Auction 85 - Judaica: Books, Manuscripts, Rabbinical Letters, Ceremonial Art
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Large collection of documents, printed receipts, promissory notes, letters and notes pertaining to the charity and welfare institutions in Safed. Ca. 1845-1936; most documents are from ca. 1870s-1920s.
The documents are signed by the community trustees and leaders in Safed: the dayan and posek R. Refael Zilberman; the heads of the Kosov-Vizhnitz Kollel – R. Moshe Charag [Zeiger] and R. Itamar of Seret; R. Yaakov son of R. Mordechai HaLevi; R. Kehat son of Efraim Fishel; R. David Yudel Auerbach (grandfather of R. Chaim Yehuda Leib Auerbach of Jerusalem); R. Zelig Adlerstein; R. David Segal; R. Yaakov of Rozhniativ; R. Baruch Kahana; R. Yosef Tzvi Geiger (renowned Safed painter and communal worker); and others.
The collection includes dozens of notes signed by the gabbaim, instructing the treasurer about payments to be made from the fund, for various communal and charity causes.
Also found amongst the items is a Prozbul contract from Elul 1875, signed by R. Shlomo of Tlust, R. Yaakov Yechiel [Schmerler?] and R. Moshe Charag.
96 paper items. Most bear various signatures. Size and condition vary.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Assorted collection of letters and documents pertaining to communal matters in Safed. From various writers and places: Vizhnitz, Amsterdam, Safed, Tiberias – ca. 1860s-1910s
The collection includes:
• Letter from the Vizhnitz Chassidic court, to R. Moshe Charag of Safed, from his son-in-law R. Todros Geiger, informing him of the governmental authorization to appoint the Imrei Baruch of Vizhnitz as administrator of the Kollel. At the foot of the leaf, letter handwritten and signed by R. Moshe Brumer (scribe and attendant of the rebbes of Vizhnitz). Vizhnitz, Adar II 1889.
• Interesting letter from R. Moshe Charag, to Rebbe Moshe [of Shotz-Vizhnitz?], about complaints received from Safed. He also mentions the battles against missionaries in Safed, and the state of the local hospitals. Safed, Iyar 1898.
• Official certificate in German, regarding the estate of a wealthy man from Sered, signed and stamped by R. Moshe Zeiger (Charag) and R. Yaakov son of R. Mordechai HaLevi Fertig. [Safed, ca. 1885]. • Six printed letters from the Pekidim and Amarkalim, completed by hand and signed by R. Avraham de Lima and R. Meir Rubens (two letters are stamped by R. Avraham Kohen Underweiser [Onderwijzer]). Amsterdam, 1880s-1910s. • And more.
19 letters (16 of them signed by hand). Size and condition vary. Overall good condition.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Emissary notebook, recording donations received for the general Talmud Torah (boys' school) and the Torat Eretz Israel yeshiva in Safed, led by R. Yaakov David Ridvaz. Safed, [ca. 1911].
Title page in calligraphic script; ornamental border in gold. Fine binding with leather spine. The title page and binding were made by the artist R. Yosef Tzvi Geiger of Safed.
Following the title page is an appeal in Hebrew and English, with signatures in Latin characters (and signature-stamps in Hebrew) of the heads of the administration: R. Hersch Rosenstein, R. Naftali Chanales grandson of the Baal Shem Tov, and R. David Segal. This is followed by an appeal from the yeshiva deans, signed and stamped by R. Yosef Konvitz (son-in-law of the Ridvaz), and with two stamps (including one signature-stamp) of R. Yaakov David Ridvaz.
The rest of the notebook comprises dozens of leaves of the yeshiva's official stationery, for recording lists of donors (most leaves are blank). Only four leaves were completed in handwriting with lists of donors in Hebrew and French (beginning January 1911).
[14] written pages and dozens of blank leaves (official stationery of the yeshiva). 22.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains and wear. Some tears. Colored edges. Binding with elegant leather spine. Fine endpapers. Placed in original slipcase, damaged.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Record book of the Jewish orphanage in Safed, founded in 1919 by R. Yisrael Hager of Radovitz. Safed, [ca. 1919].
Title page in calligraphic script, in gold, copper-red and black. Color ornaments (flower garland surrounding part of title; ornamental border). Fine, gilt-decorated leather binding. The title page and binding were made by the artist R. Yosef Tzvi Geiger of Safed.
