Auction 104 Part 1 Rare and Important Items
Oct 21, 2025
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2
Auction 104 Part 1 Rare and Important Items
Oct 21, 2025
Opening: $30,000
Estimate: $60,000 - $100,000
Sold for: $37,500
Including buyer's premium
Manuscript on large parchment leaf – certificate of appointment for R. Meir Margolies, author of Meir Netivim and disciple of the Baal Shem Tov, as Rabbi of Ostroh and its suburbs, signed by 21 of the city's community leaders. Ostroh, Tamuz 1777. On verso: Extension of the rabbinic appointment, accorded after six years, with 8 signatures. Ostroh, Nisan 1784.
Neat cursive script. The three lines of the heading are in Stam script: "For good fortune and blessing, from the appointer of kings to Whom kingship belongs… See, generation… could we find any such knower of secrets?". The appointment, proffered by all the communities in the city, begins with the following words: "These are the words of the communities, how glorious is the day the king of Israel is revealed…", and addresses R. Meir Margolies, "Rabbi and yeshiva dean in the Lviv region", with numerous titles of honor and veneration.
R. Meir Margolies' appointment as rabbi of Ostroh constituted the fulfillment of the prophecy of his teacher, the Baal Shem Tov. This prophecy was pronounced after R. Meir Margolies, together with the Noda BiYehudah and R. Gershon of Kitov, brother-in-law of the Baal Shem Tov, stood firm against some powerful members of the Brody community, prohibiting a distinguished woman to her husband, despite the persecution they would endure on this account (see following article for more details). According to Chassidic lore, when the Baal Shem Tov was informed of this episode, he declared that all three would be accorded greatness from Heaven for sanctifying G-d's Name in public, prophesying that R. Yechezkel would become Rabbi of Prague, R. Meir Margolies would become Rabbi of Lviv and Ostroh, and R. Avraham Gershon would settle in the Holy Land – and so it was.
In those days, the city of Ostroh was split into two communities ("sides"). The division of the community was a result of the division of the city in 1690 between two nobles. Most parts of the city enclosed within the wall were under the jurisdiction of one ruler, and were known as the "duke's side"; while the streets beyond the wall belonged to a different governor and were known as the "voivode's side" (see: Mazkeret LiGedolei Ostraha, Berditchev 1907, p. 4).
Both of the Ostroh communities accepted upon themselves the Meir Netivim as their rabbi. This certificate of appointment was drawn up and signed by the leaders of the "duke's side" community, while the leaders of the "voivode's side" community affixed their signatures on the bottom.
The certificate includes each side's commitment in regard to the rabbi's salary.
The certificate concludes: "So are the words of the distinguished heads… leaders of the Ostroh community, from the side of the mighty ruler Starosta Sandecki, who hereby affix their signatures today, Thursday, 26th Tammuz 1777, in the abovementioned community". This is followed by 14 signatures handwritten by the community leaders.
At the bottom of the certificate, the signatures of the community leaders of the "voivode's side" – from the streets beyond the wall: "We too, leaders of the Krasnohirska community, outside the wall, Tatarska and Belmazh streets, all wish, with love and affection, to accept this rabbi…", with 7 signatures.
The certificate stipulates that the appointment is to be in effect for six consecutive years from the date stated, while on the verso of the leaf, an extension of the rabbinic contract, dated Chol HaMoed Pesach 1784, was recorded, without any time limitation: "We have come now to renew the kingship and make a new covenant… that he should serve as our rabbi and dean, here in Ostroh and the region, for his entire life, from now forever, for his entire life we will not exchange him for someone else… so are the words of the heads… leaders of Ostroh, from the side of the mighty ruler Referendarz Koronny, Thursday, Chol HaMoed Pesach 1784". This extension contract bears eight signatures.
R. Meir Margolies Rabbi of Ostroh (1700/1708-1790), author of Meir Netivim, was a leading and prominent rabbi in his times. In his youth, he served as Rabbi of Yazlovets and Horodenka. In 1755, he was appointed Rabbi of the Lviv region, an area covering a huge territory, which included the city of Brody (R. Meir served as Rabbi of the Lviv region, but not of the city of Lviv itself, which had its own rabbi; after the Partition of Poland in 1772, this region was divided between Poland and Austria, and R. Meir served as rabbi of the Polish area). In 1766, he was appointed by the King of Poland as chief rabbi of Ukraine and Galicia. In 1776, he received an official letter of appointment from the King of Poland, Stanisław August Poniatowski (the rabbinical appointment, in gilt letters, is preserved until this day in the Dubnow archives in New York). In 1777, he was appointed, in addition to his position as Rabbi of the Lviv region, as Rabbi of Ostroh and the vicinity. R. Meir was a member of the famous Brody Kloiz most of his life. He was closely attached to the Kloiz Torah scholars, and quotes their teachings extensively in his book.
