Responsa Beit Yaakov, by R. Yaakov Rabbi of Tsoyzmer (Sandomierz). [Dyhernfurth], 1696. First edition.
Copy of the holy kabbalist, R. Naftali Katz, author of Semichat Chachamim. His signature appears at the foot of the title page: "Naftali HaKohen of Ostroh" (as he was accustomed to signing, see: Rappaport-Hartstein, Shalshelet Zahav, Ahavat Shalom publication, Jerusalem 2001, introduction, p. 17).
At the beginning of the book, approbations by the rabbis of Vaad Arba Aratzot, including an approbation by "Naftali HaKohen, residing in Poznan and the region" – that is R. Naftali Katz, author of Semichat Chachamim, to whom this copy belonged.
R. Naftali Katz (1650-1719), a holy, G-dly man, a foremost and prominent kabbalist in Ashkenazic countries. He served as rabbi of Ostroh, Posen and Frankfurt am Main. From a young age, R. Naftali Katz adopted awesome and holy practices and studied with outstanding diligence, until he knew the entire Talmud by heart. At the age of thirty(!) he was appointed rabbi of Ostroh and the entire district of Ukraine, a position previously held by outstanding Torah leaders such as the Maharsha. In 1689, he succeeded R. Yeshaya Horowitz, grandson of the Shelah, as rabbi of Posen – a major and important city, where illustrious rabbis such as the Shelah, the Levushim and the Maharal of Prague had served. At that time, when he was only forty years old, he was appointed head of the Vaad Arba Aratzot, a position which was in effect the highest Torah authority in all Ashkenazic countries. In 1704, he was appointed rabbi of Frankfurt am Main, capital of Torah study in Germany. R. Naftali was a foremost kabbalist in Germany, and engaged in practical kabbalah, hashbaot and writing amulets. After the great fire in Frankfurt am Main in 1711, he was compelled to flee, after non-Jewish residents of the city accused him of causing the fire with his practical kabbalah. After much wandering, he set out for Eretz Israel, yet fell ill in Constantinople, were he passed away. His gravesite in Constantinople
serves until this day as a pilgrimage destination for prayer and salvation.
He earned worldwide fame for his book Semichat Chachamim on Tractate Berachot, which includes an important kabbalistic preface. He composed kabbalistic poems, supplications and prayers, and would recite them in the middle of the night when he would arise to lament the exile of the Divine Presence. A small part of these was printed in the book Beit Rachel. His testament was published in dozens of editions under the title of Tzavaat Rabbi Naftali Katz.
Astounding events occurred at the time of his passing in Constantinople, demonstrating to all his wondrous abilities and exceptional holiness. As recorded in Shaar Naftali URefuat HaNefesh (and other books), many Jews of the city passed before him, and he revealed to each one which soul he was reincarnating. ?Reputedly, when the Baal Shem Tov arrived in Constantinople on his way to Eretz Israel, R. Naftali Katz appeared to him in a dream and revealed to him that he would not merit to immigrate to Eretz Israel, just like he himself hadn't and had passed away in Constantinople. The Baal Shem Tov therefore returned to his town, Medzhybizh.
R. Naftali Katz left behind upstanding generations of Tzaddikim and leading Torah scholars. His son-in-law, R. Moshe Rokeach, son of R. Elazar Rokeach author of Arbaa Turei Even, was an ancestor of the Sar Shalom, rebbe of Belz, progenitor of the Belz dynasty.
128, [8] leaves. Misfoliation. Several leaves bound out of place. Without additional title page, included in some copies only. 30.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Marginal open tears to title page and other leaves, repaired with paper. Other tears to title page and following leaf, repaired. Worming to several leaves. Stamps. New leather binding.

Signature of the Semichat Chachamim as Amulet and Segulah for Salvations
Divrei David (Husiatyn 1904, p. 60) brings a wondrous story related by rebbe David Moshe of Chortkov: "The Baal Shem Tov was once in Istanbul on his way to the Holy Land, and he heard people enthusing over amulets which R. Naftali Hakohen gave out, using Holy Names. The Baal Shem Tov requested an amulet, and when he opened it, he discovered that it only contained R. Naftali's name – 'Naftali HaKohen' – this name alone was effective for all the cases which R. Naftali gave his amulets for".