After a three-year effort, Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries, their children and community members from three European countries gathered at a printing house in Darmstadt, Germany, to celebrating the first-ever release of a Hebrew/German edition of the Tanya, the foundational work of Chasidic thought written in the 18th century by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi.

Last week’s printing coincided with the holiday of Sukkot, and attendees from Germany, Switzerland and Austria participated in a Chasidic gathering inside of a small sukkah erected specifically for the celebration.

Rabbi Levi Sternglanz, director of the Vienna branch of the Kehot Publication Society; Ittai Joseph Tamari, a Munich specialist of old European Hebrew typefaces; and Ralf de Jong, an Essen-based graphic artist and professor of typography, worked for three years on the project. Commissioned by Books&Bagels in Zurich, it was published under the Kehot imprint, and is expected to be shipped in time for celebrations of the 19th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev, anniversary of Rabbi Schneur Zalman’s release from a Czarist prison.

Guests from Germany, Switzerland and Austria tour a printing house in Darmstadt, Germany, on occasion of the first-ever printing of a Hebrew/German edition of the Tanya.
Guests from Germany, Switzerland and Austria tour a printing house in Darmstadt, Germany, on occasion of the first-ever printing of a Hebrew/German edition of the Tanya.

Last week’s printing coincided with the holiday of Sukkot, and attendees from Germany, Switzerland and Austria participated in a Chasidic gathering inside of a small sukkah erected specifically for the celebration.
Last week’s printing coincided with the holiday of Sukkot, and attendees from Germany, Switzerland and Austria participated in a Chasidic gathering inside of a small sukkah erected specifically for the celebration.

Participants erected the sukkah prior to the celebration.
Participants erected the sukkah prior to the celebration.

Rabbi Levi Sternglanz, director of the Vienna branch of the Kehot Publication Society; Ittai Joseph Tamari, a Munich specialist of old European Hebrew typefaces; and Ralf de Jong, an Essen-based graphic artist and professor of typography, worked for three years on the project. Commissioned by Books&Bagels in Zurich, it was published under the Kehot imprint, and is expected to be shipped in time for celebrations of the 19th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev, anniversary of Rabbi Schneur Zalman’s release from a Czarist prison.
Rabbi Levi Sternglanz, director of the Vienna branch of the Kehot Publication Society; Ittai Joseph Tamari, a Munich specialist of old European Hebrew typefaces; and Ralf de Jong, an Essen-based graphic artist and professor of typography, worked for three years on the project. Commissioned by Books&Bagels in Zurich, it was published under the Kehot imprint, and is expected to be shipped in time for celebrations of the 19th day of the Hebrew month of Kislev, anniversary of Rabbi Schneur Zalman’s release from a Czarist prison.

Moti Raskin, son of Frankfurt-based Rabbi Shlomo Raskin, played his violin for the celebration.
Moti Raskin, son of Frankfurt-based Rabbi Shlomo Raskin, played his violin for the celebration.