Auction 58 - Rare and Important Items
Displaying 11 - 20 of 165
Auction 58 - Rare and Important Items
October 31, 2017
Opening: $6,000
Sold for: $8,125
Including buyer's premium
Mishneh Torah by the Rambam, end of Nezikin and most of Kinyan and a small part of Avodah [part of Vol. 2. Venice: Daniel Bomberg, 1524].
Many glosses in ancient Oriental script [from the time of printing, mid-16th century]. Some are long glosses (titled "Gi[layon"), containing sections copied from books of Rishonim [such as the Me'eri, R. Meir HaMe'ili, the Ran, Shita L'Talmid HaRashba, Shita Lo Noda L'Me, etc.], and replacements of omitted sections in the version of the commentators on the Rambam. Short glosses of corrections of versions of the Rambam and of his commentators, and sources.
The glosses are characteristic to the "proofread" books of the Rambam from the yeshiva of R. Bezalel Ashkenazi, author of Shita Mekubetzet and disciple the Ari HaKadosh, located in Egypt. The content of these glosses have parallels in other writings of the author of Shita Mekubetzet. For example: On page 595a is a long gloss ending with the words: "…until here from the Shita L'Talmid HaRashba and it seems that he is the son of the Ritvah" - This manuscript of novellae by the "Talmid" [disciple of] HaRashba is cited by R. Bezalel Ashkenazi several times in his books. In some places, he adds his assumption that the composition was written by the Ritvah's son. See the writings of the Chida: "Rules of R. Bezalel Ashkenazi": "So he wrote in Chiddushei Kiddushin by the Talmid HaRashba and apparently he is the son of the Ritvah" (Ein Zocher, Ot 40, Siman 29; Chaim Sha'al responsa, Part 2, Siman 27). [This composition by the Talmid HaRashba on Tractate Kiddushin was recently printed by Machon Ofek in the book Or Ganuz, Part 1].
On page 599b is a long "Gi[layon" gloss: "from the Shita of R. Meir HaMe'ili on Ketubot, Chapter Almana Nizonet" [R. Meir son or R. Shimon HaMe'ili, a Provence sage, author of Sefer HaMe'orot]. This gloss was printed in the Shabtai Frankel edition according to the manuscript "Gilayon proofread book". The teachings of R. Meir HaMe'ili are cited several times in the Shita Mekubetzet on Tractate Ketubot (for example, p. 22b; p. 44a; etc.).
Leaves 569-632; 458-459, 465-468. Total of 70 leaves + a section of leaf 471. 36 cm. Fair condition. Wear and coarse tears, some affecting text. Stains and dampstains. Worming. Some glosses are trimmed. New binding.
Literature: M. Benayahu, "Glosses on the Mishneh Torah from the Rambam's copy and glosses attributed to R. Bezalel Ashkenazi and to the Ari", Sinai 100, pp. 135-142; A. Chavatzelet, "Proofread copies of the Rambam used by Maran the Beit Yosef and the author of the Shita HaMekubetzet", Moriah 115, pp. 19-22; Introduction to the Mishneh Torah L'HaRambam Mada and Ahava - proofread book, Machon Ofek, Jerusalem, 1997, pp. 27-29; Introduction to Or HaGanuz - books of the Rishonim on Tractate Kiddushin, Part 1, Machon Ofek, Jerusalem, 1999, pp. 12-15.
Many glosses in ancient Oriental script [from the time of printing, mid-16th century]. Some are long glosses (titled "Gi[layon"), containing sections copied from books of Rishonim [such as the Me'eri, R. Meir HaMe'ili, the Ran, Shita L'Talmid HaRashba, Shita Lo Noda L'Me, etc.], and replacements of omitted sections in the version of the commentators on the Rambam. Short glosses of corrections of versions of the Rambam and of his commentators, and sources.
The glosses are characteristic to the "proofread" books of the Rambam from the yeshiva of R. Bezalel Ashkenazi, author of Shita Mekubetzet and disciple the Ari HaKadosh, located in Egypt. The content of these glosses have parallels in other writings of the author of Shita Mekubetzet. For example: On page 595a is a long gloss ending with the words: "…until here from the Shita L'Talmid HaRashba and it seems that he is the son of the Ritvah" - This manuscript of novellae by the "Talmid" [disciple of] HaRashba is cited by R. Bezalel Ashkenazi several times in his books. In some places, he adds his assumption that the composition was written by the Ritvah's son. See the writings of the Chida: "Rules of R. Bezalel Ashkenazi": "So he wrote in Chiddushei Kiddushin by the Talmid HaRashba and apparently he is the son of the Ritvah" (Ein Zocher, Ot 40, Siman 29; Chaim Sha'al responsa, Part 2, Siman 27). [This composition by the Talmid HaRashba on Tractate Kiddushin was recently printed by Machon Ofek in the book Or Ganuz, Part 1].
On page 599b is a long "Gi[layon" gloss: "from the Shita of R. Meir HaMe'ili on Ketubot, Chapter Almana Nizonet" [R. Meir son or R. Shimon HaMe'ili, a Provence sage, author of Sefer HaMe'orot]. This gloss was printed in the Shabtai Frankel edition according to the manuscript "Gilayon proofread book". The teachings of R. Meir HaMe'ili are cited several times in the Shita Mekubetzet on Tractate Ketubot (for example, p. 22b; p. 44a; etc.).
Leaves 569-632; 458-459, 465-468. Total of 70 leaves + a section of leaf 471. 36 cm. Fair condition. Wear and coarse tears, some affecting text. Stains and dampstains. Worming. Some glosses are trimmed. New binding.
Literature: M. Benayahu, "Glosses on the Mishneh Torah from the Rambam's copy and glosses attributed to R. Bezalel Ashkenazi and to the Ari", Sinai 100, pp. 135-142; A. Chavatzelet, "Proofread copies of the Rambam used by Maran the Beit Yosef and the author of the Shita HaMekubetzet", Moriah 115, pp. 19-22; Introduction to the Mishneh Torah L'HaRambam Mada and Ahava - proofread book, Machon Ofek, Jerusalem, 1997, pp. 27-29; Introduction to Or HaGanuz - books of the Rishonim on Tractate Kiddushin, Part 1, Machon Ofek, Jerusalem, 1999, pp. 12-15.
Catalogue
Auction 58 - Rare and Important Items
October 31, 2017
Opening: $1,000
Sold for: $4,250
Including buyer's premium
Mishneh Torah by the Rambam, with the Kesef Mishneh commentary by R. Yosef Karo. Parts Haflaah and Zera'im [of the third volume. Venice: Bragadin, 1574]. First edition of the Kesef Mishneh.
About 16 long (trimmed) glosses on the sheets of the book. These include six scholarly glosses in the characteristic handwriting of R. Avraham Rozanis, rabbi and father-in-law of R. Yehuda Rozanis, author of the Mishneh LaMelech. Five of these six glosses appear in the book Mishneh LaMelech with a few variations, creating an interesting phenomenon (already noted, see below): glosses written by the father-in-law were inadvertently included in his son-in-law's book.
One of the glosses written by R. Avraham Rozanis has not been printed [however, a long explanation on the same topic was printed in Mishneh LaMelech, apparently written by the son-in-law, the author of the Mishneh LaMelech himself].
The book also includes approximately 10 long scholarly glosses, written in Oriental script by several unidentified writers [characteristic to Turkish sages at that time], most begin with "The writer said".
The venerable R. Avraham (son of R. Meir) Rozanis (1535-1620), mostly cited by the name R. Avraham Rozanis the First, was one of the greatest and most resilient Torah scholars in Constantinople in his days, at the time that Constantinople was a major Torah center. Disciple of R. Shlomo HaLevi HaZaken (the Elder) and of R. Yom Tov Tzahalon (the Maharitz). From his youth, he was famous for his great Torah wisdom and all Constantinople scholars acquiesced to his opinion. He served as vizier in the royal court of the Sultan. In 1659, he was compelled to move with the sultan's court to the city of Adrianople where he lived until 1677 and was acclaimed throughout the Ottoman Empire. He staunchly opposed the false Messiah Sabbatai Zevi and his signature heads the list of signatures on the renowned letter sent to communities throughout Turkey admonishing them to defy the false Messiah's instructions to cancel the fast of Tisha B'Av. He himself met with Sabbatai Zevi when he arrived in Adrianople and was imprisoned by the Sultan and at that time Sabbatai Zevi admitted that Natan HaAzati led him astray with his "prophecies".
The only daughter of R. Avraham Rozanis married his great disciple and nephew R. Yehuda Rozanis author of the Mishneh LaMelech who often cites teachings of his illustrious father-in-law "The rabbi my uncle". A few of his responsa were printed in books written by great Torah scholars of his generation, however, most his Torah novellae were written in his glosses on his books. After his death, all his books with his glosses were inherited by his eminent son-in-law, author of Mishneh LaMelech and many of his novellae were printed in the book Mishneh LaMelech prepared for printing by Rabbi Yaakov Kuli author of Me'am Lo'ez.
