Manuscript, machzor for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, according to the Apam (Asti-Fossano-Moncalvo) rite. Asti, [1776].

Title page decorated with frame: "Order of prayers, piyyutim and krovetz for high holidays according to the rite of… our French rabbis…". The bottom part of the title page names the woman for whom the machzor was scribed, as well as the location and date of writing: "Written at the behest of the honorable and modest Mrs. Keila Chanah Treves, wife of R. Yehoshua Chai Montalcina… in Asti, [1776]". Below this is written (as customary in printed books): "Con Licenza del Divino Superiore".

Signature of owner on front endpaper: "My portion by lot, Adar 1828, Moshe son of R. Yehoshua Chai Montalcini".

[1], 94, [4] leaves. 26 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains, including dark stains. Wear and tears. Several leaves detached. Leather binding, with metal clasp. Tears and damage to binding.

A booklet is added (4 written pages) with the Kedushah prayer for Musaf, in another hand.

Provenance: Collection of Rabbi Prof. Eliyah Shmuel Hartom, Jerusalem.

The Apam Rite

"Apam" is an acronym for the communities of Asti, Fossano, and Moncalvo. All three communities were established by Jewish exiles from France who settled in the Piedmont region of Italy after being expelled from France in the 14th century. Once in Italy, most Jewish émigrés from France adopted the customs and traditions of the communities that absorbed them, and only these three communities clung to the French traditions they arrived with, thus preserving the ancient French rite. The French rite resembles the Ashkenazic rite, but differs from it both in its own particular versions of some of the prayers, and in the distinctive piyyutim that are peculiar to it. Siddurim associated with the Apam rite were never printed, and they survive only in manuscript form (on the Apam rite see: Zunz, Rites of Synagogue Liturgy, Breuer-Fraenkel Hebrew translation, Jerusalem 2016, pp. 64-65; Goldschmidt, Leket Shichchah UPeah LeMachzor Apam, Kiryat Sefer XXX, Jerusalem 1955, pp. 118-136).

The present machzor preserves the piyyutim and distinctive liturgy of the Apam rite, including a unique version of Kol Nidrei, the piyyut Eten Tehilah introducing the Avodah prayer, and more.

Manuscript, Reshit Chochmah by R. Eliyahu de Vidas (a disciple of R. Moshe Cordovero). [Balkans region, 18th century].

Copying in Oriental semi-cursive script (some words verge on cursive script); with decorations and fine illustrations in color and gilt ink, in Islamic style characteristic of the Ottoman empire – illustrations of cypresses and flowers, decorated initial panels, decorated circles (one with a star in center, and a Star of David in the center of the other), and other decorations. The circle at the end of the manuscript incorporates a colophon with the name of the scribe: "Yosef son of Shmuel Chazan", with an inscription on the completion of writing: "This book was finished on the 18th of Tishrei…"; the rest of the inscription is confused and we were unable to determine the exact year (changes may have been made to it). The name of the scribe is also incorporated in the decorated circle in the Derech Eretz chapter.

The manuscript is lacking its first half. The present item constitutes the later parts of the work, from Shaar HaKedushah chapter 16 until the end of Shaar HaAnavah (lacking approximately one page from the end of the chapter, due to a detached leaf); followed by five chapters appended by the author from Menorat HaMaor by R. Yisrael Alnaqua (Perek HaMitzvot, Perek Gidul Banim, Perek Masa UMatan, Perek HaDinim and Perek Derech Eretz).

The first half of this manuscript is JTS Ms. 2049. The scribe's name is mentioned in a decorated circle at the beginning of the manuscript (as well as further in the manuscript); on the page opposite the circle appears a death inscription, apparently also by the scribe: "My father passed away on Sunday, 26th Tamuz [1771]".

The manuscript is in a cardboard wrapper, upon which is written: "Manuscript Reshit Chochmah – I received it from Dr. Tzemach Rabiner, preacher in Sofia, as a gift". Enclosed is a photocopy of a letter from Dr. Tzemach Rabiner, Chief Rabbi of Sofia and "Chief Preacher" of Bulgarian Jewry, regarding this manuscript.

