Early amulet for protection of the home, customarily given by R. Yeshayah (Yeshayale) Steiner of Kerestir, the Yismach Moshe and other rebbes. [Europe, ca. late 19th century].
Stam script on piece of parchment.
The book Mofet HaDor about R. Yeshayah of Kerestir notes that most amulets he would give followed this formula. It further tells of a Jewish store which was miraculously saved from being set on fire by a non-Jewish competitor, through such an amulet received from R. Yeshayah of Kerestir. See there two photographs of such amulets.
The book Elef Ketav (by R. Yitzchak Weiss of Vrbové, section 515) interprets this amulet: the first line contains the initials of two verses of protections from Tehillim (122:7 and 91:10), alternating; the second verse contains the initials of a verse of protection from Bereshit (19:1).

Rebbe Moshe Teitelbaum, the Yismach Moshe, would give amulets containing this text for protection of the home from thieves and destructive forces. A photograph of a similar amulet written by the Yismach Moshe and given by his grandson the Yitav Lev to his attendant R. Meir Schwartz appears in Nachalat Tzvi (XVI, pp. 126-127), where it is related that when the Divrei Yoel of Satmar came to Eretz Israel, he went specially to view that amulet and took pleasure in it. Similar amulets were later given by the rebbes of Sanz, Belz, Ruzhin, Sighet and Liska. Likewise, R. Hillel of Kolomyia, in his book Teshuvot Beit Hillel HeChadash (section 32) recommends placing this amulet at every entrance of a new house for a period of time, to protect the household members from harm.

77X20 mm. Mounted on card, 98X40 mm. Good condition. Ink slightly faded and cracked.

Letter handwritten and signed by Rebbe Aharon Rokeach of Belz. [Belz, ca. fall 1927].
Letter on public affairs sent to his relative in Vienna, Rebbe Yisrael Friedman of Chortkov. Most of the letter is in scribal writing, in the margins of which the Rebbe concludes in his handwriting (about two and a half lines in a different ink): "the words of his relative who writes for the strengthening of the holy Torah and seeks the welfare of his holy excellency with love, Aharon of Belz".
The main text of the letter deals with the need for the Orthodox community to organize for the elections to the Polish community councils, and the Rebbe calls for an assembly of rabbis on the topic.
"With the help of God, Belz.
Much blessing and all good forever to my relative… R. Yisrael.
After seeking the welfare of his holy excellency, his letter reached me. Now as to elections for the communities, while some see some good sides, there are other matters in the decree that relate to the very destruction of Torah religion, God forbid, such as the questions for electing rabbis, and more. Therefore, we are compelled to have an assembly of rabbis in order to come up with a plan for this. And there is a good chance that an organization of rabbis could facilitate acting for the good of our fellow Jews in all matters. Therefore, we ask of my relative to please, for the sake of Torah religion, write to our fellow rabbis to gather on a specific date together with us, and to join us in one group. And due to the great urgency of the matters, it is necessary for his holy letter to be as soon as possible, and may God complete this for our good…".
The present letter, written early on in Rebbe Aharon Rokeach's tenure as Rebbe of Belz (succeeding his father who passed away in Cheshvan 1926), demonstrates the Belzer Rebbe's high status in the leadership of Orthodox Jewry in Poland. R. Aharon addresses the Rebbe of Chortkov, who was one of the greatest Orthodox leaders and president of the Moetzet Gedolei HaTorah, and expresses a clear, new opinion about the law instating elections for the Jewish community councils, directs his attention to the concerns involved in the new law, and calls for an assembly of rabbis for communal preparation for these elections.
Background to the Letter
After World War I, the Polish government offered their country's Jews an option to establish official, organized communities (a right that they had been deprived of by the Russian tsar in 1844). The decree to establish the communities was made by the Polish government in the years 1927-1928, and people across the cities began to prepare for the elections for leadership of communities. While the Jewish public initially rejoiced, the Rebbe of Belz penetratingly noticed the danger of the destruction of the rabbinic office and observance of religion which was liable to arise from giving the various parties the power of leading the communities.

