Showing posts with label Jewish Travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jewish Travel. Show all posts

Sunday, June 17, 2018

Jews in China and Chinese Jews

                The Jewish and Chinese peoples are the oldest continuous civilizations. Given the long records of these two civilizations the infrequency of their concurrence and the slightness of the record of their contacts makes the discussion of their relations somewhat exotic. These discussions have take place in many languages. One of the items listed below catalogs many of the older contributions, that is The Sino-Judaic Bibliographies of Rudolf Loewenthal. These three separate works include a variety of extremely difficult to acquire volumes. While the list of items cataloged below includes only one item that appears in those bibliographies the items that we offer do present a variety of types of treatments and sources.

Bloch, Samson, ha-Levi. Sh'vile 'olam. Sefer Kolel. Tekunot kol artsot tevel le-mahlekotehen ... Zolkiew, Bey Meyerhoffer, 1822. Duodecimo, black cloth covered boards, xxii, 252 pp., mild water-staining. Hardbound. Good. Text is in Hebrew. This is the volume that deals with Asia. With eulogies/ dedications by J. Landau, J. Eichenbaum, and Aharon Lerner. Lerner's contribution is in poetic form.
                                                          "In 1812 Bloch was called to Vienna to fill the place of corrector in the Hebrew printing-establishment of Anton Schmid, made vacant by the death of the grammarian Ben Ze'eb. There he translated into Hebrew Manasseh b. Israel's "Vindiciæ Judæorum" from the German translation of it by Dr. Marcus Herz, and published it with an introduction and a biographical sketch of the author (Vienna, 1813). He was compelled by family affairs to return to Kulikow, and, after several years of continual struggle with poverty, he listened to the advice of his friends Krochmal and Rapoport, and took up the writing of Hebrew books as a profession. In 1822 appeared the first volume of his important work, "Shebile 'Olam" (Paths of the World), a description of the geography and the nations of Asia (Zolkiev). It still has a literary if not a scientific value on account of its incomparable style and of the attacks on the folly and superstition of the Eastern nations contained therein, which were really intended for fools and deluded people nearer home. The second volume (Africa) is even better than the first, and is interspersed with biographies of Alfasi, Maimonides, and other famous Jews who were born or lived in Africa (Zolkiev, 1827)." Jewish Encyclopedia. (83580)     $180.00

Dehergne, Joseph and Leslie, Donald Daniel. Juifs de Chine: A Travers la Correspondance Inedite des Jesuites du Dix-Huitieme Siecle. Bibliotheca Instituti Historici S.I., Volumen XLI. Rome and Paris, Institutum Historicum S.I. and Les Belles Lettres, 1980. First Edition. Octavo, blue cloth with gold lettering, xiv, 252 pp., tables, bibliography, Hebrew glossary, glossa of Chinese terms and names, indexes, xi b/w plates. Hardbound. Very Good. In French. Preface by Jacques Gernet. Michael Pollak's copy.
                                                            Dehergne was ordained as priest in Paris in 1934 and departed for China in 1936. His primary study was of the history of Christians and of Jesuit Missions and Missionaries in China. He was able to remain in China until 1951 when he was expelled by the Chinese communists. He was the co-founder of the Colloque Internationale de Sinologie, at Chantilly.  (67108)      $45.00

Dehergne, Joseph and Leslie, Donald Daniel. Juifs de Chine: A Travers la Correspondance Inedite des Jesuites du Dix-Huitieme Siecle. Bibliotheca Instituti Historici S.I., Volumen XLI. Rome and Paris, Institutum Historicum S.I. and Les Belles Lettres, 1984. Second Edition. Octavo, paper covers with minor bumping to the bottom open corner, xiv, 252 pp., tables, bibliography, Hebrew glossary, glossary of Chinese terms and names, indexes, xi b/w plates.  Softbound. Very Good-. In French. Preface by Jacques Gernet. Michael Pollak's copy. (67109)      $40.00

   Drage, Charles. The Life and Times of General Two-Gun Cohen. New York, Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1954. Octavo in edgeworn dust jacket with a few short tears and with wear at the base of the spine, frontispiece photo, viii, 312 pp., b/w photos, with a few small ink stamps. Hardbound. Good.  
                                                       Moishe "Morris" Cohen, was born to a poor family in Radzanów, Poland. While he was still young the family emigrated to the London's East End. He was educated, but was no Yeshiva Bokher. He got in enough trouble on the streets that he was shipped off to Western Canada with the support of Baron Rothschild's Jewish agricultural colonization effort. He lived in Saskatchewan and Alberta. His sense of decency impaired his racism. When he saw a Chinese restaurateur being robbed he stepped in and thrashed the robber. This ingratiated him the Chinese workers in Western Canada. He was invited into the Chinese Nationalist movement in exile in Canada and trained them to drill and in basic gunnery. He fought in the first World War leading Chinese immigrant troops. Back in Canada after World War One and aimless he took the opportunity to travel to China and began working as an aide-de-camp for Sun Yat-sen himself. It was in that capacity that he finally came by his nickname. He worked with Sun until his death in 1925 and remained in China organizing railway development and arming various factions. He rescued Sun's widow, Soong Ching-ling, just ahead of the fall of Hong Kong to the Japanese. He was captured and treated very roughly. He was released in 1943 in a prisoner exchange. This was the end of the effective era of Cohen's live. He returned to Canada and settled in Montreal. Despite that, he remained a rover. Because of his association with Sun Yat-sen he was a rare figure, able to travel and be welcomed in the PRC and in Taiwan. It may be that his personal involvement caused the Chinese (Nationalist) government changed their opposition to partition of Palestine to an abstention. 
                                                      Cohen's legend is full of fabrications of his own and of other's but the bare bones truth of his life is one of the great adventure stories of a rough and tumble Jewish life. This volume will stand proudly on the shelf with Abe "Newsboy" Hollandersky's memoir. Wikipedia has more or if you are really interested you could always buy the damn book.   (54140)     $18.00

