Bidspirit auction | ELIJAH, GAON OF VILNA. Apei

ELIJAH, GAON OF VILNA. Apei Ravrevei [commentary to Shulchan Aruch-Even Ha’ezer]. FIRST EDITION OF THE GAON’S COMMENTARY. Title printed in red and black. Contemporary marginalia. ff. (2), 3-24, 23-55; 186, lacking final two leaves; two prior leaves with loss of text at upper corners. Browned and stained in places, two taped repairs affecting text. Recent boards. Folio. Vinograd, Vilna 134. Vilna, Menachem Mann - Simchah Zimmel, 1819. A striking example of the entrenched conservatism of traditional Jewish scholarship:  Paragraphs 1-25 of R. Yoseph Karo’s work are twinned with the commentary of the Vilna Gaon alone, whereas the classic commentaries Beth Shmuel and Chelkath Mechokek are moved to the end of the volume. However, R. Chaim of Volozhin, the Gaon’s foremost disciple, objected to this formula as disrespectful to these two early decisors. Thus, from paragraph 26 onward, in deference to his opinion, the publishers reverted to the traditional page layout.