It is Shabbos (Saturday), Parshas Shekalim, 1885 and Delegate Chief Rabbi Dr. Hermann Adler is in the then fairly new Bayswater Synagogue in the fashionable west of London. Many middle class and moderately wealthy families that originated in the East End of London have moved here. No-one can imagine that the Bayswater Synagogue will not … Continue reading Hebrew, The Language of our Prayers. A Sermon preached at the Bayswater Synagogue, by Rev. Dr. Hermann Adler, London 1885.
The Industrious Apprentice. A Sermon preached at the Great Synagogue, by Rev. Dr. Hermann Adler, London 1887.
It is Shabbos (Saturday), December 10th, 1887 and Delegate Chief Rabbi Dr. Hermann Adler is in the then almost 200 year-old Great Synagogue in Dukes Place in the City of London, the Cathedral Synagogue of Anglo Jewry. The original wealthy families have mostly moved away and his large congregation includes many new immigrants from Europe. … Continue reading The Industrious Apprentice. A Sermon preached at the Great Synagogue, by Rev. Dr. Hermann Adler, London 1887.
Tzemach David by David Gans, 2nd edition, 1692 … and Arthur, King of England (the 400th post).
Rabbi David Gans (1541-1613) wrote his famous book Tzemach David, printed in Prague in 1592. It was the first history book printed in Hebrew. This is not a critical or analytical history book, as is usual today, but a chronology. There were two parts, the first being a chronology of Jewish history, and the second … Continue reading Tzemach David by David Gans, 2nd edition, 1692 … and Arthur, King of England (the 400th post).
Levush Ateres Zahav Hagedola, by Rabbi Mordechai Yaffe, Prague, 1609.
Rabbi Mordechai Yaffe was born between 1525 and 1530, in Prague, and died in 1612, so that my copy (the second edition) was printed during the author's lifetime. Rabbi Yaffe studied in Poland with Rabbi Moshe Isserles (The Rema), and with the Maharshal, Rabbi Solomon Luria. (I have previously written about my copies of the … Continue reading Levush Ateres Zahav Hagedola, by Rabbi Mordechai Yaffe, Prague, 1609.
Heimland, Literisher Sammelbuch (Literary Scrapbook), Yiddish, Moscow, 1943.
Seventy Years ago, on Purim (1st March) 1953, Stalin was struck down with a stroke, leading to his death four days later. It seems appropriate to write about my copy of Heimland, a literary scrapbook which includes contributions by many of Stalin's Jewish literary victims. The Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee was a group of Soviet Jewish … Continue reading Heimland, Literisher Sammelbuch (Literary Scrapbook), Yiddish, Moscow, 1943.
Chidushei Halachos, by Maharam Schiff, Dyhrenfurth, 1766.
This is another book from my antique book collection. The author was Rabbi Meir ben Yaakov Schiff – known as Maharam Schiff. He was born in Frankfurt in about 1605 to 1608. In 1622 he was appointed Rabbi and Rosh Yeshiva (Head of the Talmudic College) in Fulda, and he became famous throughout Europe. He … Continue reading Chidushei Halachos, by Maharam Schiff, Dyhrenfurth, 1766.
Willesden Synagogue Review, Chanucah 5707, London 1946.
The Willesden and Brondesbury Synagogue in London seems to have had quite a complicated origin, a near death experience and a miraculous modern rebirth. Jews started to move into Willesden in Victorian times, but it was still countryside then, and the Willesden Jewish Cemetery opened in 1873. With the coming of the railways, Willesden became … Continue reading Willesden Synagogue Review, Chanucah 5707, London 1946.
Binyan, Organ of the Senior Section of Habonim, London, April 1945.
I came across this magazine in my search for Anglo-Jewish ephemera. Apart from capturing the moment of a British, Socialist Zionist Youth Movement just before the end of the war, I found it included a letter on page 11 from Ivor Blankfield, my mother's first cousin, then serving in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. Siblings … Continue reading Binyan, Organ of the Senior Section of Habonim, London, April 1945.
Sefer Kneses HaGadolah by Rabbi Chaim Benveniste, Fuerth, 1692. (With an approbation by the father-in-law of the first British Chief Rabbi).
With the terrible tragedy of the earthquakes in Turkey, my thoughts turned to a Turkish Rabbi, the author of this book, printed in Furth in 1692.. There is also a tangential British connection... read on to the Haskamah (approbation). Rabbi Chaim Benvenisti was born in Constantinople in 1603, and in his youth studied under Rabbi … Continue reading Sefer Kneses HaGadolah by Rabbi Chaim Benveniste, Fuerth, 1692. (With an approbation by the father-in-law of the first British Chief Rabbi).
Bechinas Olam, with Bakashat Hamemin, a commentary by Rabbi Moshe Galanti on a book by Rabbi Yedaya HaPenini, Vienna 1804.
This is an interesting book from my antique book collection. The original book Bchinat Olam by Rabbi Yedaya Hapenini, with Bakashat Hamemin was printed in Ferrera in 1551. Bakashat Hamemin at the end are requests written as poems, with all words beginning with the letter Mem by Rabbi Yosef Fransiche. Rabbi Yedaya Hapenini of Badrash … Continue reading Bechinas Olam, with Bakashat Hamemin, a commentary by Rabbi Moshe Galanti on a book by Rabbi Yedaya HaPenini, Vienna 1804.
Jewish Miscellanies 