18 letters handwritten and signed by R. Mordechai Gifter, dean of the Telshe yeshiva. Cleveland and Chicago (United States), 1959-1976.
Lengthy letters of Torah thoughts sent to R. Chaim Dov Chavel, editor of the HaDarom Torah anthology. The letters include: brief essays to be published in HaDarom, corrections and comments on the books of the Ramban edited by R. Chavel, corrections and comments on various essays published in HaDarom, and more. Some of the letters also include good year wishes and greetings for various festivals.
In one letter, dated Elul 1960, sent from Chicago, he writes about the opening of the Chicago branch of the Telshe yeshiva. It is interesting to note the humility of R. Mordechai, reflected in this letter: "I have great anguish from the fact he wrote in his first letter the title 'Sar HaTorah', and please, please my friend, don't treat me in this way, writing titles which don't suit me. The conventional titles are also not accurate, but since that is the way of the world, they have no meaning anymore, but one mustn't yield to more than that".
R. Mordechai Gifter (1916-2001), a prominent yeshiva dean and Torah leader in the United States. Born in the United States, he travelled to Lithuania to study in its yeshivot. Already in his youth, he drew close to the Torah leaders of his times, absorbing from them Torah and proper conduct. He exchanged halachic correspondence with leading rabbis in the United States and Lithuania. He returned to the United States just before the Holocaust, after his engagement to the daughter of R. Zalman Bloch, dean of the Telshe yeshiva in Lithuania, and the wedding was held in the U.S. in 1940. After the Holocaust, he reestablished the Telshe yeshiva in the U.S. (together with his uncles R. Eliyahu Meir Bloch and R. Chaim Mordechai Katz, who had come on their own to the U.S. to try and save their families and the yeshiva students who were left behind in Telshe). R. Mordechai served as lecturer in the Telshe yeshiva in Cleveland and Chicago from 1943, and later as dean of the yeshiva in Cleveland. He imparted to his students exacting standards of profound Torah study and correct Torah conduct (he did not allow to write any titles of praise on his tombstone except for "taught Torah and edified students of high caliber in Torah and fear of G-d"). In 1976, he immigrated to Eretz Israel and settled in the campus founded for the yeshiva in the Jerusalem hills (presently: Telz Stone; Kiryat Ye'arim). In 1979, after the passing of R. Baruch Sorotzkin the yeshiva dean in the U.S., he returned to the U.S. to lead the yeshiva in Cleveland. His authority was recognized throughout the Jewish world as one of the leaders of his time, and he served as head of the Moetzet Gedolei HaTorah in the United States.

18 letters (21 leaves; approx. 36 written pages), mostly on official stationery. Size and condition vary. Most in good condition.

Eight additional leaves enclosed: letter (in English) from R. Yisrael Poleyeff, a rabbi in Flatbush, with a photocopy of a letter from his father R. Moshe Aharon Poleyeff, and a typewritten copy of an essay for publication: "Letter exchange… between R. Moshe Aharon Poleyeff and his disciple R. Mordechai Gifter".
Some of the contents of these letters were published by R. Chavel in the HaDarom anthologies and in his books.

