In 1964, the Lubavitcher Rebbe launched a major lecture series on Rashi’s Torah commentary that continued for almost 1,000 sessions over 25 years, and still reverberates in biweekly scholarly exchanges in Yeshiva publications worldwide.

Initially, people were puzzled by the Rebbe’s fascination with Rashi, a seemingly simplistic commentary geared to young children in the primary grades. Wasn’t this beneath the dignity of a highly advanced scholar fluent in the higher levels of Torah exegesis?

But the Rebbe persisted. To honor the memory of his mother Rebbetzin Chana Schneerson who passed away on 6 Tishrei 1964, the Rebbe consistently dedicated an hour or two of his public Shabbos Farbrengens to elucidate a few lines of a current Rashi.

The Rebbe would begin his “Rashi Sicha” by probing a particular Rashi with as many as 20 questions, glaring “local” problems, and seeming contradictions.

After presenting the “problems,” the Rebbe would pause and give the audience time to think, the Chasidim sang a nigun tune as the Rebbe responded to l’chaim wishes. He then proceeded to introduce a new perspective on Rashi that answered all the questions, concluding with a relevant “moral of the story” that applied a practical message to everyday life.

The Rebbe’s amazing revelations of Rashi’s precious secrets opened new windows into this underappreciated Torah treasure.

Rashi’s genius allowed him to embed deep concepts in easy terms.

The Rebbe took every word of Rashi seriously. His brilliance revealed multi-layers of halachic, philosophic and mystical insights beneath the deceivingly simple surface. Digging deeper, carefully analyzing Rashi’s phraseology, the Rebbe discovered a goldmine in Rashi’s substrata, to find special meaning in each word, letter and nuance, for Rashi conveys a maximum of meaning in a minimum of words.

Rashi declares: “I am here only to explain the simple sense of the verse,” yet his commentary also alludes to esoteric secrets the Rebbe described as “the rich wine of Torah.”

Actually, Rashi is the subject of over 300 “super-commentaries,” including such luminaries as Rabbi Yehudah Lowe (the famous “Maharal” of Prague), Rabbi Eliyahu Mizrachi and the Taz (a Shulchan Aruch pillar), and the "Sifse Chachamim" printed alongside Rashi.

But while others may resort to pilpulistic explanations, the Rebbe’s system follows Rashi’s own mandate, so even a child could understand. The simplest solutions are often the hardest.

The Rebbe On Rashi’s Bottom Line
Adapted from a talk on Simchat Torah 1986. The Rebbe wept profusely and choked with tears as he described Moses’ breaking the tablets.

The Torah’s final verses list Moses' greatness: “There arose not a prophet in Israel like Moses, … who performed all the signs and wonders which G-d sent Moses... that mighty hand, and great awesome things that Moses did before the eyes of all Israel.”

What exactly does "that Moses did before the eyes of all Israel" refer to? Rashi’s comments: “His heart emboldened him to break the Tablets before their eyes, as it is written, ‘I threw the two Tablets from my hands and I broke them before your eyes.’”

But Rashi’s interpretation seems strange. Torah chapters always end in the positive, on a high note (Talmud Brachot 31a), so why conclude the whole Torah with this unfortunate incident borne of Golden Calf sin, -the source of subsequent tragedies: “Had the first Tablets not been broken, no nation could ever subjugate Israel.”

Actually, G-d concurred with Moses, as it is written, “The first tablets, which you broke - I affirm your strength for having broken them’ - ‘I affirm your strength for breaking them.”

The Hebrew word asher (which) is also pronounced ishur, meaning ‘to affirm’ and ‘to praise.’ Thus, ‘which you broke’ also means: ‘I affirm your breaking’ or ‘thank you (yishar kochacha) for breaking them.’

Moses obviously had reason to do so, but was this his greatest achievement, his emphatic climax? Isn’t it a general rule that all is decided by the ending (Talmud, Brachot 12a), so why end off with this negative event?

This was indeed Moses’ true greatness. Breaking the Tablets was antithetical to Moses’ role as a teacher of Torah . Yet Moses, who couldn’t presume that the Tablets would be replaced, was ready to eradicate his raison d'être to save Israel from destruction.

Moses was the essential leader, ready to sacrifice not only his physical life for his flock, but also his very soul. This is indeed the Torah’s climax, for this dramatic Break leading to the Second tablets confirms the Baal teshuvah’s awesome power and advantage, whose challenges and severance from his past raise him even higher than the fully observant Tzadik!

Historic Background:

RASHI, acronym for Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, was born in Troyes, northern France in 1040, and passed away on 29 Tammuz in 1105.

Rashi wrote the most fundamental commentary on the Torah and Talmud. The first Hebrew book ever printed (1475 in Reggio, Italy); it is inseparable from the Torah text in standard Chumash editions.

Brief and to the point, Rashi is user-friendly. Clarity and precision are his hallmarks. While understood by a small child studying Scripture for the first time, Rashi’s versatility challenges and stimulates the scholar.

Rashi’s daughters married great Torah scholars. His grandsons, the "Tosefot", debated their grandfather with the greatest respect across the Talmud page. Rashi's writings enhanced Talmudic study throughout Europe.

Rashi’s last years were saddened by the crusader massacres (1095-1096). Legend has it that Rashi had foretold Godfrey de Bouillon’s defeat that he would return alone from battle.

Besides his commentaries on the Torah, Prophets and Talmud, Rashi wrote "Sefer Hapardes Responsa," "Rashi's Siddur" by Simcha of Vitry, and 3 Selichot Piyutim. His writings contain 3,157 foreign translations into old French and German, and non-Jewish scholars translated his commentary into Latin in 1710.

Rashi’s Torah legacy continues to influence Jewish study to this day.