Olelot Naftali, commentary on Sefer Bereshit, by Rabbi Naftali Herz Wessely. Hamburg, 1842.
Olelot Naftali was not fully printed during the period in which it was written. In 1834, the author's son published only the first leaf, which is commentary on the word Bereshit, and later on, in the following book, he printed"Machberet Rishona" [commentary on Bereshit 1-3].
Ownership signature:"Moshe Shmuel son of Rabbi David Francas". Corrections and notations in pen and pencil.
A large polemic emerged against the author, Naftali Herz Wessely (1726-1805), regarding his booklet Divrei Shalom Ve'Emet, which proposed to make changes in the Jewish education regulations. The Noda BeYehuda, who formerly had given approbation to the author's commentary on Avot, entitled Yein Levanon,, wrote letters expressing his vehement disapproval of the views professed in Divrei Shalom Ve'emet. Naftali Herz Wessely also participated in the writing of the Be'ur [explanation] in the Mendelsohn Chumashim (major Enlightenist work). Therefore, many considered him one of the founders of the enlightenment movement. Nevertheless, many Torah giants [as the Netziv, the Ktav VeHaKabbalah, Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch, and others] would cite him and quote from his books praisingly. See the endorsement of the author of Aruch LaNer on this book.
[8], 128 pages. 20.5 cm. Good condition, stains. Worn binding.