Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Bechorot – with the Rashi and Tosafot commentaries, Piskei Tosafot and Rabbenu Asher. Venice: Daniel Bomberg, 1522. First edition.
Volume from the first Talmud edition printed by Daniel Bomberg in Venice. This is the first edition comprising the entire Babylonian Talmud. This famous edition (The Venice Talmud) served as prototype for all future Talmud editions. The text of the Talmud was then established for all times, as well as the page layout and pagination used until this day.
Ownership inscriptions and handwritten emendations. Inscription in Sephardic script on title page, documenting the start of the study of this tractate in 1640: "We began the Gemara of Bechorot on the 2nd day of Chanukah 1640". Ownership inscriptions around the initial word on leaf 2, deleted with ink.
Complete copy, including title page. 69 leaves. 8 gatherings of 8 leaves each, ninth gathering – 5 leaves. 33.5 cm. Very good condition. Stains, several ink stains. Title page professionally restored. Lower corners cut diagonally. New binding.

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Segulot of Studying Tractate Bechorot

R. Chaim Kanievsky is wont to say that the study of Tractate Bechorot, which deals with defects, is a segulah for recovery.

R. Yoshiyahu Pinto attests that studying Tractate Bechorot is considered like fasting (Divrei Yoshiyahu, Levav Yamim, p. 183).

Two sheets of paper (4 pages) printed in Amsterdam, containing passages which were removed by the censor from the Talmud edition printed in Frankfurt an der Oder in 1697-1699 – leaves intended for cutting and pasting in place of the omissions in the printed tractates. [Amsterdam, 1708].
The Frankfurt an der Oder 1697-1699 Talmud edition was printed under the watchful eye of the Prussian-Christian censorship. This resulted in the omission of numerous passages (lines, and even entire paragraphs) which relate to gentiles or Yeshu (Jesus). The printers left empty spaces in the places where passages were omitted (in the text of the Talmud, the Rashi and Tosafot commentaries), and did not join the lines after the omission to the lines before it (unlike other printers). Ten years later, two Jewish brothers in Amsterdam initiated the printing of these leaves, which contain the passages censored from the Frankfurt an der Oder edition, arranged in the right size and format to fit within the empty spaces left in that edition. This was done in order to enable the buyers to cut the passages and past them in the corresponding spaces, and thus create a complete edition. The printing of the passages was done very accurately, so that each passage should fit exactly in its place in the middle of the page or even line. It must be noted that this venture was presumably only feasible in Amsterdam, which was under the much more tolerant Protestant rule, as opposed to the Prussian area where the Talmud was printed.
Heading the first page, the "Approbations of the great luminaries, the rabbis of Amsterdam" describe the censorship omissions in the Frankfurt an der Oder edition of the Talmud, and the purpose of these leaves: "The Talmud printed in Frankfurt an der Oder was made with many bald patches in various places in the text of the Talmud, Rashi and Tosafot, leaving whoever studies it perplexed, and this was done for the known reason. And now, two brothers, R. Shimon, beadle of our community, and his brother R. Yitzchak, have courageously decided to benefit the public… and have searched through the pages, one by one, to print all the missing parts in their original format… so that each and every person can paste each passage in its place, and there is nothing lacking or superfluous, since everything was done with careful thought…". The approbation is dated Cheshvan 1708, and is signed by R. Aryeh Leib Rabbi of the Ashkenazi community in Amsterdam, and R. Shlomo Ayllon Rabbi of the Sephardim.
These leaves are very rare (not listed in the Bibliography of the Hebrew Book, nor in the NLI catalog). Apart from the unlikelihood of single leaves surviving for several centuries (and supposing that the leaves were printed in a limited number of copies), it can be assumed that the buyers cut and pasted the leaves in the right places in their Talmud set, and therefore almost no complete sheets remain. It is also possible that the distribution of these leaves was prohibited in certain places, or that they were destroyed for fear of the authorities.
[2] sheets of paper, printed on one side (4 pages). Approx. 34 cm. Fair condition. Stains. Tears affecting text, professionally repaired with paper.
• Enclosed is a volume of this Talmud edition – Tractates Sanhedrin, Makkot, Shevuot, Horayot, Eduyot, Avot and Minor Tractates. Frankfurt an der Oder, [1698]. Many of the censorship omissions are concentrated in this volume, in Tractate Sanhedrin (see picture 93a).
Multiple paginations. 35.5 cm. Condition varies: overall fair condition, several leaves in poor condition. Stains and wear. Large tears and worming, affecting text. Several detached leaves. Signatures and inscriptions. Old binding, damaged and detached.

Igeret Baalei Chaim, fable about animals and people, by R. Kalonymus son of Kalonymus. Mantua: Venturino Ruffinelli, [1557]. First edition.
The book is comprised of five parts, and recounts a fable regarding animals, men, kings and evil spirits, interwoven with ethics and words of wisdom. As R. Kalonymus son of Kalonymus wrote in his foreword to the book, this composition is part of a lengthy literary work in Arabic, which he translated, adapted and edited.
R. Kalonymus son of Kalonymus, a 14th century Jewish French-Italian scholar, a scion of the prominent Kalonymus family. In the framework of his literary work, he translated books of ethics, philosophy and medical literature from Arabic to Hebrew. His renowned book of ethics, Even Bochan, was widely distributed in numerous editions.
A poem composed by R. Avraham ibn Ezra (forming an acrostic of his name), "containing all the topics of this pleasing book", is printed at the end of the book, based on the Arabic original. This poem was omitted from all subsequent editions (apart from the Jerusalem 1949 edition).
This composition was reprinted over the years in many editions, including Yiddish translations.
Initial words and letters within fine woodcut frames.
The name of the printer is mentioned on the colophon leaf at the end of the book: "And the printing was completed on Rosh Chodesh Iyar 1557, here in Mantua in the house of Venturino Ruffinelli, by and on behalf of Yosef son of R. Yaakov of Padua…". The printer's device of Joseph of Padua appears beneath the colophon (see: A. Yaari, Diglei HaMadpisim HaIvriim, p. 12, image no. 19; and p. 132).
A (trimmed) ownership inscription, in Italian script, at the top of the title page: "A gift from the sons of R. Yehuda Norzi[?]". Several other inscriptions on the title page and flyleaf (initials D.B., and others). Censors' signature on final leaf.
[92] leaves. Final leaf blank (this leaf was not recorded in the Bibliography of the Hebrew Book). 14.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Light worming. Hole to one leaf, slightly affecting text. Old binding, with damage and worming. Bookplate.
From the estate of Prof. Shlomo Simonsohn.

