Two personal booklets for use during internal ceremonies by highranking Freemasons in Israel. 1967 and 1980. Rare. Not in the National Library.
* [1] 44 pages, 23 cm. Manual for the rites of the Provost and Judges, the seventh rank. The early Scottish rites as accepted by the Freemasons in Israel. The interior title page of the booklet warns the receiver not to transfer this book to anyone else. The book has a detailed description of the ceremonies. It bears many marks, indicating that it was used to guide the ceremonies.Blemished spine, solitary aging stains. Fine condition.
* [1] 34 pages, 21 cm. Manual for the 31st rank of Inspector Inquisitor. The preface notes that this manual is exclusively for the Inspector Inquisitor, and may not be given to anyone else. The booklet is marked, indicating that it was used by an Inspector during his role at various ceremonies.
As mentioned, these booklets are secret. The information they contain offer a peephole into the ceremonies of the Freemasons in Israel.
Large collection of internal, secret material from the Freemason society, including ceremonial information, member initiation, bylaws, authority, and more. Some documents bear handwritten notes, signatures, and names of members. 1970s-1990s.
[24] booklets and documents, various sizes. Includes:
* Large booklet of the constitution of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, also used in the State of Israel. *Booklet with reproductions of original documents in English, Hebrew, and Arabic, in addition to photos that shed light on the establishment of freemasonry in Palestine in the 1930s.*Protocols and invitations to the inauguration of the Grand Master and other ranks of the lodge (inscribed and autographed).* Booklet regarding Freemason ranks: their names, and their connection to early Jewish history, such as the rank of chassidim, Hashmonaim, Peirushim, and more.
The Freemasons is an international secret society which claims to the the oldest fraternal organization in the world, whose original source is the builders of King Solomon’s First Temple. The society demands a high ethical standard from their members and aspires to brotherhood and equality between brothers (women are not allowed to join the society). A central aspect of the society is its ceremonies and the ranks that the members can achieve. There are many conspiracy theories regarding the Freemasons worldwide, from their control of world economics to the arrangement of wars. This material belonged to one of the founders of the Freemasons in Israel and it discloses that in the 1920s there was a Freemason society in Egypt that had Arab and Jewish members from Palestine. The riots of 1920s made this joint membership difficult, and in the 1930s a society was established in Palestine that matched the ceremonies and ranks to the history of the Jewish people, particularly during the times of the Second Temple.
The booklets are very rare and most are not in the National Library.Overall fine condition.
Two ledgers that were used as drafts by Shmuel HaShimshony, one of the founders of the Freemasons in Palestine, in the 1930s. The booklets are full of marks and handwritten notes. Rare, not in the National Library. [2].
[1] 29 pages, 13 cm. Pattern Set of Bye-laws [1930s]. English. Ledger of bylaws printed in Edinburgh, Scottland, which served as a draft when formulating the bylaws for Palestine. Many comments and erasures throughout the ledger. The title page bears the handwritten notation “Hashimshony.” Aging stains. Very fine condition.
[1] 16 pages, 14 cm. Bye-laws. District of Palestine, Syria and Egypt. [End of the 1930s.] English. Handwritten comments and erasures. Aging stains. Very fine condition.
Refer to a related item in this catalog for more information regarding the Freemasons.
Shmuel HaShimshony (1879-1939) was born in Romania. His father was Dov Samsonoff, a Romanian maskil. In 1896, he immigrated to Palestine and helped found the first Jewish commune. He moved to Egypt for health reasons, was active among the Cairo Jewish community, and founded the first Zionist weekly periodical in French, La Renusance Juive. He was the president of the Egyptian Bnei Brith society and then secretary of the large Bnei Brith lodge in Jerusalem. He was shot and killed on his way to work in Haifa. These documents prove that he was a founder of the Freemasons in Israel.
The Hebrew Review. Published by the Rabbinical Literary Association, anthology of articles tracing the path of the Reform Movement in America in 1880. Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, [1880].
285 pages, 23 cm. First of two volumes. Original binding.
The volume was published after the establishment of the Rabbinical Literary Association, headed by Max Lilienthal (1815-1882), in the wake of the Reform Convention in 1880, five years after the foundation of Hebrew Union College. The articles discuss the modern Jew’s relationship with Judaism, the Talmud, non-Jews, and other practical issues. The association published a quarterly journal, The Hebrew Review, for two years until the association fell apart upon Lilienthal’s death.
Original binding, light blemish to the spine. Very fine condition.
Prayer Book according to the Karaite custom, divided into four parts. Eupatoria, 1836.