Rebbe Aharon Rokeach of Belz (1880-1957) was renowned as a miracle worker and a holy man, earning the epithet "Aharon, the holy one of God". A foremost rebbe and leader of European Jewry before the Holocaust, he also rebuilt Torah and Chassidut after the war. He was the son of Rebbe Yissachar Dov (Maharid) of Belz and grandson of Rebbe Yehoshua of Belz. From a young age, he was known for his great holiness and toil in Torah and Chassidut, together with his outstanding asceticism. He earned the reputation of a wonderworker benefiting from Divine Inspiration, and he encouraged the tens of thousands of Jews who flocked his court to seek blessings, advice and salvation.
He was appointed rebbe of the Belz Chassidut in 1927 and became one of the foremost leaders of Eastern European Jewry. As a worldwide Jewish leader, he was especially targeted by the Nazis during the Holocaust. His followers smuggled him from ghetto to ghetto, until he miraculously managed to escape to Budapest, Hungary, where he remained for a short period, until the Nazis demanded his extradition. From there he was smuggled to Eretz Israel on a difficult journey that spanned Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey and Syria. His wife, children, grandchildren and entire extended family were killed by the Nazis, and he arrived in Eretz Israel accompanied only by his brother, R. Mordechai of Biłgoraj (who also lost his entire family, his only remnant being his son, Rebbe Yissachar Dov, current Belzer Rebbe, born of his second marriage in Eretz Israel). Rebbe Aharon of Belz settled in Tel Aviv, where he worked to encourage the survivors. Together with his brother R. Mordechai of Biłgoraj, he reestablished Belz Chassidut institutions in Eretz Israel and around the world – in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Bnei Brak and elsewhere.

The recipient of the letter, Rebbe Yisrael Friedman of Chortkov (1854-1933), prominent leader of Orthodox Jewry in the generation preceding the Holocaust. He was a founder of Agudat Yisrael and president of Moetzet Gedolei HaTorah. Son of R. David Moshe of Chortkov and son-in-law of R. Avraham Yaakov of Sadigura (sons of Rebbe Yisrael of Ruzhin), he was an important Ruzhin rebbe. In World War I his court in Chortkov, Galicia was destroyed, and he moved to Vienna. His thousands of followers included many Torah leaders such as R. Meir Shapiro of Lublin (who founded the Chachmei Lublin yeshiva at his behest), R. Meir Arik and R. Avraham Menachem Steinberg of Brody.

One leaf, approx. 22 cm. Good condition. Stains and folds.

This letter was published (with a photocopy) in Heichal HaBesht (XI, Tamuz 2005, pp. 77-78), based on the present item, which was previously in the possession of R. Mordechai Harlig, attendant of the Rebbe of Chortkov.
Handwritten letters by Rebbe Aharon of Belz are exceptionally Rare. The present letter is especially unique in that he adds more than two lines of his handwriting, in addition to the important content documenting his involvement and lofty status in leading Orthodox Jewry in Poland (on the assembly of rabbis initiated by the Rebbe of Belz in 1928, see further: Admorei Belz, IV, pp. 225-226).

Invitation from R. Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson, the Rebbe Rayatz of Lubavitch, to the wedding of his daughter Rebbetzin Chayah Mushka and the bridegroom R. Menachem Mendel Schneerson (later the Lubavitcher Rebbe). Riga: Splendid, [1928]. Printed invitation, in purple ink.

The wedding of R. Menachem Mendel Schneerson, eldest son of R. Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, Rabbi of Yekaterinoslav (Dnipro), with Rebbetzin Chayah Mushka, second daughter of the Rebbe Rayatz of Lubavitch, was held in the courtyard of the Tomchei Temimim yeshiva in Warsaw, Poland, on 14th Kislev 1928. The bride's father, the Rebbe Rayatz, sent out fourteen different invitations. The invitations differed from each other in form, style and content, corresponding to different types of guests and different places of residence. An additional invitation was printed by the bride's mother, Rebbetzin Nechamah Dinah, and sent only to her friends and acquaintances; another invitation was sent by the bridegroom's parents, R. Levi Yitzchak Schneerson and his wife Rebbetzin Chanah, who were unable to attend their son's wedding in Warsaw and celebrated in Yekaterinoslav.
The present item is a rare invitation sent to Chabad Chassidim who were unable to attend the wedding. For their sake the Rebbe Rayatz added the request in the third paragraph: "Let them rejoice together with us even from afar". At the bottom of the invitation is printed an address for sending telegrams to the Rebbe Rayatz in Warsaw.

