https://mishpacha.com/the-soul-of-the-matter/
“In actuality,” says Rav Leuchter, “Nefesh HaChaim was only printed
after Rav Chaim’s passing by his son, Reb Itzele, and he chose to omit
those parts of his father’s manuscript that opposed chassidus, out of
respect for the Tzemach Tzedek, with whom he worked in partnership for
the benefit of Eastern European Jewry. That’s why, after Sha’ar Gimmel
and before Sha’ar Daled, there are eight chapters that seem to be
hanging in the middle and are not numbered. Apparently, these were
originally part of a separate sha’ar, and Reb Itzele Volozhiner omitted
parts of it.”
Is there any trace of the missing material?
ReplyDeleteIIRC, it exists in manuscript form. It includes arguments from R' Chaim's debates with unnamed persons, "I said", "They said", and was considered to be unnecessarily inflammatory, if the material would be published in it's original form.
ReplyDelete