Bidspirit auction | A book of self-sacrifice! A

A book of self-sacrifice! A scholarly work by the Chief Rabbi of St Petersburg–Leningrad, printed under the Soviet boot, in the press of The Red Propagandist! The author’s own copy, with additions and corrections!!! - Ma‘ayan Mei Naftoach, Novellae and explanations on Tractate Yevamot, By Rabbi David Teveli Katznelbogen, Av Beit Din of St. Petersburg (Leningrad). 1923. First edition, with additions and corrections in the author’s own handwriting!!! Krasnyi Agitator Press, St. Petersburg, 1923. [2], 47, [1] leaves, 35 cm. Rabbi David Tevel Katznelbogen was born in Tavrig in the Kovno province. In his youth he studied Torah with his father, Rabbi Naftali Hertz, a dayan in Tavrig. In childhood he distinguished himself by his abilities. At age fifteen he participated in the composition of a commentary on the Jerusalem Talmud printed in Kratashin. At the age of twenty he was appointed rabbi in the city of Vorblis in Lithuania. From 1894 until 1907 he served as rabbi in the city of Suvalk in Poland, which had a large Jewish community. In 1907 he was appointed rabbi of the Great Synagogue in St. Petersburg, the capital of Russia, and held this post for twenty-two years, until his death in 1930. His position as chief rabbi in St. Petersburg made him one the influential rabbis in Russia. In addition, Rabbi David Tevel Katznelbogen was the official representative of the Jewish community of Russia to the government. In 1909 he was elected chairman of the Rabbinical Assembly in Vilna. Even after the October Revolution in Russia he continued in his position. After the revolution he suffered governmental harassment following his refusal, together with Rabbi Yaakov Mazah, to sign a declaration that in the Soviet Union no religious persecution existed. Afterwards he concentrated on writing his books. In 1923 his principal work Ma‘ayan Mei Naftoach appeared, which included explanations on Tractate Yevamot. Five years later his book of sermons Divrei David was published, in which he also appended additions to Mei Naftoach. Rabbi David Katznelbogen passed away on December 30, 1930 — 1930-12-29, in St. Petersburg, then called Leningrad. Mei Naftoach was printed again in Tel Aviv after the Holocaust. The publisher notes at the beginning of the book that in the second edition corrections and additions were incorporated from what the author had written in the margins of his book. These corrections and additions are present in this copy, and the handwriting has been compared with known manuscripts of the author and verified to be his personal copy in which he recorded the corrections and additions!