Zichron L'Acharonim SheYihyu - Handwritten leaf, containing a detailed report of the cholera outbreak in Italy, 1835, and of the prayers service of the Vercelli community during the High Holidays of 1835. Vercelli (Italy), Hoshana Rabbah [1835].
Neat Italian script. Inscribed on a printed stationery leaf produced by one of the Italian printing presses. The leaf is decorated with a woodcut floral border, topped with two putti blowing trumpets and holding wreaths, and two putti bearing a large crown.
The writer, Yosef Asher Pugliesi, whose signature appears at the foot of the leaf, first describes the spread of the plague throughout the world, and the many lives it claimed. He then reports how the plague reached Italy in 1835, and of the control measures taken to prevent the spread of the epidemic, as well as the medical directives which were issued, including: not leaving the house on an empty stomach, maintaining high standards of hygiene, and others. The writer relates of an extraordinary phenomenon - how the plague did not spread amongst the Jews. He reports that many non-Jews succumbed to the plague in Nizza, Cuneo and Genoa, while amongst the Jews, only a few individuals perished. The writer depicts the non-Jews' amazement at this phenomenon, how they praised the laws of the Torah, and even began buying kosher meat from the Jews. He then records that a special supplication was added to the prayer service by R. Pinchas Ashkenazi, rabbi of Vercelli, and the changes which were made to the prayer services for the High Holidays of 1835, following doctors' warnings and the government's decision to limit public gatherings: The prayer time was postponed, breaks were instituted between the prayers, and the number of piyyutim was greatly reduced. At the foot of the leaf, the writer lists the selichot which were recited for each prayer (Shacharit, Mussaf and Mincha).
Ownership inscriptions on the upper part of the leaf (inscribed while the leaf was still blank): "This became part of my possessions… Shimshon Pugliesi", "Was apportioned to Yosef Asher Pugliesi when he divided up with his brother Shimon Chaim in 1825".
[1] leaf. Approx. 40 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains, tears (repaired). Leaf trimmed on left side, affecting printed border.