Bidspirit auction | Magnificent Pesach Machzor Presented as

Magnificent Pesach Machzor Presented as a Gift by Rabbi Shaul HaLevi, Av Beis Din of The Hague, and His Wife, Rebbetzin Dina, Granddaughter of the Chacham Tzvi Amsterdam, 1768 * A Pesach machzor according to the Ashkenazi rite, with the intentions of the author of the tefillos, including halachos and a commentary in Yiddish. On the front of the ornate binding appears a printed embossment containing a personal dedication from the Rav and Rebbetzin of The Hague, the renowned gaon Rabbi Shaul HaLevi, Av Beis Din of The Hague, together with his distinguished wife, Rebbetzin Dina. She was a granddaughter of the Chacham Tzvi, a niece of the Yaabetz, the daughter of Rabbi Aryeh Leib, Av Beis Din of Amsterdam, and sister of Rabbi Shaul, Av Beis Din of Amsterdam, and Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Levin, Av Beis Din of Berlin. Written on the sides of the front cover, stamped in gold letters: “A gift for a drasha from the renowned gaon, our master Rabbi Shaul HaLevi, may his light shine, to the outstanding young scholar, Rabbi Yehoshua, may he live long, son of the renowned Rav, our master Rabbi Yissachar Berish HaLevi, of blessed memory, from the holy community.” The continuation of the dedication is stamped in the center of the panel: “And from his wife, Rebbetzin Dina, may she live.” One of the very few surviving items from Rabbi Shaul HaLevi and his Rebbetzin. Rabbi Shaul HaLevi, Av Beis Din of The Hague (1712–1785), was the son of Rabbi Yitzchak, Av Beis Din of Dabermil, a descendant of the Meginei Shlomo. He married Rebbetzin Dina, daughter of Rabbi Aryeh Leib, Av Beis Din of Amsterdam (see below). He served as Rav of The Hague for thirty-seven years, and throughout that entire period, he never slept in his bed (as recorded in Kisvei HaGeonim by R' Horowitz, p. 10). Previously, he had been a rav in the city of Emden, the hometown of his wife's uncle, the Yaabetz. He spent many years fasting and immersed regularly in the mikveh (from the memorial booklet published in his honor entitled Givas Shaul, Amsterdam, 1786). In one of his letters, the Vilna Gaon takes leave of Rabbi Shaul HaLevi with exceptional respect, describing him as a towering Torah authority. His relative, Rabbi Elazar Kalir, author of Ohr Chadash, eulogized him: “Alas, the chassid, alas the humble one. It would have been fitting that the Divine Presence rest upon him — our master Rabbi Shaul, Hashem's chosen one, who was Av Beis Din of the holy community of The Hague, the prince of the Levites, who served the service of the Levite with complete devotion all the days of his life, of whom it is fitting to say: like a child of one year, no sin ever came through him.” His letters were recently published under the title Binyan Shaul. The righteous Rebbetzin Dina of the Lowenstam family (d. 1784) was one of the most well-known Jewish women of her generation. She possessed a deep mastery of Shas and poskim, comparable to an accomplished talmid chacham (as attested by Rabbi Yosef Loewenstein of Serock in a letter printed in Tzeva Rav to the Tzva'ah). The Chida, during his travels, visited their home, and it is told that while he was discussing a difficulty in learning with her husband, the Rebbetzin heard the question and responded with a clear explanation of the sugya (Sichas Chullin Shel Talmidei Chachamim HaChadash, Munkacs, 1909, p. 43). The Chida himself relates about her in Ma'agal Tov: “She was clever and exceedingly modest, and skilled in writing melitzah (poetic Torah writing)” and relates how she composed a rhymed verse and altered a word in the rhyme. Her brother, the Maharash, challenged her in writing, and she replied by citing a verse to justify her wording and turning the correction into an elegant play on words. Amsterdam, 1768. Pesach machzor according to the Ashkenazi rite. Page Count: [1], 32; 80 leaves. Size: 18.1 cm. Condition: Good, with light restorations to the title page and a few additional leaves. Original binding as described above, well preserved, with typical flaking and wear. - - - - - - - - - - - - - It is not known with certainty who Rabbi Yehoshua, the recipient of the machzor, was. It is possible that this Rabbi Yehoshua was a cousin of Rabbi Shaul HaLevi. This Rabbi Yehoshua was the son of Rabbi Yissachar Berish, Av Beis Din of Chechnovitz, brother of Rabbi Yitzchak HaLevi, Av Beis Din of Dabermil, the father of Rabbi Shaul HaLevi. Their father, Rabbi Yissachar Berish, and Rabbi Yitzchak were the gaon Rabbi Yehoshua HaLevi, Av Beis Din of Dabermil, a grandson of the Meginei Shlomo of Cracow. Rabbi Yissachar Berish is mentioned here as “the well-known Rav, ” and indeed, Rabbi Yissachar Berish, Av Beis Din of Chechnovitz, was one of the Gedolei Hador. He served as a trusted member of the Council of the Four Lands, and together with the Vilna Gaon, he granted approbations to the sefer Darchei Noam (Königsberg, 1764). He was involved in the 1756 ban on the Frankists. In 1774,