Signature of Rabbi Abraham son of the Gr''a of Vilna? Responsa Keter Kehunah – With Responsa by the Maggid of ...

Signature of Rabbi Abraham son of the Gr''a of Vilna? Responsa Keter Kehunah – With Responsa by the Maggid of Kozhnitz – Zhovkva 1805. First Edition

Responsa Keter Kehunah, by Rabbi Yitzchak Avraham Katz of Pinchov (Pińczów; descendant of Rabbi Shabtai Kohen, the Shach).

[Zhovkva]: Avraham Yehuda Leib of Svirzh, 1805. First edition.

Antique signatures on the title page ''Hakatan Abraham BeHarav HaGaon Ztlh''h; Hakatan Abraham''

In a old catalog we found a virtuallly identical signature & there it was cataloged as  the signature of Rabbi Abraham the son of the Gr''a of Vilna. But since his signature is very rare, & today there aren't any clear signatures available, we haven't been able to compare conclusively. 

The title page states "Part I", yet no other parts were printed. An exchange of halachic letters regarding an agunah the Maggid of Kozhnitz permitted to remarry was printed in section 76, with two responsa by the Maggid of Kozhnitz, a responsum by Rabbi Pinchas Horowitz author of the Haflaa, and a responsum by the author.

[1], 77 leaves. 37 cm. Stefansky Chassidut, no. 248.

Ownership inscription of Tzvi Hirsch Ber son of R. Akiva who purchased the Sefer from Tzvi Hirsch Shpingold in 1818 in Krakow. Signature of Tzvi Hirsch Shpingold.

Inscription by R. Menachem Dovberish Ladier of Ludmir that the Sefer belongs to the Gaon Rabbi Shneur Zalman Fredkin-Ladier- The Torat Chessed of Lublin. 1879.

The Gaon Rabbi Avraham of Vilna (1766-1809), the youngest of the Gra's sons and his favorite of all his sons, a great genius in Niglah and Nistar, son-in-law of Rabbi Noah Lifshitz (Mindes; from Gaoni Vilna, author of "Niflaot Chadashot" and "Parparaut Lechchama".). Rabbi Avraham's hand did not move from his father's hand all his life. Thanks to his closeness to his father, who was closed most of his days in his mother's house, Rabbi Avraham gained and learned a lot from his father and received many Torah secrets from him. Also , was the emissary of the Gra in dealing with public affairs and in his relations with the sages of his generation. He was among the managers of the 'Kloise Hagra' in Vilna, the breadwinners of the community and the managers of the hospital in the city. He was well versed in various wisdoms, and among other things he also learned the wisdom of medicine.

The respect and appreciation for Rabbi Avraham ben HaGra can be learned from the rabbinic approbations in his Sefer "Rav Peleim", printed in Warsaw 1894. The Gaon Rabbi Yitzhak Elhanan Spector of Kovna calls him: "The Great Chasid Genius Moreinu Avraham zt'l...", and Rabbi Eliyahu Chaim Meizel Rabbi of Lodz calls him: "The great man among the giants, the great Gaon in the visible and hidden Moreinu. Avraham ...''

Rabbi Avraham was the living spirit in the enterprise of publishing his father's writings, editing and printing them. Some of his father's essays were written and edited by him, and he wrote important introductions to some of them. Sometimes he expanded the original essay (such as Bariata Maase Torah, ) or added and incorporated his glosses and comments Within the composition, Rabbi Avraham also wrote commentaries on his father's compositions, such as the commentary on "Beir Avraham" to the Sefer "Adrat Eliyahu", commentary on the commentary of the Graha on the legends, commentaries on the commentary of the Gra on the Zohar, and more.

Besides this, Rabbi Avraham was a prolific author himself and wrote important compositions in all Torah subjects, including commentaries on the Bible and Psalms, revisions of the Zohar and legends of the Sages, and more. Some of his essays were printed and some remained in manuscript. One of his most important works was his composition "Rav Pel'im", which was a foundational Sefer in the study of the midrash of sages. This Sefer is an orderly historical-bibliographical composition, which reviews the various midrash compositions, clarifying their history, their era, and the identity of their authors and editors. It is said that Rabbi Avraham wrote He wrote this Sefer in one day (or night), when he was only 18 years old. The source for this is Rabbi Avraham's words in his preface to this composition: "A Sefer of many verbs and you read it yes... according to the fact that I collected precious things in it when I was an 18-year-old man... also I will go to his writing in one day..." (For Rabbi Avraham's history in detail, as well as a complete bibliography of his works and the works of his father the Rabbi that he edited and published, see: Rabbi Shlomo Gatesman, The Chronicles and Biography of the late Rabbi Avraham ben the Rabbi, Yeshuron 4 , 1999).

The Gaon Rabbi Shneur Zalman Fredkin-Ladier [1830-1902] was also known as “the gaon of Lublin” and “the Torat Chessed” – after the name of his book. Primary disciple of the author of Tzemach Tzeddek of Lubavitch, he was selected to serve as rabbi of Plotzk, Belarus, in 1855, and then in 1868, as rabbi of Lublin – ever since, he has been called “the gaon of Lublin.” He was known as one of the rabbinic leaders of the generation. When his rabbi, the author of Tzemach Tzeddek , passed away, he was very active promoting the continuation of the Chaba”d by his son, Rabbi Shmuel Schneersohn. He ascended to Jerusalem in the summer of 1892 and established the beit din of the Chassidic kollels separate from that of the Perushim which was led by Rabbi Shmuel Salant. He lived in the Rand courtyard. At first, he refused to accept a rabbinic position, but later served also as rabbi of the Chassidic community of Jerusalem for a short period. His tombstone reads: “Rabbi of all Jewry.”

Overall Good condition. few stains, title page has a marginal page repair, first few page corners are frayed, original binding has rubbed out corners and damaged spine.