Bidspirit auction | Bikurei Shlomo With Lengthy Glosses

Bikurei Shlomo With Lengthy Glosses by Rabbi Yosef Zechariah Stern of Shavel on His Own Teshuvos Printed in the Sefer! * Shu”t Bikurei Shlomo, Volume I, containing approximately one hundred halachic responsa exchanged by Rabbi Shlomo Avraham Rezechte of Ozorkow with the leading sages of his generation. A unique copy with exceptionally wide margins! This magnificent copy was gifted by the author to Rabbi Yosef Zechariah Stern, Av Beis Din of Shavel and author of Zecher Yehosef. On the verso of the wrapper title page and the main title page appear two printed dedication labels, in which the author inscribed in his handwriting and with his signature a heartfelt dedication to the Zecher Yehosef. 19 leaves feature lengthy glosses in the handwriting of the Zecher Yehosef, some of them exceptionally long, spanning the full height and width of the already gigantic margins! All the glosses are the Zecher Yehosef’s additions and supplements to the printed versions of his own teshuvos in the sefer, and they undoubtedly bear immense value in completing and clarifying his original words! The Zecher Yehosef granted the sefer an enthusiastic approbation printed at its beginning, in which he mentions that he has further notes and additions on his teshuvos printed in the sefer. However, only the original version was printed in the sefer without additions. Before us are his original annotations in his own handwriting! It is noteworthy that out of nearly 100 responsa printed in the sefer, no fewer than forty are responsa by or addressed to the Zecher Yehosef! Rabbi Yosef Zechariah Stern, Av Beis Din of Shavel (1831–1904) , was one of the towering Torah giants of recent generations. His mastery of all areas of Torah was awe-inspiring, and his memory was unparalleled. In 1860, before reaching the age of thirty, he published his renowned sefer Zecher Yehosef. In the approbation, Rabbi Yaakov Gezundheit (author of Tiferes Ya’akov) wrote: “I stood trembling and amazed at his brilliance and erudition in the sea of Bavli and Yerushalmi, with all the poskim, teshuvos, and commentators, Rishonim and Achronim.” In 1861, he became Rav of Shavel, a position he held for 43 years until his passing. Rabbi Shlomo Avraham Rezechte, author of Bikurei Shlomo, was an extraordinary gaon in his time. Though he did not hold a rabbinic post, he earned the admiration of the greatest Rabbanim. A leading posek of his generation, he corresponded and exchanged responsa with many leading sages. The present sefer received approbations from all the greats of the era: the Zecher Yehosef himself, the Beis HaLevi of Brisk, Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan of Kovno, the Netziv, the Aderes, the Shevet Sofer, and many others. He corresponded most extensively with the ‘Gaon of Geonim’, Rabbi Yosef Zechariah Stern, who wrote in his approbation: “Time and again, beyond count, he sent me teshuvos, and I saw his mastery in all areas of Torah… few are as brilliant as he!” Piotrkow, 1894. First edition. Page Count: [1] Wrapper title page (not bibliographically recorded), 10, 5–174 leaves. Size: Large format, 36.5 cm. Condition: Good. Thick paper (aside from the first four leaves, minor tears to margins). Crease on wrapper title page. Original worn binding, new leather spine and new endpapers. The Two Dedications As noted, the sefer bears two dedications from the author to the Zecher Yehosef. The first is from the end of 1894, and the second is from the beginning of 1895. The author had planned to send the sefer to the Zecher Yehosef before Rosh Hashanah and blessed him with a “kesivah vechasimah tovah, ” but ultimately did not manage to send it before the holiday. So deep was their friendship that he went to the trouble of writing an additional dedication, this time blessing him with a “gemar chasimah tovah.”