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LOT 316:
Lengthy, Important and Interesting Letter Handwritten by the Author of Torah Temimah
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Sold for: $1,600
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500
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Lengthy, Important and Interesting Letter Handwritten by the Author of Torah Temimah
Just as he entered the brit, may he enter Torah, the wedding canopy and good deeds
Lengthy letter covering four pages with marvelous unknown insights and practical halachah about the text recited at ritual circumcisions. The letter is entirely handwritten and signed by the renowned gaon Rabbi Baruch HaLevi Epstein, author of Torah Temimah. Sent to Rabbi Michael Neches. [Pinsk, 1930s]. Apparently unprinted.
The letter is comprised of halachic notes on the kuntress Me'at Sheme"n - a derashah prepared by the addressee in honor of his son's bar mitzvah, printed in 1930. At the beginning of the letter, Rabbi Baruch praises his composition: "I have seen this enlightening work printed in honor of the bar mitzvah, and I found much truth and wisdom in it. There are many gems and pearls, as is [your] way, in Torah and wisdom, may Hashem continue to assist [you] to ascend ..."
Rabbi Michael asked in his kuntress why the child's father is blessed at the brit: "Just as he has entered the brit, may he enter Torah, the wedding canopy and good deeds" - why does the wedding precede good deeds? Doesn't everyone want to merit good deeds even before his wedding? The Torah Temimah offers an original and beautiful resolution: The text in gemara Yerushalmi (Tractate Berachot) is different from the aforementioned text (Bavli, Tractate Berachot), where it says the following: "Just as you have brought him in to the covenant, so may you bring him to Torah, etc." - The blessing addresses the father. Indeed, it is the father's obligation to circumcise his son, teach him Torah and bring him to the wedding canopy, but he does not have a halachic obligation to teach him to do good deeds! It is only "to add fondness to the blessing that he is blessed to raise his son to perform good deeds, which is an ethical obligation of the father's."
Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for a brief biography of the gaon Rabbi Baruch HaLevi Epstein.
[1] double leaf, four written pages. 19.5 cm.
Very fine condition. Fold mark. Light-colored stains.
