Responsa Bigdei Kehuna part 1, by Rabbi Meshulem Zaman Kohen. Fürth, 1807 – First edition
Final leaf with ownership inscription of Rabbi Nathan Stern Rabbi of Władysławów (today: Kudirkos Naumiestis).
Title page & page 1 with signatures of his son the Gaon Rabbi Yosef Zecharya Stern Rabbi of Šiauliai (Shavel). Several marginal notations in his hand.
Signature & ownership inscription of ”the famous Ephraim Fishel of Ostrowiec”.
[2], 111, [1] Leaves.
Fair-bad condition, many wormholes, later binding.
The renowned Gaon Rabbi Yosef Zecharya Stern (1831-1904, Otzar HaRabbanim 8783), was a leading Lithuanian scholar and Torah authority. Son-in-law of Rabbi Mordechai Gimpel Yaffe. At the age of 20, he was appointed Rabbi of Jasionówka and from 1861 Rabbi of Šiauliai (Lithuania). His exceptional genius and phenomenal memory were matchless. He spoke at the rate of his racing thoughts and also wrote at an amazing speed, most of his thoughts were written "by hint and sporadically and without order" (his own description).
In 1870, a fire broke out in his city and thousands of leaves of his manuscripts went up in flames but he was able to retrieve most of the content from memory. His proficiency encompassed all realms of Torah knowledge and he could quote any book he reviewed just once word by word, even after time elapsed. Author of Zecher Yehosef, Tahaluchot Ha\'Aggadot and other works.
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Lot #172