Bidspirit auction | Rare manuscript - Torah novellae

Rare manuscript - Torah novellae by Rabbi Yitzchak Rozenthal, disciple of the Chatam Sofer - A lengthy and exceptionally rare handwritten manuscript spanning two large pages (approximately 2,000 words), written and signed by the holy Rabbi Yitzchak Rozenthal [Danzig], a disciple of the Chatam Sofer and a descendant of the Pnei Yehoshua. [Jerusalem, late 18th–19th century]. Unpublished. The manuscript delves into the Talmudic principle (Yevamot 49b), “The Mishnah of Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov is small yet precise” (Rashi: “Wherever his teachings are mentioned, the halacha follows his opinion”). Rabbi Yitzchak elucidates complex Talmudic passages concerning Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov’s rulings and demonstrates how they align with the principle of ”small yet precise.” [2] Pages, 21X27 cm. Thin paper. Condition: Good. Fold marks. Minor edge wear. Rabbi Yitzchak Rozenthal’s manuscripts are exceedingly rare, and to the best of our knowledge, they have never appeared in auctions except for public signatures alongside leading rabbis of Hungary and Jerusalem. An additional manuscript in his handwriting is reproduced in The Chatam Sofer and His Disciples [p. 251], featuring a photograph of his handwriting, identical to the present document. Rabbi Yitzchak Rozenthal-Danzig (1818–1868) was a distinguished Torah scholar and one of the first disciples of the Chatam Sofer to settle in Jerusalem. He immigrated to Jerusalem in his youth and became a prominent leader of the Kolel HOD (Holland and Germany). Among his sons-in-law were Rabbi Yechezkel Shag Schwennberg and Rabbi Yehoshua Stampfer, one of the founders of the city of Petach Tikva. For more details, see The Chatam Sofer and His Disciples, pp. 251–252, entry: Rabbi Yitzchak Rozenthal – Danzig.