Eber, Irene. Sinim ve-Yehudim: Mifgashim beyn Tarbuyot/ Chinese and Jews: Encounters between Cultures. Jesusalem, Bialik Institute, 2002. Octavo in dust jacket, 205 pp., b/w illustrations, bibliography, indicis. Very Good. Translated into Hebrew by Yossi Malvo.
                                                          Eber is the leading Israeli Sinologist.  (18592)      $20.00
                              
Falbaum, Berl, compiled and edited by. Shanghai Remembered: Stories of Jews Who Escaped to Shanghai from Nazi Europe. Royal Oak, Michigan, Momentum Books L.L.C., 2005. ISBN: 1-879094-73-8. Octavo in dust jacket, x, 229 pp., b/w photos. Hardbound. Very Good.  
                                                             A collection of twenty-three accounts of life from Holocaust survivors who transited through Shanghai. (74519)      $18.00

Gerstley, James M. China Diary (China Visit, March 9th - 29th, 1976). Woodside, California, The Author, April, 9, 1976. Quarto, paper covers in a plastic fronted report binder, 44 single-sided pp. Softbound. Very Good. An early travel account from China as it began to re-open to the west at the end of the Mao era. Unpublished.
                                                                   English-born Gerstley married into the Jewish establishment of San Francisco. His fortune was made in the Borax industry. His Twenty Mule Team Borax is well known from their advertisements on the program Death Valley Days. After his retirement he devoted himself to philanthropic causes. One of the primary causes for him was the Asian Art collection at the De Young Museum. He made a donation that allowed the Museum to retain control of the Avery Brundage collection and he continued to support the development of that collection. It is probably in this role that the visit to China documented her was taken. (81172)      $40.00

Goldstein, Jonathan, edited and with an Introduction by. The Jews of China. Volume One: Historical and Comparative Perspectives. Armonk, New York, M.E. Sharpe, 1999. ISBN: 0-7656-0104-4. Octavo, glossy paper covers, xxiv, 308 pp. Softbound. Very Good. Concluding Essay by Benjamin I. Schwartz. Articles are "The Synagogue at Kaifeng: Sino-Judaic Architecture of the Diaspora," Nancy Shatzman Steinhardt, "Kaifeng Jews: The Sinification of Identity," Irene Eber, "The Confucianization of the Kaifeng Jews: Interpretations of the Kaifeng Stelae Inscriptions," Andrew H. Plaks, "The Revelation of a Jeish Presence in Seventeenth-Century China: Its Impact on Western Messinic Thought," Michael Pollak, "Memories of Kaifeng's Jewish Descendants today: Historical Significance in Light of Observations by Westerners Since 1605," Wendy R. Abraham, "The Kaifeng Jews and India's Bene Israel: Different Paths," Shirley Barry Isenberg, "Cochin Jews and Kaifeng Jews: reflections on Caste, Surname, 'Community,' and Conversion," Barbara C. Johnson,"The Judaism of Kaifeng and Cochin: Parallels and Divergences,"Nathan Katz, "Baghdadi Jews in India and China in  the Nineteenth Century: A Comparison of Economic Roles," Joan G. Roland, "The Shanghai-Nagasaki Judaic Connection, 1859-1924," Lane Earns, "Environmental Interactions of the Jews of Hong Kong," Dennis A. Leventhal, "The Construction of the Chinese Eastern Railway and the Origins of the Harbin Jewish Community, 1898-1931," Zvia Shickman-Bowman, "Harbin's Jewish Community, 1898-1958: Politics, Prosperity, and Adversity," Boris Bresler, "Silas Aaron Hardoon and Cross-Cultural Adaptation in Shanghai," Xu Buzeng, "Jewish Musicians in Shanghai: Bridging Two Cultures," Harriet P. Rosenson, "The Shanghai Zionist Association and the International Politics of East Asia Until 1936," Maruyama Naoki, "Zionism and Zionist-Revisionism in Shanghai, 1937-1949," Pan Guang, "Who Can See a Miracle? The Language of Jewish Memory in Shanghai," Vera Schwarcz. (63581)      $40.00

Guang, Pan, editor in chief. The Jews in Shanghai. Shanghai, Shanghai Pictorial Publishing House, 2005. New Updated Edition. ISBN: 7806855025. Quarto, glossy paper covers with flaps, xiv, 150 pp., b/w photos, bibliography. Softbound. Very Good. Text is in English and Chinese.
                                                                    A Chinese view of the Jewish presence in Shanghai. (83642)      $29.95

