Bidspirit auction | Autograph Letter of the Gaon

Autograph Letter of the Gaon HaAdir R’ Dovid Deitch, Baal Ohel Dovid — Additions to His Sefer — 1820 A letter of halachah and divrei shalom from the gaon ha’adir R’ Dovid Deitch, Av Beis Din of Ir Chadash and mechaber of Ohel Dovid, to his dear friend the gaon R’ Shmuel Leib Koider, Av Beis Din of Prague. Dated 19 Teves 1820. In the letter, R’ Dovid expresses his appreciation for receiving his sefer, and enters into pilpul regarding the recipient’s he’aros on Ohel Dovid — on the sugya of eglah arufah, on the Shaagas Aryeh regarding the shiur kezayis in achilas maror, and more. In the course of the discussion he refers to a kushya he had raised on his Rebbe, the Noda BiYehudah, writing with deference: “V’al M”V [Mori V’Rebbi — the Noda BiYehudah] ne’emar, mi yaksha alav yishalem…” Additions for the Gilyon of Ohel Dovid It is well known that R’ Dovid Deitch was particular that his seforim be carefully mugah. Whenever he developed additional chiddushim to material already written, he would record them on whatever paper came to hand — evidently from a deep concern that his works should not remain as a “sefer she’eino mugah, she’asur l’sha’oso b’veiso.” This exceptional sensitivity is evident in the present letter as well. After responding to R’ Shmuel’s he’aros, Rabbeinu concludes with a request: ”.. ובקשתי מכבוד רומעת”ר נר”ו שיעשה חסד עמדי להעתיק שני גרגרים הללו על גליון חיבורי משמי ..” He asks that these few “kernels” be copied onto the margins of his sefer in his name. It is quite possible that these additions, preserved here in this letter, are not known from any other source. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • The Gaon R’ Dovid Deitch — Baal Ohel Dovid R’ Dovid Deitch (1756–1831), among the great rabbinic geonim of Hungary, was renowned throughout the Torah world for his exceptional kedushah. From 1810 he served as Av Beis Din of Ir Chadash. He was a talmid muvhak of the Noda BiYehudah, as is evident from the many teshuvos addressed to him in Noda BiYehudah. He was also a close colleague and friend of the Chasam Sofer, who writes to him in an emotional letter (Teshuvos Chasam Sofer, YD 121): “I am certain of his powerful love, that he will cast a favorable eye upon me to remember me in his tefillah.” In his hakdamah to Ohel Dovid, the Chasam Sofer writes: “That tzaddik, kedosh Yisroel, gaon olam… fortunate are we if we merited his conversation and his light… and the zechus of the tzaddik shall stand for us to protect us from all evil…” R’ Dovid fought fiercely against the maskilim of his generation, particularly against the Shas printed by Anton Schmidt. The Gaon R’ Shmuel Leib Koider — Av Beis Din of Prague R’ Shmuel Leib Koider (1770–1838) was in his youth a talmid muvhak of R’ Michael Bachrach of Prague and R’ Elazar Kalir, Baal Or Chadash. He later became son-in-law to R’ Zalman Segal Oesterlich, one of the leaders of the Prague kloiz. In 1812 he was appointed רב מחוז טאבור ובודווייג and settled in Kladi, where he taught many talmidim. In 1835, following the petirah of R’ Shmuel Landau (son of the Noda BiYehudah), he was appointed Av Beis Din of Prague. A close friend of the gaon R’ Betzalel Rensburg, Baal Chochmas Betzalel and Hora Gever, who refers to him as: “Ari she’ba’chaburah, sar haTorah… amisi v’re’i…” Among his seforim are Olas Shmuel, Ahavas Emes on derush, Derech Emunah on Avodah Zarah (in ksav yad), and more. The Yismach Moshe, in his haskamah to Ohel Dovid, writes of R’ Dovid: “…Halichos olam lo… Torah yevakshehu mi’pihu ki malach Hashem Tzeva’os hu…”