Collection of thousands of books, on widely varying topics, from Jewish religious texts to scholarly and reference works, bibliophile books and art works, from the library of the renowned bibliographer and book collector Israel Mehlman, printed ca. 1640-1985.
A large collection from the estate of Israel Mehlman, reflecting the wide range of his fields of interest. The collection includes: • Books printed in the 17th and 18th centuries. • Books printed in the 19th century (prayer books, Kabbalah, Musar and Chassidism). • Early Haskalah movement and Judaic studies works. • Hebrew bibliography works. • Books of Jewish thought, philosophy, art and poetry. • Books in bibliophile and limited editions. • Folk literature in Yiddish and Ladino. • Periodicals, polemic books and various publications. • And more.
A comprehensive list of the books will be sent upon request. The list was drawn up by the family, and the books were not examined by Kedem specialists. There may be slight differences between the list and the actual library, as well as in the state of the books. The buyer is responsible for verifying the accuracy of the information.
The viewing of the collection will take place at the family's home. Appointments can be scheduled through the Kedem office.

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Dr. Israel Mehlman (1900-1989) is renowned as one of the greatest book collectors, and for the bibliographic wealth of his library, which he laboriously and meticulously compiled. He began building up his library as a young refugee in Vienna, continually adding books and works after immigrating to Eretz Israel in 1935, and as head of educational and academic institutions. Until his final days, Dr. Mehlman continued collecting and methodically cataloging his books.

Dr. Israel Mehlman was born in Eastern Galicia; at the age of fourteen, as WWI broke, his family fled to Vienna, where he continued his studies, eventually graduating from the Vienna University. A teacher and educator, he continued his work in Palestine after immigrating there in 1935. He was appointed principal of the David Yellin Teachers College in Jerusalem, and head of the Jewish Agency Department of Education. Dr. Mehlman was also one of the founders of the Tel-Aviv University, and served as head of the department of literature and dramatic studies.

A large part of his library, which comprised at its zenith approximately 35,000 books, was donated to the National Library in Jerusalem, and to Beit Hatfutsot. After the donation, Dr. Mehlman enthusiastically resumed the development of his library. The National Library, upon receiving the collection, published a catalog, Ginzei Yisrael – The Israel Mehlman Collection in the Jewish National and University Library, An Annotated Catalogue of the Hebrew Books, Booklets and Pamphlets, with a bibliographic record of 1893 books from the collection, with 47 plates.

Oil painting by the kabbalist R. Yehuda Leon Patilon.
Oil on canvas. Signed: "Leon".
The painting depicts a Safed alleyway, with a mountainous landscape in the background.
R. Yehuda Leon Patilon (ca. 1905-Cheshvan 1974), painter and kabbalist, was renowned as a wonder-worker with foreknowledge of the future, well-versed in the domain of souls and reincarnations. Born in Salonika, Greece, he was orphaned of his father at a young age, and was raised by his grandfather, a kabbalist, who bequeathed to him his kabbalistic approach in worship of G-d, which included rising at midnight and study of Kabbalah. Following his conscription in the Greek army, he fled to Turkey and France (where he presumably studied art). In ca. 1946, he immigrated alone to Eretz Israel, where he drew close to a group of hidden Tzaddikim in the Shabazi neighborhood of Tel Aviv. These men, who earned a living from manual labor while secretly gathering to study Kabbalah together, included: R. Moshe Yaakov Rabikov ("the shoemaker"), the hidden Tzaddik R. Hillel Simchon, R. Avraham Fish ("the floorer"), R. Ezra Eliyahu HaKohen (father of "the milkman", R. Chaim Kohen), and R. Yosef Waltuch "the street-cleaner", who earned a living cleaning the streets of Tel Aviv. His teacher R. Hillel Simchon arranged his match with his wife – Rebbetzin Victoria from the Jerusalemite Nisan family, and they lived in great modesty in the Shabazi neighborhood of Tel Aviv, barely sustained by the sale of his paintings. R. Patilon would set the price of his paintings based only on the cost of the paper, the paint and the work time, although as a talented artist, he could have asked for a much higher price (see: Mishpacha, issue 1404, 12th Nisan 2019, pp. 352-363). R. Yehuda Patilon would paint whilst engrossed in spiritual reflections, completely dissociated from the material world, yet his paintings remain realistic. The figures often featured in his landscapes bear a somewhat mysterious character (thus for instance, when his paintings depict a man carrying baskets, this usually hints to his close friend, the hidden Tzaddik R. Yosef Waltuch, who would often walk around carrying baskets, and travel with him to holy sites in the Galilee). Wondrous stories are retold of his knowledge of hidden matters and the future, revelations of Eliyahu HaNavi, of people who came to him in quest of salvation; and of blessings and promises which were astoundingly fulfilled (see Mishpacha, ibid).
50X40.5 cm, framed: 56X46 cm. Good condition.