Heppner, Ernest G. Shanghai Refuge: A Memoir of the World War II Jewish Ghetto. Lincoln, University of Nebraska Press, 1993. First Edition. ISBN: 0-8032-2368-4. Octavo in dust jacket, xx, 191 pp., map, b/w photos, notes, bibliography, index. Hardbound. Very Good. 
                                                              Survival in wartime Shanghai for the newly arriving Jewish refugees was a challenging but rich experience. This is a particularly well written memoir of that time. (20574)      $25.00

Heppner, Ernest G. Shanghai Refuge: A Memoir of the World War II Jewish Ghetto. Lincoln, University of Nebraska Press, 1993. ISBN: 0-8032-7281-2. Octavo, paper covers, xx, 191 pp., map, b/w photos, notes, bibliography, index. Softbound. Very Good.  (26102)      $5.95

Kublin, Hyman, compiled with Preface and Introductions by. Jews in Old China: Some Western Jews. New York, Paragon Book Reprint Corp., 1971. Octavo, blue cloth with gold lettering, xxii, 211 pp., b/w drawings, 212-295 pp., fold-out map, b/w photos, chronology, minor wear. Red Chinese chop mark on the free front endpaper (possibly Michael Pollak's) Hardbound. Very Good-. Articles are "The Jews in China: Their Synagogue, Their Scriptures, Their History," James Finn, Chinese Jews; a Lecture," Marcus N. Adler, "The History of the Jews in China," S.M. Perlmann, "Chinese Jews," Edward I. Ezra and Arthur Sopher. (67107)      $95.00

Kublin, Hyman, compiled with Preface and Introductions by. Studies of the Chinese Jews: Selections from Journals East and West. New York, Paragon Book Reprint Corp., 1971. Octavo, blue cloth with gold lettering, x, 218 pp., minor wear. Red Chinese chop mark on the free front endpaper (possibly Michael Pollak's) Hardbound. Very Good-. Articles are "The K'aifeng Jews: a Disappearing Community," Lawrence Kramer, "An Early Judaeo-Persian Document from Khotan in the Stein Collection, with Other Early Persian Documents," David S. Margoliouth, "The Nomenclature of Jews in China," Rudolph Loewenthal, "Notes on the Chinese Jews of Kaifeng," Chaoying Fang, "Le Juif Ngai, Informateur du P. Mathieu Ricci," Paul Pelliot, "The K'aifeng Jew Chao Ying-ch'eng and His Family," Donald Leslie, "Jews in China," Adolph Neubauer, "A Chinese-Hebrew Manuscript: a New Source for the History of the Chinese Jews," Berthold Laufer, "The Simson-Hirsch Letter to the Chinese Jews, 1795," Samuel Sokobin, "The Kaifeng Jewish Community: A Summary," Donald Leslie. Appendices are I. Some major reviews of White's 'The Chinese Jews.' II. Father Ricci's Meeting with a Chinese Jew. III. Chang Hsiang-wen's Visit to Kaifeng in 1910. (67106)      $95.00

Moravia, Alberto. Masa Ba-Sin Ha-Adomah/ La Revoluzione Cultarale in Cina. Tel Aviv, Hotsaat Am Oved, 1971. Duodecimo, paper covers, 159 pp. Softbound. Very Good. Translated into Hebrew by Ahuvia Malkhin from the original Italian
                                                    The Hebrew publishing industry has had to turn to foreign authors to sate local interest in international affairs. This and the Harrison Salisbury title below are characteristic of such imports. (25205)      $15.00

Pollak, Michael, edited by. The Sino-Judaic Bibliographies of Rudolf Loewenthal. Cincinnati & Menlo Park, Hebrew Union College Press in association with The Sino-Judaic Institute, 1988. ISBN: 0-87820-910-7. Octavo, mildly soiled paper covers, xiv, 208 pp., index. Softbound. Very Good. Bibliographica Judaica 12.
                                                   An essential bibliography for the study of Jewish history in China in the era before the Twentieth Century. A bibliography of materials that are all difficult to come by. (77092)     $18.00

Salisbury, Harrison. Ba-Ma'aglot Sin: Nokhe'ah Sin Ha-Adama. Israel, Tsavah Hagana Le-Yisrael, Hotsaat Ma'arakhot, 1968. Octavo in dust jacket, 202 pp., index. Hardbound. Very Good. Translated into Hebrew by Arnon Ben-Nahum (24901)     $15.00

