Bidspirit auction | Handwritten Chiddushim on Yerushalmi Zeraim

Handwritten Chiddushim on Yerushalmi Zeraim by Rabbi Yosef Engel Av Beis Din of Cracow * A complete kuntres — 81 large pages — in the handwriting of the towering Torah luminary, Sar HaTorah Rabbi Yosef Engel, Av Beis Din of Cracow, author of Asvan DeOraysa and numerous other sefarim (see below). At the beginning he inscribed: ”With the help of Heaven, explanations on Yerushalmi Zeraim and a compilation of principles and topics derived from the Yerushalmi.” At the end, he arranged an index of topics in alphabetical order, under the title: ”Index of the General Topics in This Volume in Alphabetical Order, ” as well as ”Indexes of the Yerushalmi Commentaries in This Volume.” As noted, all this is in the gaon’s holy handwriting! These chiddushim were later published in his renowned sefer Gilyonei HaShas (Vienna 1924), on leaves 55–60. On some of these chiddushim he drew a line through the text to discard them (yet the writing remains legible beneath it). These (discarded) chiddushim were not published within the printed Gilyonei Yerushalmi, and it remains to be verified whether all of them were ever brought to print. He wrote the chiddushim on the right or left margins of the page, leaving space for additions and notes, which he indeed inserted in the present volume. Rabbi Yosef Engel (1859–1920) was an extraordinary gaon by every measure — an overflowing treasure of chiddushim that shook the Torah world. His phenomenal mastery of all areas of Torah, his remarkable brilliance, and his unique method of learning earned him eternal renown as one of the great Achronim. A significant part of his Torah learning was the writing of his chiddushim. He devoted countless hours to it (see Shu”t Ben Poras Yosef, siman 9), and his writing was exceptionally swift, as evident from his handwriting. He attached special importance to recording his chiddushim in writing, and when asked why he did not establish a yeshivah, he answered: ”My sefarim will be my students.” In his lifetime, he published eight of his works, the most famous of which are Asvan DeOraysa, Beis HaOtzar, and Lekach Tov. He left behind close to one hundred unpublished manuscripts, and promised that anyone who assists in publishing them will merit his intercession in Heaven. Page count: 41 large leaves. Size: 21 x 34 cm. Condition: Good. Original binding made shortly after his passing, embossed with the words: ”Manuscript of our master, the holy Gaon Rabbi Yosef Engel zt”l.”