Bidspirit auction | Chidushei Rabbeinu Chaim HaLevi —

Chidushei Rabbeinu Chaim HaLevi — Brisk, 1936. First edition. A foundational work - Chidushei Rabbeinu Chaim HaLevi on Maimonides (Rambam) — the monumental work of the renowned Gaon Chaim Soloveitchik of Brisk. Printed by R. Yehoshua Klein, Brisk, 1936. First edition. Presented here is the first edition of one of the foundational works of analytic Torah study, so influential that it became customary to describe the yeshiva method of learning as divided into “before Rabbi Chaim and after Rabbi Chaim.” The book was received with extraordinary admiration by the leading Torah authorities of the generation, among them the Chazon Ish, who is known to have written glosses on the work. In the introduction, the author’s sons describe their father’s unique method of study, which spread throughout the entire Torah world, as well as the immense effort invested in composing the novellae and the rigorous refinement to which Rabbi Chaim subjected his writings until his final days. According to family tradition, the introduction was written and formulated by his son, Maran Rabbi Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik (the Brisker Rav). This first edition was printed in Rashi type and in a distinctive page layout. When later printers issued the work in square type and with a different layout, the heads of the Brisk yeshiva protested the deviation from the original form. As a result, subsequent printings reverted to the original layout, once again using Rashi type, as in the first edition. Bibliography: Stefansky, Sifrei Yesod, no. 150. Collation: [1], 112 leaves. Size: approx. 33 cm. Condition: Very good. Original binding with a loose spine.