Auction 61 - Rare and Important Items
Manuscript - Sefer HeChazon (HaChezyonot) by Rabbi Chaim Vital - Handwritten by Rebbe Natan of Breslov (Moharnat) - With His Request to Send a Copy as a Gift to the Ohev Yisrael of Apta - Discovery
Opening: $100,000
Sold for: $162,500
Including buyer's premium
Manuscript, Sefer HeChazon (HaChezyonot) by R. Chaim Vital, handwritten by R. Natan Sternhartz of Breslov (Moharnat), primary disciple of R. Nachman of Breslov, with his request to send a copying of the manuscript as a gift to "the great Rabbi of Apta", author of Ohev Yisrael. [Before 1825].
54 leaves, including 48 leaves in Ashkenazi script (Russia-Poland) which has been identified with certainty as the handwriting of R. Natan of Breslov; 6 leaves at the end from another copying, by a different writer. The manuscript contains Sefer HaChezyonot by R. Chaim Vital (compiled by his grandson R. Moshe Vital). The manuscript opens with the heading: "This is a book of the praises of the great Rabbi Chaim Vital, what arose in his days with the Arizal and others, named Sefer HeChazon as mentioned in other books".
The colophon of the copier, Rebbe Natan, appears on page 48b. The page is partially torn and some of the text is damaged, however, most has survived and this is what we read: "This book was brought from Jerusalem, and sixty 'lions' were paid to [allow] copying it, and I paid four 'lions' for this copying [so as?] to send to you, because I do not have anything to send you, as there only remains --- for three weeks in the month of Av, and in my opinion [they should take/copy?] this book, and send a gift to the great Rabbi of Apta.
[--------] Breslov".
The word "Breslov" appears at the bottom of the page, at the edge of the open tear. Presumably, the last line at the bottom of the page contained the full signature of R. Natan (as he was accustomed to signing: "Natan son of R. Naftali Hertz of Breslov"); however, only the place name remains: "Breslov".
The handwriting was identified as that of R. Natan by comparing it to his handwriting in manuscripts known to have been written by him. See enclosed expert's report.
We know that R. Natan of Breslov possessed a manuscript copy of Sefer HeChazon, from a letter he sent to his son (Alim L'Terufa, Jerusalem 2000, p. 412) in which he cites from it: "I have explicitly seen in the writings of R. Chaim Vital named Sefer HeChazon".
It is noteworthy, that no reference to Sefer HaChezyonot as "Sefer HeChazon" can be found in any other source. The aforementioned letter of R. Natan and the headings in this manuscript are the only sources [Sefer HaChezyonot was not known in Europe until its first printing in 1826 (a year after the death of the Ohev Yisrael of Apta) in Ostroh, titled Shivchei Rabbi Chaim Vital. Eventually, the book became known by the name Sefer HaChezyonot, following the words of the Chida in his Shem HaGedolim].
At the end of the colophon, R. Natan requests that they "send a gift to the great Rabbi of Apta". Seemingly, R. Natan requested that a copy of this manuscript be prepared and sent to R. Avraham Yehoshua Heshel of Apta, author of Ohev Yisrael, the eldest of the tzaddikim of the time. R. Natan and the Ohev Yisrael shared a close friendship, and R. Natan even visited his court in Medzhybizh several times (see Yemei Moharnat, Part 1, section 100, regarding his last visit to the Apta Rebbe in 1824).
The exact meaning of the colophon remains unknown because it is somewhat cutoff. Since the Ohev Yisrael of Apta died in 1825, R. Natan obviously copied the manuscript before that year. Several years previously, in 1822, R. Natan ascended to the Holy land and stayed there for a short while during Sivan and Tammuz. On his way, he passed through countries under the Ottoman Empire's regime: Turkey, Egypt and Lebanon, as he describes at length in his personal journal (Yemei Moharnat, Part 2). In this colophon, R. Natan mentions using a coinage called "lions", a common name for the Turkish Kuruş, the accepted coin in the Ottoman Empire at that time, lending to the assumption that this manuscript was written at the time he was in Eretz Israel or on his way there. If this is correct, the month of Av mentioned in the colophon is the time chosen by R. Natan to leave Eretz Israel and return to Europe, to enable him to arrive for Rosh Hashanah to the "kibbutz" which prayed at Uman.
