Responsa Tashbetz – Amsterdam, 1738-1739 – First Edition – Handwritten Glosses by the Yismach Moshe – Copy ...

Responsa Tashbetz – Amsterdam, 1738-1739 – First Edition – Handwritten Glosses by the Yismach Moshe – Copy Inherited by His Great-Great-Grandson, Rebbe Yoel of Satmar

Responsa Tashbetz, three parts, by R. Shimon son of Tzemach Duran. With Chut HaMeshulash, by the grandsons of the author. Amsterdam, [1738-1739]. First edition. With four title pages. The main title is framed in an engraved border depicting the figures of Moshe and Aharon, David and Shlomo.
At the beginning of the book, there are seven brief glosses handwritten by R. Moshe Teitelbaum Rabbi of Ujhel (Sátoraljaújhely), author of Yismach Moshe. The glosses consist of corrections to printing errors (most of these errors were corrected in the Lviv 1891 edition and the Machon Yerushalayim edition. Some were corrected based on copies of manuscripts of the Tashbetz).
The book was passed down as an inheritance to his great-great-grandson, Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum. Several leaves bear stamps from Rebbe Yoel's tenure as rabbi of Orsheva (Irshava).
The Yismach Moshe was accustomed to recording his notes in the margins of his books (see: Yitav Panim, part II, Khust 1912, p. 154b, section 4; HaGaon HaKadosh Baal Yismach Moshe, Brooklyn 1984, pp. 177-178; Kedem Auction 72, item 131; see also next item). The library of the Yismach Moshe was inherited by his grandson, the Yitav Lev, who bequeathed it to his son, the Kedushat Yom Tov. Following the latter's passing, some of the books were inherited by his eldest son, the Atzei Chaim (see: VaYaged Moshe, Brooklyn, 1972, p. 276 – section 34, 24), and some to his youngest son R. Yoel Teitelbaum, rabbi of Satmar.
Responsa Tashbetz is quoted several times in the books of the Yismach Moshe, especially in his responsa work, Heshiv Moshe. It is also mentioned several times in the works of his descendant, Rebbe Yoel of Satmar.
Brief (early) handwritten glosses and emendations on several leaves. Signatures and various inscriptions in Hebrew and Latin characters: "Yonatan Binyamin Gross – Homok"; "Meir [G?]rünwald".
[11], 91; 69, [1]; 68, [1]; [1], 36; [2], 39-83; [1], 85-101, [1] leaves. Four title pages. 32 cm. Overall good condition. Stains. Wear and tears. Worming to final leaves. Various signatures and stamps. New leather binding.
This edition has several variants that differ in the number of title pages. Some copies are known to have seven title pages (and even eight, see Kedem Auction 59, item 88), and some, like this copy, were printed with only four title pages (see Bibliography of the Hebrew Book, and see article by Dan and Gita Yardeni, Alei Sefer, X, pp. 119-132). The main title page with the woodcut border contains a chronogram of 1741, though the book was in fact printed in 1738-1739.

R. Moshe Teitelbaum, Rabbi of Ujhel (1759-1841), was an illustrious Chassidic leader in Hungary and Galicia. An outstanding Torah scholar and G-dly Kabbalist, sharp and proficient in all facets of Torah, revealed as well as hidden. During his lifetime he was renowned as a holy G-dly man and a wonder-worker benefiting from Divine Inspiration. He first served in the Shinova (Sieniawa) rabbinate from 1785-1808, and in 1808, was appointed rabbi of Ujhel (Satoraljaujhely) and its region. During the first half of his life, R. Moshe was an opponent of Chassidut, and in his youth, he travelled to Vilna to study Torah from the Vilna Gaon (R. B. Landau, HaGaon HeChassid MiVilna, p. 291, in the name of R. Zalman Weber. The Klausenburg Rebbe cites an interesting testimony from that visit, which his great-grandfather the Yismach Moshe related about the conduct of the Vilna Gaon with his disciples – Responsa Divrei Yatziv, Part IV, Yoreh De'ah, section 131). Over the years, R. Moshe gravitated towards Chassidut, influenced by his son-in-law R. Aryeh Leib Lifshitz of Vishnitsaý, author of the Responsa Aryeh D'Bei Ila'i, who convinced him to travel to the Chozeh of Lublin. There, R. Moshe saw revelations of Divine Inspiration, and became the Chozeh's close disciple, adhering to Chassidut and disseminating its doctrines. This transformation took place while he was still officiating as rabbi of Shinova. He also travelled to the Ohev Yisrael of Apta. From 1815, R. Moshe began distributing amulets to those requiring salvation and "the pen cannot properly describe the wonders performed by those amulets". Reputedly, he deliberated whether to continue writing amulets until he heard a pronouncement from Heaven: "Do not fear for I am with you" (Tehilla L'Moshe). Until this day, most of the texts of amulets and "protections" in Ashkenazi countries are attributed to the Yismach Moshe, including the printed text of the "Protection for the infant and the mother" and "Protection from epidemic". The text of the renowned Kerestir amulets, inscribed by Chassidic rebbes for safeguarding home and property, also originates from him.

His published writings include the well-known books of homilies - Yismach Moshe on the Torah, Megillot and on Talmudic Aggadot, Tefilla L'Moshe on Tehillim, Responsa Heshiv Moshe and other books. His book Maayan Tahor, with the laws of Nidda in Yiddish for Jewish women, was appended to many siddurim.

Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar (1887-1979) was the youngest son of Rebbe Chananya Yom Tov Lipa, the Kedushat Yom Tov (1836-1904), and grandson of Rebbe Yekutiel Yehuda, the Yitav Lev (1808-1883), who both served as rabbis of Sighet (Sighetu Marmației) and were leaders of Chassidic Jewry in the Maramureș region.

He was renowned from his youth as a leading Torah scholar of his generation, for his perspicacity and intellectual capacities, as well as for his holiness and outstanding purity. At a young age, he was appointed rabbi of Irshava. In 1925, he was appointed rabbi of Karaly (Carei; in place of R. Shaul Brach who went to serve as rabbi of Kashoi), and in 1934, of Satmar (Satu Mare). In all the places he served as rabbi, he also maintained a large yeshiva and Chassidic court. He stood at the helm of the faithful, uncompromising Orthodox Jewry in the Maramureș region. He was one of the founding pillars of the Torah world in the generation following the Holocaust. After surviving the Holocaust, he emigrated to the United States, where he established the Satmar Chassidic community – the largest Chassidic community in the world. He served as president of the Eda HaCharedit in Jerusalem, and as leader of Orthodox Jewry in the United States and throughout the world. His writings were published in dozens of books: VaYoel Moshe, Responsa Divrei Yoel, Divrei Yoel on the Torah and more.