Knesset HaGedolah, on Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat, by R. Chaim Benveniste. Fürth, [1692]. Second edition.
Copy of the Pnei Yehoshua. The back endpaper bears several of his signatures and quill trials: "Yoshua‏ son of R. Tzvi Hirsh"; "Purchased with my wealth in honor of my Creator, Yoshua‏ son R. Tzvi… Hirsh"; ownership inscription: "…R. Yaakov Yoshua".
R. Yaakov Yehoshua Falk, author of Pnei Yehoshua (1680-1756), born in Cracow, served as rabbi of several important cities: Lviv (1718-1720), the Lviv region (1722-1730), Berlin (1730-1733), Metz (1734-1740) and Frankfurt am Main (1740-1750). His yeshiva in Frankfurt was the most prominent of all the Ashkenazi yeshivas in his times and produced great Torah scholars, including the renowned Kabbalist R. Natan Adler. His four-part work Pnei Yehoshua on Talmudic tractates, earned him everlasting renown and became a classic Torah text, regularly studied to this day. The Mareh Yechezkel of Deyzh writes in his Responsa Avnei Tzedek, in the name of his teacher the Chatam Sofer: "I have heard directly from the mouth of my teacher the Chatam Sofer that from the time the Rashba wrote his composition, no composition was written that can compare to the Pnei Yehoshua". The Chida, in his book Shem HaGedolim, writes: "The work Pnei Yehoshua earned him worldwide renown… I merited visiting him for several days, and his appearance is like an angel of G-d, and he gifted me with the book Pnei Yehoshua".
The Pnei Yehoshua was first named Yehoshua (after his grandfather, author of Meginei Shlomo); the name Yaakov was added later in his life (apparently due to illness), as he mentions in the preface to his book. In 1721, he already signed with both names. The signatures in this book are apparently from his youth (before 1721), prior to the addition of the name Yaakov.
He was accustomed to signing "Yoshua" and not "Yehoshua", as can be seen in his signatures in this book (see also a picture of a signature from his later years in the book Pnei Yehoshua published by HaMaor, Vol. I, Jerusalem 2006, p. 14). Likewise, on the title pages of the two parts of his book printed during his lifetime, his name is spelled "Yaakov Yoshua". His grandfather, author of Meginei Shlomo, after whom he was named, also used to sign his name the same way. The reason for this was to refrain from writing most of the letters of the name of G-d.
Ownership inscriptions on the title page, signatures and stamps of Eliezer and Elimelech Shubman of Lublin.
196 leaves. 30 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains and wear. Stains and traces of past dampness to margins. Worming. Marginal tears to approx. 10 first leaves, repaired with paper, affecting the border of the title page and text (mostly in the first leaves). Small hole damaging a small part of the text in the center of several leaves. Repaired tear to last leaf. Handwritten inscriptions and stamps. New leather binding.