Bidspirit auction | Eben Ha'Ezer (Raavan). Prague, 1610.

Eben Ha'Ezer (Raavan). Prague, 1610. First Edition. Manuscript Additions and Annotations in the Handwriting of Rabbi Chaim Berlin - 'Eben Ha'Ezer (Raavan)' – Legal rulings and Halachic insights on various Talmudic tractates, authored by Rabbi Eliezer ben Nathan (Raavan) of Mainz. Printed in Prague by Rabbi Moshe ben Bezalel Katz, 1610. First edition. A foundational Halachic work. This monumental composition includes legal rulings, explanations behind laws, and customs by Rabbi Eliezer ben Nathan, one of the earliest Tosafists from Mainz. He was among the prominent Rishonim, and many of the great Rishonim, including the Rosh, were his descendants. The author also composed elegies commemorating the massacres of 1096, which he experienced during his childhood. This is the first edition, published nearly five hundred years after the work's composition. In this copy: - The title page and the following leaf are recreated in manuscript form by Rabbi Chaim Berlin. These additions include the entire text of the title page, styled to resemble the original print, along with the author's introduction, exact transcriptions of the endorsements from leading rabbis of the time (such as the Maharshal and the Levush), the printer's preface, and an index of Halachic discussions written by the author. - In the original printed edition, certain numbered entries in the index were missing, and Rabbi Chaim Berlin completed these omissions in his handwriting. - Throughout the book, there are corrections and notes in the handwriting of Rabbi Chaim Berlin, which later influenced revisions in subsequent editions. Rabbi Chaim Berlin (1832–1913) was a leading Torah scholar and a distinguished figure in Lithuania and Jerusalem. The eldest son of the Netziv (Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin) of Volozhin, Rabbi Chaim served as chief rabbi of Moscow and as the head of the prestigious Volozhin Yeshiva, known as ”The Mother of Yeshivas.” He later became rabbi of Kobrin and eventually moved to Jerusalem in 1906. After Rabbi Shmuel Salant's passing, Rabbi Berlin was recognized as the leading rabbinic authority in the Ashkenazi community in Jerusalem, though he declined to officially accept the title. Stefansky, Sifrei Yesod 225. [3], 154 leaves, 29.5 cm. Condition: Good to very good. Simple binding.