Bidspirit auction | “And These Are the Names

“And These Are the Names of the Books” — The Library Catalogue of the Philanthropist Rabbi Shimshon Raphael HaLevi, Bearing the Signatures of the Netziv of Volozhin - A large and impressive manuscript leaf in early Ashkenazic script, headed “And These Are the Names of the Books Belonging to the Philanthropist Rabbi Shimshon Raphael HaLevi, ” containing a detailed bibliographic inventory of the personal library of one of the leading benefactors of Volozhin. He was the father-in-law of Rabbi Itzele of Volozhin, son of Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin, and a member of the inner circle that surrounded the famed Mother of Yeshivos during its golden age. Volozhin, late 18th–early 19th century. Before us is an extraordinary document, offering a rare glimpse into the Lithuanian Torah library at the height of its flourishing. More than a simple book list, it is an authentic record of the library that stood on the shelves of a distinguished Torah scholar and communal leader from one of the most prominent and well-connected families in the Volozhin world. The catalogue includes dozens of foundational rabbinic works printed in the great Hebrew presses of the era—Slavuta, Vilna, Fürth, and others. Among the volumes listed are a complete Slavuta Talmud (with only a few tractates missing), the Shulchan Aruch, the works of the Hafla’ah, Pnei Yehoshua, Yam Shel Shlomo, Chiddushei HaRitva, Tzelach, Chayei Adam, Sefer HaBris, the glosses of the Bach, Slavuta editions of the Mishnah, prayer books with Yiddish translation, and many other classics that formed the backbone of Ashkenazic Torah scholarship.  It reveals which books actually stood upon the shelves, which editions were treasured possessions, and what constituted the intellectual library of one of the foremost families in the Lithuanian Torah world. Yet the principal significance of this document lies not merely in the books themselves, but in what is revealed between the lines. Most remarkable, however, are the several signatures appearing in the margins and on the reverse side of the sheet, belonging to the illustrious Netziv of Volozhin, Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehudah Berlin. Among them appears his well-known signature formula: “Burdened with much work, Naftali Tzvi Yehudah Berlin.” The family connection is especially noteworthy. The son of the library’s owner, Rabbi Shimshon Raphael HaLevi, was the renowned Rabbi Meir Noach HaLevi Levin, known as the “Maggid of Vilna.” He married the daughter of Rabbi Eliezer Yitzchak Fried, Rabbi of Volozhin and the first rosh yeshivah of the Volozhin Yeshivah, who was himself the eldest son-in-law of Rabbi Yitzchak of Volozhin. Following the passing of the Netziv, Rabbi Meir Noach was appointed Rabbi of Volozhin, thereby continuing the family’s place at the heart of the city’s Torah leadership. We thus have before us a family, rabbinic, and bibliographic document of the highest order—a nineteenth-century catalogue of a Torah library bearing the signatures of the Netziv and illuminating the worlds of Torah scholarship, Hebrew books, and distinguished lineage within the orbit of the Mother of Yeshivos. Description [1] large manuscript leaf, 36 × 23 cm. Fine, heavy-quality paper. Attractive Ashkenazic manuscript script. Several signatures of the Netziv appear in the margins and on the reverse side. Condition: Good. Signs of use, folds, and age-related staining. Small tear to the lower blank corner, far from the text. Preserved in protective plastic laminate. Not examined outside the protective covering. A rare document of outstanding bibliographic, rabbinic, and historical importance.