Auction 78 - Rare and Important Items
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Letter found in the Cairo Genizah, from Salama son of Yosef al-Haruni of Ramla, addressed to "the Chaver" Shemaya Abu Faraj in Bab al-Maghara (the Cave Gate) in Jerusalem. [Ramla, May 1054]. Judeo-Arabic.
Complete letter. Ink on paper. One leaf, written on both sides. Oriental script.
The letter was written at the end of the Geonic era in Eretz Israel, at the time when the Rishonim era had already begun in other Torah centers (as an indication, at the time this letter was written Rashi was a youth of 14 years). The letter mentions two Geonim who served as heads of the Yeshiva of Eretz Israel: the Gaon Daniel ben Azariah (mentioned in the letter with the title "the Head") and the Gaon Eliyahu HaKohen (the Yeshiva of Eretz Israel, or Yeshivat Geon Yaakov, served from the 6th century until the 12th century as the center of authority and leadership for the Jews of Eretz Israel, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt).
The present letter contains a wealth of information. The letter centers around the request of the writer, Salama HaKohen son of Yosef al-Haruni of Ramla, from "the Chaver" Shemaya Abu Faraj, to collect on his behalf the money he had lent to the tradesman Abu Sa'id Khalfa "the Maghrebian", son-in-law of Yachye al-Ammani, since the repayment of the loan was overdue. He relates at length how the loan, which in fact was a business partnership, came about: he had met Abu Sa'id while the latter was travelling from Jerusalem to Ramla on his way to Ashkelon, and gave him five dinars to trade with until the end of the year (the civil year), and later return the principal along with part of the profits. He adds that they drew up an official contract between them in the presence of "the Head" – the head of the Yeshiva (the Gaon Daniel ben Azariah). Abu Sa'id travelled from there to Ashkelon, purchased wares and brought them to Jerusalem. When he returned to Ramla, he informed Salama that he had profited one dinar over the past months, but didn't have the money available to repay him. He promised to repay the loan when he would next be in Ramla, after Passover. Meanwhile, that time had passed and Salama asks Shemaya, who was in Jerusalem, to collect the loan on his behalf. Before stating his request, Salama expresses his pain over the difficulties Shemaya was experiencing (perhaps with his son's illness), and also discusses other topics, which indicate that he was actively involved in matters of the Head of the Geon Yaakov Yeshiva, and served as intermediary between him and various people in Ramla.
The name of the sender is not known from other documents, however the name of the recipient – "the Chaver Abu Faraj Shemaya" – is mentioned in other documents found in the Genizah: Abu Faraj Shemaya the Chaver Ibn Faraj (son of Yeshua) was the grandson of R. Shemaya Gaon, who lived at the beginning of the 11th century and served as Head of the Geon Yaakov Yeshiva in Jerusalem. The name of one of the sons of the recipient, Avraham son of R. Shemaya the Chaver, appears in a document dated 1116 in Fustat, Egypt, and one can assume that this letter reached the Cairo Genizah through him.
The letter also mentions: "the Head" – in reference to the Head of the Geon Yaakov Yeshiva, R. Daniel ben Azariah; R. Yosef [HaKohen], Av Beit Din in the Geon Yaakov Yeshiva (d. December 1053); and R. Eliyah "the Third" (R. Eliyahu HaKohen Gaon, who succeeded R. Daniel ben Azariah as Head of the Yeshiva in 1063). See below for more information about the Av Beit Din R. Yosef HaKohen, his brother R. Eliyahu HaKohen Gaon and the dating of this letter.
Also mentioned in the letter are Ibn al-Hasan Amar the physician (from the Karaite community in Ramla), Abu Ali Ibn al-Dabbab, and other figures.
Researchers differ regarding the address of the recipient – Bab al-Maghara: the name "Cave Gate" may refer to Zedekiah's Cave, close to Damascus Gate, though according to another opinion, "the Cave" was the appellation of the main synagogue in Jerusalem and the hub of the Jewish quarter in those times.
[1] leaf. 13X16 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Tears and wear, slightly affecting text.
The letter was part of the collection of Prof. Bernard (Eliezer Dov) Chapira (1880-1967). In 1910-1912, Chapira participated in the expeditions which the Société des études juives in Paris sent to Egypt, and on behalf of the researcher and collector Jacques Mosseri. During these expeditions, they discovered and catalogued thousands of fragments from the Geniza, which had been left by Sh.Z. Schechter. Most are found in the Mosseri collection, the largest private collection in the world of Genizah fragments, and some were sold to the National Library in Jerusalem.
The present letter was published by Chapira in 1953, in the anthology Yerushalayim: Review for Eretz-Israel Research, in his article: A Letter from Ramle to Jerusalem of the Middle of the Eleventh Century (enclosed). His article contains for the first time a transcription of the letter in Judeo-Arabic, full translation to Hebrew and information about the names and details mentioned therein. When it was published again by the historian Moshe Gil in 1983, Gil dubbed the letter "MS Chapira 1", and stated that the original manuscript was not available.
