Auction 95 Early Printed Books, Chassidut and Kabbalah, Letters and Manuscripts, Engravings and Jewish Ceremonial Objects
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Tractate Avot, with commentaries by Rashi and the Vilna Gaon; Avot DeRabbi Natan, and the minor tractates: Sofrim, Semachot, Kallah, Derech Eretz Rabbah, Derech Eretz Zuta and Perek HaShalom, corrected according to the text of the Vilna Gaon. Shklow, [1804]. First edition.
The book was brought to press by the sons of the Vilna Gaon, R. Yehudah Leib and R. Avraham, and compiled by his disciple, the kabbalist R. Menachem Mendel of Shklow. The book begins with an important foreword by R. Menachem Mendel, in which he relays several extraordinary points that he heard from his teacher, the Vilna Gaon.
Leaves 3-24: Tractate Avot, the Mishnah occupying the center of the pages, with the commentaries of Rashi and the Vilna Gaon on each side. Leaves 25-50: Tractate Avot DeRabbi Natan, based on the text and corrections of the Vilna Gaon. The center of the page is occupied by the text corrected by the Vilna Gaon, with the old, unedited version printed on the side. Leaves 51-82: Minor Tractates in the same format, the corrected text occupying the center of the page, with the old version on the side.
Signature of "Yissachar Ber of Vilna" on the title page – possibly R. Yissachar Ber, posek in Vilna, disciple of the Vilna Gaon, author of Maaseh Rav.
R. Yissachar Ber (1779-1855), son of R. Tanchum, Rabbi of Orla. He studied in the Kloiz of the Vilna Gaon, where he learned Torah under him. He was appointed posek in Vilna in 1817 alongside R. Avraham Abele Posweller, R. Shaul Katzenellenbogen and the Chayei Adam, and was eventually recognized as foremost posek in the city. He is particularly renowned for his book Maaseh Rav, in which he records the practices of his teacher the Vilna Gaon. His son R. Eliyahu Peretz (1806-1867) succeeded him as posek in Vilna.
78, 81-82 leaves. Missing leaves 79-80. 21.5 cm. Most leaves in good-fair condition. Stains, including dampstains. Worming to title page and additional leaves, affecting text. Small open tears to several leaves, and tears affecting text to last leaf. Stamps. Old binding, with damage and a tear to the spine.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Maaseh Rav, practices of the Gaon of Vilna, by R. Yissachar Ber, posek in Vilna. Vilna and Grodno: Menachem Mann son of Baruch and Simchah Simmel son of Menachem Nachum, [1832]. First edition.
Originally printed with two title pages. The present copy lacks the first title page.
First edition of one of the most important books regarding the customs of the Gaon of Vilna. The book records the customs and rulings of the Gaon of Vilna, based on the personal testimonies of his disciples.
[1], 67 pages. Missing first title page. Approx. 20 cm. Overall good condition. Stains. Light wear. Old binding.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Four books by the Gaon of Vilna on the Mishnah and Tosefta:
• Shenot Eliyahu, Mishnah Seder Zera'im with commentary of the Vilna Gaon. Lviv, [1799]. First edition.
• Tosefta on Seder Zera'im with commentary by R. Yonah son of Gershon of Vilna, including glosses by the Vilna Gaon. Vilna, 1799. First edition. Heavy mold stains.
• Eliyahu Rabba, Part I, commentary on Mishnah Seder Taharot, by the Vilna Gaon. Brno, 1802. First edition. Ownership inscription on endpaper: "R. Hirsch Zuckerman of Wrocław", and another lengthy learned inscription.
• Taharat HaKodesh, Zer Zahav commentary on Tosefta Seder Taharot by the Vilna Gaon. Zhovkva, 1804. First edition. Missing leaves 69-70.
4 books. Varying size and condition.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Collection of Shulchan Aruch books, with commentary by the Gaon of Vilna:
• Ashlei Ravrevei, Shulchan Aruch Yoreh Deah, with Be'er HaGola and commentary by the Gaon of Vilna. Grodno: Yechezkel son of Moshe, Simchah Simmel son of Menachem Nachum and Simchah Simmel son of Yechezkel, 1806. Some letters on the title page in red ink. First edition of the commentary by the Gaon of Vilna.
With foreword by R. Menachem Mendel of Shklov, disciple of the Gaon of Vilna.
