This first edition of Asifat Zekenim (collection of elders), better known as the Shita Mekubetzet (collected method or system of gathered material), has approbations (haskamas) of the Rabbis of Livorno (Leghorn) and apparently the first published approbation by the Chida – Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulai. The Chida has some interesting British connections. He was … Continue reading Asifat Zekenim, by Rabbi Bezalel Ashkenazi, Bava Basra / Nozir, First Edition, 1774 Livorno.
Month: November 2025
Eighteen Treatises from the Mishna, translated by D. A. De Sola and M. J. Raphall, London 1845.
The circumstances which prompted this translation of 18 out of 60 treatises of the Mishna into English, 180 years ago, are explained in the preface. The Sephardic community in London was divided between those who wished to maintain orthodox practices and those who wished to establish a reform synagogue with revised liturgy. The reform advocates … Continue reading Eighteen Treatises from the Mishna, translated by D. A. De Sola and M. J. Raphall, London 1845.
Oneg Shabbos, Anthology of Ancient Hebrew Table Songs (Zemiroth), Rev. H. Mayerowitsch, London, 1951.
This is actually the second, posthumous edition of a book first published in 1937. Herman Mayerowitsch was born on June 13th, 1882, in Deraznia, a small town in Russia where his father was buergermaster or mayor. At an early age he went with his parents to Czortcow (then Austrian Poland). He had a natural gift … Continue reading Oneg Shabbos, Anthology of Ancient Hebrew Table Songs (Zemiroth), Rev. H. Mayerowitsch, London, 1951.
Moreh Be’Etzbah and Tziporen Shamir, by Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulai (the Chida), London, 1791.
This is a single bound volume in my collection, printed in London in 1791 by Alexander Alexander. It includes two short books by Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulai, known as the Chida (from his initials). The Chida was born in Jerusalem, and came from a prominent rabbinic family. He was the great-great-grandson of Moroccan Rabbi … Continue reading Moreh Be’Etzbah and Tziporen Shamir, by Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulai (the Chida), London, 1791.
Rabbi Samuel Mohilever, compiled by M. Ben-Zvi, London, 1945 – Ruth Lehmann’s copy.
This book was published by the "Bachad Fellowship" in England. Bachad, which are the initial letters of Brit Chalutziim Datiim, the orthodox Jewish pioneering movement, was started in Germany in 1928. It's purpose was to equip young orthodox religious Jews with agricultural or other skills which they could use, eventually to settle in British mandated … Continue reading Rabbi Samuel Mohilever, compiled by M. Ben-Zvi, London, 1945 – Ruth Lehmann’s copy.
“Let My People Go”, Some practical proposals for dealing with Hitler’s Massacre of the Jews and an appeal to the British Public, by Victor Gollancz, London, 1943,
This is a very important booklet, written and published during the Second World War by Sir Victor Gollancz. He was a British publisher and humanitarian and was the nephew of a famous British Rabbi, Rabbi Sir Hermann Gollancz. Victor Gollancz was often noted as a supporter of left-wing causes. He was an effective and innovative … Continue reading “Let My People Go”, Some practical proposals for dealing with Hitler’s Massacre of the Jews and an appeal to the British Public, by Victor Gollancz, London, 1943,
Shu”t Zichron Yosef by Rabbi Yosef Steinhardt, Fuerth, 1773.
This is an interesting book from my collection – interesting as an example of how auction houses and sellers copy descriptions of books from one to the other. Rabbi Yosef ben Menachem Steinhardt (1720 – 1776) was an important German Rabbi. He studied at the yeshiva of Rabbi Yaakov Hakohen Poppers, in Frankfurt. In 1746 … Continue reading Shu”t Zichron Yosef by Rabbi Yosef Steinhardt, Fuerth, 1773.
Seder Brachos – The Blessings by D. A. De Sola, London, 1829.
David Aaron De Sola was born in Amsterdam in 1796. In 1818, just 23 years old, he was appointed Assistant Hazan (Cantor) of the Bevis Marks Sephardic synagogue in London. The De Sola family had a long history and association with Bevis Marks, and his kinsman, Isaac De Sola was Hazan in London from 1690 … Continue reading Seder Brachos – The Blessings by D. A. De Sola, London, 1829.
Jewish Miscellanies 