[103] leaves. Lacking beginning; one leaf torn and lacking in middle (at end of Shaar HaAnavah). Approx. 21 cm. Fair condition. Stains, including dampstains and dark stains, with ink fading, affecting text. Wear and light tears. Loose gatherings. Without binding.

Letter of leaders of the Chassidic community in Jerusalem, opposing the establishment of modern schools in Hebron, signed by Rebbe David Tzvi Shlomo Biderman of Lelov (along with his stamp), his brother Rebbe Alter Biderman, his brother R. Meir Adler, R. Elazar Natan Shapiro and R. Menachem Mendel Rubin (and their stamps). Jerusalem, 47th day of the Omer [3rd Sivan] 1905.

Draft of an announcement with additions and erasures [apparently never sent to press]: "Whose eye would not weep, and what man of heart will not be upset when seeing the lowly state of the holy city of Hebron… for the settlement's support has nearly collapsed… And we are frightful lest our mortal enemies surround us… to establish there houses of hell (secular schools)… to pollute the holy air with deathly poison, a city which, thank G-d, remains pure and holy…". The poster continues with a call to support the emissary "R. Sh. L." [apparently R. Shlomo Leib Eliezerov], who went to great lengths to support the Torah school and yeshiva.

The rabbis who signed bless the donors: "And in the merit of (the Torah) the great mitzvah, may you be saved eternally with all your wishes for the good, to be blessed with all blessings said and repeated for the reward of those who settle the Holy Land and work in support of the holy Torah, for the sake of Him Who is good to all, always, and may we all merit to see the cities of Judea and the comforts of Zion and Jerusalem speedily in our days…".

With signatures of the rabbis and rebbes: "David Tzvi Shlomo son of R. Elazar Menachem", "Elazar Natan Kahana Shapiro"; "Menachem Mendel Rubin"; "Meir Adler"; "Alter son of R. E[lazar] M[enachem]".

Rebbe David Tzvi Shlomo Biderman (1844-1918), son of Rebbe Elazar Menachem Mendel of Lelov (1827-1883), leader of the Chassidic communities of Jerusalem. R. David Tzvi was holy and pure from his youth. In 1850, when his grandfather Rebbe Moshele of Lelov travelled to Eretz Israel and took leave of Rebbe Yisrael of Ruzhin, the Ruzhiner said that the boy David has "shining, bright eyes". Over the years, he would travel from Jerusalem to Karlin and became one of the leading Chassidim of the Beit Aharon. His father, Rebbe Elazar Mendel, attested that he never ceased to see God as standing before him. The Yismach Yisrael of Aleksander dubbed him a Sefer Torah. R. Chaim Shmuel of Chęciny said that for many years he was the "Tzaddik of the generation". Upon his father’s death in 1883 he was appointed rebbe, and was the primary leader of the Chassidic community of Jerusalem.

R. Elazar Natan Kahana-Shapira (ca. 1820-1917), father of the Kahana-Shapira family in Jerusalem. He immigrated to Eretz Israel in the early 1840s along with his father, R. Yechiel Asher Shmuel Kahana-Shapira Rabbi of Żalin (d. 1852), and was a leader of the Chassidic community in Jerusalem.

R. Menachem Mendel Rubin (ca. 1850-1915), a leader of the Chassidic community in Jerusalem, author of Masa Meron (Jerusalem, 1889). Son of R. Shmuel Aharon Rubin, Rabbi of Korczyna (ca. 1823-1877).

R. Meir Shlomo Yehudah Adler (d. 1922), son-in-law of Rebbe Elazar Menachem Biderman of Lelov. Established the Chayei Olam yeshiva in Jerusalem along with his brother-in-law Rebbe David Tzvi Shlomo of Lelov.

Rebbe Alter Biderman of Lelov-Sosnowitz (1862-1933), son of R. Elazar Menachem Biderman of Lelov and Jerusalem. Although his name was Avraham Betzalel Natan Nata, he was known as Alter (and sometimes would only sign his name Alter). In 1894 he left Eretz Israel for four years. At the beginning of World War I he traveled to Poland and settled in Sosnowitz (Sosnowiec), and soon became known as "the rebbe from Eretz Israel" and earned the reputation of a wonder-worker. His customs and dress followed that of Jerusalem. A year and a half after his passing on 20th Kislev 1935, his body was brought to Eretz Israel for burial on the Mount of Olives, and the Chevra Kadisha attested that his body was complete and free of decay. He was succeeded in Sosnowitz by his nephew R. Mordechai son of his brother R. Yerachmiel Yosef.

