Winner's Auctions No. 111
Important Historic Documents, Haskalah, Einstein, Seforim, Manuscripts and Letters from Rabbis and Rebbes
- Compositions, Manuscripts and Glosses from Ashkenazic Rabbinical Leaders (30) Apply Compositions, Manuscripts and Glosses from Ashkenazic Rabbinical Leaders filter
- Manuscripts and Glosses: Oriental and Yemenite (25) Apply Manuscripts and Glosses: Oriental and Yemenite filter
- Sir Moses Montefiore (25) Apply Sir Moses Montefiore filter
- Letters from Ashkenazic Rabbis (24) Apply Letters from Ashkenazic Rabbis filter
- Early Prints (23) Apply Early Prints filter
- Sefarim (20) Apply Sefarim filter
- Books of Hassidism (15) Apply Books of Hassidism filter
- Pedigreed Copies of Admors (15) Apply Pedigreed Copies of Admors filter
- Pedigreed Copies, Signatures and Glosses (15) Apply Pedigreed Copies, Signatures and Glosses filter
- Kabbalistic Manuscripts (12) Apply Kabbalistic Manuscripts filter
- Important Historic Documents (10) Apply Important Historic Documents filter
- Prayer books, Psalms and Miniatures (10) Apply Prayer books, Psalms and Miniatures filter
- Books of Kabbalah (9) Apply Books of Kabbalah filter
- Proclamations, Etchings and Graphics (9) Apply Proclamations, Etchings and Graphics filter
- Haskalah (Enlightenment) and Its Opponents (8) Apply Haskalah (Enlightenment) and Its Opponents filter
- Chaba"d (7) Apply Chaba"d filter
- Passover Haggadahs (6) Apply Passover Haggadahs filter
- Prof. Albert Einstein (2) Apply Prof. Albert Einstein filter
Historic sermon delivered in the old synagogue in Pest on Shabbat of the Toldot Torah portion of 1867, by Rabbi Binyamin Zeev Meisel, in a final attempt to reconcile between the Orthodox and Reform in the community, a sermon after which the rabbi collapsed and passed away. Budapest, 1867. Only edition. Rare work.
'These are the final words spoken by the deceased, z"l, to his congregation, because after the end of this precious sermon, he suddenly fainted. During the repetition of the amidah, when the cantor said the words of kedushah 'ברוך כבוד ה' ממקומו' a death-stroke entered his bones - his spirit did not return to him, and during the twilight of Shabbat's conclusion, his soul departed in sanctity ... the word "Shalom" was the final word to leave his lips before being silenced by the kiss of death. [From the introduction to the book by Shimon Bachrach.]
Rabbi Leib Schwab was selected to serve as rabbi of the Pest community in 1836. Although he studied under the Chatam Sofer and Rabbi Mordechai Benet, he strayed from the traditional path and grew close to the maskilim of the city, which brought about the wrath of his earlier teachers. The Neolog community already made certain changes in the Central Synagogue in Pest in his time. Rabbi Schwab took a compromising stance and attempted to satisfy both the conservatives and the liberals in that he was prepared for any innovation that was not explicitly forbidden by the Torah. Two years before the inauguration of the Great Synagogue in Pest, Rabbi Schwab passed away.
After Rabbi Schwab's passing, Rabbi Binyamin Zeev Meisel was appointed as first chief rabbi of the magnificent synagogue in Pest which was inaugurated in Elul 1859 and contained approximately 3000 congregants. The central location of the synagogue in the Seventh District of Budapest provided it with a place of honor in the cityscape. However, the Neolog influence intensified in the form of attempts to bring an organ into the synagogue, to be played by a gentile on Shabbat and holidays and more, which caused the total abandonment of the congregation by the Orthodox. The historic sermon before us was the final attempt to make peace between the camps and prevent the separation of the Orthodox community from the Neolog community in the city [We are all sons of one man, my brothers and friends, respond to your hearts and recover! Will the sword of battle forever consume! Return it to its sheath - are we not all sons of one man, Avraham ...'] which did not succeed in the end. In effect, with Rabbi Meisel's passing, the communities finally split and the Orthodox established a separate body on a side street with their own synagogue headed by the zealous Rabbi Chaim Sofer of Munkacs.
15, 16 pages, Hebrew and German. 18 cm. Hebrew title page and German title page. Rare. Fine condition. Minimal aging stains.