Shapiro, Sidney, translated, compiled and edited by. Jews in Old China: Studies by Chinese Scholars. New York, Hippocrene Books, 1984. ISBN: 0-88254-996-9. Octavo in edgeworn dust jacket with sunning to the spine, xx, 204 pp., b/w illustrations, Chronological Table of Chinese Dynasties, bibliography, index. Review copy slip pasted to the free front endpaper. Hardbound. Very Good -. Articles are "A Survey of the Various Religious Sects During the Yuan Dynasty," Hong Jun, "Contacts Between Ancient China and the Jews," Zhang Xinglang, "A Study of Wotuo," Weng Tu-Chien, "A Study of the Israelite Religion in Kaifeng, 1920, revised 1980," Chen Yuan, "Jews in Ancient China - A Historical Survey, 1953, revised 1983," Glimpses of the Urban Economy of Bianjing, Capital of the Northern Song Dynasty," Jaiang Qingxiang and Xiao Guoliang, "Concerning Chinese Jews," Gao Wangzhi, "An San and An Cheng," Li Jixian, "Buddhist Monk or Jewish Rabbi?" Chen Changqi, "Jewish Traces in Yangzhou," Zhu Jiang, "Some Observations on the Jews of Kaifeng," Xu Zongshe, "An Ethnic historian Looks at China's Jews," Wu Zelin, "The Descendants of the Kaifeng Jews," Wang Yisha.
                                                            Shapiro was a New York Jew who became a Chinese citizen. He was taught Chinese by the US military who planned to deploy him in China to fight against the Japanese, but the war went a different way. He didn't arrive until 1947 and in a development that the Army had not anticipated he essentially went native and joined the Communist side. He stayed in the PRC for most of the rest of his life and held a post within the state cultural apparatus. He was a literary translator for the most part, but did but together this collection of articles from scholars active during his time in China who he probably knew personally. It is another strong companion to Kubler's anthologies.    (67113)      $9.95

Schwarcz, Vera. Bridge Across Broken Time: Chinese and Jewish Cultural Memory. New Haven, CT, Yale University Press, 1998. ISBN: 0-300-06614-7. Octavo in dust jacket, xiv, 232 pp., a few b/w illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. Hardbound. Very Good.
                                                            An excellent comparison of the memory and lingering suffering brought about by the Holocaust and the Chinese Cultural Revolution.  (19378)      $10.00


Sokobin, Sam. Three short articles on Jews in China and Amsterdam issued by the author as keepsakes: "Knee Breeches and Tricorns," "A China-London Jewish Literary Mystery," "Strangers in a Strange Land." [Oakland, Califonia?], The author, 1980s?. Small quartos with various different folds. Softbound. Very Good.  (74911). $10.00

White, William Charles. Chinese Jews: A Compilation of Matters Relating to the Jews of Kai-feng Fu. Toronto, Canada, University of Toronto Press, 1966. Second Edition. Royal octavo in dust jacket with a one short tear, xii, 228 pp., maps, b/w illustrations, documentary indexes and lists of names, index, addenda et corrigenda. Hardbound. Very Good. 
                                                                Long the standard single work on Jews in Old China.
(11170)      $49.95



Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Lemberg/ Lvov Hebrew Imprints

Lvov/ Lemberg Imprints

              In 1772 the commonwealth of Poland and Lithuania lost its independence and was partitioned into territories of the Russian, Prussian and Austrian empires. Galicia became a province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In order to consolidate their censorship regime they consolidated publishing. Zolkiew's publishers were forced to move their operations to Lvov. Despite this benefit to the Hebrew publishing business the partition otherwise was not particularly helpful for the general business climate. Things did improve in time. 
             Lvov did not attract any of the leaders of the Hasidic movement for more than a few short stays. The movement did not catch on until the 1830s.The Maskilim made inroads into the tradtional community in that same period, though Zeev Gries sees the limited number of editions of the Maskilic titles as evidence of slim interest in their project. A Reform Temple opened in 1844. The government supported the Reform movement, but resistance was fierce and unpleasant. 
            Printers active in Lemberg in the late 18th and early 19th centuries include W. Letteris, H.D. Madpis, M.H. Grossman and Madpis's granddaughter Judith Mann-Rosanes. Nevertheless, Anton Schmid's highly successful Vienna based Hebrew publishing house put a ceiling on the success of the Lvov printers.

Bahya ben Asher ben Hlava. Sefer Rabenu Bahya: Beur a´l ha-Torah. Lemberg, Naftali Hirts Grosman, 1811/2. Duodecimo, re-backed in hand-painted paper covered boards, 209 leaves [418 pp.], water-staining at the bottom edge of the last few leaves, some nineteenth-century pen on the front endpaper and title-page. Hardbound. Good. Text is in Hebrew. (83788)     $125.00

Binyamin Ze'ev Wolf ben Shemu'el Romaner. Sefer Ir Binyamin: asher banah homat ha-ir u-migdaleha ve-amudim pesah le-bayit bet Yisra'el helek  sheni ... Binyamin Ze'ev Wolf ben Shemu'el Romaner; Gottschalk, Michael (Frankfurt a.O.). Frankfurt an der Oder , 1698. Quarto, vellum spine with remnants of a paper label, marbled paper covered boards with major loss to the paper covers, lacking the free front endpaper, strongly illustrated Tur [title-page], 60 leaves [120 pp.], lacking the rear endpaper, some soiling to the pastedown endpapers. Hardbound. Good. Text is in Hebrew. (83794)     $295.00