Mentioned in the letter, R. Shlomo Yehudah Leib Eliezerov (1863-1952), rabbi and leader of the Chabad and Ashkenazi community in Hebron, and emissary to the Jewish community of Bukhara-Samarkand, founder of the Magen Avot and Torat Emet yeshivas in Hebron. His father was R. Eliezer Shimon Kazarnovsky, grandson of Rebbetzin Menuchah Rachel Slonim, daughter of the Mitteler Rebbe. In 1873, at the age of 10, he immigrated with his parents to Eretz Israel and settled in Hebron. He studied Torah under the rabbis of Hebron – R. Shimon Menashe Chaikin and R. Eliyahu Mani. He traveled to Uzbekistan as an emissary for the Sephardic community in Hebron, and in 1897 he was appointed Chief Rabbi of Bukhara-Samarkand, where he changed his surname to Eliezerov (after his father). His halachic responsa are printed in She'elat Shlomo (Jerusalem 2002).

[1] leaf. 23 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Wear and minor tears.

Letter (approx. 11 lines) handwritten and signed by Rebbe "Shalom Moskowitz of Shotz". London, Isru Chag [the day after Pesach, ca. 1940s-1950s].

Addressed to R. Yechezkel Abramsky, head rabbi of the London Beit Din, "the renowned rabbi with the heart of a lion, R. Yechezkel Abramsky".

The Rebbe writes that he heard that R. Abramsky's wife was suffering from a heart disease, and he empathizes with their pain, giving advice and a diet for a recovery, with many blessings: "Today I heard that your wife, the Rebbetzin, is weak with pain in her heart, and I am very pained. May G-d support her and may she recover soon; 'a valiant woman is the crown of her husband'. And although I have not been asked, I answer by writing her a Segulah, as follows. For a full month she should not drink any beverage with sugar, only with honey; in the second month, with sugar and not with honey; in the third month, only with honey, alternating in this way, since honey is a natural cure to the heart, of course from the good flowers. She should do this alternately for at least thirty years, and afterwards we will, if G-d wishes, speak further, and may she soon recover…".

Rebbe Shalom Moskovitz of Shotz (1877-1958), a descendant of R. Michel of Zlotchov and R. Meir of Premishlan; foremost rebbe in the previous generation. He was proficient in all areas of Torah, and a great posek. In his youth, he was ordained by the Maharsham of Berezhany and even lived in his home for nine months to attend to him. He served G-d devotedly and was a kabbalist, known for working wonders by his awesome prayers, like a son beseeching his father. He was a disciple of the Rebbe of Shinova and the Belz rebbes. He served as Rabbi of Suceava from 1903, and he was the teacher of R. Meir Shapiro of Lublin, the founder of Daf Yomi. From 1927, he served as rebbe in London. He authored many books on the Talmud, Torah, Chassidut and more. He was highly esteemed by the great rebbes of his generation and word of his greatness and holiness spread all over the world. His diligence was rare; he would study Torah for hours and hours, stopping only for meals or mitzvah purposes. At the same time, his London home was wide open and people from all circles came to seek his blessing, ask for guidance and request halachic rulings. In his will, he pledged to arouse Heavenly mercy upon anyone who would visit his gravesite, light two candles in his memory, and undertake to strengthen himself in a mitzvah or in Torah study (at his request, this promise is printed at his gravesite in three languages: Hebrew, Yiddish and English).

The Rebbe of Shotz fought against secularism and Zionism; when the state of Israel was established he published a polemical tract (London, 1950) demanding the leaders of the state allow religious Jews and Torah institutions to preserve their way of life.

[1] leaf, official stationery. 20.5 cm. Good condition. Light stains and folding marks.

A diverse collection including letters, manuscripts of literary works, and a signed portrait photograph, by German-Jewish author Jakob Wassermann; sent to his literary agent in the United States, Nathan Ausübel. Austria (and other locations?), 1920s-30s. German.

