This is an interesting small book from my antique book collection, called Shoshanas ha-Emakim, which means Lily of the Valleys. The author is Rabbi Yosef ben Meir Teomim, often known by the title of his major work, “Pri Megadim”. It is a scholarly work focused on the methodology and principles of Talmudic study. My copy was once owned by Rabbi Moshe Aaron HaLevi Horowitz, Rav of the Sepharad Synagogue in Kiraly Street, Budapest. A later owner was Asher Zelig Steinmetz, who ran a Chevra Shas in Budapest and then Brooklyn, USA.
The book deals with the “roots” of the Torah, serving as a guide to understanding the Talmud and its commentators. It functions as a foundational text for analyzing Talmudic logic, providing rules for comprehension of the Talmud, and delving into the intricacies of Halakha (Jewish Law). It was published alongside other works by Teomim, such as Ginnat Vradim, and is often associated with his broader, famous halakhic works like the Pri Megadim.
Rabbi Yosef Teomim, prominently known as the Pri Megadim, was born in 1727 in a small town on the outskirts of Lemberg (Lvov, today known as Lviv, in the Ukraine).
Following his marriage, Rabbi Yosef Teomim spent several years learning Torah there while being supported by his father-in-law. At some point though the financial support ceased and Rabbi Teomim began to work as a melamed (private tutor) in order to support his family.
At the end of the book, Rabbi Teomim explains that he wrote this book in the Beis Hamedrash (study house of his generous benefactor Daniel Yaffe and he describes the contents of the remarkable library to which he was granted access.
In 1772, while in Berlin, Rabbi Teomim published his major work, Pri Megadim on Yoreh Deyah. This book gained wide acceptance and quickly became a central work of halacha (Jewish legal scholarship). In 1774 Rabbi Teomim returned to Lemberg, and after that to Frankfurt on the Oder (not to be confused with Frankfurt am Main) where he served as rabbi until his death in 1792.
Jewish Miscellanies 