In their introduction to the first printing of the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch,1 his sons clarified their father’s purpose in composing its major portion, Orach Chayim, as to enable “any person to read the text of the crystallized halachah according to his understanding, together with its motivating principles.”

They explain that the Alter Rebbe was charged with this task by his mentor, the Maggid of Mezritch, who:1

searched thoroughly among his disciples for a man in whom the G‑dly spirit was vested, so that he would be able to comprehend and present deliberate and unequivocal halachic decisions together with their theoretical guidelines. This work was to follow the order of the parts of the Shulchan Aruch which are entitled Orach Chayim and Yoreh Deah, for they [include] the laws needed [for day-to-day Torah observance] and hence their study is given precedence over all others.

Guided by this mission, the Alter Rebbe did not compose his text as a Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, i.e., an abbreviation of Rav Yosef Caro’s work. Nor did he – as others did – compose a gloss that merely added insights and pointed out certain features in that parent text. Instead, he composed a new work, skillfully crafted to teach the laws subject by subject. For example, often, he quotes an opinion, clearly and succinctly stating its rationale. He then cites an opposing view and, with equal clarity, spells out its justification. Finally, in resolution, he explains why he favors either of the opinions, or how their seemingly dissonant voices can be heard in harmony.

With patient exposition and structured conceptual development, the Alter Rebbe guides his readers through a broad scope of halachic issues. In this way, if a person wants to know exactly what to do and why the halachah rules exactly as it does regarding a given law, he will be able to follow a charted path.

Different Subjects, Different Approaches

In the portion whose first part is presented in the present volume, Yoreh Deah, the Alter Rebbe changed his approach and his style of presentation. Since this collection of laws deals with subjects that are almost exclusively the province of scholars and would be consulted by experts who need to hand down halachic rulings on questions of ritual permissibility or impermissibility, he adopted the format traditionally employed in scholarly circles. Using the text of Rav Yosef Caro as a base, he composed two glosses around it. To quote the introduction of his sons, “one clarifying the rulings and their respective rationales, and the other, sweeter than honey, revealing a breadth of dialectic analysis, tightly argued, and focusing on the wording of the Talmud and the various halachic authorities” (see sample page below).

This format was used for the major portion of the Alter Rebbe’s Yoreh Deah, i.e., Hilchos Shechitah, Tereifos, and Nidah, that are extant. However, the Alter Rebbe also intended to publish a digest of the laws encompassing other subjects contained in Rav Yosef Caro’s Yoreh Deah portion. Although the only such digests that are extant are Hilchos Talmud Torah (“the Laws of Torah Study) and Hilchos Ribis (“the Laws [Governing the Prohibition against Taking] Interest”), we find reference to Hilchos Kibud Av VeAim2 (“the Laws of Honoring Parents”), Hilchos Tzedekah3 (“the Laws of Charity”), Hilchos Kevod Rabbo VeTalmid Chacham4 (“the Laws of Honoring One’s Teacher and Torah Scholars”).5 This implies that his intent, although unrealized, was to provide his readers with a broad-based guide to the aspects of Jewish practice relevant to them.

In Hilchos Talmud Torah and Hilchos Ribis, the Alter Rebbe followed the style he employed in the portion of his Shulchan Aruch entitled Choshen Mishpat. As implied by the title page of the latter text, “Necessary Laws Culled from the Text Choshen Mishpat,” he presented merely the laws relevant to an ordinary person’s day-to-day conduct, arranged subject by subject.

Even in his composition of Orach Chayim, the Alter Rebbe did not simply quote Rav Yosef Caro and the other authorities on whose work his was based. Instead, he rewrote the entire text, carefully crafting a work with manifold meanings and purposes implied in the subtleties of the wording. Nevertheless, the structure of the sections and their subject matter was taken from R. Yosef Caro. As his sons attest,1 “He did not overstep his bounds....”

For Choshen Mishpat and for the portions of Yoreh Deah mentioned previously, had the Alter Rebbe followed such an approach, he would have had to present much material which did not concern the average reader and which deals with issues that most people would seldom if ever encounter. For this reason, the Alter Rebbe not only rewrote Rav Yosef Caro’s text, he changed its structure. Material selected from tens of sections from Rav Yosef Caro’s work were organized in a single chapter, producing a text that is relevant to a layman both in style and content.

