Afikei Yehuda – Lviv, 1828 – Copy of the Kedushat Yom Tov of Sighet and His Son Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar

Afikei Yehuda – Lviv, 1828 – Copy of the Kedushat Yom Tov of Sighet and His Son Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar

Afikei Yehuda, homilies and commentaries on the Bible, Midrashim and Talmud, with Arvei Nachal, by the Maggid of Slonim R. Yehuda Leib HaLevi Edel of Zamość, an associate of the Gaon of Vilna and of his son R. Avraham. Lviv: Aharon son of Chaim David Segal, 1828. Part I (part II was printed from a manuscript in Johannisburg 1854).
Copy owned by the Kedushat Yom Tov, Rebbe Chananya Yom Tov Lipa Teitelbaum of Sighet (Sighetu Marmației), as stated in the inscription on the back endpaper. The book was later passed on to his son Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar – stamps from his tenure as rabbi of Karoly (Carei).
Catalog inscriptions from the library of the rebbe of Satmar in Williamsburg.

The book was first in the possession of their relative R. Mordechai Ashkenazi Rabbi of Pistyń and head of the Stanislav Beit Din (1815-1885), son of Rebbe Moshe David Ashkenazi Rabbi of Tolcsva and Safed (1774-1856; father-in-law of the Yitav Lev of Sighet), as stated in the ownership inscription on the front endpaper (followed by an inscription in Latin characters of his son R. Asher Anshel Ashkenazi Rabbi of Fălticeni and Stanislav, author of Shemen Rosh; 1833-1902). The book later reached his nephew, the Kedushat Yom Tov of Sighet. The book may have first been in the possession of his brother-in-law R. Yekutiel Yehuda Teitelbaum, the Yitav Lev of Sighet – inscription (trimmed) at the top of the title page: "The Yitav".

Other signatures and inscriptions: "Leibush Zeisler"; "Moshe son of R. Y.M. HaKohen"; "…Elimelech Auerbach"; and more.

[2], 135 leaves. Approx. 21.5 cm. Good condition. Stains, including dark stains and mold stains. Minor marginal tears to some leaves, repaired with tape. Defects and minor wear. Stamps. New leather binding.

Rebbe Chananya Yom Tov Lipa Teitelbaum Rabbi of Sighet, the Kedushat Yom Tov (1836-1904), son and successor of Rebbe Yekutiel Yehuda Teitelbaum, the Yitav Lev. Disciple of his father and prominent disciple of Rebbe Chaim Halberstam of Sanz, the Divrei Chaim, who once told his father the Yitav Lev that "He has made him into a perfect utensil". Reputedly, the rebbe of Shinova said about him "he remained holy from his arrival in this world until his departure to the next world". He succeeded his father after the latter's passing as rabbi of Sighet and leader of the Chassidim. Under his leadership, the Sighet Chassidut flourished and numbered thousands of Chassidim. He was a foremost leader of Chassidic Jewry in the Maramureș region, an uncompromising zealot and a fierce opponent of the Zionist movement. His composition Kedushat Yom Tov on the Torah and the festivals was published after his passing. His sons were Rebbe Chaim Tzvi Teitelbaum, author of Atzei Chaim, who succeeded him as rabbi and rebbe of Sighet, and R. Yoel Teitelbaum, author of VaYoel Moshe, who served as rabbi and rebbe in Satmar.

Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar (1887-1979) was the youngest son of Rebbe Chananya Yom Tov Lipa, the Kedushat Yom Tov (1836-1904), and grandson of Rebbe Yekutiel Yehuda, the Yitav Lev (1808-1883), who both served as rabbis of Sighet (Sighetu Marmației) and were leaders of Chassidic Jewry in the Maramureș region.

He was renowned from his youth as a leading Torah scholar of his generation, for his perspicacity and intellectual capacities, as well as for his holiness and outstanding purity. At a young age, he was appointed rabbi of Irshava. In 1925, he was appointed rabbi of Karoly (Carei; in place of R. Shaul Brach who went to serve as rabbi of Kashoi), and in 1934, of Satmar (Satu Mare). In all the places he served as rabbi, he also maintained a large yeshiva and Chassidic court. He stood at the helm of the faithful, uncompromising Orthodox Jewry in the Maramureș region. He was one of the founding pillars of the Torah world in the generation following the Holocaust. After surviving the Holocaust, he emigrated to the United States, where he established the Satmar Chassidic community. He served as president of the Eda HaCharedit in Jerusalem, and as leader of Orthodox Jewry in the United States and throughout the world. His writings were published in dozens of books: VaYoel Moshe, Responsa Divrei Yoel, Divrei Yoel on the Torah and more.