Bidspirit auction | First Edition – Sha'ar HaTefillah

First Edition – Sha'ar HaTefillah by the Be'er Mayim Chaim – Sudilkov, 1825 Sha'ar HaTefillah , on the ten forms of tefillah according to the teachings of Sod, by Rabbi Chaim Tirer of Chernowitz , author of Be'er Mayim Chaim and Sidduroi Shel Shabbos . First edition. Sudilkov, 1825. Although the title page prominently bears the word ” Mohyliv , ” the book was in fact printed in Sudilkov. The smaller Yiddish text on the title page explicitly states that it was printed in the press of Rabbi Eliezer Belitz , under the patronage of Rabbi Tzvi Zev Rubinstein , ”who had formerly been a printer in Mohyliv.” The ”Leshem Yichud” Controversy At the beginning of the sefer appears a lengthy responsum in which the author vigorously defends the custom of reciting ”Leshem Yichud” before mitzvos and tefillah, responding to the sharp criticism of the Noda BiYehudah , who strongly opposed the practice. It has been suggested that this debate may have originated decades earlier, during the years when the Maggid of Zlotchov , the Rebbe of the Be'er Mayim Chaim , and the Noda BiYehudah both served in Yampol, possibly laying the groundwork for the responsum printed in this sefer. A Remarkable Tradition The Shomer Emunim related that the Sha'ar HaTefillah was composed in Eretz Yisroel with extraordinary holiness. He recounted that while dictating one section of the sefer at the tziyon of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in Meron, those present witnessed the Be'er Mayim Chaim lifted from the ground in great spiritual ecstasy, revealing the exceptional kedushah with which this work was composed.