Shnei Luchos Habris by the Shl”a Hakadosh.
The “Nachas” Edition. Amsterdam, 1698
Pearls of wisdom and profound lessons in kabbalah, mussar, commentary on the Torah and principles of the Oral Torah by the saintly kabbalist Harav Yeshaya Halevi Horowitz, the Shl”a Hakadosh. This second edition of Shnei Luchos Habris was printed in the Hebrew year נח"ת 1698, also the year of the birth of the Baal Shem Tov, and is thus referred to as “The Nachas Edition”.
The present copy is in excellent condition and is bound in leather-encased wood with its original clasps.
The Nachas Edition of the Sefer HaShl”a was elaborately printed with large, clear letters and wide margins and boasts an illustrated copperplate title page designed by master artist and illustrator Avraham Hager, famous for his illustrated Amsterdam Haggadah. This edition is widely regarded as one of the masterpiece creations of Amsterdam Hebrew printing.
A Year of Nachas
Chassidic courts assign great significance to the Nachas Edition of the Sefer HaShl”a, and link the year it was printed—נח"ת-1698—to the birth of the Baal Shem Tov. The Rayatz zy”a inscribed in his letters:
“In the year נח"ת, it was elaborately reprinted, and it is a good sign that the revelation of this sacred work evoked great nachas ruach in the heavens, and in this year, the light of all Yisrael, our master the Baal Shem Tov was born…”
Rabbi Yeshaya Halevi Horowitz (circa 1558-1626), renowned as the Shl”a after the acronym of his magnum opus
Shnei
Luchos
Habris, was renowned throughout the Jewish world for his piety and sanctity. The Shl”a served as Rabbi of the great Diaspora communities of Posen, Ostroh, Frankfurt and Prague, and his son Rabbi Sheftel Halevi Horowitz in his preface to the Shl”a, writes that “his disciples spread out throughout nearly the entire Diaspora.”
In 1622, the Shl”a journeyed to Eretz Yisrael where he was immediately crowned Ashkenazic Rabbi of Yerushalayim and Nassi of Eretz Yisrael. There, he authored Siddur Shaar Hashamayim and Shnei Luchos Habris on the tenets of Jewish life, mussar, halachah and customs as well as kabbalistic prayers and rites.
Sefer HaShl”a was enthusiastically received by all Rabbanim and Jewish communities, including Ashkenazic and Sephardic, chassidim and kabbalists, who all viewed this sefer as fundamental to serving Hashem and improving one’s character traits.
Amsterdam, 1698. Second edition. [4], 422: 44, [12] leaves. Page size: 31 cm.
Additional title page for Vavei Ha’Amudim by his son Rabbi Sheftel Halevi Horowitz, who succeeded his father as Av Beis Din of Posen. Good condition. Preserved in cloth-coated cardboard box.
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