Bidspirit auction | Chovas HaTalmidim by the Piacenza

Chovas HaTalmidim by the Piacenza Rebbe, Hy”d First edition. Warsaw, 1932 * Heartfelt words of guidance and advice regarding the proper manner with which to raise children with Torah and Chassidus, authored by the Admor Rabbi Klonimus Kalman Shapira of Piacenza. The Piacenzer Rebbe was a leading educator and possessed a deep understanding of the youth of his time. In this sefer, he lays out his method of parenting and education. The sefer was widely accepted as a fundamental and unique work on raising children with Torah and Chassidus. Rabbi Klonimus Kalman Shapira (1889 - 1943) was the son of Rabbi Elimelech of Grodzisk, a descendant of the Maggid of Kozhnitz on his father's side, and of the Ma'or VaShemesh on his mother's side. Already in his early twenties, he was appointed Rebbe and Rav of Piacenza, and at the age of thirty-four, he established the large yeshiva in Warsaw. Towards the end of his life, he was relocated to the Warsaw Ghetto, where he exercised remarkable mesirus nefesh for mitzvah observance and served as a compassionate father to his talmidim and chassidim. Even during that dark period, he immersed himself in his learning and writings. His final writings were recorded while in the Lublin labor camp. He was murdered on 11 October 1943. His sefarim on education, Chovas HaTalmidim (the present work) and Hachsharas HaAvreichim, won him world acclaim. His drashos from 1941-1943 were written in his own handwriting in the sefer Aish Kodesh; they were assumed lost but were miraculously discovered during excavations in a building in Warsaw. A moving detail is that when the author’s talmidim sought to reprint this sefer in Jerusalem in 1944, they did not yet know that their Rebbe had been murdered al Kiddush Hashem, and in the introduction, they write of their heartfelt hope for his salvation. Warsaw, 1932. First edition. Page Count: 85 leaves. Size: 21 cm. Condition : Good, with signs of use and a few tears. Rare original binding, with the title of the sefer embossed in gold letters, “Chovas HaTalmidim.” Light wear to the binding. Bibliography : Stefansky, Sifrei Yesod, no. 480. Provenance : Appel Auction.