Bidspirit auction | ”And I the Unworthy did

”And I the Unworthy did not Merit Understanding His Sacred Words” Tzemach Tzeddek Piskei Dinim Section II - First Edition Vilna, 1884 Copy with the ”Forgery” - Sefer Tzemach Tzeddek, ”with Piskei Dinim from the Shulchan Aruch... by the Admor the Gaon... Rabbeinu Menachem Mendel, edited by his grandsons, section II, Vilna, the Press of the Rom Widow and Brothers - 1884”. Two title pages. [2], 50, 70 leaves (without the 7 leaves of ”omissions and corrections” which do not appear in all copies). Moth perforations and damage. Old binding, blemished. Stains and other minor blemishes. Good-fair overall condition.  The ”forgery” polemic Printed on page 138 is the Admor the Tzemach Tzeddek's responsum beginning with the word ”Ituf”. Printed in this copy: ”HaGra introduced from Nedarim...and I the unworthy did not merit understanding his sacred words”. In some copies, the version ”ואינה תשובה” appears, which was later printed in the Kehat editions published by the Rebbe. Indeed, in recent years, this response, rather than the one printed in this copy, was discovered in a manuscript by the Tzemach Tzeddek himself.  ”And of course I could not dispose of all copies with the forged version” The Rebbe in his Igrot Kodesh addressed the matter, writing (section VIII, Igeret 2484): ”...I have heard from the Admor that the printers in Vilna (I haven't heard clearly whether the typesetter and his supervisor or the publisher too), which as you know at that time, the printing of the Piskei Dinim was the stronghold of the Misnagdim and apparently, added to it was that the year of 1884 was soon after the passing of the Admor Moharash and anyway, a time of emergency... so they seized the opportunity to forge and instead of ”ואינה תשובה”, printed the version copied by Kevod Torato, and when the first copies reached Lubavitch, they did all that was necessary and printed the last pages with the version of the Tzemach Tzeddek and of course I could not dispose of all copies with the forged version. This is the story of the Admor... (and see more in Igeret Kodesh section XIII, Igeret 4503)”.  This polemic has been discussed by Rabbis, Chassidim, Scholars and bibliophiles. See: Toldot Chabad BeRussia Vatzarit. There on page 122, there is a photocopy of a manuscript by the Tzemach Tzeddek with the original version of ”ואינה תשובה”; an article by the famed scholar Rabbi David Kamnetzky, Yeshurun, XX, p. 590 and onwards; and more.