Bidspirit auction | Gevuros Aryeh by Rabbi Aryeh

Gevuros Aryeh by Rabbi Aryeh Leib of Lanzut Lemberg, 1870. First Edition. * A Chassidic commentary on Chumash Bereishis, based on the Kabbalah of the Arizal, by Rabbi Aryeh Leib of Lanzut and Kishinev, one of the foremost disciples of the Maggid of Kozhnitz and the Chozeh of Lublin. Every Shabbos, the author would deliver drashos to the public, and on Motzai Shabbos his disciple would commit them to writing and present them to his Rebbe for review. The complete commentary on the Five Chumashim remained in the possession of the author's only daughter. She entrusted the manuscript of Sefer Bereishis to the publisher for copying, but before the work was completed, she passed away. Part of the manuscript was stolen, and another portion was destroyed in a fire. Only the commentary on Bereishis survived — the present sefer. “Fortunate is the one who studies these teachings. They will fill him with light and joy, and he will rejoice and tremble before the awe-inspiring greatness of the holy tzaddik, the author, of blessed memory. All will say of him, 'Fortunate is the one who gave birth to him'” (from the publisher's introduction.) The author, Rabbi Aryeh Leib of Lanzut (1757–1839), was one of the leading Chassidic Rebbes of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. According to accounts by the elder chassidim, by the age of thirteen he had already mastered the Talmud, Midrashim, and the Zohar (as recorded in the introduction). He became a disciple of the Maggid of Kozhnitz, who held him in exceptionally high esteem, once declaring, “I am certain that he will grow to great heights in Torah, spreading his light throughout the world.” He later studied Torah and Chassidus from the Chozeh of Lublin. The Apter Rav recommended him for the rabbinate of Kishinev to succeed the Be'er Mayim Chaim, writing to the community, “I am sending you a man equal to myself.” Whenever the Ohev Yisrael of Apta visited Kishinev, he stayed in the author's home. On one occasion, he told the townspeople: “Have you seen the Rav whom I chose for you? Believe me, chambers of Torah that had remained hidden for four hundred years were revealed only when the holy Rav of Lanzut came into the world, and the deepest secrets of Torah were entrusted to him.” (Publisher's introduction.) The “Sar Beis HaZohar, ” Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch of Ziditchov, cites a teaching from Rabbi Aryeh Leib of Lanzut in his sefer Ateres Tzvi. His published works are: Gevuros Aryeh on Sefer Bereishis (the present work), Arba'ah Charashim (collected teachings), Divrei Esther on Megillas Esther, and Chomas Ariel (collected teachings on Tanach and the Talmud). Lemberg, 1870. First edition. Page Count: [6], 9–65, [9] leaves. Height: 24.3 cm. Condition: Good. Non-brittle paper. A few stains. New binding. On the title page are the stamps of the Rebbe of Borsa–Sighet, Rabbi Chaim Ben Zion Hager, son of Rabbi Pinchas of Borsa (son of the Mekor Baruch and brother of the Ahavas Yisrael of Vizhnitz). He succeeded his father as Rebbe in 1941. He was murdered in the Holocaust. Bibliography: Stefansky, Sifrei Chassidus, no. 108.