On title page (and p. 18a), ownership inscription in Oriental script of R. "Yosef Chalfon Atiya" [of Damascus, held a yeshiva in his house and owned a large library. He bought the library of R. Yisrael Moshe Chazan, when the library was transferred to the possession of R. Shlomo Eliezer Alfandari].
One gloss in Oriental script (p. 158a).
23, [1], 24-176 leaves. 33.5 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains, including dampstains. Worming, affecting text. Tears and open tears to title page and additional pages, slightly affecting text, repaired with pieces of paper. Close trimming on the border of the text in several places, affecting text. Old binding, damaged.
• Apei Ravrevei, Shulchan Aruch Even HaEzer. Vilna and Grodno: Menachem Man son of Baruch and Simchah Simmel son of Menachem Nachum, [1819]. Some letters on the title page in red ink.
The printing of Shulchan Aruch Even HaEzer with the commentary of the Gaon of Vilna began in 1812-1819, yet was interrupted shortly thereafter, due to Napoleon's invasion of Russia that year. The printers only managed to print sections 1-25 (and the beginning of section 26), without the title page. In 1819, the printing resumed, and sections 26-178, the title page and forewords were printed and bound with the incomplete copies printed in 1812. There is a significant difference between the two printings. The part printed in 1812 contains only the commentary of the Gaon of Vilna with the text of the Shulchan Aruch, while the Chelkat Mechokek and Beit Shmuel commentaries were to be printed as an addendum at the end of the book. In the part printed in 1819 however, the Chelkat Mechokek and Beit Shmuel commentaries were returned to their place on each page. In 1819, complementary leaves with the above commentaries pertaining to sections 1-25 were printed (since these sections were originally printed without the commentaries). Concurrently, in 1819, a complete edition of Even HaEzer was printed, in which even sections 1-25 were printed in the new format (with the Chelkat Mechokek and Beit Shmuel commentaries on each page). The present copy belongs to the first, exceptionally rare, edition (combining the 1812 and 1819 editions).
Signature on title page. Stamps of R. "Shlomo son of R. Sh. Kleinplatz, Rabbi of Malkin".
24, 23-55; 188 leaves. 35.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains, including dampstains (traces of mold?). Light wear. Marginal tears and open tears, not affecting text, partially repaired with tape. Original binding, with tears and damage.
• Maginei Eretz, Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim, with Magen David (Turei Zahav) and Magen Avraham, commentary by the Gaon of Vilna and novellae by R. Akiva Eiger Parts I-II. Johannisburg: Georg Stein, 1862. First edition of the Torah novellae by R. Akiva Eiger. Two volumes, one for each part. The present volumes are additionally bound with a title cover (undocumented in the Bibliography of the Hebrew Book).
Part I (sections 1-428): [5], 318 leaves; Part II (sections 429-697): [3], 217, [1] leaves. 38.5 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains, including dampstains. Wear, tears and open tears, especially to first and last leaves (affecting frame of title cover of Part I), partially repaired with pieces of paper. Stamps. Old bindings, worn and torn. Binding of Part I disconnected and missing spine.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
![Alfei Menashe, by R. Menashe of Ilya. Vilna, [1822]. First edition. A philosophical work for the purpose of Tikkun Olam. The](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale95/87.jpg "Alfei Menashe – By Rabbi Menashe of Ilya, Close Disciple of the Gaon o")
Alfei Menashe, by R. Menashe of Ilya. Vilna, [1822]. First edition. A philosophical work for the purpose of Tikkun Olam. The author's Talmudic novellae, in which he quotes teachings of his teacher the Vilna Gaon, are printed at the end of the book.
Ownership inscription on title page: "R. Eliezer Sofer". Handwritten glosses to several leaves in handwriting of R. Eliezer Sofer, one of them signed with his name. Additional inscriptions.
R. Eliezer Sofer (son of R. Gronam Sofer of Novardok), Rabbi of Zaslawye, author of Be'er Eliezer.
[2], 92 leaves. 17.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Light wear. Small marginal tears to some leaves. Old binding. Wear and damage to binding.