Bloch, Samson , ha-Levi. Zahav she-bah: ve-hu helek shelishi me-sefer Shevile 'olam; kolel mehkere erets Portugal ve-Shpanya u-tekhunat adamatah ve-korotah ... Lvov/ Lemberg, Gedruckt bei F. Grosman, 1855. Duodecimo, olive cloth spine with minor wear at the spine ends, worn paper label on the spine with title in hand-writing, mildly edgeworn marbled paper covers, iv, 104, 16, 48 pp. Hardbound. Very Good. Text is in Hebrew. This is as it states in the title, the third part of "Shevile Olam," meant to be a compendium of geography. "In 1822 appeared the first volume of his important work, "Shebile 'Olam" (Paths of the World), a description of the geography and the nations of Asia (Zolkiev). It still has a literary if not a scientific value on account of its incomparable style and of the attacks on the folly and superstition of the Eastern nations contained therein, which were really intended for fools and deluded people nearer home. The second volume (Africa) is even better than the first, and is interspersed with biographies of Alfasi, Maimonides, and other famous Jews who were born or lived in Africa (Zolkiev, 1827)." Jewish Encyclopedia. This third work is the only part of a larger project on Europe that the author planned and was a posthumous publication. A Haskalah work. (83562)      $195.00

Edil, Yehudah Leyb, ha-Levi. Sefer Afike Yehudah, ve-hu shem ha-kolel el ha-derushim asher be-zot ha-mahberet ... Lemberg, Bi-defus Aharon beha-manoah Hayim David Segal, 1828. Octavo, dried out brown leather spine with cracking and loss to the leather at the spine ends, edgeworn dull purplish paper covered boards, 135 leaves (270 pp.),  a completely new reset edition from preceding editions.  Hardbound. Fair. Text is in Hebrew. The first [posthumous publication of this first of two volumes of sermons published by the author. Edil was a student of the Vilna Gaon. He had a talent for homiletics and this collection has been reprinted a number of times since the author's death in 1827. The Jewish Encyclopedia claims that the second volume of Sermons was not published, but this is incorrect. (83558)     $95.00

Edil, Yehudah Leyb, ha-Levi. Sefer Afike Yehudah, ve-hu shem ha-kolel el ha-derushim asher be-zot ha-mahberet ... Lemberg, Bi-defus Aharon beha-manoah Hayim David Segal, 1828. Octavo, brown leather spine with cracking to the leather at the spine edges, most of hand-written paper label on the spine, edgeworn dull decorative paper covered boards, 135 leaves (270 pp.),  a completely new reset edition from preceding editions.  Hardbound. Good. Text is in Hebrew. The first [posthumous publication of this first of two volumes of sermons published by the author. Edil was a student of the Vilna Gaon. He had a talent for homiletics and this collection has been reprinted a number of times since the author's death in 1827. The Jewish Encyclopedia claims that the second volume of Sermons was not published, but this is incorrect. (83782)     $150.00

Gotlib, Dov Berish ben Ya'akov. Sefer Yad ha-ketanah : ... u-ve'uro ... Minhat ani, kolel shorshe ve-ikre dine 613 mitsvot al derekh ha-Rambam ... al ha-mada ve-ahavah u-zemanim. Lemberg, 1800. Royal octavo, brown leather spine with a large chip lacking at the base of the spine and another mid-spine, very roughly worn paper covered boards, 363 leaves (726 pp.). free front endpaper soiled and covered with snatches of many Hebraic hands, lacking the rear free endpaper. Hardbound. Fair. Text is in Hebrew. This is the first edition and although "Helek Rishon," is stated on the title page it was the only volume published. It appeared posthumously. The work was not reprinted again until 1856 though it does reappear from time to time. A work on Teshuvah with lessons that are still regularly studied. (83559)     $125.00

ibn Aldabi, Meir ben Isaac. Shevile emunah: gevurotav mi yemalel ... Lvov, 1801. Duodecimo, remnants of the brown leather spine, boards thoroughly worn with significant loss to the front board, 143 leaves [286 pp.], b/w figures, a few rumpled pages, two partially loose signatures, some old pen lines in the margins. Hardbound. Fair. Text is in Hebrew. A serviceable aged copy of an very interesting title. "Aldabi belonged to the class of popular writers who, possessing extensive theological and scientific knowledge, commented upon the assertions of their predecessors with a clear understanding, expressing here and there their own opinions, and presenting some subjects from the standpoint of the Cabala. Aldabi was also one of those Talmudists whose conception of religion was wholly spiritual and who revered the Cabala: he can not, however, be called a true cabalist. In 1360 he wrote "Shebile Emunah" (The Paths of Faith), an exhaustive treatise on philosophical, scientific, and theological subjects. To judge from the many editions that appeared from time to time, it was for centuries a favorite book with the educated."Shebile Emunah" is divided into ten chapters, which treat respectively of: (1) The existence of God, His attributes, His immateriality, unity, and immutability, which is not affected by prayer or even by miracles—introducing in each case a cabalistic discussion of the names of the Deity; (2) the creation of the world, which does not necessitate any change in God or any plurality in His nature; an explanation of the Biblical account being given, followed by a dissertation on the seven climates or zones of the earth as then conceived, the spheres, the stars, the sun and moon and their eclipses, and on meteorology; (3) human embryology and the generative functions; (4) human anatomy, physiology, and pathology; (5) rules for health and long life; (6) the soul and its functions; (7) the exaltation of the soul, which, through the fulfillment of the Law, becomes one with the Creator—the chapter being devoted chiefly to an explanation of the ethical value of the Mosaic commandments; (8) explanatory notes on the truth of the Law and of oral tradition, elucidating some of the Haggadot on the same lines as Solomon ben Adret; (9) reward and punishment, paradise and hell, immortality of the soul and its transmigration in man; (10) the redemption of Israel, the resurrection, and the world to come after resurrection; a general résumé of the book, followed by a poem." Jewish Encyclopedia. (83573)     $95.00

