Halachot Ketanot - Venice 1704 - Dedication in the Handwriting of the Publisher and Author Rabbi Moshe Hagiz - ...

Halachot Ketanot - Venice 1704 - Dedication in the Handwriting of the Publisher and Author Rabbi Moshe Hagiz - Signatures of Rabbi Elazar Fleckeles
Halachot Ketanot, brief responsa on various topics, Parts 1-2. Includes Kuntress Gittin, by Rabbi Ya’akov Hagiz. Printed by his son Rabbi Moshe Hagiz. Venice, [1704]. First edition, contains printed glosses and additions by Rabbi Moshe Hagiz, signed "Hameniach" [acronym of Hatzair Moshe Ben Ya'akov Hagiz]. Printed between Part 1 and Part 2 are halachic responsa named Leket HaKemach [HaKemach - acronym of the name of the writer "Hakatan Moshe Hagiz"].
Three signatures in the handwriting of the celebrated Rabbi "Elazar Fleckeles" Ra'avad of Prague. On the flyleaf is a dedication in the handwriting of the publisher and author, R. Moshe Hagiz. On the title page is the signature of R. "Shimshon Heidnum of Frankfurt am Main" [apparently the father or relative of the Raveh, R. Wolf son of R. Shimshon Heidenheim of Frankfurt am Main]. On the back flyleaf are ownership inscriptions in pencil from 1834 that the book belongs to R. Leib Ostreich Ravad of O.Y. [Oben Yashan?], in the handwriting of his son "Chaim Ostreich".
R. Elazar Fleckeles (1754-1826), a prominent Torah scholar and leading disciple of the Nodah b'Yehuda, served as Rabbi of Goitein (Kojetín) during 1779-1783 and in 1783 was appointed Dayan and Ra'avad of Prague. Renowned for his 3-volume book Teshuva MeAhava and for other works.
The distinguished Torah scholar Moshe Hagiz (born in 1672, died c. 1750-1760), an outstanding Torah prodigy proficient in Halacha and Kabbalah was a leading Sephardi sage in Jerusalem and later in Ashkenazi countries. Born in Jerusalem in 1672, son of Rabbi Ya’akov Hagiz author of Halachot Ketanot. Orphaned in his childhood, he was raised in the home of his illustrious grandfather, Rabbi Moshe Galanti "HaRav HaMagen" who was the head of the Jerusalem rabbis. The Maharam Hagiz was a disciple of the leading Sephardi sages of Jerusalem and of his celebrated brother-in-law Rabbi Moshe Ibn Chaviv [son-in-law of Rabbi Ya’akov Hagiz]. In 1694, after the death of his grandfather the Maharam Galanti, he left Eretz Israel as an emissary to Egypt and to the Diaspora. His wanderings lasted for 40 years and took him to European countries. During this period he resided in Livorno, Venice, Amsterdam, London, Berlin, Emden and Hamburg. In the course of those years, he became used to writing in Ashkenazi script [primarily due to his occupation with printing his books in Amsterdam and in Ashkenazi countries, and to his correspondence with leading European rabbis]. His Ashkenazi script in this dedication is especially interesting since the origin of the writer is clearly discernable and it contains many motifs stemming from the Sephardi writing to which the writer was accustomed in his youth.
The Maharam Hagiz was involved in rabbinical issues in Ashkenazi countries and many important rabbis valued his opinion in Halachic and public matters. He is known for his unswerving opposition to Sabbatean follower Nechemya Hayun from Amsterdam in conjunction with the Chacham Zvi and the Ya’avetz which later compelled him to move to Germany, where he remained for over 20 years.
He authored many books on Halacha, Mussar and Kabbalah (also polemic material opposing Sabbatean thought and the writings of Nechemya Hayun). His Torah teachings also appear in the many books he printed containing the teachings of his father, his grandfathers and teachers, to which he added his own additions, glosses and introductions, signing "Amar HaMeniach". This is such a book, the Halachot Ketanot responsa by his father, the Mahari Hagiz, printed in Venice in 1704 [see article by M. Benayahu: Books written by R. Moshe Hagiz and books he published, Elei Sefer, Vol. 2, 1976, pp. 154-160].
In 1738, he returned to Eretz Israel and resided in Sidon and in Safed. Various contradictory opinions account for the year of his death and the location of his gravesite. The Chida in Shem HaGedolim writes that he arrived in Sidon in 1738 and died in Safed in 1760, nearing the age of 90. (See: Shem HaGedolim, Ma’arechet Gedolim, Ot 40, 123). According to a different version, he died around 1750. According to the opinion of Luntz (Yerushalayim, Year 1, 1882, pp. 119-120), he left Safed for Beirut to recover from an illness, died there and was buried in Sidon.
[4], 71, [9] leaves. 25.5 cm. Good condition. Stains and minor wear. Old binding.