Auction 46 - Judaica - Books, Manuscripts, Rabbinical Letters, Ceremonial Art

the First Siddur Printed in Jerusalem – Siddur Tefillat Yisrael, Jerusalem 1842

Opening: $700
Unsold
Siddur Tefillat Yisrael, Sephardic tradition. With laws, piyyutim and bakashot. Jerusalem, 1842. Printed by Rabbi Yisrael Back. Noted on the title page of the siddur is its holiness and virtue, being printed in the Holy City of Jerusalem, and "all who performed the holy task (of printing the siddur) were of the Jewish people".
Includes many approbations of Sephardi sages of Jerusalem, Sefad, Tiberias and Hebron, and approbations by Ashkenazi sages of Jerusalem [Rebbe Aharon Moshe of Brod, Rabbi Yeshaya Bardaki son-in-law of Rabbi Yisrael of Shklow and Rabbi Moshe Rivlin "Doresh L'Zion, the Magid of Shklow]. Included in the approbation by Jerusalem rabbis is an approbation to grant Rabbi Yisrael Back exclusive rights to print books in Jerusalem. In the introduction, the printer recounts his travails in the city of Safed: "After all the bad experiences that befell me, pestilence, sword, and hunger…a great earthquake…I was forced to ascend to the 'mountain' and I have fixed my dwelling here…Jerusalem". He thanks Yosef Amzalag "who assisted me in printing the siddur'.
151 leaves. (Leaf 29 is missing and replaced with a photocopy. Leaf 152, with the chart for the years 1853-1856, is also missing). 14 cm. Varied condition, comprised of two different copies, one is damaged with dark leaves. the second has light-colored high-quality leaves, stains and worming. Many professional restorations. New binding.
the fourth Hebrew book printed in Jerusalem, see S. HaLevi, M'Sifrei Yerushalayim HaRishonim, no. 4.
Siddurim and Prayer Books
Siddurim and Prayer Books