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Lot : 51
Sefer Eilim with Author’s Portrait. Amsterdam, 1628-1629
Anthology of essays by Rabbi Yosef Shlomo Rofeh Delmedigo, renowned as Yashar of Candia (Crete). This work is one of the most prominent Jewish science books and encompasses units on astronomy, algebra, geometry, chemistry, mechanics, physics, medicine and metaphysics, as well as dozens of medical and scientific illustrations.
The front of the book features an impressive portrait of Yashar of Candia. This very rare portrait is missing from the majority of known copies.
This book contains five monumental essays: Eilim, Maayan Ganim, (seperate title page) Chukos Shamayim, Gevuros Hashem and Maayan Chasum.
Renowned as the Yashar of Candia, Rabbi Yosef Shlomo Rofeh Delmedigo (1591-1657) was a great genius, scholar, physician, mathematician and music theorist. The Chida praises him as “He was wise in all wisdoms, a genius in every wisdom of mathematics, geometry, philosophy, astronomy, logic, medicine, a scholar in Torah and pilpul in Shas and Poskim, He was a great lecturer, Wondrous in his expansive knowledge, he authored many works on all the wisdoms.”
After years studying and mastering Torah, he attended the University of Padua where he earned his degree in science and studied under the father of modern science and physics, Galileo Galilei.
Amsterdam, 1628-1629 with author’s portrait. Page Count: [8], 83, [2], 190, [2]; 80 leaves. previously in Kestenboum auctions catalog number 95
Page Size: New leather bindings. This was the first work printed in Amsterdam with Rabbinical approbations (Benayahu Haskama U’Reshus p. 121).
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Lot : 52
Mikveh Yisrael by Rabbi Menashe ben Israel. First Hebrew Edition. Amsterdam, 1698
A sefer detailing the discovery of the Ten lost Tribes and Sambatyon River by the famed scholar Rabbi Menashe ben Israel. This was the first edition of Mikveh Yisrael printed in lashon hakodesh.
The Ten Lost Tribes
Prior to the destruction of the First Temple, the Ten Tribes were led into exile by the Assyrian king Sancherev and their whereabouts are unknown until this very day. Rabbi Menashe ben Israel, a 17th century Jewish scholar and statesman who endeavored greatly to better the lives of Jews throughout the Diaspora, devoted many years of his life to researching the fate of the Ten Lost Tribes. He published his findings in his work Mikveh Yisrael, which is regarded as the most scholarly and well-researched work ever printed regarding the lost tribes.
Following years of research and inquiry, Rabbi Menashe ben Israel concluded that the Ten Lost Tribes ultimately ended up in South America, where many of the local Indian tribes were influenced by their customs and rituals (see leaf 18a).
A substantial portion of his conclusions are based on the first-hand testimony of Aharon Halevi de Montezenos, a Spanish converso who returned to his Jewish roots and arrived in Holland by boat from India. Throughout years of tumultuous journeys, Montezenos visited South America where he encountered locals who faithfully guarded ancient Jewish traditions such as circumcision, family purity and more. Leaves 5-12 of the book presents the testimony of Aharon Halevi under the title “Maase Rav min Aharon Halevi HaSephardi”.
One of the main reasons that Rabbi Menashe ben Israel authored this sefer was to imbue the shattered descendants of Spanish and Portuguese anusim, some of whom settled in South America, with hope for the ultimate redemption.
This work also includes fascinating geographical and historical information regarding the American continent and its residents.
The present sefer Mikveh Yisrael is bound together with Mas’os shel Rabbi Binyamin HaRofeh, a captivating journal detailing the travels of the medieval Rabbi Binyamin of Tudela across the continents of Europe, Asia and Africa, as well as Jewish centers. This work was published in the same year in Amsterdam by Rabbi Elyakim of Komarno who also translated Mikveh Yisrael into lashon hakodesh, (but printed it in a different publishing house). Rabbi Elyakim bounded both books together and disseminated them as a single unit.
Amsterdam, 1698. First Hebrew edition. Page Count: Mikveh Yisrael: 66 leaves; Mas’os Binyamin: 26 leaves. Page Size: Small format: 10.4 cm. Condition: Good; margins on several pages are cropped until the edge of the letters. New leather binding. Rare.
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Lot : 53
Blessing for Arichus Yamim
“Hashem should fortify your strengths and lengthen your days and years with goodness and pleasure”
Autographed Letter of Blessing by the Chafetz Chaim to His Talmid. Radin, 1930
This heartwarming letter by the Chafetz Chaim was sent to his beloved talmid Rabbi Yosef Stern of New York who was one of the key patrons of the yeshivah in Radin and assisted the Chafetz Chaim in printing his sefarim.
The Chafetz Chaim added a personal bracha in his handwriting and signed “Yisroel Meir haKohen”
“Hashem should fortify your strengths and lengthen your days and years with goodness and pleasure”
Rabbi Yisrael Meir Hakohein Kagan of Radin (1839-1933), universally renowned as the Chafetz Chaim after his famous sefer, was “Rabban shel Yisrael” in every sense of the word. He was regarded as most brilliant, humble and pious among the Achronim, and there are few sages whose legacy impacts the contemporary Torah world as the Chafetz Chaim, whose landmark sefarim including Mishnah Brurah, Chafetz Chaim and Shemiras Halashon are learned universally by young and old, men, women and even children alike.
