifications, and explanatory notes of the later Rebbeim. Nothing missed, with G-d’s help. Nothing set aside as “too technical” or “too kabbalistic” for the reader. The full work, in its entirety, its light made genuinely accessible to all.

The Scope

The Translation Project aims not merely to translate but to truly open these discourses to the reader. Each maamar is presented in bilingual format, with Hebrew and English interwoven so that the learner can move fluidly between the original and the translation. Explanatory commentary is woven throughout, unpacking concepts as they arise. Footnotes provide sourcing, cross-references, and deeper background for those who wish to go deeper.

Each maamar is to be prefaced by an introduction that orients the reader to the relevant background: the Biblical, Talmudic, Midrashic, and Kabbalistic concepts being engaged, the texts from which the discourse proceeds, the historical and spiritual context. Chapter reviews allow the reader to consolidate what they have learned as they move through a discourse. End-of-maamar summaries distill the arc and main themes of each discourse as a whole. And for those with less time, or those who wish to approach a maamar before diving in fully, we aim to present each discourse also in essay form, allowing the ideas to be engaged in a more accessible register before, or alongside, close study of the text itself.

For educators and students in yeshiva and seminary settings, a special Educator’s Edition of select maamarim is being prepared, designed to serve as a rich and structured entry point into the world of Chassidic thought for the next generation.

(For samples, please contact us at the address below).

Where Things Stand

The work has proceeded quietly and deliberately. Weekly drafts have been shared with a review group of approximately one hundred men and women, spanning a wide range of ages and backgrounds, from seasoned scholars to those new to Chassidus, from yeshiva students to working professionals. Their ongoing feedback has been utilized to refine the translations, clarify the commentary, and ensure that the final product speaks with warmth and precision to the broadest possible readership. The completed volumes are intended for publication by Kehot Publication Society.
With G-d’s blessing, 110 maamarim, over 25% of the total, are already complete and being readied for print. Some have begun appearing in the wonderful Chayenu periodical, and the response from readers has been deeply encouraging. The first published volumes are expected, with G-d’s help, within the coming year.

Join Us

We are now offering subscriptions to the review group that receives drafts as they are completed. If you would like to be among the first to receive new translations as they emerge, and to contribute your voice to the ongoing refinement of this work, we welcome you warmly. Subscriptions will also help fund publication. To join, write to us at the address below.
For those interested in dedicating a maamar or volume, in sponsoring aspects of the project, or in getting involved in any other capacity, please be in touch.

The Pesach Challenge

With thirty days remaining until Pesach, we are issuing ourselves and our subscribers a special challenge. G-d willing, over the next four weeks, we hope to release all of the maamarim in the Pesach section of Likkutei Torah, seven discourses in total. That’s the challenge to us. We warmly challenge anyone who wishes to join, and help motivate us, to subscribe and learn every one of them, engage with review questions, and enter a raffle for meaningful prizes, their precise nature to be announced.

Contact
To subscribe, receive samples, sponsor, or get involved in any way, please email:
[email protected]

We know that Chassidus is no mere preparation for the ultimate redemption, but a taste of its delights, a prelude to the era when knowledge of G-d will fill the earth as water covers the sea. May this project carry that light further than it has ever reached. And may we very soon merit, together, the coming of the complete redemption, when all of Torah’s depths will be revealed in their ultimate and everlasting glory, when every one of us will know peace and joy, love and light, such as the world has never seen.

Thank you, and G-d bless you.
The Translation Project