Sha’alu Shalom Yerushalayim against the faked Yerushalmi—first (only?) edition, Bielgoriya, 1910.

Sha’alu Shalom Yerushalayim against the faked Yerushalmi—first (only?) edition, Bielgoriya, 1910.

Sefer Sha’alu Shalom Yerushalayim, an interesting work by the gaon Rabbi Meir Dan Polozki, the Kli Chemda, in which he proves the forgery of the Seder Kedoshim of the Yerushalmi. First edition, probably the only one. 112 pages. At the beginning he describes the interesting development of the issue and the doubts that crystallized among him and the gedolei hador, especially his discussions with the Admor Imrei Emet of Gur, until they reached the conclusion that the work was a complete forgery. He includes letters that he exchanged with other sages such as the Rogochover Rebbe and the Avnei Nezer of Sochotchov and others, in which they expressed their doubts. At the end are notes by the Gaon of Ostrovtze on the publishing rabbi’s comments. This is an exciting historical item on a subject which caused a real furor in the Jewish world of the time. New binding, repaired title page, light tears. Page 28 has a tear at the bottom, overall good condition.

Background: the advertisement of the discovery of an old manuscript with the lost Seder Kedoshim, from the Talmud Yerushalmi, gave rise to great excitement in the entire religious Jewish world, even among Jewish sages who were known to have very developed critical senses, like the Chafetz Haim, the Maharsham of Berezhin, and others. But they unfortunately fell for the trap. For two reasons: first, the great expectation for the Redemption, since the discovery of Seder Kedoshim dealing with the laws of sacrifice of korbanot in the Temple constituted a sign that the days until the Mashiach and Redemption were few, and that Hashem had sent the Yerushalmi so that we could prepare for the Temple. The second reason: the quality of the counterfeit. The counterfeiter Friedlander copied and organised with great skill all of the Yerushalmi’s articles dealing to the Seder Kedoshim, some mentioned in the books of the Rishonim, some from the Yerushalmi in other Masechtot, and some he invented from his own brilliance. But quickly, some of the most discerning religious figures (the Rogachover rebbe, the Kli Chemda, and more) discovered the counterfeit, and figured out that Friedlander was responsible. Until today there are still those who insist that the manuscript is authentic! It must be noted that the Gaon of Tchevin said that he knew Friedlander, and that he wasn’t skilled enough to create such a counterfeit by himself. In any case, after the fake was discovered, most copies were sent to genizah. Those that remained became a collector’s item.