The
Wellspring
Behind
the Scenes at
the Vaad L’hafotzas Sichos
Part 1
By
Rabbi Shalom Yaakov Chazan
How
exactly do the Rebbe’s sichos kodesh get into print? How many
steps are involved? What’s the difference between a “hanacha
bilti muga” and a sicha that’s been edited by the
Rebbe? * The following interview with the members of the Vaad
L’hafotzas Sichos – to whom the Rebbe gave sole authority to
publish Likkutei Sichos – coincides with the printing of its
latest volume, number 39, and is presented in the fervent hope
that we will merit to hear the “new dimension of Torah” from
the Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach immediately.
“Likkutei
Sichos”
are two words that say it all to a Chabad Chassid. To the
collective Chabad consciousness, they immediately bring to mind
the weekly publications that for decades have formed the backbone
of our spiritual existence. Likkutei Sichos also refers to
the “Chabad Shas,” the dozens of volumes of the Rebbe’s
teachings that are found in every Lubavitcher home.
Ever
since it was founded, the members of the Vaad L’hafotzas
Sichos have maintained a respectful silence about their work.
Aside from practical questions pertaining to the Rebbe’s sichos,
they have not, as a rule, commented publicly on the process
involved in bringing them into print. Now, however, with the 39th
volume of Likkutei Sichos about to be released, they have
decided to break their silence and grant Beis Moshiach the
following interview. In it, they reveal many of the directives
they received from the Rebbe MH”M, and discuss the various
stages involved in spreading the wellsprings of the Rebbe’s sichos
kodesh outward.
Background
Information
Before
we get to the interview, a little background information is
necessary to define exactly what is meant by a “sicha.”
At
each farbrengen, the Rebbe would speak on an extremely wide
range of subjects, touching on halacha to Talmudic
teachings to current events. In most cases, a text of the
Rebbe’s words would then be produced based on the recollection
of those who were present. This text, which followed the actual
flow of topics as they were mentioned by the Rebbe, was known as a
“hanacha bilti muga,” an “unedited version” of an
entire farbrengen. Although a “hanacha bilti muga”
has the advantage of following the exact order of the Rebbe’s
development of various themes, its obvious disadvantage is that it
was not officially “approved” by the Rebbe, raising the
possibility of inaccuracies. For this reason, a “hanacha
bilti muga” is not considered an “authentic” sicha.
In
addition to these unedited sichos, there were also special
publications coming out each week under the heading of Likkutei
Sichos. These booklets were arranged according to topic,
usually the Torah portion of the week or a particular Yom Tov, and
would contain a number of the Rebbe’s sichos relating to
that subject. While these weekly publications did not convey a farbrengen
in its entirety, the particular topic under discussion would be
presented in great depth.
The
greatest advantage of these Likkutei Sichos booklets was
that they were edited by the Rebbe, complete with notations and
footnotes. These sichos received the official “imprimatur
of the king,” and were approved by the Rebbe as accurate.
The
enormous task of editing the Rebbe’s sichos kodesh was
assigned to the Vaad L’hafotzas Sichos. The Vaad
is composed of a staff of exceptional talmidei chachomim with
decades of experience in interpreting and editing the Rebbe’s sichos
and maamarim. Its offices are a virtual beis midrash,
with hundreds of reference volumes to assist them in transforming
“hanachos” into “sichos.” Obviously, the
exact meaning of the Rebbe’s words must be completely understood
before a sicha can be submitted to the Rebbe for his
approval. Whatever points remain unclear must be clarified by the
Rebbe himself.
Turning
a hanacha into a sicha is a joint effort involving
all the members of the Vaad. Because some hanachos
may have been produced hastily, inaccuracies in meaning or context
sometimes crept in. Also, because the hanachos were a
reflection of oral speech, they contained many repetitions that
are not appropriate in a written work. Furthermore, because the
Rebbe would speak on the same subject on different occasions, each
time revealing another facet or responding to questions that had
arisen in the interim, the Vaad would have to “create”
a unified sicha taking all of these factors into account.
After
the Vaad agreed on a version, the next step involved
submitting it to Rabbis Yehoshua Dubrowski and Tzvi Hirsh Gansberg
for linguistic and grammatical fine-tuning. The Rebbe once
commented about Rabbi Dubrowski, “When Dubrowski makes
something, it’s worthy of being printed.” Rabbi Dubrowski also
wrote the hanachos that appeared in the magazine Di
Yiddishe Heim, about which the Rebbe said, “I have never
seen such a good hanacha.”
At
that point, a sicha would be ready to be submitted to the
Rebbe. The Rebbe would edit it once, then return it to the Vaad
with his corrections. This would often take place in the
middle of the night, prompting members of the Vaad to rush
off to the printing presses to correct whatever needed fixing. The
sicha would then be submitted to the Rebbe a second time,
and on rare occasions, a third.
Every
few years, the edited Likkutei Sichos would be collected
and reprinted in book form. These volumes represented the
Rebbe’s sichos of a particular time period, and were
arranged according to the order of the Torah portions and
holidays. They also contained letters of the Rebbe connected to
the subject matter.
Over
the years, the Vaad L’hafotzas Sichos was so successful
that the Rebbe assigned it a variety of other projects, such as
editing the works of our other Rebbeim. The Rebbe also gave the Vaad
the sole authority to print all the books of the Kehos Publishing
Society.
For
the purpose of clarification, the full roster of members of the Vaad
consists of Rabbis Nachman Schapiro and Yaakov Leib Altein,
assisted by Rabbis Elimelech Zwiebel, and Sholom Dov Ber Lipsker.
For many years, Rabbis Yosef Yitzchok Wilshansky and Dovid Olidort
also participated. Rabbis Schneur Zalman Chanin and Shalom
Jacobson are responsible for the actual printing.