Bidspirit auction | Sefer Mesillas Yesharim, by Rabbi

Sefer Mesillas Yesharim, by Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (the Ramchal) — Amsterdam, 1740 — first edition printed during the author’s lifetime In Sefer Mesillas Yesharim, the foundations of Avodas Hashem, Chassidus, and Musar are explained in full detail. The Sefer was received with great admiration throughout most of the Jewish world, among Chassidim and Misnagdim alike, and it is among the most famous foundational Sefarim in Avodas Hashem. Harav Hachasid Rabbi Yaakov Yosef of Ostroha (Rav Yeibi) writes in his approbation to the Ramchal’s 'Klach Pis’chei Chochmah' (Koretz, 1785): ספר מסילת ישרים, דרכי ה' צדיקים ילכו בם, אשר חברו הרב הגדול איש האלוקי מ”ו משה חיים לוצאטו ז”ל, וזאת התורה אשר שם משה לפני ישראל להבין דברי חכמים וחידותם, ביושר אמריו... וגם במשה דיבר ה... In the introduction to the above Sefer, the publisher brings that he heard from the holy mouth of Rav Yeibi, in the name of the Maggid of Mezritch, who said of the Ramchal that ”אין דורו היה כדאי להבין צדקתו ופרישותו” . The Bnei Yissaschar wrote in his additions to the Sefer Sur Mera Va’Aseh Tov: “…see Sefer Mesillas Yesharim and you shall sate your thirst and give delicacies to your soul; his words are sweeter than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb” (Psalms 19:11). On leaf 25/2, an annotation in Sephardic script. Signature on the title page: ”רפאל דוד טעבלי הלוי” — among the heads of Kollel Holland and Germany. [6], 63 leaves. 16 cm. Good condition. The title page, and the first and last leaves, underwent professional restoration. Fine new leather binding. On the admiration of the Gaon of Vilna for the Torah of the Ramchal and Sefer Mesillas Yesharim: It appears that the greatest esteem and appreciation for the Sefer and its author came from the Gaon of Vilna. Below is a collection of traditions regarding this: “I heard from Gedolim that when the Sefer Mesillas Yesharim first appeared in print, the Gaon of Vilna z'”l, said that a new light had appeared upon the face of the world, and he said that if the Ramchal z”l were alive, he would go on foot to greet him; and due to the great fondness for the Sefer he gave a gold dinar for it, which was considered a large sum in those days. And so I heard that he [the Gaon] would often review it many times” (Rabbi Yitzchak of Altsan, disciple of Rabbi Yisrael Salanter, in his introduction to Derech Hashem, Jerusalem, 1914). “He cherished Sefer Mesillas Yesharim to study Mikra, Aggadah, and Midrashim, for within them fear of Heaven is concealed” (Tosefes Ma’aseh Rav, Jerusalem, 1884, section 61). [It seems the explanation of his intent is that the words of Mesillas Yesharim are founded, for the most part, on verses and statements of Chazal that are cited in the Sefer by the hundreds, and they are not merely intellectual ideas]. “I heard from the great Gaon Rabbi Eliezer Gordon z”l, who was Av Beis Din and Rosh Mesivta of the Yeshiva of Telz in the land of Lithuania, a tradition from one person to another, that when the Sefer Mesillas Yesharim appeared in print, and the author was already no longer in the world, and when the Gaon of Vilna read the words of this Sefer, he said that a great light had come into the world, and he learned it by heart one hundred and one times, and paid a respectable sum for this Sefer. And he said that most Sefarim — the Sefer is greater than the author, but in this he knows well that the author was many times greater than the Sefer; and if he were still alive, he would go on foot to the author to hear his wisdom from him” (Rabbi Moshe Rosenstein of Lomza, disciple of “the Saba of Kelm, ” Yesodei HaDa’as, Warsaw, 1935–1938, in the introduction to his Sefer, p. 2). [All the above traditions were gathered as a sheaf of grain in the Sefer HaGaon HeChasid M'Vilna by Rabbi Betzalel Landau z”l, pp. 122, 179. There, on p. 122, he brings an additional tradition from Rabbi Yitzchak of Altsan in his above Sefer regarding the Gaon’s admiration for the Torah of the Ramchal: “I heard that when the Gaon z”l, obtained the writings of the Ramchal on the Idra Rabba, he donned Yom Tov garments in their honor and in his joy. And several of the writings of the Ramchal that have now been printed — they obtained them from the library of the Gaon, where they were hidden… and the matter is well known.”] The holy Tzaddik Rabbi Yosef Zundel of Salant told his great disciple Rabbi Yisrael Salanter, that when he received a farewell blessing as he was leaving the Volozhin Yeshiva, he asked Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin which Sifrei Musar are best to study, and his Rebbe answered him: “All Sifrei Musar are good to study, but Sefer Mesillas Yesharim — it shall be your guide.” [6], 63 leaves. 16 cm. Good condition. The title page, and the first and last leaves, underwent professional restoration. Fine new leather binding.