Sefer Kol Bo. Copy that Belonged to the Gadol HaDor Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky. Interesting Dedication

Sefer Kol Bo. Copy that Belonged to the Gadol HaDor Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky. Interesting Dedication

Sefer Kol Bo - one of the earliest and most important sifrei halachah, continually cited in Torah literature. Furth, 1782. This is the personal copy that accompanied Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky almost his entire life, the copy he used to write his many sifrei halachah. The sefer is full of many sacred usage marks across its entire length - marks left by the greatest amal baTorah of recent generations.

The front flyleaf bears a beautiful dedication from the gaon Rabbi Yitzchak Berman, av beit din of Klintzi, to the gaon Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky: "Memento of love and friendship for the rabbi, the gaon R' Chaim Kanievsky shlit"a, on the occasion of his wedding day." This sefer was given as a wedding present to the gaon Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, who married in 1952 at the age of 24 - and Rabbi Berman already referred to him as "HaRav HaGaon"! The gaon Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky's owner's signature can be seen right next to this dedication: "Chaim Kanievsky, Bnei Brak."

This distinguished copy accompanied Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky from his wedding until the end of his life. He used it to write the many sifrei halachah he authored, in which he often mentions the words of the Kol Bo. For example, in the sefer Birkat HaMazon im Biurim MiKitvei Yad Shel Maran HaGaon Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky (Bnei Brak 2009, p. 10), the gaon Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky refers to Sefer Kol Bo: "See Sefer Kol Bo, section 25." It is so exciting to see how indeed, in this sacred copy here, the gaon Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky marked two lines for emphasis exactly beside section 25, as noted.

The author of the Kol Bo is unknown, and there are differences of opinion about his identity. There are those who attribute it to the Riva"sh, and there are those who attribute it to Rabbi Aharon HaKohen of Lunel. Koreh HaDorot writes that there are those who say that a wise woman authored this sefer. It is relevant to note that the gaon Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky himself was asked about this in the sefer Aryeh Sha'ag (Jerusalem, 2019, section 387, p. 750) as follows: "There is a rumour that Sefer Kol Bo was written by a woman - could this be?" The gaon Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky responded (with his classic extreme brevity): "Complete lie."

Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for a brief biography of the gaon Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky and of the writer of the dedication, the gaon Rabbi Yehudah Yitzchak Berman.

3 [should be: 6], 99, 17 leaf. Antique owners' signatures. Leaf 81 bears a lengthy owner's notation. The title page is in stunning colors.

Fine condition. Aging stains. Perforation and tear in the title page, without damage to the text. Beautiful binding, reinforced.