Otzar Ravyah, Eliakim ben Judah Mehlsack (or Milzahgi), 1847

The autograph and only extant copy of Otzar Ravyah, a work whose title is composed of the initials of the author, Rabbi Eliakim ben Judah ha-Milzahgi (ca. 1780–1854). The text is a commentary on the Book of Raziel. The author, a Polish Talmudist who devoted his life to Jewish scholarship has included in this volume bibliographical notes and critiques of the opinions of S. J. Rappoport, L. Zunz, A. Geiger, S. D. Luzzatto, and others. Although he wrote almost seventy books, this is the only one of Mehlsack’s voluminous writings to have been published. Another work may be found in Montefiore ms. 498. Most of his works are no longer extant.

Sotheby’s is grateful to Menahem Schmelzer z”l and Benjamin Richler for cataloguing this manuscript.

Provenance

Solomon Halberstam (shelf no. 44)

Physical Description

19 leaves on paper, 9 ½ x 7 1/8 inches; 243 x 183 mm, written in Ashkenazic semi-cursive script in brown ink, modern foliation in pencil; initial leave lightly soiled, lower corners of fols. 1-4 lacking. Library buckram.

Literature

Hirschfeld (ms. no. 347); cf. G. Kressel, in Kiryat Sefer, xvii (1940), pp. 87-94