Bidspirit auction | Zecher Yehosef — by the

Zecher Yehosef — by the Gaon Rabbi Yosef Zechariah Stern. Warsaw, 5620 [1860]. First edition. - Sefer Zecher Yehosef – chiddushim and pilpulim on masechtos of Shas, Part I, Seder Moed and Nashim, by the Gaon Rabbi Yosef Zechariah Stern, Av Beis Din of Shavel. Warsaw, 5620 [1860]. First edition. Author’s copy, filled with his handwritten annotations. Throughout the entire sefer, in the margins and between the lines, are interspersed numerous lengthy scholarly annotations by the author, the Gaon Rabbi Yosef Zechariah Stern. Nearly every page bears additions, corrections, expansions, and completions in his handwriting, written in various inks. The stirring of his holy heart is evident; one may sense in the swift movement of the writing the flow of his prolific mind, in the spirit of “Ana Nafshi Kesovis Yehovis…” These annotations constitute an additional layer to the work Zecher Yehosef, containing expansions to the discussed sugyos, added sources, clarification of approaches, and completion of analytical developments that were not printed in the body of the sefer. Before us is therefore the author’s personal working copy, reflecting the continuation of his study and the development of his chiddushim even after the sefer had gone to print. The illustrious Gaon Rabbi Yosef Zechariah Stern, Av Beis Din of Shavel (5591–5664 [1831–1904]), among the greatest Lithuanian geonim of the later generations and one of the most exceptional masters of Torah knowledge. His mastery of all areas of Torah became renowned, and his extraordinary memory astonished his contemporaries. In the year 5620 [1860], while still a young man not yet thirty years old, he printed his renowned sefer Zecher Yehosef. In his approbation to the sefer, the Gaon Rabbi Yaakov Gesundheit, author of Tiferes Yaakov, wrote: “I stood trembling and astonished at his sharpness and mastery in the sea of the Talmud Bavli and Yerushalmi together with all the poskim and responsa and commentators, earlier and later.” In 5621 [1861] he was appointed Rav of Shavel, where he served for forty-three years until his passing in 5664 [1904]. At his funeral, the Gaon Rabbi Yitzchok Blazer of Ponevezh eulogized him and expressed the magnitude of the loss: “Here are being buried Bavli and Yerushalmi, Sifra, Sifri, Mechilta, Tosefta, Rishonim and Acharonim.” 98 leaves. Original title page and introduction leaf present; the following seven leaves and the final five leaves supplied in facsimile. Rabbeinu’s love of Torah, which led to frequent use, together with the fervor and joy of writing, caused wear to the inner page margins. In the present copy, the margins were professionally restored and reattached to the spine. Attractive binding with an impressive leather spine. Good condition.