Bundle of manuscripts comprising an entire Sefer Goralot , and a transcription of part of the Chatam Sofer’s last will and testament and Torah novellae. Entirely handwritten and signed (three times) by the renowned gaon Rabbi Eliezer Zussman Sofer, av beit din of Paks, beloved disciple of the Chatam Sofer and son of the gaon Rabbi Ephraim Fischel Sofer, teacher of the Ktav Sofer, and the Chatam Sofer’s leading disciple in Kabbalah and amulet-writing! Pressburg, 1840s.
Manuscript contents: Rabbi Zussman Sofer’s signature appears on the first page of the manuscript, in his own handwriting: “Belongs to me … the youth Zussman Sofer, Pressburg” (additional signatures appear on pages 5a and 19b). On page 2a, there is a partial transcription of the Chatam Sofer’s will. On pages 2a through 19b – Sefer Goralot U’Mazalot . The last two pages of the manuscript bear Torah novellae on weekly Torah portions. All this, as stated, is in Rabbi Zussman Sofer’s hand.
This manuscript has never been published; it was passed down from generation to generation in the gaon Rabbi Eliezer Zussman Sofer’s family – the second-most prominent family dynasty in Hungary after the Chatam Sofer’s dynasty. This Sefer HaGoralot was written by Rabbi Zussman Sofer in his youth, when he was a young man only 14 years old, upon the Chatam Sofer’s passing, apparently as dictated by his father, Rabbi Ephraim Fischel, who served as writer of the Chatam Sofer’s amulets. He wanted to keep these secrets received from his teacher, the Chatam Sofer, in his family. As appears in the colophon at the end of Sefer HaGoralot : “So writes the youth Zussman Sofer, son of Mordechai Fischel Sofer, in Pressburg, Sunday 20 Iyar, 1842.” Despite Rabbi Eliezer Sofer’s authoring many books of halachah and aggadah over his lifetime, he never printed this; it remained in manuscript as a hidden scroll of secrets within the family.
To the extent of the Chatam Sofer’s prowess in the revealed Torah as rabbi of the entire Diaspora, so too was his prowess in the hidden Torah, received from his teacher, Rabbi Nathan Adler. However, he would hide this fact, even from his most prominent disciples. The Chatam Sofer did not deal with in-depth Kabbalah study only, he also practiced practical Kabbalah, as is known from the story about the first sermon given by his son Shimon Sofer, av beit din of Krakow, when he was appointed the city’s rabbi. Local scholars who were not pleased that a Hungarian gaon had been brought to serve in the most prestigious rabbinate of Poland – the city of the Ram”a – planned to shame him in the middle of his speech by making all sorts of strange requests. Rabbi Shimon, who caught on to their plot, opened his talk with a story about a violent butcher who refused to go to the Chatam Sofer’s beit din . His father sent him to warn the butcher that if he does not come to the beit din , the community will be forbidden to buy meat from him. Rabbi Shimon told his father about his concern – that he feared that this violent butcher would kill him. The Chatam Sofer taught him a sacred Name that had the power to kill the violent butcher. This name indeed came into use when – as he feared – the butcher did try to kill him in his rage. Rabbi Shimon whispered the Name, and the butcher fell down dead on the spot. Rabbi Shimon ended this story with a warning to his challengers by saying, “And I still remember that sacred Name!” Legend has it that for the entire length of this sermon, there was deadly fearful silence in the study hall, so still that the sound of a fly flying around in the synagogue could be heard.
The only disciple – aside from his sons – for whom the Chatam Sofer opened the doors of Kabbalah was Rabbi Ephraim Fischel Sofer, about whom the Chatam Sofer stated in one of his sacred writings to his father, Rabbi Zussman Sofer (the First): “To my dear friend, the sharp wondrous and expert tzaddik, his Torah honor, Rabbi Eliezer Zussman Sofer … Last week, a letter arrived from my teacher, the pious Kohen, Rabbi Nathan HaKohen … and I incidentally let him know about [your] son, my disciple … Ephraim, my beloved son, a delightful child who, whenever I speak of him, I remember him more and more for the good. From time to time, I study with him, and on Shabbat, he eats at my table … Mashha”k Sofer, Frankfurt am Main.” And as his son, Rabbi Eliezer Zussman (the Second, author of this manuscript) reliably attests: “Did you not know nor hear that the Chatam Sofer was a tremendous Kabbalist? Very rarely, he would give amulets, but only to his loved ones, those privy to his secret … The scribe for his amulets was always his close confidante and was also his disciple – this was my father, the gaon R’ Fischel Sofer” ( Sefer Zikaron L’Moshe , Grosswardein, 1938).
Books of lots have always been an important branch of practical Kabbalah, for the purpose of revealing the hidden and predicting the future. There are those who say that when the men of the Great Assembly saw that there were many who used them improperly, they hid these books from future generations, and only after the Greek decree on the Jewish people was lifted, did they reveal them to select individuals. Over the years, many handwritten Sefer HaGoralot manuscripts were transcribed, and even printed. This was also by leading Early Authorities, primarily Sephardim, the most well-known of them being the Ibn Ezra’s Sefer HaGoralot . But due to the fact that precision was required for the incantations and the times for conducting the lots, according to detailed instructions, together with the fact that the book’s copyists were not sufficiently expert, the lots did not result in the required results. Hence usage of practical Kabbalah waned.
As mentioned, over the years, many Sifrei Goralot were written and also printed, and they are even offered from time to time at auction. Nearly all of these Sifrei Goralot hail from Oriental countries, and all come from a single source and a single tradition. Yet, as stated, their usage ceased due to errors that crept into them, and consequently also their usefulness. Here, for the first time, is a Sefer Goralot from a different tradition in a different country – an Ashkenazic one. Not only that, it was written by one of the rabbinic leaders of Hungary, and son of the famous amulet writer and disciple of the rabbinic leader of the generation, the Chatam Sofer.
Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for a brief biography of the renowned gaon Rabbi Eliezer Zussman Sofer .
[46] pp of which [42] pp are written. 11×17 cm. Yiddish. This material has not been examined in the sufficient detail that befits its significance.
Fine condition: Aging stains. New semi-leather and marbleized paper binding.