Auction 69 - Part I -Rare and Important Items
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6
Auction 69 - Part I -Rare and Important Items
December 3, 2019
Opening: $500
Estimate: $3,000 - $5,000
Sold for: $3,500
Including buyer's premium
Collection of assorted items from the home of the "Holy Shoemaker" of Tel Aviv, R. Moshe Yaakov Rabikov:
• An old suitcase. • Shoemaker's tools. • Mezuzah (in a leather pouch). • Handwritten paper items (including a slip of paper containing a list of names, presumably handwritten by the "Holy Shoemaker"). • Several letters addressed to R. J. Rabikoff, in various languages (from companies dealing in printing machinery), and other documents. • Printed pictures of the "Holy Shoemaker". • Large printed amulet on paper, "Amulet and protection from fire, for a woman giving birth and from any harmful matter". Jerusalem, [1874]. Sh. HaLevy 224 (framed). • Printed items: printed card, "Segulah for protection" by R. Fatiyah, printed based on a text found in "the estate of R. Moshe Yaakov… Rabikov"; invitation to a gathering in Tel Aviv opposing "foreign education", stating that one of the speakers would be Yosef Rabikov (son of the shoemaker), with an essay on the topic of the gathering handwritten on the verso of the invitation; booklet "Psalms… from the Tzaddik, the Holy Shoemaker…".
R. Moshe Yaakov son of R. Yosef HaKohen Rabikov (Rabikoff; 1873-1967) – the "Holy Shoemaker" from Shabazi St. in Tel Aviv-Jaffa. A hidden Tzaddik, kabbalist and wonder-worker. A native of Lithuania, he was the disciple of the kabbalist R. Shlomo Elyashov, author of Leshem Shevo VeAchlama (the Leshem). He immigrated to Eretz Israel in 1913, and after an unsuccessful attempt to settle in Kfar Uria, in the Judean foothills, he moved to Jaffa, where he established his shoemaker's workshop. Before long, he began to draw the destitute and unfortunate, those in quest of good advice, arbitration or a monetary loan.
Despite his efforts to conceal his greatness and abilities, the leaders of the generation and kabbalists recognized his exceptional righteousness, entertained close ties with him and even studied Torah from him. The Chazon Ish reputedly urged him to reveal himself, and sent people to him for advice and blessings. It is also well-known that R. Kook attested to R. Aryeh Levin that the shoemaker is one of the 36 hidden righteous men of the generation. Many accounts of wonders and revelations of Divine Inspiration are retold about him, and already in his lifetime, word spread that he had merited a revelation of Eliyahu HaNavi (this was even publicized in the newspapers at that time). Multitudes flocked to his home daily, to receive his blessings, and benefit from great salvations.
Several months following his passing, the Six Day War broke out, and at the time rumors spread that in his will, the shoemaker had predicted Jewish victory and the downfall of their enemies. His gravesite in the Bnei Brak cemetery is renowned as a place of prayer and salvation until this day, and many who visit the grave of the Chazon Ish also pray by the grave of the shoemaker.
Approx. 11 tools, one mezuzah and approx. 20 paper items. Size and condition vary.
• An old suitcase. • Shoemaker's tools. • Mezuzah (in a leather pouch). • Handwritten paper items (including a slip of paper containing a list of names, presumably handwritten by the "Holy Shoemaker"). • Several letters addressed to R. J. Rabikoff, in various languages (from companies dealing in printing machinery), and other documents. • Printed pictures of the "Holy Shoemaker". • Large printed amulet on paper, "Amulet and protection from fire, for a woman giving birth and from any harmful matter". Jerusalem, [1874]. Sh. HaLevy 224 (framed). • Printed items: printed card, "Segulah for protection" by R. Fatiyah, printed based on a text found in "the estate of R. Moshe Yaakov… Rabikov"; invitation to a gathering in Tel Aviv opposing "foreign education", stating that one of the speakers would be Yosef Rabikov (son of the shoemaker), with an essay on the topic of the gathering handwritten on the verso of the invitation; booklet "Psalms… from the Tzaddik, the Holy Shoemaker…".
