Bidspirit auction | Mishmeret Shalom – The Copy

Mishmeret Shalom – The Copy of the Holy Rebbe Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Vishova; Signatures, Stamps and Scholarly Glosses - Sefer Mishmeret, clarifying the teachings of the Pri Megadim on Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De’ah, one of the authoritative halachic works on matters of issur v’heter, by Rabbi Shalom Shachna Cherniak. Warsaw, 1895. The personal copy of the holy Rebbe Rabbi Menachem Mendel Hager of Vishova, eldest son of the author of Ahavat Yisrael of Vizhnitz and founder of the Vishova Chassidic dynasty. At the top of the introductory leaf appears the Rebbe’s signature in Latin characters: “MENDEL HAGER, ” apparently from his youth. Numerous signatures and inscriptions, in Hebrew and Latin characters, appear throughout the volume, together with impressions of his personal ownership stamp – “Menachem Mendel” – designed in the form of his handwritten signature. Several scholarly glosses appear in the margins, some of considerable length. The book was printed in 1895 and apparently accompanied the holy Rebbe of Vishova from his youth in the home of his illustrious father in Vizhnitz through his years as rabbi and head of the yeshiva in Vishova. From this volume, the young scholar studied and reviewed the laws of issur v’heter, eventually undergoing examination by leading halachic authorities of his generation and receiving rabbinic ordination from the Maharsham of Berezhany. The volume also bears rare stamps of the Rebbe’s yeshiva in Vishova, as well as inscriptions by students of the yeshiva who entered their names on its leaves. For example, in the margin of one leaf appears the stamp “Aharon Maggid – Rosh HaDegel” [author of Beit Aharon], one of the Rebbe’s renowned students at the Vishova yeshiva. A moving testimony concerning the present copy appears in Rabbi Natan Eliyahu Roth’s book HaGaon HaKadosh MiVishova (p. 152). It relates that throughout Vishova there was only a single available copy of Mishmeret Shalom. Due to its importance and necessity for the study of Halachah, the yeshiva students established a “special schedule” for its use – each student was permitted to keep the book for only two hours! [5], 184 leaves. Title page lacking. Moderate condition. Extensive signs of use, wear and minor tears. The holy Rebbe Rabbi Menachem Mendel Hager of Vishova (תרמ”ה–תש”א), eldest son of the Ahavat Yisrael of Vizhnitz, was among the outstanding Torah and Chassidic leaders of his generation and was renowned for his exceptional sanctity, asceticism and extraordinary diligence in Torah study. It is related that during the weekdays he almost never lay down to sleep in a bed and would remove his shoes only before immersing in the mikveh, such was his extraordinary devotion to Torah study. He received rabbinic ordination from leading halachic authorities, among them the Maharsham of Berezhany and Rabbi Binyamin Aryeh Weiss, and became renowned as an outstanding halachic authority with immense mastery of all areas of Torah. From תרס”ח he served as Rabbi of Vizhnitz, and from תרפ”א as Av Beit Din of Vishova, where he disseminated Torah and raised thousands of disciples. In Vishova, he headed the Beit Yisrael Yeshiva, which at its height numbered approximately four hundred students and was one of the largest and most important yeshivas in Romania. Alongside his Torah genius, he was renowned for his extraordinary service of God and as a wonder-working tzaddik, and many flocked to him for counsel, blessings and salvation. Following his father’s passing in תרצ”ו, he began serving as Rebbe, while continuing simultaneously to head the yeshiva and deliver his regular Torah lectures. He was among the leaders of Agudath Israel and a member of the Moetzet Gedolei HaTorah, and worked extensively to strengthen religious observance and Jewish life throughout the Maramureș region. His Torah teachings were published in the series She’erit Menachem. After his passing, his remains were brought to Eretz Israel, and he was reinterred in the ohel of the Vizhnitz Rebbes in the Shomrei Shabbat Cemetery in Bnei Brak. In later years, the Tiferet Menachem VeOhel Meir – Vishova-Vizhnitz Beit Midrash was established in Bnei Brak in his memory. During the period when the holy Rebbe Rabbi Yisrael Hager of Vizhnitz was distanced from the central institutions of the Chassidut, Rabbi Yisrael established his regular place of prayer in this Beit Midrash.