The Chida in his book Shem HaGedolim (entry: R. Yehuda Rozanis) writes: "Cited in several places in the book Mishneh LaMelech are brief teachings and in particular resolute disagreements with later Torah authorities. All such citations are not the rabbi's own Torah thoughts, rather they are the teachings of his father-in-law R. Avraham Rozanis and the rabbi copied his father-in-law's teachings unto his sheets. Rabbi Yaakov Kuli found these handwritten glosses and thought that they were the teachings of the Mishneh LaMelech. This I have received directly from the elder rabbis".
The Chida further writes in Shem HaGedolim (entry R. Avraham Rozanis): "Rabbi Avraham Rozanis the First… father-in-law of the Mishneh LaMelech, was a great Torah scholar and wrote extensively on the sheets of books and all the brief resolute words in the Mishneh LaMelech on the Maharshach were written by this rabbi, and his son-in-law has copied them into his own book. The person who arranged the book [Rabbi Yaakov Kuli] thought that these were his Torah thoughts" (see enclosed material). In this book, this phenomenon can clearly be discerned, since the original glosses clearly written in the handwriting of R. Avraham Rozanis were printed in Mishneh LaMelech written by his son-in-law [regarding the identification of the handwriting of R. Avraham Rozanis in his glosses, see enclosed article - "Editing the book Mishneh LaMelech on the Rambam", by Yisrael Natan Heshel, Beit Aharon V'Yisrael, Issue 67, pp. 89-98].
[13], 163 leaves (leaves 91-102 and 145-150 are bound out of order). Lacking copy (originally, part 3 included: [20], 451, [1] leaves). 31 cm. Fair condition. Dampstains and wear. Worming. Repairs with paper (to many leaves near the spine and to the margins of several leaves). Detached leaves. Almost all the glosses are trimmed with significant loss to text. Worn detached binding.
About 16 long (trimmed) glosses on the sheets of the book. These include six scholarly glosses in the characteristic handwriting of R. Avraham Rozanis, rabbi and father-in-law of R. Yehuda Rozanis, author of the Mishneh LaMelech. Five of these six glosses appear in the book Mishneh LaMelech with a few variations, creating an interesting phenomenon (already noted, see below): glosses written by the father-in-law were inadvertently included in his son-in-law's book.
One of the glosses written by R. Avraham Rozanis has not been printed [however, a long explanation on the same topic was printed in Mishneh LaMelech, apparently written by the son-in-law, the author of the Mishneh LaMelech himself].
The book also includes approximately 10 long scholarly glosses, written in Oriental script by several unidentified writers [characteristic to Turkish sages at that time], most begin with "The writer said".
The venerable R. Avraham (son of R. Meir) Rozanis (1535-1620), mostly cited by the name R. Avraham Rozanis the First, was one of the greatest and most resilient Torah scholars in Constantinople in his days, at the time that Constantinople was a major Torah center. Disciple of R. Shlomo HaLevi HaZaken (the Elder) and of R. Yom Tov Tzahalon (the Maharitz). From his youth, he was famous for his great Torah wisdom and all Constantinople scholars acquiesced to his opinion. He served as vizier in the royal court of the Sultan. In 1659, he was compelled to move with the sultan's court to the city of Adrianople where he lived until 1677 and was acclaimed throughout the Ottoman Empire. He staunchly opposed the false Messiah Sabbatai Zevi and his signature heads the list of signatures on the renowned letter sent to communities throughout Turkey admonishing them to defy the false Messiah's instructions to cancel the fast of Tisha B'Av. He himself met with Sabbatai Zevi when he arrived in Adrianople and was imprisoned by the Sultan and at that time Sabbatai Zevi admitted that Natan HaAzati led him astray with his "prophecies".
The only daughter of R. Avraham Rozanis married his great disciple and nephew R. Yehuda Rozanis author of the Mishneh LaMelech who often cites teachings of his illustrious father-in-law "The rabbi my uncle". A few of his responsa were printed in books written by great Torah scholars of his generation, however, most his Torah novellae were written in his glosses on his books. After his death, all his books with his glosses were inherited by his eminent son-in-law, author of Mishneh LaMelech and many of his novellae were printed in the book Mishneh LaMelech prepared for printing by Rabbi Yaakov Kuli author of Me'am Lo'ez.
The Chida in his book Shem HaGedolim (entry: R. Yehuda Rozanis) writes: "Cited in several places in the book Mishneh LaMelech are brief teachings and in particular resolute disagreements with later Torah authorities. All such citations are not the rabbi's own Torah thoughts, rather they are the teachings of his father-in-law R. Avraham Rozanis and the rabbi copied his father-in-law's teachings unto his sheets. Rabbi Yaakov Kuli found these handwritten glosses and thought that they were the teachings of the Mishneh LaMelech. This I have received directly from the elder rabbis".
The Chida further writes in Shem HaGedolim (entry R. Avraham Rozanis): "Rabbi Avraham Rozanis the First… father-in-law of the Mishneh LaMelech, was a great Torah scholar and wrote extensively on the sheets of books and all the brief resolute words in the Mishneh LaMelech on the Maharshach were written by this rabbi, and his son-in-law has copied them into his own book. The person who arranged the book [Rabbi Yaakov Kuli] thought that these were his Torah thoughts" (see enclosed material). In this book, this phenomenon can clearly be discerned, since the original glosses clearly written in the handwriting of R. Avraham Rozanis were printed in Mishneh LaMelech written by his son-in-law [regarding the identification of the handwriting of R. Avraham Rozanis in his glosses, see enclosed article - "Editing the book Mishneh LaMelech on the Rambam", by Yisrael Natan Heshel, Beit Aharon V'Yisrael, Issue 67, pp. 89-98].
[13], 163 leaves (leaves 91-102 and 145-150 are bound out of order). Lacking copy (originally, part 3 included: [20], 451, [1] leaves). 31 cm. Fair condition. Dampstains and wear. Worming. Repairs with paper (to many leaves near the spine and to the margins of several leaves). Detached leaves. Almost all the glosses are trimmed with significant loss to text. Worn detached binding.
Catalogue
Auction 58 - Rare and Important Items
October 31, 2017
Opening: $4,000
Sold for: $6,875
Including buyer's premium
Tikkunei HaZohar. Mantua: [Meir son of Efraim of Padua and Ya'akov son of Naftali HaCohen of Gazzuolo, 1557]. First edition.
Copy of Kabbalist R. Yehuda Fatiyah with a special dedication, handwritten and signed by him, and several glosses in his handwriting. Signatures and many glosses of other writers [in Sephardi- Babylonian script].
At the end of the introduction is a long interesting dedication in the handwriting of R. Yehuda Fatiyah. First, he writes of the importance of this edition of Tikkunei HaZohar: "It is the first printed edition ever, because it was printed in 1557… at the time the Arizal was yet a young man, and the sources cited in Etz Chaim and in Eight She'arim refer to this printed edition…". R. Yehuda Fatiyah then relates that he sent this book with his son to give it "as a gift" to the "institute officials" in Jerusalem: "Since it is valuable, I have sent it with my son on Sunday, the 9th of the month of Adar Bet 1935 upon his aliya to Jerusalem to give it to the institute official as a gift to add it to the rest of the books gathered by the Jewish People and I have appointed my son as an emissary to perform this mitzvah and complete this mission and the Guardian of the Jewish People should also guard my son Servant of G-d and his son Shaul…Ye'uda Moshe Yeshua Fatiyah" [possibly, he is referring to the institute which eventually developed into the NLI].
The signature of his aforementioned son appears on the first leaf: "Abdullah Ye'uda Moshe Fatiyah". Other ownership inscriptions and signatures throughout the book.
Handwritten glosses by R. Yehuda Fatiyah on several leaves (page 33b and leaves 106-107).
Corrections and glosses of other writers, including long kabbalistic glosses. Two have curly signatures ["Abdullah/David?... Nuriel?"]. One gloss begins with the words: "Behold I have heard from my father R. Nuriel…".
R. Yehuda Fatiyah (1859-1942) was a leading kabbalist and Babylonian (Iraqi) sage, disciple of the Ben Ish Chai. After moving to Jerusalem in 1934, he studied at Rabbi Sadeh's Yeshiva for Kabbalists together with his companion R. Ya'akov Chaim Sofer, author of Kaf HaChaim. A posek and kabbalist, he dealt extensively n kabbalistic Tikkunim and amulets and for many years removed Dybbuks and "Evil Spirits" as he himself relates in his book HaRuchot Mesaprot. During World War II, he wrote Kabbalistic prayers and Tikkunim and iorganized prayer ceremonies of leading Kabbalists for the deliverance of the residents of Eretz Israel from the Nazi enemy. Authored Beit Lechem Yehuda and Matok LaNefesh and other books.