Literature:
1. Michael Ish-Shalom, Meir Benayahu, Azriel Shohet (editors), Yerushalayim: Review for Eretz-Israel Research. Jerusalem: Rabbi Kook Foundation, 1953. Pp. 118-122.
2. Moshe Gil, Palestine During the First Muslim Period (634-1099), Part III, Cairo Geniza Documents. Tel Aviv: Tel Aviv University and the Ministry of Defence, 1983. Pp. 319-322.
3. Joshua Prawer, The History of Jerusalem: The Early Islamic Period (638-1099) [Vol. I]. Jerusalem: Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi, 1987. Pp. 40, 45-46, 63, 143.
4. Moshe Gil, The Jewish Quarters of Jerusalem (A.D. 638-1099) According to Cairo Geniza Documents and Other Sources. In: Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 41, No. 4 (October 1982). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Pp. 265, 271-272.
Last Geonim of Eretz Israel – The "Lions Who Dwell in Jerusalem" Who Corresponded with Early Torah Scholars of Ashkenaz
"R. Eliyah the Third" mentioned in this letter is R. Eliyahu HaKohen Gaon (d. 1083), son of R. Shlomo HaKohen Gaon (the first), and father of R. Eviatar HaKohen Gaon, author of Megillat Eviatar; all three of them served as heads of the Geon Yaakov Yeshiva in Eretz Israel. They were members of a family of Kohanim who trace their lineage to R. Elazar ben Azariah. R. Eliyahu Gaon was one of the last Geonim in Eretz Israel, in the times of Rashi.
"R. Yosef Av Beit Din" mentioned in the letter was the brother of R. Eliyahu HaKohen Gaon. He served as Av Beit Din of the Yeshiva, the second highest office after the Yeshiva Head.
R. Eliyahu is named "the Third" in this letter, since at the time of its writing, he held the third highest ranking position in the Yeshiva, after "the Head" R. Daniel ben Azariah and "the Second" R. Yosef HaKohen, the Av Beit Din. R. Yosef passed away on Chanukah 1053, and therefore when R. Daniel passed away (in 1062), R. Eliyahu succeeded him as Head of the Yeshiva (regarding the hierarchy in the Yeshiva and the titles of its heads, see: Moshe Gil, Palestine During the First Muslim Period [634-1099], Part I – Studies, Tel Aviv, 1983, p. 417).
Researchers established the date of this letter based on the fact that the writer requests that the loan be collected in the presence of R. Eliyahu "the Third", seeming to indicate that R. Yosef HaKohen was no longer alive.
Rashi's disciples refer to R. Eliyahu and his son R. Eviatar as "lions who dwell in Jerusalem" (see for instance Machzor Vitri, Goldschmidt edition, Part III, p. 709), and the latter responded to questions R. Meshulam son of R. Moshe of Mainz sent to them on several topics, such as what one should eat on Erev Pesach which falls on Shabbat (the responsum was published in REJ, 73, 1921, pp. 84-92; see also: Avraham Grossman, Chachmei Ashkenaz HaRishonim, pp. 391-392).
In 1071, Eretz Israel was conquered by the Seljuks and the Geon Yaakov Yeshiva was compelled to relocate to Tyre, where R. Eliyahu served as Head of the Yeshiva until his passing.
R. Eviatar, son of R. Eliyahu and his successor as Head of the Yeshiva, was the last Gaon of Eretz Israel. He composed Megillat Eviatar, where he describes his tribulations and the affairs of the Geon Yaakov Yeshiva. He also portrays there the great honor accorded to his father R. Eliyahu upon his passing:
"He passed away in Kislev 1083 in Tyre, and the Jewish people carried him on their shoulders rather than on horses for a three-day journey to the mountain of the Galilee, to Dalton, where he was buried at the top of the mountain near R. Yose HaGelili, in proximity of Yonatan ben Uziel, Hillel and Shammai, Elazar ben Arach and Elazar ben Azariah our ancestor and many other Tzaddikim, and the Jewish people throughout Eretz Israel, Syria and the Diaspora eulogized him, tore their clothes, wore sackcloth and sat on the ground, since their crowning glory had been removed from their heads".
(For further detail about R. Daniel ben Azariah, the Geonim from the family of Kohanim and the history of the Yeshiva in that period, see Gil, ibid, pp. 583-606).