[1] leaf. 24 cm. Fair-good condition. Folding marks and creases. Dark stains. Open tears (coarse tear to upper part of leaf, slightly affecting the word at the top of the invitation: "With the help of G-d").
Rare. This invitation has never been offered for auction.

Tosefot Bikurim, commentary on Tosefta by R. Menachem Nachum of Chavusy. Shklow: Tzvi Hirsch son of Meir HaLevi, Yitzchak son of Shmuel Zanvil Segal and Yitzchak son of Shmuel, [1809]. First edition.
Copy of R. Levi Yitzchak Schneersohn (son of R. Baruch Shalom son of the Tzemach Tzedek; great-grandfather of the Lubavitcher Rebbe) – his signature on the title page: "Levi Yitzchak son of my father and master R. Baruch Shalom Schneersohn", with a blessing for the living following his father's name. This signature of R. Levi Yitzchak is from his youth, before the passing of his father R. Baruch Shalom in 1869. To the best of our knowledge, this signature of his is the only one that has survived to the present day, and no other signature of his is known (in the Chabad-Lubavitch Library there is a wax seal with a partial ownership inscription attributed to him: "[Levi Yi]tzchak son of… R. Baruch Shal[om] Schneer[sohn]").
On the endpapers are additional ownership inscriptions: "Belongs to… R. Baruch son of R. Alexander Ziskind of Yanavichy"; "In honor of… R. Chaim Aryeh Leib". Stamp: "Moshe Loeb – Elshanske".

R. Levi Yitzchak Schneersohn (1834-1877), eldest son of R. Baruch Shalom Schneersohn, eldest son of the Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch. Originally served as rabbi and posek in Paddabranka (Mogilev governorate), and at the end of his life he was appointed Rabbi of Beshankovichy (Vitebsk governorate). After the passing of the Tzemach Tzedek (1866), R. Baruch Shalom was the only of his sons who did not take a leadership role, instead becoming a follower of his younger brother R. Shmuel, the Rebbe Maharash of Lubavitch. Like his father, R. Levi Yitzchak of Paddabranka followed his uncle the Maharash, as did his sons and descendants. In the writings of his son, R. Baruch Shalom, he cites practices he saw, and teachings heard by R. Levi Yitzchak from his grandfather the Tzemach Tzedek (Reshimot HaRabash, pp. 33, 70). It is there told how he once sat and sang a tune in a Shabbat meal by his uncle, the Rebbe Maharash of Lubavitch: "…how my father and master was a great singer and prayer, with wondrous loftiness, and that once on Shabbat by… the Rebbe Maharash, he asked him to sing during the meal, and he sang the prayer 'Meloch Al Kol HaOlam Kulo'…" (ibid., p. 120).
R. Levi Yitzchak of Paddabranka left three sons: R. Avraham, R. Menachem Mendel of Revka and R. Baruch Shneur Zalman (the Rabash) – father of R. Levi Yitzchak Schneersohn, Rabbi of Yekaterinoslav (Dnipropetrovsk), father of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. His works in Torah and halachah remain in manuscript. A responsum from him regarding the laws of kashrut is printed in the anthology Yagdil Torah (issue 4; New York, 1978, pp. 181).
Note that R. Levi Yitzchak of Paddabranka passed away young, and the information on him is meager and imprecise. In Nachalat Avot by R. Levi Ovchinski (Part I, 34), the biographical information about him is somewhat different: "The great R. Levi Yitzchak son of the Tzaddik R. Baruch Shalom son of the Rebbe author of Tzemach Tzedek – expert rabbi, saintly and ascetic… was rabbi and posek in Velizh, after which he left rabbinical posts. Died in 1872 around the age of 38".

[3], 52, 55-80 leaves. 34 cm. Fair condition. Stains and wear. Tears and worming, affecting text. Margins of some leaves reinforced with paper. Inscriptions. Stamp. Detached endpapers. Old binding, damaged and worn; partially detached and missing spine.