1-15, 17-146, [2] leaves (originally: [4], 146, [2] leaves). Lacking title page and the [3] following leaves (with a ruling of R. Moshe Basula), and leaf 16 (replaced with a leaf in Oriental handwriting). Condition varies among the leaves, fair-good. Stains. Wear and tears to several leaves, repaired with acidic adhesive tape. Old binding.
Copy of Kabbalist R. Yehuda Fatiyah with a special dedication, handwritten and signed by him, and several glosses in his handwriting. Signatures and many glosses of other writers [in Sephardi- Babylonian script].
At the end of the introduction is a long interesting dedication in the handwriting of R. Yehuda Fatiyah. First, he writes of the importance of this edition of Tikkunei HaZohar: "It is the first printed edition ever, because it was printed in 1557… at the time the Arizal was yet a young man, and the sources cited in Etz Chaim and in Eight She'arim refer to this printed edition…". R. Yehuda Fatiyah then relates that he sent this book with his son to give it "as a gift" to the "institute officials" in Jerusalem: "Since it is valuable, I have sent it with my son on Sunday, the 9th of the month of Adar Bet 1935 upon his aliya to Jerusalem to give it to the institute official as a gift to add it to the rest of the books gathered by the Jewish People and I have appointed my son as an emissary to perform this mitzvah and complete this mission and the Guardian of the Jewish People should also guard my son Servant of G-d and his son Shaul…Ye'uda Moshe Yeshua Fatiyah" [possibly, he is referring to the institute which eventually developed into the NLI].
The signature of his aforementioned son appears on the first leaf: "Abdullah Ye'uda Moshe Fatiyah". Other ownership inscriptions and signatures throughout the book.
Handwritten glosses by R. Yehuda Fatiyah on several leaves (page 33b and leaves 106-107).
Corrections and glosses of other writers, including long kabbalistic glosses. Two have curly signatures ["Abdullah/David?... Nuriel?"]. One gloss begins with the words: "Behold I have heard from my father R. Nuriel…".
R. Yehuda Fatiyah (1859-1942) was a leading kabbalist and Babylonian (Iraqi) sage, disciple of the Ben Ish Chai. After moving to Jerusalem in 1934, he studied at Rabbi Sadeh's Yeshiva for Kabbalists together with his companion R. Ya'akov Chaim Sofer, author of Kaf HaChaim. A posek and kabbalist, he dealt extensively n kabbalistic Tikkunim and amulets and for many years removed Dybbuks and "Evil Spirits" as he himself relates in his book HaRuchot Mesaprot. During World War II, he wrote Kabbalistic prayers and Tikkunim and iorganized prayer ceremonies of leading Kabbalists for the deliverance of the residents of Eretz Israel from the Nazi enemy. Authored Beit Lechem Yehuda and Matok LaNefesh and other books.
1-15, 17-146, [2] leaves (originally: [4], 146, [2] leaves). Lacking title page and the [3] following leaves (with a ruling of R. Moshe Basula), and leaf 16 (replaced with a leaf in Oriental handwriting). Condition varies among the leaves, fair-good. Stains. Wear and tears to several leaves, repaired with acidic adhesive tape. Old binding.
Catalogue
Auction 58 - Rare and Important Items
October 31, 2017
Opening: $5,000
Sold for: $7,500
Including buyer's premium
Manuscript, Otzrot Chaim by R. Chaim Vital, with glosses of R. Natan Shapira ha-Yerushalmi - the Ranash. [Italy, 17th century].
Complete manuscript, cursive Italian Hebrew script.
Written (twice) at the top of the first leaf: "R. Sonnino". This manuscript belonged to Kabbalist R. David Sonnino, disciple of Kabbalist R. Natan Shapira ha-Yerushalmi - the Ranash (died in 1666 or 1667), author of Matzat Shimurim, Tuv HaAretz, Yayin HaMeshumar and other compositions, famed for editing the Ari's writings and for his glosses. Long glosses in the handwriting of R. David Sonnino.
This manuscript was edited by Kabbalist R. Natan Shapira (see: Avivi, Kabbalat HaAri, pp. 701-711 about his editing of the Ari's writings), and many of his notations are integrated into the text (in parentheses), beginning with his initials in one form or another. Apparently, this manuscript was written by an Italian kabbalist.
Dozens of long glosses in the handwriting of R. David Sonnino - disciple of the Ranash, some are his own comments and others are cited in the name of his teacher (in two scripts: Sephardi and Italian, apparently both written by R. David Sonnino). In most places, the Ranash is mentioned with the appellation of the living (such as on page 80a; on page 153a), with the exception of one place in which he is mentioned with the appellation of the dead (page 147a). Two glosses begin with the initials of David Sonnino "H.D.S." (pages 136b and 169a). To the best of our knowledge, these glosses have never been printed.
Kabbalist R. David Sonnino (born in 1535), disciple of R. Natan Shapira in Italy, signed his glosses on several kabbalistic manuscripts with the initials H.D.S. [HaTza'ir David Sonnino], see: Yael Okun, regarding the identity of H.D.S. disciple of R. Natan Shapira, Kiryat Sefer Vol. 64 (1992-1993), pp. 1111-1112.
202, [8] leaves (besides for the blank leaves at the end of the volume). 20.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Worming to inner margins. Stains. Partially detached binding.
Complete manuscript, cursive Italian Hebrew script.
Written (twice) at the top of the first leaf: "R. Sonnino". This manuscript belonged to Kabbalist R. David Sonnino, disciple of Kabbalist R. Natan Shapira ha-Yerushalmi - the Ranash (died in 1666 or 1667), author of Matzat Shimurim, Tuv HaAretz, Yayin HaMeshumar and other compositions, famed for editing the Ari's writings and for his glosses. Long glosses in the handwriting of R. David Sonnino.
This manuscript was edited by Kabbalist R. Natan Shapira (see: Avivi, Kabbalat HaAri, pp. 701-711 about his editing of the Ari's writings), and many of his notations are integrated into the text (in parentheses), beginning with his initials in one form or another. Apparently, this manuscript was written by an Italian kabbalist.
Dozens of long glosses in the handwriting of R. David Sonnino - disciple of the Ranash, some are his own comments and others are cited in the name of his teacher (in two scripts: Sephardi and Italian, apparently both written by R. David Sonnino). In most places, the Ranash is mentioned with the appellation of the living (such as on page 80a; on page 153a), with the exception of one place in which he is mentioned with the appellation of the dead (page 147a). Two glosses begin with the initials of David Sonnino "H.D.S." (pages 136b and 169a). To the best of our knowledge, these glosses have never been printed.
Kabbalist R. David Sonnino (born in 1535), disciple of R. Natan Shapira in Italy, signed his glosses on several kabbalistic manuscripts with the initials H.D.S. [HaTza'ir David Sonnino], see: Yael Okun, regarding the identity of H.D.S. disciple of R. Natan Shapira, Kiryat Sefer Vol. 64 (1992-1993), pp. 1111-1112.
202, [8] leaves (besides for the blank leaves at the end of the volume). 20.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Worming to inner margins. Stains. Partially detached binding.
Catalogue
Auction 58 - Rare and Important Items
October 31, 2017
Opening: $5,000
Sold for: $6,875
Including buyer's premium
Manuscript, Otzrot Chaim, Ari's teachings by R. Chaim Vital, with "western" editing, and hitherto unprinted glosses by Kabbalists R. Avraham Azulai and by R. Avraham Ibn Musa. [Morocco, 18th century].
Western-Sephardi script, with many marginalia.
Otzrot Chaim was edited by R. Ya'akov Tzemach, with Seder HaAtzilut as R. Chaim Vital heard from his teacher the Arizal. Since the book does not contain the entire Seder HaAtzilut, Moroccan kabbalists re-edited the book and incorporated several She'arim of the book Mevo She'arim. This is a manuscript of the composition with "western" editing, which incorporates several she'arim of Mevo She'arim. This version only exists in manuscripts which were copied in North Africa and was first printed in Livorno in 1849.
This manuscript was enriched by glosses of eminent 18th century Moroccan kabbalist, R. Avraham Azulai (died in 1741), one of the teachers of R. Shalom Buzaglo, author of Mikdash Melech on the Zohar, and R. Avraham Ibn Musa (died 1733), disciple of R. Ya'akov Marrache of Tetouan. Their glosses are signed with the initials "A.A" [Avraham Azulai] and with "A.B.M." [Avraham ben Musa].
