The days of the month of Menachem Av, during which Chabad Chassidus marked the yom hillula of the Kabbalist Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, of righteous memory, took on a special significance this year in the Russian capital.
On the soil of Moscow—a place where not long ago, Chassidim paid with their freedom and their lives for the right to study Torah—tents of Torah learning are now flourishing. The Talmudic chant echoing through the halls of the Central Yeshiva Ketana ‘Tomchei Temimim’ in the Istra district of the Moscow suburbs has recently culminated in an impressive Torah publication, serving as a tangible symbol of the victory of spirit and light over the darkness of the Communist regime.
In preparation for the twentieth anniversary of the Yeshiva’s establishment in Istra by the Chief Rabbi of Russia, the Gaon Rabbi Berel Lazar, shlita, another volume in the ‘Armeia Admora’ series has now been published. This collection compiles notes, explanations, and chiddushim in both revealed Torah (Nigleh) and Chassidus—the fruit of the diligent study of the Yeshiva’s rabbis and students. The central tractate discussed in the sefer is Masechet Bava Basra, which was studied over the past year in the Yeshiva, alongside pilpulim (in-depth analyses) and notes on the sichos of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, a direct result of the Temimim’s winter study campaign in ‘Likkutei Sichos’.
The significance of this Torah journal extends beyond the walls of the Yeshiva, as it contains hidden treasures seeing the light of day for the first time. A special section at the end of the book is dedicated to the historic publication of four rare handwritten responses (maanos kodesh) from the Lubavitcher Rebbe to the chossid Harav DovBer Levy, dealing with issues related to activities behind the Iron Curtain. Additionally, the book features a section titled “Dovev Sifsei Yeshenim,” publishing for the first time a shiur given by the Gaon Rabbi Nachum Partzovitz, zt”l, one of the Roshei Yeshiva of Mir, which was discovered in the genizah of the Chabad House in Lugano. Furthermore, the sefer includes historic halachic responsa from former rabbis of the Soviet Union—the Gaon Rabbi Moshe Avigdor Chaikin, zt”l, and the Gaon Rabbi Zalman Antzilevich, zt”l—as well as a long, profound, and fascinating halachic correspondence between Chief Rabbi Lazar, shlita, and HaGaon Rabbi Chaim Lieberman from Jerusalem.
The sefer, which is arranged in alphabetical order to emphasize that “the Torah is one,” opens with Chassidic discourses (maamarim) discussing the spiritual significance of the twentieth year. This project came to fruition thanks to the support and encouragement of the Yeshiva’s director, Rabbi Chaim Moshe Weber, along with the extensive editing and coordinating efforts of the Ra”m and Mashpia, Rabbi Chanan Teichtel. All this was accomplished under the guiding leadership of the current Rosh Yeshiva, the Gaon Rabbi Moshe Lerman, who continues to build upon the solid foundations laid by the former Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Mordechai Yona Klein.
The publication of this sefer represents a significant Torah milestone in the development of the Yeshiva, many of whose alumni now proudly serve in the army of Shluchim worldwide. The immense investment in study and in committing these chiddushim to writing breathes new life into the Temimim, born from a deep anticipation that this Torah endeavor on Russian soil will serve as the “one act” that tips the scales, bringing about the complete and ultimate Geula.
