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Only edition of these novellae and responsa of R. Jacob ben Aaron of Karlin. The title page, with a decorative frame, states that it is part one of novellae, “comparable to fine gold” (cf. Lamentations 4:2) on all parts of the Talmud, as well as responsa on all parts of the Shulhan Aruch, that Israel may know what to do, as well as pleasing interpretations of a small number of aggadah, pleasant to the soul. Kehillat Ya’akov was brought to press by R. Alexander Sender. There is Cyrillic text on the bottom of the title page and on the verso, likely the censor’s permission to print. Next is an introduction from the author’s son, then a bitter hesped and river of tears מספד מר ונחל דמעה by Alexander Sender, the author’s son, dated Wednesday, 11 Kislev, [5]606 (December 10, 1845), a lengthy introduction from R. Jacob ben Aaron, and the text. Kehillat Ya’akov is set in two columns in rabbinic type, excepting headers and initial words. The novellae are on Berakhot and tractates in Mo’ed. The second part of the book is comprised of eighteen responsa.
R. Jacob ben Aaron Baruchin of Karlin (d. 1844) was a grandson of R. Baruch ben Jacob of Shklov, and a pupil of R. Hayyim of Volozhin, being one of the earliest and most renowned graduates of the yeshiva of Volozhin. R. Jacob was the first rabbi of Gorodok and later in Karlin, where he served for about thirty years until his death. He was considered one of the greatest rabbinical authorities of his time. In addition to Kehillat Ya’akov, R. Jacob was the author of the responsa Mishkenot Ya’akov (Vilna, 1810), many of them with R. Ephraim Zalman Margulies of Brod, on all sections of the Shulhan Arukh. His halakhic works were highly esteemed by yeshivah students, by whom they were much used. R. Jacob’s brother R. Isaac, after devoting himself to business, succeeded him in the rabbinate of Karlin. R. Isaac, who also achieved an outstanding rabbinical reputation, was the author of Keren Orah (2 parts, 1852–57), on a number of tractates of the Talmud. Both brothers were noted for their struggle against the kidnapping of children for impressment into the Russian army. |
