Large charity box with the riveted Hebrew inscription "'ח'ק" [Chevra Kadisha]. [Central Europe? 19th century or early 20th century].
Bent iron; rivets; wood.
A large box with double locking mechanism and two keys, supported by two elegant legs. Stylized rosette and border to front. The Hebrew letters "'ח'ק" [Chevra Kadisha] are affixed to the lid of the box, on both sides of the coin slot. The box is affixed to a wooden board, presumably taken from the wall on which it was placed.
To better safeguard public funds, charity boxes and the like were fitted with two different keys, each entrusted to a different warden.
12X19X23 cm, affixed to a 17X25 cm piece of wood. Good-fair condition. Bends. Minor blemishes. Rust. One key is bent. One lock mechanism broken. The wood is old and damaged.

Two hanging Sabbath lamps ("Judenstern"). [Germany, 19th or 20th century].
1. Copper and bronze, cast, soldered and pierced.
Baluster-shaped shaft over an eight-spout wick holder. Adjustable suspension bar.
Total length: approx. 88 cm. Production defects. Welding repairs.
2. Brass, cast and turned.
Column shaft over a six-spout wick holder. Connector brackets and hollow screws inside each spout (possibly as part of past electric wiring).
Total length: approx. 125 cm. Good condition. Minor damage. Adjustable suspension bar presumably supplemented from a different lamp.

Decorated mezuzah cover from the house of the woman Rovida Alkobi. [Morocco, late 19th century to mid-20th century].
Low-grade silver, pierced and engraved; cloth and cardboard.
A silver shield-shaped mezuzah cover, pierced and engraved with palmettes and scrolling foliage. The divine name "Shadai" and the name "Rovida Alkobi" are engraved on top. The name Rovida, short for Orovida, is a Judeo-Spanish name meaning "golden life".
Elaborate mezuzah covers were of the most important religious artifacts in Jewish households in Morocco, and unlike other artifacts, were considered "feminine" objects, bearing the name of the lady of the household. The covers were usually embroidered goldwork on velvet in vibrant colors; some were made of silver and backed with velvet. Most of the silver mezuzah covers most probably originate from the mellah of Fez, which was home to many silversmiths who worked in this style. Similar silverwork is typical of Moroccan Hanukkah lamps, prayers shawl (tallit) bags and phylacteries (tefillin) bags.
The Mezuzah cover was often made for the bride's dowry, but in some cases the need for it arose only later; at first, the young couple would live with the husband's parents and only when children were born and the family moved to a more spacious house would a new mezuzah cover be made. Since Jewish houses in Morocco (like Muslim houses) were closed off for reasons of modesty and safety, and due to the value of the silver mezuzah covers, they were not hung on the door facing the street but rather inside the house, often at the entrance to the living room. Thus, the Mezuzah symbolized the central place of the wife and mother as the supporting pillar of the family, in the spirit of the Mishnaic saying "his house is his wife".
This mezuzah cover is documented in the Bezalel Narkiss Index of Jewish Art, item no. 7262.
18X26.5 cm. Good condition. A suspension loop on top. Bends. On a new cardboard base covered with fabric.
Literature: The Mezuzah Cover: A Special Artistic Ritual Object in the Life of the Jewish Woman in the Moroccan Cities, by Shalom Sabar (Hebrew). In Yahadut Marocco, January-June 2016, Issue 3, pp. 48-53.

Facsimile of the Worms Machzor, elaborate manuscript from the 13th century. Vaduz, Lichtenstein: Cyelar Establishment, 1985. Including introductory volume.
Large elaborate facsimile on thick, parchment-like paper. Tooled leather binding, with metal corners and clasps. Copy 283/300.
The Machzor, which was written in 1272, served the synagogue of the Worms community for hundreds of years, until the synagogue was destroyed by the Nazis on Kristallnacht, November 1938. The Machzor was saved by the archivist of Worms, who hid it in the city's Cathedral. In 1957, the manuscript was transferred to the Jewish National and University Library in Jerusalem.
[225] leaves. Size of leaves: 31X39 cm. Very good condition. The facsimile and introductory volume are placed in a fine, fabric-covered, compartmented clamshell box. Minor damage to box.
Enclosed: In a separate folder, two illuminated facsimile leaves, from the second volume of the manuscript of the Machzor (not reproduced in this facsimile).

The Aleppo Codex (Keter Aram Tzova) – the most important manuscript of the Bible. Elaborate facsimile edition. Jerusalem: Hebrew University, 1976.
[4], 588, [4] pages. 31.5X41.5 cm. Good condition. Minor stains. Original, elegant leather binding.
Unnumbered copy, without the accompanying booklet by the publisher Moshe Goshen-Gottstein.