R. Moshe Yaakov son of R. Yosef HaKohen Rabikov (Rabikoff; 1873-1967) – the "Holy Shoemaker" from Shabazi St. in Tel Aviv-Jaffa. A hidden Tzaddik, kabbalist and wonder-worker. A native of Lithuania, he was the disciple of the kabbalist R. Shlomo Elyashov, author of Leshem Shevo VeAchlama (the Leshem). He immigrated to Eretz Israel in 1913, and after an unsuccessful attempt to settle in Kfar Uria, in the Judean foothills, he moved to Jaffa, where he established his shoemaker's workshop. Before long, he began to draw the destitute and unfortunate, those in quest of good advice, arbitration or a monetary loan.
Despite his efforts to conceal his greatness and abilities, the leaders of the generation and kabbalists recognized his exceptional righteousness, entertained close ties with him and even studied Torah from him. The Chazon Ish reputedly urged him to reveal himself, and sent people to him for advice and blessings. It is also well-known that R. Kook attested to R. Aryeh Levin that the shoemaker is one of the 36 hidden righteous men of the generation. Many accounts of wonders and revelations of Divine Inspiration are retold about him, and already in his lifetime, word spread that he had merited a revelation of Eliyahu HaNavi (this was even publicized in the newspapers at that time). Multitudes flocked to his home daily, to receive his blessings, and benefit from great salvations.
Several months following his passing, the Six Day War broke out, and at the time rumors spread that in his will, the shoemaker had predicted Jewish victory and the downfall of their enemies. His gravesite in the Bnei Brak cemetery is renowned as a place of prayer and salvation until this day, and many who visit the grave of the Chazon Ish also pray by the grave of the shoemaker.
Approx. 11 tools, one mezuzah and approx. 20 paper items. Size and condition vary.
Category
Judaica Objects
Catalogue
Auction 69 - Part I -Rare and Important Items
December 3, 2019
Opening: $1,000
Estimate: $2,000 - $3,000
Sold for: $3,250
Including buyer's premium
Oil painting by the kabbalist R. Yehuda Leon Patilon.
Oil on canvas. Signed: "Leon".
The painting depicts a Safed alleyway, with a mountainous landscape in the background.
R. Yehuda Leon Patilon (ca. 1905-Cheshvan 1974), painter and kabbalist, was renowned as a wonder-worker with foreknowledge of the future, well-versed in the domain of souls and reincarnations. Born in Salonika, Greece, he was orphaned of his father at a young age, and was raised by his grandfather, a kabbalist, who bequeathed to him his kabbalistic approach in worship of G-d, which included rising at midnight and study of Kabbalah. Following his conscription in the Greek army, he fled to Turkey and France (where he presumably studied art). In ca. 1946, he immigrated alone to Eretz Israel, where he drew close to a group of hidden Tzaddikim in the Shabazi neighborhood of Tel Aviv. These men, who earned a living from manual labor while secretly gathering to study Kabbalah together, included: R. Moshe Yaakov Rabikov ("the shoemaker"), the hidden Tzaddik R. Hillel Simchon, R. Avraham Fish ("the floorer"), R. Ezra Eliyahu HaKohen (father of "the milkman", R. Chaim Kohen), and R. Yosef Waltuch "the street-cleaner", who earned a living cleaning the streets of Tel Aviv. His teacher R. Hillel Simchon arranged his match with his wife – Rebbetzin Victoria from the Jerusalemite Nisan family, and they lived in great modesty in the Shabazi neighborhood of Tel Aviv, barely sustained by the sale of his paintings. R. Patilon would set the price of his paintings based only on the cost of the paper, the paint and the work time, although as a talented artist, he could have asked for a much higher price (see: Mishpacha, issue 1404, 12th Nisan 2019, pp. 352-363). R. Yehuda Patilon would paint whilst engrossed in spiritual reflections, completely dissociated from the material world, yet his paintings remain realistic. The figures often featured in his landscapes bear a somewhat mysterious character (thus for instance, when his paintings depict a man carrying baskets, this usually hints to his close friend, the hidden Tzaddik R. Yosef Waltuch, who would often walk around carrying baskets, and travel with him to holy sites in the Galilee). Wondrous stories are retold of his knowledge of hidden matters and the future, revelations of Eliyahu HaNavi, of people who came to him in quest of salvation; and of blessings and promises which were astoundingly fulfilled (see Mishpacha, ibid).
