Shanah Tovah letter from Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Brooklyn, New York, Elul 1963. 150th anniversary of the Alter Rebbe's passing.

Typewritten on the Rebbe's official stationery, with his handwritten signature.
Sent to R. Dov Ber Tkach, offering wishes for a Ketivah VaChatimah Tovah for a good and sweet year, physically and spiritually. At the top of the letter the Rebbe added a full line by hand, acknowledging receipt of his letter, the booklets and his book on the mitzvot, and offering his congratulations. At the end of the letter the Rebbe added by hand the word "respectfully" to the valediction.

R. Dov Ber Tkach (1889-1975), an important Chabad rabbi in Eretz Israel, founded and directed the Bnei Temimim Torah school and Achei Temimim yeshiva in Tel Aviv. Born in Ludmir (Volodymyr), he was one of the first students of the Ludmir yeshiva under the Karlin Chassid R. Chaim Mendel Kostromtzki, and later studied under R. Yoel Shurin in Zviahel and in the Tomchei Temimim yeshiva in Lubavitch. He was later appointed rabbi and mashpia in a Chabad community in Ludmir, where he would deliver lectures. In 1935 he immigrated to Eretz Israel and served as Rabbi of the Kontrovitz and Ahavat Tzion synagogues in Tel Aviv. He authored Tarach Amudei Or on the 613 mitzvot (eight parts) as well as other works.

[1] leaf. 21.5 cm. Good condition. Folds. Browning of paper. Stains and light wear.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.

"Public-private" letter from Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Brooklyn, New York, 10 Kislev, 1967.

Typewritten on the Rebbe's official stationery, with his handwritten signature.
A "public-private" letter (an identical letter sent to several individuals), sent to R. Dov Ber Tkach. Sent on the occasion of 10 Kislev, the Chag HaGeulah of the Mitteler Rebbe of Lubavitch, and a few days before 19 Kislev, the Chag HaGeulah of his father the Alter Rebbe.
The Rebbe blesses him to strengthen and increase study of Torah, acts of kindness and mitzvot, and prayer, as illuminated by Chassidic teachings, leading to the redemption.

At the end of the letter the Rebbe acknowledges receipt of the book on the 613 mitzvot and offers his congratulations.
On the margins of the letter are references and sources for topics and ideas cited in the letter.

R. Dov Ber Tkach (1889-1975), an important Chabad rabbi in Eretz Israel, founded and directed the Bnei Temimim Torah school and Achei Temimim yeshiva in Tel Aviv. Born in Ludmir (Volodymyr), he was one of the first students of the Ludmir yeshiva under the Karlin Chassid R. Chaim Mendel Kostromtzki, and later studied under R. Yoel Shurin in Zviahel and in the Tomchei Temimim yeshiva in Lubavitch. He was later appointed rabbi and mashpia in a Chabad community in Ludmir, where he would deliver lectures. In 1935 he immigrated to Eretz Israel and served as Rabbi of the Kontrovitz and Ahavat Tzion synagogues in Tel Aviv. He authored Tarach Amudei Or on the 613 mitzvot (eight parts) as well as other works.

[1] leaf. 28 cm. Good condition. Folds. Stains and light wear. Minor tears to margins and folds.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.

Pair of Torah finials. Romania, 1926-1937.
Silver; cast and repoussé (marked); filigree; gilt.

Pair of large, heavy, solid finials. Two-tiered octagonal body, comprised of rectangular filigree panels with floral ornaments and arched windows. The lower tier, surrounded by a balcony, features eight birds resting in its windows, with bells in their beaks (birds attached with springs, allowing for movement). Coronet of filigree leaves above upper tier, with a circle of eight additional birds (holes for bells in their beaks), surmounted by a large, crown-shaped ornament with a large bell in the center. Resting on large, cylindrical, widening shafts.

Romanian silver ceremonial items are not particularly prevalent, especially those produced in Romania itself (items used in Romania were frequently produced in Austro-Hungary).
The Moldovan family collection features an identical pair of Torah finials, originating from Ukraine, which bear a dedicatory inscription dated to 1890; see: Mirror of Jewish life: a selection from the Moldovan Family Collection. Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv University, 1999, item no. 40.

Height: 37 cm. Overall good condition. Bends and several breaks to filigree. Bells lacking (primarily to lower tier).

Provenance: Estate of R. Zeev Wolf Gottlieb (1910-1983, brother-in-law of Rabbi Dr. David Moses Rosen, chief rabbi of Romania).

PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.

“Havdalah” spicebox. Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 1837. Dedicatory inscription (apparently from Amsterdam) dated 1890.
Cast silver, turned, perforated, and engraved (bearing marks designating quality, date [year], and maker: JGG [Jan George Grebe Jr.], active Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 1827-1861).

Caster (silver table vessel for sprinkling sugar), repurposed as a “Havdalah” spice vessel. With round base and pitcher-shaped body; surmounted by removable lid – perforated with small holes to enable sniffing the spices inside – in turn surmounted by an ornament in the form of a hand grasping a dumbbell. Vessel engraved with dedicatory inscription (in Dutch and Hebrew): “Aangeboden / door de Vereeniging / Ahavat Hessed [provided by the ‘Ahavat Hessed’ Organization] / 5650 [1890]…”

In the possession of the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana Jewish cultural and historical collection are two original documents issued by the “Ahavat Hessed UMenahem Avelim” Hevra Kadisha of Amsterdam, dated to the first half of the 19th century; presumably, the present “Havdalah” spicebox is associated with this particular organization.

For similar Dutch “Havdalah” spice vessels, see: Joods Historisch Museum, Amsterdam, item nos. M001387, M001323, M010676, M010674, M010675, and M011862.

Height: Approx. 12.5 cm; Maximum diameter: Approx. 5 cm. Good condition. Minor blemishes. Minor soldering repairs and dents.

PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.