Ramla – A Torah Center During the Fatimid Rule in Eretz Israel
During the Fatimid rule in Eretz Israel, Ramla became the capital of the Filastin (Palestine) district (which also included Jerusalem). It was a large and prominent city, home to a Jewish community and Torah center. As it lies on the route to Jerusalem, it served as a gathering point for pilgrims, and at certain times boasted a larger Jewish population than Jerusalem. In the 1020s, the Geon Yaakov Yeshiva relocated for a time from Jerusalem to Ramla, and at various points some of the Torah scholars and heads of the Yeshiva of Eretz Israel resided in Ramla.
• Manuscript leaf (2 pages), Aggadat Tefillat Shemoneh Esreh Brachot. [The Orient, 12th/13th century]. Semi-square Oriental script.
Section from an Aggadah on the Amidah prayer, based on an interpretation of the verse: "A prayer for a poor man when he enwraps himself and pours out his speech before G-d" (Psalms 102, 1). This work probably belongs to Geonic literature. The present leaf contains a parallel text to the one published by A. Jellinek, Beit HaMidrash V, pp. 54-56, with textual variations.
[1] leaf. 23 cm. Fair condition. Stains. Open tears and damage, affecting text, professionally restored.
Description based on a report (enclosed) by Mr. Shlomo Zucker, expert on Hebrew manuscripts.
• Two manuscript leaves (four pages), from an early, unknown philosophical composition. [The Orient, ca. 13th century]. Semi-cursive Oriental script.
This may be a section of a composition on the Rambam's Moreh Nevuchim. The author challenges the Aristotelian perception that there is no providence in this world, and supports the Rambam's opinion according to which there is providence "over the human race only". His explains this position at length, yet also criticizes it. The author later quotes the Baal HaMalmad, in reference to the work Malmad HaTalmidim by R. Yaakov son of R. Abba Mari son of R. Shimon son of R. Anatoli (a Provence Torah scholar in the 12th-13th centuries, son-in-law of R. Shmuel ibn Tibbon).
[2] leaves. Approx. 23 cm. Fair condition. Stains. Open tears and damage, affecting text, professionally restored.
Description based on a report (enclosed) by Mr. Shlomo Zucker, expert on Hebrew manuscripts.
• Manuscript leaf (two written pages), fragment from an early siddur, with Hoshanot, including an unknown piyyut by R. Moshe Ibn Ezra. Semi-cursive and semi-square Oriental script. [Ca. 12th/13th century].
The first page contains a Hoshanot piyyut by R. Saadia Gaon. The piyyut on the second page is an acrostic spelling out Moshe ben Ezra. This piyyut is not known from any other source.
[1] leaf. Approx. 13 cm. Fair condition. Stains. Open tears and damage, affecting text, professionally restored.
Description based on a report (enclosed) by Mr. Shlomo Zucker, expert on Hebrew manuscripts.
• Manuscript leaf (two written pages), section of Qisat Esther (the story of Esther in Judeo-Arabic). Semi-cursive Oriental script. [Ca. 13th century].
[1] leaf. 20 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Open tears and damage, affecting text, professionally restored.
Description based on a report (enclosed) by Mr. Shlomo Zucker, expert on Hebrew manuscripts.
• Manuscript leaf (written on one side), section of a kabbalistic homily about the Creation of the world. [The Orient (Egypt?), ca.14th/15th century]. Oriental script.
Section of a homily by an unidentified writer. The writer relates to the writings of the Rambam in Moreh Nevuchim, and criticizes him as having no understanding of Kabbalah.
[1] leaf. 24 cm. Fair condition. Stains. Open tears and damage, affecting text, professionally restored.
Description based on a report (enclosed) by Mr. Shlomo Zucker, expert on Hebrew manuscripts.
• Two manuscript leaves, sections of Hilchot HaRif. [Spain, ca. 14th century]. Semi-cursive Sephardic script, with marginal glosses (some in semi-cursive Sephardic script and some in cursive script).
A section from chapter 9 of Tractate Berachot, and a section from chapter 3 of Tractate Chullin. Textual variations in comparison with printed editions.
[2] leaves. 22 cm and 15 cm. Fair condition. Stains. Open tears and damage, affecting text, professionally restored.
Description based on a report (enclosed) by Mr. Shlomo Zucker, expert on Hebrew manuscripts.
• Manuscript leaf, section of a halachic composition in Judeo-Arabic. [The Orient, presumably Egypt, ca. 13th century]. Semi-square Oriental script.
Mr. Shlomo Zucker, in his report (enclosed), suggests that this is a Karaite Halachic work, since it contains a Karaite term.
[1] leaf. Approx. 20 cm. Fair condition. Stains. Open tears and damage, affecting text, professionally restored. Text faded and partly difficult to decipher.
Description based on a report (enclosed) by Mr. Shlomo Zucker, expert on Hebrew manuscripts.
