Tractate Avot, with commentaries by Rashi and the Vilna Gaon; Avot DeRabbi Natan, and the minor tractates: Sofrim, Semachot, Kallah, Derech Eretz Rabbah, Derech Eretz Zuta and Perek HaShalom, corrected according to the text of the Vilna Gaon. Shklow: Aryeh son of Menachem, [1804]. First edition.
The book was brought to press by the sons of the Vilna Gaon, R. Yehudah Leib and R. Avraham, and compiled by his disciple, the kabbalist R. Menachem Mendel of Shklow. The book begins with an important foreword by R. Menachem Mendel, in which he relays several extraordinary points that he heard from his teacher, the Vilna Gaon.
Leaves 3-24: Tractate Avot, the Mishnah occupying the center of the pages, with the commentaries of Rashi and the Vilna Gaon on either side. Leaves 25-50: Tractate Avot DeRabbi Natan, based on the text and corrections of the Vilna Gaon. The center of the page is occupied by the text corrected by the Vilna Gaon, with the old, unedited version printed on the side. Leaves 51-82: Minor Tractates in the same format, the corrected text occupying the center of the page, with the old version on the side.
At the top of the title page, on the last leaf and on the titles of leaf 70: Signatures of R. "Yaakov Berlin of Mir", father of the Netziv of Volozhin (inscriptions deleted with ink). Handwritten glosses in several places in the book.
R. Yaakov Berlin (1794-1870), father of the Netziv of Volozhin and father-in-law of the author of Aruch HaShulchan, was a wealthy trader and an outstanding Torah scholar, an influential leader of the Mir community. He moved to Jerusalem in 1852 and became a leader of its Ashkenazi community (his life and piety are chronicled at length in Mekor Baruch by his grandson R. Baruch Epstein).
82 leaves. 21.5 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains, including dampstains and dark stains. Light wear. Small marginal tears. Worming, affecting text, partially repaired with paper filling and tape. Stamp on title page. New binding.
Vinograd, Otzar Sifrei HaGra, no. 318.
PLEASE NOTE: Some lot descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to the Hebrew text.
