Bidspirit auction | Rare 1858 Lemberg Printing of

Rare 1858 Lemberg Printing of Sefer Emunat Chachamim – Rabbi Aviad Sar-Shalom Basila - Title: Sefer Emunat Chachamim (ספר אמונת חכמים / Faith in the Sages). Author: The renowned Italian halachic authority, philosopher, and kabbalist, Rabbi Aviad Sar-Shalom Basila (רבי אביעד שר שלום באזילה; c. 1680–1743). He served as the prominent Chief Rabbi of Mantua and is celebrated for this masterful defense of traditional rabbinic authority and the authenticity of the Kabbalah. Content: A landmark philosophical-kabbalistic treatise written to counter early modern skepticism and philosophic rationalism. Rabbi Basila systematically reinforces the absolute integrity of the Oral Torah, the teachings of the Talmudic Sages (Chazal), and the spiritual transmission of hidden Torah secrets. Print Origin & Date: Published in the historic European printing capital of Lemberg (לעמבערג / Lviv) in the year תרי”ט (1858) by the press of D. H. Schrenzel. The title page displays a classic ornate woodcut border, alongside a Latinized subtitle reading ”Emunat Chachamim / Druck von D. H. Schrenzel, Lemberg - 1858”. Notable Typographical Feature: This specific printing features a highly intriguing production variation. On page 57 (נז), mid-text, the font size abruptly downscales to a significantly smaller, dense rabbinic typeface, which continues for the remainder of the volume. This shift captures a historic window into the raw operational challenges, paper-saving techniques, and mechanical adjustments of 19th-century Galician printing presses. Historical Provenance: The front flyleaves preserve multiple layers of early handwritten ownership notations, signatures, and calculation ledgers in old European scripts, including the signature ”P. Rys... Rabynowycz”, anchoring this copy's journey to the intellectual landscape of 19th-century Europe.