Rabbi Yitzchak Yaakov of Biala for “Toldot Adam”
Click here for Hebrew text.
The Yahrzeit of Rabbi Yehoshua of Ostrova (d 1873) is commemorated on the 28th of Nissan. The following praise of his works appeared in Sefer HaHasidut, Meah Tzadikim, Raphael, Yitzchak, 1961, Tel Aviv. (Freely translated by Gabbai Seth Fishman.)
It’s a Notable Sign
“His dear people, those who would bask in his holy shadow, asked their Rebbe, the famous, holy, divine Rav, our teacher, the Rabbi, Reb Shlomo Yehudah Leib of Leczna, (his righteous memory a blessing for life in the world to come, may his merits shield us):
‘Why haven’t you been writing down your Torah of truth, your secret gems and insights, which have flowed continually from you at all times; why haven’t you been putting them into a book for posterity?’
“And he answered them with these words:
‘For all time, I have never desired, nor has it ever crossed my mind to do so, not a single time.’
“So he passed the holy task along to his son, our teacher of valor, the author, may his merits shield us, who said it like this:
‘See! — זה ספר תולדת אדם / Zeh Sefer Toldot Adam / This book, Toldot Adam — is my creation.’
“And in line with his intent to capture his father’s insights, it appears there is a notable sign embedded in the text and, this sign hints to his father’s holy spirit.
“For the numerology of:
זה ספר תולדת אדם / Zeh Sefer Toldot Adam
[NOTE: 1,237: 7+5 + 60+80+200 + 400+6+30+4+400 + 1+4+40 = 12+340+840+45]
“equals the numerology of their names as follows:
יהושע בהרב הצדיק שלמה יהודה / Joshua with the Rav, the Tzaddik, Shlomo Yehudah; plus the 23 letters found in the five aforementioned words, (i.e., 23 for the count of letters in the Hebrew, ‘Yehoshua b’haRav haTzaddik Shlomo Yehudah’)!
[NOTE: 1,237: 10+5+6+300+70 + 2+5+200+2 + 5+90+4+10+100 + 300+30+40+5 + 10+5+6+4+5 + 23 = 391+209+209+375+30+23]
“And behold, the basic summary of what ‘This Book Toldot Adam’ is about is that it explains how, with words of Torah, the human nature shines a light into the hearts of Jews; this is the Toldot Adam / generations of humankind.”
(Excerpt from the book’s Introduction which was written by his son-in-law Rabbi Yitzchak Yaakov of Biala for “Toldot Adam”)
[NOTE: This book is public domain and can be accessed by clicking this link.]