Complete set of the Darchei Tshuva (Munkatch), copy attributed to (with an exciting signature) the only son of the ...

Complete set of the Darchei Tshuva (Munkatch), copy attributed to (with an exciting signature) the only son of the Shefa Haim of Sanz to survive the Shoah (Lifeleh hy”d). First edition, 1893-1934.

Darchei Tshuva on the Shulchan Aruch Yoreh De’ah, the work by the Admor Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Shapira of Munkatch, known after the name of this book. First edition of each of the seven sections of the book, printed in different places. Total of 5 volumes: Volume 1: Sections 1-2, halachot of shechita and treifut, printed by the Ram widow and brothers in Vilna, 1892-3. [4], 359 leaves. No separate title page for the second section. Volume 2: sections 3-4, printed by the rabbis Shmuel Zanovil Kahane and his son-in-law Ozer HaKohen Fried, Munkatch 1903. 156; [1], 158-380 leaves. At the end are bound “omissions and corrections to the Darchei Tshuva halachot of shechita and treifut—extremely rare leaves printed separately, [8] leaves. Volume 3: section 5, printed by Rabbis Haim Yehuda Goldenberg and Yosef Hecht, Soliva 1912. [1], 1-178, 180-224, 224-247 leaves. Title page detached and partially defective, last page is cut without damage to text. Binding detached and spine partially missing. All sections until this section were printed during the author’s lifetime. Volume 4: section 6, halachot of nidda, printed by Shlomo Zalman Neifeld in Bratislava-Galanta (Pressburg), 1921. [2], 119 leaves. With introduction by Admor Minchat Eliezer of Munkatch, the author’s son, who completed the work of this section. 2 first pages have tears without damage to text. Last page has tears with damage to text. Binding partially detached. Volume 5: Section 7, halachot of mikvahs, printed by Rabbis Eliezer Yehiel Kalish and partners, Munkatch 1934. This section was entirely written by the Minchat Eliezer as a complement to his father’s work. [2], 42 leaves. Title page with red ink. A few bits of tape. Various conditions, defects, stains, mostly in good condition.

The sixth section has a stamp of ownership: “Hananya Yom Tov Lipa Halberstam, son of the Rabbi Avdak of Cluj”. This is the eldest and favorite son of Rabbi Admor the Shefa Haim of Sanz, Av Beit Din of Klausenberg.

Eleven children of the Shefa Haim died during the Shoah. Ten of them perished in the extermination camps, and the eldest, Hananiah Yom Tov Lifa hy”d, survived the camps and sadly a few days after the liberation fell ill from typhus, which later took his life, and he was buried in a mass grave on German soil. Lifa’leh was mentioned by the Rebbe with intense longing until the end of his life, and he refused to be comforted from his loss. There is another pencil note on the book: "Belongs to the Tzaddik Gaon Yekutiel Yehuda Halberstam, Av Beit Din of Kai [Kahal Yiraim] Spain" and another partially erased note with the name of Rebbe Shefa Chaim, we did not check if it was indeed in his holy handwriting. And many other inscriptions of Hasidic mentions, among others: "Toby 'Gedali' Ben Toiba Lefkavich Margreten Yitzv" 1906, "Moshe Eli 'Ben Rivka Estreicher", Chaim Yochanan Lefkavich from Satmar ". Halachic note on the blank first page that was not checked.

Stamps of ownership of some of the other volumes: Rabbi Yosef Lerner Shuv Bnei Brak (see below), Yehoshua B.R. Zvi Shual Shuv in Tekoch.

Rabbi Yosef Lerner (1908-1988), "the butcher of the Hazon Ish", rabbi of Tkuch and Ivesht in Romania, was born in Bender, Romania and orphaned by his mother at a young age, and his father, who was governor of his people, lost all his money. He invested himself in Torah and work, studied at the Kishinev Yeshiva and was taken to the son-in-law by Rabbi David Zimmering, one of the leaders of the yeshiva. An avid follower of the Rebbe Yitzchak Twersky of Skvira – Kishinev. In 1959 he immigrated to the Holy Land and refused the rabbinical positions offered to him and chose the city of Bnei Brak for his moshav for the education of his children, where he lovingly called the Rebbe 'Hazon Ish', who in turn reciprocated love when he instructed Rabbi Yosef to serve as Shochet u’Bodek of Bnei Brak, and the late Maran made sure to eat from his slaughter and even ordered some people to take Rabbi Yosef as a mohel to their son wherever he feared God. And a repetition of Rabbi Yaakov Landau Rabbi of Bnei Brak who would fill his place when he was absent from the city, and so for over a decade Rabbi Yosef was a rabbi of the city of Bnei Brak. Rabbi Yosef was also the permanent Shochet u’Bodek of the Rebbe of the 'Chalkat Yehoshua' of Biala and was on friendly terms with the Governor of Ponivezh, the Rebbe of the 'Imrei Chaim' of Moiznitz and the Rebbe of Moharan of Spinka. Author of 'Lekh Yosef'.