Kranz, Jacob ben Wolf [Dubner Maggid]. Sefer Ohel Ya'akov: al sefer Be-reshit derushim ... Lvov, [Israel ben Jacob Kranz?], 1850/51. Octavo, roughly worn brown leather spine, marbled paper covered boards with shelfwear and some edgewear, front board re-attached, 60, 27 leaves [120, 54 pp.], notes on the text. Hardbound. Good. Text is in Hebrew. Edited by Israel ben Jacob Kranz. This is the second edition of the first volume of the five that were ultimately published. By this point only Bereshit, Shemot and Vayika had had first editions. Bamidbar and Devarim appeared in 1866. (83577)     $90.00

Mohr, Abraham Menahem Mendel. Arugat ha-bosem: kolel divre hakhamim ve-hidotam, ha-mefuzarim al pene ha-Talmud Bavli vi-Yerushalmi u-midrashim, im be'ur ... Lemberg, Joseph Schnayder, 1848. Duodecimo, re-backed in hand-painted paper covered boards, 144 pp. Hardbound. Very Good. Text is in Hebrew. Mohr was a German philanthropist and civic leader. He passed away the year before this volume was published. He wrote a number of other books on travel in Europe and the Holy Land, European royalty as well as a Haggadah and a parody of Megillat Esther. (83786)      $150.00

Nissim ben Reuben Gerondi. Shenem Asar derashot. Lvov [Lemberg], Bi-defus Yehudit eshet ha-rav Tsevi Hirsh, 1797. Small octavo, half-brown leatherwith cracking and loss, marbled paper covered boards, 73 leaves [145 pp.] Hardbound. Good. Text is in Hebrew. "Nissim wrote a philosophical work containing twelve homilies ("derashot"), displaying in this small volume his familiarity with philosophy, especially with that of Maimonides and Ibn Ezra." Jewish Encyclopedia. Nissim was best known for his commentaries of Alfasi. (83783)     $250.00

Rashi and Alshikh, with commentary by. Sefer tehilim: nidpas mehdash be-khol yofi be-hagahah meduyeket veba- otiyot gadolot. Lemberg, Aharon Hayim David, 1826. Duodecimo, half brown leather, rough wear to the spine, front board lacks the marbled paper that remains on the rear board, title page chipped at the top open edge and repaired near the base with some loss of text, iii, 404 pp., soiling and with some pen and pencil to the endpaper of early vintage. Hardbound. Good-. Text is in vocalized Hebrew in clear large letters, commentaries are in smaller letter in Rashi script. (83581)     $150.00

Teomim, Aharon. Sefer Bigde Aharon: helek rishon: derushim ... Frankfurt am Main, Nidpas bay Yohan Kelner, 1710. Quarto, black cloth spine with gold lettering, some cracking along the edges at the ends, marbled paper covered boards, later free endpapers yellowed and cracking, title page reattached some time ago with slight loss to the detail of the sha'ar, 40, 21, 20, 15, 11 leaves [80, 42, 40, 30, 36 pp.] Hardbound. Good. Text is in Hebrew. Gotthard Deutsch who wrote the entry on Teomim for the Jewish Encyclopedia considered Teomim a mediocrity. He has not been as widely republished as some other figures of the era, but his work continues to be of enough interest to stimulate reissues. (83790)     $395.00

Sources

The Jewish Encyclopedia

Jewish Encyclopedia

Gries, Zeev. The Book in the Jewish World 1700-1900. Oxford. The Litman Library of Jewish Civilization, 2007.

Hundert, Gershon David, edited by. The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe. In Two Volumes. New Haven, Conn., Prepared for publication by the YIVO Institute for Jewish Studies for Yale University Press, 2008.

Sunday, May 7, 2017

Zolkiew Hebrew and Yiddish Imprints


        These items are available only through direct sale and are not listed on our website (http://www.hollanderbooks.com) at this time. Orders can be placed by email at boychik@hollanderbooks.com or phone number 415-831-3228.
 
Zolkiew's old synagogue.
             
