Midrash Shmuel on Pirkei Avot, by Rabbi Shmuel di Ozida. "As printed in Amsterdam" [Russia-Poland, ca. 1820].
Copy of Rebbe Elimelech Shapira of Grodzisk, and of his sons Rebbe Kalonymus Shapira of Piaseczno, author of Chovat HaTalmidim, and R. Yeshayahu Shapira, "HaAdmor HaChalutz".
The signature of R. Elimelech appears at the top of the title page: " Elimelech Rabbi of Grodzhisk". The title page and other leaves in the book bear many stamps of R. Elimelech: " Elimelech Shapira Rabbi of Grodzhisk", and of his sons: " Kalonymus Kalman son of R. E. Shapira – Grodzhisk", " Yeshaya son of R. E. Shapira – Grodzhisk".
R. Elimelech Shapira of Grodzisk (1824-1892), son of Rebbe Chaim Meir Yechiel – the "Saraf of Mogelnitza", and grandson of the Maggid of Kozhnitz and R. Elimelech of Lizhensk. A prominent rebbe and tzaddik in Poland, he profoundly influenced the entire country. His teacher, R. Yisrael of Ruzhin, commanded him to serve as rebbe and receive kvitlach (he later sent a lengthy letter to the Divrei Chaim of Sanz regarding the venerable holiness of R. Yisrael of Ruzhin and his righteous sons). Many Polish rebbes were his disciples, the most renowned of them being R. Yechiel Meir HaLevi, Rebbe of Ostrovtse (Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski). He authored Imrei Elimelech and Divrei Elimelech.
In his senior years, when already a grandfather of many (many of his grandsons served as rebbes, including R. Yisrael of Grodzisk and R. Yisrael Perlow, the "Yenuka" of Karlin), he married his second wife, the daughter of the Rebbe of Khentshin (Chęciny). She bore him two sons – R. Kalonymus Kalman and R. Yeshayahu (see their biographies below). After his passing, his wife, Rebbetzin Chana Bracha, served as rebbe, receiving kvitlach and even donning tzitzit (Encyclopedia L'Chassidut, I, p. 627). She lived a long life and died in Cheshvan 1939.
Their son, Rebbe Kalonymus Kalmish Shapira of Piaseczno (1889-1943), was a holy tzaddik as well as a profound and original Torah scholar. Son-in-law of Rebbe Yerachmiel Moshe Hopstein of Kozhnitz. He was a prominent Chassidic thinker during WWII and the preceding era. In 1909, he began serving as rebbe in Piaseczno, a town near Warsaw, and in 1913 he was appointed rabbi of the town. In 1923, he opened his Daat Moshe Yeshiva in Warsaw, personally devoting himself to each and every disciple. An exemplary educator, he gave his soul to teaching his disciples and educating the young generation. His original books earned him worldwide renown: Chovat HaTalmidim for young men (Warsaw 1932, the only book published in his lifetime), Hachsharat HaAvrechim, Mevo She'arim, Derech HaMelech, Bnei Machshava Tova, and his diary Tzav V'Ziruz. His books are a unique blend of Chabad doctrine with Karlin and Kozhnitz thought – original profundity with passionate yearning. His most poignant work is the historical Esh Kodesh, a powerful book compiling the sermons he delivered and wrote during the Holocaust, from 1940 to 1942, while confined in the Warsaw ghetto. This book offers a moving portrayal of the depth of emotional torment experienced by believing Jews such as himself, in times of Divine concealment such as the Holocaust. In 1943, he placed his manuscripts in a milk flask and buried them in the ghetto. They were miraculously found during construction work in the ghetto area several years after the war. Following the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, the Rebbe, together with the remaining Jews, was deported to the Trawniki concentration camp near Lublin, where he was murdered on 5th Cheshvan 1943.
Their youngest son, Rebbe Yeshayahu Shapira (1891-1945), immigrated to Eretz Israel in 1920 and was very active and influential within the Po'el Mizrachi settlement movement. With his warm Chassidic fervor, he encouraged his fellow members to become G-d fearing Jews, and became known as "HaAdmor HaChalutz". In 1943, he realized his lifelong dream – to farm his own plot of land in Kfar Pines. Unfortunately, he passed away shortly afterward at the home of his brother-in-law Rebbe Chanoch Bornstein of Sochatchev upon hearing the terrible tidings from Europe.
[2], 3-84; 36 leaves. 23.5 cm. Soft paper. Fair condition. Stains and wear. Much damage and worming, affecting text (the entire book was professionally restored with paper). Stamps. New leather binding.