The manuscript contains Sefer HaChezyonot - the personal journal of R. Chaim Vital, compiled by his grandson R. Moshe Vital, composed of two parts: The first begins with "what arose in his [R. Chaim Vital's] days with the Arizal and others" (p. 1a) and the second opens with "Now I will begin to write my dreams" (p. 20a). The compilation of R. Moshe Vital is different than the original version that exists in R. Chaim Vital's own handwriting (see: Y. Avivi, Kabbalat HaAri, vol. 2, section 93, p. 714).
Six additional leaves are bound at the end of the manuscript, after the colophon, containing another copying of part of the composition, from Part 2. Presumably, this was copied by a disciple of R. Natan and it was written for the Ohev Yisrael of Apta.
The researcher Avraham Kahana published selected sections from this manuscript in the book Sifrut HaHistoria HaYisraelit (Warsaw, 1923, Book 2, p. 237 and on), but he did not identify the writer, probably due to the damage to the colophon. The identification of the handwriting of this manuscript as belonging to R. Natan is a new discovery, revealed here for the first time.
R. Nathan Sternhartz of Nemyriv - the Moharnat of Breslov (1780-1844), primary disciple and disseminator of the teachings of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, and his successor as leader of Breslov Chassidism. He was the epitome of a "disciple" during the life of R. Nachman, and similar to R. Chaim Vital who disseminated the teachings of the Ari, R. Natan spread the teachings of R. Nachman. He edited and printed his teacher's books (among them: Likutei Moharan, Sefer HaMidot, Sipurei Maasiot, etc.). Reputedly, R. Nachman stated that if not for R. Natan, not even one leaf of his books would have survived. R. Natan's own compositions expand and explain the teachings of R. Nachman. His primary work is Likutei Halachot, containing Chassidic teachings in the order of all parts of the Shulchan Aruch and following the path of his teacher R. Nachman. R. Natan was known from his youth as an outstanding Torah scholar who served G-d with great devotion, famed for his
fervent prayers and holiness. His biography was written at length in the book Chayei Moharnat and in the book Ba'Esh U'Vamayim - History of the Moharnat, Jerusalem, 1996.
48 leaves (96 pages) in the handwriting of R. Natan (approx. 22 lines per page) + 6 leaves by another writer. 18 cm. Fair condition. Stains and heavy wear, dampstains, fungus damages and worming. Open tear at the bottom of leaf 48 (containing the colophon) with lacking text. Coarsely stitched and unbound.
Provenance: Estate of the researcher Avraham Kahana (1874-1946).
Enclosed is an expert's report identifying the handwriting as that of R. Natan, with further details regarding the importance of the manuscript and about the figure of R. Chaim Vital in the eyes of R. Natan and in Breslov teachings.
54 leaves, including 48 leaves in Ashkenazi script (Russia-Poland) which has been identified with certainty as the handwriting of R. Natan of Breslov; 6 leaves at the end from another copying, by a different writer. The manuscript contains Sefer HaChezyonot by R. Chaim Vital (compiled by his grandson R. Moshe Vital). The manuscript opens with the heading: "This is a book of the praises of the great Rabbi Chaim Vital, what arose in his days with the Arizal and others, named Sefer HeChazon as mentioned in other books".
The colophon of the copier, Rebbe Natan, appears on page 48b. The page is partially torn and some of the text is damaged, however, most has survived and this is what we read: "This book was brought from Jerusalem, and sixty 'lions' were paid to [allow] copying it, and I paid four 'lions' for this copying [so as?] to send to you, because I do not have anything to send you, as there only remains --- for three weeks in the month of Av, and in my opinion [they should take/copy?] this book, and send a gift to the great Rabbi of Apta.
[--------] Breslov".
The word "Breslov" appears at the bottom of the page, at the edge of the open tear. Presumably, the last line at the bottom of the page contained the full signature of R. Natan (as he was accustomed to signing: "Natan son of R. Naftali Hertz of Breslov"); however, only the place name remains: "Breslov".
The handwriting was identified as that of R. Natan by comparing it to his handwriting in manuscripts known to have been written by him. See enclosed expert's report.
We know that R. Natan of Breslov possessed a manuscript copy of Sefer HeChazon, from a letter he sent to his son (Alim L'Terufa, Jerusalem 2000, p. 412) in which he cites from it: "I have explicitly seen in the writings of R. Chaim Vital named Sefer HeChazon".
