Manuscript, Shaarei Kedushah by Rabbi Chaim Vital, Copied by Rabbi Shmuel Segal Landau, Author of Shivat Tzion, Son ...

Manuscript, Shaarei Kedushah by Rabbi Chaim Vital, Copied by Rabbi Shmuel Segal Landau, Author of Shivat Tzion, Son of the Noda BiYehudah, in His Youth in Prague – With Original Prayer for Baking of Matzot

Manuscript, Shaarei Kedushah by R. Chaim Vital, copied by R. Shmuel Segal Landau, author of Shivat Tzion, son of the Noda BiYehudah. [Prague, ca. 1760s-1770s].

Complete copying of the book from the first printed edition, Constantinople 1734 (including the decorative verses on title page and afterword by printer).

At the top of the title page, in red ink, appears the signature of R. Shmuel Segal Landau, next to an inscription in his handwriting: "In my youth in Prague I wrote it with my own hand in honor of my Maker, Master and Creator". On the last page of the copying of Shaarei Kedushah is another inscription in his handwriting (in red ink): "S. S. L" (his initials).

At the end of the manuscript, on the last two leaves, R. Shmuel copied two prayers. The first, "a fine prayer I authored, with G-d's help, to recite before baking the matzah" – begins: "You are our G-d and the G-d of our forefathers, Who with Your great kindness and immense mercy bared Your holy arm and took us out of Egypt…". This prayer is not known from any other source, and the title appears to indicate that this is an original prayer authored by R. Shmuel himself (although possibly R. Shmuel copied it along with the title from another source). After the above prayer appears a Yehi Ratzon to be recited after the reading of the appropriate Nesiim section for the day (appears in the Shlah siddur).

R. Shmuel HaLevi (Segal) Landau (born ca. 1750, d. 1834 or 1837), a leading Torah scholar of his times. He was the son and successor of the Noda BiYehudah as Rabbi of Prague. His responsa, novellae and glosses were printed in the books of his father, including in Responsa Noda BiYehudah, as well as in his own book Shivat Tzion. He served as dayan in Prague in his father's lifetime and headed the city's large yeshiva. After his father's death, R. Shmuel was not appointed Rabbi of Prague due to various disputes between community leaders who flouted the instruction of the Noda BiYehudah's will to appoint R. Shmuel as his successor, but his authority was recognized throughout the Jewish world as the foremost Torah scholar and dayan of Prague, which was a center of Torah scholars and poskim. He was very active in bolstering religious adherence, in fighting the Reform movements and their religious "improvements", as well as opposing the Frankist sect active in his city (which eventually led to his imprisonment). He corresponded on halachic issues with the Chatam Sofer, who mentions R. Shmuel several times in his books with high esteem (see Responsa Chatam Sofer, Part VIII, section 65, where he relates that only twice did he retract a halachic ruling, once after he accepted the opinion of R. Efraim Zalman Margolies and again when he conceded to R. Shmuel Landau's view on the spelling of names for a Get).

[4], 70, [2] leaves. Approx. 16 cm. Good condition. Stains, including dampstains and ink smudging. Tears to several leaves. New binding.