If we were to ask ourselves, "What are some of the most
famous seforim that were printed in the last few
hundred years?" the name Sha'agas Aryeh would
definitely be among those on top of the list.
The saintly gaon Olom HaRav Aryeh Leib Ginsburg
zt"l, does not need an introduction. Any Torah scholar
has certainly learned some of his many seforim,
whether the Sha'agas Aryeh, Turei Evven on
maseches Rosh Hashonoh, Megilloh or Chagigah;
or perhaps one of his other seforim: Gevuras Ari
on maseches Yuma, Taanis or Makkos.
Interestingly, it is the minhag for some bar
mitzvah bochurim to say some Torah from sefer
Sha'agas Aryeh (as heard from Rabbi Moshe Berman,
principal of Stolin Yeshiva Boro Park).
The Sha'agas Aryeh was a prolific writer, writing on all
sections of Shas and halochoh. As he himself testifies
in his introduction to the Sha'agas Aryeh, "I am
printing here only a small sampling of my Torah. I have much,
much more, and much more was lost."
In the year 5516 (1756), he printed the sefer Sha'agas
Aryeh. At the age of seventy, in the year 5546 (1786), he
became the rav of Metz, Germany.
Legend has it that the townspeople of Metz were nervous to
accept him as their rov, due to his advanced age. However, he
assured them that he would hold his position for at least
twenty years. Indeed, he remained the rov in Metz for over 20
years.
Towards the end of his life, while in Metz, he wrote
chiddushim on all of Shas and started printing
them, calling them Turei Evven. However, he was only
able to print on maseches Megilloh, Chagigah and
Rosh Hashonoh. The rest was never published.
A while after he was niftar, his son HaRav Asher
zt"l printed his father's chiddushim on
maseches Taanis. However since his father did not
print it, he appended the name Gevuras Ari. Due to
monetary problems, Rebbi Asher was unable to print more of
his father's chiddushim. Unfortunately over the course
of time all the other writings were lost.
Almost one hundred years ago, in 1907 while on a trip to
Vilna, the Chofetz Chaim found out about a copy of the
chiddushim of the Sha'agas Aryeh on maseches Yuma
and Makkos. The Chofetz Chaim bought the rights to
the sefer and printed it.
He writes that he heard from Rebbi Chaim Ozer Grodzensky
zt"l, that his father-in-law, Rabbi Elya Eliezer
zt"l, and his grandfather, Rabbi Yitzchok zt"l,
used to learn from this manuscript together.
The manuscript that was found was not at all easy to print,
since it was not in the original handwriting of the Sha'agas
Aryeh, but a copy of the original manuscript. Due to the fact
that there were no copy machines or computers in those times,
the copier (a big talmid chochom, whose name is
unknown) was compelled to rewrite the whole sefer by
hand. In order to cut down on this very tedious work, he
wrote the whole sefer in roshei teivos, many of
them not easily understood. Moreover, the manuscript was torn
and ruined in different places.
In the introduction to the sefer, the Chofetz Chaim
writes that he worked hard to make the manuscript readable
and fixed many roshei teivos with the help of Rabbi
Moshe Londinsky zt"l, the rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas
Chofetz Chaim of Radin, and his son-in-law, Reb Hirsch
Levinson zt"l.
The Chofetz Chaim commented that the job was incomplete and
he hoped to improve it and add on he'oros in the next
printing. The Chofetz Chaim was never able to carry this
through, and all printings of the sefer since then are
a copy of the Chofetz Chaim's original one.
Approximately five years ago, Reb Chaim Yisroel Weissman, a
yungerman from Lakewood, undertook the task of redoing
the entire sefer with the permission of the Zaks
family, grandchildren and yorshim of the Chofetz
Chaim. In addition to correcting many printing mistakes,
adding marei mekomos, fixing roshei teivos,
inserting commas and periods, he also supplemented a few
paragraphs based on a ksav yad and from sefer Turei
Evven, retypesetting the entire text and supplementing it
with over one thousand he'oros. Added in the back are
three previously unknown inyanim from Rebbi Osher, son
of the Sha'agas Aryeh, on maseches Yuma, letters he
wrote to the Noda Biyehuda, and vice versa. There is also an
addendum of twenty-five new inyonim from the
Sha'agas Aryeh al HaShas, many of them previously
unknown to the olom Hatorah, including the first
drosho he gave when he became the rov of Metz!
This new edition, the Gevuras Ari "Weinreb edition
— Hotza'as Lakewood," will surely enhance the learning
of this major sefer on maseches Yuma. As befits
such an important sefer, it boasts a beautiful cover
and is printed in large format.
This publication is available now, at major seforim
stores. Or buy direct by calling 732-886-2308.
