On the fifth of Teves 5747 (1987), the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York ruled decisively that the vast and rare library collected by the Previous Rebbe, R. Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn, belonged – as the Rebbe himself did – to the Chabad movement as a whole. The day became associated with the phrase of victory, “Didan Notzach.”
On the first anniversary of the victorious verdict, the Rebbe said in a sichah, a public talk, that to know the appropriate way to celebrate this auspicious day we must consult the seforim themselves.
The Rebbe went on to discuss how there is a biblical mitzvah for every individual to write, or commission, a Sefer Torah for himself. The Rosh, however, qualified that this applied in the earlier generations when individuals would study from a Sefer Torah. Now the mitzvah obligation is to write seforim – for example, a Chumash, Mishna or Gemara – that he and his children can study from, as reflected in the Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh De’ah, 270:2).
In the present age, when we can easily purchase printed seforim, it is plausible to say that we can fulfill the mitzvah by buying seforim, as this accomplishes the mitzvah’s goal – the study and knowledge of Torah.
Torah’s expectation for seforim is that they should be studied as much as possible. The more they are used – even if this causes the seforim to become worn out, or even rip – the more respect for the seforim is expressed. The seforim themselves demand that they be studied from, even at expense of their physical condition.
The Rebbe went on to explain that every Jewish home should contain fundamental Jewish books. In addition to a Chumash, Siddur and Tehillim – and, in a Chassidic home, a Tanya – there must be books of Jewish law that detail the laws that apply day to day. These must be studied often so that will know how to conduct one’s life according to Torah.
Similarly, every Jewish boy and girl should have their own seforim, including a Siddur, Chumash, and Tehillim. These seforim should belong to them, and be in their bedroom, thus transforming the child’s bedroom into a room of Torah and prayer when they study and pray there. In addition, there should be a charity box in the child’s room, where he or she can give tzedakah every day.
One should explain to the child that they shouldn’t worry that the seforim will get ruined if they are used. On the contrary, if they are used so much that they are ruined, the parents will buy new seforim to replace them.
All this will hasten the primary “Didan Notzach,” when the light of Torah and mitzvos will triumph over the darkness of golus, with the true and complete geulah through Moshiach.
On the fifth anniversary of the victory, in 5752 (1991), the Rebbe noted that there is still a group of holy texts and manuscripts waiting to be redeemed from captivity and returned to their rightful owner, the [Previous] Rebbe.
The ultimate Geulah is the culmination of our efforts in refining and redeeming all the G-dly sparks that are currently “captive” and concealed in this world. Since everything begins and is drawn from Torah, it is understood that this all starts from “redeeming” Torah texts that are in captivity.
The true liberation and victory of the seforim is with additional study of them. Consequently, Hey Teves is a day to strengthen our commitment to Torah study and add to it, beginning from the first formal “sefer” of the Oral Torah, the Mishna. When G-d Almighty sees that we make sincere resolutions to add in Torah study, the resolutions themselves have an effect, as if we have already fulfilled them.
This also underscores how the redemption of the seforim leads to the general redemption of the Jewish people: “Zion will be redeemed through justice” (Yeshayahu 1:27) – referring to Torah study, and our Sages teach (Vayikra Rabbah 7:3): “The exiles will be gathered in the merit of Mishnayos.”
And through the redemption of the seforim we will merit the redemption of the Am HaSefer, “the People of the Book,” speedily in our own days.