Lesebuch für jüdische Kinder: zum Besten der jüdischen Freyschule. [Reader for Jewish Children, for free schools] by David Friedlander. Berlin, Chevrat Chinuch Nearim, 1799. First edition. Rare book.
This was the first book ever in history written in German for Jewish children, a reading textbook for Jewish children. The book opens with the German alphabet and a facsimile of handwritten aleph-beit letters. The title page bears the emblem of the Chevrat Chinuch Nearim. The society's noted emblem was taken from this work.
David Friedlander was a prominent maskil [1750-1834]. Together with his brother-in-law Isaac Daniel Itzig, he founded the Freischule - "Chevrat Chinuch Nearim" school in Berlin which offers a free education to Jewish children. It mixed German and Jewish culture per the spirit of haskalah. This school was the first modern Jewish school and framework in the history of German Jewry that taught secular subjects. This is the first work printed for the school.
Especially rare book. In 1927, the Soncino Society printed a facsimile edition of this book in Berlin, with a foreword by Moritz Stern. The title page and foreword note that they found the copy of this very rare book.
This copy bears the bookplate of the Soncino-Geselleschaft with the date July - 1927. This was almost certainly the rare copy they used to print their facsimile!
[1] 46 [1 facsimile] pages, about 18 cm. The book is in very fine condition. Old, half-leather binding with blemished spine.
1. Kuntress HaTzofeh al Darchei HaMishnah. By Rabbi Tzvi Binyamin Auerbach, Frankfurt, 1861, [2], 54 pages.
2. Kuntress Divrei Shalom V'Emet, by Shlomo Yehudah Rapoport, inscribed by the author. Prague, 1861. [1] 35 pages.
3. Kuntress Mipnei Kishut, critique of Seder Darkei HaMishnah by Rabbi Shlomo Zeev Klein, Frankfurt, Sivan 1861, 32 pages.
4. Kuntress HaEmet V'HaShalom Ohavo, by Rabbi Shlomo Zeev Klein, Frankfurt, Av 1861, 22 pages.
In 1860, Zechariah Frankel published his work Darchei Mishnah. The book aroused great turmoil, because, despite the fact that Frankel spoke admiringly about the Tanaim as great legislators, he did not mention or even hint at the divinity of the Oral Torah at all. In addition, Frankel claims that the idea of "Torah of Moshe at Sinai" was only a later interpretation by the Tanaim themselves, indicating that these ideas are very clear - as if they were said to Moshe at Sinai. Many rabbis, including Rabbi Samson Refael Hirsch, Rabbi Ezriel Hildesheimer and Rabbi Tzvi Binyamin Auerbach (in his HaTzofeh al Darchei HaMishnah in this lot) publicly opposed the book and demanded that Frankel declare that he recognizes the divinity of the Torah. Rabbi Shlomo Zeev Klein published his Ha'Emet V'HaShalom Ahavo as an appeal to Frankel to clarify his position. Rabbi Shlomo Yehudah Rapaport (Shi"r) defended his friend Frankel with his Divrei Shalom V'Emet and wrote that Frankel would undoubtedly answer the questions and declare his belief in the Divinity of the Oral Torah. In response to Shi"r, Rabbi Shlomo Zeev Klein wrote the HaEmet V'HaShalom Ohavo, defending Rabbi Samson Refael Hirsch's position in the episode. However, later, Shi"r himself attacked Frankel, claiming that he hadn't adequately declared his position.
Shi"r was a member of the Haskalah in Galicia and a founder of "Chochmat Yisrael," the movement that started the science of Judaism. He was a son-in-law of the author of the Ketzot HaChoshen and a noted Torah scholar in his own right.
Zechariah Frankel was the spiritual father of the Conservative movement. He was a rabbi in Breslau.
Rabbi Shlomo Zeev Klein was the chief rabbi of Colmar, and one of the first Orthodox rabbis to battle the Reform.
Rabbi Tzvi Binyamin Auerbach was the rabbi of Darmstadt, he is considered one of the first rabbis of the Neo-Orthodox movement.
Condition: Overall fine-very fine.
Chavatzelet, Mevaser Tziyon: Michtavei Et Yotzeh LaOhr B'Chol Shavua Yevaser V'Yashmia kol Davar HaDarush L'Chafetz Levav Ish Yehudi, edited by Dov Frumkin. Jerusalem. HaChavatzelet Press, Jerusalem, 1872-1910.
