"This is a book of praise and song in this holy Jewish community of Possano on the miracle our Great G-d has performed for us… the fourth night of Pesach". [Italy, 1797].
In 1796, Napoleon conquered Northern Italy. During the battle between the French and the Austrians, the Jews of that region were attacked by their non-Jewish neighbors and their property was plundered. This happened also in Possano, when the city residents raided the Jewish ghetto in the course of the French siege. The Jews closed themselves in the synagogue waiting for salvation, which came at dawn, when a French shell landed on the synagogue steps chasing away the rioters. In memory of this event, a poem (of 36 stanzas) was printed with a description of the miracle. ["In 1797, during the war, this place was filled with terror… the fourth night of Pesach… was changed to dread… while outside the French were battling to enter the city… armed men gathered, thieves of various sorts.. The whole community was trembling lest the enemy enter the Coveted House… The morning dawned and all the plunderers ran away petrified…"]. Mentioned in the introduction, which has additional details of the event, is the community regulation to read this poem every year in memory of the miracle. In the last line of the poem, the word Avraham is emboldened hinting to the name of the composer [maybe the rabbi of the place]. This copy has several handwritten corrections.
[6] leaves. 17 cm. Good condition, stains. Library stamps. Nice binding.
Rare. This booklet, printed on coarse paper with fragmented lettering, had apparentlya few copiesprinted, only for the members of the Possano community.

Programm Ein Weihungsfeier, inauguration of the Beit Knesset. Vienna, 1864.
A printed program for the ceremony of the inauguration of the new Beit Knesset on Leopoldstadt gr. Schiffgasse Nr. 8, on Thursday, the 14th of Elul 1864. Psalms and prayers translated into German. With a prayer in honor of Caesar Franz Joseph and his wife.
Booklet, 10 pages. 29 cm. Good condition, stains.

"Orthodox Jews in all Lands – Purchase Land in Eretz Yisrael" (Yiddish)
A membership notebook of “Bayit V'Nachala” Association, for purchase of land in Bnei Brak. [Warsaw, 1920s].
Printed booklet, with the Association's regulations and purchase stipulations with empty lines for completing the member's name, details of the property and payment. In the center of the booklet is a map of the settlements in Central Eretz Yisrael and Bnei Brak's designated location.
In 1921, an association called “Bayit V'Nachala” was established by a group of Chassidim headed by Rabbi Yitzchak Gershtenkorn, whose goal was to establish an agricultural settlement in Eretz Yisrael for charedi Jews from Poland. In 1922, a plot of land near the Arab village “Ebn Ibrak” was purchased and the association members began to market the properties changing its name to “Bnei Brak” [called after the Jewish settlement from the time of the Tana'im which existed in the area]. In 1924, the first group settled there. In its early years, the settlement was sustained by agriculture and farms, but as the years passed, it developed into a crowded city with typical charedi characteristics.
Fifteen pages. 16.5 cm. Very good condition.