R. Menashe of Ilya (1767-1831), an outstanding Lithuanian Torah scholar, close disciple of the Gaon of Vilna. He officiated as the rabbi of Samorgan (Smarhon) for a short time, but left the post in the wake of his opposition to community officials who complied with the Cantonist decree. His original and unique views, focusing on Tikkun Olam, improving the conditions of Russian Jewry and promoting peace, drew much criticism, and some of his works were burnt by his opponents.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Printed booklet, "Letter sent from the Ashkenazi rabbis in Eretz Israel, to the sons of Moshe Rabbenu and the Ten Tribes", by R. Yisrael of Shklow, head of the Ashkenazi community in Safed. [Amsterdam: printer not indicated, 1830].
Bound with original color paper wrapper.
In 1830, R. Baruch son of R. Shmuel was sent as the emissary of the Prushim community of Safed. Apart from raising funds, he was given another mission – to locate the Ten Lost Tribes in the desert on the border of Yemen. He was therefore provided with a special letter from R. Yisrael of Shklow, leader of the Prushim in Safed, signed also by the other leaders of the Prushim and Chassidim in Jerusalem and Safed. A copy of the letter was sent to the "Pekidim and Amarkalim", heads of the center for fundraising for Eretz Israel in Amsterdam, where, having made a great impact, the letter was printed and distributed. R. Baruch reached Sanaa in Av 1833, where he was executed on charge of espionage.
4 leaves. Printed without a title page. 19 cm. Good condition. Stains. Original colored paper wrapper.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Noticias reconditas do modo de proceder a Inquisição de Portugal com os seus presos [information on the Portuguese Inquisition's treatment of its prisoners], by António Vieira. Lisbon: Imprensa Nacional, 1821. First Portuguese edition.
Sharp critical report against the Portuguese Inquisition and its manner of persecuting Jewish conversos. The report was made by the Jesuit priest António Vieira (1608-1697), at the request of Pope Clement X.
Vieira, who was himself jailed and tortured by the Inquisition for three years, reports on the unending persecution of the Portuguese Inquisition against the Jewish conversos and their families, who were suspected of disobedience to Christian laws and preservation of Jewish customs. He describes at length the arbitrary procedure of imprisonment and the shameful jail conditions, the seizure of property, the lengthy interrogations and harsh torture, the obtainment of testimony, the evidence and the forced confessions, the sentences, and more. Vieira notes the ethical-religious and economic questions raised by this conduct, and demands an immediate end to the use of these methods. As a result of the report's conclusions, Pope Innocent XI suspended the Inquisition in Portugal for seven years (1674-1681).
The report was distributed for many years only in manuscript, and was not well known to the public. In 1808 the report was published in London in English translation, and in 1821 the report was first published in the original Portuguese in Lisbon, the same year that the Portuguese Inquisition was permanently terminated.
[5], 3-272 pages. 15.5 cm. Good condition. Stains and light damage. Uneven trimming. New binding.
Rare. To the best of our knowledge and research, this has never before been auctioned.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
!["Aviso ao Público", printed broadside. Lisbon: Na officina de Simão Thaddeo Ferreira, [1804]. Portugu](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale95/186.jpg "\"Notice to the Public\" – Jewish Physician José de Castro, Lisbon, 1804")
"Aviso ao Público", printed broadside. Lisbon: Na officina de Simão Thaddeo Ferreira, [1804]. Portuguese.
Public notice by the physician José Joaquim de Castro, descendant of a family of Anusim which held the knowledge of the formula for preparing the medicine "Água de Inglaterra" (= English Water) – the only known treatment for malaria at the time.
The present notice serves as a warning to the public regarding fake and counterfeit products. It includes guidelines for verifying the authenticity of the product, and issues a specific warning directed at counterfeiters who fill empty bottles of the authentic medicine with the counterfeit product. A price list of various products appears in the margins.
"Água de Inglaterra" was the name of a medicine produced from the bark of the Cinchona plant, from which quinine was produced – the only efficient treatment for malaria ath the time. The medicine was developed by Jacob de Castro Sarmento (1690-1762), a Portuguese-Jewish physician who became the first Jewish doctor of medicine in England. The recipe for this medicine was kept secret within his family and passed down through many generations.
Rare. Not listed in the NLI catalog. Only a few copies listed in the OCLC.
