Bidspirit auction | Simlah Chadashah, Tevuot Shor and

Simlah Chadashah, Tevuot Shor and Bechor Shor – Lemberg, 1870 – Extensive Scholarly Glosses in the Holy Hand of the “Dayan of Pápa” - Simlah Chadashah, Tevuot Shor and Bechor Shor, the renowned works of the Gaon Rabbi Alexander Sender Schorr on the laws of shechitah and treifot. Lemberg, 1870. The leaves of the volume contain extensive scholarly glosses in the holy handwriting of the Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi Moshe Yosef Hoffmann – the renowned “Dayan of Pápa, ” one of the great Torah scholars and holy men of Hungary and Jerusalem. These are not merely ownership annotations, but substantial Torah novellae written in the margins of the book, reflecting Rabbi Moshe Yosef’s in-depth study of the halachic issues before him. Their importance is heightened by his known practice of recording numerous Torah insights on the margins of his books, while a substantial portion of his manuscripts was lost over the years. Glosses of the “Dayan of Pápa” The holy Gaon Rabbi Moshe Yosef Hoffmann [תר”ב/תר”ג–תרפ”ח], known as the “Dayan of Pápa, ” was one of the outstanding Torah personalities of Hungarian Jewry in the generation following the Chatam Sofer, and later one of the elder Torah sages of Jerusalem. He was born in Dunajská Streda to his father, the Gaon Rabbi Michael Hoffmann, a disciple of the Chatam Sofer and one of the heads of the yeshiva there. In his youth, he studied under his father and under leading Hungarian rabbis, including Rabbi Yehuda Assad and Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Binyamin Sofer, author of Ketav Sofer. Rabbi Yehuda Assad granted him rabbinic ordination. Following his marriage, he served as Rosh Yeshiva in Dunajská Streda. From 1882, he served as Dayan and Rosh Yeshiva in Pápa, hence the title by which he became known for generations – “the Dayan of Pápa.” In 1906, he immigrated to Eretz Israel and settled in Jerusalem. He established his place of prayer and study in the synagogue of the Batei Ungarin neighborhood, where he devoted himself to Torah and Divine service with exceptional asceticism and holiness. He was known to wear his tefillin for many hours each day and extensively recorded his Torah novellae in writing – across hundreds and thousands of manuscript leaves. Remnants of the Torah Teachings of a Gaon Whose Manuscripts Were Lost The present glosses possess additional importance due to the fate of Rabbi Moshe Yosef Hoffmann’s manuscripts. For many years, numerous manuscripts containing his Torah novellae were preserved in the attic of the synagogue in Batei Ungarin, but over time substantial portions disappeared. Consequently, scholarly glosses preserved in his own handwriting in books from his library constitute important surviving remnants of his Torah thought and method of study – particularly when, as here, they are extensive and substantive comments rather than mere signatures or ownership inscriptions. Rabbi Moshe Yosef was renowned among the sages of Jerusalem not only for his genius but also for his righteousness and asceticism. Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld regarded himself as his disciple, while his student, the Gaon Rabbi Yehoshua Buxbaum, Av Beit Din of Galanta, spoke in extraordinary terms of his holiness. Traditions transmitted by his disciples and associates recount wondrous stories concerning him, and Rabbi Yehoshua Buxbaum is reported to have related that Rabbi Moshe Yosef merited a revelation of Elijah the Prophet. Tevuot Shor – A Fundamental Work on the Laws of Shechitah and Treifot The present volume contains the important works of the Gaon Rabbi Alexander Sender Schorr, foremost among them Simlah Chadashah and Tevuot Shor, which became fundamental works for the study and practical application of the laws of shechitah and treifot. The fact that the Dayan of Pápa’s glosses appear specifically in this volume is therefore particularly significant: halachic novellae by one of the great Torah scholars of Hungary and Jerusalem, recorded in the course of his study of a central and practical halachic work. An important copy of distinguished provenance, containing extensive scholarly glosses in the holy handwriting of Rabbi Moshe Yosef Hoffmann, the “Dayan of Pápa” – precious remnants of the Torah teachings of a Gaon and Tzaddik, many of whose manuscripts were lost. [1], 294 leaves. 24.5 cm. Moderate–good condition. Defects to the first three leaves. Simple binding.