Leaf handwritten by R. Shlomo Eger, containing notes of Torah novellae and a draft letter. Warsaw, 1807.
Leaf handwritten by R. Shlomo Eger, with additions and deletions.
The leaf begins with an interesting draft letter addressed to his father R. Akiva Eger, dated 28th Tammuz (August 3) 1807, in which he reports on military and political events taking place in Warsaw, with the retreat of the Prussian and French forces in preparation for the creation of the Duchy of Warsaw (following the Treaty of Tilsit, signed in July 1807 – see below).
Further in the letter, R. Shlomo adds information about rabbis and philanthropists in Poland, mentions a wedding to take place on 24th Av, and relates about a certain rabbi who had come to Warsaw to publish his book.
The rest of the leaf and the verso contain drafts of Torah novellae on Tractate Gittin. Inscription in a different hand: "Copied". A different date is mentioned between the lines (presumably relating to that particular note): "Sunday Parashat Behar 1807".
The writings of R. Shlomo Eger were published in "Responsa of R. Shlomo Eger – Rulings and Writings" (published by Mosad HaRav Kook, Jerusalem, 1983-1985), based on a manuscript copying produced by his son R. Yisrael Eger and his descendants (who presumably marked this leaf as "copied"). The present novellae were published based on these copyings in Responsa of R. Shlomo Eger (part II, Writings, section 13). The printed version contains several errors which can be corrected based on the present manuscript, such as missing characters and words, and even the omission of an entire line (21 words). In the printed book, the editor quotes the copyist, who wrote at the foot of the copying: "The letter is addressed to his father R. Akiva Eger, yet from the contents of the letter, it appears that it is not so…". In fact, from the present original manuscript, it appears that the Torah novellae are not a direct continuation of the draft letter at the beginning of the leaf.
R. Shlomo Eger (1785-1852), leading Torah scholar of his times, second son of R. Akiva Eger (and brother-in-law of the Chatam Sofer). His illustrious father held him in high esteem, as he praises him in a letter to R. Yaakov Gezundheit: "G-d granted me a son of great stature like a cedar" (Responsa and Novellae of R. Akiva Eger, Jerusalem 1947, section 22). In ca. 1801, he married Rebbetzin Rivka Golda, daughter of the wealthy Hirschsohn family of Warsaw, and settled there. In his father-in-law's home, R. Shlomo continued applying himself to his Torah studies, and became one of the most prominent and wealthiest Torah scholars of Warsaw. After he lost his fortune in the Polish revolution of 1831 (which he supported together with the Torah leaders of Poland, R. Chaim Davidson and R. Berish Meisels), he was appointed as rabbi of Kalisch. In 1840, he succeeded his father as rabbi of Posen. He edited and published his father's responsa and novellae, and included some of his own novellae. His writings were also published in the books Gilyon Maharsha on the Talmud and Shulchan Aruch; Responsa of R. Shlomo Eger, two parts, published by Mosad HaRav Kook (Jerusalem, 1983-1985) and Sefer HaIkkarim, two parts (Jerusalem, 1991-1996).

[1] leaf, written on both sides. Approx. 23.5 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains. Wear and some open tears. Marginal paper repairs.

The Establishment of the Duchy of Warsaw in July 1807, Following the Treaties of Tilsit – Contemporary Jewish Report
The present draft letter was written in Warsaw on August 3, 1807. About a month earlier, on July 7 and July 9, two agreements (the treaties of Tilsit) were signed between the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, the Russian Emperor Alexander I, and the King of Prussia Frederick William III. As part of these agreements, the Kingdom of Prussia had to relinquish almost all the Polish territory it had annexed during the Second and Third Partitions of Poland in the late 18th century; Napoleon Bonaparte then created the Duchy of Warsaw, a protectorate of France, on this territory. Napoleon appointed his ally, King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony (grandson of Augustus III king of Poland), as its ruler. Two weeks later, in Dresden on 22 July 1807, Napoleon divided the Duchy of Warsaw into several administrative regions, which would be managed by the Senate and the Council of State. The Duchy of Warsaw only lasted for a few years; following Napoleon's downfall, it was handed over to the Russian Empire at the congress of Vienna in 1815.
The present letter was written by R. Shlomo Eger, who was living in Warsaw at the time, to his father R. Akiva Eger, who served then as rabbi of Märkisch Friedland (presently Mirosławiec, Poland, West Pomerania).
In this letter, dated early August 1807, R. Shlomo Eger reports on these historic events as they were taking place, shortly after the retreat of the victorious French forces and the defeated Prussian forces from Polish territory, and several days before the King of Saxony and his troops entered Warsaw, capital of the Duchy.
R. Shlomo Eger informs his father that the Prussian and French troops had left, and that the King of Saxony was due to arrive on the 15th. He also mentions that the "vice king" would be Polish, that the seven ministers who would be ruling Poland were still in Dresden, and that the famous Marshal Davout was currently in the Duchy.
The letter indicates that the seven ministers appointed in Dresden had not yet reached Warsaw at the beginning of August. As R. Shlomo informed his father, the "vice king" was indeed a Polish noble and not one of the king's men from Saxony (in October 1807, the Polish noble Stanisław Małachowski was appointed president of the Council of State and head of the council of the Duchy of Warsaw, and in December 1807, Małachowski was appointed president of the Senate).

