Ahead of the Alter Rebbe’s yahrzeit on 24 Teves, a large treasure trove of the Rebbe’s original handwriting with corrections, notes, and comments on the various sections of Tanya, which had been hidden for over 70 years, was uncovered.

These materials were released to the public as a memento in honor of the sheva brachos of Sholom Ber hakohen and Etyl Rivkin, held this past Tuesday at 770.

In the year 5714 (1954), the Rebbe prepared and printed a booklet titled “Mafteichos L’Sefer HaTanya.” That year, Kehos printed the Tanya in America for the first time, and this booklet was added as an appendix. Since then, it has become an inseparable part of the Tanya, appearing in all of the more than 8,000 editions printed to date.

The booklet included an index of topics and concepts discussed in the Tanya, an index of names of sefarim and people mentioned, as well as a Luach HaTikun (“List of Corrections”) and He’aros VeTikunim Bderech Efshar (“Suggested Notes and Corrections”). It also contained many additional elements, including facsimile pages of the Alter Rebbe’s original handwritten manuscript of the Tanya, a list of all prior printings and manuscripts of the Tanya, a bibliography of the Alter Rebbe, and more.

Ahead of the printing of the pocket-sized Tanya later that year, the Rebbe reviewed this booklet and added many handwritten corrections, notes, additions, and comments. These annotations have now been released in the newly issued memento.

The bulk of the Rebbe’s comments identify the sources for the various corrections and notes he had previously made to the Tanya, as is visible in the photographs through the marking of letters and numbers next to many of the entries.

It appears that the Rebbe handed over this booklet together with two manuscripts of the Tanya and five early printings, so that the editors could compare them and record the location and scope of the corrections in the booklet. Afterwards, the Rebbe himself reviewed the material and added additional source notes. Unfortunately, the work of comparison was never completed, and not all sources were recorded for every correction.

The Rebbe noted at the time that the “Tanya HaShleima” – the complete Tanya with all explanations of the Rebbeim – was being prepared for publication, and that “the sources for the corrections will be noted in detail.”

The Tanya HaSholeim was finally printed this year after many years of work. However, as the editors note, “these sources were not available to us” and were therefore not included. It is hoped that with the release of this newly discovered treasure, the sources will be printed in forthcoming editions of the Tanya HaSholeim or in future volumes.