Bidspirit auction | From the Personal Library of

From the Personal Library of the Pnei Yehoshua – Bris Menuchah – First Edition – Amsterdam, 1648 Bris Menuchah , one of the foundational sefarim of Kabbalah, by the early mekubal Rabbi Avraham ben Rabbi Yitzchak of Granada (Rimon) of Spain. First edition. Amsterdam, 1648. A Sefer Kabalah From the Personal Library of the Pnei Yehoshua An early ownership inscription on the title page reads: ”This sefer... belongs to the famed gaon... Rabbi Yaakov Yehoshua...” identifying this copy as belonging to Rabbi Yaakov Yehoshua Falk , author of the Pnei Yehoshua , during the years he served as Av Beis Din of Lvov (1718–1724). Before us is an exceptional kabbalistic sefer that was studied by one of the greatest luminaries of Torah, Rabbi Yaakov Yehoshua Falk , whose mastery encompassed both the revealed and hidden Torah!! This beautifully complements the well-known testimony of the Maggid of Kozhnitz, who said that Ruach HaKodesh rested in the beis medrash of the Pnei Yehoshua! • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • The Baal Shem Tov and His Talmidim on the Greatness of Bris Menuchah The Baal Shem Tov held Bris Menuchah in extraordinary esteem and frequently quoted it. His grandson, the Degel Machaneh Ephraim , writes on numerous occasions: ”...I heard from my revered grandfather in the name of the sefer Bris Menuchah...” The Satmar Rebbe likewise quoted a tradition that the Baal Shem Tov said that Bris Menuchah illuminates every generation anew, with each generation uncovering its teachings according to its own spiritual needs. The sefer is cited extensively throughout the writings of the Maggid of Mezritch. His foremost talmid, Rabbi Yehudah Leib HaKohen of Anipoli, based his sefer Or HaGanuz almost entirely upon Bris Menuchah . It is likewise quoted in the Maor VaShemesh, Tiferes Shlomo, and many other classic works of Chassidus. The Ramak and Rabbi Chaim Vital on the Author The Ramak writes in Pardes Rimonim : ”...From its words it is evident that these teachings are authentic Kabbalah, transmitted either from teacher to disciple or from an angel , for they could not have been attained through intellectual analysis alone, but only through an exalted level approaching Ruach HaKodesh.” Rabbi Chaim Vital writes in his introduction to Etz Chaim : ”... The sefer Bris Menuchah is authentic. It was composed by a great sage in Torah and wisdom, who concealed his words in great depth. It was written through the soul of an ancient tzaddik to whom Eliyahu HaNavi revealed himself and taught these mysteries.” The Famous Segulah of ”The Ninth of the Ninth” Among the best-known passages in Bris Menuchah is the celebrated segulah printed on leaf 19: ”...Know that the ninth year is a choice year; the ninth month is especially favorable; the ninth day of that month is the choicest of all its days; and the ninth hour of the day is the most auspicious of its hours...”