Manuscript, Book of Laws of the secret society Achva Association, established in Jerusalem, 1894.

Impressive large-format volume, in large square calligraphy on thick paper. Original binding with leather spine and carved olive wood, with symbols of the society: a pair of shaking hands, the Tablets of the Covenant, a Star of David with the word Achva ("brotherhood"), a lion holding a flag reading "Jerusalem" (the symbol of the Jerusalem lodge), stalks of grain, a palm tree and ribbons tied around various trees and fruits with the motto and date of founding of the society (1894). In center of back binding, a captioned Star of David decoration with wooden craftwork.

The Achva Association (founded 1894) was a secret society of religious brethren (mostly members of the Perushim and Chassidic communities of the Old Yishuv) which later opened branches throughout Eretz Israel and the rest of the world. Its ceremonies included elements imitating other secret societies such as the Freemasons. The Book of Laws was a central object in the society's meetings and ceremonies.

The symbols on the binding were meant to represent Torah, agriculture and unity.

The Achva Association has been active for over 130 years (to this day), subtly working to achieve peace and unity between all divisions of the public. Achva worked in various ways to improve the economic conditions of its members, providing key positions in industry and politics for members and their families; was responsible for building Jewish neighborhoods in Eretz Israel, including Neve Shalom, Jaffa and Bayit VeGan, Jerusalem; and was active in establishing Torah and educational institutions and appointing worthy rabbis and mitzvah functionaries (including R. Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook, R. Yechiel Michel Tucazinsky, R. Refael Kook, R. Shlomo Zalman Auerbach and others).

[37] leaves (including blank leaves and pages, and 51 written pages). 31 cm. Particularly thick paper. Fair condition. Stains, including dampstains. Wear and tears. Original leather-coated binding, carved olive wood and leather spine. Binding in good condition.

Manuscript, calendar, with tekufot and moladot, customs, Christian holidays and dates of fairs, beginning in 1818 – for over 400 years. [Central Europe], 1819.

Neat Ashkenazic square and semi-cursive script. Calendar for all years from 5578 (1817-1818) until 6000 (2239-2240).

Most of the fairs are in cities in Prussia, Bohemia, Moravia, Hungary and Austria.

[1], 39, [1] leaves (leaf 39 empty). 19.5 cm. Good condition. Stains and wear. Original binding, with defects.

Illuminated “Mizrach” plaque. [Southern Germany, 18th century].

Ink and paint on paper.

“Mizrach” plaque, inscribed and illuminated, on a rectangular sheet of paper. Divided into nine frames: a middle frame, containing the Hebrew word “Mizrach” [“East”], encircled by eight frames bearing folk art illustrations, labeled in Hebrew, depicting Jewish holidays and customs, and featuring figures in contemporary costume (clockwise: “Sukkot” [showing a sukkah and the taking of the “lulav”]; “… Yom Kippur” [lashes – a Jew ‘flogging’ a fellow Jew lying prostrate on the ground]; “Pesach” [a family of three seated at the seder table]; “Shavu’ot” [a Jewish man raising an open Torah scroll in the synagogue]; “Rosh HaShanah” [two Jewish men, dressed in white, in the synagogue, with one blowing the shofar and the other reading from a book, presumably a “machzor”]; “… Yom Kippur” [the “kapparot” ritual, involving a slaughtered rooster]; “Hanukkah” [a Jewish man lighting one of the candles in a large, erect Hanukkah lamp in the synagogue]; “Purim” [a man reading the Esther scroll at the table in the synagogue, while a child stands under the table (waving a Purim gregger or rattler?)]).

A similar plaque, formerly part of the collection of Heinrich Feuchtwanger (acquired in Ansbach, Germany) is kept today in the collection of the Israel Museum, Jerusalem (Item No. HF107, 169/25); see: Isaiah Shachar, “Jewish Tradition in Art: The Feuchtwanger Collection of Judaica”, exhibition catalogue, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1981, Item No. 107 (also documented by Theodor Harburger [P160-1002]).

Height: 20.5 cm. Width: 29 cm. Fair-good condition. Creases, stains (mostly to edges), fold lines and minor tears, with slight damage to illustrations, professionally mended. Minor abrasions and faded color. Matted; mounted on acid-free paper.

Micrography designed in the shape of the Tablets of the Law. With no apparent indication of author, location or date. [Central or Western Europe, perhaps Holland, late 18th or early 19th century].

Ink and paint on parchment.

Rectangular parchment sheet with high-quality micrography designed in the shape of the Tablets of the Law – with the Ten Commandments in the center – surrounded by vegetal and geometrical decorations topped by a crown. The micrographic work includes verses from the Book of Shemot about the giving of the Torah as well as the Books of Shir HaShirim and Ruth. The text is written in brown ink. The Tablets of the Law are colored blue, while the Ten Commandments are written in gold. Another blue decoration appears in the center of the crown in the upper margins. A decoration in the shape of a winged angel is placed between the two tablets.

This work may have been fashioned as a wedding gift; its dimensions seem to be suited for hanging on a wall.

23X26.5 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains. Minor holes and tears to corners and margins. Creases. Peeling in blue color (the blue circle at top is mostly lacking), and fading of gold text. Ink stamp and pen inscription on verso.

"Baruch HaBa BeShem Hashem" – colorful decorated handwritten certificate, with over twenty signatures of rabbis and leaders of Safed, with stamps of rabbis and institutions of the Ashkenazic community in the city. Safed, 23rd Sivan, [1910].

Mixed technique (black and gold ink, pastel, watercolor and colored pencils) on paper. Without signature of artist.

Large certificate in colorful calligraphy, decorated with a fine frame comprised of verses and gilt decorations, illustrations of lions holding a Torah crown and medallions of palm and cedar trees, characteristic of the artwork of R. Yosef Tzvi Geiger – a founding father of art in Safed, a scribe of the kollels and an official in Torah and charitable institutions of the city.

The certificate was written in honor of the visit to Safed of the Chief Rabbi of the Ottoman Empire, R. Chaim Nachum, on behalf of the Ashkenazic community of Ottomans subjects. Includes 21 signatures of rabbis and officials, 11 stamps of rabbis and institutions of the Ashkenazic community of Safed. The signatories include R. Tzvi Rosenstein, R. Yaakov Bahar, R. David Segal, R. Nechemiah Segal, R. Yeshayah HaLevi Horowitz [1883-1978, a Chabad rabbi and posek, Rabbi of the Chabad community of his native Safed, and later member of the Beit Din of his teacher the Ridvaz; emigrated after World War I, serving as rabbi in communities in the United States and Canada, until returning to Eretz Israel later in life; father of R Shmuel Horowitz, a Breslov Chassid of Jerusalem and Meron]; R. Asher Yechezkel Horowitz; and many others.

57X81 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains, creases and wear. Marginal tears, slightly affecting text, and tape repairs.

Yosef Tzvi Geiger (1870-1944) was a member of Torah and charitable institutions of his native Safed, a secretary, official and scribe of the kollels, and an active communal worker. He was known in his city as a skilled scribe and artist, producing works of all kinds.