Collection of eulogies for Lithuanian Torah leaders including gedolei u’manhigei hador : The author of Beit HaLevi , Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor, Rabbi Yisrael Salanter, the Netzi”v of Volozhin, Mahari”l Diskin and more, handwritten by the gaon Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Broide, av beit din of Zhager.
Including words of praise about the deceased, some of what they had said, and stories about them.
Content of the eulogies as they were recorded in the titles by the author:
Eulogy upon the passing of the rabbi, the pious gaon R’ Yisrael Salanter in 1883 (תגמ”ר) Nemoksht (8 pp). He heard the content on the final page from Rabbi Yisrael Salanter himself.
Eulogy upon the passing of R’ Yosef Dov, the rabbi of Brisk, 1892 Shvekshna.
Eulogy upon the passing of the Netzi”v of Volozhin and the gaon Rabbi Yehoshua of Kutna-Manchester, 1893.
Mourning of an individual and bitter eulogy upon the passing of the gaon, the light of the Diaspora, R’ Yitzchak Elchanan of Kovno.
Eulogy upon the passing of the great gaon, rabbi of the entire Diaspora, R’ Yehoshua Leib, ztzkllh”h of Jerusalem, Shvekshna.
Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for a brief biography of the gaon Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Broide .
The manuscript was passed along to his nephew, Rabbi Gedalyahu Silverstone, av beit din of Washington and author of many sefarim . The latter also wrote a few eulogies on the manuscript and abbreviated derashot and a list of eulogies he delivered. A eulogy he gave for Rabbi Eliezer Gordon of Telz appears at the beginning of the manuscript.
[56] leaves handwritten by the gaon Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Broide. Various sizes, 17-19 cm.
[17] leaves handwritten by Rabbi Gedaliah Silverstone.”
Leaf [11] of the manuscript bears the author, Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Broide’s stamp.
Fine condition. Minimal stains. Two torn leaves without lack, several leaves bound upside-down. Simple binding.
Four compilations consisting of 67 pages handwritten and signed by the gaon Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Wolk, and another two notebooks with approximately 180 pp with his ma’arachot in orderly scribal script with minimal corrections and supplements, apparently in his hand.
His signature appears at the end of the kuntressim : The youngest of the flowers of Kehunah here in Popelyan, the eve of Tuesday, Rosh Chodesh Shevat 1880.
Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for a brief biography of the gaon Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch HaKohen Wolk .
Fine condition. Various sizes. Approximately 22 cm.
Three beautiful and orderly handwritten volumes including transcriptions of various sefarim , some with elucidations by the transcriber, Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh Klein of Berlin, grandson of the Mahara”m Schick.
1] Sefer Even Bochan by the ancient Chacham, Rabbi Kalonymus b”r Kalonymus, with elucidations in the margins of the sheet by Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh Klein. Lengthy introduction from him at the beginning of the manuscript describing his elucidation.
60 written pages and many more blank leaves; the elucidation was not completed. 21 cm.
2] Sefer Miksheh Zahav by Rabbi Meir b”r Levi of Zolkiew -Rödelheim, 1753. The title page states: “I copied … Sefer Miksheh Zahav and I added my own view … Yehudah, HaK’ Aryeh Klein, grandson of the gaon Mahara”m Schick. We have actually not found supplements by him here, he apparently intended to write the supplements in the many leaves that remained empty.
150 pp.
3] Sefer HaRokeach by Rabbeinu Elazar of Garmaiza – the transcription was not completed and most of the leaves of the booklet were left blank. He may have intended to write a composition or an elucidation on the Rokeach .
62 pp.
Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for a brief biography of Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh b”r Ze’ev Klein .
Three volumes in a beautiful, orderly script. The date in the title is sourced from the title page of the Miksheh Zahav manuscript.
Original binding, very fine condition.
Chiddushei Torah on parashiyot , on Talmud and Chaza”l’s aggadot from leading geonim of Ashkenaz.
The gaon, the author of Shev Ya’akov ; the gaon Rabbi Yehonatan Eibeschütz; the gaon, the author of Sha’agat Aryeh , and other geonim of Furth and Germany, all collected into this rich and varied manuscript, full of glorious ancient Torah from leading Torah disseminators in German yeshivahs of the 18th century.
