Manuscript, systematic commentary on Mishnayot Tractate Kelim, Order Taharot, by R. Aryeh Levin, the "Tzadik of Jerusalem". [Jerusalem, ca. late 1910s].
Neat, organized manuscript; two columns per page. At the foot of the pages, reference section titled Mekor Ne'eman, listing the sources of the commentary. The volume begins with a 15-chapter preface on the laws of impurity and impurity of utensils (lacking beginning of preface, starts in the middle of section 2). The preface is followed by the detailed commentary following the order of the mishnayot, until the middle of chapter 24. The work ends in the middle of the chapter (in the middle of a sentence), with blank leaves at the end (the author presumably didn't manage to copy the rest of the work from the drafts).
The present volume was never published and was considered to be one of the lost volumes of R. Aryeh Levin's comprehensive work on the Six Orders of the Mishnah. His descendants (from the Yakobovits family) are only in the possession of the commentary to four other Orders: Moed, Nashim, Nezikin and Kodashim. The volume on order Zera'im was presumably lost already in the lifetime of R. Aryeh (see introduction to Mishnat Aryeh, Jerusalem 2011, p. 10). In his work on Tractate Megillah (Mishnat Aryeh, Moed II, p. 397), R. Aryeh writes that he plans to write a commentary on Order Taharot as well, and indeed, here is the volume on Mishnayot Tractate Kelim, which is the first tractate of Order Taharot.
Five volumes of Mishnat Aryeh were published in 2011-2013 – on Orders Mo'ed, Nashim and Nezikin, by the committee for the publication of the writings of R. Aryeh Levin, headed by his son R. Simcha Shlomo Levin. Passages of the commentary on Tractate Avot were published early in the book Reb Aryeh Haya Omer (Jerusalem-Mevaseret Zion, 1997).
This work was composed by R. Aryeh in the late 1910s. At the end of the commentary to Avot, the author noted the date "Erev Shabbat Kodesh Parashat Lech Lecha, 1915". This was during the difficult years of famine in WWI. The situation in Jerusalem was critical and thousands of people perished of hunger, including two daughters of R. Aryeh Levin who didn't survive the severe famine. At this time, he diligently composed this huge commentary, producing this exceptional work (according to the introduction to Mishnat Aryeh, Jerusalem, 2011).
The work was written systematically on each and every mishnah. The author relates to each passage which requires clarification, both for comprehending the words of the mishnah and its laws, and discusses all the questions which arise from the basic understanding of the Mishnah. He especially focuses on the wording of the Mishnah, explaining why specific expressions are used and not others, resolving apparent redundancies, and the like. To this end, the author quotes extensively from all the mishnah commentators, adding the Talmudic analysis followed by the commentaries of Rashi and Tosafot, the Rishonim and Acharonim.
The "Tzadik of Jerusalem" R. Aryeh Levin (1885-1969), excelled in Torah and in charitable deeds. He served as the spiritual director and supervisor of the Etz Chaim Talmud Torah (boy's school). An alumnus of Lithuanian yeshivot: Hlusk, Slutsk, Volozhin and the Torat Chaim yeshiva in Jerusalem, he was a cherished disciple of the leading Torah scholars of the generation: R. Refael Shapiro of Volozhin, R. Chaim Berlin, R. Shlomo Elyashiv the Leshem, R. Baruch Ber Leibovitz, R. Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook, his brother-in-law R. Tzvi Pesach Frank and R. Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik of Brisk. He immigrated to Jerusalem as an adolescent and married the granddaughter of the head of the Jerusalem Beit Din, R. Chaim Yaakov Shapira. He was renowned for his dedication to acts of benevolence. He was a beloved friend to one and all, wholeheartedly sharing the difficulties and joys of his brethren.
R. Aryeh, the "hidden Tzadik", concealed his greatness in the knowledge and study of mishnah, and despite his substantial composition on the Six Orders of Mishnah, he wrote in his will with exceptional humility: "…I am not fully proficient in even one chapter of mishnayot…". None of his disciples and associates knew about the comprehensive work he composed. Only in his final years did he give his grandson R. Elchanan Yakobovits (a Chabad Chassid) his manuscript notebooks on four orders. After the passing of R. Aryeh, his grandson (upon the advice of his teacher the Lubavitcher Rebbe) began editing this important commentary, yet its publication was delayed for many years, and only in 2011-2013 were three parts of the work finally published. R. Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, in his approbation to Mishnat Aryeh, writes about the author, his father-in-law: "My father-in-law R. Aryeh Levin, who in his great humility concealed and hid his Torah prominence…".
3-78 written leaves (lacking 2 leaves at beginning of work). 22 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains and tape repairs in several places. Minor marginal tears, affecting text. Leaf [3] with open tears (repaired with paper). New binding.