Manuscripts - the Aderet

Manuscripts - the Aderet
Large collection of leaves handwritten by Rabbi Eliyahu David Rabinowitz Te'omim - the Aderet. [Lithuania, c. 1890-1901]. Contains one leaf from his youth [c. 1860].
Drafts of responsa and letters of queries and comments on books and pamphlets containing Torah thoughts; sermon outlines; a signed letter from 1901 to the heads of the Etz Chaim Yeshiva in Jerusalem which appointed him president of the yeshiva; and more.
The leaves include the following: "Comments on the book Ahavat Chesed by R. Yisrael Meir HaCohen" [author of the Chafetz Chaim]; comments on the book Zecher Yehosef apparently sent to the author; comments written in the summer of 1897 on the proofreading sheets of the book Chasdei Yehonatan; comments on the book Ben HaYemin sent to him in the winter of 1899 for receiving his approbation [the comments differ from those which the Aderet added to his approbation which was printed in the 1889 edition of the book Ben HaYemin, Warsaw - see enclosed photocopy]. Most of the leaves are complete writings, not partial sections of notebooks.
Especially interesting and special is a letter which the Aderet wrote [apparently in response to a pamphlet which he received with comments on his novellae], which gives a slight peek into his study method. In the letter he modestly apologizes for an error found in his work [which portrays his brilliance]. He praises the writer who does not blindly accept any citation without first studying its source, and he blames himself for believing authors, and even believing himself, and relying on his memory, because due to his excessive frailty "the trouble of rising from his writing table to go to the bookshelves at the other side of the room is great…". Further in the letter, he cites errors caused by inaccurate quotes which occurred in the past and errors of the greatest Torah scholars throughout the generations, who relied on their superb memories and did not take the trouble to study the material inside, and therefore were caught with errors. [This letter was printed in the
book Aderet Eliyahu about the history of the Aderet, pp. 186-187].
R. Eliyahu David Rabinowitz Te'omim - the Aderet (1845-1905), Rabbi of Ponevezh, Mir and Jerusalem was renowned from his childhood for his love of Torah study and his diligence. At a young age, he had already grown to be an exceptional Torah scholar, erudite and astute in all the Torah and writer of brilliant novellae. As a young man he was appointed to the Ponevezh rabbinate and after 20 years moved to serve in the Mir rabbinate. Rabbi Shmuel Salant, the aged rabbi of Jerusalem, summoned him as his successor in the Jerusalem rabbinate. In 1905, approximately two and a half years after he accepted this position, he died at the age of 60 in the lifetime of Rabbi Shmuel Salant [who died in 1909, at nearly 100 years old]. His son-in-law was R. Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook, who moved to Eretz Israel to serve as Rabbi of Jaffa and in 1921 succeeded his father-in-law in the Jerusalem rabbinate eventually becoming Chief Rabbi of Eretz Israel.
In spite of his frailty, ailments and limited eyesight which afflicted him from childhood, the Aderet toiled in Torah study day and night, writing his brilliant Torah novellae in abbreviated notes in notebooks and on available leaves. He left behind a trove of hundreds of Torah compositions, most of which have not yet been printed and some have been lost with passing years.
21 items, including approx. 56 written pages. Size and condition vary. Good-fair to fair-poor condition.