A newly digitized collection of almost 3,000 volumes of manuscripts is now available for public viewing online, thanks to the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad.

From unpublished manuscripts and one-of-a-kind artwork to rare books and historic menorahs, the Central Chabad Library is home to an array of unique Chanukah treasures.

Simple but Profound

A simple metal menorah, bought in an ordinary Judaica store somewhere in New York City. That was the menorah the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of righteous memory, used for decades to kindle his personal Chanukah lights.

There was no shortage of chassidim and admirers who would have leapt at the chance to present the Rebbe with a magnificent menorah of silver or gold. In fact, someone once did gift him a stunning menorah made of pure gold. Yet the Rebbe continued to use his simple, unadorned one.

This was not the only instance. The Rebbe kept his etrog in a plain cardboard box rather than in one of the many elaborate cases offered to him. For kiddush, he used a simple glass bottle wrapped in a brown paper bag, despite being offered elegant silver decanters.

He once explained this approach in a letter to an admirer who wished to gift him a silver bottle:

“As a matter of principle and practice over the past 30-odd years, I prefer to use a ‘bagged’ glass container that conceals its contents, though I have, thank G‑d, silver vessels. … one reason, if it will satisfy you, is that I do not wish to make a distinction between me and those surrounding me.”

An Example to Learn From

The menorah of the Sixth Rebbe is another artifact preserved in the Library’s archives. Like the Rebbe’s menorah, it was a simple metal piece, gold-colored, though not made of gold, decorated with familiar Chanukah motifs such as a menorah and a crown.

While the menorah itself appears unassuming, the manner in which it was kindled left a lasting impression. Captured in a photograph from 1950, one of the final photographs of the Sixth Rebbe, his practices when lighting the menorah were later documented and published in the authorized compendium of Chabad customs, Sefer HaMinhagim.

These customs included lighting in weekday clothing rather than changing into Shabbat garments; lighting at a doorway despite having easy access to a window facing a public thoroughfare; and lighting without a minyan, in contrast to many other Chassidic rebbes who light their personal menorahs in the presence of their chassidim.

A Week Late, Just on Time

One can often learn more about a historical era from its unofficial documents, its letters, circulars, and homegrown publications, than from its polished, “authorized” histories. Early Chabad life in America is no exception.

The Library houses thousands of such pieces: letters, flyers, brochures, and notices issued during the first decades of Chabad’s presence on American soil. Together they capture the small details and everyday rhythms that formal histories can miss.

One such item is a letter from Congregation Nusach Hoari of the Bronx, a Chabad synagogue that has long since disappeared from the map. In the letter, the shul’s president invites congregants to a Yud Tes Kislev celebration, the “New Year of Chassidus,” to be held on… the fifth night of Chanukah.

The program promised a full evening: a special messenger from Chabad Headquarters who would offer “a historical overview of the past and its effects on the present time,” along with “heartfelt Chabad melodies” and an opportunity to “refresh the old-new familiar memories of our spiritual heritage.”

A Wedding and a Torah Class

Three particularly interesting pieces from 1935 describe several events that took place over Chanukah that year.

The first is a wedding invitation sent by “Grand Rabbi and Mrs. N. Twersky” for the marriage of their son Samuel to Naomi Zeitchik. Rabbi Twersky was a Chassidic rebbe from the Loyev-Chernobyl dynasty who had emigrated to the United States in 1925 and established a Chassidic court in Boston. The wedding was held on Sunday, the second day of Chanukah, December 22, 1935, at the Aperion Plaza in Roxbury, Massachusetts.

In the same Boston neighborhood, at least two other significant events were taking place, both presided over by Rabbi J. B. Soloveitchik, then a young Torah scholar who would later become the head of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) at Yeshiva University in New York and a seminal figure in Modern Orthodox Judaism.

One event was held on Wednesday, the fifth day of Chanukah, at Yeshivath Torath Israel of Greater Boston. The second, a Chanukah celebration hosted by the Mizrachi organization, took place after the conclusion of Shabbos, on the eighth day of Chanukah, at Congregation Chayei Adam.

Waiting for Its Time

Many of the Library’s manuscripts have served as the basis for the hundreds of published volumes of Chabad Chassidut available today. Others were used to publish works of Jewish law or commentaries on classic texts. Still others remain unpublished, waiting for the time when a scholar, working in conjunction with the Library, will take on the task of bringing them to light.

One such unpublished manuscript is titled Ohel Avraham. It contains sermonic material and original Torah teachings. The second volume, pictured here, also includes insights on the festival of Chanukah.

The author’s name is not recorded, and little additional information is provided, beyond the fact that the manuscript was written in 1929.

Another manuscript bearing the same title, and apparently by the same author, surfaced in the collection of a private owner and was later offered at public auction. That copy provides a few additional clues. In a handwritten title page, the author notes that “the interpretations reflect the spirit of their time and era,” and he addresses contemporary events under the Soviet Russian regime, where he served as a rabbi.

Perhaps fearing for his safety, he omitted his name from that manuscript as well. He remains anonymous, and the manuscript remains, waiting.

Art With Heart

Throughout the years of his leadership, the Rebbe received many personal and unique gifts, ranging from manuscripts and sacred books to distinctive works of art. Most of these were given by the Rebbe to the Library.

Among the artistic gifts presented to the Rebbe are several menorahs, varying in both purpose and style.

One menorah was presented to the Rebbe by Chabad Milano, Italy, in 1988, a model of the large menorah that is lit each Chanukah on the streets of Milan.

Another is a menorah designed as a model of 770, Chabad World Headquarters, gifted to the Rebbe by the artist during the Rebbe’s famed Sunday dollar distribution.

A third is a unique menorah sculpted by the renowned Jewish artist Erna Weill, who lived in Germany and the U.S.

Capturing Light

Another section of the Library is devoted to photographs that were sent to the Rebbe or to Chabad Headquarters over many decades.

These photographs document Chabad events, programs, and buildings, alongside other items of Jewish interest, and even the occasional family photograph. With Chanukah being a season filled with public programs and outreach, the number of Chanukah-related images is especially large.

One photograph captures a Chanukah party in an old-age home in Huntington, New York, led by the local Chabad Rabbi Leibel Baumgarten.

Another records a private menorah lighting in Leningrad, 1988, just as the first cracks were beginning to appear in the Soviet Union’s Iron Curtain.

Back to the Books

Of course, the Library also holds tens of thousands of printed books, ranging from rare incunabula to volumes printed as recently as this year.

Among its rarities is a set of the Talmud once owned by the Fifth Rebbe. This edition was printed in Amsterdam by the Jewish printer Immanuel Benveniste between 1644 and 1648. The printing is notable for restoring material that had been removed from earlier editions of the Talmud, and in particular for its unexpurgated version of Tractate Avodah Zarah, which was frequently subject to Christian censorship.

Pictured here is the title page of Tractate Shabbat, which contains the primary discussions of the laws and narrative of Chanukah. Benveniste’s printer’s device appears on the page, depicting an upright lion facing a tower, with a star above.

This volume, along with the rest of the set, is among the thousands of books seized by the Soviet authorities from the Fifth Rebbe and later absorbed into the Lenin Library. Efforts continue to this day to secure the return of this collection to its rightful owner: the Chabad movement.