Follow ChabadInfo & Never Miss an Update!

Follow us on Instagram Subscribe to our WhatsApp status and broadcast Follow us on Tiktok Follow us on Facebook Follow us on X Follow us on Google News Subscribe on YouTube

Order of Placing Sefarim On Top of Each Other

Q. I heard that a Tanya should be treated like a Chumash and should not have other Sefarim placed above it. Is this true? Also, how does it work with a Chitas, which contains a Siddur (amongst other less-holy Sefarim) – is it disrespectful to place it on top of a Chumash or Tanya? And for the same reason, can I place a Chitas on top of another Chitas?

A. Firstly, yes, a Tanya should be treated like a Chumash in this regard (the Rebbe was seen removing Tanyas from atop Chumashim and vice versa). Regarding a Chitas, it should be treated like a Chumash or Tanya, because all one-volume compilations containing sefarim with various levels of Kedusha are treated like the most kadosh sefer they contain. Therefore, one may place a Chitas atop a Chumash or Tanya (as it contains both), but not the other way around (as it would be like placing a Tanya over a Chumash, and vice versa). #11715

Bookcases in Halacha

Q. Am I allowed to use old Sefarim bookcases as storage shelves?

A. One may not use anything that was servicing holy items, called a tashmish kedusha, for mundane purposes. Sefarim however usually stand in a bookcase with their covers, rendering the cover of the sefer a tashmish kedusha and the bookcase a tashmish d’tashmish and thus permissible for other uses. Nonetheless, some poskim are worried about those sefarim that are missing their cover, rendering the bookcase a direct tashmish kedusha. There is room to be lenient even in such a case, because it is quite usual for people to place various objects on the shelves of the bookcase, so it is as though they intended for it to be used for both holy and non-holy things. #9099

Organizing Sefarim on Shabbos

Q. How may one clean up Sefarim from a table on Shabbos and put them back on the shelf?

A. If your intention is to clear the table, but not to organize the sefarim, then you are allowed to take the sefarim off the table and put them back on the shelf. When removing from the table it should be done in the same manner as done when clearing a table and not as done when putting them on a shelf. Therefore, if the normal way to take off the sefarim from the table would be not to take them off one by one, and the only reason you are taking them one by one is to put it on the shelf, this would not be permitted. Also, if they are not mixed together and each sefer is on a different part of the table there is no problem to place it back on the shelf. #2812*

A Sefer as a Chavrusa

Chazal strongly admonish us not to learn alone. Many advantages are cited for learning b’chavrusa (with a partner): A person learning alone may make mistakes and no one will catch them; pilpul (back-and-forth argument) is a major feature of chavrusa study that greatly enhances learning; studying b’dibbur (via speech) is a central aspect of talmud Torah (the mitzva of Torah study) that is practiced far more when learning with a partner, whereas learning solo is primarily in thought.

Yet, it is still quite popular to learn alone; Pirkei Avos teaches that even a single individual who is osek b’Torah (involved in Torah study) merits the presence of the Shechina (Divine presence). How do we resolve this seeming contradiction?

[One of the answers is that] the holy books, according to many halachic opinions, may replace a flesh-and-blood chavrusa. This approach is valid in circumstances where the individual does a comprehensive study in the annals of the subject – from its origins to its present day application – not merely a perusal of bottom-line halacha. Halacha2go.com #641*

Recommended Halacha Sefarim

Q. What Kitzur Shulchan Aruch-style sefer would be the most accurate to learn for halacha?

A. There are many recent halacha sefarim written by Lubavitcher Rabbanim which can be bought. Check in your local Jewish bookstore. Regarding topics not mentioned by the Alter Rebbe at all: We try to pasken based on rules and guidelines learned from other areas, or from general “klalei ha’psak” presented by the poskim. Also as stated above, in many areas the psak of the Alter Rebbe is not much different than that of other poskim. So for example, for halachos of Chanuka, Purim or 3 weeks we generally follow the Mishna Berura. #15586 

*References are available for this Halacha on the websites: www.Halacha2Go.com and www.AskTheRav.com.

Please note that these halachos apply in general situations, if you are unsure whether the halacha applies to your particular situation, please consult a Rav.

98