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LOT 155:
Bibliographic Discovery: Renowned Bibliographic Letter from the Scholar Yitzchak Isaac Ben-Ya'akov, Author of Otzar ...
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Bibliographic Discovery: Renowned Bibliographic Letter from the Scholar Yitzchak Isaac Ben-Ya'akov, Author of Otzar HaSefarim
Rare and interesting letter with important content by R' Yitzchak Isaac Ben-Ya'akov - one of the leading scholars of Jewish literature and a leading Hebrew bibliographer. The letter includes an as-yet-unknown important bibliographic revelation about the controversial work Beit Yehudah by Riva"l. Vilna, 1858. Letters from Ben-Ya'akov are uncommon. The letter was printed in Sefer Be'er Yitzchak (Warsaw, 1903, p. 186).
The letter discusses editing and printing Levinson's work - and, as can be gleaned from this letter, the author of Otzar HaSefarim was the editor of the renowned and controversial work Beit Yehudah by the maskil Yitzchak bar Levinson - Riva"l. Although the letter doesn't explicitly mention the work, the date (1858) lends itself to the belief that the topic of discussion was Levinson's work Beit Yehudah, printed that year in Vilna in a second, revised edition (refer to the photocopy).
As stated regarding the work Beit Yehudah, there were many who objected to it, as it calls for changes and revisions to the Jewish lifestyle. This fit well considering that the author was himself a controversial figure. This letter demonstrates that the editor of the revised edition of Sefer Beit Yehudah was none other than bibliographer R' Yitzchak Isaac Ben-Ya'akov, who was a close confidante of gedolei Yisrael and that the gaon Rabbi Shlomo HaKohen of Vilna writes about him in his approbation to Otzar HaSefarim "Precious person, expert in Torah and fear of Heaven, perfect in character and virtues and famed for the good.
Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for brief biographies R' Yitzchak Isaac Ben-Ya'akov, and the addressee, Yitzchak Dov Bar Levinson, along with a discussion of Sefer Beit Yehudah, the subject of this letter.
[1] leaf paper. 9x14 cm. Thin bluish paper.
Fine-very fine condition. Fold marks. Aging stains.