The manuscript concludes with a copy of the wondrous last will and testament by the gaon Rabbi Tevele Hesse, av beit din of Mannheim (see below).
Following is a list of the rabbis cited, in order of their appearance in the ledger:
The gaon Mahari”ch – this is the gaon Rabbi Ya’akov Katz Poppers, av beit din of Frankfurt am Main, author of Shu”t Shev Ya’akov (3a-11a and more)
In the name of the Adm”o, the great gaon, famed in his generation as Rabbi Wolf Fussweiler, (11a-14a and more)
Rabbi Baruch Kahane, av beit din of Furth (22a)
Copied from the body of the writing by the gaon Rabbi Wolf Oyeb ztz”l [24a, ]
Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch [Yanov] av beit din of Furth (24a, 2a 30a and more) (a Furth dayan , a disciple of the gaon, author of Yam Yissachar and friend of the gaon, the author of Be’er Ya’akov )
From the gaon Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch [Yanov], av beit din of Furth (24b and more)
In the name of the gaon, the author of Sha’agat Aryeh , av beit din of Metz (28a)
In the name of the great gaon Rabbi Yehonatan Eibeschütz, av beit din of Metz (34b)
From the Adm”o, the excellent dayan Rabbi Kaufmann Mentz, dayan in Furth (35a, 43a and more)
From the excellent dayan , Rabbi Lieberlin (38a)
From the gaon Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch, av beit din of Berlin (46a)
From the gaon Rabbi Meir Ritzingen, av beit din of Nuremberg (56a)
From the gaon Rabbi Avraham, av beit din of Guelders by Wilseh (?) (58b)
From the great gaon Rabbi Rabbi Tevele Shaier [ av beit din Mainz] (59a)
From the gaon Rabbi Michel Shaier (62b and more), rabbi of Mannheim, whom the Chatam Sofer refers to as ” Aluf Ne’urei ” ( Derashot Chatam Sofer 77:3)
From the gaon Rabbi [Naftali] Hirsch [of the Katzenelbogen family], author of Sha’ar Naftali , av beit din of Mannheim after the above-mentioned Rabbi Tevele Hesse.
Unknown last will and testament of the gaon Rabbi Tevele Hesse, av beit din of Mannheim:
The final three leaves of the manuscript are a a copy of the wondrous last will and testament with 24 sections, from the gaon Rabbi Tevele Hesse, av beit din of Mannheim, in which he tells his children about his conduct and how he spent his days in prayer, his study schedule, his conduct during Elul, issues of sanctity, purity and more.
Inter alia , he cautions them to study daily from mussar works, especially Orchot Tzaddikim . He attests that he himself had already reviewed this sefer 100 times!!
To the best of our examination, this last will and testament is unknown from anywhere else.
Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for a brief biography of the gaon Rabbi Tevele Hesse, av beit din of Mannheim .
The writer was a disciple of the gaon Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Yanov, av beit din of Furth (Refer to: 27a, 32a) and other Furth scholars, as demonstrated by this manuscript.
The dates mentioned in the manuscript are from 1780-1788. With owners’ signatures and notations from several scholars in Furth from that era, including: Shimon Oppenheim, Yuda Ben Michael Mosentheim (possibly brother of the gaon Rabbi Moshe Tuvia Mosentheim), Meir Ritzingen, Shimon Segal and others.
156 pp. 20 cm. many owners’ notations on the flyleaves.
Fine condition. The first leaves have slight tears in the bottom corners, minimal stains, semi leather binding.
‘The words that came out of his mouth were clear, refined and clean.”
Extremely important autograph manuscript from the mid 1800s. Broad and deep novellae and elucidations on mishnayot from Seder Taharot in Tractates: Keilim, Ohalot, Nega’im, Tevul Yom and Uktzin.
With emphasis on many elucidations by the Gr”a in his commentary on Seder Taharot, which were written by his disciple imprecisely (see below) or briefly, and the author, in his Torah greatness, reconstructs them.
