Bidspirit auction | Fascinating Discovery! Mordechai 1559 with

Fascinating Discovery! Mordechai 1559 with Handwritten Glosses by Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Schor Talmid of the Rama and Rebbi of the Bach. * The Mordechai (Riva di Trento, 1559) on Masechtos Brachos, Bava Kama, Bava Metziah, Ksubos and Chullin with hundreds of handwritten comments and annotations from the Rama and his talmidim. Among them are hagahos and chiddushim handwritten by Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Schor, one of the great disciples of the Rama, Rebbi of the Bach, father of the author of ‘Toras Chaim’ and grandfather of the Tevuos Schor and Beis Efraim. The leaves of this valuable manuscript encompass unknown hagahos from the Rama that are not included in the Rama’s hagahos on the 'Mordechai', found here for the first time. Also includes important variations and corrections in the Mordechai’s text written by the talmidim of the Rama based on very old handwritten manuscripts of his sefer. *** The Mordechai by Rabbeinu Mordechai ben Rabbi Hillel is a treasure trove of halachah and primary source of halachic rulings, teshuvos and commentary by the Rishonim of Ashkenaz. Many of the rulings found in the Rama and Shulchan Aruch are based on the 'Mordechai', which was one of the most widely studied sefarim in Polish yeshivos. Gedolei Torah throughout the generations, among them our nation’s foremost luminaries such as the Maharshal, Rama, Shla”h Hakadosh, Bach, Sma and others, authored extensive commentary and explanations upon the 'Mordechai'. In his yeshivah in Cracow, the Rama delivered a regular shiur on the 'Mordechai' and engaged extensively in explaining and correcting its teachings and text. There are no less than 16 teshuvos in ‘Shu”t HaRama’ devoted to analyzing the Mordechai’s rulings and clarifying the proper text and meaning of obscure sections in his writings. Numerous copies of the Rama’s comments on the 'Mordechai' were disseminated among his talmidim during the Rama’s lifetime. Gedolei Hador of the era eagerly sought to obtain copies as well (see Shu”t Rama Ch. 67). In many instances the Rama’s talmid who authored ‘Chiddushei Anshei Shem’ attributes chiddushim he includes to the “Mordechai de’Rama”. Over the years, many of the Rama’s talmidim added their own comments, notes and explanations to the Rama’s glosses. However, foremost amongst those who engaged in the teachings of the 'Mordechai in' the yeshiva of the Rama, was the renowned Rabbi Hirsch Schor, and most of the teshuvos addressing the words of the 'Mordechai' in the Rama's responsa are directed to him. Handwritten Chiddushim and Comments by Rabbi Hersh Schor in the Present Manuscript The present copy of the 'Mordechai' is an authentic version originating directly from the Rama’s beis medrash in Cracow, as is presented below. However, its main significance and uniqueness lie in the fact that it contains glosses and innovations written directly in the sacred handwriting of Rabbi Hirsch Schor, one of the great disciples of the Rama, who, as mentioned, engaged extensively with the Mordechai and its glosses. Scholars have long presumed that the glosses printed as “Hagahos HaRama” on the 'Mordechai' were actually the work of Rabbi Hersh Schor, and this copy now proves it beyond a shadow of doubt. The sefer clearly identifies Rabbi Hersh Schor as the author of these glosses, indicating that he was the one to originally inscribe the other hagahos, as well. Leaf 49a in the sefer reveals a lengthy annotation in which the writer challenges the Beis Yosef’s and writes: “V’ani hahedyot, I, the humble one, say that his words are perplexing…Therefore I assert that his words are nothing but bewildering.” The content of this gloss appears almost verbatim in Rabbi Hersh Schor’s question to the Rama, which is printed in 'Shu”t Rama' 95:3. Both the content and tone are virtually identical, although the Rama omits the words emphasized above. The appearance of the aforementioned lines in our sefer demonstrates without a doubt that the writer of this gloss is Rabbi Hersh himself (!) (as opposed to a comment copied merely from Shu”t HaRama.) Indeed, it has already been noted that the phrase “V’ani hahedyot” which appears in the note above, is a common expression used by Rabbi Hirsch Shor. The printed edition of 'Hagahos Rama' likewise includes sections that a talmid wrote in the name of the Rama, and it is known that this talmid was none other than Rabbi Hersh Schor. This can be seen in the comment on the 'Mordechai' at the end of Maseches Brachos in which the words of the Rama were mentioned first, followed by the words of the talmid, who is Rabbi Hersh Schor: “This is what my master taught me... and then I found in the Tosfos…” This comment appears almost letter for letter in the present copy (leaf 7b). Many glosses in the sefer which include discussions on the words of the 'Mordechai', are written in the same handwriting, and by the style of the script,