Igrot Kodesh · Letter 7366 — Grief & Loss
Volume 19 · Letter 338
By the grace of Hashem,
19 Tammuz* 5720,
Brooklyn,
I greet you and bless you,
You speak (note 1: The question posed concerned the manner of preserving oneself from seminal emission in vain) of the reading of the first four Psalms* (note 2: After the reading of the Shema* Yisrael of bedtime). This is what is stated, in particular, by the Abridged Shulchan Aruch*, chapter 151, based on the Yesod Yosef*, and the Ketzei HaMateh* on the Mateh Efraim*, at the end of chapter 583. Nevertheless, we do not read Tehillim* during the first half of the night (note 3: That is, at the hour when one ordinarily goes to sleep), with the exception of Rosh Hashanah* and Yom Kippur*. Regarding our practice (note 4: Regarding the Chabad* custom), one must therefore still investigate all of this (note 5: The necessity of reading these four Psalms*), but this will not be done here.
ז'שסו
ב"ה, י"ט תמוז, תש"כ
ברוקלין.
שלום וברכה!
... במש"כ ע"ד אמירת ד' מזמורים הראשונים דתהלים כו' - כ"כ בקצש"ע סקנ"א (מס' יסוד יוסף) קצה המטה שעל מטה אפרים סו"ס תקפג ועוד, ולדידן (ובפרט שאין אומרים תהלים קודם חצות לילה - מלבד בר"ה ויוהכ"פ) עצ"ע ואכ"מ.