Bidspirit auction | Bibliographic Letter from the Wondrous

Bibliographic Letter from the Wondrous Gaon Rabbi Raphael Nota Rabinowitz, Author of Dikdukei Sofrim ”My sefer has not yet begun to be printed. Each day I await the letters to arrive from Leipzig so that we can start. All beginnings are hard, as there has never been a press here for Hebrew books” Bibliographic letter handwritten and signed by the wonderful and special gaon Rabbi Raphael Nattan Nota Rabinowitz, about printing his monumental series of sefarim, Dikdukei Sofrim - the most important work on the study of the various versions of gemara. Munich (undated). Letters from him are rare. Alongside his greatness in Torah as expressed in the Dikdukei Sofrim series of sefarim - which gedolei olam perpetually praised [refer to the expanded discussion in the Hebrew catalog text] - Rabbi N. N. Rabinowitz also had a huge amount of bibliographic knowledge. This can be seen in his 'Ma'amar al Hadpassat HaTalmud' printed at the beginning of Dikdukei Sofrim (the subject of this letter). In this essay, he surveys all editions of Sha”s, indicating where they were printed, the presses that printed them, the dates they were printed, etc. An interesting anecdote: R' Yitzchak Rein, a member of the editorial staff of Winner'S catalog, ”caught” Rabbi N. N. Rabinowitz in a bibliographic error here in this letter: Rabbi N. N. Rabinowitz writes that there had never been a press in Munich for Hebrew sefarim, but there were actually three types of Hebrew printings that took place previously in Munich: 1. Siddur printed in 1827 - however this used letters brought from the printer in Furth. 2. Lithograph. 3. Various Kitvei Kodesh from the Tana”ch printed with a translation. Yet it can be stated that an actual Hebrew press was indeed never established in the city until the printing of Dikdukei Sofrim. Aside from the bibliographic content about printing his sefer, Dikdukei Sofrim, the letter discusses sending rare sefarim from Hamburg to Munich [to compare texts], practical and legal details about how old sefarim were transported through European countries at the time, and the difference between sefarim and other wares. A wealthy Munich banker, R' Avraham Mertzbacher, is also mentioned in the letter. He supported Rabbi N. N. Rabinowitz and obtained uncommon gemaras and rare sefarim for his work preparing Dikdukei Sofrim. Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for a brief biography of the special gaon Rabbi Raphael Natan Nota Rabinowitz, author of Dikdukei Sofrim. [1] leaf paper, 28 cm. Fine condition. Fold mark. Aging stains. Signs of the leaf having been torn from a notebook in the right margin, without damage.