Bat Ayin on the Torah, by Rebbe Avraham Dov of Ovruch. Jerusalem: R. Yisrael Bak, [1847]. First edition.
This book is a classic text of Chassidic thought and contains the holiness of Eretz Israel. It was written by the disciples of the author, but it was carefully edited by Rebbe Avraham Dov after Rebbe Mordechai of Chernobyl instructed him to print it. The first edition of the book was printed specifically in Eretz Israel and not in the Diaspora, according to the instructions of Rebbe Yisrael of Ruzhyn, as written in the publisher's preface. The Zhitomir edition (1869) contains several additional lines in the author's introduction, where he writes that the holiness of Eretz Israel is included in his book: "I called this book Bat Ayin, since that title has the same numerical value as my name… and because I have included the holiness of the Holy Land in my writings, and the land is referred to as being under the constant scrutiny of G-d's watchful eyes" (ayin in Hebrew).
Rebbe Aharon of Chernobyl writes in his approbation to the 1869 edition: "I hereby… bless… anyone who buys this book at full price, with success in all their dealings".
Signature on the title page of R. Chaim Yaakov Klapholtz, Jerusalem Torah scholar, author of Ikvei Chaim on the Talmud and Poskim.
[2], 125, [1] leaves. 19.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Minor worming to first and final leaves. Signature and pen inscriptions. New leather binding.
Including final leaf with list of subscribers from Eretz Israel, not present in some copies. This leaf serves as historical documentation of the members of the Chassidic settlement in Jerusalem, Safed, Tiberias and Hebron in the mid-19th century.
Sh. HaLevi, no. 38; Stefansky Chassidut, no. 103.