                  Zolkiew, or Zhovkva in Yiddish was the one of the first places in Poland where Hebrew printing was done. In point of fact Lublin and Cracow  began printing 1530 and 1647 respectively  The first book printed in Zolkiew was in 1666, but printing there did not become established until the 1690s.  "In 1693 [Uri] Phoebus opened a printing-house at Zolkiev, and there printed calendars and ritual and Judæo-German works till 1705." JE. Phoebus had come to Poland from Amsterdam where he felt constrained by the competition among Hebrew printers. He returned to Amsterdam, but members of his family continued to print in Zolkiew for several generations.
                 The establishment of printing in Zolkiew in the early period had royal sanction "Due to restrictions imposed at the end of the 17th century by the Council of Four Lands on printers Hebrew books, for nearly 80 years, Zhovkva was the only centre of Jewish printing industry in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This changed only after the dissolution of the Council of Four Lands in 1764. The Zhovkva Jewish printing house was famous all over the world and the city became the third centre of Jewish printing in the country (after the previously closed printing houses in Lublin and Krakow). It published traditional religious literature, as well as disputes on the nature of the theology by authors submitting their works from different countries. Descendants of Uri Phoebus (with surnames: Madfes, Mann, Letteris, and Meirhoffer) owned the printing house until the end of the 18th century. The house of Uri Phoebus, where the printing press operated, is located at the market square (Vicheva Square 7)." http://shtetlroutes.eu/en/zhowkwa-putvnik/ (Site does not list sources, but is much more reliable than Jewish Virtual Library which is riddled with errors on Zolkiew printing.)
                The economic status of Zolkiew suffered under Austrian rule following the first partition of Poland in 1772. "The virtual monopoly that Żółkiew enjoyed with respect to Jewish printing in the course of the 1700s waned in the latter decades of that century. A printing operation appeared in Oleksinets in 1760. Hebrew printers, mainly with small firms, emerged in the 1780s in such places as Luts’k, Nowy Dwór, Lwów, Mezkorov, Szkłów, Poryck, and Grodno in addition to Korets. In the 1790s, Warsaw, Vilna, Dubno, Połonne, Slavuta, and Ostróg also became centers for printing." Ze'ev Gries in Yivo Encyclopedia - Printing and Publishing Before 1800 (This is a very well-sourced article.) Zolkiew remained an active site of publishing at least into the 1860s. 
              Important intellectual figures in Zolkiew in this period include Nachman Krochmal and Zvi Chayes. It was a Mitnagdim center though there was significant Hasidic activity in the areas around it. Though the quality of Hebrew printing is not considered to be as good as that the of the earlier era Zolkiew remained a distinctive Jewish entity and produced a significant body of work. It is lesser known now.

Adret, Solomon ben Abraham & Nahmanides. She'elot u-teshuvot ha-Rashba ha-meyuhasot leha-Ramban. Zolkiew, Defus Gershon ben Ze'ev Volf Segal, 1798. Octavo, broards very crudely recovered with now soiled rough blue cloth, 7, 77 leaves [14, 154 pp.] Hardbound. Good-. Adret also known as Rashba was a highly productive poskin from thirteenth century Barcelona. Text is in Hebrew. (83582)      $150.00

             Ashkenazi, Eliezer Elijah. Ma'ase ha-Shem: derushim .... Zolkiew, Be-Defus Gershon, 1802. Octavo, full leather lacking the backstrip and with slight loss to the boards near the spine, decorative paper endpapers, 104, 59 leaves [208, 118 pp.] Hardbound. Good. Text is in Hebrew. The third edition of this work. The first appeared in 1583/4. The second in 1776/7. This includes an additional section entitled, "Maase Mitsrayim." ""Ma'ase ha-Shem" (The Works of God; Venice, 1583; several other editions), a commentary on the historical portions of the Pentateuch, written for the instruction of his son Elijah, and containing also a complete commentary on the Passover Haggadah, which has frequently been published separately" Jewish Encyclopedia. (83785)     $250.00


Bloch, Samson, ha-Levi. Sh'vile 'olam. Sefer Kolel. Tekunot kol artsot tevel le-mahlekotehen ... Zolkiew, Bey Meyerhoffer, 1822. Duodecimo, black cloth covered boards, xxii, 252 pp., mild water-staining. Hardbound. Good. Text is in Hebrew. This is the volume that deals with Asia. With eulogies/ dedications by J. Landau, J. Eichenbaum, and Aharon Lerner. Lerner's contribution is in poetic form. Bloch was another Haskalah figure who passed through Zolkiew. He was friends with Krochmal. (83580)      $180.00

Chajes, Zvi Hirsch. Darke hora'ah: medaber bo ... be-hitnahagut ha-hakhamim be-hora'ot we-dinim, uve-inyane ha-minhagim, ve-eze teshuvot ha-mityahkasim li-she'elot ha-paratot, 'asher mit'askim ba-hem maskile zemanenu. Zolkiew, Saul Meyerhoffer, 1842. Octavo, green cloth spine with gold lettering, shelfworn marbled paper covers, 3, 25, 13 leaves [vi, 50, 26 pp.] Hardbound. Good. Text is in Hebrew. "An examination of the rules that obtained in Talmudic times in deciding practical religious questions." Jewish Encyclopedia. This is the first printing of this work and the only one to appear in the author's lifetime. Though Chajes was a traditionalist Rabbi he was also one of the fathers of the Scientific study of Jewish texts. (83567)      $150.00

Edil, Yehudah Leyb, ha-Levi. Sefer Afike Yehudah, ve-hu shem ha-kolel el ha-derushim asher be-zot ha-mahberet ... Zulkova [Zolkiew], Bi-defus A.Y.L. Mayerhofer, 1819. Octavo, very roughly worn gray cloth spine roughly worn with a hand-written paper label, decorative paper covered boards with wear to the edges, boards just barely hanging in there, lacking the free front endpaper, 118 leaves (235 pp. with wear to the final two leaves resulting in the loss of a few letters. Hardbound. Fair. Text is in Hebrew. The second printing of the first of two volumes of sermons published by the author. Edil was a student of the Vilna Gaon. He had a talent for homiletics and this collection has been reprinted a number of times since the author's death in 1827. The Jewish Encyclopedia claims that the second volume of Sermons was not published, but this is incorrect. (83557)      $60.00