50X40.5 cm, framed: 56X46 cm. Good condition.
Oil on canvas. Signed: "Leon".
The painting depicts a Safed alleyway, with a mountainous landscape in the background.
R. Yehuda Leon Patilon (ca. 1905-Cheshvan 1974), painter and kabbalist, was renowned as a wonder-worker with foreknowledge of the future, well-versed in the domain of souls and reincarnations. Born in Salonika, Greece, he was orphaned of his father at a young age, and was raised by his grandfather, a kabbalist, who bequeathed to him his kabbalistic approach in worship of G-d, which included rising at midnight and study of Kabbalah. Following his conscription in the Greek army, he fled to Turkey and France (where he presumably studied art). In ca. 1946, he immigrated alone to Eretz Israel, where he drew close to a group of hidden Tzaddikim in the Shabazi neighborhood of Tel Aviv. These men, who earned a living from manual labor while secretly gathering to study Kabbalah together, included: R. Moshe Yaakov Rabikov ("the shoemaker"), the hidden Tzaddik R. Hillel Simchon, R. Avraham Fish ("the floorer"), R. Ezra Eliyahu HaKohen (father of "the milkman", R. Chaim Kohen), and R. Yosef Waltuch "the street-cleaner", who earned a living cleaning the streets of Tel Aviv. His teacher R. Hillel Simchon arranged his match with his wife – Rebbetzin Victoria from the Jerusalemite Nisan family, and they lived in great modesty in the Shabazi neighborhood of Tel Aviv, barely sustained by the sale of his paintings. R. Patilon would set the price of his paintings based only on the cost of the paper, the paint and the work time, although as a talented artist, he could have asked for a much higher price (see: Mishpacha, issue 1404, 12th Nisan 2019, pp. 352-363). R. Yehuda Patilon would paint whilst engrossed in spiritual reflections, completely dissociated from the material world, yet his paintings remain realistic. The figures often featured in his landscapes bear a somewhat mysterious character (thus for instance, when his paintings depict a man carrying baskets, this usually hints to his close friend, the hidden Tzaddik R. Yosef Waltuch, who would often walk around carrying baskets, and travel with him to holy sites in the Galilee). Wondrous stories are retold of his knowledge of hidden matters and the future, revelations of Eliyahu HaNavi, of people who came to him in quest of salvation; and of blessings and promises which were astoundingly fulfilled (see Mishpacha, ibid).
50X40.5 cm, framed: 56X46 cm. Good condition.
Category
Judaica Objects
Catalogue
Auction 69 - Part I -Rare and Important Items
December 3, 2019
Opening: $10,000
Estimate: $15,000 - $20,000
Unsold
Silver Hanukkah lamp, made at the Antoni Riedel silverware workshop. Warsaw, 1892.
Silver (marked "A. Riedel", workshop mark, "84", "O.C." [Osip Sosnkowski], "1892", double-headed eagle and later marks) repoussé, die-stamped, cast and appliqué.
Back-plate surrounded by a frame of rocaille, flowers and leaves, extending over the width of the plate. Torah crown applied to top center, surmounted by a crouching gazelle, flanked by lions rampant regardant, langued. Centered by a seven-branched Menorah flanked by stylized pillars.
Festooned balcony mounted with palm trees flanked by lions and spiral silver wire posts bearing two cockerels, a bird, a gazelle and an eagle perched on a silver sphere; all behind a row of eight candle holders supported by eagles.
The Hanukkah lamp is set on four foliate and ball supports. A (removeable) Shamash fixed to the right of the back-plate, oil jug (also removable) fixed to left, both on spiral silver wire.
Height: 34.5 cm. Width: approx. 27.5 cm. Good condition. Minor bends.
Provenance:
1. Private collection.
2. On loan to the Jewish Historical Museum of Amsterdam 1967-2017. Catalog no. MB00355.
Silver (marked "A. Riedel", workshop mark, "84", "O.C." [Osip Sosnkowski], "1892", double-headed eagle and later marks) repoussé, die-stamped, cast and appliqué.
