Kehot Sets the Record Straight

By COLlive reporter

Kehot has published a book about… Kehot.

A hefty book that contains 750 pages was published this month by the Kehot Publication Society, which reviews the history of one of the world’s largest Jewish publishers.

Founded 70 years ago, the Chabad Lubavitch publishing house has disseminated many hundreds of publications on all matters of Jewish interest from chassidic philosophy to halacha to educational and reading material for the young.

The book details its establishment and years of operation, with hundreds of facsimiles of the Rebbe’s annotations, comments and directives interspersed throughout the text.

It’s no surprise that the author Rabbi Zusha Wolff was granted full access to this material, given the publishers are Kehot and he is the son of Rabbi Meni Wolff, Director of Kehot in Israel. (Kehot has additional branches in France and Argentina as well).

Zusha Wolff, a resident of Kfar Chabad, traces the development of Kehot throughout the years, with particular emphasis on the direct involvement and input of its president – the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of blessed memory.

A unique chapter highlights the Rebbe’s approach to the unique function of a Jewish book and the responsibilities associated with its publishing.

Kehot’s 70-year anniversary and the timing of the book is most opportune as its publishing rights are being questioned in court (Kehot came out with the upper hand in a recent ruling).

But, as the Hebrew book reveals, such matters have always been of importance to them and the Rebbe.

“The publishing rights have been strictly kept, so that no person dare to compete with Kehot Publications in printing the seforim of the rabbeim,” writes Wolff.

He quotes a letter by the Frerkider Rebbe from Kislev 5708 calling on chassidim to assist Kehot, “none of you should dare publish any book from the above mentioned books.” It ends with the blessing: “All that listen to me will be blessed with an abundance of material and spiritual goodness.”

After the Frierdiker Rebbe’s passing, the Rebbe took the same position on the matter – even at the cost of some material not being made available to the public.

Although the Frierdiker Rebbe is no longer with us, “what the Rebbe wants to publicize – he will publicize himself, and there is only one channel through which it will be done, and there is no need to ‘save him the work’,” the Rebbe said at a farbrengen in 5714.

What is most fascinating is that even with such clear words, expressed at various opportunities, some still went on to republish on their own copyrighted publications by Kehot.

Such was the case in 5708, when the Rebbe heard that the Sdei Chemed, a 9 volume encyclopedic collection of halachos by Rabbi Chaim Hezekiah Medini OBM, was being published in Europe.

“Please notify me if this is true,” the Rebbe writes in a letter about the rumor he heard. “And publicize in an official way that the printing rights are ours and that Kehot already prints it.”

Only time will tell if this book will have impact on those competing with Kehot, but it is surely interesting for the rest of the world to learn more about an institution that the Rebbes cared so much about.

“Hotzoat Seforim Kehot” is being sold at Kehot.com