Rambam Mada Ahava and Zemanim – With Hitherto Unprinted Glosses of the Rogatchover Gaon

Rambam Mada Ahava and Zemanim – With Hitherto Unprinted Glosses of the Rogatchover Gaon
Mishne Torah L'HaRambam, Vol. 1, Mada, Ahava and Zemanim. Warsaw, 1881.
Dozens of long scholarly glosses, mostly autographic glosses, in the characteristic handwriting of the Rogatchover Gaon, Rabbi Yosef Rosin Av Beit Din of Dvinsk. In several places, he notes his novellae which he wrote elsewhere. The linguistic style of the glosses is similar to his other novellae on the Rambam printed in his book Tzofnat Pa'aneach on the Rambam, but these glosses have not yet been printed. Some of these novellae are continuations of treatises and novellae which had already been discussed in his printed books.
The famous Torah genius Rabbi Yosef Rosin (1858-1936), known as the Rogatchover Gaon (named after his native city Rogatchev [Rahachow]), was a Chabad-Kapust Chassid. In his youth, he was a disciple of Rabbi Yosef Ber Soloveitchik author of Beit HaLevi and studied together with his son Rabbi Chaim of Brisk. From 1889, for the next 40 years, he served as rabbi of the Chabad Chassidic community of Dvinsk in Lithuania alongside the Av Beit Din of the city, author of the Or Sameach. An amazing and exceptional luminary, with an outstanding sharp mind and extraordinary genius, Rabbi Yosef was proficient in the knowledge of all aspects and details of the entire Torah, and was known for his novel definitions and deep comprehension and for his original study methods. Many stories circulate relating his outstanding brilliance and amazing diligence. He expended much effort in explaining the Rambam’s writings and wrote many halachic responsa. His responsa and novellae were published in the series of his books Tzofnat Pa’aneach. Due to the depth of his thoughts and his concise style of writing, several projects have been undertaken in the past few generations with the goal of deciphering and explaining his writings and publishing them with commentaries. His legendary genius earned him fame in the general public of his times and spurred Bialik’s well-known saying that "two Einsteins could be created from the mind of the Rogatchover."
His printed books are only a small part of his unending Torah wellspring. He did not succeed in writing most of his novellae in an orderly fashion and prepare them for print. While studying, he wrote deep clever glosses on books in all realms of the Torah but his particular love were the Rambam's books, especially the Mishne Torah on which he wrote his book Tzofnat Pa'aneach. This volume has long glosses with additional novellae that Rabbi Rosin wrote on the Rambam's books, none of which are included in his book.
A few years after the Rogatchover's death and on the eve of World War II, his daughter Rebbetzin Rachel (widow of Rabbi Israel Abba Tzitron Av Beit Din of Petach Tikva) traveled from Eretz Israel to Dvinsk to save the many novellae her father wrote on the sheets of his books. At that time the situation in Europe was very strained and her relatives attempted to discourage her from this dangerous journey but she was adamant and saw the retrieval of her father's writings as her obligation and responsibility. Upon her arrival in Dvinsk, which at that time was occupied by Russian forces, she surreptitiously began copying the writings of the Rogatchover Gaon and smuggled the copies beyond the Communist lines. Her efforts were joined by Rabbi Israel Alter Safran, a disciple of her father and editor of his writings who succeeded Rabbi Rosin in the Dvinsk rabbinate. The copies were sent by post to Rabbi Safran's family in the USA but her work was interrupted in the summer of 1941 with the Nazi occupation of Dvinsk. She perished in the Holocaust sharing the bitter lot of the Dvinsk community. The copies which she sent to the USA later constituted additional volumes of the Rogatchover's Torah thoughts printed by the Torah Shleima institute of Rabbi Kasher. Apparently, his original writings did not survive those catastrophic times.
This is a lone volume of the Rambam with glosses in the handwriting of the Rogatchover, a volume that remained in Russia after WWII. Because of the owner's fear lest he not be allowed to bring the book with him to Israel from behind the "Iron Curtain", he first tore out the leaves with the glosses and kept them separately. In the end, he was able to bring the whole book and the leaves were returned to their original place.
[2], 16, 132 pages; 172 pages; 170, 22 pages; [2], 171-420 pages (missing pages 421-424, with Likutim Yekarim and Pri Chadash). 33 cm. approximately 30 long handwritten glosses (some 25 in the Rogatchover's handwriting). Brittle paper, detached leaves, wear and tears. Old, worn leather binding.