Bidspirit auction | Nofes Tzufim – Drashos Edited

Nofes Tzufim – Drashos Edited by Rabbi Avraham Yehoshua of Zhitomir, Author of Geulas Yisrael – Lvov, c. 1830 * Nofes Tzofim, a collection of wonderful drashos and explanations of mysterious midrashim, including interpretations based on the Kabbalah of the Arizal, compiled from the sefer Amudeha Shivah by the renowned darshan and kabbalist Rabbi Betzalel of Kobrin. Amudeha Shivah was first printed in Lublin in 1666 and became one of the most important works of drashah literature during the late seventeenth century. It was later reprinted in Prague in 1674 and Dyhernfurth in 1693 (the Dyhernfurth edition is also offered in the present auction). This edition was edited and revised by Rabbi Avraham Yehoshua of Zhitomir, author of the rare Chassidic sefer Geulas Yisrael. In his lengthy introduction, Rabbi Avraham Yehoshua relates that when he first encountered the sefer Amudeha Shivah, he was so deeply inspired by the lofty teachings that he longed to bring it back into print. However, the copy that he saw was incomplete and could not be reprinted as it stood. Rather than allow these sweet teachings to remain inaccessible, he reorganized the material into an entirely new format — arranging it by subject rather than by the original page order, while leaving the text itself almost entirely unchanged — and published it under a new title: Nofes Tzufim. Explaining both the new title and his editorial work, he writes: “I have called these collected teachings Nofes Tzufim, for no name could suit it better, for it truly lives up to its name… Everything I have done was for the honor of the Torah and the honor of the distinguished author… I was delighted to give it this title, so that every Jew who sees its name will immediately recognize the extraordinary sweetness and richness contained within.” This is the first edition of the work in Rabbi Avraham Yehoshua of Zhitomir’s revised arrangement. This edition is not recorded in Ben-Yaakov’s Otzar HaSefarim. The editor of the sefer, Rabbi Avraham Yehoshua son of Rabbi Yisrael of Zhitomir, was one of the prominent Chassidic tzaddikim of the late eighteenth century. He edited and published the sefer Geulas Yisrael (Ostroh, 1821), a work containing teachings from Chassidic tzaddikim, some of which he heard personally. Among the tzaddikim quoted there are the Baal Shem Tov, the Maggid of Mezritch, Rabbi Pinchas of Koritz, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, the Degel Machaneh Ephraim, Rabbi Baruch of Mezhibuzh, Rabbi Aharon of Zhitomir, and others. During the printing of Geulas Yisrael, he experienced a hidden heavenly revelation, which he chose not to disclose, regarding it as a clear sign that Heaven desired the work to be published. He was also a recognized authority in the study of lots (goralos) and the Hebrew calendar, and published several works on those subjects. Rabbi Avraham Yehoshua was also responsible for bringing about the publication of the first complete edition of the Shulchan Aruch HaRav (Sudilkov, 1826). For this achievement, he received an exceptionally warm approbation and blessing from Rabbi Mordechai of Chernobyl, who blessed him with children, long life, and livelihood in the merit of his efforts. The author of the original sefer, Rabbi Betzalel the Darshan of Kobrin , was one of the greatest darshanim of Lithuania. The Chida praises him as “an outstanding darshan.” He possessed remarkable mastery of the entire Torah, including Shas, the Poskim, and Kabbalah. He is best known for his sefer Amudeha Shivah, which Rabbi Shabsai Meshorer Bass describes in Sifsei Yesheinim as containing “wonderful drashos and exceptionally fine explanations.” Several of his writings were never printed, including his major commentary on the Torah, Zayis Ra’anan. Lvov, c. 1830. First edition of this revised arrangement. Page Count: [2], 2, 5–45 leaves. Height: 22.8 cm. Condition: Fair to good. The first and last leaves have been professionally restored, including reconstructed margins on the title page, with minor loss affecting a few words. Tiny holes, some professionally repaired. Fine new leather binding. Bibliography: Ginzei Yisrael (Mehlmann collection), no. 1052. - - - - - - - - - The Date of Publication and Name of Printer The title page states that the sefer was printed in “Lemberg.” It also identifies the printer in Latin characters as Mrs. Judith Rozanis. The Gregorian date printed on the title page is 1804. In reality, both the printer’s name and the date were deliberately falsified. The printers apparently did so to evade government printing restrictions, censorship requirements, printing taxes, or similar regulations. This volume belongs to a group of sefarim printed in Lvov (or Zolkov) around the early 1830s through the beginning of the 1840s that were intentionally issued with these misleading printing details. There indeed was a printer in Lemberg named Mrs. Judith Rozanis, the wife of Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Rozanis,