Thank you
The first edition of the “Tanya” was printed in the Slavuta publishing house in the year 5557. Which poses a question: the distance from Liozno to Slavuta is more than 490 miles. Travelling there in a carriage would take no less than 20 hours (with an average horse speed). Why did the Alter Rebbe decide to print his book in Slavuta, if there were a less distant publishing house in the neighbouring town of Shklov?
Another question: as we turn over the title page of the “Tanya”, we can see the letters of approval – “askamot” in Hebrew. Why did the Alter Rebbe need “approvals” for this book if his “Shulkhan Arukh” had been published without them? And if he needed the “askamot”, why did he choose the letters of Rabbi Zusha from Anipoli and Rabbi Yehuda Leib Cohen?
Rabbi Shalom Dovber ha-Levi Volpo answers these questions in his special review of the Tanya (in Hebrew):
פותחים את השער: על מה מספרות ההסכמות בספר?