![Manuscript, Tiklal siddur for year-round and festivals, with commentaries and laws. [Yemen, ca. 1636]. Hebrew and Judeo-Arabi](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale78-public/79_1.jpg "Manuscript, Tiklal Siddur with Commentaries – Yemen, 1636")
![Manuscript, Tiklal siddur for year-round and festivals, with commentaries and laws. [Yemen, ca. 1636]. Hebrew and Judeo-Arabi](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale78-public/79_2.jpg "Manuscript, Tiklal Siddur with Commentaries – Yemen, 1636")
Neat, early Yemenite script, partly with supralinear vocalization. The scribe integrated commentaries and laws in separate columns or in-text "windows". Additional glosses appear in the margins with commentaries and laws by other writers.
The manuscript includes: pre-service prayers and piyyutim; weekday prayers; prayers for year-round Shabbatot; Pirkei Avot (with commentary); prayers and piyyutim for Motzaei Shabbat; prayers for Rosh Chodesh; prayer for Passover nights and Passover Haggadah (with commentaries and laws); prayer for Passover and Shavuot; prayer for fast days and Tisha B'Av; Megillat Eichah and lamentations for Tisha B'Av; prayers for the High Holidays and Sukkot; Hoshanot (with commentary); piyyutim for Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah; order for Chanukah (with commentary) and Megillat Bnei Chashmona'i; Purim prayer (with commentary); eulogies; El Melech and Maranot selichot (selichot piyyutim for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur night, opening with "El Melech" and "Maran"); Yom Kippur service (by R. Avraham ibn Ezra); Keter Malchut – by R. Shmuel[!] ibn Gabirol; selichot for the month of Elul; Birkat HaMazon (with commentaries); order of blessings, Brit Milah and Pidyon HaBen; laws of mitzvot (in Judeo-Arabic); order of leap years and Tekufot calendars.
The Tekufot calendars begin from the year 5397 (1636-1637), hence the date of the manuscript.
Piyyut in late script on p. [131b], signed at the end: "Shimon Tzalach".
[281] leaves. Approx. 20 cm. Lacking several leaves at beginning and end of siddur. Condition varies, fair-good. Stains, including dampstains and dark stains (wine and food stains), wear and tears. Open tears to several leaves, affecting text, repaired with paper. Worming to some leaves. New binding with leather spine.
Neat, early Yemenite script, with supralinear and sublinear vocalization. The scribe incorporated commentaries and laws in separate columns or in-text "windows". In the margins, additional glosses with commentaries and laws, by other writers. Calendar of Moladot for 1702-1769.
The present siddur was written by two scribes. The final page features a colophon by the second scribe, R. Shlomo Hamami, who writes that the siddur was begun by R. Shmuel son of R. David Chamitz, and he completed it: "This siddur was completed with beauty and splendor… on Thursday, 20th Tevet 1703, in Bir al-Azab… was written in the name of… Me'oded son of Saadia HaLevi al-Najar… commenced [by] R. Shmuel son of R. David Chamitz, and completed [by] Shlomo son of R. Saadia son of David son of Yonah HaLevi al-Hamami…". The Bir al-Azab neighborhood, adjacent to Qā' al-Yahud (the Jewish quarter), was allotted to the Jews by the king after they returned from the Mawza exile in 1677-1678.
This manuscript was examined and described in detail by Moshe Gavra in Chachamim VeSofrim BeTeiman BaMe'ah HaShemonah Esreh (Bnei Brak, 1996, pp. 142-146); he writes:
"The siddur comprises 215 leaves with supralinear vocalization, as customary in Yemen in those times. The siddur was commissioned by R. Meoded son of Saadia HaLevi al-Najar. The siddur includes the commentary composed by R. Y. Wanneh, yet it isn't consecutive and the commentary bears various headings: 'Hagahah', 'Perush', 'Chiddushin', 'Hasagah' and others. Based on the headings and the layout of the siddur and customs, it appears to me that the scribes copied one of the first editions of R. Y. Wanneh's Siddur Chiddushin, rather than the last edition… the customs mentioned in the siddur are closer to the structure and text that the Maharitz adopted in his siddur Etz Chaim, and they conform with the first editions of the siddur written by R. Y. Wanneh, before the printed siddurim and books of kabbalah influenced R. Y. Wanneh's siddur.
A damaged sale contract dated 1723 appears at the beginning of the manuscript.
On p. [42b], contract recording the sale of the siddur in 1753 to Avraham son of Musa al-Arusi, who purchased it from Musa son of Sa'id al-Aziri, signed by the witnesses, R. "Yichye son of R. David", R. "Salam ibn Abraham" and R. "Suleiman ibn Madmun".
In various places in the manuscript, ownership inscriptions and signatures, and death records of members of the Karavani family, a prominent family of rabbis from al-Tawilah, Yemen.
