Bidspirit auction | Tiferes Yisrael by the Maharal

Tiferes Yisrael by the Maharal Rabbi Moshe Shapira Press Slavita, 1793 * Sefer Tiferes Yisrael contains profound essays on Matan Torah and the Written Torah, by the unparalleled giant Rabbi Yehuda Loew ben Betzalel, the Maharal of Prague. The sefer was printed in holiness by Rabbi Moshe Shapira of Slavita, who, at that time, would conceal his name from the title pages of the sefarim he published. Printed in 1793, this sefer is among the earliest works produced by the renowned Slavita press, celebrated for its exceptional quality. The press began operations around 1790 or 1791 and, over the following decades, became the most sought-after printing house in Eastern Europe. From this period onward, the writings of the Maharal of Prague merited a great revival and were reprinted through the initiative of chassidic tzaddikim who longed for his holy words. This edition, too, was brought to press by chassidim — see further details below. A rare sefer. Rabbi Moshe Shapira, Av Beis Din of Slavita, was the son of Rabbi Pinchas of Koritz. Although he was a great Torah scholar, revered by the Chassidic greats, he refused to benefit from Torah and served as Rav of Slavita without any financial gain. There he established a magnificent printing press whose fame soon spread far and wide. Slavita, 1793. Second and rare edition. Page Count: 96 leaves. Condition: Good. Fine new binding. - - - - - - - - - - - - A Chassidic Edition The sefer was brought to print by two tzaddikim mentioned on the title page. One was Rabbi Yosef Yoska Segal, Av Beis Din of Yas, the son of Rabbi Aryeh Leib of Waltchisk, one of the prime disciples of the Maggid of Mezeritch, who granted his approbation to the sefer. Rabbi Yosef Yoska himself merited to be by the Maggid of Mezeritch, and when he was appointed Av Beis Din of Yas, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev participated in the event. He passed away at a young age in 1807. The second publisher was Rabbi Menachem Mendel ben R' Avraham of Brody, possibly the same Rabbi Menachem Mendel ben R' Avraham of Brody who co-signed, together with the Levushai Serad, a letter from Tzfas in 1811 addressed to Rabbi Yitzchak Eizik of Kaliv (see Be’er Yitzchak, Jerusalem 2020, p. 201). The author, Rabbi Yehudah Loew (c.1512-1609), known as the Maharal of Prague, was one of the greatest Jewish sages and mystics of all time. His name is mentioned in the same breath as Rabbi Yosef Karo and the Arizal. He was a prolific author whose deep and innovative philosophical works on all realms of Torah are fundamental Jewish classics. The writings of the Maharal opened an entirely new path in Jewish thought. They spread swiftly throughout the Jewish world and were embraced as sifrei yesod in hashkafa, emunah, and the understanding of Chazal’s aggados. The great chassidic masters revered him deeply, regarding his teachings to be on the level of the leading kabbalists. The year 1793 marked the beginning of the great renaissance of the Maharal’s writings, a revival that endures to this day. Most of his sefarim were printed in his lifetime and were not reissued for centuries, until this very year, when second editions of his works appeared: Tiferes Yisrael, the present sefer, and Netzach Yisrael, printed at the direction of the Maggid of Kozhnitz in Nowidvor. From that point on, his writings were republished in numerous editions across the Torah world.