A Timeline

In their introduction, the Alter Rebbe’s sons write:

[Our father] began [this task] while residing in the learned abode6 of his holy mentor, [the Maggid]. There “he began to explain the Torah,”7 [commencing] with the laws of tzitzis and the laws of Pesach.8 Both these texts were completed before the arrival there of... R. Shmelke and his brother, R. Pinchas, before they set out to Germany to accept their Rabbinic positions in Nikolsburg and Frankfurt....9 In two years, our father completed his exposition of Orach Chayim....

It would thus appear that the Alter Rebbe began to compose his Shulchan Aruch late in 5530 or early in 5531 (i.e., late in 1770) at the age of 25, and concluded his first draft of Orach Chayim towards the end of 5532 (late in 1772). He did not, however, publish it at that time. Later, as his sons continue:

By the time he was about 30 years old he had reviewed the entire Talmud, together with the commentaries of all the Rishonim and Acharonim, 16 times.... He then began to edit and revise his work on Orach Chayim, beginning with the laws of Netilas Yadayim, “the washing of the hands...”

It would appear that this does not refer to laws of Netilas Yadayim in the Shulchan Aruch, but the description of those laws that appear in the Alter Rebbe’s Siddur. In their introduction, the Alter Rebbe’s sons continue, “Similarly, when he composed the part entitled Yoreh Deah, and in particular, the laws of Nidah, which he composed in his later years: as he grew older, he added strength and courage to his halachic acuity.” The assumption is that the Alter Rebbe’s sons are referring to the Mahadura Basra (“The Later Edition”) of Hilchos Nidah, which, as the Tzemach Tzedek notes (Yoreh Deah, Responsum 130), was written “in his old age, many years after he composed the Shulchan Aruch.” Nevertheless, since the mission with which the Maggid charged him included Yoreh Deah, it would appear that the Alter Rebbe’s original text of the Shulchan Aruch included, at least, portions of his Yoreh Deah.

In Hilchos Halvaah, the Alter Rebbe writes “the Shemitah year was 5544 (1784),” apparently indicating that these laws and likewise the other laws comprising Choshen Mishpat were written after that date. Hilchos Talmud Torah was first printed in 5554 (1794) and it appears that it was written shortly before that time. Similarly, it would appear that sections 155 and 156 of Orach Chayim were written later, because they cite Hilchos Talmud Torah, and also refer to a contemporary source (Pri Megadim) which was not published until 5545 (1785).

Drawing conclusions from the above, it is likely that the portions of Hilchos Shechitah, Tereifos, and Nidah presented in the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch were written around the same time as the other early portions of his work. However, they were not published then and they were revised continually. Hilchos Talmud Torah and Hilchos Ribis (and perhaps other similar collections that are not extant) were written later, as the Alter Rebbe began adding a new dimension to his text.

Lost Treasures

With obvious pain, the Alter Rebbe’s sons describe “the multitude of misfortunes and misadventures that befell us… and in particular, the burning of our homes twice.10 Our revered father’s original manuscripts were completely destroyed and all that remained were partial copies scattered here and there among his students....” After the flight in the face of Napoleon’s armies and subsequent move from Liadi to Lubavitch, much of the family’s precious archives were lost. Though large portions of the text from those copies were pieced together, significant portions were never recovered. This is quite evident in Hilchos Shechitah and Tereifos, where it is obvious that major portions were destroyed. Similarly, in his work, the Alter Rebbe refers to his explanations in many later sections of Yoreh Deah. It is unknown whether those sections were destroyed or never written.

From One Language to Another

Anyone who never attended a yeshivah would have trouble understanding the process of dialectic analysis through which arguments are presented there. Picture a teacher explaining a point with a series of clauses – punctuated only by the up-and-down movement of his thumb – who without finishing his sentence, goes on to explain the conflicting viewpoint, and then still without a pause, tries to harmonize between the two.

Much of this book was written in that manner.

In English, this style of presentation would not be effective. Therefore, it was necessary to shorten sentences, interpolate words, and change the breakup of paragraphs.

There was an added difficulty in the translation of this text. Since the subject matter of Hilchos Shechitah and Tereifos involves subjects that a layman will rarely encounter and, by and large, decisions on these matters are to be made by halachic arbiters, the wording of the text in the original – and therefore in the translation – uses many technical terms. Our practice was to explain those terms initially and then use them in transliteration. Put simply, unless the contextual meaning of the term is understood, having an English equivalent will be of no value.

