Collection of books printed in Zhovkva, 1728-1844:

• Chiddushei Halachot – Maharsha. Zhovkva, [1728]. Dedication on title page.

• Beit Levi, novellae by R. Levi son of R. Shlomo of Brody. Zhovkva, [1732]. Signatures.

• Chiddushei Halachot, Part I – Neta Shaashuim, by R. Dov Ber of Pinsk. Zhovkva, [1748].

• Seder HaDorot by R. Yechiel Halpern. Zhovkva, 1808. Signatures on title page, including: "Moshe David Shapiro" [apparently R. Moshe David Shapiro of Będzin].

• Tosefot Shabbat, on Shulchan Aruch, laws of Shabbat. Zhovkva, [1806].

• Halachot Gedolot. Zhovkva, 1811. Signatures on title page. Signature on endpaper: "Yoel Katz, Rabbi of Ardud" [author of Responsa Tirat Kesef and more].

• Machatzit HaShekel, on Magen Avraham, by R. Shmuel Kelin. Zhovkva, 1838. Stamp of "Chachmei Lublin yeshiva bookbindery". Ownership inscriptions on endpaper.

• Simlah Chadashah, Tevuot Shor and Bechor Shor by R. Alexander Sender Schorr. Zhovkva, 1840-1841. Stamp of R. Eliyahu Menachem Goitein, Rabbi of Hőgyész [R. Eliyahu Menachem Goitein (1838-1902), disciple of the Ketav Sofer, served as Rabbi of Hőgyész succeeding his father R. Tzvi Hirsch Goitein and his grandfather R. Baruch Bendit Goitein].

• Tiv Gittin, on Tractate Gittin, by R. Tzvi Hirsch Heller. Zhovkva, 1844. Signature; stamp (somewhat deleted): "Tzvi Yechiel Segal Hirsch, Rabbi of Erdőtelek and the region" [author of Tzvi VeChamid].

9 books. Varying size and condition. New bindings. The books were not thoroughly examined, and are being sold as is.

PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.

Chesed LeAvraham, by the kabbalist R. Avraham Azulai. Slavuta, [1794]. One of the first books printed by R. Moshe Shapiro, Rabbi of Slavuta (son of R. Pinchas of Korets).
This kabbalistic book was held in high esteem by great Chassidic leaders and is often cited in early Chassidic literature.

The author, R. Avraham Azulai (1570-1644) was born in Fez, Morocco. He immigrated to Eretz Israel and settled in Hebron. When an epidemic broke out in 1619, he fled to Gaza, where he composed this book within five weeks. Most of the book is a collection and arrangement of the teachings of R. Moshe Cordovero, which at that time were still in manuscript form. A small part is from the writings of the Arizal.
Signature on p. 65a.

Stamps and censorship inscriptions on title page and following leaf.

[6], 87; 8, 8-11, 11-34, [1] leaves. 20 cm. Fair condition. Stains, including large dampstains. Worming, affecting text. Tears, including open tears affecting text, partially repaired with paper (title page and first and last leaves extensively repaired with paper). Old binding.

PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.

Responsa Mayim Chaim, two parts, by R. Chaim HaKohen Rappaport, Av Beit Din of Ostroh. Zhitomir: R. Chanina Lipa and R. Yehoshua Heshel Shapiro, grandsons of the Rabbi of Slavita, 1857. First edition.

In Part I, section 27, there is a letter from Mezhibuzh signed by several prominent members of the community, including: "Yisrael B[aal] Sh[em] of Tłuste [Tovste]" – the Baal Shem Tov.

Both parts of the book are bound together. Kuntres Otzrot Chaim is printed at the end of Part II, with novellae on Aggadot and pilpulim on the Torah portions by the author and his son the publisher. The responsa also include some from the author's grandfather and uncles. At the beginning of the book is printed a letter by the Ohev Yisrael of Apta agreeing with the author's ruling as a sort of approbation for the author.

84; 151 pages. Two title pages for each part, and an additional title page for Kuntres Otzrot Chaim bound at the end of the book (five title pages in total). Leaf 3 of Part I is printed after leaf 4. 32.5 cm. Most leaves in good condition. Stains. Light worming, marginal open tears to one leaf, not affecting text. Stamps. New binding.

PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.

Broadside from the Proops brothers, the printers of Amsterdam, announcing the resolution of the dispute with R. Zalman, the printer of Sulzbach. Amsterdam, Tamuz 1765.

Leaf printed on one side. On the top of the leaf is a letter of the Amsterdam printers with a handwritten signature (apparently of one of the brothers, who also signed for his brother): "Yosef Yaakov and Avraham sons of the late R. Shlomo Proops Katz". After the brothers' letter is printed (in Rashi script) a confirmation by the Amsterdam community trustees, followed by the confirmation by the Amsterdam Beit Din.

The Proops brothers announce that following a compromise and the decision of R. Lipman, son of R. Zalman of Sulzbach, to remunerate them, the printer of Sulzbach has been granted permission to complete his edition of the Talmud, without affecting their right to print their edition.

The Sulzbach edition of the Talmud (1755-1763) was the focus of a dispute between printers which engendered a controversy between rabbis. Shortly after the beginning of printing, the Proops brothers of Amsterdam appealed to the rabbis of Vaad Arba Aratzot with the contention that the printing of the Sulzbach edition infringed their printing rights. The printers in Amsterdam were at the time publishing their own Talmud edition, and had received rabbinic approbations granting them exclusive rights to print the Talmud for a period of twenty-five years. The Vaad Arba Aratzot and other rabbis hastened to ban the Sulzbach Talmud, prohibiting studying from that edition of the Talmud and ruling that the volumes should be burnt (!) or at least buried. The dispute persisted, however, as the rabbis of Fürth, led by R. David Strauss, backed R. Zalman, the printer from Sulzbach. In 1764 R. Zalman announced a reprint of his edition, leading the dispute to erupt once again. The dispute continued for a long while and eventually drew the attention of leading rabbis of that time, such as the Noda BiYehudah who intervened to mediate between the printers.

[1] leaf. 36.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Folds.

PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.

Noticias reconditas do modo de proceder a Inquisição de Portugal com os seus presos [information on the Portuguese Inquisition's treatment of its prisoners], by António Vieira. Lisbon: Imprensa Nacional, 1821. First Portuguese edition.

Sharp critical report against the Portuguese Inquisition and its manner of persecuting Jewish conversos. The report was made by the Jesuit priest António Vieira (1608-1697), at the request of Pope Clement X.

Vieira, who was himself jailed and tortured by the Inquisition for three years, reports on the unending persecution of the Portuguese Inquisition against the Jewish conversos and their families, who were suspected of disobedience to Christian laws and preservation of Jewish customs. He describes at length the arbitrary procedure of imprisonment and the shameful jail conditions, the seizure of property, the lengthy interrogations and harsh torture, the obtainment of testimony, the evidence and the forced confessions, the sentences, and more. Vieira notes the ethical-religious and economic questions raised by this conduct, and demands an immediate end to the use of these methods. As a result of the report's conclusions, Pope Innocent XI suspended the Inquisition in Portugal for seven years (1674-1681).
The report was distributed for many years only in manuscript, and was not well known to the public. In 1808 the report was published in London in English translation, and in 1821 the report was first published in the original Portuguese in Lisbon, the same year that the Portuguese Inquisition was permanently terminated.

[5], 3-272 pages. 15.5 cm. Good condition. Stains and light damage. Uneven trimming. New binding.

Rare. To the best of our knowledge and research, this has never before been auctioned.

PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.