Important Mussar Sefer with Prayers: Derech Moshe
First and Very Rare Edition
Amsterdam, 1699
Sefer Derech Moshe containing drashos and stories, insights, mussar, and prayer arrangements by the Maggid Rabbi Moshe Kahana of Gebitch, among Poland’s tzaddikim in the 17th century.
This is a widespread mussar sefer in its extremely rare "first edition". To the best of our knowledge, it has not been seen at auctions in the past.
The sefer is based on the importance and virtue of prayers hinted at in the word "Tzaddik" in Hebrew = 90 Amens, 4 Kedushos, 10 Kaddishim, 100 Brachos.
The sefer continues with several prayer arrangements and kavanos according to Kabbalah:
* Kavanas Krias Shema according to Kabbalah (leaves 27-29);
* The order of ‘Kitzur Shomrim LaBoker’, containing brief prayers and supplications for individuals and the tzibur (30b-46);
* The order of ‘Devarim SheBiKedusha’ containing 4 Kedushos and 10 Kaddishim in a special nusach for one who cannot daven with a minyan (38-47)
* Sefer ‘Derech Moshe’ with a separate title page, entirely in Yiddish (48-64).
At the beginning of the sefer is a hakdama from the author’s father, Rabbi Meir Kahana, who was a darshan for about 50 years and went to Eretz Yisrael in his later years. Many of the chiddushei Torah printed here are from him.
In the introduction, he relates that his sefer received many haskamos from Gedolei Hador, but he didn’t print them because they were longer than the sefer itself.
A later edition of the sefer was printed in Dyhernfurth, 1734, with some additions, which is also very rare.
The sefer was printed in several editions together with ‘Sefer HaGan’ and they were called together: "Sefer HaGan V’Derech Moshe", and were divided for study according to the days of the month.
Amsterdam, 1699, First Edition.
Page Count: [8], 64 leaves. Pocket size.
Condition: Good; wear and signs of use, mainly in the margins. Some pages are cropped at the bottom of the page.
