Meshiv Nefesh, homily, ethics and novellae on Aggadot, by R. Shmuel Günzler Rabbi of Oyber-Visheve (Vişeu de Sus). Sighet (Sighetu Marmaţiei), 1912.
Signature of R. "Reuven Chaim Klein, residing here Snina" on the title page.
A lengthy gloss in his handwriting on p. 137a. Another gloss on p. 149a.
R. Reuven Chaim Klein (1884-perished in the Holocaust 1942), son-in-law of the renowned Tzaddik Rebbe Yeshaya Steiner of Kerestir, and son of R. Tzvi Dov Klein of Munkacs (a prominent Munkacs Chassid). He was a disciple of the Darchei Teshuva of Munkacs and of R. Netanel Fried author of Penei Mevin. In 1902, R. Yeshayale of Kerestir selected him as a groom for his eldest daughter, Rebbetzin Rivka Feiga, and he supported him generously for ten years. In 1912, he was appointed rabbi of Snina, eastern Slovakia, a position he held for over thirty years. He also headed the yeshiva there, and edified many disciples. In 1938, he published his book Responsa Mateh Reuven on Yoreh De'ah. At the beginning of his book, he dedicates several lines in memory of his father-in-law: "…in memory of the prominent Tzaddik… pillar of kindness… R. Yeshaya son of R. Moshe of Kerestir, and my mother-in-law, the pious rebbetzin… whose home was open to all like the home of Avraham our forefather, they supported me in their home for many years with great honor… words will not suffice to describe the great kindness they bestowed upon me over the course of their life…". During the Holocaust, when the Nazis deported all the resident of Snina to an extermination camp, one of the town's Christian governors offered to shelter him, yet R. Reuven Chaim refused, stating that he preferred to remain with his disciples and members of his community. In 1942, he was murdered in a camp close to Lublin.
[4], 156 leaves. 24 cm. Good-fair condition. Dry, brittle paper. Stains and dampstains. Wear to first four leaves. Old binding.