Yismach Moshe, homilies for the High Holidays and festivals, by Rebbe Moshe Teitelbaum, Av Beit Din of Ujhel (Sátoraljaújhely). Székelyhíd (Săcueni): Shabtai Kohn, 1943.

Approbations by the relatives of the publisher, Rebbe Chananya Yom Tov Lipa Teitelbaum, dayan and posek in Koson: his father Rebbe Aharon Teitelbaum of Volova-Nyírbátor, his father-in-law Rebbe Yisrael Tzvi Rottenberg of Koson, and his cousin Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar.

The work was first printed in Sighet, 1908, together with the Yismach Moshe’s novellae on the Aggadot of the Talmud (Yayin HaRekach); the present item is the second edition, printed by the author’s grandson, Rebbe Chananya Yom Tov Lipa Teitelbaum, dayan and posek in Koson, and it comprises three parts: 1. Tochachat Chaim Amirah Ne’imah – sermons for the month of Elul and the high holidays; 2. Siach Sefunim on prayers, piyyutim and Shabbat songs; 3. Avkat Rochel – selections.

The book was published during the Holocaust, while hundreds of thousands of Jews were being murdered in neighboring European countries. In his introduction, the publisher writes of his publication of the book during the war: “…and especially in this most pressing of times, the days leading up to the Messiah, one lamb dispersed to the four corners of the world, and the hearts of the Children of Israel are very broken and torn into twelve, and desperately hope for salvation and the mercy of heaven… and may the merit of my grandfather, the author, protect us, and may he advocate for us and beg for mercy for us, to extricate us from darkness to light and from slavery to a complete redemption…”.

After the title page of the present item, an additional shortened title page is bound, on the reverse side of which appears a dedication to the philanthropist R. Yaakov Fixler and his wife Hinda from Studena in the Volove region, who generously covered printing expenses.

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.

[5], 2-41, [3] leaves. Approx. 29 cm. Good condition. Stains and light wear. Tears reinforced with paper on some leaves. Stamps. New leather binding.