Manuscript of R. Shmuel Rozovsky, Dean of Ponevezh Yeshiva –...

Manuscript of R. Shmuel Rozovsky, Dean of Ponevezh Yeshiva – Novellae on Various Matters

Notebook handwritten by R. Shmuel Rozovsky – novellae on "various matters". [Bnei Brak, ca. 1970s].
Autograph writing. With many additions between lines and in margins on leaves. On the notebook wrapper appears in his handwriting "various matters", and indeed the novellae do not deal with topics studied in yeshivas, on which R. Shmuel Rozovsky generally delivered his lectures, but on various other topics: laws of honoring and delighting on festivals and Chol HaMoed; laws of dusk and nightfall; checking for chametz and annulling chametz; whether thought is considered like speech; and more. From the second side of the notebook (flipped) are some leaves with short aggadic novellae (his handwritten inscription on the wrapper on the other side of the notebook: "outlines of various aggadic matters").

R. Shmuel Rozovsky (1913-1979) was a disciple of R. Shimon Shkop in the Shaar HaTorah yeshiva in Grodno (his hometown), and subsequently studied in the Mir yeshiva in Poland and in the Lomza yeshiva in Petach Tikva. He served as lecturer in the Lomza yeshiva even before he got married.
In Kislev 1943 he moved over with his disciples to the newly founded Ponevezh yeshiva in Bnei Brak and was the first lecturer in the Ponevezh yeshiva. His lectures were the main attraction of the Ponevezh yeshiva, where he transmitted the teachings of the Lithuanian yeshivot to the new generation in Eretz Israel. His impact on the Torah world in our times was highly significant, and to this day the lectures in most yeshivot are based on the principles and approaches of R. Shmuel, which he absorbed from his teachers in the Grodno yeshiva and Lithuanian yeshivot. Already in his lifetime, his lectures were published based on his students' notes, which were photocopied and printed in various mimeograph editions.
After his passing, his novellae and lectures were newly edited by his descendants and leading disciples, and published in Chidushei Rabbi Shmuel, Shiurei Rabbi Shmuel and Zichron Shmuel. When compiling these books, they mainly used the notes which his students took during the lectures, referring only minimally to R. Shmuel's own manuscripts, since he wrote very little of his own notes, devoting most of his time to preparing for the oral delivery. Thus, most of his teachings were transmitted through his disciples and their records.

72-leaf notebook, containing some 43 written pages and many blank pages. Approx. 20 cm. Good condition. Stains. Original Bristol wrapper, torn and detached.