Auction 85 - Judaica: Books, Manuscripts, Rabbinical Letters, Ceremonial Art
- book (163) Apply book filter
- manuscript (107) Apply manuscript filter
- chassid (69) Apply chassid filter
- letter (69) Apply letter filter
- print (55) Apply print filter
- jewri (52) Apply jewri filter
- jewish (44) Apply jewish filter
- document (41) Apply document filter
- matter (38) Apply matter filter
- earli (24) Apply earli filter
- communiti (23) Apply communiti filter
- art (21) Apply art filter
- art, (21) Apply art, filter
- ceremoni (21) Apply ceremoni filter
- graphic (21) Apply graphic filter
- chassidut (19) Apply chassidut filter
- 16 (17) Apply 16 filter
- 16th-17th (17) Apply 16th-17th filter
- 17 (17) Apply 17 filter
- centuri (17) Apply centuri filter
- th (17) Apply th filter
- bibl (16) Apply bibl filter
- books, (16) Apply books, filter
- chabad (16) Apply chabad filter
- scroll (16) Apply scroll filter
- tehillim (16) Apply tehillim filter
- import (15) Apply import filter
- ownership (15) Apply ownership filter
- prayer (15) Apply prayer filter
- siddurim (15) Apply siddurim filter
- italian (14) Apply italian filter
- manuscripts, (14) Apply manuscripts, filter
- african (12) Apply african filter
- algeria (12) Apply algeria filter
- avot (12) Apply avot filter
- manuscript, (12) Apply manuscript, filter
- mishnayot (12) Apply mishnayot filter
- morocco (12) Apply morocco filter
- morocco, (12) Apply morocco, filter
- north (12) Apply north filter
- pirkei (12) Apply pirkei filter
- rif (12) Apply rif filter
- rif, (12) Apply rif, filter
- talmud (12) Apply talmud filter
- tunisia (12) Apply tunisia filter
- yemenit (12) Apply yemenit filter
- esther (10) Apply esther filter
- purim (10) Apply purim filter
- scrolls, (10) Apply scrolls, filter
- eretz (9) Apply eretz filter
Letter handwritten and signed by R. Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook, chief rabbi of Eretz Israel. Jerusalem, Adar I 1932.
In his letter addressed to his brother R. Dov HaKohen Kook, R. Avraham Yitzchak asks him to come head the Shaarei Torah yeshiva in Jaffa, following the passing of its previous head, their brother-in-law R. Yosef Rabi.
[1] leaf, official stationery. 22.5X14.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Creases and wear. Folding marks.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Kevod HaLevanon, Torah supplement to the HaLevanon newspaper – collection of issues from the newspaper's first year. [Jerusalem, 1863].
The collection includes the Kevod HaLevanon supplements to most of the issues from 1863 (issues 2-12. The supplement to issue 2 is lacking one page, and the supplement to issue 4 is lacking 3 pages; a detailed list will be sent upon request).
Kevod HaLevanon served as an important forum for essays, discussions and correspondence on halachah and current events, including famous polemics. The writers featured in the present issues include: the Netziv of Volozhin, R. Shmuel Salant, R. Yitzchak Prague, R. Yehosef Schwartz, R. Meir Auerbach, and others.
The supplement to issue 10 contains a special polemic article against the printer R. Yisrael Bak, who had claimed that the publishers were violating his exclusive rights by establishing a printing press in Jerusalem.
[20] leaves. Approx. 31-33 cm. Fair condition. Stains. Marginal tears. Some detached leaves.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Handwritten letter containing a request to support the settlements of the Gaon of Vilna's disciples in Safed and Jerusalem. Signed by R. Yisrael of Shklow and other leading disciples of the Gaon of Vilna. Jerusalem and Safed, Kislev 1830.
An appeal letter given to the emissary R. Tzvi Hirsh son of R. Yehuda, with a blank space for the emissary to fill in the name of the donor.
Signed by R. Chaim Kohen (previously rabbi in Pinsk, served as rabbi in Safed until his passing in 1831); R. Yisrael of Shklow (disciple of the Gaon of Vilna); R. Natan Neta son of R. Mendel (leader of the first group of disciples of the Gaon of Vilna who immigrated to Eretz Israel in 1809, d. 1846); R. Natan Neta son of R. Saadia (attendant of the Gaon of Vilna, d. 1849); R. Aryeh Leib son of R. Yosef Leon (head of the Ashkenazi Yishuv in Safed); R. Aryeh son of R. Yerachmiel Markus of Keidan (1800-1877; trustee of Kollel Perushim in Jerusalem and founder of the Hurva synagogue); R. Shlomo Zalman son of R. Ze'ev Wolf HaKohen (emissary for Eretz Israel, d. 1847 in Calcutta).
[1] leaf. 24 cm. Good condition. Stains. Marginal worming, not affecting text.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Tehillim, with the Be'urei Zohar and Metzudat Zion commentaries. Safed: R. Yisrael Bak, [1833].
One of the first books printed by R. Yisrael Bak in Safed, about one year after he established his printing press in the city.
On verso of the title page is the introduction of the printer R. Yisrael Bak with blessings for those who purchase books printed in Eretz Israel and especially this Tehillim. This is followed by another long introduction by R. Gershon Margaliot, who tells how he urged R. Yisrael Bak not to print the Kabbalistic commentary Be'urei HaZohar alone, rather alongside verses of Tehillim and his advice was heeded.