[209] leaves. 30 cm. Condition varies, most leaves in good-fair condition. Stains, including dark dampstains (wine stains) to some leaves. Marginal wear and tears. Open tears (including large tears) to several leaves, affecting text. Marginal open tears to many leaves. Paper repairs. Worming to a few leaves. Rebound. Early leather binding, with leather loop closures.
Gavra notes that this manuscript comprises [215] leaves. The additional leaves, containing later additions from various periods (Tekufah calendars for 1770-1922, and more), were removed when the manuscript underwent restoration and was rebound.
The collection includes postcards issued by Dreyfus's supporters and postcards by anti-Dreyfusards, featuring caricatures, illustrations and photographs. Including: portraits of Dreyfus, Emile Zola, Esterhazy and other figures related to the affair; antisemitic caricatures; a hand-colored postcard printed on high-quality paper (numbered: no. 66/100); a postcard printed in French Guinea, near Devil's Island, the French penal colony, with a drawing of Dreyfus's hut on the island (drawn by hand); and more.
Many Dreyfus-related postcards, featuring various photographs and illustrations, were printed during the duration of the Affair, some siding with Dreyfus, and others against him. The postcards gained popularity, served as an important propaganda tool and were instrumental in forming public opinion.
Approx. 90 postcards, including duplicates. Approx. 30 postcards were used. Condition varies.
Enclosed: a printed anti-Dreyfusard card. One side features four portraits – incriminators of Dreyfus in the affair; the other side features an advertisement for toothpaste.
1-2. Two postcards written by Mala Zimetbaum in Auschwitz-Birkenau, addressed to a friend in Antwerp (written in German). One postcard was sent from Block 11 (the punishment barracks) in Auschwitz I, presumably in 1944, after Mala's escape from the camp, before her execution.
In her letters, Mala laconically reports on her situation and inquires about her family: "You are surely glad to receive a sign of life from me… I am healthy and think about you a lot, and hope to hear good news from you"; "I already wrote to your parents… but I did not receive a reply. Please write to me where my dear parents are". The postcards were clearly written under the constraints of censorship.
The postcards were written in pen and pencil, and bear various inked stamps. One bears a German postage stamp with a picture of Hitler.
3-7. Five group photographs featuring Mala Zimetbaum; taken before her deportation to Auschwitz.
Mala (Malka) Zimetbaum (1922-1944) was born in Poland. As a child, her family relocated to Antwerp. In 1942, some two years after Belgium was conquered by the Germans, she was deported to the Kazerne Dossin transit camp in Mechelen, from where she was transported to Auschwitz. After the initial selection, she was sent to the women's camp at Birkenau. Due to her proficiency in languages – German, Flemish, French, Italian and Polish – she was assigned work as a translator, a position which gave her a certain freedom of movement, and helped her earn the trust of both the S.S. guards and the inmates. Unlike other prisoners who held official positions in the camp, Mala did not abuse her privileged standing. Testimonies of her activities in the camp depict her as a courageous, generous woman, who attempted to help the camp inmates to the best of her ability, at great risk to her life. According to several reports, Mala was involved in underground activities in Auschwitz – smuggling arms and money from "Kanada" (the camp's warehouses, used to store the stolen belongings of prisoners) into the camp itself, accumulating documents providing proof of the extermination in order to reveal to the world the Nazi crimes (as two other inmates who escaped Auschwitz successfully – Rudolf Vrba and Alfred Wetzler, likewise did).
On Saturday, 24th June 1944, Zimetbaum succeeded in escaping the camp together with her partner Edek Galinski, a Polish political prisoner. There are several different accounts of their escape, including a first-hand testimony delivered by Raya Kagan during the Eichmann trial, as well as a hearsay testimony recorded in the book The Drowned and the Saved by Primo Levi. The facts in both testimonies are similar: Mala and Edek escaped together, disguised as S.S. guards (it is uncertain whether they smuggled documents out of the camp attesting to the mass-murder taking place there). Two weeks later, they were caught by the Slovakian border control and were taken to Block 11 in Auschwitz I, the punishment barracks, where they were tortured. They were later returned to Birkenau and executed at the same time.
Raya Kagan reported in her testimony that she came close to Mala's barrack while she was awaiting interrogation, and inquired how she was, "serenely and heroically she said, somewhat ironically: 'I am always well'".
The prisoners were assembled to witness Mala's execution. Reputedly, Mala succeeded in disrupting the execution. She smuggled a razor, which she used to cut her veins while she was being brought to the gallows. When a S.S. guard tried to stop her, she slapped him in the face with her bloody hand, proclaiming "I will die like a hero, and you will die like a dog".
Two postcards, 10.5X15 cm. Fair-poor condition. Closed and open tears to margins, slightly affecting text. Tears across both postcards; one postcard torn into two. Wear. Text partially faded and difficult to read.
Three photographs – approx. 6X9 cm; two photographs – approx. 14X9 cm (with postcard backs). Good condition. Minor blemishes.
