Sefer HaMaggid MiKesuvim including Tehillim.
Slavuta, 1834, by the holy Rabbi Shmuel Avraham Shapira, son of the holy Rabbi Moshe, Av Beit Din of Slavuta, who was the son of the holy Rebbi Pinchas of Koretz.
Signature on the title page of the holy Rabbi Moshe Betzalel Alter (1869–1942), son of the Sfat Emet of Gur and brother of the Imrei Emet.
Rabbi Moshe Betzalel Alter was born in 1869, the second son of the Sfat Emet of Gur. From a young age, he was recognized as a Torah genius and a holy man, an outstanding scholar with mastery over both the revealed and hidden aspects of the Torah. He was a well-rounded personality, devoted to divine service with all his heart and soul. Known for his refined character and deep reverence for God, he was considered one of the great Torah scholars of Poland. He fully accepted the leadership of his brother, the Imrei Emet, and often served as an interpreter for the Rebbe’s deep teachings.
He was the ba’al toke’a in the Gur court, and thousands of Chassidim looked up to him with admiration and affection. His brother, the Rebbe, greatly trusted him and originally designated him as his successor in his will:"…The congregation requires a leader, and I have determined and appointed my brother, Rabbi Moshe Betzalel Shlit”a, to carry this responsibility. He is bound to me in heart, spirit, and soul, and he will direct your hearts toward our Father in Heaven… bringing kindness, blessing, and success upon you all the days of your lives."
Rabbi Moshe Betzalel’s extreme humility is evident in a note (kvittel) he wrote to his brother in 1939 upon reaching the age of 70: "Since it was in Your Holy Honor’s mind to appoint me to a great position, and due to my many sins, I was not worthy of it, my request is—at the very least—please bestow upon me a pure spirit, a spirit of wisdom and fear of Heaven, so that I may return in complete repentance." (In the end, due to his tragic passing in the Holocaust, his elder brother, the Imrei Emet, revised his will and instead appointed his son, Rebbi Yisrael, later known as the Beit Yisrael of Gur, as his successor.)
With the outbreak of World War II, Rabbi Moshe Betzalel fled to Warsaw, where he encouraged the establishment of Torah study groups. He published a letter calling for organizing Torah study sessions in every possible location. During the Nazi bombings of the Warsaw Ghetto, he survived by taking shelter in a corner of the forced labor workshops, where Chassidim concealed his Torah learning and divine service from the authorities. Eventually, he was taken to the Treblinka extermination camp, where, on the 23rd of Elul, 1942, he was murdered along with the remnants of European Jewry and most of his extended family. May God avenge his blood. Later, his son, Rabbi Avraham Mordechai, took as a son-in-law the Pnei Menachem, the youngest son of the Imrei Emet.
Signature (partly erased) of Rabbi Avraham Mordechai Alter of Warsaw, son of Rabbi Shimon Alter, the brother of the Sfat Emet of Gur.
Antique ownership inscription: The groom Hillel Sheingold. Signature: Moshe Sheingold.
216 Leaves. 26 cm.
Overall Great Condition, repairs to title page, some stains, couple marginal repairs, tears and shortened margins, original leather binding damaged.
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Lot #41