Bidspirit auction | Chassid Yaabetz’s Commentary on Maseches

Chassid Yaabetz’s Commentary on Maseches Avos. Rare Print from Adrianople, 1555. First Edition. * Commentary authored by the Chassid Rabbi Yosef Yaabetz, one of the important commentaries on Maseches Avos. It was printed in the Adrianople Press in Turkey in 1555 ! Adrianople, now known as Edirne, Turkey, was a city rich in Talmudic scholars. It was here that Rabbi Yosef Karo began writing the Beis Yosef. In the 16th century, a Hebrew press operated in the city, but it managed to print only four sefarim. This commentary is one of those sefarim. Rabbi Yosef Yaabetz (d. 1508) was one of the foremost Torah luminaries and spiritual leaders of Spanish Jewry during the era of the Expulsion. He was highly regarded by his contemporary Gedolim and earned the distinguished title “HaChassid Yaabetz.” Rabbi Yosef was born in Lisbon, Portugal, where he was a student of Rabbi Yitzchak Abarbanel. He married the sister of Rabbi Yitzchak Arama, author of Akeidas Yitzchak, and following the expulsion of Jews from his native land, immigrated to Italy. He vehemently opposed philosophy, and in his sefer ‘Ohr HaChaim’, he stated that during times of religious persecution, it was the intellectuals whose faith was founded on philosophical wisdom who were the first to abandon their religion. In contrast, the common folk, women, and the unlearned stood firm in their faith and sacrificed their lives for the sanctification of Hashem’s Name. These words became widely known in his name and were cited in hundreds of sefarim. His sefarim were highly regarded by great Chassidic masters as well. The Admor Rabbi Tzvi Elimelech of Dinov, author of ‘Bnei Yissaschar’, authored a commentary on three of Chassid Yaabetz’s sefarim. Adrianople, 1555. First Edition. Page Count: [96] leaves. Page Size: 19 cm. Condition: Light stains; slightly darker stains on the final leaves. A few small holes in the margins, with two tiny holes on the title page. New leather binding. Bibliography: Stefansky, Sifrei Yesod (New Edition, 2024), p. 43 Provenance: Library of London Beis Din, to which the library of Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Berlin was transferred Esteemed Provenance The title page of the sefer features the signature of the esteemed Gaon, Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Berlin (“HaKatan Tzvi Hirsch”). On the flyleaf, there is a mussar poem of four stanzas, penned in his very own handwriting. Its central theme conveys that a person’s true possession is his spiritual acquisitions, for that is what will remain after him—not wealth, nor gold. Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Levin (1721–1800), served as the Rav of several prominent kehillos, including Halberstadt, Mannheim, London and Berlin. A brilliant and unique Torah scholar, he was the son of Rabbi Aryeh Leib, Av Beis Din of Amsterdam, and the son-in-law of the Chacham Tzvi. He was the brother of Rabbi Shaul of Amsterdam, author of ‘Binyan Ariel’, and the father of the author of ‘Besamim Rosh’. His chiddushim were published in the sefarim ‘Tzava Rav’ and ‘Tzvi L’Tzaddik’. .