Bidspirit auction | Shu”t Maharshal with Handwritten Glosses

Shu”t Maharshal with Handwritten Glosses by Rabbi Nosson Adler zt”l – Signed by the Father of the Netziv of Volozhin Shu”t Maharshal , by Rabbeinu Shlomo Luria, the Maharshal. Fuerth, 1768. Written on the title page in an early hand: ”...Shayach l'hatorani hamufla, כ”ה נתן במו”ה שמעון אדלר כ”ץ ז”ל...” This identifies the sefer as having belonged to the extraordinary gaon and mekubal Rabbi Nosson ben Rabbi Shimon Adler zt”l of Frankfurt am Main, the renowned rebbi of Maran the Chasam Sofer. ”Devarim Shebe'al Peh...” – Glosses in Rabbi Nosson Adler's Own Ksav Yad The present sefer contains several handwritten glosses (at least two) in Rabbi Nosson Adler's own ksav yad. As is well known, Rabbi Nosson Adler was extremely careful not to write down his Torah chiddushim, in keeping with the Gemara (Temurah 14b), ”Devarim shebe'al peh אי אתה רשאי לאומרם בכתב.” Every word that he nevertheless committed to writing is therefore of exceptional significance. As in the present volume, he generally confined his notes to correcting printing errors or establishing the proper girsa, apparently out of concern for the halachic ruling that ”a sefer she'eino mugah is forbidden to keep in one's home.” Similar handwritten corrections by Rabbi Nosson Adler are known in other sefarim as well, including his copy of Shu”t HaRema (no. 10). Also written on the title page is: ”...Yaakov Berlin of Mir...” This is the signature of the renowned gaon Rabbi Yaakov Berlin of Mir (1794–1871), father of Maran Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehudah Berlin , the Netziv of Volozhin , and father-in-law of Rabbi Yechiel Michel Epstein , author of the Aruch HaShulchan . Rabbi Yaakov Berlin was a distinguished talmid chacham, a renowned supporter of Torah, and a close friend of the author of Teshuvah Me'Ahavah, the Av Beis Din of Prague. In 1852 he moved to Yerushalayim, where he established his home. Soon after his arrival, he undertook to restore the precise traditions of Krias HaTorah in the city and became one of Yerushalayim's most respected ba'alei koirah.