Bidspirit auction | Tabnit Ot Yosef. First and

Tabnit Ot Yosef. First and Rare Edition. The Copy of the Author of Nefesh Chayah - Sefer Tavnit Ot Yosef, chiddushei halachot on various Talmudic tractates. By the holy Gaon and Chassid Rabbi Yosef Margolies, zya”a, Av Beit Din of Chentshin and Ostrowiec. Frankfurt an der Oder, 1752. First Edition. The personal copy of the “Rav of Kalisz” – the great Gaon Rabbi Chaim Elazar Wachs, author of Nefesh Chayah. On the title page appears his ownership stamp in both Hebrew and Latin letters: “Chaim Elazar Wachs, Av Beit Din of the holy community of Kalisz.” It is noteworthy that both the author, Rabbi Yosef Margolies, and the book’s owner, “the Rav of Kalisz, ” served as rabbis of the city of Tarnigrad. Another unidentified rabbinic signature appears at the top of the title page. Also found is a handwritten dedication and the stamp of the library of the Yeshivat Lublin, to which the book was apparently donated—likely as part of the campaign by Rabbi Meir Shapiro to collect thousands of sefarim from Jewish homes throughout Poland for the famed library of the yeshiva. [2], 58 leaves. 32.5 cm. Engraved decorative title page. Good condition. Folded corners. Age stains. Worming. Partially detached binding. The author, the Gaon and Chassid Rabbi Yosef Margolies (d. 1760), served as Av Beit Din of Ostrowiec and of Tarnigrad. He was the teacher of the holy Maggid of Kozhnitz, zya”a. A wealthy man and yet a distinguished Torah scholar, he served as a dayan in Lublin without pay. He was among the leading Chassidim of Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak Horowitz, the Chozeh of Lublin, and according to some sources, was the one who brought the Chozeh to Lublin. “Wondrous and awe-inspiring things are told about him, ” it is written in Shem HaGedolim HeChadash. His son, Rabbi Ephraim Zalman Margolies of Lublin, was a Chassid of the Chozeh and son-in-law of the famed philanthropist Tamaril. The book’s owner, the renowned Gaon Rabbi Chaim Elazar Wachs (d. 1889), was widely known in Poland as “the Rav of Kalisz” and is also referred to as the Ba’al Nefesh Chayah, after his sefer. He was one of the leading rabbinic figures in Poland during the first half of the 19th century, famed for his Torah scholarship and halachic authority. This is evidenced by the large number of halachic inquiries directed to him from near and far, and by leading sages of the generation. He is listed as one of the meskim (approving scholars) of the Mishnah Berurah. The Chiddushei HaRim of Gur once wrote to an associate regarding a potential match with the daughter of the Nefesh Chayah: ”This Rav, whom I know, learns diligently day and night. And though he is not highly regarded by our Chassidim because he does not travel to Kotzk, I know him, and he is dear to me. He is an outstanding and exceptional Torah scholar—few like him can be found. He is wealthy and of fine lineage” (Meir Einei HaGolah, Warsaw, vol. II, letter 16). He frequently visited the elderly Rav Avraham Landau in Tshechnov to delight in Torah discussion, and was also a close friend of Rabbi Avraham Bornsztain, the Avnei Nezer. In 1867 he was appointed President of Kollel Polin in Eretz Yisrael. In his later years he served as Av Beit Din of Piotrków. Among his noted disciples: Rabbi Meir Dan Plotzki, author of Kli Chemda.