Auction 85 - Judaica: Books, Manuscripts, Rabbinical Letters, Ceremonial Art
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Manuscript, piyyutim, novellae on the Torah and various selections. [Morocco, 19th century].
The manuscript comprises many piyyutim, including piyyutim composed by R. Yisrael Najara and by Moroccan Torah scholars (such as R. Yaakov Abuhatzeira, R. David ben Chasin, R. Avraham Koriyat, R. Yaakov Birdugo, and others).
The manuscript also includes novellae, two homilies, and other selections. The first leaf bears the signature of "Yaakov Ben Zaken".
[172] leaves. 15 cm. Fair condition. Several leaves are in poor condition. Stains. Dampstains. Wear. Mold to some leaves. Approx. 20 leaves at the end are in poor condition, with large open tears, affecting text, extensive damp damage and mold. Old, damaged binding.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Manuscript, piyyutim, segulot, amulets, and more. [Morocco, 19th century].
The manuscript comprises: segulot and texts of amulets with Kabbalistic illustrations, piyyutim for various occasions, homilies and novellae, Judeo-Arabic poems – Qissat Yosef, Qissat Chana, and more, including Qissat Lalla Solika (the story of the martyr Solika, the pious Moroccan Jewish girl who was executed for refusing to convert to Islam), Shvilei Emunah (on mazalot) and more.
Many signatures (some calligraphic) of the writer, Shlomo Wakrat. Other signatures: "Nissim Ohayon", "Nissim son of Refael Wakrat".
More than 150 leaves (some leaves incomplete). 16 cm. Overall fair condition, some leaves in poor condition. Stains, including dampstains. Wear and tears. Detached leaves. Open tears to some leaves, affecting text. Leather binding, detached and damaged.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
"Yahrzeit of our master R. Chaim Pinto" – printed leaf in Judeo-Arabic, by R. Moshe Pinto. Mogador (Essaouira, Morocco): Albert Benoualid, [ca. 1950s].
On verso, a letter in Judeo-Arabic handwritten and signed by R. Moshe Pinto, addressed to Yaish Elmaliach, personally inviting him to participate in a dinner in honor of the yahrzeit of R. Chaim Pinto.
The printed leaf contains an invitation to participate in the yahrzeit of R. Chaim Pinto (the first), which would take place on 26th Elul. R. Moshe Pinto writes of the great power and merit of Tzaddikim, and in particular of exalted soul of R. Chaim Pinto, which had the capacity to bring redemption. He mentions the famous story of the rescue of the Prague community from the blood libel, with the birth of the Maharal on Seder night. He writes wondrous things about his son Chaim Shimon Pinto, who was also born on 15th Nissan, stating that the child was a spark of the soul of R. Chaim Pinto, whose yahrzeit they would be celebrating.
R. Moshe Aharon Pinto of Mogador (ca. 1910 – Elul 1985), son of R. Chaim Pinto (the second, d. 1938), a renowned wonder-worker. At a young age, his father commanded him to remain enclosed in his ancestral home in the Mogador mellah, and for forty years, he never stepped out of his door, always available to extend blessings and encouragement to those seeking his advice. He later moved to Casablanca, eventually immigrating to Eretz Israel and settling in Ashdod, where many flocked to his home to receive his blessings.
[1] leaf. 26.5 cm. Fair condition. Stains and wear. Folding marks. Tears to margins and folds, affecting text. Handwritten letter indistinct and partially faded.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Eight printed leaves, some completed by hand. North Africa, 19th and 20th century.
The leaves include a printed letter completed and signed by hand, from R. Michael Ben Said, rabbi of Oran, who writes about his work as mohel and his book on the laws of Milah. Oran (Algeria), [1894].
8 leaves. Size and condition vary.
For detailed list see Hebrew description.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Chessed Leumim. [Livorno, 1807].
