Sefer Likkutei Moharan (Gleanings of Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav), Ostraha: Samuel, son of Isachar Ber Segel, 1808. First Edition.

163 leaves (8 x 6 1/4 in.; 204 x 158 mm). Parts printed on blue paper. Scattered marginal corrections; owners’ stamps on title, final leaf, and several other leaves; a single wormtrack, ff. 1-6 only; title page, slightly frayed edge; scattered foxing; small (3cm) tear on f. 153, not affecting text; minor dampstaining. Marbled edges and endpapers. Modern midnight blue morocco, gilt titles on spine and front board.

Zvi Moses Müller, ritual slaughterer of Șomcuta Mare, Romania; Menahem Rosenfeld of Dej, Romania; Mordecai Judah Solomon Zalman Vizhnitzer, head of the rabbinic court in Arad, Romania; Shimon Zev Miller, head of the rabbinic court and last rabbi of Arad, Romania.

Vinograd, Ostraha 59; Stefansky, Chassidic Books, 284; Shaul Magid, “Associative Midrash: Reflections on a Hermeneutical Theory in Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav’s Likkutei MoHaRan,” in God’s Voice from the Void: Old and New Studies in Bratslav Hasidism, ed. by Shaul Magid (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2002), 15-66.

 

first edition of the innovative hassidic teaching of Nahman "from Uman"

Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav (1772-1810), great-grandson of Rabbi Israel Ba‘al Shem Tov (1700-60, the founder of Hasidism), was a charismatic and learned spiritual leader in his own right who founded his own unique branch of Hasidism.  His religious philosophy revolved around the idea of each individual directly experiencing closeness to God, and speaking to God in normal conversation "as you would with a best friend." This innovative approach to human relations with God proved extremely alluring and Rabbi Nahman quickly attracted many thousands of followers, whom he would typically address publicly about six times a year.

His Hasidic discourses on the Bible, Talmud, midrashim, and the Zohar were transcribed by his faithful student and amanuensis, Rabbi Nathan Sternharz of Nemirov (1780-1845), and published as Likkutei Moharan. The first ten leaves, as well as f. 112v of this specific copy of Rabbi Nahman's masterwork, include several neatly penned handwritten marginal corrections and additions. These were likely written by Nathan Sternharz himself, who was known to have personally edited several printed copies of the first edition of Likkutei Moharan. The present lot is a rare exemplar of the only edition of Likkutei Moharan to have been printed during Rabbi Nahman’s lifetime. 

Notwithstanding the intervening centuries since Rabbi Nahman's demise, his influence has nevertheless grown exponentially in both the Jewish, and surprisingly, the non-Jewish world as well. His teachings resonate in the songs of the late Shlomo Carlebach as well as among the adherents of the New Age resurgence of popular kabbalah centers. In recent decades his gravesite has become a pilgrimage destination during the High Holiday season, with thousands of his followers annually flocking to Uman (in the Ukraine) in order to celebrate Rosh ha-Shanah with the "Rebbe."  In Israel, a kabbalistic mantra comprising serial repetition of his name is widely displayed in public and private spheres and the words of his teachings serve as lyrics to popular songs, enjoyed and sung by both religious and secular Jews alike.

LITERATURE: Vinograd, Ostraha 59; Stefansky, Chassidic Books, # 284.