Back-plate surrounded by a frame of rocaille, flowers and leaves, extending over the width of the plate. Torah crown applied to top center, surmounted by a crouching gazelle, flanked by lions rampant regardant, langued. Centered by a seven-branched Menorah flanked by stylized pillars.
Festooned balcony mounted with palm trees flanked by lions and spiral silver wire posts bearing two cockerels, a bird, a gazelle and an eagle perched on a silver sphere; all behind a row of eight candle holders supported by eagles.
The Hanukkah lamp is set on four foliate and ball supports. A (removeable) Shamash fixed to the right of the back-plate, oil jug (also removable) fixed to left, both on spiral silver wire.
Height: 34.5 cm. Width: approx. 27.5 cm. Good condition. Minor bends.
Provenance:
1. Private collection.
2. On loan to the Jewish Historical Museum of Amsterdam 1967-2017. Catalog no. MB00355.
Category
Judaica Objects
Catalogue
Auction 69 - Part I -Rare and Important Items
December 3, 2019
Opening: $7,000
Estimate: $10,000 - $15,000
Unsold
Gilt wooden Torah ark cresting in the form of a foliate rosette. [Romania, late 19th or early 20th century?].
Carved wood; plaster; paint and gilding.
Approx. 88X85 cm. Fair-poor condition. Considerable fractures and losses to wood and paint. Glue repairs to wood. Paint and gilding repairs. Mounted on a wooden board.
Carved wood; plaster; paint and gilding.
Approx. 88X85 cm. Fair-poor condition. Considerable fractures and losses to wood and paint. Glue repairs to wood. Paint and gilding repairs. Mounted on a wooden board.
Category
Judaica Objects
Catalogue
Auction 69 - Part I -Rare and Important Items
December 3, 2019
Opening: $7,000
Estimate: $8,000 - $12,000
Unsold
A Passover Seder plate by David Heinz Gumbel, decorated with scenes from the piyyut "Chad Gadya". Jerusalem, [ca. 1940s].
Copper; hammered, raised and engraved.
A large, flat plate. Wide rim, engraved with the Hebrew words "Chad Gadya" in a traditional font; followed by scenes from the piyyut, starting with the kid and ending with the Angel of Death lying dead. Beside each scene, the corresponding quote from the piyyut appears in raised letters, in the modern, functional font identified with Gumbel's works in particular and New Bezalel artists in general. The plate is signed on verso: "G / Jerusalem" (Hebrew).
David Heinz Gumbel (1906-1992) was born in Sinsheim in the state of Baden-Württemberg, southern Germany. His family was among the pioneers of local modern industry; his father, grandfather and great-grandfather were all industrialists. Gumbel grew up in nearby Heilbronn which was a center of silverware industry, and worked at the Bruckmann & Söhne silverware factory. At the age of 21 he moved to Berlin to study silversmithing at the Kunstgewerbe Schule school of art. After graduating, he returned to Heilbronn and started producing modern silverware at his father's factory, Gumbel & Co. His handmade silverware was characterized by use of highly polished silver combined with additional materials, clearly belonging to the Bauhaus and other parallel schools. In 1936, as the situation of the Jews of Germany took a turn for the worse, Gumbel immigrated to Palestine, settled in Jerusalem and for a while worked at the silverware workshop of silversmith Emmy Roth, of the first silversmiths to make modern Judaica. After several months, he started teaching metal and Jewelry design at the New Bezalel and in 1942 opened his own workshop, in which he spent decades making Judaica, dinnerware and jewelry. In 1955, he retired from Bezalel, his colleague Ludwig Yehuda Wolpert following suit a year later; however, the visual language they had created and their unique style continued to influence the works of students for many more years.
Gumbel, like other Bezalel artists, adopted the use of Hebrew letters in Judaica in order to emphasize the Jewish and national nature of his work; however, unlike others, he perceived the verses and words he added to his works of art as a form of decoration rather than a meaningful, central part of the object.
Diameter: 42.5 cm. Good condition. Bends. Minor welding repairs. Slight corrosion. Stains.
Literature: Forging Ahead: Wolpert and Gumbel, Israeli Silversmiths for the Modern Age, by Sharon Weiser-Ferguson. Jerusalem: Israel Museum, 2012.