Notebook handwritten by R. Shmuel Rozovsky, a dean of the Ponovezh yeshiva, novellae on Tractate Yevamot, novellae on the topic of Brit Milah and conversion, and novellae on Tractate Ketubot. [Bnei Brak? ca. 1950s].
Autograph manuscript, with additions and deletions. R. Shmuel mentions teachings he heard in person from his teachers and from leading Torah scholars of his time such as R. Shimon Shkop (p. 2), R. Yitzchak Ze'ev Soloveitchik of Brisk (p. 23), R. Yosef Shlomo Kahaneman (p. 18), and R. Aharon Kohen dean of the Hebron yeshiva, author of Beit Aharon (p. 8). R. Shmuel also quotes the comments of some of his disciples and colleagues in the Ponovezh yeshiva, such as R. Gershon Edelstein (p. 34 of Tractate Ketubot; see also p. 15 of Tractate Yevamot).
In the present notebook, R. Shmuel explains and clarifies the teachings of the Rishonim and leading Acharonim on the Talmudic topics at hand. He relates to the famous difficulty which R. Shaul Berlin raises in his comments to the book Besamim Rosh (titled Kasa DeHarsena), which is discussed by leading Acharonim such as the Minchat Chinuch, the Aruch LaNer and R. Elchanan Wasserman. He also quotes many teachings from R. Chaim of Brisk, stressing on each occasion the source of these teachings: "R. Chaim in his book" [the book Chiddushei Rabbenu Chaim HaLevi on the Rambam, published by R. Chaim with great accuracy]; "the writings of the disciples of R. Chaim" [Chiddushei HaGrach, stencil edition]; and "Kitvei R. Chaim" [R. Chaim's own writings, which were not published in his book on the Rambam; some of which were published in the stencil edition of Chiddushei HaGrach].
R. Shmuel Rozovsky (1913-1979) was the son of R. Michel David Rozovsky, a rabbi in Grodno (1869-1935). He studied under R. Shimon Shkop in the Shaar HaTorah yeshiva in Grodno (his hometown), in the Mir yeshiva in Poland and in the Lomza yeshiva in Petach Tikva. He was the son-in-law of R. Tzvi Pesach Frank, rabbi of Jerusalem. He served as lecturer in the Lomza yeshiva even before he got married. In Kislev 1943 he moved over with his disciples to the newly founded Ponovezh yeshiva in Bnei Brak, and was the first lecturer in the Ponovezh yeshiva. His lectures were the focal point of the Ponovezh yeshiva, where he gave over the Torah of the Lithuanian yeshivot to the new generation in Eretz Israel. His impact on the Torah world in our times was highly significant, and until this day the lectures in most yeshivot are based on the principles and approaches of R. Shmuel, which he absorbed from his teachers in the Grodno yeshiva and in the yeshivot in Lithuania. Already in his lifetime, his lectures were published based on his students' notes, which were photocopied and printed in various stencil editions. After his passing, his novellae and lectures were rearranged by his descendants and leading disciples, and published in Chidushei Rabbi Shmuel, Shiurei Rabbi Shmuel and Zichron Shmuel. When compiling these books, they used mostly the notes which his disciples took during the lectures, referring only minimally to R. Shmuel's own manuscripts, since he wrote very little of his own notes. Thus, most of his teachings were transmitted through his disciples' records.
The novellae on Tractate Yevamot were written on one side of the notebook, while the novellae on Tractate Ketubot were written on the other side, upside down (double pagination was later added, on each side of the notebook).

74 written pages. 20.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains, wear and tears. Original card cover, torn and detached. One page of text written inside cover.

