Ornate trowel. Johannesburg, South Africa, 1906.
Silver (marked).
Ornate trowel, with dedication in English surrounded by a vegetal motif. Granted to H. [Harry] Graumann Esq. on behalf of the Ophirton Jewish community in Johannesburg, in honor of the cornerstone laying of the community's synagogue, on 18 July 1906. Harry Graumann served as Johannesburg's first Jewish mayor, in the years 1909-1910.
Length: 29 cm. Good condition. Slight crack to handle.

Pendant made by the silversmith and artisan Ilya Schor. [U.S.A., ca. 1946].
Cut silver, gold and turquoise stones. Unmarked.
Arch-shaped pendant. On one side is a plaque with a figure of a woman writing at a table, resting on which is a vase with a plant surmounted by a bird. On the frame are leaves interspersed with turquoise stones. At the bottom are three short chains ending in turquoise stones.
On the other side is a pair of opening doors: on the right door is a figure of a woman holding a sheet of fabric; on the left door is a figure of a man holding a painter's palette. Behind the doors is a removable plaque with the initials DRJ. On the frame is a pair of vases, emerging from which are intertwined leaves, flowers and birds.
Length: 4.5 cm, width: 3.5 cm. Good condition.
Provenance:
1. Private collection, Switzerland.
2. Sotheby's, New York, auction no. 5237, December 1984, item 245.
3. Private collection, Jerusalem.

Diverse collection of hundreds of photographs and portraits of rabbis, rebbes and heads of yeshivot, from various times. "Private" family photos, professional photos and printed portraits. [Most of the images are from c. 1970-1980, some from the 50s and 60s].
· Printed portrait - of the Kabbalist R. Mordechai Rosenblatt, Rabbi of Ashmyany [Warsaw, 1906 - damaged]. · Passport photos of yeshiva students and young men [Jerusalem, 1950s]. · Photographs of meetings of rabbis and of public figures and of receptions for donors. · Photographs of Rebbes and heads of Yeshiva visiting the sick in a hospital. · Photos of events and joyous occasions at Chassidic courts. · Portraits of rabbis, size varies.
Among the rabbis in the photographs: the Rebbes of Vizhnitz, Belz, Ger, Zvhil, Slonim, Nadvorne, Rachmistrivka, Biala, Karlin, Sadigura, etc. · Photos of R. Schach, R. Elyashiv, R. Wosner, R. Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, R. Chaim Leib Auerbach, R. David Povarsky, R. Abba Berman, R. Chaim Pinchas Sheinberg, R. Yehuda Tzadka, R. Mordechai Eliyahu, R. Moshe Hillel Hirsh, R. Shmuel Auerbach, etc.
Approximately 300 original photos and reproduction and approximately 30 printed pictures. Size varies: aprrox. 3 cm. to 25 cm. Condition varies.

Oil painting by the kabbalist Rabbi Yehuda Leon Pation.
Oil on cardboard, signed: "Patilon".
The painting shows a shepherd in a forest landscape.
The kabbalist Yehuda Leon Pation (d. Cheshvan 1974) was known as a wonder-worker, knowledgeable in Olam Haneshamot and gilgulim. He earned his livelihood as a painter and was known as the "Holy Painter". Rabbi Yehuda Patilon was part of a group of kabbalists who studied together clandestinely and were known by their professions: "The Shoemaker" - Rabbi Moshe Ya'akov Ravikov, "The Milkman" - Rabbi Chaim Ezra Cohen, "The Floorer" - Rabbi Avraham Fish and "The Street Cleaner" - Rabbi Yosef Waltoch.
68X47 cm. Some stains. The cardboard is slightly convex. Framed.

Printed "Shiviti". Printed by "Rachamim ben Reuven ben Mordecai, may God protect him", [Bombay, 1863 or 1864].
Leaf, lithography printing.
A unique "Shiviti" that includes blessings for the lighting of Hanukkah candles and illustrations in Indian style. In the center is a "La'Menatze'ach" menorah, flanked by a "Shir La"Ma'a lot" menorah and an "Ana BeKo'ach" menorah. Above them are two palm symbols - "hamsas" - with verses from the "Priestly Benediction". Beneath the menorahs are: a "Hanukkah Seder" with candle-lighting blessings, verses from the Book of Numbers, chapter 7, on the sacrifices brought by the princes of the Tribes of Israel before the Tabernacle (from the Hanukkah Torah portion), and a "Song for the Dedication of the Temple" (Psalm 30). Decorated with birds, flowers, and vegetal motifs, geometric motifs and a brick wall-like frame. In the frame, at the top of the leaf and in the "princes' offerings" verses are illustrations of architectural structures reminiscent of Indian pagodas. At the top of the leaf is a handwritten inscription reading, "In the name of the genial youth Solomon Sassoon… may he be granted the Torah and a Huppah and Mitzvot in the life of his father and the life of his mother…".
The printing press of Rachamim ben Reuven ben Mordecai operated in Bombay in the years 1863-1864. In 1865 or 1866 Rachamim returned to his native Baghdad, where he founded a printing press. The dedication's addressee, Solomon Sassoon (1841-1894) was the son of the first David Sassoon, who died in India in 1864. The content of the dedication indicates it was written during his father's lifetime, from which we may deduce that the "Shiviti" was printed in Bombay in 1863 or 1864.
Early item, unknown bibliographically.
Approx. 39X56.5 cm. Fair-poor condition. Open tears, with damage to text and illustrations. Folding marks and creases. Old restorations: mounted on paper and protected with semi-transparent paper.
Provenance: Sassoon family collection.