The following leaves contain information about the founding of the orphanage by the rebbe of Radovitz, its objectives, and lists of the gabbaim and board members appointed by the rebbe.
Further in the booklet are various letters of recommendation.
[7] written pages, dozens of blank leaves. Approx. 28 cm. Elegant leather binding. Fine endpapers. Placed in original slipcase.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Gefen Yechidit, on matters pertaining to ethics and fear of Heaven, by R. Ze'ev Wolf Walldürn, with Luach HaChaim – brief health guidelines. Hanau, [1717].
Miniature format. Both works are rhymed.
Gefen Yechidit includes several poems by the author, including a lamentation for those murdered and taken captive in Podolia, 1676 or 1677. The persecutions documented in this lamentation are not known from any other source, see: Sefer Podhajce, pp. 24-25.
36 leaves. 11 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains and wear. Old binding.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Sanhedrin and Tractate Shavuot, with the classic commentators. Vilna: Widow and Brothers Romm, 1887.
Lengthy inscription in pencil on the front endpaper, in which the owner of this Talmud volume, a Jew from Czernowitz, describes the trials and tribulations he endured during WWI, beginning from his expulsion from Czernowitz, Bukovina far into Russia, his arrest, the danger he was in, the fellow Jewish exiles he met, and more. The inscription concludes with a list of the tractates he studied during his wanderings. The present tractates – Sanhedrin and Shavuot, were studied upon his return to Czernowitz in 1917.
Other inscriptions on the front endpapers.
124; 32; 50; 24; 60; 5; 8; 33; 18; 5 leaves. 40 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Tears to several leaves. Worming. Original leather binding, damaged.
Torah Study Under Perilous Conditions – During Expulsion and Imprisonment in WWI
The present Talmud volume contains a unique historic documentation from WWI, first hand testimony of a Jew from Czernowitz who was arrested, presumably during the Russian conquest, in the village of Prilipcze, Bukovina, in Adar 1915, and deported deep into Russia. He describes the difficulties he endured, including arrest and even danger of death. Eventually he was brought to Penza, Russia, where he was released. In Penza, he met some six hundred Jews who had also been exiled from Bukovina and Galicia. He stayed there for over a year, until he was granted permission to return to Czernowitz, which he reached in Kislev 1916. He found it conquered, empty of its inhabitants and ransacked. His sons and daughters were not there anymore, and he remained there alone. Throughout this difficult period, the author studied and completed eight tractates, including one which he studied in prison in Surazh (Chernihiv Oblast, Russia), as he records at the end of his inscription.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Printed booklet, "Or Gadol LaYehudim" / Beschryving van alle plechtigheeden, vreugde-gezangen, en gebeeden, verricht in de Portuguese Joodse Synagogue – account of the visit of William V, Prince of Orange, and his wife, Princess Wilhelmina of Prussia, to the Portuguese synagogue in Amsterdam. Amsterdam: Gerhard Johan Janson & Israel Mondovy, [1768]. Hebrew, Dutch and Portuguese.
Account of the visit (printed in Portuguese and Dutch), with the prayers read during the ceremony (printed in Hebrew and Dutch) and a long blessing by R. Shlomo Shalem, Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Amsterdam.
[4], 6-31 pages 25.5 cm. Wide margins. Good condition. Stains. Loose gatherings. Original card binding, with damage; front board detached.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Printed proclamation, announcement of the fundraising campaign for the community's charity fund, to be read out in the synagogues on Shabbat, Parashat Vayehi 1801. Amsterdam: Widow of Yosef Proops Katz, [Tevet] 1801.
An appeal to all community members to donate to the communal charity fund, to finance its various projects (distributing money to the poor, supporting the sick and burying the dead).
[1] leaf (printed on one side). 39 cm. Good condition. Stains and creases. Folding marks.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Derush Hesped, printed booklet – eulogy for Empress Maria Theresa, by R. Yechezkel Landau Rabbi of Prague, author of Noda BiYehuda. Prague, [1780].
As stated on the title page, the Noda BiYehuda delivered this eulogy two weeks after the death of Empress Maria Theresa, at the Maisel Synagogue in Prague. The eulogy highly praises the empress, although she was known for her hatred of Jews and caused great suffering to the Jews of Prague. At the same time, it praises her son and successor, Emperor Joseph II, expressing joy upon the commencement of his reign. For further information, see: Marc Saperstein, 'Your Voice Like a Ram's Horn': Themes and Texts in Traditional Jewish Preaching, Cincinnatti 1996, pp. 445-484.