The content shows that the author was a tremendous gaon who was expert in Seder Taharot, and he would also explain the Tosefta that dealt with the mishnah he was discussing, and deliberate the words of the commentators with an emphasis on the Gr”a, to clarify and refine them.
As stated above, the author was most occupied with the elucidation of the Gr”a to present them properly.
In many places in his work, the author criticizes the writer of the Gr”a’s insights on Seder Taharot (Elyah Rabbah Brinn 1802 and more), here are some examples:
‘He did not understand his intent and did not follow it until the end’ (50a)
‘The Gr”a most certainly did not say these words’ (49b)
‘I would be astonished if the gaon actually said these words (33a at the end of the manuscript)’
‘Look in the gaon’s commentary on Seder Taharot in his sefer Elyah Rabba – the writer did not mean here when the gaon actually intended’ (ibid, 34a)
‘It seems to me that here, too, the writer did not understand the gaon’s intent (ibid, 35a)’
‘It seems to me that here, too, the writer did not precisely understand the gaon’s true intent (33a)’
The words that came out of the gaon’s mouth were certainly well-reasoned with logic that can be comprehended by every understanding heart and every hearing ear, and the copyist write these words tastelessly, without salt and lacking spices … (54a)
Clear and well-explained words are written on page 34a: It is clear that the gaon’s student write this sefer without the intent to confirm the Gaon’s words, and it some places he writes about himself clearly. In mishnah 11:8 he writes” I forgot what my teacher said about this, ” because he wrote the sefer after the Gaon’s passing according to what he remembered, as he wrote in his preface, and certainly the words that came out of the gaon’s mouth were clear, refined and clean, with nothing warped or stuck, but the writer did not succeed to the extent of understanding his intent in several places, or he heard and forgot, and several places show that the reasoning was made up, and not what the Gaon intended.
Indeed, the Gr”a’s sons, in their foreword to Biur HaGr”a al Sefer Yonah objected to this commentary which was copied quickly and filled with mistakes.
The writer’s identity is unknown to us, but he was certainly very great in Torah and an expert in Seder Taharot. Alongside two insights in the manuscript, another writer noted: This was written in brief in the gloss in his mishnah, or this was written with extreme brevity on the sheet of his mishnahs.
[110] pp. 22 cm. Written over time on different paper and bound together.
Fine condition. Aging stains. Worming perforations, bound in a new binding.
Autograph of the work Ir David – important and unique sefer by the renowned gaon Rabbi David Oppenheim (the Rad”a) av beit din of Nikolsberg and Prague, and chief rabbi of Moravia.
Due to the precious value of this work as a manuscript by a
gadol hador , the manuscript was separated at some stage and parts of it are currently in several public libraries around the world and in private collections. [Prague, early 18th century]. Not printed.
Rabbi David called his sefer Ir David and the chapters are called
batim (homes) – that is, the
sefer is the city and its chapters are the homes in the city. Later on, he even divided the
batim into
chadarim [rooms] –
se’ifim – sections. This is the initial autograph, before the division into
chadarim . (For more about this important work, refer to Michel,
Ohr HaChayim , Frankfurt 1891). Leaf written on both sides.
Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for a brief biography of
Rabbi David Oppenheim .
[2] pp, 15.5×19.5 cm. 13 lines.
Very fine condition. Tiny tears in the margins. New semi leather binding.
“The rabbi said what he heard from his own rabbi, Rabbi Moshe Sofer ztz”l”
Novellae on Perek Eizehu Neshech in Tractate Bava Metzia and some of Tractate Ketubot from lectures by the author of Goren David at the Yarmut yeshivah, written by his disciples.
The author of Goren David transmits an important rule on page 19a in the name of his rabbi, the Chatam Sofer: Everywhere the Rashb”a disagrees with the Ra’ava”d in Sefer Torat HaBayit , and does not mention him by name out of respect for him, he refers to him as Gadol Echad ! The text in the manuscript is “The rabbi said what he heard from his own rabbi, Rabbi Moshe Sofer ztz”l”
At the top of the manuscript:
“I made this notebook for the honor of my Creator, to write Torah insights in it from my teacher, the gaon who served in Yarmut, that which he innovated in Perek Eizehu Neshach in the study ahll in 1853 … the youth, Chaim … (surname erased).