R. Meir was a leading disciple of the Baal Shem Tov, and one of the first to cleave to him, as early as 1737, before his rise to fame. Reputedly, his teacher the Baal Shem Tov requested that he write his name in the siddur he prayed from, to enable him to mention R. Meir in prayer, and the latter did so. His signature in the siddur of the Baal Shem Tov has been preserved to this day (Kevutzat Yaakov, Berditchev 1896, p. 52b; MiBeit Genazim, Brooklyn 2010, p. 230). R. Meir refers to his teacher the Baal Shem Tov in several places in his books as "my teacher" and "my friend". In his book Sod Yachin UBoaz (Ostroh 1794), he describes the level of learning Torah for its own sake: "…as I was instructed by my teachers who were prominent in Torah and Chassidism, and foremost among them my friend the pious R. Yisrael Baal Shem Tov… and from my youth, ever since I attached myself with bonds of love to my teacher and friend R. Yisrael Baal Shem Tov… I knew with absolute certainty that his conduct was in holiness and purity, piety and ascetism; and as for his wisdom, he was a righteous man who lived by his faith, to whom concealed matters were revealed…". In his Meir Netivim (Part II, end of Parashat Vayigash), he quotes "a wonderful segulah for dissipating anger" in the name of his teacher. His son R. Betzalel, his successor as Rabbi of Ostroh, wrote in his approbation to Shivchei HaBesht (Berditchev 1815 edition) that his father "was from his youth one of the Torah scholars associated with the Baal Shem Tov, and R. Meir would frequently extol his virtues…". Rebbe Yitzchak Eizik of Komarno attested in his book Netiv Mitzvotecha (Netiv HaTorah, pathway 1) that the Baal Shem Tov "was accorded sixty warriors, souls of righteous men, to protect him, and one of them was the Meir Netivim".
The Meir Netivim was one of the foremost halachic authorities in his times in matters of agunot. In 1768, a pogrom struck the community of Uman and its surroundings, and thousands of Jews were murdered. This tragic episode generated numerous complex questions of agunot. Many of the responsa recorded in his book Meir Netivim pertain to agunot. He describes there the trepidation and anguish which overcame him whenever he approached such an issue: "G-d Who examines hearts and innards knows and witnesses that when I am approached with the question of an agunah, I am beset by shivering and trembling, my knees shudder and tears come out of my eyes, and I am very fearful" (section 62). Reputedly, he would undertake to fast on the day he was to sign a permission for an agunah (Meorei Galicia, III, p. 940).
R. Meir authored several prominent compositions in revealed and esoteric realms of the Torah, in halachah and in homiletics. His series of books was named Or Olam, and includes his books on halachah, homiletics and kabbalah: his renowned Responsa Meir Netivim in two parts (Polonne 1791), Sod Yachin UBoaz (Ostroh 1794), HaDerech HaTov VehaYashar (Polonne 1795) and Kotnot Or (Berditchev 1816).
[1] parchment leaf. Approx. 44X41 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Folding marks. A few tears to folds, affecting several letters. Several tiny holes.
The certificate of appointment was printed based on the present manuscript, with errors and omissions, by Menachem Nachum Litinsky in his book Korot Podolia VeKadmoniyot HaYehudim Sham (Odessa 1895, pp. 58-60); from there, it was copied into Mazkeret LiGedolei Ostraha (Berditchev 1907, pp. 206-208), and Niflaot HaYehudi (Warsaw 1930, pp. 96-98). See enclosed material.
The Fulfillment of the Baal Shem Tov's Prophecy
Ca. 1744, at the age of 30, R. Yechezkel Landau, the Noda BiYehudah, who lived in Brody at the time, composed a halachic responsum prohibiting to her husband a local woman about whom severe testimonies of adultery were received. The responsum was published in Noda BiYehudah (Even HaEzer, Mahadura Kama, section 72). In order to protect the honor of the woman's family, the printed responsum states that it was sent to "Ashkenazi scholars, at the extremities of a foreign country", although this affair actually took place in Brody. Among those involved in investigating the matter were R. Avraham Gershon of Kitov – brother-in-law and associate of the Baal Shem Tov, and R. Meir Margolies, author of Meir Netivim – disciple of the Baal Shem Tov.
