Auction 88 - Part I - Books, Manuscripts, Rabbinical Letters, Ceremonial Art
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Handwritten notebook – copying of an essay on the history of Spanish Jewry (Sunto Storico, degli Israeliti di Spagna), published in installments in 1857 in L'Educatore Israelita ["The Israelite Educator"], a Jewish-Italian monthly. Italian.
The present notebook contains most of the essay – chapters I-IX (published over several issues in the fifth year of the paper's publication), signed by Leone Tedeschi of Ferrara. The conclusion of the essay, chapters X-XI, which were published in year 6, are not included in the present copying.
Copying of the Italian translation of Psalm 119 by Felice Sadun on the final pages of the notebook (published in the paper in two parts in 1853).
L'Educatore Israelita, the first Jewish newspaper in Italy, was founded and edited by Prof. Guiseppe Raffael Levi (1814-1874) in conjunction with R. Esdra Pontremoli (1818-1888), and appeared monthly in Vercelli, Northwest Italy, in 1853-1874. The monthly resumed after R. Levi's passing under a new name – Il Vessillo Israelitico, in Casale Monferato, by Flaminio Servi.
[33] leaves. Original, bluish wrappers. Approx. 19.5 cm. Fair condition. Minor stains, creases and wear. Worming to all leaves (and wrappers), affecting text.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Two booklets of regulations from the Jewish community of Mantua:
• Seder HaHaarachah. Mantua, [1675].
"Seder HaHaarachah" is the name given to tax regulations which were printed from time to time, from the late 16th century until the late 18th century in the Mantua community. The authors of the regulations, who were appointed by the community institutions, established the various criteria for tax assessment and for the community constitution. These booklets serve as a valuable, historical source on Jewish community life in the 17th and 18th centuries.
[6] leaves. 22 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Marginal tears. Inscriptions. Without binding.
• Regulations of the Baalei Brit Avraham Society. Mantua, [1744].
The purpose of the Brit society, which operated in many communities, was to sponsor the costs of the Brit Milah for poor families. In return, the members of the society were each in turn honored to serve as sandek at Britot funded by the society. In Mantua, the society was established in 1716. The regulations of the society were first published in 1744 (the present booklet). Every few years, a new booklet was published with the updated regulations and the names of the new society members.
7, [1] leaves. 20.5 cm. Fair condition. Stains, including many dampstains. Thick paper wrappers, damaged and detached.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Manuscript leaves, regulations of the Baalei Brit Avraham society, and list of the society's sandeks. Trieste, 1804-1805. Italian, with some Hebrew.
The present leaves comprise copies of the regulations of the Trieste Baalei Brit Avraham society (for more information about Brit societies, see previous item). Two of the copies include a list of the society's sandeks. The list opens with the name of R. Avraham Eliezer HaLevi (d. 1826), elder and prominent rabbi of Trieste, teacher of Samuel David Luzzatto. His copied signature appears on one of the copies.
[14] leaves (including three blank leaves). Leaves of varying size: 24-37 cm. Fair condition. Stains, including dampstains and mold stains. Worming. Tears and open tears, affecting text.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Four letters regarding a Jew from Trieste who ate in a non-kosher coffeehouse in the city. Trieste, 1771. Italian, with some Hebrew.
• Letter from R. Yitzchak Formiggini Rabbi of Trieste, regarding a Jew named Gatenio (Gattegno), who ate pastries in a non-Jewish coffehouse near the ghetto.
• Two copies of David Gatenio's letter of remorse, dated 8th day of Chanukah 1771, with his signature.
• Letter (or certificate) from the community members dated Rosh Chodesh Tevet 1771, on the same topic.
R. Yitzchak Formiggini, leading Italian Torah scholar, rabbi of Turin and later of Trieste. The Chida quotes novellae in his name in his books.
The present affair is documented in the Pinkas of the Trieste community, where it is recorded that R. Yitzchak Formiggini sentenced Gatenio to three days of excommunication, after which he would have to confess in the synagogue. After Gatenio complained about the rabbi's ruling to the authorities, his sentence was commuted, and he was only obligated to provide a letter of confession and remorse (enclosed).
4 letters. Size varies. Overall good condition. Stains and dampness damage (with traces of mold).
