Bidspirit auction | Sermon for the Seventh of

Sermon for the Seventh of Adar in the Handwriting of Rabbi Leib Königsberger – Disciple of the Chatam Sofer and Rabbi Shalom Charif - A lengthy sermon comprising six full pages in the distinctive handwriting of the Gaon Rabbi Yehudah Leib Königsberger, Rabbi of Steinamanger and one of the leading Hungarian rabbis of the mid-nineteenth century. The sermon was delivered at the annual gathering of the city’s Chevra Kadisha on the Seventh of Adar, the traditional day marking both the birth and passing of Moses our Teacher. Rabbi Leib elaborates on the connection between the virtues of the Chevra Kadisha—founded upon kindness and truth—and the life of Moses, whose birth represents kindness and whose passing represents truth. On the final page, several additional lines were added in which the author humbly reflects upon his election, first and then a second time, to a position of leadership: “As Boaz said to Ruth… ‘Your latter kindness is greater than the former’… So too here: when they first chose me, I was young and perhaps they erred in judging me (!); but in this latest election, it is to their honor and glory that they have chosen an old man.” These lines were written in slightly different ink, perhaps indicating that the sermon was delivered on two separate occasions—once in his younger years and again later in life, closer to his passing in 1861. At the head of the manuscript appears a brief title page bearing the inscription: “Shabbat Zachor, 5601 (?)” To the best of our knowledge, this sermon has never been published. Rabbi Yehudah Leib Königsberger (1791–1861) studied under the Chatam Sofer and under Rabbi Shalom Ullmann, Rabbi of Lackenbach and father of his friend, the author of Yeriot Shlomo. He received rabbinic ordination from both Rabbi Mordechai Benet and the Chatam Sofer. He served as a dayan in Rechnitz and, beginning in 1839, as Rabbi of the community of Steinamanger. [4] sewn leaves, containing six fully written pages, preceded by a brief title page.