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Lot : 22
Complete Kuntres Handwritten by the Ksav Sofer – Pressburg, 1862
Complete Kuntres Handwritten by the Ksav Sofer – Pressburg, 1862
A complete kuntres comprising eight fully written pages in the handwriting of the gaon Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Binyamin Sofer, Av Beis Din and Rosh Yeshiva of Pressburg, author of Ksav Sofer, on a fundamental sugya in maseches Kesubos.
The title page, written by the Ksav Sofer himself, reads:
“[Kuntres] No. 21 – On the Laws of Amatlah, Kesubos 22a – An Explanation of the Opinions of the Poskim.”
The opening lines state:
“With Hashem’s help, what Hashem has graciously granted me regarding the laws of Amatlah in Kesubos 22a, as we studied during the winter shiur of 1862.”
The Ksav Sofer’s handwritten chidushim are regarded as a segulah for healing – see below.
The Sugya of Amatlah
The sugya of Amatlah in maseches Kesubos is a foundational discussion with significant implications in both monetary law and the laws of issur v’heter. The literal meaning of “amatlah” is an “explanation” or “justification.” It addresses cases where a person makes a statement about himself and later retracts or contradicts it. In such circumstances, halacha requires a convincing explanation for the original statement before accepting the retraction.
The Ksav Sofer
Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Binyamin Sofer (1815–1871), Av Beis Din of Pressburg and one of the foremost Torah leaders of nineteenth-century Hungary, succeeded his illustrious father, the Chasam Sofer, at the remarkably young age of twenty-four, as both Rav of Pressburg and head of its famed yeshiva.
For the next 33 years, the Pressburg Yeshiva thrived, expanded, and flourished under his leadership, cultivating generations of rabbanim who disseminated Torah throughout Hungary, to the extent that most of Hungary’s rabbanim in the following generation were his disciples.
His brother, Rabbi Shimon Sofer, described him in the introduction to Shu”t Ksav Sofer:
“He completely filled our father’s place, never straying in the slightest from his path… His father’s radiance rested upon him throughout his life, and Ruach Hakodesh lived within him. The hand of Hashem was evident in all his accomplishments for Moshe [the Chasam Sofer] had laid his hands upon him, and all his qualities were inherited from our father — his Torah, his righteousness, his humility, and leadership.”
During the Chasam Sofer’s final illness, he placed his hands upon his son’s head and blessed him as he prepared to assume the rabbinate of Pressburg, declaring:
“Your grandfather Rabbi Akiva stands at your right, your grandfather the Maharshach stands at your left, and an angel stands above your head — and I, too, will follow you and fulfill your words.”
The Ksav Sofer later recalled that while his father’s hands rested upon his head, they felt like a blazing fire.
Pressburg, 1862. Title leaf followed by four written leaves (8 pages), divided into twelve sections. 26 cm. Entirely in the handwriting of the Ksav Sofer on greenish paper. Fine condition. Beautiful new leather binding.
This manuscript was later published from this very autograph in Chiddushei
Ksav Sofer on Maseches Kesubos (Machon Chasam Sofer, Jerusalem, 1973).
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A Segulah for Healing
The Ksav Sofer’s grandson, the Da’as Sofer, would instruct sick patients to place one of his grandfather’s handwritten manuscripts beneath their pillows as a segulah for health and recovery (Kovetz Beis Sofrim III, p. 173).