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Appeal letter from the Siena community, addressed to the Trieste community, following pogroms against the Jews of Siena. Siena, 1799.
Letter in Italian. Signed (in Hebrew) by the rabbi of Siena, R. Yaakov Moshe Ayash (later Rishon LeTzion in Jerusalem), and two members of the committee (in Italian).
The present letter was written during the French Revolutionary wars. Following Austrian victory over the French forces in June 1799, the Jewish ghetto was assaulted, the houses looted, and 13 Jews cruelly murdered. The Austrian commander who took over the city placed a heavy tax on the Jews, threatening to burn the ghetto down and expel the Jews if they failed to come up with the required sum.
R. Yaakov Moshe Ayash (d. 1817), son of R. Yehuda Ayash. In 1779, he travelled to North Africa as emissary from Jerusalem. From there he travelled to Italy, where he spent twenty years, serving as rabbi of Siena and later Ferrara. He returned to Eretz Israel in 1803, and was later appointed Rishon LeTzion.
[1] double leaf (2 written pages + address). 25 cm. Fair-poor condition. Stains. Dampness damage (with traces of mold). Folding marks.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Three documents in Italian from the Trieste community in Italy, related to Francis I, first Emperor of Austria (began his reign as Francis II of the Holy Roman Empire). Italian.
• Two handwritten leaves, with a description of the visit of Francis I to the institutions of the Trieste Jewish community, 6 May 1816.
• Handwritten leaf, request for permit to serve as apothecaries. 5 October 1823.
• Printed booklet, sermon of R. Avraham di Colonia in honor of the birthday of Francis I.
4 paper items. Size varies. Fair-poor condition. Dampstains and traces of mold. Several tears.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Manuscript, "Order of Prayers for Women", for various occasions. [Italy, ca. 19th century].
Prayers and verses for various occasions in the woman's life cycle, from ritual immersion through pregnancy, 9th month and birth, as well as candle lighting and separating Challah. With instructions in Italian.
The prayers in this manuscript are found in manuscript prayer books from Italy beginning from the 18th century.
[29] leaves. 16 cm. Good condition. Stains. Inscriptions on endpapers. Original leather binding.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Manuscript, prayers for livelihood. [Italy], 1863.
The manuscript opens with Psalm 24, followed by several prayers.
Square scribal script, vocalized. The name of the owner of the manuscript and the date of writing are inscribed at the beginning and end of the manuscript.
[6] leaves. 22 cm. Good condition. Worming. Old binding.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Collection of historic documents, including sales deeds, permits and official decrees issued by Ottoman and Muslim rulers, from restoration and building of the Hurva courtyard by the disciples of the Gaon of Vilna in the 19th century.
Original documents written and signed in Ottoman and Muslim courts, in Arabic and Turkish. The documents were written and granted during the negotiations conducted by the Ashkenazim, disciples of the Gaon of Vilna in Jerusalem, with the Arab creditors who were in possession of the Hurva courtyard, and document their efforts to regain control over the Hurva courtyard and obtain permits to rebuild the Hurva. At the foot of the documents or on the verso, inscriptions in Hebrew in Ashkenazic script, with a brief summary of the contents of the document.
The documents include:
• Document dated 1240 Hijri year (1824), attesting that the Hurva courtyard belongs to the Ashkenazim, signed by the Kadi and Mufti of Jerusalem; given to R. Menachem Mendel of Shklow, R. Yitzchak of Kovno and R. Shlomo Zalman Shapira. Hebrew inscriptions on verso in various hands.
• Copy of the document from 1240 Hijri (1824). Inscription on verso states that the leaf contains a copy of the document received from the Kadi and Mufti, attesting that the Hurva belongs to the Ashkenazim.
• Copy of the Kadi's court ruling, attesting that the Hurva is the property of the Ashkenazim, with an instruction from the "ruler of Egypt" to return the Hurva to the Ashkenazim. Dated 1240 Hijri (1824).
• Authorization from the Kadi in Jerusalem, addressed to the ruler of Egypt. Signed 1247 Hijri (1831).
• Other documents pertaining to Hurva courtyard, the cancellation of the Ashkenazim's debt to the Arabs, building permits, and more (1831-1888). For more details, see Hebrew description.
