Bidspirit auction | Rimon Gadish – Brünn, 1788

Rimon Gadish – Brünn, 1788 – Only Edition. The Copy of the “Damesek Eliezer” of Vizhnitz - Sefer Rimon Gadish. Brünn, printed by Joseph Karl Neumann, 1788. Only edition. A scarce book. An exceptionally distinguished copy that belonged to two renowned rabbis and tzaddikim from two different periods: the Gaon Rabbi Natan Neta Broda, Av Beit Din of Schossburg and a disciple of the Noda BiYehuda, and later the holy Rebbe Rabbi Eliezer Hager of Vizhnitz, author of Damesek Eliezer and son of the Ahavat Yisrael. The title page and other leaves contain early ownership inscriptions and several stamps of the Damesek Eliezer. The Copy of Rabbi Natan Neta Broda, Av Beit Din of Schossburg The title page bears an early ownership inscription, dating from close to the time of publication, explicitly attesting that the volume belonged to the Gaon Rabbi Natan Neta Broda, Av Beit Din of Schossburg: “Sefer Rimon Gadish belongs to the distinguished Gaon, Rabbi Natan Neta Broda, Av Beit Din of the holy community of Schossburg.” Alongside it is an additional inscription confirming the ownership and describing the book’s owner with exceptionally honorific titles: “…I hereby testify that this belongs to the Rabbi… this Gaon… of illustrious lineage, our teacher Rabbi Natan Neta Broda…” The confirmation is signed “the humble Yaakov… Plashner…” and dated Rosh Chodesh Elul. The title page bears an additional early ownership signature that has not been identified. The Gaon Rabbi Natan Neta Broda [d. 1849], Av Beit Din of Schossburg, was one of the prominent rabbis of his generation. He served as rabbi of Schossburg for more than thirty years and was among the disciples of the Gaon Rabbi Yechezkel Landau, author of Noda BiYehuda. His name appears several times in the responsa of Maran the Chatam Sofer, who referred to him with great esteem. In later generations, the book entered the library of the holy Rebbe Rabbi Eliezer Hager of Vizhnitz, author of Damesek Eliezer. Several of his personal stamps appear throughout the volume: “Eliezer Hager – son of the holy Tzaddik, shlita – Av Beit Din of the holy community of Vizhnitz.” Several additional signatures appear on the final flyleaf, possibly also in the Rebbe’s own handwriting. The Holy Rebbe Rabbi Eliezer Hager – Author of “Damesek Eliezer” The holy Rebbe Rabbi Eliezer Hager of Vizhnitz [1891–1946], author of Damesek Eliezer, was the son of the holy Rebbe Rabbi Yisrael Hager, author of Ahavat Yisrael of Vizhnitz, and son-in-law of the holy Rebbe Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Heschel of Kopishnitz. He received rabbinic ordination from the great halachic authorities Rabbi Shalom Mordechai Schwadron – the Maharsham of Berezhany – and Rabbi Shmuel Engel. In 1922, he was appointed Av Beit Din of Vizhnitz, where he established the great Beit Yisrael VeDamesek Eliezer Yeshiva, which became an important Torah center in Bukovina and Romania. Following his father’s passing in 1936, he assumed the leadership of the Vizhnitz Chassidut in Vizhnitz, while his brother, the Imrei Chaim, led the community in Grosswardein. His father, the Ahavat Yisrael, held him in extraordinary esteem. Family tradition records his remarkable statement: “When I come to Heaven, I will say that I am Eliezer’s father.” During the Holocaust, he devoted himself to rescuing Jews, particularly assisting deportees and refugees in Transnistria. His brothers, the Rebbes and authors of Imrei Chaim and Mekor Baruch, described in the introduction to his work his extraordinary efforts to save them, recounting how he continually collected and transferred aid intended “to sustain thousands of Jews.” In Nissan 1944, he immigrated to Eretz Israel and settled in Tel Aviv, where he headed the Torat Beit Yisrael Yeshiva of the Vizhnitz Chassidim. He passed away in 1946, at approximately fifty-five years of age, without surviving offspring. A Copy with Double Distinguished Provenance Before us is therefore a distinguished copy of the only edition of Rimon Gadish. Already close to the time of its publication, it belonged to the Gaon Rabbi Natan Neta Broda, Av Beit Din of Schossburg, and in later generations it entered the library of the holy Rebbe, author of Damesek Eliezer of Vizhnitz, who left several of his stamps and possibly several handwritten signatures in the volume. Brünn, printed by Joseph Karl Neumann, 1788. Only edition. [2], 2–49 leaves. 21 cm. Good–moderate condition. Stains and wear. Title page heavily stained. Worming with minor damage to text. Stamps and signatures. New, elegant leather binding.