Copper; hammered, raised and engraved.
A large, flat plate. Wide rim, engraved with the Hebrew words "Chad Gadya" in a traditional font; followed by scenes from the piyyut, starting with the kid and ending with the Angel of Death lying dead. Beside each scene, the corresponding quote from the piyyut appears in raised letters, in the modern, functional font identified with Gumbel's works in particular and New Bezalel artists in general. The plate is signed on verso: "G / Jerusalem" (Hebrew).
David Heinz Gumbel (1906-1992) was born in Sinsheim in the state of Baden-Württemberg, southern Germany. His family was among the pioneers of local modern industry; his father, grandfather and great-grandfather were all industrialists. Gumbel grew up in nearby Heilbronn which was a center of silverware industry, and worked at the Bruckmann & Söhne silverware factory. At the age of 21 he moved to Berlin to study silversmithing at the Kunstgewerbe Schule school of art. After graduating, he returned to Heilbronn and started producing modern silverware at his father's factory, Gumbel & Co. His handmade silverware was characterized by use of highly polished silver combined with additional materials, clearly belonging to the Bauhaus and other parallel schools. In 1936, as the situation of the Jews of Germany took a turn for the worse, Gumbel immigrated to Palestine, settled in Jerusalem and for a while worked at the silverware workshop of silversmith Emmy Roth, of the first silversmiths to make modern Judaica. After several months, he started teaching metal and Jewelry design at the New Bezalel and in 1942 opened his own workshop, in which he spent decades making Judaica, dinnerware and jewelry. In 1955, he retired from Bezalel, his colleague Ludwig Yehuda Wolpert following suit a year later; however, the visual language they had created and their unique style continued to influence the works of students for many more years.
Gumbel, like other Bezalel artists, adopted the use of Hebrew letters in Judaica in order to emphasize the Jewish and national nature of his work; however, unlike others, he perceived the verses and words he added to his works of art as a form of decoration rather than a meaningful, central part of the object.
Diameter: 42.5 cm. Good condition. Bends. Minor welding repairs. Slight corrosion. Stains.
Literature: Forging Ahead: Wolpert and Gumbel, Israeli Silversmiths for the Modern Age, by Sharon Weiser-Ferguson. Jerusalem: Israel Museum, 2012.
Category
Judaica Objects
Catalogue
Auction 69 - Part I -Rare and Important Items
December 3, 2019
Opening: $10,000
Estimate: $12,000 - $15,000
Unsold
120 Görlitz Shekels, Masonic tokens and more – various types, including types not recorded in "Shekel Medals and False Shekels", by Bruno Kisch (1943). Germany, England and the USA, [17th century to 20th century].
The first "Görlitz Shekel" coins were struck in the 15th century, at a time when few knew what Jewish coins from the First Jewish–Roman War looked like. Their invention is attributed to George Emmerich, mayor of Görlitz in Prussia, who visited Palestine as a pilgrim in 1465, and upon his return to Görlitz, built a replica of the Holy Sepulchre. The pilgrims who came to the site were offered souvenir tokens, first introduced as copies of one of the thirty pieces of silver given to Judas Iscariot by the Romans for betraying Jesus. Ever since, such coins were struck with small variations, at first throughout the Holy Roman Empire and later in other countries, including the USA, and were popular among Jews and Christians alike. Struck without seeing a genuine shekel, the Görlitz Shekels design relied on the few and faulty testimonies that appeared in books and on imagination. Thus, while ancient Jewish coins bear legends in Ancient Hebrew script (Paleo-Hebrew), the legends "Shekel Israel" and "Holy Jerusalem" appear on Görlitz Shekels in square Hebrew script; the pomegranate branch and the goblet, while taken from descriptions of genuine shekel coins, vary in design. Although at first the coins were introduced as souvenirs, it wasn't long before they started being sold as ancient coins from the Temple period.
Over the years, they were used for different purposes: they served as souvenirs and amulets; among the Jews of Europe, they were used as a remembrance of the half shekel collected in the time of the Temple or used for charity or for observing the Mitzvah of gifts to the poor on Purim; some used them as the five coins for Pidyon Haben (Redemption of the Son).