The Chida relates about R. Avraham Ibn Musa (Shem HaGedolim) that he would debate on kabbalistic topics with R. Avraham Azulai of Marrakech, apparently regarding their glosses on Otzrot Chaim; and seems to indicate that the disagreement between them was apparent in their glosses. Some of their glosses were printed in the Livorno edition, however, these printed glosses do not reveal any dispute between the two luminaries. On the other hand, in Ginzei Meir Benayahu, a pamphlet exists with a copy of the glosses of R. Avraham Azulai and of R. Avraham Ibn Musa. These glosses were copied as a separate entity, not on the sheets of the book Otzrot Chaim and the pamphlet contains glosses not printed in Livorno and indeed, disagreements and disputes between the two kabblists are apparent (see: M. Benayahu, R. Avraham Ibn Musa and his son R. Moshe: Of the leading spokesmen of the Ari's kabbalistic teachings in North Africa, Sefer Michael 5, Tel Aviv, 1978, pp. 22-24). Some of these glosses were printed before the 1844 Livorno edition as an independent booklet within the book Mekom Binah, Salonika 1813, however, there too, the glosses were not printed in their entirety.
This manuscript contains all the glosses, but here they are incorporated into the book sheets - each gloss in its appropriate place, and the debates mentioned by the Chida are manifest. R. Yosef Avivi, expert of manuscripts of the kabbalistic teachings of the Arizal, writes of the significance of this manuscript: "I do not know of any other manuscript of Otzrot Chaim with the notations of R. Avraham Azulai and of R. Avraham Ibn Musa in their entirety and each in its appropriate place on the sheets of the book".
As aforementioned, some of these glosses were printed in the book Mekom Binah, Salonika 1713, and some in the 1748 edition of Otzrot Chaim, Livorno, but some of these glosses have never been printed.
Ownership inscriptions: "Shlomo son of Masud", "Mordechai…" "Masud Karkus".
[141] leaves (and many blank leaves at the beginning of the volume). Incomplete manuscript. Original pagination appears at the top of the leaves: 25-165. Approximately 23 cm. Fair condition. Stains, dampstains. Wear and tears. One detached leaf. Tears affecting text in several places. New leather binding.
Written according to the (enclosed) article by R. Yosef Avivi - expert of manuscripts of the kabbalistic teachings of the Ari.
Western-Sephardi script, with many marginalia.
Otzrot Chaim was edited by R. Ya'akov Tzemach, with Seder HaAtzilut as R. Chaim Vital heard from his teacher the Arizal. Since the book does not contain the entire Seder HaAtzilut, Moroccan kabbalists re-edited the book and incorporated several She'arim of the book Mevo She'arim. This is a manuscript of the composition with "western" editing, which incorporates several she'arim of Mevo She'arim. This version only exists in manuscripts which were copied in North Africa and was first printed in Livorno in 1849.
This manuscript was enriched by glosses of eminent 18th century Moroccan kabbalist, R. Avraham Azulai (died in 1741), one of the teachers of R. Shalom Buzaglo, author of Mikdash Melech on the Zohar, and R. Avraham Ibn Musa (died 1733), disciple of R. Ya'akov Marrache of Tetouan. Their glosses are signed with the initials "A.A" [Avraham Azulai] and with "A.B.M." [Avraham ben Musa].
The Chida relates about R. Avraham Ibn Musa (Shem HaGedolim) that he would debate on kabbalistic topics with R. Avraham Azulai of Marrakech, apparently regarding their glosses on Otzrot Chaim; and seems to indicate that the disagreement between them was apparent in their glosses. Some of their glosses were printed in the Livorno edition, however, these printed glosses do not reveal any dispute between the two luminaries. On the other hand, in Ginzei Meir Benayahu, a pamphlet exists with a copy of the glosses of R. Avraham Azulai and of R. Avraham Ibn Musa. These glosses were copied as a separate entity, not on the sheets of the book Otzrot Chaim and the pamphlet contains glosses not printed in Livorno and indeed, disagreements and disputes between the two kabblists are apparent (see: M. Benayahu, R. Avraham Ibn Musa and his son R. Moshe: Of the leading spokesmen of the Ari's kabbalistic teachings in North Africa, Sefer Michael 5, Tel Aviv, 1978, pp. 22-24). Some of these glosses were printed before the 1844 Livorno edition as an independent booklet within the book Mekom Binah, Salonika 1813, however, there too, the glosses were not printed in their entirety.
This manuscript contains all the glosses, but here they are incorporated into the book sheets - each gloss in its appropriate place, and the debates mentioned by the Chida are manifest. R. Yosef Avivi, expert of manuscripts of the kabbalistic teachings of the Arizal, writes of the significance of this manuscript: "I do not know of any other manuscript of Otzrot Chaim with the notations of R. Avraham Azulai and of R. Avraham Ibn Musa in their entirety and each in its appropriate place on the sheets of the book".
As aforementioned, some of these glosses were printed in the book Mekom Binah, Salonika 1713, and some in the 1748 edition of Otzrot Chaim, Livorno, but some of these glosses have never been printed.
Ownership inscriptions: "Shlomo son of Masud", "Mordechai…" "Masud Karkus".
[141] leaves (and many blank leaves at the beginning of the volume). Incomplete manuscript. Original pagination appears at the top of the leaves: 25-165. Approximately 23 cm. Fair condition. Stains, dampstains. Wear and tears. One detached leaf. Tears affecting text in several places. New leather binding.
Written according to the (enclosed) article by R. Yosef Avivi - expert of manuscripts of the kabbalistic teachings of the Ari.
Catalogue
Auction 58 - Rare and Important Items
October 31, 2017
Opening: $30,000
Unsold
Manuscript, novellae and commentary on the Tur, by the Maharnash - R. Natan son of R. Shimshon Shapira of Grodno, author of Mevo She'arim and of Imrei Shefer [grandfather of the Megale Amukot]. [Poland, earlier than 1577].
Thick volume, in ancient semi-cursive Ashkenazi script, by several writers. Written in the lifetime of the Maharnash. Contains novellae and commentaries on the Tur, Yoreh De'ah, Choshen Mishpat and Orach Chaim. The volume is titled: "Novellae of R. N. Shapira on Yoreh Deah". The volume ends with a colophon: "End of the laws of Purim and end of the commentary of R. Natan Shlita, Gershon son of R. Binyamin Katz of Moravia of the Austerlitz community".
None of this manuscript has been printed. "Novellae and Commentaries of Maharan Shapira" which was printed and appended to the Tur in the El HaMekorot edition is a different composition whose content and scope differ from this work (see below).
The volume begins with novellae on Yoreh Deah (Simanim 1-294). In Simanim 189 and 231, is a reference to the Maharam of Padua with the appellation for the living [R. Meir Katzenelbogin - the Maharam of Padua died in 1565].
Following the novellae on Yoreh Deah are wide-ranging novellae on Choshen Mishpat which embody the main part of this volume (from Siman 1-Siman 427). This part was written by several writers and has many long marginalia and glosses between the lines, also written by several different writers. Some are signed at the end with the initials "M.V" [Mori V'Rabbi - (my teacher and my rabbi)]. Perhaps these glosses were heard from R. Natan Shapira at another time and were later added to the manuscript [see below about the various editions of the Maharnash novellae], or perhaps, these are novellae by another sage of those days. These glosses require further study; possibly one of the writers is a leading rabbi of that generation.
Part 3 of this volume contains novellae on Orach Chaim (from Siman 2, apparently lacking the first leaf, until the end of Hilchot Purim - the end of the composition). This part has been written in its entirety by "Gershom son of R. Binyamin Katz from Moravia, the Austerlitz community", who signed the colophon at the end of the volume.
The Maharnash - R. Natan son of R. Shimshon Shapira (ca. 1490-1577), author of Mevo She'arim and Imrei Shefer was a leading sage who lived in the generation of great Torah luminaries, the first Polish sages. He was a cousin and friend of R. Shachne of Lublin, Rabbi of the Rama, and of the Maharshal [his grandson, named after him, is R. Natan Shapira, author of Megale Amukot, 1585-1633]. He was famous for posterity as a leading posek known for his composition Mevo She'arim on Sha'arei Dura (Lublin, 1574) which eventually became a basic book on the laws of Yoreh De'ah throughout Ashkenazi countries. His glosses on the Rif and on the Mordechai were printed in the Vilna Talmud titled Hagahot Maharnash. Among his other works are Imrei Shefer, commentary on the Torah, and his well-known commentary on Birkat HaMazon. He served as Rabbi of Grodno (from which his cognomen "R. Natan Shapira of Grodno" was derived). A responsum regarding releasing an agunah which R. Shapira had written at the time he was Rabbi of Grodno is printed in the new Bach responsa (Siman 75). In his senior years, he was appointed Rabbi of Posen and its vicinity ("Greater Poland") and held this position until his death. In the book Tzemach David by his relative R. David Ganz (disciple of the Rama), he writes: "R. Natan of Grodno, son of my uncle R. Shimshon Shapira is a supreme Chassid who illuminated the eyes of the Jewish People with his commentary on Rashi and on R. Y. of Dura…". R. Binyamin Aharon Solnik, author of Mas'at Binyamin was among his famous disciple.