4 leaves at the end of the manuscript: Novellae on Tractate Ketubot, noted at the top: “Insights from my teacher from the winder semester of 1855, here in Yarmut.
Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for a brief biography of the gaon Rabbi Aharon David Deutch .
Yarmut, 1853-1855.
[1], 35, [4] leaf, 15 leaves remain blank. 24 cm.
Fine condition. The front flyleaf is lacking the bottom half, and leaf [4] at the end has a tear without lack. New binding.
Manuscript of Anaf Etz Avot (Zhitomir, 1900 – refer to the photocopy) by the gaon Rabbi Dovber Menkis, av beit din of Zhitomir. 148 pages written and signed [multiple times] by the author, with a very beautiful title page including a lengthy colophon by the author. Zhitomir [c. late 19th century]. The first leaf bears the censor’s permit to print the sefer .
One of the interesting responsa in this sefer is about the Volozhin yeshivah, which Jewish communities pledged to maintain. After it closed, these charity funds were redirected for other purposes, and now that the yeshivah has been re-established in 1898, its gabba’im request that all the obligations undertaken be returned to their original format. At the beginning of the responsum, the author recounts the Volozhin yeshivah’s critical importance, the “Mother of the Yeshivahs.”
Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for a brief biography of the gaon Rabbi Dovber Menkis .
[148] pp. Approximately 23×18 cm. Autograph script. His pictorial signature appears in the margins of several of the responsa.
Moderate-fine condition. Aging stains. Worming perforations. Wear in the margins of the leaves, restored with non-acidic glue. New binding.
Signed autograph, Sefer Sidra D’Kra – derashot on Chumash Bereishit according to the parashiyot of the Torah, handwritten by the author, the gaon Rabbi Yosef Jaffe, av beit din of Pokroi, Gruzd, Salant and Manchester. Pokroi, 1874. The author wrote a beautiful title page for his manuscript (refer to the Hebrew catalog for the precise text).
To the best of our [electronic] examination, this sefer has never been printed and the insights written in it were not printed in the author’s other works. However, in the encyclopedia Dor Rabbanav V’Dorshav (Warsaw, 1896, p. 32) in the relevant entry, this manuscript is listed among Rabbi Yosef Jaffe’s printed works. However, this is probably a mistake, or else the sefer was indeed printed in the past, but none remain.
Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for a brief biography of the gaon Rabbi Yosef Jaffe .
[40] written pages. 17×22 cm.
Fine condition. Aging stains. Dogeared. Somewhat brittle paper. Not bound.
The Etz Chaim yeshivah was a glorious institution. It was the yeshivah of the old city of Jerusalem – and of the new city; its sweet products were a byword. In 1925, the gaon Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer, rabbi and lecturer in Slutzk, ascended to the Land of Israel, and was appointed head of the yeshivah. His assumption of this position raised the status of the yeshivah tenfold and more, with his clear lectures in which he drew from and disseminated the waters from which he imbibed by his rabbis: The Netzi”v of Volozhin, and Rabbi Chaim of Brisk. R’ Isser Zalman devoted his entire being to raising the banner of Torah among the young children.
The famed principal of the yeshivah was Rabbi Michel Tukachinsky, who devoted his entire being to raising the banner of the yeshivah. He opened a special fund for the senior members of the yeshivah and the kollel, especially for excellent students, to grant them special funds, making the yeshivah a magnet for spiritual giants of Jerusalem.
This ledger includes the grants received by those same excellent students in 1953. This list is a glimpse at those tens of Torah scholars devoted to study and understanding Torah and who later became among the city’s leading Torah disseminators.
