Autographed Manuscript of Avi Ezri. By Maran HaRav Shach zt”l.

Autographed Manuscript of Avi Ezri. By Maran HaRav Shach zt”l.

These 12.5 pages are all handwritten by the 20th Century leader of Lithuanian Torah Jewry, HaRav Shach.

These novellae are the autographed writings of his monumental work, Avi Ezri. The topics written in these novellae are on the laws of borrowing and lending as per the Rambam.

Rabbi Elazar Menachem Man Shach (1899-2001) was Rosh Yeshivat Ponovezh and head of the Moetzet Gedolei HaTorah of Agudat Yisrael, and later Degel HaTorah. He was the undisputed leader of the Lithuanian Chareidi Jewry in Israel.

The Rav's Method of Learning Torah:

As someone who greatly benefited from Rabbi Yitzhak Ze'ev Soloveitchik, Rabbi Shach's study in general was the Brisk method, to which he even added new variations. He was dedicated to the teachings of the Rambam and even arranged his books according to him, and considered independent and original thinking to be the basis of Torah study, even though he was taught not to deviate from the words of the Rishonim. He endeavored to explain the words of the Rishonim and Achronim, but did not shy away from expressing a lack of understanding and misunderstandings about their words. At the same time, he was open to receiving criticism for his own chiddushim, and it happened that he even interrupted his daily lesson due to a student's kushiya for which he could not find an answer.