The woman concerned was reputedly the daughter and wife of powerful members of the Brody community, who had close contacts with the authorities. They had threatened to fine or flog anyone who would dare judge her unfavorably, causing many dayanim to refrain from getting involved in this affair. R. Yechezkel, together with two of his colleagues, Brody Torah scholars, R. Meir Margolies and R. Gershon of Kitov, decided to endanger themselves and publicly proclaimed the woman to be prohibited. This act cost them dearly: R. Yechezkel was compelled to pay a high fine, giving up all his wealth and possessions, and the Meir Netivim was flogged, while R. Gershon of Kitov fled to Mezhibuzh to his brother-in-law the Baal Shem Tov. Chassidic lore relates that when the Baal Shem Tov heard about this, he declared that all three would be accorded greatness from Heaven for sanctifying G-d's Name in public, prophesying that R. Yechezkel would become Rabbi of Prague, R. Meir Margolies would become Rabbi of Lviv and Ostroh, and R. Avraham Gershon would settle in the Holy Land – and so it was (Emunat Tzadikim, Warsaw 1900, p. 19; for more information regarding this affair, see Kedem, Auction 63, Lot 13).
This certificate of rabbinic appointment for the Meir Netivim as Rabbi of Ostroh, which was issued some thirty years after those events in Brody, constituted the ultimate fulfillment of the Baal Shem Tov's prophecy regarding his illustrious disciple.
Category
Chassidut – Manuscripts and Letters
Catalogue Value
Auction 104 Part 1 Rare and Important Items
Oct 21, 2025
Opening: $15,000
Estimate: $40,000 - $50,000
Sold for: $21,250
Including buyer's premium
Manuscript, homilies for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, by R. Moshe Teitelbaum Rabbi of Ujhel (Sátoraljaújhely) – author of Yismach Moshe. Written by scribes, with about ten glosses and editorial transition sentences handwritten by his grandson and disciple Rebbe Yekutiel Yehudah Teitelbaum Rabbi of Sighet (Sighetu Marmației) – the Yitav Lev [Gorlice/Sighet, ca. 1848-1861]. With dozens of glosses by the grandson and disciple of the Yitav Lev, Rebbe Moshe David Teitelbaum Rabbi of Laposch [Târgu Lăpuș, first decade of 1900s].
The contents of this manuscript were published in several parts of the Yismach Moshe series. The leaves of this manuscript were in the possession of the Yitav Lev and his grandson and disciple Rebbe Moshe David Teitelbaum (see below). Both edited portions of this manuscript and printed them in the Yismach Moshe books which they published. These leaves therefore contain their handwritten glosses and notes, occasionally on the same page, side by side.
When the Yitav Lev prepared his grandfather's series of books on the Torah for print, he selected several sections from the present manuscript and published them in the Yismach Moshe books (Lviv, 1849-1861). Rebbe Moshe David later extracted sections from these leaves relating to the Book of Tehillim, and published them in the Tefillah LeMoshe commentary on Tehillim by the Yismach Moshe (Cracow, 1880). One of the present leaves contains the Hanhagot Tovot (good practices) by the Yismach Moshe, which were printed in the commentary on Tehillim. Rebbe Moshe David later edited and published all the other sections (most of the present manuscript) in a work titled Tochachat Chaim Amirah Ne'imah (high holiday homilies), printed in Yismach Moshe (on Neviim, Ketuvim, Megillot and various topics; Sighet 1908). One section was placed in Yayin HaRekach, as part of the same book.
While preparing the book for print, the Yitav Lev added in the manuscript several glosses as well as introductory and transitional sentences in his handwriting (most of which appear in the printed version). R. Moshe David subsequently also added his own glosses, additions, introductory and transition sentences, in the portions which he edited.
One of the present leaves contains a gloss handwritten by the Yitav Lev, which was omitted in print. Several leaves contain sentences which he placed in parentheses or crossed out, indicating that they should not be printed, presumably due to censorship constraints. One of the censored passages reads: "I delivered this entire sermon on Rosh Hashanah 1788, when decrees were frequent and troubles were unremitting, especially the taking of Jews as soldiers [in reference to forced conscription of Jews to the army, towards the end of the reign of Emperor Joseph II], where their beards were shaven and their clothing changed for soldiers' uniforms. May G-d have mercy on His people".