The collection includes:
Sugihara's visa: document issued to Praszkier, confirming his Polish citizenship (presumably issued by the British legation in Lithuania as a replacement for a passport), containing two visas: a transit visa via Japan issued by Chiune Sugihara, dated 5.8.1940, stamped with Sugihara's stamp and other stamps (with the addition of some Japanese script); entry visa to the Dutch colonies in South America issued by Jan Zwartendijk, with his hand signature, dated 1.8.1940.
Chiune Sugihara (1900-1986) was a Japanese diplomat who served as vice-consul for Japan in Kaunas during the Holocaust. Between July and September 1940, he issued over 2000 transit visas via Japan, which saved the lives of the recipients and their families (according to some estimates, some 10,000 people were saved thanks to these visas). Sugihara issued these visas during a period of three months, defying the orders of his superiors and ignoring the required criteria, until the closure of the embassy. Even after boarding the train to leave Kaunas, he continued issuing improvised visas and threw them through the window to the crowds waiting on the platform.
About half of the visas issued by Sugihara included another life-saving visa, issued by Jan Zwartendijk (1896-1976), Dutch consul in Kaunas. These visas were issued to Jews whose passports did not have an entry visa to a third country (the Japanese visas were only valid for transit via Japan, and an additional entry visa was required), and stated that the holder was allowed to enter Dutch colonies in South America. These Dutch visas allowed Sugihara to issue transit visas to Jews who did not have any other entry visas. With the closure of the Dutch consulate, Zwartendijk destroyed evidence of his activities. Sugihara and Zwartendijk were bestowed the title of Righteous Among the Nations for their WWII activities.
Already during the war, Sugihara handed his superiors a list of the recipients of the visas he issued, containing 2139 names ("Sugihara's list"). The present visa is listed 1048.
Ten documents from Praszkier's journey through the Far East, issued in Japan and China by the Japanese authorities, the Jewish community and the Polish embassy: • Permit for stay in Japan, printed on a bilingual form (English and Japanese), and filed-in by hand in Japanese, issued on 3.4.1941. Numbered 2703. • Official notification from the Jewish Community of Kobe (Ashkenazim): "Your permit to stay in this Country has been handed… to the Police Authorities here to arrange for the permit's further extension". Stamped and signed by the secretary of the community. 19.8.1941. (English). • Authorization with the rare stamp of the Jewish community: "The Jewish Community in Kobe (Ashkenazim), Kobe District" – presumably a ticket for a train journey, issued by the head of the Department for Foreign Affairs in the Hyogo district (Japan). • Polish consular passport issued to Praszkier in Tokyo, on 9.12.1941, with the stamp of the Polish embassy in Tokyo and Shanghai. • Transit visa or pass issued by the Japanese authorities in Shanghai, with a passport photograph of Praszkier. • Two receipts from the Committee for Assistance of Jewish Refugees from Eastern Europe (established in 1938 by the leaders of the community of Jewish refugees in Shanghai). June-July 1942. • And more.
Three documents documenting Praszkier's escape from Poland with the outbreak of the war: • Exit permit from Włocławek (Poland), signed by the region commander and dated 5.10.1939 (approximately one month after the town was captured by Nazi Germany). • Exit permit from Ciechanów (Poland), signed by the region commander and with a Nazi German inked-stamp, 14.10.1939. • Authorization issued by the Committee for Aid to Refugees in Vilna, confirming that Praszkier was listed as refugee 4474. With the inked stamp of the Jewish community in Vilna. 26.10.1939.
Six documents pertaining to the death and burial of Praszkier in Shanghai, 1944: • Form from the Kitchenfund Hospital, confirming Praszkier's admittance to the hospital and the diagnosis of typhus (1944). • Death certificate under Praszkier's name issued by the Chevra Kaddisha in Shanghai, confirming that Praszkier was buried on 15.5.1944 in the Baikal Road Jewish cemetery (1944). • Contract for the preparation of Praszkier's tombstone (1945). • Handwritten note, containing two versions of Praszkier's epitaph (Hebrew). • And more. Some documents mention the name of the Jewish refugee Hinda Milgrom (this surname also appears in Sugihara's list), Praszkier's wife in Shanghai, who took care of his burial arrangements.
Altogether 20 documents. Size and condition vary.
Enclosed: photograph and thirteen personal documents of Praszkier from before the war (mostly in Polish), and an identity card issued for Hinda Milgrom in Shanghai.
