[A prayerbook for the entire year according to the Ashkenazi custom] [Venice], in the Di Gara printing press. [1599]. An extremely rare prayerbook.
65-278 leaves. Out of them, pages 65, 125-128, 174-175, 272-273, 277-278 were completed in beautiful Italian scribal handwriting. Page 269 is missing. Approximately 19 cm.
A prayerbook for the entire year, with Yotzrot and Selichot. Printing in one column, in large vowelized letters.
An especially rare prayerbook. Not listed in the Hebrew Bibliography, and not found in the National Library. The prayerbook is listed according to an incomplete copy by Haberman in his book on the Di Gara printing press, no. 199. The incomplete prayerbook is found in the library of the Beit Midrash L’Rabbanim in New York, and it is incomplete until booklet 17. This copy also begins with booklet 17, on page 66, and it ends on 276. In the indexes at the end of the prayerbook (this leaf is found in facsimile) it seems that the complete prayer book had 285 leaves, and then another 27 leaves in a new page count. On the index leaf, colophon: “Completed in the month of Marcheshvan 5360 [November 1599] by Giovani di Gara.”
The prayerbook contains: A yotzer for Shabbat Rosh Chodesh, offen for Shabbat Bereishit, selichot for Monday and Thursday, the Fast of Esther, and the 17th of Tammuz, yotzer for Shabbat Chanukah, yotzrot for the four parshiyot and for Shabbat HaGadol, yotzrot and piyutim for festivals, prayers for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Shir HaYichud, Hoshanot, and more.
On the endpaper is an inscription and a signature: “Have mercy on me, G-d, with Dov son of Rabbi Feivish of Leslau who lives here in Mezihad.” This is Rabbi Dov Ber of Leslau, also known as: Philipstal. He was the av”d of Birnbaum [Mezihad] and the primary disciple of Rabbi Yaakov of Lisa. He authored Chavat Da’at and Netivot HaMishpat and was a friend of Rabbi Akiva Eiger, who gave an approbation to his book. He served as rabbi of Posna and was known as the rabbi of Birnbaum. He wrote the book Nachalei Devash [Berlin, 1832] and the booklet Kavod Malachim [Berlin, 1854]. Enclosed is material about him.
White parchment binding, damaged, mainly on the spine. A few aging stains. The lower page cuts damage the bottom line on a number of leaves. Detached leaves. Slight tears. Moderate-fine condition.