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Segulah for Protection and Healing!
The Chasam Sofer’s Handwritten Drasha for Purim - Pressburg, 1834
Segulah for Protection and Healing!
The Chasam Sofer’s Handwritten Drasha for Purim – Pressburg, 1834
An especially large leaf, written on both sides, comprising ten complete passages – 89 wide lines – in the holy handwriting of Rabbi Moshe Sofer, Av Beis Din and Rosh Yeshiva of Pressburg and author of the sefer Chasam Sofer.
These chiddushim originate from his notebook of drashos and Torah discourses written in Pressburg in 1834.
This notebook was described by Rabbi Yosef Naftali Stern, who possessed the manuscript and used it as the source for the publication of Drashos Chasam Sofer and Toras Moshe on the Torah:
“Drashos and Torah discourses on the Chumash, …. in large folio format, beginning with a drasha for Parshas Ki Savo, 1829, followed by a drasha for the 26th of Elul, then for Rosh Hashanah 1829, and continuing in sequence on the Torah year after year until Parshas Bechukosai, 1834” (introduction of Sha’ar Yosef to Drashos Chasam Sofer, p. 13, sec. 4).
The present manuscript contains ten complete passages with three headings:
1. “With Hashem’s help, what Hashem has granted me for Purim.”
2. “Parshas Tzav and Parah.”
3. “With Hashem’s help, what Hashem has granted me for Parshas Tzav and Parah.”
Regarding his notebooks of Torah insights on the weekly parshiyos, the Chasam Sofer wrote:
“Every year I compile a separate notebook in which I record the Torah insights Hashem grants me every Shabbos, during my study of the weekly parshah and while listening to the Torah reading” (Shu”t Chasam Sofer, vol. VI, no. 61).
The Ramban and the Chovos HaLevavos
The present manuscript contains discussions by the Chasam Sofer drawing upon the teachings of two of the great Rishonim: the Ramban and the author of Chovos HaLevavos.
It is known that the Chasam Sofer studied extensively the Ramban’s commentary on the Torah, referring to it as the “foundation of faith and root of [the Jewish] religion, ” and he regarded his soul as being that of the holy Ramban (see further details in Genazym 11, Item 89).
Here, the Chasam Sofer discusses several passages from the Ramban, alongside discussions from Chovos HaLevavos — a work to which he was especially devoted. He delivered regular daily shiurim on Chovos HaLevavos before beginning his main shiur (see the section “Sifra de-Libba” in Otzros HaSofer, vol. 28).
The margins contain various handwritten notes by Rabbi Y. N. Stern, son-in-law of Rabbi Shlomo Sofer, son of the Michtav Sofer, and one of the leading editors and disseminators of the teachings of the Chasam Sofer.
Rabbi Stern later published these chiddushim, some in Drashos Chasam Sofer and others in Toras Moshe on Parshas Tzav.
Pressburg, 1834
Size: 40 cm. 89 lines in the Chasam Sofer’s handwriting.
Condition: Good. Preserved in a large, beautiful leather binding.
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Condition: Good. Preserved in a large, beautiful leather binding.
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Toras Moshe al HaTorah
“Had the Chasam Sofer left behind no other work but Toras Moshe on the Torah, it alone would have been sufficient to reveal his extraordinary greatness. While all of his works are holy, Toras Moshe is kodesh kedoshim.”
— Rabbi Meir Arik, cited in the introduction to Haggadah Shel Pesach Chasan Sofer.
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The Segulah of the Chasam Sofer’s Handwriting
A Segulah for Yiras Shamayim
The Maharam Benet stated that a mere glance at the sacred writing of the Chasam Sofer is a segulah for Yiras Shamayim.
It is told that Maharam Benet once received a handwritten teshuvah from the Chasam Sofer and he spent a great deal of time perusing it. When his students asked if the letter perplexed him, he replied, “No, but I am delving into this teshuvah, since the mere sight of his sacred writing increases fear of heaven” (Drashos Chasam Sofer, Preface, p. 6).
The Admor Rabbi Yoel of Satmar similarly expressed that seeing the handwriting of the Chasam Sofer is a segulah for Yiras Shamayim.
A Segulah for Protection
It is known that the Chasam Sofer’s family members and descendants would safeguard his letters and writings as a segulah for protection.
His son, the Michtav Sofer, would carry his father’s handwritten manuscripts with him when attending sessions of the Austrian Parliament. Whenever he faced a particularly difficult issue, he would open the manuscripts and carefully peruse them to find a solution to the issue.
A Segulah for Health and Recovery
The Daas Sofer would instruct sick patients to place a handwritten letter of the Chasam Sofer beneath their pillow as a segulah for health and recovery (Beis Sofrim p. 173).
A Segulah for Easy Childbirth
The Chasam Sofer’s family would place a handwritten letter by the Chasam Sofer beneath the head of a woman going through a difficult labor as a segulah for a quick and safe childbirth (Shu”t Shevet Halevi Vol. 6 Ch. 162 #2).
The Chasam Sofer’s Text Markings
The Chasam Sofer marked the end of every paragraph in his writings with a line and period. Rabbi Asher Anshel Weiss, Av Beis Din of Nagy-Falu, noted that the Chasam Sofer inserted these symbols into his writings based on the wisdom of Kabbalah. (See Rabbi Nosson Stern in his preface to Drashos Chasam Sofer p. 19a, in the comment.)
