In addition to publishing his magnum opus on Chasidic philosophy, the Tanya, Rabbi Schnuer Zalman of Liadi, the Alter Rebbe, regularly delivered Chasidic discourses. His grandson, the third Chabad-Lubavitch leader, Rabbi Menachem Mendel, sifted through the thousands of transcripts of these discourses and selected the fundamental discourses for publication. He arranged them in the order of the Scriptural parshiot of Bereishit, Shemot, and on the festivals of Chanukah and Purim.



First published in 5597 (1837), Torah Ohr is one of the classic texts of Chabad Chasidic philosophy. Since their publication, it has been the custom for Chasidim to study the discourses, weekly, which came to be affectionately known as the "Chasidic Parsha."



The current edition is supplemented with indexes and glosses by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, with many other supplements.



A companion volume, Likkutei Torah, presents the discourses the books of Vayikra, Bamidbar, Devarim, Song of Songs, and the associated festival seasons. It was first printed eleven years after Torah Ohr, in 5608 (1848), at the new Hebrew press in Zhitomir. The delay and change of name reflect difficulties with the censor.