Bidspirit auction | ELIJAH, GAON OF VILNA. Eliyahu

ELIJAH, GAON OF VILNA. Eliyahu Raba [commentary to Seder Taharoth]. FIRST EDITION. ff. 2, 44. Some worming expertly repaired. Modern boards. 4to. Vinograd, Brünn 9. Brünn, Rosman, 1802. Although the purported editor of this work, R. Meir of Vilna, presented himself as a disciple of the Vilna Gaon - providing in the introduction two letters to that effect, Vinograd states that in fact the work was published without permission of the Vilna Beth Din. In addition, he cites the children of the Gaon who state that the manuscript shown to them was full of errors (see Vinograd, Gr’a, pp. 10-12).  However Raphael Nathan Nata Rabinowitz writes in the introduction to “Gaon Yaakov” by his teacher R. Ya’akov Kahana (a disciple of the Gaon and son-in-law of his brother Yissachar Dov), that in reality R. Ya’akov Kahana edited the volume. Indeed R. Meir of Vilna did not understand many of the Gaon’s comments and requested that R. Ya’akov Kahana correct and explain these esoteric comments; yet due to modesty, R. Ya’akov requested his name not be recorded in the body of the publication.