Part one: [1] 81-236. Part two: [2] 144, 32. Part three: [2] 168 [1]. Part four: 44, [16] 52, [4], 45-64 leaves. 25cm. Thick paper.
A prayer book according to the Karaite custom, including prayers for Shabbat, Piyutim for Shabbat, Haftarot. Minchat Yehuda – rhymes for all of the portions of the Torah, Piyutim for Purim, prayers for festivals. Yom Kippur, blessings for Brit Milah and bridegrooms, tziduk hadin, prayers in Jerusalem for pilgrims (oleh regel) and more.
In the copy before us the first section of the first part is missing. Also in the Mehlman copy in the National Library the first part is divided into two volumes, and the second volume is like the first part which we have before us, in which is the first title page. Part four is bound in a different manner than what is listed in the Hebrew Bibliography. The title page and last leaf are missing, [4] leaves were added which it seems were originally at the end of part one.
Ginzei Yisrael – Mehlman Collection 1841. All of the parts are extremely rare.
Two parts have original? leather covers with the owner’s name embossed. The owners are the Yafet Family, one of the veteran Karaite families. A few age stains. White paper. Very Fine condition.
Dod Mordechai. Essence of Karaism, Karaite literature, laws of Karaite ritual slaughter by Rabbi Mordechai ben Nissan. Vienna, 1830.
[4] 36 [1] leaves, 24 cm. Contains the answers the Karaites provided to Christian scholar Jacob Trigland to his questions regarding the essence of Karaism. Leaf of errata at the conclusion. Printed with additional works:
Orach Tzaddikim with special half-title, regarding the controversy between the Karaites and the rabbis, along with a list of Karaite literature. Kitzur Inyan HaShechitah by Eliyahu Bashitzi HaKarai, with separate half-title.
Old cardboard binding with torn spine. Mold marks on the gutters of the first leaves. Minimal aging stains. Fine condition. The book bears a note that it was from the library of N. S. Leibowitz, the noted author and researcher.
Binah L’Itim. Calendar for designating the year according to the Karaite calendar, by Yehudah Kochizov. Odessa, 1878.
24 pages, 25 cm. Added jacket title page.
Dozens of calendars for the Karaite years, with calculation of the molad, sunrise and sunset, lunar and solar eclipses, and information for the calculation of these times in various cities in the world. Still today, the Karaites designate their years according to these calendars.
Rubbed cardboard binding. Very fine condition.
Untraditional Passover Haggadah. Published by Kvutzat Shiller (Gan Shlomo), 1953.
[36] pages, 17×23 cm. Nice manuscript with illustrations, printed by stencil.
The last leaves feature the Israeli Declaration of Independence and an illustrated chart of the count of the years back to the destruction of the First and Second Temples, the fall of Masada, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, the immigration of Kvutzat Shiller, and the establishment of the State of Israel.
Printed paper jacket. Minimal aging stains. Fine-very fine condition. Not listed by Steiner.
Passover Haggadah. Untraditional. Kibbutz Gilad. [1947].
28 leaves, 17×21.5 cm. Stencil. Printed jacket binding.
The haggadah is printed on only one side of each leaf, with illustrations. Includes excerpts from the traditional text and many Biblical verses, alongside new songs and texts. Leaves 18-20: Eichah and Yizkor for victims of the Holocaust. Leaf 20a features a large picture of illegal immigrants.
Not in the National Library and not listed by Steiner.
Jacket binding, tiny staple holes. Minimal aging stains. Very fine condition.
Two untraditional Passover haggadot. With illustrations [apparently] by Ludwig Schwerin. Published by Kibbutz Ein Gev, 1947 and 1949.
* [19] leaves. Mispaginated. Stencil. This haggadah of 1947 mentions the Holocaust and illegal immigration. The back of the binding notes: H. Langer press, Tel Aviv.
Illustrated paper jacket. Very fine condition.
* 2-31 leaves. Stencil. This haggadah of 1949 mentions that it was the State of Israel’s first Passover night. This haggadah is not in the National Library.
Illustrated paper jacket. Filing holes. Very fine condition.
Untraditional Passover Haggadah. Heftziba, [1944]. Printed at the height of the Holocaust.
17 leaves, 20.5×16.5 cm. Printed by stencil.
The haggadah was printed on only one side of the leaves, along with an illustration related to the text. Includes passages from the traditional text along with new songs and texts. This haggadah includes a passage entitled Megillat Ha’avdon and a song bemoaning the “burned and scorched Warsaw Ghetto,” both reflective of the events of the time. Illegal immigration to Palestine is mentioned via a poem and illustration.
The front paper jacket is printed by stencil on cardboard. Fine-very fine condition.
