THE Rebbe Liberty Rabbi Shulem Ber Levine 5786 — סיור מחלקות הספריה - סיפור בניית מחלקות הספריה ב-770

In the year of tough shin in the end of the winter the previous driver was saved from Nazi-occupied Poland and came [music] here to the states. For half a year he stayed in a hotel. And then in the end of the summer he didn't purchase this building of 770. And the previous driver came here. More than a half year later early summer in tough shin aleph 1941 the library of the previous driver was saved [music] from Nazi-occupied Poland and arrived here. And the driver devoted the ground floor of 770 to be the library. They installed here bookcases and they filled it up with this forum. It's not this bookcases [music] that we see now. This bookcases we installed in 1990. After the previous driver installed [music] this library he continued to bank this forum here enlarging the library. >> [music] >> Thousands and thousands of forum that room that we saw before was not enough. So they he decided then to extend the library to this room, too. This room used to be a garage house of 770. After these talkings of the previous Rebbe in tough year in year tough shin gimmel and the Rebbe our Rebbe >> [music] >> became the Rebbe of Chabad he started a collection of Seforim for what was called >> [music] >> the library of Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch. For several years books were [music] gathered and collected. But they didn't have a space for it because the library in 770 in the [music] ground floor was full. So they kept it in houses, in storage [music] rooms so till 1966 tough shin kuf vov. Then Chabad [music] purchased this building from the Dr. Shapiro. He was a dentist. And >> [music] >> this became a extension to 770 and to the library. The main floor was devoted [music] for the library. They installed them these bookcases and they filled it up with Seforim. In tough shin lamed zain the Rebbe appointed me [music] to head the library. In that time the main >> [music] >> floor of 766 with the bookcases there packed full. There was so many Seforim >> [music] >> in boxes that didn't have a place to stay in the bookcases. So then we decided to add this ground floor of 766 to the library. We installed these showcases and we filled it up with Seforim. >> For the next 2 years in the years of 78 and 79 so many s'far came and wasn't enough. This addition also wasn't enough. This room was the garage of 766. [music] The driveway that comes from Eastern Parkway used to come in here. We didn't have space. We closed up the entrance to the garage >> [music] >> and we installed these showcases and we filled it up with s'far. In the year of 81, [music] tough shin mem aleph it became difficult for the Rebbe to walk every Shabbos from 770 to his house on President Street and back. In the weekdays they would take him by car, but Shabbos was difficult. So then the Rebbe and the Rebbetzin started staying here in the library in 766 for Shabbos and Yom Tov. They took one room with s'far. They set their [music] dining room set. They took a second room with s'far and and they set [music] their bedroom set. And that's how they went for several years. But that wasn't comfortable enough because they didn't have a living room. They decided [music] to build up a living room in the back yard of 766 [music] which is this room. They built They excavated it and they [music] built two floor. The top floor is the living room for the Rebbe. And the Rebbe's Shabbos room there. The bottom room floor is for a extension of the library. We then really pressed with not enough space. So, after it was finished, we installed these showcases till the ceiling and close one to the other. Should fit fit in as many s'forim as possible. And that's this room, the extension of the library, the extension of 770. [music] We know that the court case [music] of the s'forim of the library continued in the year of 5745 till 5747, 1985 till 1987, when there was the didan not the didan not zach and the returning all the books that was taken. After the books returned, there was a farbrengen and the Rebbe spoke a sicha on Hey Teves. And he says that Hey Teves is a day of the didan not zach for everything that is connected to the library and to the s'forim. And therefore, this day every year should be a day that people are donating, enlarging the library with all the s'forim they have in their collection or they published s'forim, there should be a copy of it in this library. Thousands and thousands and thousands of s'farim was added in that year. There was no space. Everything was packed. We asked the Rebbe what to do. The Rebbe told us that since the Frierdiker Rebbe started the library in 770, it should stay in 770. But there is no space. So, enlarge it. As an extension to 770, in a way it shouldn't harm the building [music] of 770. Between 770 and 766, [music] there was a there was there is a large courtyard. We excavated the whole courtyard. [music] And we built under it the large part of the storage of the library. This was in the year of Tav Shin Nun, 1990. And that's when we really built all these bookcases in on tracks. You could see the whole length of the library. So many bookcases touching one to the other without an aisle in between them. When we built the library in 1990 in Tav Shin Nun, on the building of 766, it had only two floor and we added a third floor in top and then we [music] installed in this top floor the reading room. The reading room for researchers. [music] As you see, it has two parts. One is >> [music] >> where the researchers are coming in and they fill out the form which book they need to look up And the librarian brings them the book from the storage [music] rooms that we saw till now. And he could check it there. Here is the half half a room that the librarians are working, cataloging, and serving the people that are coming. This room, small room for researchers that are coming in >> [music] >> and asking for to see a specific book. While they are [music] sitting here, the librarian goes down to the storage room, finds that book that they are looking for, and brings it up up to them. They should be able to see it and check it on these tables. After [music] Gimel Tammuz in Taf Shin Nun Daled, 94, people used to [music] continue sending many seforim to the library that they publish or they get from somewhere as the Rebbe instructed us since Hey Teves. We didn't have space. The whole library in 770 and 766 and the under the courtyard packed [music] full. So many seforim was still just laying in boxes. Till Chabad [music] purchased the building adjacent to 766. It is 760. It was the house of the Chosid Reb Meir Itkin. And they devoted the top floor, the second floor, to be part of the library, extension to the library. We rebuilt the whole floor. It should be strong enough to keep the weight of all this forum. We installed the bookcases, and we filled it up with forum. This forum that you see are mainly those forum that was arriving [music] to library since the Gimel Tammuz [music] until today. It also includes the collection of Tanya's, 8,000 [music] prints of the Tanya. In Tav Shin Mem Daled, in 1984, the Rebbe instructed that every place in the world where there are Jews, >> [music] >> the Tanya should be printed. People should be able to learn in it. Since then, about 8,000 editions was published. And [music] in the east side of this collection, of this room, all the 8,000 Tanya's [music] are displayed. This is the third floor of 770. It used to be the apartment of Reb Shmaryahu Gourarye, the Rosh Yeshiva of the 770, of the Friediker Rebbe. He passed away in winter '89. After he passed away, the Rebbe devoted this should also be extension of the library. Right away, right after that, we started the construction of the whole building in 1990. But, the first one to be ready to use was this room. We took off the partitions, we prepared this large room to [music] be the exhibition of the library. It was first to be ready. We asked the Rebbe if we should start the the [music] exhibition right away or we should wait another year till we finish the construction of the whole library. And the Rebbe answered that it's not yet the time for it. Let's wait. So, we were waiting till they finished the whole construction in 1992 [music] in Tofshin Mem Base. Since then, for the 3 years, we had here 15 exhibitions. Every time [music] we pick the subject and we display items that are related to that subject. This present exhibition is called the exhibition of the Rebbes. There is one showcase for each one of the Rebbes where we display [music] the most holy, interesting, and rare items that we have from that Rebbe. Thousands and thousands and thousands are coming [music] always to see the holy items in this in this exhibition.