The great robbery that took place in Jerusalem over 140 years ago made waves in the Jewish community.  The amount stolen was tremendous, even for those days, and the Police had given up in despair. The experienced thieves had left behind no trace whatsoever to help reveal their identity. The day following the robbery, the news reached the well-known Jerusalem gaon, Rabi Shneur Zalman Fradkin ztz”l, who was secreted in his home, learning Torah. Explaining that he had some information for them, he asked for the heads of Police to be called to his home. When they arrived, Rabi Shneur Zalman turned to them and said, “Two days ago I overheard a late night conversation from my window between two local Arabs. They were speaking to each other in hushed tones and looked suspicious. I don’t understand Arabic, but I can repeat to you verbatim exactly what I heard.” With his astounding memory, he then proceeded to repeat the conversation he had overheard in its entirety, syllable by syllable, all without understanding a word. From the Rav’s reiteration of the conversation, it turned out that these two were the thieves who had committed the robbery, and they were immediately apprehended.

This incident testifies to the Rav’s amazing memory and gives us a glimpse of his rare genius, which he employed both in giving counsel to his kehila and, clearly, in writing his Torah Novella and Responsa, which were then disseminated to all corners of the world.

His brilliant and clear Responsa, which were highly lauded among lovers of Torah in general and the gaonim and chachamim of Jerusalem in particular, were subsequently compiled into his monumental sefer aptly titled “Toras Chessed”.

The first part of the sefer appeared during the author’s lifetime whereas the second part appeared after his passing. 

Over the past few years, Machon Yerushalayim has taken upon itself the project of enhancing this compilation of Responsa. The result is attractive to the eye and uplifting for the soul, appearing as two exquisite, impressive volumes, the third of which is to be published shortly and will include an overview of the author’s life and achievements, beginning with his position as Rav in the city of Polotzk,  Poland, continuing with a description of his highly respected and honored position as the Rav of Lublin and ending with his arrival in Jerusalem, where he became known as “The Ruler of Jerusalem”, “Nasi Yerushalayim”. 

The well-known Gaon’s sefer,  “Torat Chessed Responsa”, can be purchased at a special price in honor of the Annual Sales Event of Machon Yerushalayim. Thousands of other seforim, all relating to Torah and Talmudic topics, new or old, will be on special sale at unprecedented prices. With these amazing prices, every Jew can replenish, enhance and update his personal home library, Otzar Hasefarim  gabbaim of yeshivas can get newer, more attractive editions and Beit Medrash gabbaim can upgrade their libraries with seforim that have received ‘facelifts’ in new, attractive editions and, of course, with a range of titles that have been newly published for the Annual Sales Event. 

What a special CHANUKA GIFT idea!