Auction 103 Part 2 Early Printed Books | Sabbateanism and Crypto-Jews of Spain and Portugal | Chassidut and Kabbalah | Books Printed in Slavita and Jerusalem | Letters and Manuscripts

Tikun Leil Shavuot and Hoshana Rabba – Slavita, 1827

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Tikun Leil Shavuot and Hoshana Rabba, based on the Shlah, with Kavanot from the Arizal. Slavita: R. Shmuel Avraham Shapira, son of the Rabbi of Slavita, 1827.
Some words on title page printed in red ink.

[2], 165 leaves. 20.5 cm. Bluish paper. Good-fair condition. Stains, including dampstains and wax stains. Tears to title page, repaired with tape, and marginal tears to several other leaves. Worming and small open tears to several leaves, slightly affecting text. New binding, worn and slightly loose.

Another edition was printed concurrently, with [2], 135 leaves. The present edition has known variants between copies in details of censor's name and slight typographical variants (see Bibliography of the Hebrew Book, listing 000303939).


The Slavita Printing Press, Founded by R. Moshe Shapira, Rabbi of Slavita
The Jewish printing press in Slavita (present-day Slavuta, Khmelnytskyi Province, Western Ukraine) operated between 1790 and 1836. The founder of the printing press was the Rabbi of the city, R. Moshe Shapira (1762-1840), son of the renowned R. Pinchas of Korets. Already in his youth, he showed exceptional talent in scribal writing, tracing, carving and etching. His illustrious father encouraged him to develop his talent to master these skills. In the early 1790s, R. Moshe was appointed Rabbi of Slavita, yet he concurrently established his famous printing press, not wishing to utilize Torah as a livelihood. The typeface used in the printing press was fashioned by R. Moshe. Apart from the printing press, he also established workshops for production of the paper and type. A large portion of Slavita's Jews earned their livelihood honorably in one of the many divisions of the printing firm. Slavita books were reputed in the Jewish world for their beauty, splendor and accuracy; as well as for the owner of the press, R. Moshe, who was revered by the great Chassidic leaders. R. Moshe of Slavita was close to the Baal HaTanya, R. Shneur Zalman of Liadi, who commended him: "Exceptional in Torah, fear of G-d is his treasure, of holy descent". Sipurim Nora'im by R. Yaakov Keidner (Lviv, 1875) relates the wondrous account of how the Baal HaTanya assisted R. Moshe in attaining a government license for his printing press.
A special advantage of this printing press was that it only produced sacred books, and its type was never desecrated by secular books. Most of the workers were G-d-fearing Jews. According to a famous Chassidic tradition, the equipment and type were immersed in a mikveh before use (regarding the printing press in Slavita, see [in Hebrew]: Haim Dov Friedberg, History of Printing in Poland, Tel Aviv, 1950, p. 104; Ch. Lieberman, Ohel Rachel, I, New York, 1980, pp. 199-202; Sh.D.B. Levine, History of Chabad in Tsarist Russia, Brooklyn, 2010, p. 61). Chassidic masters especially prized siddurim and books printed in holiness in the Slavita press for prayer and study, especially the Tikunei HaZohar edition, which was meant for those with the custom to study the present book of Tikunim between Rosh Chodesh Elul and Yom Kippur.
Slavita and Zhitomir Presses, and Books Printed in Russia-Poland
Slavita and Zhitomir Presses, and Books Printed in Russia-Poland