Auction 98 Early Printed Books, Chassidut and Kabbalah, Books Printed in Jerusalem, Letters and Manuscripts, Jewish Ceremonial Art
Siddur "for the entire year, beautiful and elegant, arranged according to the Ashkenazi and Polish rite", with prayers and supplications, and compilation of laws, edited by Rabbi Shlomo Zalman London. Amsterdam: Orphans of Shlomo Proops, [1742].
Bound with:
* Book of Psalms, arranged according to the days of the week and month, with short and long commentaries. Amsterdam: Proops, [1740].
* Seder Ma'amadot, arranged according to the days of the week, by Rabbi Yeshaya Halevi Horowitz, the Holy Shelah. Amsterdam: Proops, [1742].
Book of Psalms with a fine illustrated title page. Small format, "in a small volume to ease the burden for travelers, of utmost beauty, both in letters and in paper and ink" (from the text on the title page). The two commentaries were first printed with the "Sha'ar HaShamayim" prayer book by the Shelah, (Amsterdam, 1717), edited by the Shelah's great-grandson R. Avraham Horowitz. At the beginning of this volume appear the words of R. Avraham Horowitz: "How to conduct oneself in reciting Psalms".
The extensive commentary is by R. Moshe ben Israel de Mercado from his "Commentary on Ecclesiastes and Psalms" (Amsterdam, 1653), which was inserted into the 1717 edition with changes (see: Rabbi Yitzchak Yeshaya Weiss, On the Editions of the 'Shelah Siddur' and its Commentaries, Tzefunot, 17, 1993, pp. 28-31). The author of the short commentary may be Rabbi Avraham Horowitz.
This Psalms is bound with "Seder Ma'amadot" arranged by the Shelah, as stated on the title page: "As arranged by the great Gaon, the divine Kabbalist Rabbi Yeshaya Horowitz Segal...", with "sufficient commentary" (by Rabbi Avraham Saraval). On the verso of the title page is stated that "the first printer [in the Amsterdam, 1717 edition, appended to the "Sha'ar HaShamayim" prayer book] did not manage" to print the Ma'amadot with the additions of the Shelah, and here they were integrated for the first time.
Siddur: [8], 184; 186 leaves. Psalms and Ma'amadot: 88; 60 leaves. Approx. 16 cm. Gilt and decorated fore-edges. Most leaves in good condition. Stains. Minor wear and signs of use to some leaves. Tears, including small open tears to margins of title page and several other leaves, partially repaired with paper, not affecting text. New leather binding, incorporating parts of the original leather binding (on spine and back binding board). With metal clasps.
PLEASE NOTE: Some lot descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to the Hebrew text.
Tefillah Naah ViYesharah, year-round siddur with halachot, edited by R. Shlomo Zalman London. Amsterdam: Hertz Levi Rofe, 1737. Small format.
On verso of title page, introduction by editor, R. Shlomo Zalman London.
Includes prayers for weekdays, Shabbat, festivals and high holidays, with Torah readings for Monday and Thursday.
On endpaper, ownership inscription (in Yiddish).
[1], 84; 41, 43-83, [1] leaf. 12.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Title page detached, repaired with tape. Old leather binding, with restored spine and new endpapers. Wear and damage to binding.
Rare edition.
PLEASE NOTE: Some lot descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to the Hebrew text.
Tikun Shlomo – Tikunei Shabbat according to the Arizal, with prayers and blessings for various occasions, laws and customs. Amsterdam: widow and sons of Yosef Proops and Avraham Prinz, [1809].
Original leather binding, with silver clasps, marked by maker.
Copy containing a notable inscription attesting that the book was given as a gift by a grandfather to his grandson on the day of his circumcision, and that the grandson later died in his youth.
The inscription about the gift is written in neat Torah scroll characters on a piece of parchment mounted on the interior of the original paper wrapper, and dated 5th Tamuz 1834. On the margins of the parchment is added an inscription lamenting the death of the grandson on Wednesday 22nd Adar (March 6) 1850.
[2], 6; 180 leaves. 16.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Many stains, wear and open tears to margins of several leaves, affecting text. Early leather binding, with gilt decorations and silver clasps. Wear and damage to binding (tears to top of spine).
PLEASE NOTE: Some lot descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to the Hebrew text.
Year-round Siddur according to the Ashkenazic and Polish rite, with the Book of Tehillim, and "Beit Rachel VeSha'ar Hallel Yah", including kabbalistic prayers, songs and confessions by R. Naftali Katz, Rabbi of Frankfurt, author of Semichat Chachamim. Amsterdam: Yochanan Levi Rofeh and his son Benjamin, [1816].
Fine copy, decorated with an original metal buckle, with owner's name and inscribed dedication. An inscription to its inner part reads: "Erindring af H.F. Glukstadt" [in memory of…]. The name R. Goldschmidt is inscribed in its outer part.
The prayer and song collection "Beit Rachel VeSha'ar Hallel Yah", by Rabbi Naftali Katz, was first printed in 1741, and later printed separately, as well as appended several times to additional editions of prayer books, as in the present.