Commentaries and novellae on the Tur: The Maharnash novellae on the Tur can be traced to several manuscripts. In 1958, novellae attributed to the Maharnash were printed by El HaMekorot titled Chiddushei U'Bi'urei Maharan Shapira in an anthology of commentaries appended to their edition of the Tur. These novellae were gleaned from manuscripts held in Oxford's Bodleian Library (from the collection of R. David Oppenheim). Only a relatively small amount of novellae were printed in the El HaMekorot edition in comparison to the novellae on the Tur by R. Natan Shapira which appear in earlier manuscripts which are much more comprehensive and with variations (for example: the London-Montefiore Manuscript 177 and the Oxford-Bodleian Manuscript 256. The latter was written in the lifetime of the Maharnash, like this item). Evidently, the Maharnash delivered discourses containing different novellae each cycle his yeshiva studied the Tur; which explains the different compositions. We also found (in a manuscript in the Warsaw Library) a third composition of novellae by the Maharnash on the Tur (Yoreh De'ah), apparently from a third cycle of study in the yeshiva. This manuscript before us also contains a third compilation of novellae on the Tur Choshen Mishpat in several leaves which were added following the novellae on Choshen Mishpat (leaves [146-147], [155b-157]; Simanim 6-19, 22-46). The novellae on these leaves are not parallel to the novellae on those same Simanim in the previous set of novellae, and were not printed in the El HaMekorot edition.
As we mentioned before, these novellae on three parts of the Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh De'ah, Choshen Mishpat and Orach Chaim) were not printed in the El HaMekorot edition. The parts on Orach Chaim and Yoreh De'ah do appear in other manuscripts, but to the best of our knowledge, these novellae on Choshen Mishpat do not appear in any other known manuscript.
In the Derisha and Perisha (by the author of the Sma) on Tur Orach Chaim and Yoreh De'ah, he cites novellae in the name of the Maharnash a number of times. These novellae appear in this manuscript (at the beginning and end of the manuscript are inscriptions in late Ashkenazi script [Galicia? 19th century?] with sources of these places in the Derisha and in the Perisha).
[236] leaves, 20 cm. Good condition. Stains. Minor wear and tears. Leather binding, with damages.
The manuscript was dated before 1577 according to the colophon at the end of the volume, in which the Maharnash is mentioned with the appellation added to the name of a living person. In Part 1 of the manuscript, the Maharam Padua is mentioned with the appellation given to the living and it reasonable to assume that it was copied in his lifetime, before his death in 1565.
Thick volume, in ancient semi-cursive Ashkenazi script, by several writers. Written in the lifetime of the Maharnash. Contains novellae and commentaries on the Tur, Yoreh De'ah, Choshen Mishpat and Orach Chaim. The volume is titled: "Novellae of R. N. Shapira on Yoreh Deah". The volume ends with a colophon: "End of the laws of Purim and end of the commentary of R. Natan Shlita, Gershon son of R. Binyamin Katz of Moravia of the Austerlitz community".
None of this manuscript has been printed. "Novellae and Commentaries of Maharan Shapira" which was printed and appended to the Tur in the El HaMekorot edition is a different composition whose content and scope differ from this work (see below).
The volume begins with novellae on Yoreh Deah (Simanim 1-294). In Simanim 189 and 231, is a reference to the Maharam of Padua with the appellation for the living [R. Meir Katzenelbogin - the Maharam of Padua died in 1565].
Following the novellae on Yoreh Deah are wide-ranging novellae on Choshen Mishpat which embody the main part of this volume (from Siman 1-Siman 427). This part was written by several writers and has many long marginalia and glosses between the lines, also written by several different writers. Some are signed at the end with the initials "M.V" [Mori V'Rabbi - (my teacher and my rabbi)]. Perhaps these glosses were heard from R. Natan Shapira at another time and were later added to the manuscript [see below about the various editions of the Maharnash novellae], or perhaps, these are novellae by another sage of those days. These glosses require further study; possibly one of the writers is a leading rabbi of that generation.
Part 3 of this volume contains novellae on Orach Chaim (from Siman 2, apparently lacking the first leaf, until the end of Hilchot Purim - the end of the composition). This part has been written in its entirety by "Gershom son of R. Binyamin Katz from Moravia, the Austerlitz community", who signed the colophon at the end of the volume.
The Maharnash - R. Natan son of R. Shimshon Shapira (ca. 1490-1577), author of Mevo She'arim and Imrei Shefer was a leading sage who lived in the generation of great Torah luminaries, the first Polish sages. He was a cousin and friend of R. Shachne of Lublin, Rabbi of the Rama, and of the Maharshal [his grandson, named after him, is R. Natan Shapira, author of Megale Amukot, 1585-1633]. He was famous for posterity as a leading posek known for his composition Mevo She'arim on Sha'arei Dura (Lublin, 1574) which eventually became a basic book on the laws of Yoreh De'ah throughout Ashkenazi countries. His glosses on the Rif and on the Mordechai were printed in the Vilna Talmud titled Hagahot Maharnash. Among his other works are Imrei Shefer, commentary on the Torah, and his well-known commentary on Birkat HaMazon. He served as Rabbi of Grodno (from which his cognomen "R. Natan Shapira of Grodno" was derived). A responsum regarding releasing an agunah which R. Shapira had written at the time he was Rabbi of Grodno is printed in the new Bach responsa (Siman 75). In his senior years, he was appointed Rabbi of Posen and its vicinity ("Greater Poland") and held this position until his death. In the book Tzemach David by his relative R. David Ganz (disciple of the Rama), he writes: "R. Natan of Grodno, son of my uncle R. Shimshon Shapira is a supreme Chassid who illuminated the eyes of the Jewish People with his commentary on Rashi and on R. Y. of Dura…". R. Binyamin Aharon Solnik, author of Mas'at Binyamin was among his famous disciple.
Commentaries and novellae on the Tur: The Maharnash novellae on the Tur can be traced to several manuscripts. In 1958, novellae attributed to the Maharnash were printed by El HaMekorot titled Chiddushei U'Bi'urei Maharan Shapira in an anthology of commentaries appended to their edition of the Tur. These novellae were gleaned from manuscripts held in Oxford's Bodleian Library (from the collection of R. David Oppenheim). Only a relatively small amount of novellae were printed in the El HaMekorot edition in comparison to the novellae on the Tur by R. Natan Shapira which appear in earlier manuscripts which are much more comprehensive and with variations (for example: the London-Montefiore Manuscript 177 and the Oxford-Bodleian Manuscript 256. The latter was written in the lifetime of the Maharnash, like this item). Evidently, the Maharnash delivered discourses containing different novellae each cycle his yeshiva studied the Tur; which explains the different compositions. We also found (in a manuscript in the Warsaw Library) a third composition of novellae by the Maharnash on the Tur (Yoreh De'ah), apparently from a third cycle of study in the yeshiva. This manuscript before us also contains a third compilation of novellae on the Tur Choshen Mishpat in several leaves which were added following the novellae on Choshen Mishpat (leaves [146-147], [155b-157]; Simanim 6-19, 22-46). The novellae on these leaves are not parallel to the novellae on those same Simanim in the previous set of novellae, and were not printed in the El HaMekorot edition.
As we mentioned before, these novellae on three parts of the Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh De'ah, Choshen Mishpat and Orach Chaim) were not printed in the El HaMekorot edition. The parts on Orach Chaim and Yoreh De'ah do appear in other manuscripts, but to the best of our knowledge, these novellae on Choshen Mishpat do not appear in any other known manuscript.
In the Derisha and Perisha (by the author of the Sma) on Tur Orach Chaim and Yoreh De'ah, he cites novellae in the name of the Maharnash a number of times. These novellae appear in this manuscript (at the beginning and end of the manuscript are inscriptions in late Ashkenazi script [Galicia? 19th century?] with sources of these places in the Derisha and in the Perisha).
[236] leaves, 20 cm. Good condition. Stains. Minor wear and tears. Leather binding, with damages.
The manuscript was dated before 1577 according to the colophon at the end of the volume, in which the Maharnash is mentioned with the appellation added to the name of a living person. In Part 1 of the manuscript, the Maharam Padua is mentioned with the appellation given to the living and it reasonable to assume that it was copied in his lifetime, before his death in 1565.