Approx. 36X45. Few stains. Minor marginal tears. Blank strip from lower margins (some 5 cm wide, without text) partly missing, without damage to printing.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
![Ha-Lapid, O facho, Orgão da Comunidade Israelita do Porto [periodical of the Jewish community in Porto], edited by Avr](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale95/187_1.jpg "Ha-Lapid – Periodical of the Jewish Community in Portugal – Volume wit")
![Ha-Lapid, O facho, Orgão da Comunidade Israelita do Porto [periodical of the Jewish community in Porto], edited by Avr](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale95/187_2.jpg "Ha-Lapid – Periodical of the Jewish Community in Portugal – Volume wit")
Ha-Lapid, O facho, Orgão da Comunidade Israelita do Porto [periodical of the Jewish community in Porto], edited by Avraham Yisrael Ben-Rosh. Porto (Portugal): Empresa Diario do Porto, 1927-1948. Portuguese.
Volume of issues, containing 110 issues (issues no. 3-110, 141-142), from the first year of the periodical (1927) to its 15th year (1941). Two additional issues from the 22nd year of the periodical (1948).
The periodical was published in the years 1927-1958, and contained news and information on the events in the Jewish community in Porto and other Jewish communities around the world, articles on Jewish topics, various photographs, and more. At first the periodical was published on a monthly basis, but starting in 1929 it began to be published bimonthly (the last issues of the periodical were printed biannually).
Artur Carlos de Barros Basto (1887-1961; Hebrew name: Avraham Yisrael Ben-Rosh). Officer in the Portuguese army. Fought in the 1910 revolution and the First World War; decorated several times for acts of bravery and promoted to the rank of Capitão (Captain). Renowned for nurturing a rebirth of the Jewish community in Porto, and for returning thousands of descendants of Portuguese Marranos and conversos to the Jewish faith. Born in northern Portugal; received a Catholic education. Discovered at a young age that he was descended from Jewish conversos, and familiarized himself with Jewish customs upon reaching adulthood. Underwent halakhic conversion, and married the daughter of one of the leaders of Lisbon’s Jewish community. The main objective of his ambitious efforts was the renewal of the Jewish community of Porto, several centuries after it had been destroyed with the expulsion of the Jews from Portugal. As part of his mission – and while still pursuing his military career – in 1927, Barros Basto founded a journal titled "HaLapid" ("The Torch"). He also published books, articles, and research papers on various Jewish topics. Many of these can be found in the present collection. In addition, he established a yeshiva by the name of "Rosh Pinah."
In order to locate Portuguese Crypto-Jews, Barros Basto would ride his horse through the rural areas surrounding Porto, accompanied by a "mohel", and whenever he came across male descendants of conversos who showed an interest in returning to Judaism, he would suggest they consider undergoing circumcision.
In the early 1920s, he began realizing his goal of re-establishing a Jewish community in Porto, centered around a synagogue originally located in a small apartment. This institution grew and eventually relocated to a large, magnificent building. Known as the Kadoorie – Mekor Haim Synagogue, it was funded by donations from the Baron Edmond de Rothschild and the Baron Lawrence Kadoorie, and was inaugurated in 1938.
Barros Basto’s far-reaching endeavors aimed at renewing Jewish life in Portugal – and in particular, the circumcision ceremonies he promoted – aroused the wrath of the Catholic Church. They also drew the attention of officials in the autocratic regime of António de Oliveira Salazar, sparking an anti-Semitic backlash. As a result, he was falsely accused of assorted crimes, put on trial, and despite his complete innocence, dishonorably discharged in 1937 from the ranks of the Portuguese armed forces. This course of events earned him the title of "the Portuguese Dreyfus." Barros Basto died in 1961 and was buried in his place of birth, Amarante.
Long after his death, in 2012, Barros Basto’s name was officially rehabilitated by an act of the Portuguese Parliament, and he thus posthumously regained his status as a Portuguese national hero.
110 issues. One issue disconnected. Many sequences of leaves. 24 cm. Dry paper. Good-fair condition. Stains. Tears, including a few open tears affecting text, partially repaired with paper. New binding.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Escamoth, Reglamentos, e Ordenanças para o bom governo da Santa Irmandade Mishenet Zequenim, id est: Bordao dos Velhos, Novamente Istituida nesta cidade Amsterdam, para amparo de Velhos, e Velhas, desvalidos. Amsterdam, 1750. Printed with the permission of the community council.
Booklet containing ordinances of the Mishenet Zekenim society – a home for old men and women associated with the Portuguese Talmud Torah community in Amsterdam. This old age home was one of the earliest known Jewish welfare institutions of its kind.