The Chavatzelet Journal was a Hebrew-language journal founded by Yisrael Bek (1863), published under the editorship of his son-in-law, Yisrael Dov Frumkin, 1870-1911. Starting in October 1881, it was published in a weekly edition, later at a rate of three issues each week. The issues were published in Ottoman Jerusalem and distributed to Jewish centers including Russia, Austria, France, Turkey, England and America. This journal presented the stance of the chassidim, and to some degree that of the Sephardic community as well, while competing with the HaLevanon journal published by the perushim of the old yishuv. HaChavatzelet encouraged immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel and presented a vivid picture of events among the Jewish people. It emphasized the success of the development of the Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel, and brought news from all over the Jewish world, articles on thought and halachah, book reviews, stories, and more. In 1882-3, Eliezer Ben-Yehuda was acting editor. Writers included rabbis and renowned public personalities.
A list of the issues is available on Winner's website.
The vast majority of the issues before us are bound in ten volumes.
Various conditions - poor-fine. The vast majority are in fine condition
The author uses the Abarbanel in Prophets, Rash"i in Chumash Bereishit, and the Ramba"m in "Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah."
Joh. Adami Scherzeri P.P. Trifolium Orientale continens Commentarios R. Abarbenelis in Haggæum, R. Sal. Jarchi in Parsch. I. Geneseos, & R. Mos. Majemonidæ Theologiam, cum Versione, Notis Philologico-Philolophicis, & Appendice Speciminis Theologiæ Mythicæ Ebræorum, junctis Autoritatum SS. Scripturæ, Rerum ac Verborum Indicibus necessariis
The author Johann Adam Schertzer was a German theologian, and a Lutheran cleric, teacher of the famed scientist and philosopher Gottfried Leibniz.
[8] 170 [14] pages, 19 cm. Fine-very fine condition, dismantled binding.
Tanach with various text variations. One of the first versions of the critical edition of the Bible arranged by Kennicott based on about 600 manuscripts and various prints from throughout Europe, includes text differences of the Samaritan edition, with comments in Latin. The Pentateuch was printed alongside the Samaritan version's text variations. The editor's work, Dissertatio Generalis, is printed at the end of the second volume.
Vetus Testamentum Hebraicum, cum variis lectionibus. Edidit Benjaminus Kennicott s.t.p.
and Dissertatio generalis in Vetus Testamentum Hebraicum cum variis lectionibus.
Benjamin Kennicott was the chief librarian of the Radcliffe Library in Oxford and one of the foremost experts on Hebrew in England of his era. He spent most of his time comparing different manuscripts of the Bible. Kennicott and his colleagues throughout Europe worked on this edition, his magnum opus, for about 10 years.
Kennicott is also known for the famed eponymous Bible manuscript that he purchased for the Oxford library.
XXIII, [1 blank page], VIII, 684, [1] page. Volume two [4] 732; 129, [1 blank page], [6] pages, 42 cm.
Very fine condition. Original leather binding, professionally reinforced.
Letter handwritten and signed by Prof. Albert Einstein. Berlin, c. 1922. Sent to Jewish artist Hermann Struck.
Content of the letter: Einstein expresses appreciation to his friend Struck for his wonderful gift, with which he is overjoyed. Struck sent him two copies of the etching Elderly Jew in Jaffa, regarding which he declares that he has put the work in an appropriate place, above his desk. Einstein reveals great interest in the portrait of the "old man" captured by Struck so magnificently [Einstein once said, "I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious."]. He indicates that it always reminds him of Leonardo (Da Vinci?). Yet he sees fit to note that he has reservations about the strange rigidity projected by the figure in the etching. With a humorous note, he adds that the rigid expression is possibly due to the the old man's being required to stand for the portrait. He writes that he will sign the etchings, as Struck has requested. [Struck sent two copies.] At the end of his letter, Einstein expresses his hope that he will meet Struck again soon.
Aside from his intensive scientific occupation, Einstein was also an art enthusiast, and saw them as two sublime complementary fields in the life of man; at one opportunity he expressed: 'All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man's life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom."
Refer to the next item for details of the special connection between Einstein and Hermann Struck.
