בְּתַּנְיָא דְּפוּס זָאלקְוֵוי שְׁנַת מְבַשֵּׂ"ר טוֹ"ב, נִדְפְּסָה אִגֶּרֶת הַתְּשׁוּבָה מַהֲדוּרָא קַמָּא, וְלֹא נֶחְלְקָה לִפְרָקִים, גַם יֵשׁ כַּמָּה שִׁינּוּיִם בְּתוֹכֶן הָאִגֶּרֶת.

In the Zholkva edition of Tanya that appeared in the year מבש"ר טו"ב (5559/1799),1 the first version of Iggeres HaTeshuvah was included. Itwas not divided into chapters and there are considerable variations [from the ultimate version] in the text itself.

To Fill In the Background

For some years the teachings that were ultimately to constitute the chapters of Tanya had circulated in separate manuscript pamphlets known as kuntreisim.2 The Alter Rebbe finally decided to publish them as a book in order to counter the effects of unintentional copyists’ errors and intentional misrepresentations.3

The first edition comprised only the 53 chapters of Tanya — Likkutei Amarim and the 12 chapters of Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah. It had first appeared in Slavita, in 5556 (1796). By 5559 (1799), when the above-mentioned second edition appeared in Zholkva,4 the first edition had already been printed and reprinted in a total of 40,000 (!) copies. When a copy of that edition first reached the hands of the saintly R. Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev,5 he stood amazed at “how the author compressed such a great Master-of-the-Universe into such a tiny book!”

On Shavuos, 5738 (1978), the Rebbe instructed that the initial version of Tanya be published. He stressed that the text was not merely being made available for scholars and historians; rather, any reader could gain significant insights by studying the text’s original draft in comparison to its final version.