Catalogue
Auction 58 - Rare and Important Items
October 31, 2017
Opening: $3,000
Sold for: $35,000
Including buyer's premium
Sefer HaAroch MiShach Part II, on Tur Yoreh De'ah (Simanim 112-189), by R. Shabtai Katz, the Shach. Four unopened gatherings (32 pages) of a book whose printing was never fully executed, apparently from one of the Hungarian-Transylvanian presses. [Grosswardein?, ca. 1920s-1940s?].
These sheets were discovered by us, inserted at the end of a volume of Part I of the Sefer HaAroch MiShach on Tur Yoreh De'ah (Simanim 1-110), Vienna, 1809 (Second edition). They contain part II of HaAroch MiShach, which is considered a "lost work".
Sefer HaAroch MiShach is a work by the Ba'al HaShach on Tur Yoreh De'ah. The Shach began this work prior to writing Siftei Cohen on the Shulchan Aruch Yoreh De'ah. Part I of this work was first printed in Berlin in 1767 by the author of Minchat Aharon (Aharon MiGeza Zvi, the grandson of the daughter of the Shach), who added his own novellae within the book. Several more editions of it were published subsequently (Vienna 1809, Russia-Poland ca. 1820), and many editions of Arba'a Turim added the work at the end of Part I of Yoreh De'ah.
Part II of the work was not published at that time, and it is considered a "lost work". Inspection of bibliographical listings and library catalogues did not uncover any indication of an actual printing of Part II.
From what is known, the manuscript of Part II was inherited by the son of the author of Minchat Aharon, R. Eliezer of Schwabach, who wrote the Chidushei Bnei Aharon. From there the manuscript was passed down to his descendants - the Berlinger and Levi families. Since the Holocaust of European Jewry all traces of the manuscript disappeared; in all likelihood it was lost in the Holocaust.
The first reference to the existence of a manuscript of Part II appeared in an 1867 article in the weekly Der Israelit (1867, No. 51, December 18, p. 885), which stated that the manuscript was held by R. Naftali Hirsch Berlinger (a family member of the descendants of the Shach and of the Minchat Aharon who published Part I), who is interested in publishing it. Then the manuscript was passed on to R. Shimon (Sandor) Levi from Fürth, who was the husband of R. Naftali Hirsch Berlinger's granddaughter. In 1907, R. Shimon Levi published the novellae of R. Eliezer of Schwabach in the Chidushei Bnei Aharon (Munkács, 1907). The publisher states in his introduction that he hopes to bring to print additional works in his possession, that have never before been published, "in particular Aroch MiShach Part II by the Ba'al HaShach - because they have not yet seen the light of print".
The book "Megillath Mishpachtenu - Records concerning the ancestry of the Levi, Berlinger and Ellinger families of the Zvi branch" (Izhak Risch, published by the author, Haifa 1974, p. 29), describes the travails of the manuscript until the Holocaust, and indicates that the book has never been published - stating the following: "One manuscript penned by the Shach was inherited by the Berlinger family, but was apparently lost in the Holocaust... Part II of that book was passed on to R. Naftali Hirsch Berlinger. The weekly 'Der Israelit', in the article mentioned above, called out to the public (in 1867) to assist the holder of the manuscript R. Naftali Hirsch in publishing Part II of the Aroch MiShach... The manuscript then came into the possession of R. Shimon Sandor Levi, the husband of Kresla, daughter of R. Eliezer, who was the son of R. Naftali Hirsch... R. Shimon Sandor Levi did not ultimately publish the Aroch MiShach Part II. He passed away in Fürth in 1933, 10 years after his wife Kresla. From that point the manuscript was held by Hermina, R. Shimon Sandor's second wife. Torah-learned family members petitioned to be given the manuscript, in order to carry out the wish of their patriarch, the Shach. This transpired shortly before the Holocaust. From then on, nothing is known of the Aroch MiShach Part II manuscript...". R. Shlomo Englard (the Radziner Rebbe) writes of this in the Yeshurun anthology (Volume 13, Elul 2003, pp. 1981-1982, note 146): "...Part II was maintained as a manuscript and was in the possession of the family until just before the Holocaust, at which time all trace of it was lost (see Megilat Mishpachtenu p. 29). Based on unsubstantiated rumors, there are still pages of the manuscript among antique and manuscript collectors, but this must still be checked and verified. In any event, anyone with knowledge of the whereabouts of the manuscript or any of its parts - would be doing a great service to the Torah world, and the merit of the public will be credited to him".
R. Shimon Levi of Fürth invested a great deal of effort in the emendation of the Aroch MiShach, and he apparently intended to publish both parts of the book in a newly annotated and corrected edition. The VaYelaket Yosef anthology (edited by his dear friend R. Yosef HaCohen Schwartz from Grosswardein - Siman 14 in 1911, Simanim 23 and 114 in 1912) contains novellae and comments taken from R. Yitzchak Grieshaber's handwritten comments on the margins of Part I of the Aroch MiShach, with footnotes to them under the heading "Glosses of Shem MiShimon - from R. Shimon Segal Levi of Fürth". The work before us, too, contains a publisher's footnote on page 31 under the heading "Comments of Shem MiShimon", in which R. Shimon Levi refers to his own comment to Siman 65 - in Part I, that seemingly was meant to be redacted as part of this edition.
Printed at the end of this work [p. 32] is a copy of the colophon from the original manuscript. From this colophon it is clear that the manuscript from which
this work was printed is the same one from which Part I was printed in Berlin (1767). The name of the scribe signed on the colophon is R. Dov Ber Katz, son of R. Yitzchak (publisher of Gvurat Anashim, Dessau, 1697), son of R. Moshe Katz, son of the author R. Shabtai Katz. This same R. Dov Ber Katz is mentioned in the Minchat Aharon's introduction to the Sefer HaAroch MiShach Part I, as follows: "...this book came into my possession from the grandson of my uncle, the renowned R. Dov Ber, preacher of Opatów".
A beginning of a responsum that was among the manuscripts of the publisher is printed after the colophon. The author of the responsum is unknown to us.
These sheets were discovered (in the course of our examination) in a volume of Part I, on whose title page are ownership stamps of R. Yisrael Weltz, Av Bet Din of Budapest [a preeminent rabbi in Budapest after the Holocaust. R. Yisrael Weltz was the first of the Budapest rabbis to settle in Eretz Israel after the Communist revolution in Hungary, leaving the majority of his books with his fellow rabbis who remained in Hungary]. Based on the shape of the letters and the typography in this book, it appears that it was printed in a Hungarian-Transylvanian press in the period preceding the Holocaust [an adornment appears at the end of the work on p. 31, identical to that found in other books printed in the 1930s by R. Yosef HaCohen Schwartz in the city of Grosswardein (Oradea). The Hebrew press in Grosswardein continued to be active during the war, through the end of the winter of 1944]. It is not known when these sheets were printed - it may have been in the 1920s or 1930s by R. Shimon himself [who died in 1933]; alternatively, they may have been printed later by family members who obtained the manuscript already edited for printing from his widow.
Here is a book which was never completed at the press and is bibliographically unknown - and may even be the only copy in the world. A surprising discovery of the lost work HaAroch MiShach Part II. It appears that the manuscript from which this work had been copied was lost in the Holocaust and all that remains of the work is this printed version - which, to the best of our knowledge, is the only issue of that printing to have survived. Thus, this book possesses the importance of a manuscript - as it is the only existing source from an entire work of R. Shabtai Katz, the Ba'al HaShach - Part II of an important work whose first part is included today in most editions of the Tur.
[1], 2-31, [1] pages. 34 cm. 4 unopened gatherings, 2°. Good condition.
+ Part I: [2], 3-70 leaves. 35 cm. Good condition.
These sheets were discovered by us, inserted at the end of a volume of Part I of the Sefer HaAroch MiShach on Tur Yoreh De'ah (Simanim 1-110), Vienna, 1809 (Second edition). They contain part II of HaAroch MiShach, which is considered a "lost work".
Sefer HaAroch MiShach is a work by the Ba'al HaShach on Tur Yoreh De'ah. The Shach began this work prior to writing Siftei Cohen on the Shulchan Aruch Yoreh De'ah. Part I of this work was first printed in Berlin in 1767 by the author of Minchat Aharon (Aharon MiGeza Zvi, the grandson of the daughter of the Shach), who added his own novellae within the book. Several more editions of it were published subsequently (Vienna 1809, Russia-Poland ca. 1820), and many editions of Arba'a Turim added the work at the end of Part I of Yoreh De'ah.
Part II of the work was not published at that time, and it is considered a "lost work". Inspection of bibliographical listings and library catalogues did not uncover any indication of an actual printing of Part II.