Edil, Yehudah Leyb, ha-Levi. Sefer Afike Yehudah, ve-hu shem ha-kolel el ha-derushim asher be-zot ha-mahberet ... Zulkova [Zolkiew], Bi-defus A.Y.L. Mayerhofer, 1819. Octavo, soiled brown cloth spine with remnants of a paper label, fraying at the head of the spine, shelfworn and edgeworn paper covered boards, 116 of 118 leaves (235 pp., lacking leaves 115 and 116 Hardbound. Poor. Text is in Hebrew.  (83576)      $60.00

ibn Habib, Moses ben Solomon. Get pashut: ve-hu be'ur al hilkhot gitin ... Zolkiew, bei Saul Meyerhoffer, 1834/5. Quarto, worn brown leather spine with gold stamped and hand-written spine labels, marbled paper covered boards worn along the edges and with some shelfwear, free front endpaper lacking a large chip at the open top corner, 115 leaves [230 pp.] Hardbound. Good. Text is in Hebrew. Commentary on Joseph ben Ephraim Karo's commentary on Tractate Gittin in Shulkhan Arukh. (83579)      $150.00

Isserles, Moses ben Israel. Sefer Mehir yayin: be'ur hadash tov ve-nehmad al Megilat Ester... Zolkiew, Saul Meyerhoffer, 1838. 16mo, brown cloth spine, soiled gray paper covered boards, free front endpaper loose, 26 leaves (52 pp.) Hardbound. Good. Text is in Hebrew. (83564)      $75.00


Kats, Hayim Avraham ben Aryeh Leyb. Seyfer Gdules Yoysef : in dizen liblikhin seyfer vert ... min loshn hakoydesh leloshn Ashkenaz.... [Zolkiew], Mordekhai Rabin Shtayn, 1794/5. Octavo, roughly worn brown leather spine with loss at the ends, soiled patterned paper covered boards roughly worn down with loss at the corners, endpapers soiled with old Hebrew notes, 30 leaves (60 pp.), with some loss at the bottom open corner of the fourteenth leaf, dog-earing, occasional light water-staining. Hardbound. Fair. Text is in Judeo-German. A translation of the Hebrew text "Milhamah be-Shalom." A play featuring the Biblical Joseph. This is the first publication. Printed with the headings in a standard Hebrew type-face of the time and the remained of the text in ivri-taytsh type. (83537) $250.00


[Rashi] Jacob ben Asher. Perush al Ha-Torah: Me-Rabenu Ya'akob ben Kavod Marana ve-Ravna Rabenu Ha-Ra... zl. Perush Hadash ve-Nifla Asher Ha-Y Be-Ketivat Yad Rabenu Ha-Mahber Be-Atsmo Ketav Yashan Mi-Yeme Kedem Ha-Kadmata Karov Le-Hamesh Me'ot Shanah u-Loh ba Adayin Be-Defus Klal. Zolkiew, Bedefus Abraham Yehuda Leib, 1806. Octavo, lacking the back strip, traces of the spine leather on the edges of the board, well worn paper covered boards, endpapers with stray Rabbinic hand marginalia, thumbnail size rebacked spot on the title-page with loss of a few letters (this is the reason for the ellipsis in the title as above), 126 leaves [251 pp.], list of subscribers. Hardbound. Good-. Text is in Hebrew. Rashi commentaries published as edited from a manuscript edition. (83575)      $180.00

Zacuto, Abraham ben Samuel. Sefer Yuhasin. Helek Sheni. Zolkiew, Bi-defus Gershon Madpis, 1799. Duodecimo, leather spine worn at the ends and cracking at the hinges, soiled tan paper covered boards, all edges marbled, 106 leaves [212 pp.], front board nearly loose. Hardbound. Fair. Text is in Hebrew. An important work in the synthesis of Jewish ideas into a historical framework. While his work was not history as we would like to find it in an academic recension, it served as a foundation for the introduction of what we would more familiarly associate with the writing of history into Jewish thought. A nicely printed copy of this late medieval work in a compromised binding. (83574)     $95.00

Sources

Hundert, Gershon David, edited by. The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe. In Two Volumes. New Haven, Conn., Prepared for publication by the YIVO Institute for Jewish Studies for Yale University Press, 2008.

Jewish Encyclopedia.

Zolkiew & Mosty Wielki Organization website: http://www.zmo.org.il/index.php/en/, retrieved 5/7/2017.

Shtetl Routes website page on Zhovkva. http://shtetlroutes.eu/en/zhowkwa-putvnik/ , retrieved 5/7/2017.

Spector, Shmuel, general editor. Pinkas Hakehillot Polin: Encyclopedia of Jewish Communities, Poland. Volume Two. Jerusalem, Yad Vashem, 1980.

Vinograd, Yeshayahu. Otsar Ha-Sefer Ha-Ivri. Jerusalem, Ha-Makhon La-Bibliografyah Me-Muhshevet, 1994.

Yaari, Abraham. Ha-Defus ha-Ivri be-Ḳushṭa: ... me-reshito ad perots milḥemet ha-olam ha-sheniyah, u-reshimat ha-sefarim she-nidpesu bah. Jerusalem, The Magnes Press, The Hebrew University, 1967. Supplement to Kiryat Sefer, vol. XLII.

END.