Bidspirit auction | Ohel David, with glosses of

Ohel David, with glosses of the author, the gaon and tzaddik Rabbi David Deutsch, zt”l. - Ohel David – “that which I, the humble David son of my father the gaon Rabbi Mendel Deutsch, of blessed memory, composed; being what was omitted from what I brought to print last year, with additional novellae on Sukkah and Chagigah.” Vienna, 1820. The work contains ten glosses, some lengthy, written in a carefully executed square manuscript hand by the author himself, the gaon. In one of the glosses the author cites a novella in the name of his great son-in-law, the “Maharam Ash.” It is reported in the beis midrash that the quantity and content of the glosses he wrote in his books depended upon the status of the recipient, his stature and greatness in Torah. The great gaon Rabbi David Deutsch, author of Ohel David (1756–1831), was among the foremost Hungarian geonim of his generation, renowned in the Torah world for his holiness and extraordinary brilliance. He served as Av Beis Din of several important communities, and from 1810 served as rabbi of the city of Chust. He was a leading disciple of the Noda BiYehuda, who held him in great affection and addressed numerous responsa to him printed in Shu”t Noda BiYehuda. Rabbi David Deutsch was also among the close associates of the Chasam Sofer, who wrote to him with rare esteem and affection: “I am certain of his great love that he will turn his eyes favorably toward me and remember me in his prayers” (Shu”t Chasam Sofer, Yoreh De’ah siman 121). In the introduction to Ohel David, the Chasam Sofer greatly praised him, calling him: “a righteous holy one of Israel, a genius of the world… fortunate are we if we merited his conversation and his light.” He was known as a forceful opponent of the Maskilim and the spirit of Enlightenment that spread in his time, particularly against the Shas edition printed in the press of Anton Schmidt. His well-known work Ohel David on tractates of the Talmud was received with great esteem in the Torah world. Additional ownership inscription on the title page. This book was printed without a title page and serves as a continuation of the earlier work of the same name printed a year earlier (1819), on tractates Pesachim, Sukkah, Chagigah, and Yoma. Vienna, 1820 [Tav Kuf Pei]. 14 leaves [13–26]. Complete copy, new and elegant binding. Minor age stains, paper restorations at edges, no loss to text. Good condition.