Bidspirit auction | Megilas Eivah. Tosfos Yom Tov.

Megilas Eivah. Tosfos Yom Tov. Rare edition. Vienna 1851. Segulah! - Born in Wallerstein, Bavaria in 1578, R. Yom Tov Lipmann Heller is known as the Tosfos Yom Tov after his major commentary to the Mishnah. In his youth he learned in Prague with both R. Yehuda Loewe (MaHarAL) and R. Ephraim Lunschitz (Kli Yokor) and already at age 19 he joined the Bais Din of the MaHarAL. In 1627 he was appointed Chief Rabbi of Prague. As a result of the ongoing Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648), the Jews of Bohemia were heavily taxed. As Chief Rabbi, the Tosfos Yom Tov decided that the wealthier members of the Jewish community should shoulder a larger share of the financial burden. Unfortunately, in response, certain wealthy Jews joined forces with government and Church officials to prosecute him. In the summer of 1629, the Rav was arrested by the Imperial Court of the Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand II, and charged with insulting Christianity in his rabbinic works Ma’adanei Melech and Lechem Chamudos. After intense lobbying on the Rav’s behalf by various political and communal leaders in both Prague and Vienna, the Emperor commuted the sentence to forty days imprisonment in Vienna, along with a heavy fine. Furthermore, the Tosfos Yom Tov was forced to relinquish his rabbinical position in Prague. The Tosfos Yom Tov wrote a chronicle of the entire ordeal, including his arrest, trial, verdict and incarceration, in “Megilas Eivah”. Additionally, he instituted a fast day for his descendants on the anniversary of his imprisonment (5th Tammuz), as well as an annual celebration (1st Adar) on the day he won back his freedom and status following his nomination to the Cracow Rabbinate. Centuries later, many of his distinguished descendants still commemorate these events. In this work, the Tosfos Yom Tov writes that if one is in the midst of a “tzarah” (crisis), learning this sefer will be a segulah for salvation. With a German translation facing the original Hebrew text and an additional German title page. Torre press. [1], 49 pages. 16 cm. Fine condition. Unbound. Opening bid $200