Auction 050 Part 2 Special Chabad Auction in Honor of Chag HaGeulah Yud-Tes Kislev – Rosh Hashana of Chassidut – Marking the Date in which Rebbe Shneur Zalman of Liadi was Released from Czarist Imprisonment
Avodat HaLevi, Chassidic homilies on the Torah portions and festivals, haftarot, Megillot, letters, various selections and halachic responsa by R. Aharon HaLevi Segal Horowitz of Strashelye. [Lviv]-Warsaw, [1842-1866]. Complete set – all four parts. First edition.
R. Aharon of Strashelye's books were not reprinted for many years, and are therefore considered rare. In the present set, a lengthy responsum (18 leaves) is bound twice, which is bibliographically unrecorded – at the end of Part II (selections and responsa) and at the end of Part IV (Devarim).
R. Aharon HaLevi Segal Horowitz (1766?-1829), a prominent disciple of the Alter Rebbe for thirty years. From the age of 17, he did not part from his teacher, and became his confidant and close attendant. When the Baal HaTanya moved to Liadi in 1802, he followed him there, to remain close to his teacher. During most of his teacher's tenure as rebbe, he was the close friend of the Rebbe's son, R. Dov Ber, the Mitteler Rebbe of Lubavitch. Together they offered guidance in service of God to the young men who frequented the Rebbe's court, and both wrote letters to the Chassidim in matters of service of God. The conflict between him and the Mitteler Rebbe began ca. 1809, for various reasons, together with a certain tension between him and his teacher, the Baal HaTanya, which caused him to return to his hometown Osveya. His teacher was deeply sorrowed by his departure, exclaiming "One of my eyes has been gouged out".
After the passing of the Alter Rebbe in 1813, a fierce controversy erupted between R. Aharon and the Mitteler Rebbe regarding the spiritual heritage of the Alter Rebbe – a profound intellectual debate on the Chabad doctrine of service of God. Letters, booklets and books were written and printed on both sides, in which each one exposited his method and approach, and criticized that of the opponent's. Thus, two courts following the teachings of the Baal HaTanya developed. R. Aharon served as rebbe in Strashelye (Starosel'ye), whilst the Mitteler Rebbe served as Rebbe in Lubavitch. Several of the Baal HaTanya's foremost disciples adopted the path of R. Aharon, headed by R. Avraham Sheines, son-in-law of the Baal HaTanya. In 1820, R. Aharon published in Shklow his first composition - Shaarei HaYichud VeHaEmunah, a commentary on Shaar HaYichud VeHaEmunah in the Tanya. In 1821 he printed his second work, Shaarei Avodah, a commentary to Likutei Amarim and Igeret HaTeshuvah in the Tanya. His books Avodat HaLevi on the Torah and festivals, including in-depth responsa, were published posthumously.
Four parts in four volumes. • Volume I (Bereshit-Vayikra, festivals and Megillot – Lviv, 1842): [2], 93, [1]; 76; 56 leaves. • (Selections and Responsa – Lviv, 1842): [1], 35, [2], 45-106; 18 leaves (lengthy responsum). • Volume 3 (Bamidbar – Warsaw, 1866): [2], 76 leaves. • Volume 4 (Devarim – Warsaw, 1866): [3], 2-62; 18, [2] leaves (corrigenda); 18 leaves (lengthy responsum). 22.5-24 cm. Good to good-fair condition. Stains, creases and wear. Damage and light tears (open tears affecting text to title page and some other leaves in Part II). Stamp. New bindings.
Two works by prominent followers of the early Chabad rebbes, R. Hillel Paritcher and R. Eizik Homiler:
• Pelach HaRimon, Chassidic discourses on Bereshit and Chanukah, according to Chabad Chassidic teachings, by R. Hillel HaLevi Malisov, Rabbi of Paritch and Babruysk (R. Hillel Paritcher, 1795-1864). Vilna: Finn, Rozenkranz and Schriftsetzer, 1887. First edition. Two title pages. Approbations from seven grandchildren of the Tzemach Tzedek and important Russian rabbis. Stamps of the "synagogue of Chassidic merchants, St. Petersburg".
VIII pages, [1], 2-140 leaves. Approx. 26 cm. Good condition. Stains and light damage. New binding.
• Chanah Ariel, by R. Yitzchak Eizik HaLevi Epstein, Rabbi of Homel (R. Eizik Homiler). Berditchev: Sheftel, [1912]. First edition. Contains four discourses, selections, homilies, including a lengthy commentary on Tanya chapter 33, responsa, letters and more.
[2], 2-79; [1], 2-5 leaves. 23.5 cm. Good condition. New binding.
First editions of two of the books of R. Avraham David Lavut, Rabbi of Nikolayev (grandfather of Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe):
• Kav Naki, on laws of Gittin. Warsaw: Natan Schriftgisser, 1868. First edition. Two parts. Two title pages to Part I; divisional title page to Part II. The book contains approbations by R. Baruch Shalom Schneerson, eldest son of the Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch, [whose descendants later married the descendants of the author R. Lavut – R. Levi Yitzchak Schneerson and Rebbetzin Chanah daughter of R. Meir Shlomo Yanovsky, parents of the Lubavitcher Rebbe].
Part I: [4], 4-26, [1], 27-59 leaves; Part II: [1], 2-39 leaves. 29.5 cm. Good condition. Stains, creases and wear. New binding.
• Beit Aharon VeHosafot, index to Talmud, Rabbinic literature, Kabbalah and Chabad Chassidic books according to the order of the Tanach. Vilna: Yehudah Leib Metz, 1880. Only edition. On leaf [2]a is an approbation by the Rebbe Maharash of Lubavitch. Under the approbation is the ink seal and signature of the author, R. Avraham David Lavut. In the leaves of the book are three short handwritten glosses, signed with the initials M. A. H.
[3], 2-180 leaves. 33 cm. Good condition. Stains, creases and wear. Browning of paper. Open tears, affecting text on last leaves. New binding.
The author, Rabbi Avraham David Lavut (1815-1890), disciple of the Tzemach Tzedek and the Rebbe Maharash and one of the most prominent Chabad rabbis in Russia. Served in the rabbinate of Nikolayev (Mikolaiv) and the forty nearby villages for about forty years until his death. Authored several important works, most famously Kav Naki on laws of Gittin (a foundational work still used as a manual by rabbis to this day) and the Torah Or Siddur – an accurate version of the Alter Rebbe's Siddur, to which he appended the works Shaarei Tefillah and Shaar HaKollel.