From what is known, the manuscript of Part II was inherited by the son of the author of Minchat Aharon, R. Eliezer of Schwabach, who wrote the Chidushei Bnei Aharon. From there the manuscript was passed down to his descendants - the Berlinger and Levi families. Since the Holocaust of European Jewry all traces of the manuscript disappeared; in all likelihood it was lost in the Holocaust.
The first reference to the existence of a manuscript of Part II appeared in an 1867 article in the weekly Der Israelit (1867, No. 51, December 18, p. 885), which stated that the manuscript was held by R. Naftali Hirsch Berlinger (a family member of the descendants of the Shach and of the Minchat Aharon who published Part I), who is interested in publishing it. Then the manuscript was passed on to R. Shimon (Sandor) Levi from Fürth, who was the husband of R. Naftali Hirsch Berlinger's granddaughter. In 1907, R. Shimon Levi published the novellae of R. Eliezer of Schwabach in the Chidushei Bnei Aharon (Munkács, 1907). The publisher states in his introduction that he hopes to bring to print additional works in his possession, that have never before been published, "in particular Aroch MiShach Part II by the Ba'al HaShach - because they have not yet seen the light of print".
The book "Megillath Mishpachtenu - Records concerning the ancestry of the Levi, Berlinger and Ellinger families of the Zvi branch" (Izhak Risch, published by the author, Haifa 1974, p. 29), describes the travails of the manuscript until the Holocaust, and indicates that the book has never been published - stating the following: "One manuscript penned by the Shach was inherited by the Berlinger family, but was apparently lost in the Holocaust... Part II of that book was passed on to R. Naftali Hirsch Berlinger. The weekly 'Der Israelit', in the article mentioned above, called out to the public (in 1867) to assist the holder of the manuscript R. Naftali Hirsch in publishing Part II of the Aroch MiShach... The manuscript then came into the possession of R. Shimon Sandor Levi, the husband of Kresla, daughter of R. Eliezer, who was the son of R. Naftali Hirsch... R. Shimon Sandor Levi did not ultimately publish the Aroch MiShach Part II. He passed away in Fürth in 1933, 10 years after his wife Kresla. From that point the manuscript was held by Hermina, R. Shimon Sandor's second wife. Torah-learned family members petitioned to be given the manuscript, in order to carry out the wish of their patriarch, the Shach. This transpired shortly before the Holocaust. From then on, nothing is known of the Aroch MiShach Part II manuscript...". R. Shlomo Englard (the Radziner Rebbe) writes of this in the Yeshurun anthology (Volume 13, Elul 2003, pp. 1981-1982, note 146): "...Part II was maintained as a manuscript and was in the possession of the family until just before the Holocaust, at which time all trace of it was lost (see Megilat Mishpachtenu p. 29). Based on unsubstantiated rumors, there are still pages of the manuscript among antique and manuscript collectors, but this must still be checked and verified. In any event, anyone with knowledge of the whereabouts of the manuscript or any of its parts - would be doing a great service to the Torah world, and the merit of the public will be credited to him".
R. Shimon Levi of Fürth invested a great deal of effort in the emendation of the Aroch MiShach, and he apparently intended to publish both parts of the book in a newly annotated and corrected edition. The VaYelaket Yosef anthology (edited by his dear friend R. Yosef HaCohen Schwartz from Grosswardein - Siman 14 in 1911, Simanim 23 and 114 in 1912) contains novellae and comments taken from R. Yitzchak Grieshaber's handwritten comments on the margins of Part I of the Aroch MiShach, with footnotes to them under the heading "Glosses of Shem MiShimon - from R. Shimon Segal Levi of Fürth". The work before us, too, contains a publisher's footnote on page 31 under the heading "Comments of Shem MiShimon", in which R. Shimon Levi refers to his own comment to Siman 65 - in Part I, that seemingly was meant to be redacted as part of this edition.
Printed at the end of this work [p. 32] is a copy of the colophon from the original manuscript. From this colophon it is clear that the manuscript from which
this work was printed is the same one from which Part I was printed in Berlin (1767). The name of the scribe signed on the colophon is R. Dov Ber Katz, son of R. Yitzchak (publisher of Gvurat Anashim, Dessau, 1697), son of R. Moshe Katz, son of the author R. Shabtai Katz. This same R. Dov Ber Katz is mentioned in the Minchat Aharon's introduction to the Sefer HaAroch MiShach Part I, as follows: "...this book came into my possession from the grandson of my uncle, the renowned R. Dov Ber, preacher of Opatów".
A beginning of a responsum that was among the manuscripts of the publisher is printed after the colophon. The author of the responsum is unknown to us.
These sheets were discovered (in the course of our examination) in a volume of Part I, on whose title page are ownership stamps of R. Yisrael Weltz, Av Bet Din of Budapest [a preeminent rabbi in Budapest after the Holocaust. R. Yisrael Weltz was the first of the Budapest rabbis to settle in Eretz Israel after the Communist revolution in Hungary, leaving the majority of his books with his fellow rabbis who remained in Hungary]. Based on the shape of the letters and the typography in this book, it appears that it was printed in a Hungarian-Transylvanian press in the period preceding the Holocaust [an adornment appears at the end of the work on p. 31, identical to that found in other books printed in the 1930s by R. Yosef HaCohen Schwartz in the city of Grosswardein (Oradea). The Hebrew press in Grosswardein continued to be active during the war, through the end of the winter of 1944]. It is not known when these sheets were printed - it may have been in the 1920s or 1930s by R. Shimon himself [who died in 1933]; alternatively, they may have been printed later by family members who obtained the manuscript already edited for printing from his widow.
Here is a book which was never completed at the press and is bibliographically unknown - and may even be the only copy in the world. A surprising discovery of the lost work HaAroch MiShach Part II. It appears that the manuscript from which this work had been copied was lost in the Holocaust and all that remains of the work is this printed version - which, to the best of our knowledge, is the only issue of that printing to have survived. Thus, this book possesses the importance of a manuscript - as it is the only existing source from an entire work of R. Shabtai Katz, the Ba'al HaShach - Part II of an important work whose first part is included today in most editions of the Tur.
[1], 2-31, [1] pages. 34 cm. 4 unopened gatherings, 2°. Good condition.
+ Part I: [2], 3-70 leaves. 35 cm. Good condition.
Catalogue
Auction 58 - Rare and Important Items
October 31, 2017
Opening: $40,000
Sold for: $81,250
Including buyer's premium
Handwritten leaf (2 written pages), titled "D'rush Na'eh - Parshat Emor". Autograph of the author, R. Yehuda Loew ben Bezalel - the Maharal of Prague. [Moravia, ca. 16th century]. Single leaf of a manuscript (unknown to us today). This is an incomplete section of novellae on Parshat Emor. This section has not been printed. The title D'rush Na'eh which appears at the top of the pages also heads the Maharal's sermons which were printed in his lifetime: Sermon for Shabbat Teshuva 1584 (D'rush Na'eh, Prague, 1584), Sermon for Shabbat HaGadol 1589 (D'rush Na'eh, Prague, 1589). Another sermon printed in his lifetime is the sermon for Shavuot 1593 (Darosh Darash, Prague, 1593). The content of this manuscript is a halachic homily on Parshat Emor regarding the laws of impurity of a Cohen concerning contact with a deceased relative. The style of language is characteristic to the other writings of the Maharal. The expression "I say" which is prevalent in the books of the Maharal is used twice in the manuscript. The Maharal - R. Yehuda Loew ben Bezalel (1512-1609) illustrious Torah scholar served in the rabbinate and headed the yeshivas in Nikolsburg, Posen and Prague. A prominent teacher of R. Yom Tov Lipman, author of the Tosfot Yom Tov, his sons-in-law were R. Yitzchak Katz and R. Eliyahu Luantz, the Ba'al Shem of Worms. A leading rabbi in his days and celebrated Jewish philosopher of all times, his books containing his distinctive cogitation and explanations of Aggadot Chazal were a gift for posterity. Leader of Moravian Jewry, he was known for his ties with non-Jewish kings and for his untiring battle against blood libels. The Maharal is etched in the hearts of the people as a wonder-worker. The stories of the Golem which he created by yichudim and kavanot according to Sefer Yetzira and which was sent by its maker on mysterious missions to thwart the libels agains jews are famous [see Nifla'ot Maharal and many folk tales printed about the Golem of Prague]. Some of his prolific compositions: Gevurot Hashem, Derech Chaim, Netivot Olam, Be'er HaGolah, Tiferet Yisrael, Netzach Yisrael, Or Chadash, Ner Mitzvah, Gur Aryeh on the Rashi commentary on the Torah, Chiddushei Maharal on Talmudic Aggadot and sermons. The Maharal's philosophy which appears in his many writings constituted a basic foundation of Chassidic thought for years to come and his name is revered by Chassidic leaders from the days of the Ba'al Shem Tov. Some of his holy books were reprinted by the Magid of Koznitz and by R. Levi Yitzchak of Berdychiv. Leaf written on both sides. Approximately 19 cm. About 46 handwritten lines. Fair condition. Coarse open tears, professionally repaired. Dark stains. Enclosed in a report by an expert on rabbinic manuscripts, identifying the autograph of the Maharal and the importance of its content, confirming that it was not printed in his book of sermons.
