Igrot Kodesh · Letter 248 — Sefer HaMaamarim Publication · Bikkurim & the Two Souls
Volume 2 · Letter 82
Sunday, 12 Elul 5706
To the honorable Rav I. Cohen [1], may he live — a Kohen* [4].
I received your letter and I hereby respond to the two questions you raised regarding the proposal to publish the first Sefer HaMaamarim* of our Rebbe* [2], the Previous Rebbe*, may his memory be for a blessing:
The work contains fifty-five discourses* in Yiddish*, originally published in the journal 'Hakrya VeHakedosha*,' amounting to approximately 220 pages, at an estimated cost of twelve hundred to fourteen hundred dollars*.
(1) Should this publication be accepted and undertaken?
(2) Should it be dedicated under the title 'Torat Shalom*' [3]?
I believe the answer to both questions is yes, and I encourage you to proceed.
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In connection with the coming Shabbat* Torah portion, Parshat Ki Tavo* [2], there is a beautiful Torah* thought regarding the mitzvah* of bikkurim* (first fruits):
The verse states (Deuteronomy 26:4): 'And the Kohen* shall take the basket from your hand.' The Talmud* elaborates that the Kohen* places his hand beneath the hand of the owner and they wave it together.
Every Jew* has within him a 'Kohen*' — this is the divine soul* (nefesh ha'elokit*), which is described as 'a faithful Kohen*' — for even in a moment of sin, the divine soul* remains faithful to Hashem*, as explained in Tanya*, chapter 24 [4].
And every Jew* also has 'owners' — this is the animal soul* (nefesh habehamit*) which possesses free choice and is the 'owner' of the body and its faculties.
The purpose and goal: to offer the very best of what this world produces — the bikkurim* — to Hashem*.
The Kohen* consumes the offering — it is not burned — as taught by the Baal Shem Tov* [4]: the Kohen* (the divine soul*) elevates the offering through the act of eating, which represents the elevation of physical matter to the divine.
This eating 'before Hashem*' is described in Torat Shalom* [5], pages 50, 62, and 122 (in the current edition: pages 46, 57, and 131).
With blessings for a Ketiva vaChatima Tova*,
M. Schneerson