Divisional title pages for "Beit Rachel VeSha'ar Hallel Yah" (appearing at the beginning of the volume), and for the Book of Psalms. The holy book "Beit Rachel" is part of a large composition of Kabbalistic songs, supplements and prayers, composed by the Rabbi Naftali Katz, author of "Semichat Chachamim" (1650-1719), who would recite them at night when rising to lament the absence of the Divine Presence – to fulfill the decree from the Book of Lamentations: "Arise, cry out in the night".
On the title page of "Beit Rachel VeSha'ar Hallel Yah" are mentioned those who brought the first edition to print, Rabbi Shimshon Katz, grandson of the author of "Semichat Chachamim", and Rabbi Gavriel Segal, grandson of the Shelah.
The prayer book includes weekday, Shabbat and holiday prayers, Hoshanot poems, Yotzerot and Ma'aravot, order of Yom Kippur Katan, prayers from "Sha'arei Tzion", Tikkunei Shabbat, Selichot for Monday and Thursday and Monday and for fast days, Pirkei Avot (with commentary), and more. On the lower margins is printed a literal commentary (based on commentaries that appeared in prayer books printed in Zhovkva in the 1700s).
Three parts in one volume. Beit Rachel VeSha'ar Hallel Yah (bound at the beginning of the book): 15 leaves; Prayer book: [1], 256, 120 leaves; Psalms: 90, [2] leaves. Approx. 19 cm. Good condition. Stains. Small tears, minor wear and signs of use on some leaves. Old binding, with restored spine and corners. Fine metal clasp.
PLEASE NOTE: Some lot descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to the Hebrew text.
Divrei Tzaddikim, The Book of Daily Prayers, containing year-round prayers according to the Ashkenazic and Poland customs. Proofread and translated by Isaac Leeser (Yitzchak son of Uri Ben Elazar). Philadelphia: Conger Sherman, 1848. First edition.
First Ashkenazic siddur printed in the American continent. Hebrew and English on facing pages, with corresponding numbering.
Fine copy, bound in original elegant leather bindings, with gilt decorations.
On front endpaper and additional leaf printed next to it – inscriptions on births, marriages and deaths, with texts of gravestones in English and Hebrew, dating to the second half of the 19th century, of the Hass family (of Hartford, Connecticut).
VIII, 242, 243, [1] pages. 23 cm. Gilt edges. Good condition. Stains. Original leather binding with gilt decorations. Damage to binding (repairs to edges of spine).
PLEASE NOTE: Some lot descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to the Hebrew text.
Year-round siddur, Minchah Ketanah, for travelers to America. Fürth: S. B. Gusdorfer, 1855.
Miniature siddur for immigrants to America. Includes weekday, Shabbat, festival, high holiday prayers, as well as Torah readings for Monday and Thursday, and Tefillat HaDerech and a prayer for the sea.
400 pages. 7.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Old binding, with new leather spine. Wear and light damage to binding.
PLEASE NOTE: Some lot descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to the Hebrew text.
Tefillah LeMoshe siddur, year-round prayers according to the Sephardic-Chassidic rite, with the kabbalistic Tefillah LeMoshe commentary by R. Moshe Cordovero (the Ramak). Includes Or HaYashar – ethical and Chassidic conduct according to kabbalah, by R. Meir Poppers. Przemyśl: Zupnik, Knoller and Hammerschmidt, 1892. First edition. Both parts in one volume.
Does not contain Derech HaChaim by R. Yaakov of Lissa, originally printed at the end of Part II with a divisional title page.
The present book contains 19 approbations from the leading Chassidic masters of the time, including Rebbe Yehoshua of Belz, Rebbe Yechezkel Shraga Halberstam of Shinova, Rebbe Shlomo Halberstam of Bobov and Rebbe Baruch Hager of Vizhnitz, extolling the virtues of this siddur and assuring that it will bring blessing into the home. Rebbe Uri of Sambor writes: "Whoever purchases this holy siddur will be blessed with sons, life and abundant sustenance, and it will serve as a protection in his home".
[5], 24, [1], 2-193, [4], 194-208, 210-286 leaves; [2], 289-432 leaves; 8 leaves. Leaves 180-184 misordered (including printing defects and misplacing of columns). Lacking 4 leaves ([3] leaves after title page with publisher's preface, and title page and introduction to Or HaYashar, and leaf 209 in the middle of the book). Does not contain Derech HaChaim HaShalem, which had been printed with a divisional title page at the end of Part II (4, [1], 5-48, [3] leaves). 22.5 cm. Dark paper, dry and brittle. Fair condition. Stains. Wear. Many tears, including open tears, affecting title frame and text, partially repaired with paper and tape strips. Last leaf detached. Stamps. New binding.
[4] leaves with Shir HaShirim, bound in the present copy between leaves 193-194, are not listed in the Bibliography of the Hebrew Book nor in the NLI catalogue (though they do appear in the Chabad Library copy digitized on HebrewBooks.org).
PLEASE NOTE: Some lot descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to the Hebrew text.