This collection contains many types of Görlitz Shekels, from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries (possibly even earlier; one coin is a variation of the Meysel-Shekel, a type of Görlitz Shekel sometimes dated 1584. The coin in this collection does not bear a date). Some of them are not recorded in the Kisch catalog (1941).
Several 19th century Görlitz Shekels in this collection were made in England and are inscribed with manufacturers' names. One of these coins is in the original cardboard box in which it was sold at the store of A. Bührer in London, with a label describing the coin as a copy of the Shekels of Judas Iscariot.
The collection also contains Masonic tokens, one side or both sides of which are designed as Görlitz Shekels. Some made in the USA; two counterfeit First Jewish-Roman War Shekels, presumably 19th century; a reproduction-medal of the Görlitz Shekel, dated 1999 [presumably issued by a Museum in Görlitz]; and more.
A total of 120 medals. Size and condition vary.
Literature:
1. Shekel Medals and False Shekels, by Bruno Kisch, New York, 1941. A printout from Historia Judaica, vol. III, no. 2.
2. The Third Side of the Coin (Hebrew), by Ya'akov Meshorer. Jerusalem: Yad Yitzchak ben Zvi, 2006.
3. The Coins of Palestine (Hebrew), Bank of Israel Collection, Catalog, by Aryeh Kindler. Jerusalem: Keter, 1971.
The first "Görlitz Shekel" coins were struck in the 15th century, at a time when few knew what Jewish coins from the First Jewish–Roman War looked like. Their invention is attributed to George Emmerich, mayor of Görlitz in Prussia, who visited Palestine as a pilgrim in 1465, and upon his return to Görlitz, built a replica of the Holy Sepulchre. The pilgrims who came to the site were offered souvenir tokens, first introduced as copies of one of the thirty pieces of silver given to Judas Iscariot by the Romans for betraying Jesus. Ever since, such coins were struck with small variations, at first throughout the Holy Roman Empire and later in other countries, including the USA, and were popular among Jews and Christians alike. Struck without seeing a genuine shekel, the Görlitz Shekels design relied on the few and faulty testimonies that appeared in books and on imagination. Thus, while ancient Jewish coins bear legends in Ancient Hebrew script (Paleo-Hebrew), the legends "Shekel Israel" and "Holy Jerusalem" appear on Görlitz Shekels in square Hebrew script; the pomegranate branch and the goblet, while taken from descriptions of genuine shekel coins, vary in design. Although at first the coins were introduced as souvenirs, it wasn't long before they started being sold as ancient coins from the Temple period.
Over the years, they were used for different purposes: they served as souvenirs and amulets; among the Jews of Europe, they were used as a remembrance of the half shekel collected in the time of the Temple or used for charity or for observing the Mitzvah of gifts to the poor on Purim; some used them as the five coins for Pidyon Haben (Redemption of the Son).
This collection contains many types of Görlitz Shekels, from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries (possibly even earlier; one coin is a variation of the Meysel-Shekel, a type of Görlitz Shekel sometimes dated 1584. The coin in this collection does not bear a date). Some of them are not recorded in the Kisch catalog (1941).
Several 19th century Görlitz Shekels in this collection were made in England and are inscribed with manufacturers' names. One of these coins is in the original cardboard box in which it was sold at the store of A. Bührer in London, with a label describing the coin as a copy of the Shekels of Judas Iscariot.
The collection also contains Masonic tokens, one side or both sides of which are designed as Görlitz Shekels. Some made in the USA; two counterfeit First Jewish-Roman War Shekels, presumably 19th century; a reproduction-medal of the Görlitz Shekel, dated 1999 [presumably issued by a Museum in Görlitz]; and more.
A total of 120 medals. Size and condition vary.
Literature:
1. Shekel Medals and False Shekels, by Bruno Kisch, New York, 1941. A printout from Historia Judaica, vol. III, no. 2.
2. The Third Side of the Coin (Hebrew), by Ya'akov Meshorer. Jerusalem: Yad Yitzchak ben Zvi, 2006.
3. The Coins of Palestine (Hebrew), Bank of Israel Collection, Catalog, by Aryeh Kindler. Jerusalem: Keter, 1971.
Category
Judaica Objects
Catalogue