Bidspirit auction | Kol Aryeh by the Mochiach

Kol Aryeh by the Mochiach of Polonnoye, One of the Earliest Talmidim of the Baal Shem Tov. First Edition. Koritz, 1798 * One of the very first sifrei chassidus! Commentary, drashos and mussar on the Torah, Nach, and Aggadah by Rabbi Aryeh Leib, the Mochiach of Polonnoye, who was one of the earliest disciples of the Baal Shem Tov and the greatest disseminator of his Torah. This “holy and pure sefer” (description of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev in his approbation to the sefer) was printed based on a handwritten manuscript found in the archives of Rabbi Aryeh Leib’s primary disciple, Rabbi Gedalya of Linitz, author of Teshuos Chen (see approbation by Rabbi Asher Tzvi of Ostroh). Rabbi Aryeh Leib, the Mochiach of Polonnoye (d. 1770) was one of the earliest disciples of the Baal Shem Tov and a member of his chaburah. The Baal Shem Tov held him in the highest esteem and revealed profound teachings and exalted kabbalistic secrets to him. At his master’s behest, he took it upon himself to become a “mochiach, ” a rebuker, wandering from city to town to village across Europe, where he “illuminated the Diaspora with his Torah” (approbation by Rabbi Asher Tzvi of Ostroh). Numerous stories regarding Rabbi Aryeh Leib and the Baal Shem Tov appear in the work Shivchei HaBaal Shem Tov. Rabbi Aryeh Leib was the one to introduce the Toldos Yaakov Yosef to the Baal Shem Tov. The Toldos Yaakov Yosef cites Rabbi Aryeh Leib’s Divrei Torah in his sefer, and he printed part of the eulogy that he delivered for him in his sefer Tzofnas Pane'ach, Parshas Yisro. Koritz, 1798. First edition. Page Count: [1], 65 leaves. Page Size: 21 cm. Condition : Good; wide margins; marginal restoration to the edges of the title page and the final leaf; half-leather binding. On the title page, there are signatures and ownership inscriptions of members of the Or Shraga family of Yazd (Iran), dating from the first half of the nineteenth century: Yitzchak son of Moshe, son of Rabbi Or Shraga, and Or Katan son of Shmuel [son of Or Shraga], both grandsons of the tzaddik Mulla Or Shraga. From these inscriptions, it is evident that the sefer passed from Polonnoye, Ukraine, to Tzfat, and from there to Iran. Bibliography : Stefansky, Sifrei Chassidus No. 518