A small sampling of the lofty figures who studied Torah in poverty, creating the image of the glorious Jerusalem of those days, with Torah and poverty on the one hand, and asceticism and charity on the other, are among those who signed receipt of the monthly grant:
Rabbi Aryeh Levin
Rabbi Yosef Leib Zussman – later a leading Kabbalist
Rabbi Yitzchak David Guttfarb
Rabbi Yisrael Ya’akov Fisher – one of the gedolei haposkim and author of Even Yisrael
Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, one of the gedolei hador , author of Darkei Shmuel
Rabbi Yehudah Shapira, a close associate of the Chazon Ish
Rabbi Chaim Brimm, among the prominent personalities of the Holy City
Rabbi Nota Freund, later a lecturer in Etz Chaim and one of the leading disseminators of Torah and Chassidut
Rabbi Chaim Shalom Segal, among the prominent Chaba”d mashpi’im
Rabbi Shmuel Hominer, one of the tzaddikim of the city
Rabbi Sender Freund, famed for his extreme genius
Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Landau, later among the leading disciples of the Chazon Ish
Rabbi Avraham Moshe Hamburger, author of Chiddushei Rabi Avraham Moshe al Sha”s
Rabbi Shmuel Aharon Yudelevitz, later a lecturer at Etz Chaim, author of Me’il Shmuel
Rabbi Matityahu Davis, author of Matat Melech and faithful attendant of the av beit din , R’ Zelig Reuven Bengis
Rabbi Chaim Druck, author of Orot Chayim
Rabbi Zundel Kroizer, leading Torah disseminator, author of Ohr HaChammah
Lined notebook. 60 leaf. 20 cm. Most of the leaves in the notebook are signed by the students, gedolei Torah .
Fine condition.
Rare notebook with Torah insights handwritten by the leading rosh yeshivah of the previous generation, the renowned gaon Rabbi Shmuel Rozovsky, rosh yeshivah of Ponovezh. The novellae are in autograph script (including erasures, corrections and additions in the margins).
As is known, the gaon Rabbi Shmuel Rozovsky rarely wrote; most of his Torah was transmitted to future generations through his disciples’ writings. [Refer to his son’s introduction to Shiurei Rabi Shmuel al Masechet Makkot .] This is the reason for the rarity of this manuscript. Rabbi Shmuel’s famous golden tongue can also be observed here, along with his rare explanatory skills, unparalleled even in previous generations.
Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for a brief biography of the gaon Rabbi Shmuel Rozovsky .
[1] notebook, 34 written pages, 21×17 cm.
Very fine condition.
Complete lined notebook with Torah novellae by the gadol hador Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach. Autograph script. [Jerusalem, c. 1940s].
These novellae are on Tractate Shabbat, for which the gaon Rabbi Shlomo Zalman was considered an authority as a result of his sefer , Me’orei Esh on the laws of Shabbat. He authored it in his twenties, and it became his claim to fame. The notebook includes both Torah discourses and novellae on the Talmud.
Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for a brief biography of the gaon Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach .
Lined notebook. [16] leaf, of which [16] pages are written. Approximately 20 cm. Entirely handwritten by the gaon Rabbi Shlomo Zalman.
Very fine condition.
Especially beautiful handwritten kuntress spanning twelve large leaves in clear and orderly script, handwritten by the av beit din of Jerusalem, the renowned gaon Rabbi Eliezer Yehudah Waldenberg, author of Tzitz Eliezer . Jerusalem, 1959.
Lengthy discussion dealing with the halachahs of an etrog on Sukkot during the Shemittah year, with an in-depth look at the Chazon Ish’s approach. It also mentions the gedolei hador such as the gaon of Tshebin, his brother – the Chazon Nachum, and others. Although the responsum is addressed to his friend, the gaon Rabbi Yisrael Weltz, av beit din of Budapest, Rabbi Waldenberg writes it as a significant halachic compilation spanning twelve large leaves [approximately 3500 words], and it stands as a work in its own right. The kuntress was written as inyana d’yoma in Elul 1959, the eve of Rosh HaShanah of the Shemittah year 1959-1960.
At the top of the letter, Rabbi Waldenberg pens another responsum in aggadeta – with respect to David HaMelech’s passing away on Shabbat. The responsum about the Shemittah etrog was printed with some differences in his work Tzitz Eliezer [Part VI, siman 39], and the responsum about King David was printed [ibid] in responsum 37.
Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for a brief biography of the gaon Rabbi Eliezer Yehudah Waldenberg .
[12] large leaves, 33×21 cm. Entirely in his hand. The first leaf bears the Tzitz Eliezer’s letterhead and the last leaf bears his full signature.
Fine condition. Ink smudges.
