Over the past three months, the Vaad Talmidei Hatmimim has completed the release of a special three-part Halikut magazine series, offering bochurim around the world a rich and carefully curated gateway into the Rebbe’s Sichos of Chelek Chof-Hei.

Released on a monthly basis and distributed to yeshivos across the globe, the magazines were created to provide the arum—the historical, textual, and conceptual background—behind the Sichos being learned. Rather than serving as a summary, Halikut Magazine aims to deepen understanding by uncovering the stories, sources, and nuances that frame the Rebbe’s words.

Each full-color issue combines background narratives, archival material, and in-depth research, with a strong emphasis on the Rebbe’s own edits and handwritten notes. Across the three magazines, more than half of the Sichos of Chelek Chof-Hei were explored, supported by rare photographs and carefully reproduced scans of Kisvai Yad Kodesh.

By the numbers, the project spans 88 pages, covers 20 Sichos, and features 14 Kisvei Yad. Over 1,500 copies were shipped, reaching more than 2000 monthly readers and over 20 yeshivos worldwide.

“The aim of Halikut was to give bochurim a deeper way to connect to the Sichos,” said Rabbi Tzvi Hirsh Altein, Director of the Vaad Talmidei Hatmimim. “Halikut is about helping bochurim truly live with the Sichos, understanding where they came from, how they were developed, and why every word matters. When a bochur sees the Rebbe’s edits and the care invested in each nuance, it changes how he learns.”

Beyond its scope and presentation, Halikut has distinguished itself by highlighting the living story behind the Sichos, revealing how the Rebbe’s Torah was delivered, refined, and sustained over time.

One such story, featured in the magazine under the title “You Inspired It,” traces the remarkable origins of the Rebbe’s Rashi Sichos.

In the year following the histalkus of Rebbetzin Chana, the Rebbe farbrenged every Shabbos. During these farbrengens, the Rebbe began delivering what became known as the Rashi Sichos, introducing a groundbreaking approach to Rashi that focused on peshuto shel mikra. These Sichos drew not only Lubavitcher chassidim, but also Bnei Torah from other communities, who were captivated by the Rebbe’s clarity and precision.

Among them was Reb Yosef (Yossel) Waldman, a talmid chacham who would prepare extensively each week, learning the Rashis in advance in order to fully follow the Rebbe’s explanations. When the Rebbe later indicated that the Rashi Sichos might come to an end, Reb Yossel was deeply troubled and wrote a heartfelt letter urging that they continue.

The Rebbe did respond to Reb Yossel’s letter, though without indicating whether the Sichos would indeed continue. For a time, the Rashi Sichos ceased, and the absence was keenly felt.

Then, on Shabbos Parshas Shemos, the Rebbe once again explained a Rashi. At that farbrengen, the Rebbe publicly noted that the push to continue the Rashi Sichos came from “a young man, not even from the shpitz Chabad, without a beard, who claims that people are engrossed in the explanations of Rashi, and that they are enjoyable.”

From that point forward, the Rashi Sichos resumed and continued for the next twenty-four years.

What followed was an especially striking development. Recognizing Reb Yossel’s dedication, the Rebbe would often arrange for him to be informed in advance which Rashi would be discussed—sometimes through mazkirus before Shabbos, and at times even personally on Shabbos morning. This level of consideration, allowing someone to prepare in advance for a farbrengen, demonstrates the level of involvement the Rebbe expected from Chasidim.

Years later, in a deeply personal remark at the end of a yechidus, the Rebbe told Reb Yossel: “You deserve to be thanked for it, you inspired it.”

“This story captures exactly what Halikut is trying to convey,” said Mendel Wolf, who compiled and edited the magazine series. “The Sichos were delivered in context, they were learned, questioned, prepared for, and cared about. Showing bochurim how much thought went into every Rashi and every edit helps them approach the Sichos with a completely different mindset.”

Produced by the Vaad Talmidei Hatmimim in conjunction with A Chassidisher Derher, the Halikut magazines have become a meaningful companion for bochurim learning Chelek Chof-Hei—inviting them not only to study the Rebbe’s Torah, but to appreciate its depth, its process, and its living relevance.

Magazine 1

Magazine 2

Magazine 3

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