Degel Machaneh Efraim – Korets, 1810 – First Edition – Signature of Rabbi Aharon Moshe MiGeza Tzvi of Brody – ...

Degel Machaneh Efraim – Korets, 1810 – First Edition – Signature of Rabbi Aharon Moshe MiGeza Tzvi of Brody – Handwritten Glosses

Degel Machaneh Efraim, Chassidic teachings on the Torah, by R. Moshe Chaim Efraim Ashkenazi Rabbi of Sudilkov (Sudylkiv), grandson of the Baal Shem Tov. Korets: printer not indicated, [1810]. First edition.
Copy of R. Aharon Moshe MiGeza Tzvi of Brody, with his signature on the title page.
Other inscriptions and signatures. Early stamps of Chassidic Batei Midrash in Jerusalem.
Two glosses (one trimmed) in Rashi script, quoting teachings of the Baal Shem Tov mentioned in other Chassidic works.
R. Aharon Moshe MiGeza Tzvi of Brody (1775-1845), Chassidic leader, disciple of the Chozeh of Lublin and R. Uri of Strelisk, amongst the first Chassidim to immigrate to Jerusalem (in 1799) and one of the founders of the Chassidic settlement there. His gravestone on Har HaZetim is inscribed with titles of praise which were rarely used in those times in Jerusalem.
Degel Machanah Efraim is an early Chassidic book. This book is one of the first and most reliable sources of the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov, which the author, R. Moshe Chaim Efraim of Sudilkov (d. 1800), grandson of the Baal Shem Tov (son of the Baal Shem Tov's pious daughter Odel), received directly from him. In his renowned letter to his brother-in-law R. Gershon of Kitov in 1752, the Baal Shem Tov refers to this grandson as a tremendous genius.
The book includes approbations by foremost Chassidic leaders: R. Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, the Maggid R. Yisrael of Kozhnitz, R. Yaakov Yitzchak HaLevi Horowitz the Chozeh of Lublin, R. Avraham Yehoshua Heshel Rabbi of Apta, and the Be'er Mayim Chaim. Selections by the Baal Shem Tov at the end of the book.
Chassidic leaders greatly praised the holiness of this book, and its ability to inspire whoever studies it with fear of G-d, as R. Levi Yitzchak wrote in his approbation to the book: "I am convinced that this book will enthuse the hearts of our Jewish brethren to worship G-d".
All the approbations emphasize the author's lineage as grandson of the Baal Shem Tov, and that the book is replete with the latter's essential teachings.

[2], 114 leaves. 20 cm. Most leaves in good-fair condition, final leaves in fair condition. Stains, including dampstains and traces of past dampness. Worming, slightly affecting text, repaired with paper. Minor marginal open tears to first leaves, and open tears affecting text to final leaves, repaired with paper. Handwritten replacement of missing text on final leaf; this leaf and several other leaves may have been supplied from a different copy. Leaves trimmed close to text in several places. Stamps (some rubbed off). Inscriptions. New leather binding.