Leaf from the Mahara"m Schick's Notebook of Novellae, Entirely in his Hand

Leaf from the Mahara"m Schick's Notebook of Novellae, Entirely in his Hand

[2] large leaves characteristically densely written, consisting of approximately 1200(!) words handwritten by the gaon of geonim, the Mahara"m Schick, one of the greatest rabbinic leaders of the Jewish people of all time. The novellae are on Tractate Nedarim, from what he heard from his teacher, the Chatam Sofer. Whether they have been printed is unknown.

The novellae before us are primarily halachic novellae for Tractate Nedarim (leaves 30-31) according to the order of the leaf, and they deal with several important and interesting topics. For example: Why do (unmarried) young girls not cover their heads like boys? It is a segulah for fear of Heaven! (And many other topics relating to types and subjects of oaths.)

Among the topics, the Mahara"m Schick brings a tremendous innovation, as if written for our days, in which people are concerned about leaving their homes for fear of contacting a mysterious plague, to the point that many forgo public prayer and Torah study. The Mahara"m Schick comes and firmly establishes which concern is correct and proper to take into consideration, and which concerns must be ignored. So writes the Mahara"m Schick: "Whoever is extremely concerned for the future, regarding him it is said: "A lazy person says: There is a lion in the way and in the streets." The Mahara"m adds: "And they said: Regarding caution - one should not be too cautious." So the Mahara"m decisively establishes: "A wise person considers the future in terms of the past, and what has already been done in the world regarding such matters, and brings proof from the past as to the possible outcomes." The Mahara"m Schick establishes with Torah prowess a simple and clear general rule as follows: A particular place, or a particular conduct that has been proven in the past to be dangerous - from these we must protect ourselves and be cautious regarding them, and this is a proper concern. However, regarding matters that have not been proven in the past to be dangerous, there is no need, and it may even be dangerous to be cautious of them! The Mahara"m Schick derived this from the words of the mishnah, "Who is wise? He who sees the outcome." The word "outcome" ["נולד"] can be understood in two different ways. In terms of the past - what has already happened, and in terms of the future - what is yet to happen. And this, writes the Mahara"m Schick, is the conduct of a wise person, one who draws conclusions regarding the future based on consideration of past outcomes - wise words from a wise man.

Rabbi Moshe Schick - Mahara"m Schick [1807-1879] was the Av Beit Din of Yergen and of Chust and rosh yeshivah there. He was the primary disciple and successor of the Chatam Sofer as leader of Hungarian Jewry, who affectionately called him "my bookcase." Upon the recommendation of his teacher the Chatam Sofer, the Mahara"m Schick was appointed rabbi of Yergen, near Pressburg, when he was just 29 years old. The Mahara"m Schick, was, as mentioned, the leader of Hungarian Jewry after the Chatam Sofer, and after his passing, he was eulogized "From Moshe (the Chata"m Sofer) until Moshe (the Mahara"m Schick), there was no one like Moshe." His books of responsa and novellae are ranked among the highest echelons of Torah literature of all time.

[2] pp, 19x24 cm. Thick paper.

Fine condition. Aging stains. Tiny tears in the margins.