A rhymed work describing the calamity which befell the Jews of Algiers in the early 19th century, following the murder of Naphtali Busnash, muqqadam (leader) of the Jewish community in Algiers, on 10th Tammuz 1805, and the ensuing disputes in the community. The work was written by friends of the Busnash family, against those appointed to succeed the murdered muqqadam.
Handwritten inscription on the back endpaper, attesting that the book belongs to R. Nathan Freider (1803-1857), dayan and later rabbi of Tzeilem (Deutschkreutz, Hungary, presently Austria), author of Tzemach HaSadeh, who exchanged halachic correspondence with the Chatam Sofer.
16 leaves. Approx. 15 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Open tears to title page, slightly affecting border, repaired with paper. Minor marginal open tears to final four leaves. Handwritten inscriptions on title page. New binding.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Letter handwritten and signed by the emissary R. Avraham Shlomo Zalman Tzoref. Livorno, 25 Marcheshvan [1850].
Addressed to the elderly notable, R. Shlomo Beer, secretary of the Pesaro community. The letter bears the signature of "Avraham Shlomo Zalman, emissary of Tzion". Additional letter at the foot of the leaf, handwritten and signed by R. Avraham Shlomo Zalman.
R. Avraham Shlomo Zalman Tzoref was a leader of the Perushim community in Jerusalem. He immigrated to Eretz Israel in 1811 and joined the small Ashkenazi community in Safed, headed by R. Menachem Mendel of Shklow. A year later, an epidemic caused him to flee to Jerusalem together with nine other families, who became the nucleus of the Ashkenazi settlement of disciples of the Gaon of Vilna in Jerusalem (in those days, Ashkenazim could not settle in Jerusalem due to the heavy debts left by the followers of R. Yehuda HeChasid, and the fact that Arabs considered all Ashkenazim guarantors for these debts. R. Avraham Shlomo Zalman and his group were among the first to settle in Jerusalem in those times, disguising their identity by donning Sephardic garb). His connections with the local government and with the Russian and Austrian consuls facilitated canceling the debt of the Ashkenazi community and attaining authorization from the Sultan to rebuild the Hurva of R. Yehuda HeChasid. These activities provoked the Arab population of Jerusalem, and he was later murdered by several Arabs. This letter by R. Avraham Shlomo Zalman Tzoref was written during his stay in Livorno while raising funds for the yishuv in Eretz Israel, less than a year before his death.
[1] leaf. 24.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Folding marks. Address and postmarks on verso.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Handwritten document in Hebrew and Arabic, regarding the ownership of the land on which the Kerem neighborhood in Jerusalem was built. The document is signed and stamped by the two chief rabbis of Jerusalem, R. Shmuel Salant and R. Yaakov Shaul Elyashar, the Yisa Brachah. Jerusalem, 1891-1894.
The document was written in 1891 and signed by R. Ziskind Shachor, R. Yaakov Tzvi son of R. Shemaryah and R. Yisrael Chaim son of R. Sh.G. Their signatures are authenticated by R. Shmuel Salant, with his signature and stamp. In 1894, the document was signed and stamped by R. Yaakov Shaul Elyashar, the Yisa Brachah, authenticating the signature of R. Salant.
In 1891, the property in question was sold by R. Moshe Wittenberg of Vitebsk to the heads of the Vilna Kollel, who established the Beit Avraham committee for the purpose of building the "Kerem – Beit Avraham" neighborhood. Since there were legal difficulties in registering property under the ownership of public societies, the title deed was written under the names of the trustees of the committee, who then declared in the present document that they claim no ownership over the land.
[1] leaf. Approx. 40 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains, wear and minor tears. Folding marks.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Letter from the rabbis and trustees of Jerusalem, addressed to R. Avraham HaKohen Dwek, chief rabbi of Aleppo and to the Aleppo community leaders. Jerusalem, Cheshvan 1892.
The upper part of the leaf contains a letter signed by the three trustees of the Ashkenazi Kollelot in Jerusalem, regarding a husband who left his wife as an agunah in Jerusalem, and works as a teacher in the school in Aleppo. This is followed by a letter written by a scribe and signed by R. Shmuel Salant, authorizing the above. A letter from the Sephardi Beit Din on the same topic follows, with the stamp of the Beit Din.
