Bidspirit auction | Tzlach – Tzion LeNefesh Chayah

Tzlach – Tzion LeNefesh Chayah on Tractate Berachos, by Rabbeinu the Noda B'Yehuda. Prague, 1791. First Edition! Rare! Distinguished Copy! Sefer Tzion LeNefesh Chayah (Tzlach) on Tractate Berachos, by HaGaon Rabbi Yechezkel Landau, the Noda B'Yehuda. Printed by Elsenwangerische Schriften, Prague, 1791. Rare first edition. Personal copy of Rabbi Aryeh Leibush Kahana, Av Beis Din of Apahida. [3], 82 leaves. On the title page it is written that the Sefer is “on Tractates Berachos and Beitzah, ” but in practice, only the Chiddushim on Tractate Berachos were printed. The Tzlach on Tractate Beitzah was published later, in 1799. With numerous stamps of “Rabbi Aryeh Leibush Kahana (LEB KAHAN), Av Beis Din of Apahida and its environs, residing here in Klausenburg, ” and with his handwritten signature “Kahan.” Rabbeinu Yechezkel HaLevi Segal Landau (1713–1793) – among the greatest Halachic authorities of all generations, upon whom all of Beis Yisrael relies. From a young age he was recognized as one of the outstanding Gaonim of his generation. From the age of thirteen until thirty he lived in Brody, one of the great centers of Torah of that era, where the famous Kloiz gathered several of the leading scholars of the generation. In Brody he served for about ten years as Av Beis Din in one of the four rabbinical courts of the city. During this period he formed close ties with the sages of the Kloiz, among them Rabbi Chaim of Sanzir and Rabbi Gershon of Kitov (brother-in-law of the Baal Shem Tov). In those years he studied the writings of the Ari together with Rabbi Chaim Sanzir, the leading scholar of the Kloiz. Around 1745 he accepted the rabbinical position in Yampol, and in 1754 he was appointed Rav of the great city of Prague and its environs. In Prague he led with distinction and became known as one of the foremost leaders of the generation. There, he established a large Yeshiva that produced thousands of students, many of whom became among the leading Rabbanim of the generation. His prominent disciple Rabbi Elazar Fleckeles, author of Teshuvah MeAhavah, wrote in his eulogy that he: ”העמיד כמה אלפים תלמידים בעולם, מהם כמה מאות מורי הוראות בישראל ויושבי כסאות למשפט” Thousands of Halachic questions were sent to him from distant lands, and about 850 responsa were printed in his renowned work Noda B'Yehuda. Among the works published in his lifetime were Responsa Noda B'Yehuda – Mahadura Kama, and his Chiddushim Tzlach on Tractates Pesachim and Berachos, which already earned him worldwide renown. The Chida wrote in Shem HaGedolim regarding Noda B'Yehuda that his responsa are founded upon deep analysis and reasoning, combining sharpness and vast knowledge. The Chasam Sofer wrote regarding one of his rulings: ”ודבר אלקים בפיו, אמת”. The Baal HaTanya said about him: “The Rav of Prague was unique in his rulings, and Hashem was with him, striking the mark without missing the true target in every decision he rendered.” Harav HaKadosh Rabbi Aryeh Leibush Kahana (1865–1942) – Av Beis Din of Apahida and its environs. Son of the righteous Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac Kahana, Av Beis Din of Sighet, a descendant of the author of Kuntres HaSfeikos, and son-in-law of HaGaon author of Mareh Yechezkel. He married the daughter of Harav HaKadosh Rabbi Yechezkel Panet of Deyzh, author of Knesses Yechezkel. Orphaned at a young age, he studied with his uncle Harav HaKadosh Rabbi Menachem Mendel Panet of Deyzh, author of Maaglei Tzedek, and with Harav HaKadosh the Yetev Lev of Sighet. It is told that while studying in holiness and purity under his uncle, he merited a revelation of Eliyahu HaNavi. From 1895 he resided in Apahida near Klausenburg and served there as an Admor. After World War I he moved to Klausenburg, where he served as Rav of the Beis Midrash Avodas Kehunah. He passed away in Klausenburg on 11 Cheshvan 1942, during World War II. (Otzar HaRabbanim 3316) Front cover attached to the first [4] leaves and detached from the rest of the Sefer. Stains. Damage and repairs along the margins of several leaves. Fair condition.