Yismach Moshe, Part I on Bereshit and Shemot, and Part II on Vayikra, Bamidbar and Devarim, by Rebbe Moshe Teitelbaum, Av Beit Din of Ujhel (Sátoraljaújhely). Berlin: Pardes, 1928. Two parts in two volumes. Colored title pages.

At the beginning of the book is the approbation of Rebbe Moshe David Teitelbaum, Av Beit Din of Magyarlápos (editor and publisher of Sighet 1898 edition), who tells of the present edition's printer: "By divine providence and wondrous causes, God led me to encounter… R. Chaim Rand… an excellent man in the capital city Berlin… and he fulfilled his promise to renew the glorious luster of the holy books Yismach Moshe on the Torah and Tefillah LeMoshe on Tehillim… and he did it with beauty and splendor" [apparently, Rebbe Moshe David of Magyarlápos was also involved in the printing of this edition; see Kedem Catalog 19, item 89].

On the reverse of the Part II title page is a family tree of the author and his family, as found in the author's handwriting.

Dozens of Kvitels, notes written by Chassidim to their Rebbe (apparently one of the Sighet-Satmar Rebbes), with requests for various blessings, are placed between the leaves of the book. The notes were apparently written during the interwar period, and many of them have the Chassid's place of residence written on them, most of them from Kishinev, Besserabia (Chișinău, Moldova). On the margins of some notes are added (in a different hand) the name and return address (these additions may have been written by the Rebbe or his attendant).

Rebbe Moshe Teitelbaum, Av Beit Din of Ujhel (1759-1841), the Yismach Moshe, an illustrious Chassidic leader in Hungary and Galicia, and progenitor of the Sighet and Satmar Chassidic dynasties. An outstanding Torah scholar and kabbalist, he was an expert in both the revealed and hidden Torah. He was famed during his lifetime as a holy wonderworker possessing ruach hakodesh. He first served as rabbi in Shinova from 1785-1808, and subsequently in 1808 he was appointed rabbi and Av Beit Din of Ujhel (Sátoraljaújhely) and the region. Rebbe Moshe was originally opposed to Chassidut, and in his youth he traveled to study with the Vilna Gaon. He joined Chassidut at a later age, influenced by his son-in-law, R. Aryeh Leib Lipschitz, Av Beit Din of Vishnitza (Nowy Wiśnicz), author of Responsa Aryeh DeVei Ila'i, who convinced him to travel to the Chozeh of Lublin. With the Chozeh he became aware of clear manifestations of ruach hakodesh, and from that point on he became his close disciple, devoting himself to the Chassidic way and spreading its teachings in his regions. He likewise traveled to visit the Ohev Yisrael of Apta. Starting in 1815, he began to distribute amulets to those in need of salvation, thereby performing countless wonders. It is told that he hesitated about whether to continue making amulets until he heard a heavenly voice calling out to him while he was awake: "Do not fear, for I am with you" (Tehillah LeMoshe). To this day, most of the amulets and shemirot in Ashkenazic lands are attributed to the amulets of the Yismach Moshe, including the printed shemirot for children and child-bearing women and for plague. The famous "Keresterir's amulets", which were written by rebbes as a Segulah to guard one's house and property, originate with the Yismach Moshe.

Vol. I (Bereshit-Shemot): [4], 203, [2] leaves. First leaf (with publisher's symbol and imprint) is missing. Vol. II (Vayikra-Devarim): [4], 154 leaves; 46, [3] pages. 27 cm. Good condition. Stains and light wear. Marginal tears to several leaves. Matching new leather bindings.