Kavanat HaMeshorer is printed at the beginning of each Psalm. The volume also contains prayers recited before and after reading Tehillim on weekdays, Shabbat, Yom Tov and Lel Hoshanah Rabbah and a prayer on behalf of the sick and Seder Pidyon Nefesh.
[4], 152 leaves. 15 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Tears and wear. Marginal open tears to title page and to other leaves, mostly at the beginning of the book, professionally restored, slightly affecting text. Worming to several leaves, affecting text, repaired with paper. Bottom margins of several leaves trimmed, not affecting text. Leaf 148 seems to have been supplied from another copy. Stamps. Inscriptions. New, elegant leather binding.
An inscription in Ashkenazi script appears on the title page above the place of printing, "Safed": "The dust of Eretz Israel here [Safed]". This phrase was used as a signature by R. Yisrael of Shklow, a disciple of the Gaon of Vilna, who lived in Safed at the time this book was printed (in our opinion, this is a later inscription, imitating R. Yisrael's signature).
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Letter from the rabbis of Safed, addressed to Sir Moses Montefiore, signed by R. Shmuel Heller and R. Shmuel Abbou. Safed, Tishrei 1870. Hebrew.
Written by a scribe (in cursive Ashkenazic script), with the signatures of the rabbis (and the stamp of R. Abbou). In the letter, the rabbis report on the distribution of funds received from Montefiore (funds for the poor of Safed, for brides and ill people and for the institutions of Safed, Tiberias and Hebron).
Note in English on verso (presumably written by one of Montefiore's secretaries), summing up the rabbis' report.
R. Shmuel Heller (1786-1884), leading Torah scholar and physician, rabbi of Safed for sixty years.
R. Shmuel Abbou (1789-1879), rabbi of the Sephardic community in Safed and consul of France. Rebuilt Safed after the earthquake in 1837.
[1] double leaf (2 written pages). Approx. 29.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Wear and marginal tears. Folding marks.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
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.
Tikkun Sofrim, year-round Parashiot and Haftarot. Amsterdam: for Samuel Rodrigues Mendes, Moses Sarfati and David Gomes da Silva, 1726.
Birth and death records (in English) on back endpaper from 1795-1806, of the Henriques family in Jamaica. Signature of a family member dated 1857 at top of first title page.
Title pages with copper engravings by Bernard Picart. Divisional title page for Haftarot. Includes table of Torah readings for the festivals, and tables in Spanish (folding plates). Additional title page in Hebrew and Spanish.
[1], 329, [1], 330-445, [2] leaves, leaf 446, [8] leaves; [3] folding plates; 9-16 pages; [2] leaves (leaf 446 bound out of sequence). Approx. 16.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Gilt edges. Back endpaper with familial inscriptions partially torn, with damage to inscriptions. Original leather binding, with fine gilt decorations. Damage and worming to binding.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Printed leaf, Tena'im for Shavuot, original text by R. Zalman Branson. Chicago, Illinois, 1919.
Metaphorical Tena'im for the betrothal of the Torah to the Jewish people, based on the text of Tena'im for marriage.
In this unique Tena'im document, the groom is the Jewish people, while the bride is the Torah. The bride's side is represented by G-d, who commits to give 613 commandments as dowry; the groom's side is represented by Moses. The guarantors are the patriarchs, and the witnesses are heaven and earth. The wedding is to take place on Shavuot, with King David playing music and Aharon HaKohen blessing the bride and groom.
Several compositions of this kind exist, the first one being the Ketubah for Shavuot composed by R. Yisrael Najara, which is recited in certain communities on Shavuot.
The present item comprises a new, original text.
[1] leaf. 26 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Tears and folding marks.
Not listed in the Bibliography of the Hebrew Book nor in the NLI catalog.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Collection of proclamations, printed during the course of the polemic on the kashrut of meat in Toronto. [Toronto, first half of the 20th century].
Rare proclamations related to the polemic on the kashrut of meat in Toronto:
• Four proclamations in Yiddish, regarding the dispute between the two kashrut agencies in Toronto: Kehilla of Toronto (organization founded in 1923 to oversee the kashrut of meat in the city) and Vaad Ho'Ir ("City Committee", founded in the early 1930s, it apparently signed its proclamations as "The committee" or "The city").
1. Proclamation against a proclamation issued by "Moshe" and against "Price" (R. Avraham Aharon Price, 1900-1994, rabbi in Toronto from mid-1930s). Signed (in print): "Chaim and the committee".
2. "Jews of Toronto", proclamation in praise of R. Yisrael HaLevi Horowitz (1893-1979, rabbi in Toronto from 1928). Signed (in print): "The committee of 25 of the city".
3. "Rabbis – repent" – sharp proclamation against certain rabbis, and praise of R. Yisrael HaLevi Horowitz. Signed (in print): "The city".
4. "Appeal", proclamation addressed to Vaad Ho'Ir, call for peace issued by the Kehilla of Toronto.
• Large double leaf. Toronto, 1932. Long list of Jewish institutions in Toronto and names of their representatives, presumably for the purpose of nominating and electing the heads of the Kehilla of Toronto corporation, on the 12th and 20th of December. Names of institutions and their representatives in Yiddish and English. Altogether approx. 80 institutions and 225 representatives.
5 paper items. Size and condition vary.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.