The Spanish-Portuguese community was established in Amsterdam by an increasing flow of Jews drawn there for its relative religious tolerance and commercial opportunities. The 1579 Union of Utrecht declared that no person would be persecuted or interrogated on religious grounds, which made the city the destination of choice for Marranos from the Iberian Peninsula and southern France who wished to begin practicing Judaism openly. In its early years in the late 16th century, the community was not officially recognized and was forbidden from building a synagogue. Towards the mid-17th century, the city was already home to some 2500 Jews; the small congregations – Neveh Shalom, Beit Yisrael and Beit Yaakov – united in 1639 to form a Sephardic congregation named Talmud Torah, and in 1675, the congregation inaugurated its magnificent synagogue, the Esnoga, active to this day. The elite of the Sephardic society contributed much to the economy of the city and to Dutch colonization efforts, and the great benefit they brought to the city led the authorities to grant the community extensive freedom and autonomous rights. The members of the community became prominent physicians, philosophers, poets and rabbis. Amsterdam was one of the prominent printing centers in Europe, and was home to Jewish printers renowned for their high standards of work.
[6]; 9, [1] pages. 19.5 cm. Good condition. Colorful wrapper; light wear to wrapper.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Orot HaMitzvot, commentaries and novellae on the reasons for commandments, according to the order of the Torah portions, with Emek Binyamin – responsa, halachic rulings and laws by R. Binyamin Dias-Brandon [a rabbi of the Portuguese community of Amsterdam). Amsterdam: Jan Janson, [1753]. First editions of both works.
Divisional title page for Emek Binyamin (which was also printed separately). At the beginning of Orot HaMitzvot are many approbations and poems in praise of the author and his book, by rabbis of Amsterdam and Hamburg.
Emek Binyamin sections 15-16 contain a halachic correspondence regarding inheritance between the author and R. Aharon Ledesma of Suriname (South America; his location is mentioned in the contents on the last page). This is the first place in responsa literature where a European rabbi addresses an American rabbi.
Ownership inscriptions on front endpaper. Inscription on title page.
[18], 103, [1]; [2], 22 leaves. 20 cm. Good condition. Stains. Early leather binding, front part loose, damaged.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Three decrees and documents relating the citizenship and rights of Jews in France. France, 1790. French.
The decrees were published shortly after the outbreak of the French Revolution, in the period when France underwent extreme societal and governmental changes. At the beginning of the revolution, King Louis XVI was forced to acquiesce to the demands of the new National Assembly, the estates system of rights was replaced with elected bodies, and the Declaration of Rights of Man and of the Citizen was authored.
• Adresse à l'Assemblée Nationale, Paris: National Assembly, 1789 [i.e. January 1790].
A petition submitted by the Spanish-Portuguese community in Bordeaux to the National Assembly in France, regarding their citizenship and equal rights.
8 pages (double leaf, folded). Approx. 27 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains. Creases and wear. Tears and holes, affecting text.
• Proclamation du roi, sur un décret de l'assemblée nationale, concernant les Juifs, du 16 Avril 1790 [proclamation of the king about a decree of the National Assembly regarding the Jews, 16 April, 1790]. Paris: L'Imprimerie Royale, 1790.
A decree of protection passed by the revolutionary National Assembly of France, approved by King Louis XVI. The decree grants protection of the law and citizenship to the Ashkenazi Jews in the Alsace and Lorraine provinces. The decree instructs the authorities and the National Guard to defend the Jews in their provinces and protect their lives and property. At the top of the leaf is printed a woodcut.
[1] double leaf (2 printed pages). Approx. 27 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains and wear. Tear to fold.
• Lettres patentes du Roi, sur le décret de l'Assemblée nationale, du 20 juillet dernier, portant suppression des droits d'habitation, de protection, de tolérance et de redevances semblables sur les Juifs, données à Saint-Claude le 7 août 1790. La Rochelle: P. L. Chauvet, 1790.
Official decree of King Louis XVI cancelling the yearly tax of 20,000 livres that had been levied on the Jews of Metz, as well as other taxes levied on French Jews, according to the decision of the French National Assembly on July 20, 1790. At the top of the first page is printed a woodcut.
4 pages. 25 cm. Good condition. Stains and light damage. Bound with red paper wrapper.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.