Bidspirit auction | Manuscript, Two Volumes, Derashot and

Manuscript, Two Volumes, Derashot and Chiddushim on Sugyot, in the Handwriting of the Gaon Rabbi Meir HaLevi of Gattain (Moravia) – Gattain, 1801–1823 – Approximately Three Hundred Never-Printed Pages! Before us are two manuscript volumes, each containing several bound Kuntresim on various subjects. One volume (containing 90 leaves) consists mostly of sermons for Shabbat HaGadol, Shabbat Shuva, and the Yamim Noraim, combining ethical teachings with homiletics and Chiddushei Aggadah. The second volume (containing 66 leaves) is composed primarily of Chiddushim on Sugyot from several tractates. In at least two places, the author signs his name:  ”הק' מאיר הלוי” In the volume of sermons, on leaf 16, Rabbi Meir writes: דרוש לשבת הגדול תקס”ח לפ”ק ג”ט” [=גאטיין, מוראביה, מזרח צ'כיה] Across both volumes, numerous dates are noted. It appears that the earliest date is from 1801, and the latest from 1823. It is not entirely clear whether the writer served as a Rabbi of his city, a Rosh Yeshiva, or a wandering Darshan. It is possible that his positions and roles changed over the years. In the sermon for Rosh Hashanah 1823, he expands at length in warning against the increasing desecration of Shabbat in his city, and writes from the depths of his heart: רבותי בני עמי אחי ורעי אשר אנכי יושב בעירכם להרבות תוכחה ומוסר, זולת מחמת אש תוקד בקרבי ובלבבי בוער כמו אש להבה בראותי כ”ז עין בעין ולא אוכל דבר מאומה, וכבד פה ולשון אנכי... The manuscripts mention names of Rabbanim of his generation, known and unknown, among them: Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Levin, Av Beis Din of Berlin; הרבני מ' שמואל מק' פילץ יצ”ו”; ”כש”ת מוהר”ר מניס נשיא הלויים יצ”ו”; ”הרב המופלא חריף ובקי מהו' יוסף אליעזר נ”י Sermons volume: [90] leaves. (Chiddushim volume: [66] leaves.) The vast majority of leaves are written on both sides. Size and condition vary. Most leaves measure approximately. 24 cm. Most are in fair–good condition. Stains and wear. New bindings.