Bidspirit auction | Ha-Ketav Ve-ha-Kabbalah, Frankfurt am Main

Ha-Ketav Ve-ha-Kabbalah, Frankfurt am Main 1880 – First Edition, Complete - Ha-Ketav Ve-ha-Kabbalah, elucidations arranged according to the weekly Torah readings, in two volumes covering the entirety of the Torah, By Rabbi Yaakov Tzvi ben R. Gamliel Mecklenburg. Frankfurt am Main 1880 – First complete edition, with extensive additions. All later editions to our own day are based upon the edition. Just as the Malbim, in his work HaTorah VeHaMitzvah, waged a valiant battle against the attacks of the Maskilim upon the traditional interpretation of the Oral Torah within the Written Torah—so, too, this sefer was composed to stand in the breach. Indeed, the title Ha-Ketav Ve-ha-Kabbalah expresses the union of the Written Torah with that which our Sages received in the Oral Torah—just as the Malbim titled his own work “HaTorah” for the Written Torah, and “HaMitzvah” for the Oral Torah. And thus writes the author, of blessed memory: ”מי יתן ויושג מהם התכלית המכוון בהם, להשפיל גאון זדים המתחכמים לפרוץ פרצות בגדר תורתינו הקדושה, ולהגדיל התורה שבעל פה נגד פניהם עם התורה שבכתב...” (Osef Michtavim, from the Shwadron collection, National Library). The renowned Gaon Rabbi Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenburg, author of Ha-Ketav Ve-ha-Kabbalah (1785–1865), was among the distinguished disciples of Rabbi Akiva Eiger. He served as rabbi of the city of Königsberg in Prussia—today’s Kaliningrad. His sefer Ha-Ketav Ve-ha-Kabbalah on the Torah attained acclaim throughout the Jewish world, and even the sharpest minds among the Lithuanian giants engaged with it—such as Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan Spector (נחל יצחק סי' צ''א סע' א'), and Rabbi Shimon Shkop (חידושי ר' שמעון שקופ יבמות סי' י''ג, בבא מציעא סי' ח', ועוד). He also authored a commentary on the Siddur titled Iyun Tefillah, which was warmly received across Jewish communities. For his connections with the Malbim and with Rabbi Yisrael Salanter, see the discussion in Item 50 regarding Rabbi Nachumka of Horodna.