Bidspirit auction | Birkat Shmuel on the Torah.

Birkat Shmuel on the Torah. Frankfurt am Main, 1682. First Edition. A Unique Copy with a Rare and Variant Title Page - Sefer Birkat Shmuel — homiletical discourses on the Torah by the eminent Rabbi Shmuel Aharon Kaidanover (the Maharshak). Frankfurt am Main, תמ”ב [1682]. First edition. One of the most important and sought-after works of homiletics produced in Ashkenaz. The book achieved wide circulation and considerable influence and is quoted in the works of many leading Torah scholars of subsequent generations. Due to the extensive use made of it over the course of several centuries, copies in attractive condition are rarely found today. At the beginning of the book are approbations by the leading rabbis of the generation: Rabbi Yitzchak, Av Beit Din of Kraków; Rabbi Yitzchak, Av Beit Din of Poznań; and Rabbi Yeshaya Horowitz, Av Beit Din of Frankfurt am Main and grandson of the holy Shelah. A special copy, featuring a magnificent and rare engraved title page in place of the original title page. This title page was not created specifically for this book. Rather, it was printed as a general-purpose title page intended for use in various books and was subsequently adapted for the present volume by adding the book’s title and details in manuscript. Title pages of this kind were sometimes used as replacements for original title pages that had been lost or damaged. In the present copy, this distinctive title page was inserted in place of the edition’s original title page, which is not present. The title page was designed by the Frankfurt am Main artist Joh. Jac. Vogel and is an impressive work of seventeenth-century art. At its center, the title of the book appears within the zodiac, surrounded by a magnificent architectural frame depicting the Temple and various Biblical scenes. Although this is not the book’s original title page, it is an exceedingly rare title page that is almost never encountered. The author, the eminent Rabbi Shmuel Aharon Kaidanover (שפ”ד–תל”ו), was one of the foremost Torah scholars of his generation and among the leading early Acharonim. He served as rabbi and rosh yeshiva in several prominent European communities, including Nikolsburg, Glogau, Fürth, Vilna, Brisk, Frankfurt am Main, and Kraków. He was a distinguished disciple of Rabbi Yehoshua Heschel of Kraków, author of Chanukat HaTorah, and served as a dayan on the rabbinical court of the author of Chelkat Mechokek, alongside the author of Siftei Kohen—the Shach—and Rabbi Ephraim HaKohen, author of Shaar Ephraim. During the massacres of ת”ח–ת”ט, he suffered devastating personal tragedies: two of his daughters were murdered by the Cossacks, he himself was severely wounded, and many of his manuscripts were lost. His only surviving son was Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Kaidanover, author of the renowned Kav HaYashar. The Chida praised him highly, writing that “he displayed great wisdom in his glosses and genuine novellae, in a concise and proper manner, ” while the Yaavetz testified that he knew the Arba’ah Turim and Beit Yosef by heart. His works include Tiferet Shmuel, Birkat HaZevach, Birkat Shmuel, and Responsa Emunat Shmuel. Early ownership signature on leaf 2. נ, סב leaves. 31.5 cm. Condition: Good–very good. Minor wear and stains. Magnificent new leather binding.