Decorated mezuzah cover from the house of the woman Rovida Alkobi. [Morocco, late 19th century to mid-20th century].
Low-grade silver, pierced and engraved; cloth and cardboard.
A silver shield-shaped mezuzah cover, pierced and engraved with palmettes and scrolling foliage. The divine name "Shadai" and the name "Rovida Alkobi" are engraved on top. The name Rovida, short for Orovida, is a Judeo-Spanish name meaning "golden life".
Elaborate mezuzah covers were of the most important religious artifacts in Jewish households in Morocco, and unlike other artifacts, were considered "feminine" objects, bearing the name of the lady of the household. The covers were usually embroidered goldwork on velvet in vibrant colors; some were made of silver and backed with velvet. Most of the silver mezuzah covers most probably originate from the mellah of Fez, which was home to many silversmiths who worked in this style. Similar silverwork is typical of Moroccan Hanukkah lamps, prayers shawl (tallit) bags and phylacteries (tefillin) bags.
The Mezuzah cover was often made for the bride's dowry, but in some cases the need for it arose only later; at first, the young couple would live with the husband's parents and only when children were born and the family moved to a more spacious house would a new mezuzah cover be made. Since Jewish houses in Morocco (like Muslim houses) were closed off for reasons of modesty and safety, and due to the value of the silver mezuzah covers, they were not hung on the door facing the street but rather inside the house, often at the entrance to the living room. Thus, the Mezuzah symbolized the central place of the wife and mother as the supporting pillar of the family, in the spirit of the Mishnaic saying "his house is his wife".
This mezuzah cover is documented in the Bezalel Narkiss Index of Jewish Art, item no. 7262.
18X26.5 cm. Good condition. A suspension loop on top. Bends. On a new cardboard base covered with fabric.
Literature: The Mezuzah Cover: A Special Artistic Ritual Object in the Life of the Jewish Woman in the Moroccan Cities, by Shalom Sabar (Hebrew). In Yahadut Marocco, January-June 2016, Issue 3, pp. 48-53.

Facsimile of the Worms Machzor, elaborate manuscript from the 13th century. Vaduz, Lichtenstein: Cyelar Establishment, 1985. Including introductory volume.
Large elaborate facsimile on thick, parchment-like paper. Tooled leather binding, with metal corners and clasps. Copy 283/300.
The Machzor, which was written in 1272, served the synagogue of the Worms community for hundreds of years, until the synagogue was destroyed by the Nazis on Kristallnacht, November 1938. The Machzor was saved by the archivist of Worms, who hid it in the city's Cathedral. In 1957, the manuscript was transferred to the Jewish National and University Library in Jerusalem.
[225] leaves. Size of leaves: 31X39 cm. Very good condition. The facsimile and introductory volume are placed in a fine, fabric-covered, compartmented clamshell box. Minor damage to box.
Enclosed: In a separate folder, two illuminated facsimile leaves, from the second volume of the manuscript of the Machzor (not reproduced in this facsimile).

The Aleppo Codex (Keter Aram Tzova) – the most important manuscript of the Bible. Elaborate facsimile edition. Jerusalem: Hebrew University, 1976.
[4], 588, [4] pages. 31.5X41.5 cm. Good condition. Minor stains. Original, elegant leather binding.
Unnumbered copy, without the accompanying booklet by the publisher Moshe Goshen-Gottstein.

Passover Haggadah, illuminated manuscript with gold leaf, after the Darmstadt Haggadah (made by the scribe Israel Ben Meir of Heidelberg, ca. 1430). [Unknown location, 20th century?].
Vellum; black and red ink; watercolors; gold leaf.
This manuscript is an almost precise copy of the Darmstadt Haggadah, with its elegant Ashkenazic characters, illumination, magnificent initials and miniatures. However, the original marginal commentary (and a single case of commentary appearing in the center of the leaf) was not copied in this manuscript, and passages originally written in semi-cursive Ashkenazic script were copied in a different script.
It is interesting to note the respectful depiction of women in the Darmstadt Haggadah illustrations. The women are depicted as sitting around the table in a place that is equal in its importance to that of the men and are reading books; thus, the person who ordered the Haggadah was presumably a woman and the painter wanted to honor her and emphasize her social and family status. The Haggadah ends with two secular illustrations – a hunting scene typical of the era and the Fountain of Youth.
[56] leaves, 35.5 cm. Good condition. Gold leaf peeling and missing in several places. Elegant leather binding. Abrasions to corners and edges of binding.

Itinerarium Sacrae Scripturae. Das ist Ein Reisebuch, Uber die gantze heilige Schrifft in zwey Bücher getheilt [Travel Book through Holy Scripture…]. Helmstadt: Jacobum Lucium Siebenburger (Jacob Siebenburger), 1582. German. Second edition.
"Travel Book through Holy Scripture", by German pastor, theologian and cartographer Heinrich Bünting (1545-1606) was first published in 1581 and was the most complete and comprehensive description of Biblical geography in its time. It was since printed in multiple editions and translated into many languages.
The book contains eight woodcuts: a woodcut showing Solomon's Temple and seven maps – map of the Old World (Africa, Asia and Europe); map of Palestine; map of northern Palestine, showing the territories of the Twelve Tribes of Israel; a map depicting the route of the Israelites in the desert; a map of Jerusalem; a map of Palestine according to the New Testament; and a map of the Mediterranean basin. One of the maps (the Clover Leaf Map) is missing.
[8] leaves, 1-2, 7-316 pp, [10] leaves; [3] leaves, 136 pp, [6] leaves, [3] leaves; 36, [1] pp. Missing: pp. 3-6 of first sequence and one map. 31.5 cm. Fair condition. Stains, some dark. Tears, some open. A tear to one map, reinforced with old tape. Long vertical tear to last leaf. Worming. Many ink notations throughout the book; ownership inscriptions (old). Label to inside front board. Back board and several leaves detached. Original wood and vellum binding, worn and damaged.