Rebbe Moshe Teitelbaum, Rabbi of Ujhel (1759-1841), was an illustrious Chassidic leader in Hungary and Galicia. An outstanding Torah scholar and kabbalist, sharp and well-versed in all facets of Torah, revealed as well as hidden. During his lifetime he was renowned as a holy wonder-worker benefiting from divine inspiration. He first served as Rabbi of Shinova (Sieniawa) from 1785-1808, and in 1808, was appointed Rabbi of Ujhel (Satoraljaujhely) and the region. R. Moshe was originally an opponent of Chassidut, and in his youth, he travelled to Vilna to study Torah under 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, related by his great-grandfather the Yismach Moshe, regarding the conduct of the Vilna with his disciples – Responsa Divrei Yatziv, Part IV, Yoreh Deah, section 131). Over the years, R. Moshe gravitated towards Chassidut, influenced by his son-in-law R. Aryeh Leib Lipschitz of Vishnitza (Nowy Wiśnicz), author of Responsa Aryeh DeVei Ila'i, who convinced him to travel to the Chozeh of Lublin. There, R. Moshe he became aware of clear manifestations of ruach hakodesh, and from that point on he became the Chozeh's close disciple, devoting himself to the Chassidic way and disseminating its teachings. This transformation took place while he was still serving as Rabbi of Shinova. He also travelled to the Ohev Yisrael of Apta. Starting in 1815, he began to distribute amulets to those in need of salvation, thereby performing countless wonders. Reputedly, he hesitated whether to continue making amulets until he heard a pronouncement from Heaven: "Do not fear, for I am with you" (Tehillah LeMoshe). To this day, most of the amulets and shemirot in Ashkenazic lands can be traced to the amulets of the Yismach Moshe, including the printed shemirot for children and child-bearing women and for plague. The renowned Kerestir amulets, inscribed by Chassidic rebbes for safeguarding home and property, also originate from his text.
His published writings include the well-known books of homilies – Yismach Moshe on the Torah, Megillot and on Talmudic Aggadot, Tefillah LeMoshe on Tehillim, Responsa Heshiv Moshe and other books. His Maayan Tahor, with the laws of niddah in Yiddish for Jewish women, was appended to many siddurim.
Rebbe Yekutiel Yehudah Teitelbaum – the Yitav Lev (1808-1883), son of R. Elazar Nissan Teitelbaum Rabbi of Sighet, and son-in-law of R. Moshe David Ashkenazi – the Rabbi of Tolcsva who later immigrated to Safed. He was a close disciple of his grandfather the Yismach Moshe – Rebbe Moshe Teitelbaum Rabbi of Ujhel, who drew him especially close and disclosed to him heavenly revelations which he had perceived with divine inspiration. He was also a disciple of Rebbe Asher Yeshayah of Ropshitz. In 1833 (at the age of 25), he was appointed Rabbi of Stropkov, and after the passing of his illustrious grandfather, he was selected to succeed him as Rabbi of Ujhel. He was then appointed Rabbi of Gorlitz (Gorlice), and later of Drohobych. In 1858, he went on to serve as Rabbi of Sighet, capital of the Maramureș region, where he founded a large yeshiva, numbering two hundred students at its zenith. Among his renowned disciples from that time was R. Shlomo Leib Tabak, author of Erech Shai and head of the Sighet Beit Din. His grandson attested that "he was a merciful father to his disciples, carrying them on his shoulders as a nurse carries an infant, overseeing each one individually to ensure they studied Torah in holiness and purity". In Sighet, he gained worldwide renown, and thousands of Chassidim flocked to seek his counsel and wisdom, blessing and salvation. He was renowned for his exceptional holiness, and his grandson Rebbe Yoel of Satmar attested that his holiness was never tainted. Numerous stories circulated of the wonders he performed, including incredible insights which were revealed to him with divine inspiration. He was reputed in his generation as one who could read the minds of those standing before him, and wondrous stories were told of this ability. His epitaph reads: "The renowned rabbi, edified proper and upstanding disciples, left behind valuable compositions". He is known for his books: Yitav Lev on the Torah, Yitav Panim on the festivals, Rav Tuv on the Torah and Responsa Avnei Tzedek.
Rebbe Moshe David Teitelbaum (1855-1935), grandson and close disciple of the Yitav Lev of Sighet. Together with his grandfather, he published Tefillah LeMoshe on Tehillim by their ancestor the Yismach Moshe. In 1906-1908, he published two volumes of Yismach Moshe on Neviim and Ketuvim and other topics. Likewise, he edited and published some of the works of his grandfather the Yitav Lev. In 1882, he was appointed Rabbi and yeshiva dean of Laposch (present-day Târgu Lăpuş, Romania). In his final years, he settled in the United States, where he served as the Rebbe of Volova.
