Chabad scholar and author Rabbi Berel Levine published a new volume of his Divrei Shalom commentary on the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, covering the laws of Rosh Hashanah. Download here.
By Anash.org reporter
As Elul begins, and with it, the preparations for Rosh Hashanah, a new commentary on Hilchos Rosh Hashanah in the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch was published and released online.
The new publication is the newest volume in the ‘Divrei Shalom’ series on the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, authored by Chabad scholar Rabbi Berel Levine, Chief Librarian of the Rebbe’s library, editor of the new edition of the Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch, and author of numerous seforim.
Rabbi Levine previously published six volumes of Divrei Shalom on the Alter Rebbe’s Hilchos Pesach and eight on Hilchos Shabbos.
After completing the latter set, Rabbi Levine told Anash.org that he “hopes to continue and write the commentary on the entire Alter Rebbe’s Shulchan Aruch.” That hope started actualizing with the release of the newest volume.
The ‘Divrei Shalom’ commentary was written to make it accessible to every learner to truly understand the halacha written in the Shulchan Aruch, and to also give a wider understanding by seeing the sources from where it was drawn.
Inside the text of the Shulchan Aruch Rabbi Levine added punctuation, divided the sei’ifim into sections, and added headings to the sei’ifim. In the more complicated halachos, he added a summary of the topic in the footnotes.
The sources where the Alter Rebbe drew the Halacha are all quoted, at least in brief, starting from the Gemara and continuing through the poskim, Rishonim and Acharonim. In places where it seems that there is a contradiction in the Alter Rebbe’s words from one halacha to another, Rabbi Levine added an possible explanation, as well as noting where others discuss these topics.
A focal point of the commentary is to stress the chiddushim of the Alter Rebbe, which can be easily missed because they are written in a very condensed manner.
The newest volume, covering the entire Hilchos Rosh Hashanah, was not yet printed by Kehos, but is being made available in PDF format by the author for readers of Anash.org, to allow them to delve into Hilchos Rosh Hashanah before Yom Tov arrives.
“As it is a preliminary edition, I ask that if anyone has any corrections or comments to be please contact me at [email protected],” Rabbi Levine said.
To download the new sefer, click here.
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