Toldot Chachmei Yisrael - Handwritten Dedication by the Author, Reb Kalman Schulmann - Vilnius, 1874 - Extremely Rare

Toldot Chachmei Yisrael - Handwritten Dedication by the Author, Reb Kalman Schulmann - Vilnius, 1874 - Extremely Rare
Toldot Chachmei Yisrael, third section. Vilnius, 1874.
"The history of our scholars, the history of their books and the history of Hebrew literature in general…". By Reb Kalman Schulmann.
Includes an additional cover with a summary of the book. At the end of the book, an addenda by Chaim Yonah Gurland.

At the beginning of the book, a dedication by the author, Reb Kalman Schulmann, in nice handwriting: "to the splendid lord … Aryeh Lebensohn, from he who truly admires and respects him Kalman Schulman".

Schulmann's handwriting is extremely rare, all the more so a dedication by him!

Reb Kalman Schulmann, a Hebrew author and translator, one of the prominent figures of the Enlightenment Movement of Vilnius. He was born in 1819 in Belarus and was orphaned as a child. He studied at the Volozhin Yeshiva for six years and was a beloved disciple of the head of the yeshiva, Rabbi Yitzchak of Volozhin.
In 1838 he arrived in Vilnius and was accepted as a learner of the Beit Midrash of the Vilna Gaon. After a while, he was forced to start teaching in various towns of Lithuania. In 1843, he returned to Vilnius and studied at the yeshiva of Rabbi Yisrael Ginzburg.

In the following years, he began his fertile literary work, writing and translating dozens of important books. Schulmann was the first to translate Josephus Flavius' "War of the Jews". Among his books: "Divrei Yemei Olam", "Mechkarei Eretz Russia", "Toldon Chachmei Yisrael".
At the end of his days, he expressed his positive attitude towards Chibat Zion, the first Zionist Congress and the revival of the Hebrew language; he saw these enterprises as continuation of his literary work for the sake of the Hebrew language and Jewish nationalism.

Yosef Kloizner said of him: "Kalman Schulmann is a step in the ladder of revival, a step which cannot be skipped".

The receiver of the book, Reb Aryeh Lebenson served as a Mashgiach at the Beit Midrash for rabbis in Vilnius and as the charity treasurer of the town. He was the son of the poet and writer Adam Ha'Cohen. He was known for his contributions to Jewish institutions and to the publishing of various books.

[2] 194 pp.
Condition: Good. Wear and tear, time stains.