Divrei Chaim – Zhovkva, 1864 – The First Book by R. Chaim Halberstam, Printed Anonymously – Inscription by a ...

Divrei Chaim – Zhovkva, 1864 – The First Book by R. Chaim Halberstam, Printed Anonymously – Inscription by a Chassid Attesting to Having Received the Book from the "Holy Hand" of the Author, "The Holy Rebbe of Sanz"
Divrei Chaim, two parts, on the laws of Gittin and Mikvaot, by "one of the disciples" [Rebbe Chaim Halberstam of Sanz]. Zhovkva, 1864. First edition.
In the introduction, the author writes "I did not write my name for the known reason". This is the first book of the Divrei Chaim to be printed (Responsa Divrei Chaim was published 11 years later, in 1875). In the second edition of the book (Mukachevo, 1892), R. Baruch of Gorlice (son of the Divrei Chaim) reveals his father as the author, and explains that "the manuscript of this composition… was given to me… by my father as a gift… and I printed it in Zhovkva in 1864… I am now emboldened to explicitly state the name… of the author, because in any case the identity of the author has become known, particularly [because] it is clear from the introduction to Divrei Chaim on the Torah that this work was also written by my father. I have therefore written this on the title page… Baruch Halberstam, Rabbi of Gorlice".
A (slightly trimmed) dedication by R. David Weber, a disciple of the Divrei Chaim who received the book as a gift from the author, appears at the top of the title page. He writes: " This book… the holy Rebbe of Sanz, from his holy hand directly into my hand for the speech [---] 12th Cheshvan 1867. David We[ber]". Another inscription, by R. David Weber's son, reads: " And my father gave me this as a Bar Mitzvah gift, his son Lipa Zalman Weber".
R. David Weber of Ada-Jerusalem (ca. 1851-1930) was the son of the Rabbi of Ada, R. Mordechai Eliezer Weber, and the son-in-law of R. Aharon Zelig Lifshitz Head of the Vishnitsa Beit Din (d. 1878, the son of the Rebbe of Vishnitsa, the Aryeh D'Vei Ila'i). In 1875, he immigrated to Jerusalem together with his father and became one of the heads of Kollel Shomrei HaChomot. His father, R. Mordechai Eliezer, was one of the leading disciples of the Divrei Chaim, and he too was a regular visitor to the holy court of Sanz.
His son, R. Yom Tov Lipa Yekutiel Zalman Weber (1876-1944), was a prominent Chassidic Torah scholar in Jerusalem. Son-in-law of R. Yitzchak Ashkenazi of Alesk-Stanislav. During WWI, he traveled abroad and served as Rebbe of Vishnitsa in Frankfurt. He returned to Jerusalem in the early 1930s and served as dean of the Ktav Sofer Yeshiva. When Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum of Satmar visited Jerusalem in 1932, he paid a visit to his relative R. Lipa Zalman (who was a descendant of the Aryeh D'Vei Ila'i, the illustrious son-in-law of R. Moshe Teitelbaum, the Yismach Moshe). Rebbe Aharon of Belz as well, upon his arrival to Eretz Israel in 1944, greatly desired to visit R. Lipa Zalman; alas, R. Lipa Zalman passed away that same week (see: Alei Zikaron, 26, pp. 69-71).
This copy also bears the stamp of the Rebbe of Vielipoli-Jerusalem-Philadelphia, R. Moshe'li son of R. David Aryeh Lifshitz (1898-1975), "grandson of R. Nottele of Vielipoli – grandson of R. Chaim Uri of Raysha (Rzeszów) – grandson of R. Moshe Teitelbaum of Ujhely", and the stamp of his son R. Chaim Uri Lifshitz (1913-2002); both were descendants of the Rebbe of Vishnitsa, the Aryeh D'Vei Ila'i.
[3], 34, [1], 33-44, 1-27 leaves; [1], 23, [1] leaves. 33.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Tears and wear. Damage, with loss of text, to last leaf (old paper repairs). New leather binding.