Bidspirit auction | Toras Moshe – Very Early

Toras Moshe – Very Early Printing of Chassidic Teachings from the Maggid of Mezritch, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, and Others – Nowy Dwor, 1786 * Toras Moshe, containing pilpulim and chiddushim explaining difficult passages, by Rabbi Moshe Karner of Zlotow. Torah teachings and traditions from some of the greatest tzaddikim of Chassidus are printed in this sefer! As is known, the first Chassidic sefer ever printed, Toldos Yaakov Yosef, was first printed in 1780 . That makes the present sefer one of the very earliest printed works to record the Torah teachings of the great masters of Chassidus. When this sefer was printed, several of the tzaddikim quoted in its pages were still alive, including Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev. Among those cited are: The Maggid of Mezritch: “In the name of the saintly Rabbi Berish of Mezritch zt”l” (35b). “As written in the name of the renowned saintly Rabbi Berish zt”l in the sefer Likkutei Amarim...” (28b). “In the sefer Toldos Yaakov Yosef, in the name of Rabbi Berish of Mezritch” (24a). Rabbi Yechiel Michel of Zlotchov: “What I heard from the renowned saintly Rabbi Michel… of Zlotchov” (33a). The author’s wording strongly suggests that he heard this teaching directly from the Maggid himself. The Toldos Yaakov Yosef: “In the sefer Poras Yosef, by the saintly gaon Rabbi Yosef, Av Beis Din of Polonne...” (27b). Rabbi Shmelke of Nikolsburg: “I heard in the name of the gaon Rabbi Shmelke, who served as Av Beis Din of Nikolsburg” (19b) “In the name of the gaon of Nikolsburg” (28b). “I heard people say in the name of the Rav of Nikolsburg” (29a) “I also heard this many times from the aforementioned gaon of Nikolsburg” (29a). Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev: “I also heard in the name of the renowned saintly gaon Rabbi Levi… Av Beis Din of Pinsk” (32b). The sefer also quotes Rabbi Chaim of Brody, Rabbi Zechariah Mendel, Rabbi Yonah of Lubartow, the Maggid of Kremnitz, and others. This is a singular edition of the sefer. (It was not reprinted until recent times, in a facsimile edition.) A very rare sefer. The author, Rabbi Moshe Karner , was an exceptionally gifted Torah scholar and original thinker. He traveled extensively throughout Europe, collecting Torah teachings from numerous Torah scholars, and his sefarim are filled with the traditions he gathered firsthand. Everywhere he traveled, he earned the admiration of the leading scholars of the generation, as reflected in the approbations printed in his sefarim. One of the rabbanim who endorsed the work wittily remarked that the author was proficient in the Six Orders of the Mishnah, and in the “seven sciences” (“I know six; who knows seven?” — an allusion to the Echad Mi Yode’a song from the Haggadah). From the author’s own introduction, we learn that when this sefer — his first sefer — was printed, he had not yet reached the age of twenty! He writes, “I have not yet reached the age of twenty.” A later source, however, states that he was about twenty-four years old at the time. Nowy Dwor, 1786. Singular edition. Page Count: 38, [2] leaves. Height: 19.8 cm. Condition: Good. Minor restorations and stains. Several headers partially trimmed. New binding. Provenance: Kedem Auction House (2021). Bibliography: Stefansky, Sifrei Chassidus, no. 615. - - - - - - - - - - - - - Beyond its Chassidic Torah chiddushim, the sefer also preserves historical information of considerable importance for the study of early Chassidus. 1. One significant detail concerns Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev’s tenure as Av Beis Din of Pinsk. The heading of the approbation by Rabbi Yonah, Av Beis Din of Luboml, states: “The approbation of the Rav... formerly Av Beis Din of Luboml, and now I have heard that his authority has been extended over the community of Pinsk and its district.” This expression was commonly used to indicate that a rav had been appointed to the rabbinate of a new community. This brief notice is significant in reconstructing the chronology of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak’s rabbinic appointments. Earlier scholars disagreed over the sequence of his rabbinates, prompting the bibliographer Rabbi Chaim Lieberman to devote an entire article to the subject, in which he concluded that Rabbi Levi Yitzchak served as Av Beis Din of Pinsk before leaving for Berditchev in 1785. The evidence in this sefer supports that conclusion, showing that the rabbinical position in Pinsk had indeed become vacant by 1786. Interestingly, elsewhere in the present sefer, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak himself is cited with the title “Av Beis Din of Pinsk.” 2. Another noteworthy point concerns the year of passing of the Maggid of Zlotchov : According to several sources, the Maggid passed away on Shabbos, the 25th of Elul, in the year “וקמת” [תקמ” ו] - 1786. However, in that year the 25th of Elul actually fell on a Monday. Because of this discrepancy, some scholars suggested that the intended date was תק”א - 1781,