[23] leaves (46 written pages), including some consecutive leaves (numbered: 15-16; 23-36; several leaves unnumbered). 42 cm. Varying condition; most leaves in good condition and several leaves in fair-poor condition. Large open tears to 9 leaves, significantly affecting text. Stains (including dampstains) and wear.
Throughout his life, the Yismach Moshe composed novellae on all parts of the Torah – Halachah, Aggadah, Derush and Chassidut. He wrote these novellae sporadically, on pieces of paper, rather than in an organized fashion. After his passing, his writings passed to the Yitav Lev, his grandson and disciple, who had a scribe copy them methodically. After the writings were copied, the Yitav Lev began editing and arranging the novellae by topic. While editing, he added glosses, introductory and transitional sentences, and many references. From these writings, the Yitav Lev printed the Yismach Moshe series on the Torah portions, between 1849-1861. In time, when the Yitav Lev became busy with his rabbinical position, his yeshiva and Torah dissemination to his many disciples, he handed over the rest of the writings to his son-in-law, R. Yisrael Yaakov Yukel Teitelbaum Rabbi of Gorlitz and to his grandson R. Moshe David Teitelbaum Rabbi of Laposch, for them to edit and arrange other works of the Yismach Moshe for print. R. Yisrael Yaakov Yukel Teitelbaum of Gorlitz edited Responsa Heshiv Moshe (Lviv, 1866). R. Moshe David Teitelbaum of Laposch edited Tefillah LeMoshe on Tehillim (Cracow, 1880), and in 1906 and 1908, he edited and published two new volumes of Yismach Moshe, comprising ten smaller works on Neviim, Ketuvim, Megillot, Aggadot and more.
The present leaves were used in the preparation of several books of the Yismach Moshe, and show the initial stages of editing – prior to the topical arrangement and division into different books. Traces of this editorial process are to be found in the handwritten editing notes of his holy descendants, as appear on the present leaves.
An Account of the Yismach Moshe's Preaching
Rebbe Moshe David Teitelbaum Rabbi of Laposch, editor and publisher of the high holiday sermons of the Yismach Moshe (from the present leaves), describes the sermons of the YIsmach Moshe during those days:
"When the Days of Repentance began, from Elul until after Sukkot, his main work was to inspire the people to repent… Every single Shabbat of the month of Elul, the first day of Selichot, both days of Rosh Hashanah, Shabbat Shuvah, and the day of recital of the Attributes of Mercy, on Erev Yom Kippur before Kol Nidrei, and before Neilah, and on Hoshana Rabba… his entire goal in these many sermons was just to instruct the people on the ways of G-d and the actions to perform… Unimaginable was his great might and force when he opened his holy mouth to admonish with his pleasant guidance originating from a faithful place, a holy and pure heart… His fiery words burst into sparks and pierced the innards of the thousands of listeners, whose heart melted like water… And he listed the sins people would commit, and to what extent they tarnish one's soul and root in the heights of heaven.
"Fear and trembling beset them when they saw the great terror of such a holy man. Each one reckoned with his Maker, 'if the cedars are on fire, what of the moss', such a lowly person as I?... If they were stone, they dissolved from his groaning, crying and emotion… And rivers of tears emerged from his eyes when he mourned over the destruction of the Temple and the people of G-d scattered and separated among the nations… Tears emerged like streams upon the cheeks of the listeners, the pillars of the synagogue crumbled, the walls of the house of study trembled from his lion-like roars: "Till when will You not have mercy on Judah? Till when will there be crying in Zion and mourning in Jerusalem? [A small part of the quality of his sermons you may see in Yismach Moshe… and in this work in Tochachat Chaim]. And 'Moshe would speak and G-d would respond with thunder', ever increasing… He never burped or yawned… or needed to wipe his nose or the like, as is usually the case for people crying. Although he was advanced in age and his sermon would extend for hours, he never tired or wavered…
"Once he said that anyone who listens to his sermon should trust in G-d that his soul would not be abandoned to hell…
"There was no man, woman or child whose heart was not torn into a thousand pieces, repenting and regretting with their entire heart, soul and might, and this brought satisfaction to his holy soul…".
Category
Chassidut – Manuscripts and Letters
Catalogue Value