Rabbi Yehoshua Leib Levinson Hy”d
The verso of the letter features a personal letter from the Chafetz Chaim’s grandson and right-hand man and administrator of the Radin Yeshivah Rabbi Yehoshua Leib Levinson Hy”d. Rabbi Yehoshua Leib, who was the only son of the Chafetz Chaim’s son-in-law Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Levinson, was a student of the Kelm Yeshivah, a tzaddik with a noble spirit who guarded his tongue meticulously.
Following his father’s passing in 1921, the Chafetz Chaim assigned him to deliver mussar shiurim in the yeshivah and appointed him as the yeshivah’s administrator. During the final decades of the Chafetz Chaim’s life, his grandson served him faithfully and assisted him in every realm and finally delivered a tearful eulogy at the tzaddik's levayah.
With the outbreak of World War II, Rabbi Levinson was exiled along with the talmidim of the yeshiva to Eišiškės, a small city in southeastern Lithuania on the border with Belarus, and later to the Kovno Ghetto. It was here that his spiritual greatness was truly revealed. During these tragic years, he endeavored to lift the spirits of the downtrodden Jews, and he risked his life on numerous occasions to fulfill mitzvos. From Kovno, he was taken to the Dachau extermination camp where he sacrificed his life al kiddush Hashem in the Holocaust inferno. Hashem yikom damo (HaChafetz Chaim U’paalo Vol. 2 pp. 503-509).
Radin, 1930. Chafetz Chaim’s personal stationery. Page Size: 29x22 cm. Condition: Folds and signs of use with all text intact.
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Lot : 54
From Vilna to Montreal
Autographed Letter by the Venerable Brothers Rabbi Avraham Tzvi Hersh Grodzinski and Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski. Vilna, 1934
letter by the righteous brothers Rabbi Avraham Tzvi Hersh Grodzinski, Rosh Yeshivah of Ramailes and Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski, Av Beis Din and Nasi of the yeshivah to the Vaad Harabbanim of Montreal. This letter conveys their appreciation for the Vaad’s generous help and support of the yeshivah “at a time when its very existence is in danger of closure, and its fate and the fate of all its students is very bitter.”
The Ramailes Yeshivah was one of the first yeshivos established in Vilna. It was founded in 1815 in the courtyard of a philanthropist by the name of R’ Maille, hence the yeshivah's moniker "Ramailes Yeshivah." The yeshivah building was located on the Judengasse near the Gra’s beis medrash, and the sound of Torah persisted there for over a century until it was razed during the Holocaust.
Throughout 125 years of Torah, the yeshivah was spearheaded by some of Vilna’s most renowned sages as Rabbi Abel'e Posvillier, Rabbi Yisrael Salanter and Rabbi Mordechai Meltzer of Oshmina, and produced hundreds of talmidim who developed into the Torah luminaries and spiritual leaders of their respective eras.
In 1890, Rabbi Avraham Tzvi Hersh Grodzinski (d.1938), elder brother of Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinki, was appointed Rosh Yeshivah of the Ramailes Yeshivah, while his brother Rabbi Chaim Ozer accepted the position of Nasi. The yeshivah subsequently operated under Rabbi Chaim Ozer's auspices and with the support that he garnered for the yeshivah.
The present letter was written by a scribe and features the signature of Rabbi Avraham Tzvi Hersh Grodzinksi. In the margins of the letter, Rabbi Chaim Ozer added a personal autographed message in which he expressed his personal gratitude for the Vaad’s generous donations to the yeshivah, “studiers of the Gr”a z”l” and the granddaughter of Rabbi Yisrael Salanter in Horodna.
Vilna, 1934. Impressive original stationary of the Ramailes Yeshivah with a photograph of the yeshivah building’s façade. Condition: Good.
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Lot : 55
The Jew and his Torah shine in the darkness
Marc Chagall
La Visite de l'ange ou Juif à la Thora. 1937
Chagall's artistic exploration of Judaism has made him one of the most celebrated Jewish artists of the 20th century, leaving a lasting impact on the world of art and inspiring generations to embrace their cultural and religious roots.
The background colors of the painting depict the world in somber, gloomy shades. The sun, bird, and even the house are presented by the artist in muted colors, representing the daily challenges faced by Jews during their exile. However, at the heart of the composition stands a Jew bursting in vibrant colors, who despite all the bleak surroundings is holding the sefer Torah tightly. His eyes reflect fulfillment, as he strives to live in a realm of spirituality and angels.
The painting depicts the secret of Jewish survival: A Jew and his Torah rise above the backdrop of the world's troubles and his eternal strength is divine and unending.
Chagall's Judaic works hold immense significance, as they celebrate the rich traditions of Jewish life and heritage. Through his art, Chagall invites viewers to contemplate the profound spirituality and cultural legacy that have shaped the Jewish people throughout history.
La Visite de l'ange ou Juif à la Thora
Oil and graphite on canvas
Stamped Marc Chagall (lower left);
Dedicated to Vava cherie (his wife) 16/4 1977
(on the reverse) and signed Marc Chagall
25.5 by 18 in. (65 by 46 cm.)
Executed circa 1937-38.
PROVENANCE Estate of the artist 1937 - 1977
Dedicated to Vava cherie (his wife) 1977
Private Collection, Switzerland (acquired from the above)
Private Collection, Europe (acquired from the above)
Sotheby's private sale to the present owner
Exhibited at Sotheby's Palm Beach, Florida.
The authenticity of this work has kindly been confirmed by the Comité Chagall.
Documentation and condition report available upon request.
ATTENTION Buyers premium on this lot is 15% .Final price will be adjusted accordingly on the invoice.
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