Bidspirit auction | Noam Elimelech. Rabbi Moshe Shapira

Noam Elimelech. Rabbi Moshe Shapira Press. Slavita, 1794 * The holiest sefer in Chassidus — Noam Elimelech — printed in the holiest printing press in Chassidus, the press of Rabbi Moshe Shapira of Slavita. The sefer was brought to print by the author’s nephew, Rabbi Yisrael Avraham of Czerni–Ostroh, son of Rabbi Zusha of Anipoli. With the approbation of the author’s brother, Rabbi Zusha of Anipoli, here printed for the very first time. In the Slavita Noam Elimelech, four exceptional qualities converge, granting this edition its unique and important stature: the sefer itself, the printing press, the one who brought it to print, and the approbation. The sefer itself is, of course, the holy sefer Noam Elimelech, the most revered Chassidic work of all times. The printing press is that of Rabbi Moshe Shapira of Slavita, son of Rabbi Pinchas of Koretz, whose printing press was holy and revered by all the Chassidic greats. In his approbation to the sefer, Rabbi Zusha writes, “The fine, good, and pleasant printing press of the holy community of Slavita.” The sefer Noam Elimelech is one of the first Chassidic sefarim printed in Slavita. The one who brought it to print: The sefer was published and brought to the printing press by the author’s nephew, Rabbi Yisrael Avraham of Czerni–Ostroh, son of Rabbi Zusha of Anipoli. The approbation: In this edition, the approbation of his brother, Rabbi Zusha of Anipoli, was printed for the first time. The holy brothers were bound together and cleaved to one another and accomplished much together. It is well known in the name of the Chassidic greats that the title of the sefer, Noam, is an allusion to the name of his brother Zusha, for “Noam” in Yiddish is “zis.” Additionally, there is the approbation of Rabbi Yaakov Shimshon of Shpitkova, Av Beis Din of Slavita, in which he greatly praises the printing press of Rabbi Moshe Shapira. *** Sefer Noam Elimelech is a Chassidic commentary on Chamishah Chumshei Torah composed by the venerable Chassidic master Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk, with the additions of Likutei Shoshanah and Iggros Kodesh (a response penned by Rabbi Elimelech’s students to opponents of Chassidus). The saintly Admor Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk is one of the most acclaimed figures in all of Chassidus, second only to the Baal Shem Tov, and his magnum opus, Noam Elimelech, is the most beloved, learned and praised Chassidic sefer of all times, to which countless segulos have been attributed. Noam Elimelech was first brought to print by his son, Rabbi Eliezer of Lizhensk, who printed it at his father’s behest, as written in his preface to the sefer: “I was instructed with an explicit command from his holy and pure mouth that after his passing, I should take care of bringing it to print, and he told me that there is no greater mitzvah than this.” In his important introduction, he writes of the greatness of his holy father. At the conclusion of his words, he writes: “For the sake of the honor of Your great Name, please act and fulfill all the blessings which my honorable father, my teacher, was accustomed always to have upon his lips, to bless Yisrael and to sacrifice his soul for them at all times, and to annul harsh decrees from upon them through his faithful prayer with self-sacrifice.” Rabbi Tzvi Meir of Radomsk writes that his father, the Tiferes Shlomo of Radomsk, said that this introduction, together with the above passage, was as precious to him almost as much as the sefer Noam Elimelech itself, and he took issue with printers who omitted this introduction in later editions (Shaar HaGilgulim, Premishla, 1875, leaf 45a). Slavita, 1794. Rabbi Moshe Shapira Press. Page Count: 82, 84–150 leaves. Size: 19.7 cm Condition: Good, t hick, high-quality paper; slight wax stains; on the final leaf, the lower margins are slightly trimmed. Stefansky, Sifrei Chassidus, no. 376. *** The Segulah of Sefer Noam Elimelech The Maor VaShemesh writes in Parshas Emor: “The world was desolate until the two great luminaries entered the world: The Baal Shem Tov and the Admor Rabbeinu Elimelech, and they opened the Gate to Hashem for tzaddikim to enter.” The sefer Noam Elimelech is renowned for its remarkable segulos for protection, parnassah, healing and childbirth. Rabbi Shimeleh of Zelichov wrote, “The intelligent will understand that the holy sefer Noam Elimelech sweetens harsh judgments upon Klal Yisrael until today” (from his remarkable letter concerning the sefer, Genazym 15, no. 112). The following are several segulos that were brought down in various sefarim: A Segulah for Protection It is well known that keeping this sefer in one’s home home is itself a segulah for protection and success, as the Admor Rabbi Shalom Eliezer Halberstam of Ratzfert, son of the famous Admor Rabbi Chaim of Sanz, expressed in his approbation to a later edition of Noam Elimelech (Munkacs, 1940): “To bring blessing into your homes,