Obj. ID: 36283
Jewish printed books  Or Chadash, Vienna, 1799

This text was prepared by William Gross:

This volume contains novellae on tractate Kiddushin by R. Eleazar ben Eleazar Kallir (1728–1801). His father died before his birth, and he was therefore given his father's name. In 1759 he was appointed rabbi of Zabludow, and from there proceeded to Berlin where he lectured in the college of the wealthy R. Moses b. Isaac Levy. He was appointed rabbi of Rechnitz and head of its large yeshivah in 1768, and in 1781 rabbi of Kolin near Prague. R. Kallir was highly regarded by his contemporaries. R. Azulai says, "he has the reputation of being sharpwitted and erudite," while R. Baruch Jeiteles states that "after the death of R. Ezekiel Landau, he was the sole remaining authority in the country." His first work, Or Hadash, on the Pentateuch, was an appendix to the Kotnot Or of his grandfather, R. Meir Eisenstadt, which he published under the title Me'orei Esh (Fuerth, 1766). Under the same title he subsequently published commentaries on tractate Pesahim (Frankfort on the Oder, 1771, and often republished) and on Kiddushin (Vienna, 1799); he also wrote Havvot Yair he-Hadash (Prague, 1792), sermons and eulogies; Heker Halakhah (Vienna, 1838), responsa. His books met with a wide acceptance and are quoted by his contemporaries. Other works remain in manuscript.
The Hraschanzky printing firm began with the activity of Joseph Hraschanzky. He first learned the printing trade with the Neumann printing house in Milulov after which time he opened his own publishing house in Vienna. He was an active printer in Vienna from 1785 to 1806. the date of his death, with the first Hebrew book issued from his press in 1787/88. His son, Georg, continued the activity of the firm, almost exclusively in the Hebrew book field, until 1813. But the times were difficult in Vienna and the business suffered difficulties. In that year the firm was sold and further printings were issued under the name of Georg Holtzinger. Hraschansky printed books in several languages including a significant section for Hebrew books and exported his publications. During the 30 years of the Hraschanzky firm, they printed 219 books of which 111 were in Hebrew.