After WWII, the demand for Talmud and holy books by surviving Jews congregated in the DP camps exceeded the few copies that were available for the refugees. From 1946, the Union of Rabbis in Germany, with the assistance of the American army and the JDC, began to print volumes of Talmud for survivors. At first, only a few tractates were printed in various formats. In 1948, the present edition – a complete edition of the Talmud – was printed for the first time. Each volume contains two title pages. The first title page was especially designed to commemorate the printing of the Talmud on the scorched soil of Germany; on its upper part is an illustration of a Jewish town with the caption "From slavery to redemption and from darkness to great light"; on its lower part is an illustration of barbed wire fences and a labor camp, with the captions: "Labor camp in Germany during Nazi era", "They had almost consumed me upon earth; but I forsook not thy precepts" (Psalms 119).
19 volumes. 39 cm. Brittle paper in some volumes. Overall good condition. Stains. Creases and tears to several leaves, with no damage or loss to text. Original bindings and spines, with minor damage.
!["Sefer Barkai…" [Book of the Shining Morning Star], by Naftali Herz Imber. Jerusalem: M. Meyuhas Press, 5646 [1886]](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale78-public/114_1.jpg "\"Sefer Barkai\" by Naftali Herz Imber with his own Handwritten Dedicato")
!["Sefer Barkai…" [Book of the Shining Morning Star], by Naftali Herz Imber. Jerusalem: M. Meyuhas Press, 5646 [1886]](https://files.kedem-auctions.com/files/Sale78-public/114_2.jpg "\"Sefer Barkai\" by Naftali Herz Imber with his own Handwritten Dedicato")
First book of poems by Naftali Herz Imber (1856-1909), notably including his poem "Tikvatenu" ("Our Hope"), which would in time develop into "Hatikvah, " anthem of the Zionist Movement, and ultimately the anthem of the State of Israel.
On the back of the title page is a dedicatory inscription, handwritten in German and Hebrew by Imber himself and partly cut off: "Dem Manne [?] sein Volkes [Head of?] the 'Moshava' [Colony] of Rosh Pinah, this notebook is a souvenir [for] the generous one, who is young in years [and] fatherly in wisdom, Yitzhak Ettinger. From the author, Rosh Pinah 5647 [1886/87]". [The dedication is apparently to Emil Yitzhak Ettinger, deputy director of the moshava of Rosh Pinah in the years 1886-87; see below].
According to his own account, Naftali Herz Imber wrote the first draft of the words to the poem then known as "Tikvatenu" ("Our Hope") in 1877/78 while he was living in Iași, Romania. A different source, cited by the Hebrew-language "Encyclopedia of the Pioneers and Founders of the Yishuv" (p. 1586), states that the original words were written in 1886, while Imber was thoroughly intoxicated, having drunk profusely in the course of the Purim festivities at the moshava of Gedera. According to this source, Imber arose from his stupor to declare that he had "just now composed the first two verses to our national song, which shall give expression to our hope." Subsequently, while touring the various moshavot of Palestine, Imber altered the words and added verses. Eventually, the work was published in its final draft (for the time being) in Imber’s collection of poems titled "Sefer Barkai". Roughly a year after the publication of the collection, Shmuel Cohen (1870-1940), one of the young "halutzim" (Jewish pioneers) of Rishon LeZion, took an existing melody and set it to the words of the poem. Cohen's work was an adaptation of a traditional melody with Slavic roots, associated with Romanian coachmen. The Czech composer Bedřich Smetana made use of an almost identical tune in his famous symphonic poem "Vltava" (also known as "The Moldau").
With its ethereally beautiful new melody, the song was enthusiastically adopted by the settlers of the moshavot. From there it traveled to Europe and was quickly embraced by the Zionist Congresses, to be sung at the conclusion of each session. Years later, the song was renamed "Hatikvah" and the Hebrew lyrics gradually underwent a number of changes. The main changes were introduced in 1905, when the line "to return to the land of our fathers, to the city where David had encamped" was exchanged for "to be a free people in our country, the Land of Zion and Jerusalem" and the words "the Age-Old Hope" were turned into "the Hope ["Hatikvah"] of Two Thousand Years." Though not officially sanctioned at the time by law or decree, the first two verses of the song became almost universally accepted as the national anthem of the Jewish people. In 1933, Hatikvah gained recognition as the anthem of the Zionist movement. With the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, it was unofficially adopted as the national anthem. This recognition was not officially grounded in law until 2004.
