Bidspirit auction | Sefer Yesod of Hilchos Shabbos:

Sefer Yesod of Hilchos Shabbos: Zichru Toras Moshe by the Chayei Adam. Vilna, 1817. First Edition. * The sefer Zichru Toras Moshe, “including all the laws of Shabbos with their fine points and details, ” together with an abridgment of the Sefer Chareidim on the 613 mitzvos. It was authored by the renowned gaon Rabbi Avraham Danzig, the author of Chayei Adam, one of the leading Ashkenazic poskim of his time. The sefer was embraced with great affection in the Jewish world and has been published in more than fifty editions to date. The extraordinarily large number of editions in which this work was published testifies to its wide circulation, to the point that there was almost no Jewish home in the lands of Ashkenaz that did not possess this sefer! The Chayei Adam composed this sefer at a young age for his young sons, and it is indeed written in a concise and incisive style, for practical halacha. In this way, he made the stringent laws of Shabbos accessible to every Jew. At the beginning of the sefer, the author printed “a general introduction to all the works, ” a remarkable introduction filled with mussar and pure fear of Heaven. It opens with a fascinating parable that spans more than three pages. The sefer bears a unique “haskamah” from the author himself, distinct from ordinary approbations — here, the intent of the haskamah is to publicly certify that it was indeed the author who delivered the work to the printer. The abridgment of Sefer Chareidim was likewise arranged by the Chayei Adam himself, and is divided for fixed daily study according to the seven days of the week. Rabbi Avraham Danzig (1748–1820) is famed for his works Chayei Adam and Chochmas Adam, and they were already widely circulated in his lifetime and became classics in every Jewish home. His friend Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin wrote, “He has been helped from Above ... his work Chayei Adam has been accepted throughout the Jewish world.” Across all regions of Lithuania, fixed study groups were established to study his work, known as “Chaburos Chayei Adam.” Halacha was determined for generations in accordance with his rulings, and even the Chofetz Chaim in his sefer Mishnah Brurah rules according to the Chayei Adam in dozens of places. All his sefarim have been printed to this day in hundreds of editions! This is an exceedingly rare phenomenon, merited by only a select few. The Ponovezher Rav attested that his teacher, the Chofetz Chaim, would refer to somebody whose entire conduct is according to halachah as “a Chayei Adam Yid!” He is also the author of the Tefillah Zakkah, recited in many communities on Erev Yom Kippur. In his youth, he studied under the Noda B’Yehuda, and after his marriage, he settled in Vilna and became close to the Vilna Gaon. In later years, he became his mechutan when his son married the granddaughter of the Vilna Gaon. He passed away in the year whose numerical value corresponds to the title of his sefer Chayei Adam. Vilna, 1817 . First edition. Page count: [14], leaves 9–51. Size : 17.2 cm. Condition : A few restorations and slight wear.