The word sichah, שיחה, means “speech” in Hebrew. In the context of the Rebbe’s teachings, a sichah refers to a semi-formal speech given to the general public or a group of people.

The plural form of this word is שיחות, which is pronounced sichos in traditional Ashkenazic Hebrew or sichot in Modern Hebrew.

The sichah stands apart from a maamar, a sacred chassidic discourse that is delivered in a specific manner and regarded as uniquely authoritative.

Over the course of more than four decades, the Rebbe’s sichot, spoken in Yiddish peppered with Hebrew and Aramaic, addressed thousands of topics.

There were sichot in which the Rebbe provided a Torah-based perspective on current events. There were sichot speaking about a unique moment on the Jewish calendar then being experienced, such as the Torah portion. And then there were sichot that delved into the deepest Torah topics.

Many of the Sichot were transcribed and published on ad hoc basis and collected into books under the title Sichot Kodesh. These were further reworked (in Hebrew) and collected into a growing series known as Torat Menachem. Browse Torat Menachem here.

The Rashi Sichah

Within the sichot, there is a sub-genre of sichot (launched in memory of the Rebbe’s mother, who passed away on 6 Tishrei in 1964) dedicated to unpacking the rich layers of meaning hidden behind Rashi’s brief commentaries on that week’s Torah portion. The Rebbe’s Rashi sichot cover an astonishing 800 Rashis.

In the Rebbe’s approach, every word is analyzed and nothing is written off as insignificant. In addition to probing every detail for the most logical and fitting understanding, the Rebbe also finds a practical and applicable Chassidic life lesson embedded in the Rashi, which he refers to as the “wine of Torah.”

Likkutei Sichot

The sichot were committed to writing, in Hebrew and/or Yiddish—and later English—by a team of scholars and disseminated around the world so that eager students could learn the Rebbe’s words.

Starting in the late 50s, a weekly sichah was edited by the Rebbe and published with copious footnotes. These edited talks were collated into books and formed the authoritative corpus of the Rebbe’s canon.

Described as the heart and soul of the Rebbe’s teachings, Likkutei Sichot is a unique fusion of all elements of Torah, from the exoteric to the esoteric, and a key to grasping the Rebbe’s view on Judaism and life itself.

The entire set, which now includes 39 volumes, contains sichot published until 1992, when ill health prevented the Rebbe from editing further talks. Learn Likkutei Sichot here.

Sichos in English

By the 1970s, there was a significant—and growing—core of English speakers eager to learn the Rebbe’s teachings. This led to the founding of Sichos in English in 1977. While their primary work was providing English-language transcripts of the Rebbe’s most recent talks, they expanded into many areas, with much of their output available for all at Chabad.org/SIE.