Despite these challenges, we endeavored to produce a user-friendly text that could be understood by someone with little background, and simultaneously, be of value to a person capable of in-depth study of the original.

In Appreciation

This volume contains the laws of tereifos, the laws describing the disqualification of an animal because of a life-threatening blemish. Towards the conclusion of Tanya,11 the Alter Rebbe focuses on the interrelation of the Jewish souls, comparing them to a human body. Like the human body, which functions as a synergistic whole, each limb and organ making a unique contribution to the body’s health and well-being, so too, every member of the Jewish people has a unique contribution of his own that must be harmonized with that of others.

The health of the body is made possible because the circulatory system endows each cell with vitality. If there is, Heaven forbid, a block preventing the blood flow from reaching a particular limb or organ, the health of that limb or organ, and often that of the entire body is endangered. Similarly, the health of the souls of the Jewish people – and also of the Divine Presence – is dependent on an ongoing give-and-take between them which is nurtured by bonds of love.

The composition of this volume was characterized by such a harmonious process of interaction. In a combined effort, individuals on many continents, joined through the breakthroughs of modern communication and feelings of chassidic brotherhood, were able to mold their individual contributions into a comprehensive work.

Worthy of first mention is Rabbi Yonah Avtzon ז"ל, director of SIE from 5738 [1978], until his untimely passing in 5779 [2019]. From its inception, more than a decade ago, he shepherded the translation of the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch from a dream and a vision into a reality, producing volume after volume that bespeaks halachic knowledge and practically applicable guidance.

His son, Rabbi Shmuel Avtzon, יבלחט"א, took up the mantle of leadership, assuming the position of director of Sichos In English and dedicating himself to carrying out his father’s mission. With unflagging vigor, he oversaw and participated in every aspect of this project;

The Vaad of SIE, composed of Rabbis Levi Avtzon, Mayer Preger, and Eliyahu Touger, whose tireless efforts enabled the project to continue;

Rabbis Eliyahu Touger and Sholom Ber Wineberg who translated and annotated the text;

Rabbi Ehud Kwin, a member of the beis din of Sao Paulo, Brazil, who reviewed the text and notes, adding sources and halachic insights;

Rabbi Hershel Hertzel, a shochet from Crown Heights/Postville, Iowa, who reviewed the translation of the sections of Shechitah and Tereifos, making important corrections and clarifications and adding helpful context;

Rabbi Shabsi Osher Tayar, a Rov in Melbourne, who specialises in the laws of Ribis and Choshen Mishpat, conducts a mediation and arbitration service (Mehadr Beis Din Tribunal), and reviewed the translation of the sections of Ribis and Iska;

Mrs. Yocheved Allswang, who edited the translation and notes;

Rabbi Yehonason Glass who proofread Hilchos Shechitah and Tereifos and Rabbis Chaim Fuhrer and Zalmy Avtzon who proofread the entire book.

Uri Kaploun, whose work on the initial volumes of this series provided guidance and direction and who was always available for helpful advice;

Rabbi Shalom DovBer Levine, Director and Curator at the Central Chabad-Lubavitch Research Library in New York, whose corrected and annotated Hebrew edition of the original text served as a valuable resource and whose Divrei Shalom served as a running commentary that provided both sources and insight to the Alter Rebbe’s rulings; moreover, Rabbi Levine freely gave of his time to respond to questions and clarify issues;

The publishing team at Kehot Publication Society for their editorial assistance;

Rabbi Yonah Mordechai Weiss of Los Angeles, California, and his brother,

Rabbi Moshe Aaron Tzvi Weiss, shliach to Sherman Oaks, California, two renowned patrons of Torah, heirs to a family tradition of dedication to scholarship and spreading the Rebbe’s work, who not only helped shoulder the financial burden of the project but also used their energies and talents to improve both the text’s content and its graphic presentation;

Yosef Yitzchok Turner, who has endowed this series with typographical excellence;

Zalman Stock, Moishe Muchnik, Zalman Friedman, and the Spotlight team for their creative oversight, page styling and cover design.

In one of his maamarim,12 the Rebbe Maharash associates the exile with the verse,13 “You shall not eat flesh that is tereifah in the field.” It is our hope that the publication and study of this text will lead to the time when Mashiach will lead the Jewish people from “the field,” the exile, to Eretz Yisrael, speedily in our days..

Sichos In English

18 Elul, 5784 (2024)