[1] leaf Albert Einstein's official stationery from when he was in Berlin, 22x17 cm. German. Very fine condition.
Einstein's portrait - etching. On the etching, Einstein wrote, "Happy is the transitory whose countenance is snatched away by the pitiless master hand of time!"
In February 1923, Einstein visited the Land of Israel, and Struck invited him to visit his home on the Carmel. In a letter sent to a friend, Struck described how he was harsh with the great physicist, who had won the Nobel Prize a year earlier: The visit was planned for Friday, and Struck, who was a mitzvah-observant Jew, warned Einstein to take into account the time Shabbat begins, and Einstein obeyed. "So he walked the difficult path and up the ascent to the Carmel on foot, in very unpleasant weather. His consideration and efforts were greatly appreciated by all of us." Einstein took it in good humor, "For Struck I ruined my trousers," he said. And Struck wrote, "I immediately removed the chastised man's coat and dressed him in my beautiful housecoat that I had received from my wife."
Herman Struck [1876-1944] was the leading Jewish artist who immigrated to Israel. He contributed more than any other artist to the development of the graphic arts in the Land of Israel. Honorable status is reserved for him in Israel's cultural life. He was born to an Orthodox family in Berlin. At the beginning of his career as an artist, he became one of the most important Jewish artists in Germany in the wake of his publication of the famous portrait of Theodor Herzl, [Portrait of Theodor Herzl] given his deep impression of Herzl's image following their 1903 meeting in Vienna. In 1908, he published The Art of Etching, which detailed the procedure for printing the etchings. The book was very successful, and made its author the leading name in the field of etching in the entire art world. His students included Chagall, Max Leibermann, Jozef Israëls. Struck was an enthusiastic Zionist activist, and in 1922 he immigrated to the Land of Israel and built his home on the Carmel. He continued visiting his studio in Berlin on an annual basis until 1933, when he began dealing with founding the new Bezalel in the Land of Israel.
1 leaf, paper. Etching: 20x14 cm. Leaf size: 24x17 cm. 3 lines and a signature in Einstein's handwriting, in pencil, and also Struck's signature in pencil.
Fine-very fine condition. Two tiny stains beside the etching.
High-quality painting on wood. Placed in a magnificent wooden frame. Signed on the lower left.
Size: 41x51 cm; including the frame: 63x72 cm.
Very fine Condition. Slight blemishes.
Printed Mizrach board - with a wondrous segulah from the pure and holy teacher Rabbi Shimshon of Ostropoli, zy"a - Jerusalem, 19th Century.
Printed Mizrach board, published by Rabbi "Ber Zwebner, son of the gaon of Kavelsdorf, N"Y." Jerusalem, [c. 1870-1875].
Printed at the top: "סגולה נפלאה... בזמן עיפוש ומגיפה" ["Wondrous segulah ... at times of mold and plague"] in Hebrew and Aramaic by kabbalist Rabbi Shimshon of Ostropoli, ending with the prayer, "לטהר ולזכך אויר עולמיך מכל עיפוש וקלקול" ["To purify and refine your world from all mold and spoilage"]. Two illustrations are printed under the segulah and prayer: on the right - the Western Wall, and on the left - tomb of the kings of the House of David. In between, there is a commentary by the Riva"sh of Zamoshye - a chart detailing the 42 journeys of the Children of Israel in the desert, arranged according to the letters אב"ג ית"ץ. On the board, it is mentioned that it was printed "by order of and published by Rabbi Ber Zwebner son of the gaon of Kavelsdorf, N"Y." The publisher's father, Rabbi Avraham Shaag-Zwebner, Av Beit Din of Kobersdorf, passed away in 1876, and given that he is mentioned with a blessing for the living (N"Y [=Nero Yair]), we conclude that this board was published even earlier. Not in the National Library!
[1] leaf paper. 36x49 cm.
Condition: Very fine.
"Wondrous calendar through the end of the sixth millennium." Magnificent, intricate creation, that took an entire year to create. Unknown discovery!
Large, deluxe wall calendar, printed from an illustrated manuscript. It includes the name of the artist and, exceptionally, the name of the proofreader. Also printed with prominent approbations. The bottom section of the calendar notes the year and place that it was made.
