Manuscript, order of circumcision and mohel ledger. Hoorn (The Netherlands), 1830-1840.

Parchment manuscript, in black, red and green ink. Square script, vocalized and semi-cursive script. Frames, color-decorated initial words, and various decorations.

On title page – round frame (in green), reading in the center (in red and black):
"This is the gate of heaven – sign of the holy covenant". Below this frame, in minute letters, are the names of the mohel and of the scribe:
"Belongs to the young mohel Joseph son of the official… R. Yisrael Zeehandelaar, here in Hoorn, 1830"; "The writer, Moshe Falk Segal, scribe, mohel, prayer leader and official of Hoorn".

After the order of circumcision, prayers and blessings, appear circumcision inscriptions, comprising over fifty circumcisions performed by the mohel from Rosh Chodesh Tamuz 1830 to Sivan 1840. The circumcisions were performed in Hoorn, Amsterdam, Alkmaar, Langedike, Lemmer, Purmerend, Noordwijk, Leidschendam, Wassenaar, Leiden, Rijnsburg, Lisse, Naaldwijk, Wateringen and other locations.

[30] written parchment leaves (numbered 2-31), and many other blank parchment leaves. 16 cm. Good condition. Stains. Original leather binding, with gilt decorations.

The Jeselsohn Collection – Zürich (Ms. 58) includes a ledger from another mohel of the same region, documenting circumcisions performed in Hoorn and surrounding communities, at a later time period.

Bookplate of Mozes Heiman Gans.

Wimpel (Torah binder), commemorating the birth of the child Moshe son of Meir. [Germany], 1714.

Silk thread embroidery in various colors on linen.

Composed of four linen sheets of equal size, sewn together. At the center, the following embroidered inscription appears:
"Moshe son of Meir, born / under the sign of Aries / Tuesday, 11th Nisan 5474; may he grow in Torah, and to marriage and good deeds…".

The inscription is executed in large letters (some reaching a height of 7-9 cm), in brightly colored silk threads, lending the wimpel a striking luminosity. In addition to the decorated letters, the upper and lower margins are embroidered with figural motifs, including animals (dogs, deer, foxes, birds), flowers and plants, a human figure holding an animal on a leash, and geometric designs. A Torah Scroll motif encircles the word "in Torah"; several of the Lamed stems are adorned with zoomorphic designs.

Height: 20 cm. Length: 288 cm. Fair-good condition. Tears. Stains. Loose threads, mostly at margins. Mounted on new, thin linen backing for reinforcement.

Wimpel (Torah binder), commemorating the birth of the child Yechiel son of Dov Ber Wolfenbüttel. Sandersleben, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, Sivan 5557 [1797].

Ink and paint on linen.

Composed of four nearly identically-sized linen sheets sewn together. At the center, the following inscription appears:
"Dedicated by the child Yechiel son of R. Dov Ber / known as Wolfenbüttel / born / under the sign of Gemini / Friday, the eve of Shabbat, 15th Sivan 5557; may G-d let him be raised to Torah, marriage, good deeds, and to a ripe old age, Amen Selah".

The wimpel is richly adorned throughout with vibrant, colorful illustrations – primarily vegetal designs interspersed with a variety of symbolic and decorative motifs, including: a pair of cornucopias, a peacock, urns, a pair of twins (alluding to the zodiac sign Gemini) within an ornate frame flanked by two angels, baskets of flowers, a figure holding floral garlands, a stork and other birds, a decorative frame surrounding the words "G-d", a Torah scroll topped with a crown, a wedding scene with bride, groom, and officiating rabbi in contemporary attire flanked by two horn-blowers, a hand placing a coin in a charity box, and a pair of spectacles. At the end of the wimpel, within a large jug-shaped cartouche, appears the artist's signature:
"Moshe HaLevi of Sandersleben".

Height: 19.5 cm. Length: 356.5 cm. Overall good condition. Executed on thin linen. Stains, some dark. Few tears, repaired with old cotton thread. One longer tear (several centimeters) unstitched. Mounted on new, thin linen backing for reinforcement.

Machzor following Roman rite (two parts in one volume), housed in an ornate silver binding. Italy, 17th-18th centuries.

Wood; silver, cast, pierced, repoussé and engraved (unmarked); print on paper.