[1] leaf. 28.5 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains. Folding marks. Tears to folds, affecting text, repaired with paper.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Interesting collection of letters and various documents, originating from Chatzer Strauss (Strauss Courtyard) in Jerusalem – a center of the Mussar movement in Eretz Israel and home to many prominent Mussar personalities. [Ca. 1890s-1920s].
Included:
• Handwritten leaf – protocol of a meeting regarding the administration of Chatzer Strauss, signed by R. Aryeh Leib Broide (elder brother of the Alter of Kelm), R. Yitzchak Moltzan (disciple of R. Yisrael of Salant), R. Chaim Yitzchak Ziv (son-in-law of the Alter of Kelm), R. Tuvia Leib [---?], R. Yisrael David Rufman (leader and gabbai of Chatzer Strauss), R. Nachum Yitzchak Broide (grandfather of R. Simcha Ziskind Broide, dean of the Hebron Yeshiva), R. Nachum Avraham Broide; R. Eliezer Zvi Levitan, R. Yehuda Yaakov Kuperstock, R. Avraham Broide, and others. Jerusalem, Shevat 1914.
• Two copies of a letter to Dr. Eliyahu Strauss (son of the philanthropist R. Shmuel Strauss), signed by R. Aryeh Leib Broide and by his son R. Nachum Yitzchak Broide. Jerusalem, Nissan 1914.
• Testaments signed by the Jerusalemite dayanim, R. Chaim Yaakov Shapira of Kovno and R. Leib Dayan. Jerusalem, 1902-1903.
• Four small ledgers of R. Yisrael David Rufman of Kovno, with various records from 1897-1926: records of funds given to the needy and of loans; various records related to the management of the Shoneh Halachot Beit Midrash and the Or Chadash Yeshiva located in Chatzer Strauss. Contains a number of signatures. Several signed notes between the leaves.
• Additional documents and letters.
Chatzer Strauss (Strauss Courtyard) in Jerusalem was home to many prominent Mussar personalities who emigrated from Lithuania. It was established at the initiative of the Alter of Kelm, R. Simcha Ziskind Broide-Ziv; the funds were provided by philanthropist R. Shmuel Strauss of Karlsruhe.
4 small ledgers and approx. 10 leaves (letters and documents). Size and condition vary.
These items presumably originate from the archive of R. Yisrael David Rufman of Kovno, gabbai of Chatzer Strauss.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Collection of letters and documents, from the archive of R. Moshe Ostrovsky (HaMeiri), who served as rabbi of the Ekron settlement (Mazkeret Batya) in 1912-1919.
The collection documents the state of the moshava at the end of the Ottoman rule in Eretz Israel, and includes: letters of ordination; letters of rabbinic appointment and other documents signed by the inhabitants of Ekron; certificates and documents recording the efforts of the Ekron residents to become members of the Agudath Israel and Mizrachi movements; letters, documents and various certificates.
The collection includes:
• Certificate of ordination for a shochet, with letters handwritten and signed by R. Chaim Berlin Rabbi of Moscow and Jerusalem; R. Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook Rabbi of Jaffa; the Jerusalem Beit Din: R. Moshe Nachum Wallenstein, R. Leib [Hershler] and R. Tzvi Pesach Frank; the heads of the shochetim in Jerusalem: R. Chaim Ze'ev Aryeh [Gottlieb?], R. Yosef Binyamin Shimonovitz and R. Yisrael Rabin. Jerusalem and Jaffa, 1911-1912.