Catalogue
Auction 58 - Rare and Important Items
October 31, 2017
Opening: $3,000
Sold for: $5,000
Including buyer's premium
Handwritten leaf, regulation of rabbis and community leaders of Ancona, proscribing mixed dancing, with signatures of local rabbis and notables including the signature of R. Yedidya son of R. Moshe Galante, Safed emissary. [Ancona (Italy), 1615].
"To fulfill the will of our Heavenly Father and to make a safeguard for the Torah… the sages and rabbis and committee members of the Italian community and of the Levantine community… No Jew can dance with any woman at any time…".
The regulation contains bans, warnings and curses on the person who transgresses these codes and states that this edict was enacted with the approval of the "vicarage of the His Majesty the Cardinal".
Added to the end of the regulation is a reservation, in a diffrent handwriting, that women can dance with male teachers during dancing lessons: "And it is worthwhile to clarify that men who teach women to dance, i.e. the Maestri di Baller can dance with them, only while they are teaching them…".
The regulations bear the signatures of rabbis and community notables alongside the signature of the famed sage R. Yedidya Galante a Safed emissary who stayed at that time in Ancona, who signed: "…Yedidya son of Moshe Galante". The other signatures: "David son of R. Yitzchak Franco", "Elimelech son of Yosef Tzorfati', "Elya Halalya of Cuneo", "Ya'akov son of R. Yishmael", "Refael Pintzo", "Shem Tov Ibn Haviv", "Moshe Refael… Ibn Haviv".
On the verso and on the following pages are inscriptions in Italian regarding the content of the regulation. The Hebrew text does not bear the name of the city and the date, however, they do appear in the Italian text.
R. Yedidya Galante, author of Chiddushei Galante, son of R. Moshe Galante (the first) of Safed (disciple of R. Yosef Karo and Rabbi of Safed). In 1607, he was sent from Safed as emissary to Italy, and in the month of Shevat 1607, wrote a responsum from Cuneo on the matter of an estate. In 1608, he printed his father's book of responsa in Venice to which he added novellae of Rishonim printed from manuscripts. R. Yehuda Aryeh of Modena writes of his meeting with R. Galante in Venice and that the latter recounted the greatness of the Ari to the sages of the Venice: "The sage R. Yedidya Galante, an emissary from Eretz Israel, arrived here and at that time the venerable sage R. Eliyahu Montalto lay ill… Many Torah scholars went to visit him… and while still there, Galante began recounting miracles and wonders performed by the Ari…" (Ari Nohem, Jerusalem, 1929, p. 80).
Avraham Ya'ari (in Sh'luchei Eretz Yisrael, p. 247) writes that the mission of R. Yedidya Galante to Italy ended in 1614, however this regulation enacted a short while later bears his signature. His novellae and rulings have been printed in his book Chiddushei Galante and at the end of his father's book of responsa.
Folded leaf (4 pages), 27.5 cm. Fair condition. Stains. Tear in the center, slightly affecting text. Folding creases and wear.
"To fulfill the will of our Heavenly Father and to make a safeguard for the Torah… the sages and rabbis and committee members of the Italian community and of the Levantine community… No Jew can dance with any woman at any time…".
The regulation contains bans, warnings and curses on the person who transgresses these codes and states that this edict was enacted with the approval of the "vicarage of the His Majesty the Cardinal".
Added to the end of the regulation is a reservation, in a diffrent handwriting, that women can dance with male teachers during dancing lessons: "And it is worthwhile to clarify that men who teach women to dance, i.e. the Maestri di Baller can dance with them, only while they are teaching them…".
The regulations bear the signatures of rabbis and community notables alongside the signature of the famed sage R. Yedidya Galante a Safed emissary who stayed at that time in Ancona, who signed: "…Yedidya son of Moshe Galante". The other signatures: "David son of R. Yitzchak Franco", "Elimelech son of Yosef Tzorfati', "Elya Halalya of Cuneo", "Ya'akov son of R. Yishmael", "Refael Pintzo", "Shem Tov Ibn Haviv", "Moshe Refael… Ibn Haviv".
On the verso and on the following pages are inscriptions in Italian regarding the content of the regulation. The Hebrew text does not bear the name of the city and the date, however, they do appear in the Italian text.
R. Yedidya Galante, author of Chiddushei Galante, son of R. Moshe Galante (the first) of Safed (disciple of R. Yosef Karo and Rabbi of Safed). In 1607, he was sent from Safed as emissary to Italy, and in the month of Shevat 1607, wrote a responsum from Cuneo on the matter of an estate. In 1608, he printed his father's book of responsa in Venice to which he added novellae of Rishonim printed from manuscripts. R. Yehuda Aryeh of Modena writes of his meeting with R. Galante in Venice and that the latter recounted the greatness of the Ari to the sages of the Venice: "The sage R. Yedidya Galante, an emissary from Eretz Israel, arrived here and at that time the venerable sage R. Eliyahu Montalto lay ill… Many Torah scholars went to visit him… and while still there, Galante began recounting miracles and wonders performed by the Ari…" (Ari Nohem, Jerusalem, 1929, p. 80).
Avraham Ya'ari (in Sh'luchei Eretz Yisrael, p. 247) writes that the mission of R. Yedidya Galante to Italy ended in 1614, however this regulation enacted a short while later bears his signature. His novellae and rulings have been printed in his book Chiddushei Galante and at the end of his father's book of responsa.
Folded leaf (4 pages), 27.5 cm. Fair condition. Stains. Tear in the center, slightly affecting text. Folding creases and wear.
Catalogue
Auction 58 - Rare and Important Items
October 31, 2017
Opening: $2,000
Unsold
Manuscript, single leaf from the book Devash HaAryeh, kabblistic composition by R. Gur Aryeh HaLevi, a Mantua rabbi. Autograph of the author, each passage signed with his initials "G.A.L.Y". [Mantua, 17th century].
Leaf 2 of a kabbalistic composition, apparently never completed. Novellae on Biblical verses [the Israel Mehlman Collection contained leaf 1 of this composition (Manuscript 123), and a microfilm copy exists in the NLI (erroneously listed as Dvar Aryeh). This leaf is titled in the author's handwriting, explaining his choice of the composition's name].
The "G-dly kabbalist" R. Gur Aryeh son of R. Moshe Hoshaya HaLevi [Pintzi], Rabbi of Mantua in the second half of the 17th century. Authored a commentary on the Shulchan Aruch which was printed together with the Shulchan Aruch in Mantua in 1722-1723 by his nephew R. Gur Aryeh the Second, son of R. Binyamin HaLevi Pintzi. Other compositions he wrote are still in manuscripts, some with kabbalistic content. He was an associate of R. Moshe Zacuto - the Remez (1625-1697), and he himself attests that he heard an angel speaking to the Remez, as cited in the Chida's book Shem HaGedolim (entry R. Moshe Zacuto): "And R. Gur Aryeh who wrote glosses on the Shulchan Aruch… testified that he heard the angel speaking to him".
[1] leaf, written on one side. 32 handwritten lines. 20.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Tears to margins. Small holes caused by ink erosion, affecting text. Glue residue on the verso.
Leaf 2 of a kabbalistic composition, apparently never completed. Novellae on Biblical verses [the Israel Mehlman Collection contained leaf 1 of this composition (Manuscript 123), and a microfilm copy exists in the NLI (erroneously listed as Dvar Aryeh). This leaf is titled in the author's handwriting, explaining his choice of the composition's name].
The "G-dly kabbalist" R. Gur Aryeh son of R. Moshe Hoshaya HaLevi [Pintzi], Rabbi of Mantua in the second half of the 17th century. Authored a commentary on the Shulchan Aruch which was printed together with the Shulchan Aruch in Mantua in 1722-1723 by his nephew R. Gur Aryeh the Second, son of R. Binyamin HaLevi Pintzi. Other compositions he wrote are still in manuscripts, some with kabbalistic content. He was an associate of R. Moshe Zacuto - the Remez (1625-1697), and he himself attests that he heard an angel speaking to the Remez, as cited in the Chida's book Shem HaGedolim (entry R. Moshe Zacuto): "And R. Gur Aryeh who wrote glosses on the Shulchan Aruch… testified that he heard the angel speaking to him".
[1] leaf, written on one side. 32 handwritten lines. 20.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Tears to margins. Small holes caused by ink erosion, affecting text. Glue residue on the verso.
Catalogue