Tractate Avot, Avot D'Rabbi Natan and Minor Tractates, with the Commentary and Textual Corrections of the Gaon of ...

Tractate Avot, Avot D'Rabbi Natan and Minor Tractates, with the Commentary and Textual Corrections of the Gaon of Vilna – Shklow, 1804 / Sefer HaTzava by R. Zerachya HaLevi, with Beraita of the 32 Rules for Interpreting the Torah, with Textual Corrections and Commentaries by the Gaon of Vilna – Shklow, 1803 – First Editions
Two books in one volume:
Tractate Avot, with commentaries by Rashi and the Gaon of Vilna; Avot D'Rabbi Natan, and the minor tractates: Sofrim, Semachot, Kallah, Derech Eretz Raba, Derech Eretz Zuta and Perek HaShalom, corrected according to the text of the Gaon of Vilna. Shklow, [1804]. First edition.
Bound with: Sefer HaTzava by R. Zerachya HaLevi, with Hasagot HaRamban; the Beraita of the 32 rules for interpreting the Torah, according to the text of the Gaon of Vilna, and the explanation of the Mishnah concerning a legume bed in Tractate Kilayim by the Gaon of Vilna. Shklow, 1803. First edition of the corrections and commentaries of the Gaon of Vilna.
The book Tractate Avot was brought to print by the sons of the Gaon of Vilna, R. Yehuda Leib and R. Avraham, and compiled by his disciple, the Kabbalist R. Menachem Mendel of Shklow. The book begins with an important foreword by R. Menachem Mendel, in which he relays several extraordinary points that he heard from his teacher, the Gaon of Vilna (see Hebrew description).
Leaves 3-24: Tractate Avot, the Mishna occupying the center of the pages, flanked on one side by Rashi's commentary, and on the other by "the commentary of the Gaon, where one who studies earnestly will find many wonders, demonstrating how each teaching of the Mishna is derived from explicit verses".
Leaves 25-50: Tractate Avot D'Rabbi Natan, based on the text and corrections of the Gaon of Vilna. The center of the page is occupied by the text corrected by the Gaon of Vilna, with the old, unedited version printed on the side, "so that one will be able to appreciate the difference between the two, like the distance from the East to the West, and the advantage of one over the other like light over darkness". Leaves 51-82: Minor Tractates in the same setup; the corrected text occupying the center of the page, with the previous version on the side.
Two books in one volume: Tractate Avot: 82 leaves. Sefer HaTzava: 12 leaves. Lacking [1] final leaf of Sefer HaTzava with geometric diagrams. 20.5 cm. Tractate Avot in good condition. Sefer HaTzava in good-fair condition. Stains to title page and other leaves in Tractate Avot. Marginal tear to title page of Tractate Avot (with tape repairs on verso). Censorship stamp and signature on title page of Tractate Avot. Worming to Sefer HaTzava. New binding. Bookplate.
Vinograd, Thesaurus of the Books of the Vilna Gaon, no. 318, 291.
Provenance: The Yeshayahu Vinograd Collection, Jerusalem.