Mishne Torah L'HaRamban, Vol. 2, Nashim and Kedusha, Hafla'ah and Zera'im. Warsaw, 1881-1882.
Four long scholarly glosses in the characteristic handwriting of the Rogatchover Gaon, R. Yosef Rosen Rabbi of Dvinsk.
The thoughts and style of the novellae are similar to his other novellae on the Rambam which were printed in his book Tzofnat Pa'ane'ach on the Rambam. These marginalia were not printed, however some of the novellae complement previous topics and other novellae which have already been deliberated in his printed books.
On the endpaper are penciled inscriptions in a later handwriting of erudite novellae by a Torah scholar who adds "As explained in a different place".
The famed R. Yosef Rosen (1858-1936) better known as the Rogatchover (called after his birthtown Rogachev) was a Chabad-Kapust Chassid and in his youth studied Torah from R. Yosef Dov Ber Soloveitchik, author of Beit HaLevi together with his son R. Chaim of Brisk. From 1889, he served as Rabbi of the Chassidic community of Dvinsk Latvia for 40 years alongside the author of the Or Same'ach. He was an amazing exceptionally sharp prodigy and mastered all parts of the Torah, creating original study methods. Many legends are told of his genius and extreme diligence. He invested much time in explaining the Ramban, writing many halachic responses. His responsa and novellae were published in the series of his books Tzofnat Pa'ane'ach. Due to the depth of his thoughts and his abbreviated allusive writing, many projects have been launched in recent years to try and decipher his words and to publish his compositions in annotated editions. His legendary genius was also highly regarded by the general public of his times and Bialik is known to have said that "two Einsteins could be carved out from the mind of the Rogatchover".
Only a small part of his many Torah compositions was printed. He did not have enough time to write down most of his novellae in an orderly fashion and to publish them. While studying, he would jot down abbreviated sharp and profound marginalia in his books on all Torah subjects, but he was known to harbor a special love for the Rambam's books and especially the Mishne Torah upon which he wrote his book Tzofnat Pa'ane'ach. These are long marginalia with additional novellae which he wrote on the Rambam which do not appear in his book.
These glosses have not been printed. According to the gloss on the endpaper, apparently the book belonged to another rabbi who also added his own novellae.
[2], 44; 36 leaves; [1], 120 leaves; [1], 137 leaves. 34 cm. Dry paper, fair condition.Detached leaves, wear and tears. Torn lacking binding.