Bidspirit auction | Sermon Before the Shofar Blowing

Sermon Before the Shofar Blowing by the Gaon Rabbi David Tzvi Levinger, Av Beit Din of Nagymagyar – 1850 - Words of Rebuke and Moral Exhortation in the distinctive handwriting of the Gaon Rabbi David Tzvi Levinger, Av Beit Din of Nagymagyar, one of the leading rabbis of Hungary. [Nagymagyar], 1851. In this sermon, Rabbi David Tzvi laments the spiritual decline of successive generations and apparently alludes to Maran the Chatam Sofer: ”We remember the former days, when established yeshivas existed in almost every city... In Prague, Nikolsburg, Leipnik, Pressburg, Yarmut, and other great Jewish communities, there were large yeshivas with hundreds of students... And where today can one find a place distinguished in Torah scholarship? The yeshivas have ceased, the study halls have been abandoned, and soon there will not even be a suitable classroom in the city for young children studying Torah... The great rabbis, the true Torah scholars, have passed away — those who could answer every question in the world, who sent halachic responsa to all corners of the Diaspora, providing authoritative rulings within just a few years...” In his reference to the great halachic authorities who had passed away, he was apparently referring to the Chatam Sofer, who had addressed several responsa to him and had even written a letter recommending him for a rabbinical position, stating: ”I know him through many delightful scholarly exchanges and correspondence... and I found him filled with the blessing of the Lord, namely, clear and authoritative halachic knowledge.” (See also Alei Zikaron, issue 42, p. 28 onward.) To the best of our knowledge, this sermon has never been published. [16] written pages ([8] leaves). Approximately 19 cm. Good condition. Provenance: Asufa Auction, December 2002, Lot 632.