Volume comprising manuscripts by Moroccan Torah scholars, including letters of Torah thoughts, novellae, piyyutim, Hashbaot, segulot, and more. [Morocco, ca. 19th century].
The volume comes from the Ibn Tzur rabbinic family, whose members served as rabbis in Fez. Stamps of R. Shlomo ibn Tzur and R. Rafael ibn Tzur at the beginning of the manuscript.
The volume comprises leaves in different hands. It includes original letters sent to R. Rafael ibn Tzur (presumably R. Rafael ibn Tzur [the last], rabbi of Fez, 1830-1917), as well as Hashbaot and protections for "dream questions", segulot and texts of amulets, kavanot for prayers to be accepted, novellae on verses, homiletics and allusions, and more. The first part of the volume contains selected laws, customs and reasons for the festivals.
Some of the leaves are signed by Moroccan Torah scholars. These include: two letters addressed to "HaMal'ach Rafael" (R. Rafael Ibn Tzur), signed "Yedidya" (presumably R. Yedidya Monsonego [the second], author of Devar Emet, 1799-1868); several letters from R. Eliyahu Otmezgin (whose signature also appears on several other leaves); halachic responsum signed by R. Yosef Attia; a Torah teaching signed by R. Avraham HaKohen Skali (d. 1871]; poem signed by R. Avraham ibn David VeYosef; legal document from 1834 regarding grinding wheat (trimmed signature: "Nechemia…"); and more.
The other handwritings were not identified. Signature of R. Rafael ibn Tzur at the top of one leaf (containing a "dream question"). Some of the leaves may have been written by R. Rafael ibn Tzur himself, or by other Torah scholars in his family.

[144] leaves. Size varies (most leaves approx. 11-12 cm). Fair-good condition. Stains. Tears, worming and wear. Damage to text in several places. Old leather binding, damaged.

Manuscript, Urim VeTumim and Goralot (lots) by R. Avraham ibn Ezra. Rome, [18th century].
Illustrated title page. Semi-cursive and square Italian script. Scribed by R. Avraham Anav, for R. Michael Chaim Di Segni (rabbi of Rome), as stated on the title page: "…scribed by Avraham son of Yaakov Anav upon the request of R. Michael Chaim Di Segni, here Rome". Includes two works: Urim VeTumim and Goralot by R. Avraham ibn Ezra.
On the verso of the title page, illustration of a scales within a frame, with a rhyming caption (the scales are depicted tilting to one side). On the opposite page is a sonnet forming an acrostic of the initials of Avraham ben Yaakov. These initials are mentioned again in the concluding line.
The purpose of Sefer Urim VeTumim was to foresee the future through lots. This work or parts of it are found in manuscripts already in the Middle Ages. The work in the present format (with slight textual variations) first appeared in print in Dyhernfurth 1728.
Goralot by R. Avraham ibn Ezra is similarly used for foreseeing the future, and also appeared in manuscripts during the Middle Ages. It was first printed in Ferrara 1556, and later in Venice 1657.
Brief poem by the scribe at the end of the manuscript, requesting the finder of this manuscript to return it to its owner.
R. Michael Chaim Di Segni served as chief rabbi of Rome from 1750 until his passing in 1772. The Di Segni family was a rabbinic family in Rome for many generations (A. Salah, La République des Lettres: Rabbins, médecins et écrivains juifs en Italie au XVIIIè Siècle, Leiden-Boston 2007, p. 594).
The scribe, R. Avraham son of Yaakov Anav (d. 1782), from the famous Anav family in Rome. Served in his youth as teacher of young children. He composed a play regarding the claims of the Ammonites in the times of Yiftach HaGiladi which was performed in the boys' school in Rome in 1758. R. Michael Di Segni, for whom the present manuscript was produced, was also present at the time. He also composed a wedding cantata (see: J. Schirmann, Theater and Music in the Italian Ghetti Between the Sixteenth and Eighteenth Centuries, Zion, 29, 1964, pp. 89-90, 100). Upon the passing of R. Michael Di Segni in 1772, R. Avraham Anav was appointed one of the three community leaders. Between 1773-1782, his signature appears on many documents as one of the three rabbis leading the city (see: G. Sermoneta, La cultura ebraica a Roma nel XVIII secólo alla luce di nuovi documenti, Italia Judaica, 67, 1989, pp. 74-75, notes 13-14).

[97] leaves (including approx. 10 blank leaves). Approx. 12 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains, including dampstains. Worming, slightly affecting text. Inscriptions. Gilt edges. Old binding, decorated with metal-thread embroidery; blemishes and worming to binding.

The manuscript was in the possession of the Anav family until the 20th century. At the end of the manuscript, a dedication in Italian, dated 1923, from Louisa Morpurgo née Anav, to her nephew Angelo Anav, in which she writes that the manuscript was preserved in their family.