Bidspirit auction | Ba’al HaNefesh by the Raavad

Ba’al HaNefesh by the Raavad With the Handwritten Signature and Glosses of Rabbi Shlomo Ganzfried, Author of Kitzur Shulchan Aruch * The sefer Ba’alei Hanefesh by the Raavad on the laws of Niddah, divided into seven chapters. The remarks of the Raza”h and Hilchos Niddah by the Ramban are printed at the end. It is a sefer yesod for these serious halachos. On the title page appears the clear autograph signature “Shlomo Ganzfried, ” attesting to the ownership of this sefer by the great Gaon Rabbi Shlomo Ganzfried of Ungvar, author of Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, one of the foremost authorities in the laws of Niddah and Mikvaos. Rabbi Ganzfried composed an entire sefer on these topics titled Lechem V'Salmah, and cites the Raavad over one hundred times! Within the sefer there are several handwritten glosses by various authors (some cut at the edges), including notes handwritten by Rabbi Shlomo Ganzfried, author of Kitzur Shulchan Aruch. Rabbi Shlomo references his work in one gloss, written next to an earlier gloss in the handwriting of an unidentified Talmid Chacham (on leaf 32a): “The corrector here was R. L. Horowitz, of blessed memory, and see what I wrote, with Hashem’s help, in my own work on the laws of Mikvaos.” (The identity of R.L. Horowitz has not yet been determined.) Rabbi Shlomo Ganzfried (1804-1886) was one of the greatest halachic authorities of recent generations. He was the prime talmid of Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Charif, and friend of the saintly Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch of Liska. For decades, he served as a dayan in the Ungvar community, where he authored many sefarim, most notably his Kitzur Shulchan Aruch which was his crowning achievement, reaching every corner of the Jewish world. It was printed in countless editions and in enormous quantities, making it one of the most widely distributed Jewish texts. The author, Rabbi Avraham ben David (circa 1115-1199) , known as the Raavad, was one of the early Rishonim and commentators on the Gemara, and author of the Hasagos on the Rambam’s Mishneh Torah. The Ramban in his preface to Hilchos Niddah L’HaRamban praises the Ba’alei Hanefesh effusively, explaining that the Raavad preempted him with his sefer. Prague, 1811. Page Count: 40 leaves. Size: 20.5 cm. Condition: Good to fair, holes on a few leaves, repair to the last leaf. Fine new leather binding.