The collection includes:

1. "Yellow Coat" (Gelbmäntelchen) – screenplay by Jakob Wassermann, typescript with handwritten notes; a story about an angel sent to Earth to touch the soul of "the most indifferent man" (the screenplay is based on Wassermann's short story "Jost", published in the anthology Der Wendekreis [Berlin, 1920]). To the best of our knowledge, this work was never filmed.

[1], 18, [2] leaves. 34 cm.

2. "The Jew as an Oriental" (Der Jude als Orientale) – essay by Jakob Wassermann, typescript, based on a letter to Martin Buber; in the essay, Wassermann addresses the question of defining Judaism, describing Eastern Jewry as a positive alternative, rooted in its origins, to European Jewry (the essay was published in the literary journal "Daimon" [Vienna 1918], alongside articles, poetry and prose excerpts by Max Brod, Ernst Weiss, Franz Werfel, and others).

5 pages. 27.5 cm.

3. Fragments from a literary work by Wassermann, in his handwriting (the novel Christian Wahnschaffe?); thirteen pages in Wassermann's small and elegant handwriting, with corrections and deletions, eight of them written in German Kurrent script, and five in regular German script (Latin letters). The fragments may be taken from the manuscript of the novel Christian Wahnschaffe (1919), mentioned in one of Wassermann's letters to his agent in the USA, featured in the present lot (the novel was published in English as The World's Illusion).

[13] leaves (numbered 156-160, 330, and 339-341; irregular pagination). Approx. 21-25 cm.

4-22. Nineteen letters by Wassermann, signed in his hand, addressed to his literary agent in the USA, Nathan Ausübel. Some are handwritten, occasionally on official letterhead. Among the topics discussed in the letters: the power of attorney Wassermann granted Ausübel for publishing his writings in the United States (July 10, 1924); the publication of the novels Das Gänsemännchen, Die Masken Erwin Reiners and Christian Wahnschaffe, by the publisher Harcourt Brace and a screenplay to be sent to Ausübel (apparently the draft screenplay in present lot, August 28, 1924); the death of Wassermann's friend, composer Ferruccio Busoni (August 28, 1924); notice of sending the proofs of the novel Faber oder die verlorenen Jahre, along with a copy of a letter sent to the publisher Harcourt Brace, and mention of Wassermann's friend, German-Jewish author Ludwig Lewisohn (September 8, 1924); an update that Wassermann received an inquiry from Fox Film studios regarding the production of a film based on one of his novellas, and negotiations with an English publisher on publishing the novel Die Juden von Zirndorf (September 18, 1924); mention of Thomas Mann and author Werner Hegemann (December 17, 1931); and more.

Number of pages varies, approx. 12-29 cm. Some letters are accompanied by the original envelope in which they were sent.

23. Portrait photograph of Jakob Wassermann, inscribed and signed by him, to Nathan Ausübel (the inscription is dated July 9, 1924, Altaussee).

Approx. 15X11 cm. Mounted on cardboard.

Jakob Wassermann (1873-1934) was one of the most important and successful German-Jewish authors of the 20th century. Born in Fürth (Bavaria) to a middle-class Jewish family. In 1897 he published his first novel, "The Jews of Zirndorf" (Die Juden von Zirndorf), which achieved immediate success and established his reputation in Germany as a promising author. Among his notable works: "The Maurizius Case" (Der Fall Maurizius), "Caspar Hauser" and "The Goose Man" (Das Gänsemännchen). In 1921 he published his book "My Path as a German and a Jew" (Mein Weg als Deutscher und Jude), in which he directly confronted the conflict between his identity as a German and his Jewish cultural heritage.

Despite his literary success, Wassermann suffered from the growing antisemitism in Germany. With the rise of the Nazis to power in 1933, he was expelled from the Prussian Academy of Arts, his books were placed on the "black list" and banned from publication in Germany, and many copies were burned in book burnings. Wassermann died in 1934 in the villa where he resided in Altaussee, Austria.

Condition varies.

Provenance: Sotheby's, London, April 1982, Lot 496.