It is noteworthy, that no reference to Sefer HaChezyonot as "Sefer HeChazon" can be found in any other source. The aforementioned letter of R. Natan and the headings in this manuscript are the only sources [Sefer HaChezyonot was not known in Europe until its first printing in 1826 (a year after the death of the Ohev Yisrael of Apta) in Ostroh, titled Shivchei Rabbi Chaim Vital. Eventually, the book became known by the name Sefer HaChezyonot, following the words of the Chida in his Shem HaGedolim].
At the end of the colophon, R. Natan requests that they "send a gift to the great Rabbi of Apta". Seemingly, R. Natan requested that a copy of this manuscript be prepared and sent to R. Avraham Yehoshua Heshel of Apta, author of Ohev Yisrael, the eldest of the tzaddikim of the time. R. Natan and the Ohev Yisrael shared a close friendship, and R. Natan even visited his court in Medzhybizh several times (see Yemei Moharnat, Part 1, section 100, regarding his last visit to the Apta Rebbe in 1824).
The exact meaning of the colophon remains unknown because it is somewhat cutoff. Since the Ohev Yisrael of Apta died in 1825, R. Natan obviously copied the manuscript before that year. Several years previously, in 1822, R. Natan ascended to the Holy land and stayed there for a short while during Sivan and Tammuz. On his way, he passed through countries under the Ottoman Empire's regime: Turkey, Egypt and Lebanon, as he describes at length in his personal journal (Yemei Moharnat, Part 2). In this colophon, R. Natan mentions using a coinage called "lions", a common name for the Turkish Kuruş, the accepted coin in the Ottoman Empire at that time, lending to the assumption that this manuscript was written at the time he was in Eretz Israel or on his way there. If this is correct, the month of Av mentioned in the colophon is the time chosen by R. Natan to leave Eretz Israel and return to Europe, to enable him to arrive for Rosh Hashanah to the "kibbutz" which prayed at Uman.
The manuscript contains Sefer HaChezyonot - the personal journal of R. Chaim Vital, compiled by his grandson R. Moshe Vital, composed of two parts: The first begins with "what arose in his [R. Chaim Vital's] days with the Arizal and others" (p. 1a) and the second opens with "Now I will begin to write my dreams" (p. 20a). The compilation of R. Moshe Vital is different than the original version that exists in R. Chaim Vital's own handwriting (see: Y. Avivi, Kabbalat HaAri, vol. 2, section 93, p. 714).
Six additional leaves are bound at the end of the manuscript, after the colophon, containing another copying of part of the composition, from Part 2. Presumably, this was copied by a disciple of R. Natan and it was written for the Ohev Yisrael of Apta.
The researcher Avraham Kahana published selected sections from this manuscript in the book Sifrut HaHistoria HaYisraelit (Warsaw, 1923, Book 2, p. 237 and on), but he did not identify the writer, probably due to the damage to the colophon. The identification of the handwriting of this manuscript as belonging to R. Natan is a new discovery, revealed here for the first time.
R. Nathan Sternhartz of Nemyriv - the Moharnat of Breslov (1780-1844), primary disciple and disseminator of the teachings of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, and his successor as leader of Breslov Chassidism. He was the epitome of a "disciple" during the life of R. Nachman, and similar to R. Chaim Vital who disseminated the teachings of the Ari, R. Natan spread the teachings of R. Nachman. He edited and printed his teacher's books (among them: Likutei Moharan, Sefer HaMidot, Sipurei Maasiot, etc.). Reputedly, R. Nachman stated that if not for R. Natan, not even one leaf of his books would have survived. R. Natan's own compositions expand and explain the teachings of R. Nachman. His primary work is Likutei Halachot, containing Chassidic teachings in the order of all parts of the Shulchan Aruch and following the path of his teacher R. Nachman. R. Natan was known from his youth as an outstanding Torah scholar who served G-d with great devotion, famed for his
fervent prayers and holiness. His biography was written at length in the book Chayei Moharnat and in the book Ba'Esh U'Vamayim - History of the Moharnat, Jerusalem, 1996.
48 leaves (96 pages) in the handwriting of R. Natan (approx. 22 lines per page) + 6 leaves by another writer. 18 cm. Fair condition. Stains and heavy wear, dampstains, fungus damages and worming. Open tear at the bottom of leaf 48 (containing the colophon) with lacking text. Coarsely stitched and unbound.
Provenance: Estate of the researcher Avraham Kahana (1874-1946).
Enclosed is an expert's report identifying the handwriting as that of R. Natan, with further details regarding the importance of the manuscript and about the figure of R. Chaim Vital in the eyes of R. Natan and in Breslov teachings.