Bidspirit auction | Pe'at HaShulchan (R. Yisrael of

Pe'at HaShulchan (R. Yisrael of Shklow, Disciple of the Gaon of Vilna) – Safed 1836, First Edition. - Sefer Pe'at HaShulchan, laws pertaining to Eretz Israel, by Rabbi Yisrael of Shklow, disciple of the Gaon of Vilna. Safed: Rabbi Yisrael Bak, 1836. First Edition. One of the last seforim printed in Safed before the “earthquake of 1837. in the aftermath of which both the author and the printer—Rabbi Israel Bak—moved to Jerusalem. The author, Rabbi Israel of Shklov (1770–1839), was a foremost disciple of the Vilna Gaon (with whom he merited to study during the Gaon’s final days). He devoted himself to the printing of the works of the Gaon and to disseminating his teachings, and he was among the leaders of the immigration of the disciples of the Vilna Gaon to the Land of Israel. At the beginning of the sefer there is a long and highly important introduction, in which the author recounts his adventures and sufferings following his immigration to the Land of Israel. Among other things, he relates the plague that broke out in the Galilee in 1813, the death of his wife during their flight to Jerusalem, the death of their children from the plague that later spread to Jerusalem as well, and the death of his parents in the Galilee. He continues by describing his return to the Galilee, his imprisonment during the siege laid upon Acre, his miraculous rescue from the collapse of houses during a winter storm in the city of Safed, and other events. The continuation of the introduction is an extremely important source for the history of the Vilna Gaon of Vilna. There Rabbi Israel of Shklov writes at length about the greatness of his master, the Vilna Gaon—his methods and paths, his extraordinary mastery of Torah and of the sciences, and more. Ownership inscription and marginal gloss by Rabbi Baruch Meir, son of Rabbi Shalom Menashe Rosenblum of Brisk (1858–1935). He married in Mezeritch, traveled to the Land of Israel in 1884 and purchased land at Yesod HaMa‘alah. He founded societies for Torah study, immigrated again to the Land of Israel in 1924, and was buried on the Mount of Olives. On his tombstone is inscribed: “Here lies the great rabbi, the righteous saint, who disseminated Torah among the many, in the city of Mezeritch, Rabbi Baruch Meir Rosenblum, son of the great rabbi Rabbi Shalom Menashe of Brisk. He passed away on the 19th of Nisan 5695. May his soul be bound in the bond of life.” On his life, see Toledot Rabbi Shalom Menashe Rosenblum of Brisk and His Novellae by Rabbi David Kamentsky, in Chatzi Giborim – Pleitat Soferim (Nisan 2016). The present copy includes the final leaf with the “Table of Errors and Corrections.” Vinograd, Otzar Sifrei ha-Gra, no. 1543. [5], 2-109, [1] leaves. 30 Cm. “And may the merit of our great and holy master, whose soul is in Eden, stand at my right hand… All my hope and trust is in his great merit, for the Holy One, blessed be He, granted me the privilege to behold the radiance of the King’s face during his lifetime, half a year before he was summoned to the academy on high. I merited to serve him and to be like a servant before the king for twenty days prior to his passing. Many times I read and reviewed before him, and my hand did not depart from him until the crown of our glory was taken from our head.” (Introduction of Rabbi Israel of Shklov to the Gaon’s commentary on Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim, Shklov 1803).