Kapei Aharon – Jerusalem, 1874 – Copy of R. Shimon Sofer Rabbi of Krakow, Son of the Chatam Sofer – With a ...

Kapei Aharon – Jerusalem, 1874 – Copy of R. Shimon Sofer Rabbi of Krakow, Son of the Chatam Sofer – With a Dedication by the Author, Rabbi Aharon Azriel – Signature and Glosses of Rabbi Elazar Moshe HaLevi Horowitz of Krakow
Kapei Aharon, Part I, responsa and novellae by R. Aharon Azriel. Jerusalem: R. Yisrael Bak, [1874].
Copy of R. Shimon Sofer Rabbi of Krakow, son of the Chatam Sofer.
The title page is inscribed with a dedication handwritten and signed by the author, R. Aharon Azriel (leading Sephardi Torah scholar in Jerusalem), to R. Shimon Sofer Rabbi of Krakow. Later ownership inscription signed by R. Elazar Moshe HaLevi Ish Horowitz (a Krakow Torah scholar). Dozens of brief and lengthy handwritten glosses appear in the book (apparently, in the handwriting of the aforementioned R. Horowitz).
The kabbalist R. Aharon Azriel (1819-1879), a leading Jerusalemite Torah scholar, head of the beit din, dean of the Shevet Achim Yeshiva established in his home, and one of the deans of the Beit El kabbalist yeshiva. He passed away in Jaffa, and his epitaph reads: "…head of the beit din… similar to an angel of G-d… G-dly kabbalist… R. Aharon Azriel… author of Kapei Aharon".
R. Shimon Sofer of Kraków (1820-1883), son and disciple of the Chatam Sofer and a leader of his generation, was an outstanding Torah scholar, holy and pure from youth. His father regarded his intellect and ideas to be untainted, and would rely on his reasoning from a young age. He also dealt in Kabbalah, following his father's counsel. He served as rabbi of Mattersdorf, and in 1861, was appointed rabbi of Kraków. A leader of Orthodox Jewry in Galicia, he also served as a member of the Austrian Parliament. Authored Michtav Sofer – responsa, novellae and homilies.
R. Elazar Moshe HaLevi Horowitz of Krakow (1868-1943 – perished in the Holocaust, Encyclopedia L'Chachmei Galicia, II, pp. 172-173), an outstanding Torah scholars in Krakow. Author of Tuv Ayin on Tractate Yevamot of the Talmud Yerushalmi (Krakow, 1935). Eldest son of R. Chaim Aryeh Leib Horowitz Rabbi of Krakow, author of Chayei Aryeh, and husband of the granddaughter of the head of the Krakow Beit Din, R. Avraham Naftali Hertz Yenner.
R. Aharon Azriel's dedication is signed "… from N.A.H. the author". The responsa in the book are signed with a different pseudonym: "A.A.N.H.". Interestingly, in the second preface to this book, the author R. Aharon Azriel recounts a severe illness he contracted at the time the book was being printed, and of his amazing recovery after the holy Rashash appeared to him in a dream on the night of the latter's yartzeit, 10th Shevat 1874, wherein R. Aharon told the Rashash about the printing of his book Kapei Aharon: "…In the middle of the night, a man with the appearance of an angel of G-d appeared to me… I said to him, who are you, my master? He replied, I am Shalom Mizrachi… With a joyful countenance, he asked me, I have heard that you are printing a book. I responded, yes, my master… I am now in the midst of printing a small booklet which I have called Kapei Aharon… He said to me: Tell me the reason you sign A.A.N.H. I replied, because this name alludes to my name, my family name and the name of my father… With a joyful countenance, he said to me, there is another reason for this signature, [for it spells out] Aharon Azriel Nisei Hashem [G-d's miracles], and he immediately disappeared. I awoke from my slumber… then I said, certainly this is a day of good tidings… and thank G-d so it came to be, because little by little I became stronger and by now I have completely recovered" (perhaps his signature here, "N.A.H.", also alludes to those words: Aharon Nisei Hashem).
[4], 178 leaves. 28 cm. Most of the book is printed on high-quality paper. Good condition. Stains and wear. A few tears, not affecting text. Worming. Old (non-original) binding.
S. HaLevi, no. 211.
In the "printer's apologia", R. Yisrael Bak (disciple of R. Levi Yitzchak of Berdychiv and of R. Yisrael of Ruzhin) writes a few inspiring kabbalistic thoughts and concludes with recounting the holiness of the books printed in his printing press: "… My printing press is holy because I myself have produced all the lettering and all the necessary tools. In my entire printing press, not even one letter was made by another person, and certainly not by a non-Jew, because the letters are holy and one must have in mind while making them that these letters were used to create the world…".