Ornate 18th-century wooden binding, overlaid with silver. Both sides of the cover are symmetrically and identically decorated with rich geometric and floral ornamentation, including flowers, fruits, rocaille motifs, shells, and acanthus leaves, in Rococo style. The spine and both clasps are similarly decorated with matching vegetal motifs. Convex cartouches (blank) appear at the center of each side of the cover and on the spine.

The book: Roman rite Machzor in two parts, bound together. First part includes prayers for weekdays, Shabbat, and Rosh Chodesh; prayers and selichot from Hanukkah through Shabbat Nachamu; the Passover Haggadah, Pirkei Avot, and Azharot. The second part contains selichot and prayers for the month of Elul and the High Holidays, fasts, and additional prayers. Venice: Giovanni Calleoni for Pietro, Aluise and Lorenzo Bragadini, 1626.

Based on the 1587 Venice edition, with commentary printed in the margins.

Handwritten birth and death records of the Zamorani and Finzi families of Ferrara appear on the front and rear flyleaves, dated to the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The Zamorani family, along with other families from Zamora, Spain, settled in Ferrara at the end of the 15th century; see: Gianni Zamorani, Gli Zamorani a Ferrara. Dall'editto dei re cattolici alla mia famiglia, 2024). Cropped marginal glosses on several leaves.

Machzor: two parts in one volume. First part: 333, [2] leaves. Second part: 344 leaves. 15.5 cm. Good-fair condition. First and last leaves in fair condition. Stains. Wear to several leaves. Minor tears, including to the title page of the first part, affecting border. Paper reinforcements to several leaf edges, some bordering on text. Worming, mostly to upper portion of the leaves. Binding: 16X11 cm. Good condition. Minor bends to spine edges.

Torah shield, Germany, probably Kitzingen, [ca. 1720], inscription dated 5482 [1722].

Silver, cast, repoussé, and engraved (marked with two marks: the letter K in an oval frame, probably for Kitzingen, Germany; and a mark in the form of a turkey facing leftward, also in an oval frame, apparently the maker’s mark of silversmith Johann Ludwig Langenhan).

A rare and unique Torah shield resembling in design Torah shields from Nuremberg, but with several markedly unique features.

The shield as a whole is square-shaped, but with three arches on top. The margins are repoussé in a recurrent pattern, and all the other decorative elements are attached with screws. These ornaments include: At the top, a large crown-shaped ornament protruding forward, flanked on either side by a pair of large, rampant deer; a two-headed eagle, flanked by vegetal ornaments; a pair of spiraling architectonic columns each surmounted by a small crown, also protruding forward, and supported on large square pedestals each bearing a floral decoration; and a pair of figures standing atop the columns’ pedestals, specifically, on the right, Moses, holding up the Two Tablets of the Law, engraved with the abbreviated Ten Commandments, and, on the left, King David, wearing a crown and grasping a harp. At center, toward the bottom and between the pair of columns, is a rectangular compartment for interchangeable plaques, equipped with a large hinged cover, opening downward (no plaques included). Just above the bottom margin is a cartouche engraved with an inscription (I Samuel 15:1) alluding to the year the shield was created:
"Then came the Lord unto / Samuel / saying… [the numerological equivalent of Hebrew year 5482 = 1722] / […]".

A strikingly similar Torah shield dated 1777 has been documented by Theodor Harburger, "Die Inventarisation jüdischer Kunst – und Kulturdenkmäler in Bayern", Schweinfurt, Germany, 1929, cited in an exhibition catalogue of the Jewish Museum of Franconia, Fürth, Germany, 1998, p. 703 (P160-428). Harburger believes that the shield documented in this source originates from Kitzingen, but it should be pointed out that silver marks very similar to those that appear on the present Torah shield were in use in Ilmenau, Germany at the time (see Marc Rosenberg, Der Goldschmiede Merkzeichen, Frankfurt A.M.: Frankfurter Verlags, 1922, nos. 2573, 2575).

Height: 26 cm. Width: 23 cm. Fair-good condition. Loose screw joints. Several nuts missing. Minor warping and fractures to edges. Old soldering repairs. One bell not original. Two bells missing clappers.

Provenance: Sotheby’s, Tel Aviv, April 6, 1994, Lot 147; Sotheby’s, New York, December 4, 2014, Lot 169.