Manuscript, Mishmeret Elazar - Index for the books Yalkut Chadash and Shichechat Leket, by R. Elazar ben Abdel Yitzchak Rabbi of Holešov. [Poland, 1654].
Thick manuscript, in ancient Ashkenazi script. Contains detailed indexes for the books Yalkut Chadash by R. Yisrael son of R. Binyamin of Bełżec (first printed in Lublin in 1648) and Shichechat Leket by R. Natan Bonn (first printed in Prague in 1652). This work has never been printed.
At the end of the work with the indexes is a colophon dated "Sunday, the 5th of Adar 1654". At the end of the manuscript are verses from Tehillim in alphabetical order (incomplete), and several pages with Aggadic novellae.
At the beginning of the manuscript is an inscription in a later writing, regarding the identity of the author: "This book was composed by my step-grandfather, the illustrious elder R. Elazar, Rabbi of Holešov, author of the book Tikun Sofrim and the book Ben Meshek, from Jerusalem - and I will name this book after him, Mishmeret Elazar". The author, R. Elazar ben Abdel Yitzchak (Isaac) printed his book Tikun Sofrim in Prague in 1658. Written on the title page is that this is the second part of his book Ben Meshek which has not yet been printed. There the author is described: "Highly respected elder, who studied in yeshivot of several Polish communities and in Holešov and he taught many disciples… the honorable R. Elazar from Poland". The publisher adds that the composition has only been partially printed "due to lack of funds and even more because he yearns to go to the Holy Land to the city of Jerusalem… He only copied a few topics from his large composition and all the Torah scholars agreed to print his large composition, the aforementioned Ben Meshek…". We have not found more details about him.
[158] leaves. 19 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains and wear. Several detached leaves. Unbound.

Large leaf, with novellae on Tractate Chulin, in Ashkenazi script. Handwritten by the author, with additions and erasures. [Beginning of the 19th century].
The handwriting was identified as belonging to R. Aharon Fuld, a rabbi in Frankfurt am Main [see enclosed photocopy for comparison].
Rabbi Aharon Fuld (1790-1847) was a disciple of the Ba'al Hafla'ah and member of the Frankfurt Beit Din together with Rabbi Zalman Trier and Rabbi Ber Adler. In his book Minchat Kena'ot, the Maharatz Chajes writes: "The great Rabbi, aged Chassid, R. Zalman Trier, Av Beit Din of Frankfurt am Main, with two leading sages of the generation R. Aharon Fuld and the great R. Ber Adler". Corresponded extensively with Rabbi Akiva Eiger and with the Chatam Sofer [who would send with R. Fuld gifts to his mother who resided in Frankfurt], etc. He was among his generation's greatest combatants against the Reform Movement. He wrote: Beit Aharon responsum and glosses and comments on Shem HaGedolim.
Leaf, 33 cm. [2] written pages. High-quality thin paper. Good condition. Folding creases.

Large collection of leaves handwritten by Rabbi Eliyahu David Rabinowitz Te'omim - the Aderet. [Lithuania, c. 1890-1901]. Contains one leaf from his youth [c. 1860].
Drafts of responsa and letters of queries and comments on books and pamphlets containing Torah thoughts; sermon outlines; a signed letter from 1901 to the heads of the Etz Chaim Yeshiva in Jerusalem which appointed him president of the yeshiva; and more.
The leaves include the following: "Comments on the book Ahavat Chesed by R. Yisrael Meir HaCohen" [author of the Chafetz Chaim]; comments on the book Zecher Yehosef apparently sent to the author; comments written in the summer of 1897 on the proofreading sheets of the book Chasdei Yehonatan; comments on the book Ben HaYemin sent to him in the winter of 1899 for receiving his approbation [the comments differ from those which the Aderet added to his approbation which was printed in the 1889 edition of the book Ben HaYemin, Warsaw - see enclosed photocopy]. Most of the leaves are complete writings, not partial sections of notebooks.
Especially interesting and special is a letter which the Aderet wrote [apparently in response to a pamphlet which he received with comments on his novellae], which gives a slight peek into his study method. In the letter he modestly apologizes for an error found in his work [which portrays his brilliance]. He praises the writer who does not blindly accept any citation without first studying its source, and he blames himself for believing authors, and even believing himself, and relying on his memory, because due to his excessive frailty "the trouble of rising from his writing table to go to the bookshelves at the other side of the room is great…". Further in the letter, he cites errors caused by inaccurate quotes which occurred in the past and errors of the greatest Torah scholars throughout the generations, who relied on their superb memories and did not take the trouble to study the material inside, and therefore were caught with errors. [This letter was printed in the
book Aderet Eliyahu about the history of the Aderet, pp. 186-187].
R. Eliyahu David Rabinowitz Te'omim - the Aderet (1845-1905), Rabbi of Ponevezh, Mir and Jerusalem was renowned from his childhood for his love of Torah study and his diligence. At a young age, he had already grown to be an exceptional Torah scholar, erudite and astute in all the Torah and writer of brilliant novellae. As a young man he was appointed to the Ponevezh rabbinate and after 20 years moved to serve in the Mir rabbinate. Rabbi Shmuel Salant, the aged rabbi of Jerusalem, summoned him as his successor in the Jerusalem rabbinate. In 1905, approximately two and a half years after he accepted this position, he died at the age of 60 in the lifetime of Rabbi Shmuel Salant [who died in 1909, at nearly 100 years old]. His son-in-law was R. Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook, who moved to Eretz Israel to serve as Rabbi of Jaffa and in 1921 succeeded his father-in-law in the Jerusalem rabbinate eventually becoming Chief Rabbi of Eretz Israel.
In spite of his frailty, ailments and limited eyesight which afflicted him from childhood, the Aderet toiled in Torah study day and night, writing his brilliant Torah novellae in abbreviated notes in notebooks and on available leaves. He left behind a trove of hundreds of Torah compositions, most of which have not yet been printed and some have been lost with passing years.
21 items, including approx. 56 written pages. Size and condition vary. Good-fair to fair-poor condition.