• Certificate of rabbinic ordination, by R. Aryeh Leib Raschkes. Jerusalem, [Elul 1910]. • Certificate of rabbinic ordination, by R. Yonah Romm of Birzh. Jerusalem, Elul 1910. • Letter from R. Yosef Eliyahu Vinograd, dean of the Torat Chaim yeshiva. Jerusalem, Elul 1912. • Confirmation of R. Ostrovsky's position as rabbi of the Ekron settlement, from the Chacham Bashi of Jaffa, R. Ben Tzion Meir Chai Uziel. Jaffa, Elul 1915. • Two letters from R. Yisrael Abba Citron Rabbi of Petach Tikva. Jaffa, 1918; Petach Tikva, 1918-1919. • Several letters from R. Ostrovsky (some addressed to R. Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook Rabbi of Jaffa), letters from rabbis and public figures, and various documents.
R. Moshe HaMeiri-Ostrovsky (1886-1947), a rabbi and leader of the Yishuv in Eretz Israel. He served as rabbi of the Mazkeret Batya (Ekron) settlement in 1912-1919, later moving to Petach Tikva. He was one of the leaders of the Mizrachi movement, and a founder of the chief rabbinate in Eretz Israel. He helped establish the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood in Jerusalem. See also following item.
It must be noted that in some of the certificates and stamps in the present collection, his name appears as "Moshe Broder", using his father-in-law's surname.
31 items: letters, notebooks and various documents. Size and condition vary. Good condition.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Huge historic archive, comprising hundreds of letters, thousands of handwritten leaves, and dozens of printed leaves and booklets. Jerusalem and Eretz Israel, ca. 1880s-1940s.
Archive of R. Moshe HaMeiri-Ostrovsky, one of the rabbis and leaders of the Jewish settlement in Eretz Israel in the first half of the 20th century. The archive also includes letters, printed leaves, certificates and important documents from the estate of his father-in-law, R. Gedaliah Nachman Broder, a community leader in Jerusalem, head of the Vaad HaKlali and trusty of Kollel Horodna.
Also found in the archive are hundreds of papers and drafts of books and essays by R. Ostrovsky, and newspaper clippings of articles by R. Ostrovsky.
The archive comprises over 100 letters from rabbis of Eretz Israel, including R. Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook, R. Naftali Hertz HaLevi, R. Tzvi Pesach Frank, R. Moshe Nachum Wallenstein, R. Yitzchak Eizik HaLevi Herzog, and many others. There are also many letters from various public figures, such as Yitzchak Ben Tzvi, R. Meir Berlin (Bar-Ilan), R. Yehuda Leib Fishman-Maimon, R. Yitzchak Meir Levin, and others.
R. Moshe HaMeiri-Ostrovsky (1886-1947), a rabbi and leader of the Yishuv in Eretz Israel. He served as rabbi of the Mazkeret Batya (Ekron) settlement in 1912-1919 (see previous item), later moving to Petach Tikva. He was one of the leaders of the Mizrachi movement, and a founder of the chief rabbinate in Eretz Israel. He helped establish the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood in Jerusalem.
Hundreds of paper items (thousands of leaves): letters, notebooks and essays. Size and condition vary.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Ledger of an emissary of the Shaar HaShamayim kabbalist yeshiva and its branches – the "Grand Rabbinical College" and the Talmud Torah of the Sephardi community. Jerusalem, Tevet-Shevat 1928-1929.
Decorative title page, in black, red, silver and gold. The ledger opens with a letter from the management of the yeshiva – a call for financial support (square script, with amendments in cursive script), with the handwritten signatures of the yeshiva deans: R. Chaim Yehuda Leib Auerbach and R. Shimon Tzvi Horowitz. This is followed by a short letter signed and stamped by R. Yaakov Meir the Rishon LeZion (the letter and signature of R. Yaakov Meir seem to have been placed by stamp, only the date written by hand), with another two signatures and two stamps from Tangier and Marseille.
On p. [6a], a letter from the Chief Rabbi of Eretz Israel R. Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook, written by a scribe in square script, with a signature-stamp of R. Kook (in Rashi script and English) and his official stamp.
This ledger was prepared for the emissary R. Levi Suissa, who traveled to cities in North Africa, Spain, France and Belgium.
[6] written leaves (7 written pages and many blank pages). 19.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. A few tears. Minor worming. Original binding.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.