Naftali Herz Imber was born in Złoczów (today Zolochiv), Galicia (then a region of the Austrian Empire, today part of Ukraine). He was given a traditional Jewish education up to his teenage years, but while still a youth he embraced the "Haskalah" (Jewish Enlightenment) movement, and shortly thereafter, Zionism. After wandering through Eastern and Southern Europe, taking on assorted occupations, in 1882 he chanced upon the Christian Zionist author, journalist, and British Member of Parliament, Sir Laurence Oliphant (1829-1888), to whom he dedicated his book of poetry, "Sefer Barkai." Oliphant happily took the young poet under his wing, and brought him along when he took up residence in Palestine, where Imber served as his personal secretary. In Palestine, Imber was mostly supported by Oliphant and his wife, Alice. Imber’s relationship with the Jewish settlers in Palestine was complex; on one hand, he was filled with profound admiration for the "halutzim", spent a great deal of time getting to know the various moshavot, and found many enthusiastic readers for his poetry among the people there; on the other hand, he never ceased to quarrel with the appointed officials of the preeminent patron of the Yishuv, the Baron Edmond de Rothschild. In the "Polemic of the 'Shmitah'" (1887-89) – a halakhic discourse in search of an appropriate approach to the biblical commandment requiring farmers to leave their fields fallow every seventh year – Imber sided with the Rabbinical establishment, and through his poetry, took issue with the representatives, supporters, and patrons of the New Yishuv, specifically the Baron Rothschild, Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, and Eliyahu Scheid; apparently, his excoriation of the Baron's clerks for their corruption and ineptitude was at least to some extent in response to the harsh criticism personally leveled against him at the time for accepting money and medical care from his benefactor, Laurence Oliphant, and from various Christian missionaries. Nevertheless, Imber's stance on these matters was far from consistent; at times he actually showered praise on the Baron’s personnel, particularly when they catered to his material desires.
Following the passing of Alice Oliphant, Sir Laurence left Palestine, and Imber was deprived of his patron. Shortly thereafter, he returned to his wandering lifestyle, visiting India and spending time in London before finally settling in the United States. He died in New York in 1909 and was buried there, but was reinterred in Israel, in Jerusalem’s Har HaMenuhot Cemetery, in 1953.
Imber apparently dedicated the present copy of Sefer Barkai to a French Jew by the name of Emil Yitzhak Ettinger, a senior appointee in the administrative apparatus established by the Baron Rothschild in Palestine in the years 1885-96. From the summer of 1886 to the winter of 1887, Ettinger assumed the role of deputy director of the moshava of Rosh Pinah, while also serving as a French teacher. In the years he spent in Palestine, he filled a number of different administrative positions on behalf of the Baron, until finally retiring from the Baron’s staff in 1896 and returning to Paris.
VI, [2], 127, [1] pp., 15.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Minor creases. Minor tears to edges of several leaves. Card binding, with minor abrasion and blemishes. Tears to length of spine. Boards partly detached. Strip of adhesive tape reinforcing line of contact between front binding and title page. Remnants of stickers on spine.
Reference: Eliyahu HaKohen, "Od Lo Avda Tikvatenu" ["Our Hope has Not been Lost"], "Ariel, " Issue no. 186, January 2009 (Hebrew), pp. 101-104.
These agreements were signed in the course of Israel's War of Independence, shortly after the State of Israel's Declaration of Independence (May 14, 1948) and the invasion of Arab armies that came in its immediate wake. They reflect the state of affairs on the battlefield once the Israel Defense Forces had successfully repulsed the initial onslaught of Arab forces that had managed to penetrate deep into the interior of the newborn state's territory (the partition of lands, as demonstrated by the agreements, came about as the result of some of the war's most decisive battles; thanks to Israeli military advances, the settlements of Zemah, Degania A, Degania B, Metulla, and other outposts were now in Israeli hands).
Ceasefire lines are sketched onto each of the maps. The texts of the agreements are inscribed by hand and signed by the military commanders and UN personnel. The inked stamp of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) appears in the lower right margins of both agreements.
Included:
1. Ceasefire agreement for the Jordan Valley. Superimposed in handwriting over a Survey of Palestine map of the Jordan Valley and southern Sea of Galilee regions, with sketched ("truce") lines indicating the respective borders of areas controlled by Israeli forces and those controlled by Syrian forces, showing swaths of no man's land between them.
A brief handwritten "legend" appears in English in the upper right margin. Underneath this, the text of the agreement appears in French. Signed by IDF representative "Y. Spektor" (probably Yitzhak Spector, IDF military liaison to the UN in the Northern Front); by "Cl. Charpy" on behalf of the Syrian forces; and by the UN representative.
49.5X68.5 cm. Good condition. Fold lines and creases. Stains. Minor tears and small holes along fold lines and to margins. Map mounted on linen.
2. Ceasefire agreement for the Galilee Panhandle region. Superimposed in handwriting over a Survey of Palestine map of Northern Israel and Southern Lebanon, with sketched line indicating the ceasefire line in the vicinity of the settlement of Metulla.
Text of agreement handwritten in English in upper left side of map, over area of Mediterranean Sea. Signed by IDF representative "P. Weinstein" (probably Pinhas Weinstein, Commander of Battalion 92 of the IDF’s Oded Brigade); by Lebanese Forces representative "Commander Cheab"; and by two UN representatives.
52.5X73.5 cm. Good condition. Fold lines. Stains. Minor creases and blemishes.