6 leaves. 16 cm. Fair condition. Stains, dampstains and traces of mold. Wear. Worming, not affecting text. Abrasions to title page, affecting imprint. Deleted stamp on last page. Inscriptions. Leaves partially detached.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Kohelet David, "List of the magnificent collection of books, curated and collected by the famous R. David Oppenheim, rabbi of Prague". Hamburg, 1826. Hebrew and Latin on facing pages.
Hebrew preface by author Isaac Metz and Latin preface by Cornelius Mueller.
The catalog lists thousands of books and manuscripts from the library of R. David Oppenheim, rabbi of Nikolsburg and Prague. The collection was eventually acquired by the Bodleian Library in Oxford.
R. David Oppenheim (1664-1736) was a wealthy Torah scholar, rabbi, yeshiva dean and kabbalist. In 1690, he was appointed rabbi of Nikolsburg (Mikulov) and Chief Rabbi of Moravia. Twenty years later, he was appointed rabbi of Prague, eventually serving as chief rabbi of Bohemia until his death. R. David cherished books and privately compiled the most important Jewish library of his times, containing thousands of volumes of rare books and manuscripts.
XVI, 742, [2] pages. 18.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Minor wear and creases to margins. Soft cover, with damage.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Rabbinische Gutachten über die Beschneidung [Rabbinical opinions on circumcision], compiled by Salomon Abraham Trier [R. Shlomo Zalman son of Avraham Trier]. Frankfurt am Main, 1844. German and Hebrew.
On the flyleaf, a handwritten inscription (in German and Hebrew) by "Dr. Wormser" [R. Shlomo Wormser (1814-1887), son of R. Shmuel Wormser Rabbi of Langen-Schwalbach and grandson of R. Shlomo Zalman Worms Rabbi of Fulda]. He relates that he received the book in 1845 from his teacher, R. Zalman Trier (compiler of the book; ordained Dr. Wormser for the rabbinate in 1834). He writes that R. Trier harshly criticized him for not writing an opinion letter to be published in this book.
In 1843, a Frankfurt-based newspaper published an article calling for the complete abolition of the mitzvah of circumcision, signed "Friends of the Reform". That same year, the Reform pedagogue Joseph Johlson (1777-1851) published a booklet in which he stated that every Jewish institution is entitled to replace circumcision with a different ritual. The group "Friends of the Reform" alleged that circumcision was the cause of crib deaths; due to the group's lobbying, the municipality of Frankfurt agreed to list uncircumcised children as Jews in the population registrars.
The rabbi of Frankfurt, R. Shlomo Zalman Trier (1758-1847), vigorously fought this decision and submitted several petitions to the municipality, stating that by Jewish law an uncircumcised boy cannot be called a Jew.
Simultaneously, R. Trier (together with R. Yissachar Ber Adler and R. Aharon Fuld) began to collect opinion letters from leading rabbis and Jewish intellectuals, on the importance of circumcision. 28 of these letters were printed in the present book. Among the writers: R. Yitzchak Dov HaLevi Bamberger of Würzburg; R. Samson Raphael Hirsch (then Rabbi of Emden); R. Yaakov Ettlinger of Altona, the Aruch LaNer; R. Yaakov Zvi Mecklenburg, author of HaKtav VehaKabbalah; Leopold Zunz of Berlin; Isaak Noah Mannheimer of Vienna and Samuel David Luzzatto (Shadal) of Padua.
XXIV, 240 pages. 19.5 cm. Good condition. Original binding.
Noted on the title page: "Als manuskript gedruckt" [printed as a manuscript]. R. Binyamin Shlomo Hamburger (in his book HaYeshiva HaRama BeFiurda) explains that in order to avoid a public controversy, very few copies of the book were printed and they were never sold by booksellers. R. Hamburger writes that the book is scarce.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Printed proclamation from the rabbis of Warsaw with instructions on how to relate to the non-Jewish population, in attempt to pacify them during the tense times of the 1881-1882 pogroms. Warsaw, Iyar 1881.
Signed in print by 11 rabbis of Warsaw, with the original stamp of the Warsaw Beit Din. This proclamation was published during difficult times for Russian and Polish Jewry, after the assassination of Czar Alexander II led to a series of pogroms in 1881-1882 (these pogroms were actively encouraged by the Russian authorities in order to divert the attention of the populace from the corrupt government).
[1] leaf. 35.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Creases and wear. Marginal open tears, not affecting text.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.