In UK, University of Manchester Conducts Historic Tanya Printing

by Bruria Efune – chabad.org

Amid rising antisemitism in Great Britain and a “deep concern” for its Jewish student community, the University of Manchester hosted a historic printing of the Tanya, the seminal work of Chabad-Lubavitch Chassidic philosophy, at the John Rylands Research Institute and Library on Feb. 14.

Ella Schuchman, a dentistry student who attended the printing, told Chabad.org that the university has traditionally been a great place for Jewish students, who have long been part of a relatively small but highly motivated population. But things changed after Oct. 7, and Shulman and her friends can feel it all over campus. “I’m afraid to mention that I am Jewish to some people because I have no idea of what the response will be,” she tells Chabad.org.

At the same time, Schuchman feels that the attacks on their identity have also made her and fellow Jewish students take steps to feel more pride in their heritage and to come together in stronger and deeper ways than ever before. The Tanya printing, she says, was one such a catalyzing event for Jewish students and faculty. In 1978, the Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory—launched a campaign to print and learn Tanya wherever Jews live or gather, especially in places of physical or spiritual danger. In late January, the Tanya was printed in Gaza.

Schuchman says the Tanya printing at the University of Manchester was an extraordinary experience. “It’s so rare to even imagine that such a modern secular university would have these holy works of Judaism on hand for study, and even more, for the university to host the printing of such an important book. It was also fascinating to see so many different types of Jewish people all in the same building coming together for an event like this.”

‘Not Just Any Library’

The Jewish community in Manchester is the second most populous in Britain with about 25,000 Jewish residents. It dates back to 1786, when Jews were first given political rights and the right to purchase property in England. The first Jews permitted to move to the city comprised 18 families of tradesmen, calligraphers and pawnbrokers who rented space for a synagogue. From the outset, they were met by an antisemitic press and a sometimes hostile local population. With Manchester’s economic expansion in the 19th century, the city attracted Jewish families from Germany and Western Europe who established businesses and banks, entered the professions and became an integral and accepted part of the city’s civic life.

Between 1933 and 1940, Manchester welcomed thousands of Jewish refugees from fascist Europe, including academics who had been driven from their universities who took posts in education, and esteemed rabbis who established new Torah institutions.

The location of the Tanya printing at the John Rylands Library was therefore particularly special. “This is not just any library,” says Rabbi Eli Simon, who co-directs Chabad on Campus—Manchester with his wife, Mushka.

The library is home to the acclaimed Moses Gaster Collection—a treasured collection of manuscripts and rare books curated by Rabbi Dr. Moses Gaster (1856-1939), a prominent Jewish scholar and chief rabbi of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews in Britain. The collection contains many valuable Jewish texts, including a fragment of the original Mishneh Torah, an early version of Maharal and handwritten volumes from early Chassidim.

During the Tanya printing event, the university displayed several historical and fascinating Jewish texts from the Gaster Collection.

The Tanya printing at the university library presented a moment of the Jewish pride and community that students had been craving.

“Jewish students are tired of the constant need to defend themselves and the actions of Israel,” said Rabbi Simon. “Many are uncomfortable attending lectures and having to sit next to classmates who were arrested at pro-Hamas rallies the day before. But at this event, the Jewish students were reassured by seeing that the university hosted and supported such an event at one of their most iconic and prized locations.”

“There is a feeling I cannot describe,” he continued. “We felt that something holy was taking place in the Christie and education rooms on that day as the printers were pouring out page after page of the Alter Rebbe’s Chassidut and life-changing advice.”

‘Celebrating The Gift of Chassidut’

Mushka Simon says that as the printers whirred in the background, a serene atmosphere filled the room. “It was just Jewish people from all walks of life celebrating the gift of Chassidut. The support and respect from the library staff on university grounds restored our faith in higher education and Jewish life on campus.”

Before viewing the ancient manuscripts, students learned about the contents of the Tanya from Rabbi Yossi Chazan, rabbi at the Holy Law Synagogue, and from Rabbi Dr. Reuven Leigh, director of Chabad on Campus at Cambridge University.

Rabbi Simon, who was master of ceremonies, pointed out the auspices of the chosen date for the printing—the fifth day of Adar, which marked the passing of Rabbi Shmuel Abba Schapiro of Slavita in 1864. R. Shmuel Abba Schapiro and his brother R. Pinchas managed the famed printing press of Slavita, in what is now Ukraine, founded by their father, Rabbi Moshe Shapiro. It was in his press that the first printing of the Tanya took place in 1796.

Guests of the event each walked away with a special souvenir: a page of the Tanya printed on an 1800s’ Eagle Press. The Simons say they hope they also walked away with a newfound appreciation for the advanced level of philosophical thought and academic style that Chabad Chassidism has to offer.

The event was also another important part in a trend of increased Jewish involvement on campus. “Something I’ve noticed,” says Ella Schuchman, “whether at the Chabad lunches on campus during the week or Chabad’s Shabbat dinners, the numbers have really, really risen. It’s been amazing meeting and connecting with people on campus who I had no idea were Jewish at a time when we all need one another so much.”