The calendar includes times of the moladot and tekufot, leap years and shemittah years, planets, signs of the zodiac, prayer times, Shabbat times, Birkat HaChamah and much historic information. It includes customs, laws and customs of the haftarah, times for kiddush levanah and its laws. With dozens of nice sketches, high-level geometric designs. With pictures of the signs of the zodiac, animals, three pictures of the moon at different times of the month and more.
The name of the artist and writer appears on the bottom section: David Elya son of Binyamin Beinus Wallach of Chorostkow, a village in Tarnopol, Galicia. Includes the name of the proofreader, Yisrael Tenenbaum. On the bottom left, the artist writes that he started this work in 1884 and finished it a year later in 1885. He writes how proud he is of his handiwork.
The upper section features the approbation of Lemberg rabbis: Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Orenstein and his son-in-law, Rabbi Aryeh Leib Brodye. The bottom section features the approbation of Admor Yisrael of Chortkov, signed by his noted gabbai Rabbi Aharon Dahl and the approbation of Rabbi Shimon Babad of Tarnopol, the son of Rabbi Yosef Babad, author of the Minchat Chinuch, and his father's successor in the rabbinate. Along with the approbations of Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Teumim, author of Shu"t Eretz Tzvi and Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak Yost of Lemberg, author of Ohalei Yaakov and Mikraei Kodesh.
This calendar is not discussed the Bibliography of the Hebrew Book. To the best of our knowledge, it is not in any of the large public libraries throughout the world. The artist is also unknown.
[1] printed leaf mounted on cardboard. 72x58 cm. Matted and framed. Very fine condition.
Palestine Near East Exhibition and Fair. Tel Aviv October 4 – November 7, 1925. Color lithograph print poster designed by artist Meir Gur Aryeh [plate-signed], Industrial Art Studio, Graphica Press, Jerusalem.
Poster advertisement for the Palestine Near East Exhibition and Fair which took place in Tel Aviv, in its second year [preceding the Levant Fair by a number of years]. A woman in Oriental dress, somewhat biblical, against a backdrop of a map of the Land of Israel and the emblem of the Levant Fair, the "Flying Camel." The peddler offers her wares in the form of a basket with fruits which are an agricultural product of the fruits of the Land of Israel. The map in the background includes the Land of Israel, the Arabian Peninsula, part of the Mediterranean Sea and part of the Red Sea.
The Oriental view is a recurring motif in advertising posters for tourism of the Land of Israel produced by leading designers of the period. The various illustrators depicted the Land as perceived in the glory days of Tanach. Spring and nature represented the romantic longing for the renewal of the youth of the people in Zion, and was one of the most beloved subjects of artists such as Gur-Aryeh and Lilien (for example, in the Mizrach plate he designed, which depicted the Land of Israel as an Oriental land, magical and mythical - a land of sun and palm trees), with the Utopian image of the Land as an Oriental land of legendary wealth was very widespread in their works which were intended to "market" the Land of Israel in the Jewish diaspora and among tourists who visited for a limited time. The 'Mizrach' presented not only as the natural and original place of the people, but also as a place, in contrast to the gloomy climate in Europe, with an abundance of sun and agricultural yield. The aim of this type of work was to achieve a purpose beyond the realm of art: to increase interest in the Land of Israel among diaspora Jews and to encourage immigration, while diverting attention from the real difficulties which prevailed in the Land those years: drought, swamps, the Arab enemy, etc. The result was one-time monumental works such as this, which were of higher quality that those that preceded them and those that came after them.
Meir Gur-Aryeh [1891-1951] was a native of Russia, he completed his study of art in Russia, and after immigrating to the Land of Israel in 1913, he continued his studies at Bezalel. He established a studio called "Menorah" for practical art objects, with Ze'ev Raban and Shmuel Persov. In 1923, he opened a course called "Industrial Art Studio" which dealt mainly with graphic design, where this poster was designed. The fair for which this advertising poster was designed was organized by the Trade and Industry Company which was established by Tel Aviv entrepreneurs who saw unprecedented success in the form of tens of thousands then hundreds of thousands of Jews, Arabs, English and tourists visiting each year.
Rare poster, not appearing in Blue and White in Color - Visual Images of Zionism edited by Rachel Arbel, Diaspora Musuem, 1997.
Size: 85x51 cm. Without the text: 67x51 cm. Fine condition. Light fold marks. The poster in glued to to a Canvas mat for display and preservation.