Knesset HaGedolah on Tur Even HaEzer, by R. Chaim Benveniste. Izmir: Yonah Ashkenazi and David Chazan, [1731]. First edition.
Copy of R. Yechezkel Landau, Rabbi of Prague, author of Noda BiYehudah, with his signature, and inscriptions by his son and sons-in-law.
On the front endpaper is an ownership inscription handwritten by the son of the Noda BiYehudah: "Belongs to my beloved father, teacher and master, the famed Gaon, rabbi of all the diaspora, R. Yechezkel Segal Landau, Rabbi of Prague". Another ownership inscription is dated 1782.
Additional inscriptions on this leaf, handwritten by the son-in-law of the Noda BiYehudah – R. Yom Tov Wehly of Prague. One in Hebrew: "Belongs to my father-in-law, my master and teacher, the famed Gaon… R. Yechezkel Segal Landau, Rabbi of Prague – Yom Tov son of R. Efraim Wehly, Thursday, 13th Elul 1782". Another in German, from the same year, signed: "Jentoff Ephr. Wehly".
On the back endpaper are several inscriptions in German attesting that the book belongs to the Chief Rabbi of Prague R. Yechezkel Landau. Two of them are signed by Joseph Landau – apparently, this is the Noda BiYehudah's second son-in-law, R. Yosef Landau, Rabbi of Posen, known as "Yosef HaTzaddik".
In the center of the title page is a signature: the name "Yechezkel" encoded in the Atbash cipher. Apparently, this signature is in the handwriting of the Noda BiYehudah.
Additional inscriptions, at the top of the title page: "From R. Hirsch Shidlov" (possibly R. Tzvi Hirsch Shidlov, publisher of Ateret Eliyahu, by his father R. Eliyahu Shidlov, Fürth, 1776); "A book of R. Yaakov Pisling, given to me by his dear, excellent son R. Yehudah – Yechiel Michel Sachs, [1862], when I was in Prague" (the rabbi and scholar Dr. Michael Sachs, Rabbi in Prague and Berlin, d. 1864; R. Yaakov Pisling, a Torah scholar in Prague, mentioned in Responsa Shivat Tzion by R. Shmuel Landau, section 16: "and my mechutan the excellent… R. Yaakov Pisling alerted me to this…").

R. Yechezkel HaLevi Landau (1713-1793) was a leading Halachic authority of all times. From a young age, he was renowned as a leading Torah scholar of his generation. He studied for 17 years in the celebrated Kloiz of leading Brody Torah scholars, renowned in the revealed and hidden portions of the Torah, including R. Chaim Sanzer and R. Gershon of Kitov (brother-in-law of the Baal Shem Tov). During those years, he studied the Arizal's writings together with R. Chaim Sanzer, a leading scholar in the Kloiz.
In Brody he served for 10 years as Head of one Beit Din of the four that were there. In ca. 1745, he went to serve as Rabbi of Jampol, and in 1754, he began serving as Rabbi of Prague and the region.

In Prague, he established a large yeshiva, where he educated thousands of disciples, including many of the leaders of that generation (his disciple R. Elazar Fleckeles, author of Teshuvah MeAhavah, eulogized him: "He edified several thousands of disciples, including hundreds of rabbis and dayanim"; Olat HaChodesh HaShlishi, 17, p. 85a).

Thousands of queries were addressed to him from far-flung places, many of them published in his Noda BiYehudah.
The Chida in Shem HaGedolim greatly praises the book Noda BiYehudah as well as its author, describing him as an exceptionally outstanding Torah scholar who disseminated much Torah through his books and disciples, and mentions the acuity and extensive Torah wisdom apparent in his responsa and books. The Noda BiYehudah himself wrote in a responsum regarding one of his novellae, that in his opinion it is "a true matter in the Torah of Moshe" (Even HaEzer, Mahadura Tinyana, section 23, 2). The Chatam Sofer writes of this responsum in one of his responsa (Part II, Even HaEzer, section 95): "The word of G-d in his mouth is true".

[2], 220 leaves. 30 cm. Fair condition. Stains. Much worming, affecting text, partially repaired with tape. Stamps. New binding, with two fabric bookmarks.

Provenance: Estate of Prof. Ephraim Elimelech Urbach.