Bidspirit auction | Even ha-Ezel. With a dedication

Even ha-Ezel. With a dedication by the author - Even ha-Ezel. Novellae and commentaries on the Mishneh Torah of Maimonides, by Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer. Part VII. Jerusalem, 1951. Presentation copy with the author’s handwritten dedication. The renowned work of Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer, universally known by the title of his magnum opus, Even ha-Ezel. At the end of the volume is printed the table of contents, “prepared and arranged by my beloved grandson, the distinguished scholar Rabbi Ḥayyim Schneur, son of my son-in-law the gaon Rabbi Aharon Kotler.” On the front endpaper appears a handwritten dedication by the author himself. Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer (1870–1953), known as the author of Even ha-Ezel, was a disciple of the Malbushei Yom Tov, the Ḥafetz Ḥayyim, and Rabbi Ḥayyim of Brisk. Already in his youth he stood out for his extraordinary talents and was the youngest student at the Volozhin Yeshiva, where he was nicknamed “Zunia the Mirrer, ” after his hometown. He served as Rosh Yeshiva of Slabodka, and from 1897 as Rosh Yeshiva of Slutsk, later also serving as the city’s rabbi. From 1925 until his passing he was Rosh Yeshiva of Etz Ḥayyim in Jerusalem. Among his students were many of the foremost Torah leaders of the modern era, including Rabbi Aharon Kotler (his son-in-law), Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, Rabbi Elazar Menachem Man Shach, Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach and his son Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, Rabbi Michel Yehuda Lefkowitz, several Chief Rabbis of Israel, and many others. It is related in the name of Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik of Brisk that he cited his father, Rabbi Ḥayyim of Brisk, as saying that among all the heads of Lithuanian yeshivot, the greatest of them all was Rabbi Isser Zalman. He further reported that in Volozhin the exceptional minds among the students were ranked—some considered “quarter geniuses, ” others “half geniuses”—but the only one ever described as a “complete genius” was Zunia the Mirrer. Beyond his towering brilliance, Rabbi Isser Zalman was renowned for his exceptional righteousness. A striking story, transmitted quietly among the sages of Jerusalem, relates that his wife, who came from a wealthy family, once asked him to assure her that she would be with him in the World to Come. He replied candidly that she would not merit to be in his portion of Paradise, as her character traits were not yet sufficiently refined. When she asked what she could do to merit this, he advised her to accept humiliations. She accepted this upon herself, and he assisted her in fulfilling this commitment—an episode illustrating his uncompromising devotion to ethical and spiritual refinement. [1], 85, 12 leaves. Large format: 33 cm. Condition: very good. Original binding.