21 handwritten documents. Size and condition vary. Overall good condition.
Enclosed are photocopies of additional documents in Arabic and Hebrew, pertaining to the Hurva courtyard and the Etz Chaim yeshiva; as well as a collection of photographs of the ruins of the Etz Chaim yeshiva buildings in the Hurva courtyard, during the yeshiva deans' tour of the place after the Six Day War.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Manuscript – emissary letter issued by Kollel Chabad in Hebron, given to the emissary R. Yitzchak son of R. Shlomo Ashkenazi, signed by the trustees of the Chabad community in Hebron, with the stamp of the Kollel. Hebron, [Tammuz] 1827.
Square and semi-cursive (Rashi) script. Some words enlarged for emphasis.
Personal appeal letter (with a blank space for the emissary to fill in the name of the philanthropist) to be used by the emissary R. Yitzchak Ashkenazi, on his fundraising mission in Iraq on behalf the Chabad community in Hebron.
The letter concludes with the signatures of the first three trustees of Kollel Chabad in Hebron: R. Tzvi Hirsh Lipschitz, R. Efraim Yoffe and R. Moshe Meisels; alongside the ink stamp of the Kollel.
In the letter, the rabbis of Kollel Chabad in Hebron describe the difficult financial state of the Chabad community in Hebron, due both to the dearth of funds from abroad and the extortion and persecution of the Hebron rulers. They appeal to assist the emissary R. Yitzchak Ashkenazi and grant their financial support.
R. Yitzchak son of Shlomo Ashkenazi was the first emissary of Kollel Chabad in Hebron to travel to Sephardic countries.
[1] leaf. Approx. 30.5 cm. Stains and wear. Creases and marginal tears. New binding and endpapers.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Double leaf (two printed pages), proclamation by R. Shimon Menashe Chaikin, rabbi of the Hebron Ashkenazic community, regarding the dispute over the control of the Kollel Chabad funds in Eretz Israel; with letter in defense of R. Chaikin by the Sephardic rabbis of Hebron – R. Eliyahu Mani and R. Chaim Rachamim Yosef Franco. Hebron, [1888].
At the foot of the leaf, official ink stamps of the three rabbis of Hebron – R. Shimon Menashe Chaikin, R. Eliyahu Mani and R. Rachamim Yosef Franco.
The present proclamation relates to the dispute which arose between Chabad Chassidim in Jerusalem and those in Hebron, regarding the allocation of the funds sent to support the Chabad settlement in Eretz Israel, and the identity of the fund trustees in Europe and in Eretz Israel.
The second page contains a copying of a letter from the Mitteler Rebbe (written ca. 1822, when the Chabad community was founded in Hebron), in which the rebbe stresses the value of settling in Hebron, and encourages his Chassidim to support the Chabad settlement in Hebron.
R. Shimon Menashe Chaikin (ca. 1802-1893), head of the Ashkenazi Beit Din in Hebron and rabbi of the Chabad community in Hebron for half a century. A prominent Chassid of the Mitteler Rebbe and of the Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch.
[1] double leaf (2 printed pages). Approx. 28.5 cm. Good condition. Stains and wear. Tears and open tears, repaired with paper and tape on verso. With new binding and endpapers.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
Letter signed by the rabbis of Safed, R. Shmuel Heller (two signatures) and R. Refael Silberman. Safed, Shevat 1880.
Letter handwritten by R. Refael Silberman, and signed by R. Shmuel Heller and R. Refael Silberman. With additional line handwritten and signed by R. Shmuel Heller at the foot of the letter.
The letter was sent to the trustees of Kollel Austria, and discusses the amount allocated to the Kollel from the funds received from Amsterdam.
R. Shmuel Heller (1786-1884), leading Torah scholar and physician, rabbi of Safed for sixty years.
R. Refael Silberman (1839-1918), head of the Safed Beit Din (and later rabbi of the Ashkenazi community in Safed for over forty years).
[1] leaf. Approx. 22X10 cm. Good condition. Uneven bottom edge (bottom of leaf torn off, beneath letter). Stains and folding marks. Stamp, serial number in pen.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.