RENAISSANCE HEBRAICA CATALOG PART III of III

The three parts of the catalog can be viewed here
part I
part II
part III

 RENAISSANCE HEBRAICA CATALOG AUGUST 2013

Mizrahi Bookstore is proud to present our Renaissance Hebraica Catalog. With over 1400 unique titles, there should be something in it for everyone.

 Renaissance Hebraica was founded by Chaim Reich in the 1980s and quickly became synonymous with high quality facsimiles of rare Hebraica. The quality of the facsimiles are astounding, bound in English Buckram, printed on 70lb archival quality parchment-like paper and gold stamped spines, all handcrafted, the facsimiles are attractive and practical. All books are of a limited edition, on the average only under 15 copies were printed of each title. The titles range from incunabula and first printings of classics to obscure books never before reprinted. The vast majority of the over 1400 titles are in Hebrew though Ladino, Yiddish and the Latin languages are represented as well. For those of you interested in liturgy, the selection of different Liturgical customs is astounding, and Haggadah collectors will be able now to get the closest thing to the originals to such Haggadot such as the Prague and Guadalajara Haggadot. Lovers of responsa will be impressed with the selection of early responsa represented as well.

The three parts of the catalog can be viewed here

part I

part II

part III

For those not familiar with Renaissance Hebraica Printings, you can see here photos of a few examples. 

We purchased the remaining stock of Renaissance Hebraica after the sudden death of the founder Mr Reich, this in effect being the last time these facsimiles will ever be offered for sale. The price per volume for purchases of 1 to 99 volumes is $70,  for purchases of 100-299 volumes, the price is $60 per volume and at 300+ volumes, the price rests at $50 a volume. The titles are all available in a very limited quantity, the catalog will be updated regularly when titles are depleted from stock. Shipping is $7 for the first volume and $1 for each additional volume. International shipping is at cost. All methods of payment are accepted, institutions can be billed.

To search through the catalog, you can press control & F which will bring up a search-this-page feature. The catalog can be sent alternatively as an email text, or as a hard copy by mail. Plans are in the works for having all the titles available on our website as well. Questions, comments and correspondence can be sent to JudaicaUsed@gmail.com We can also be reached at 347-492-6508.

We remind our customers, that we have over 50,000 Jewish Books in stock and our storefront is always open for visitors by appointment.  

Blessings for a Shanah Tova

Israel Mizrahi

Mizrahi Book Store

 3114 Quentin Rd

 Brooklyn NY 11234

 347-492-6508   

antique, used, rare &

out of print Jewish Books

http://judaicaused.com/

1794	פראג	בער פרליש	שתי גלות הכותרת
1670	קראקא	משה מווילנא דפו"ס אבן העזר	שלחן ערוך ע"פ חלקת מחוקק
1542	קושטא	חלק א	שו"ת ר יוסף ן לב
1542	קושטא	חלק ב	שו"ת ר יוסף ן לב
1542	קושטא	חלק ג	שו"ת ר יוסף ן לב
1712	האנוואה	שבתי הורווביץ	שפע טל
1546	ויניציאה		שו"ת ר בצלאל אשכנזי
1610	קושטא	חי" עמ"ס כתובות	שו"ת מהראנח
1743	ברלין	אורי שרגא פייבש חלפן	שו"ת דת אש
1605	ויניציאה	משה אלשיך	שו"ת אלשיך
1627	באזיל	יצחק ב"ר שמואל הלוי	שיח יצחק
1710	הענוויא		שו"ת הרמא
1554	סביונטה		שו"ת מהרם אלאשקר
1822	זאלקווא	שמשון בלוך	שבילי עולם
1813	שאלוניקי	יצחק צבע	שערי בינה
1788	אמ"ד	ע"פ באר היטב	שלחן ערוך חשן משפט
1779	אמ"ד	נתן נטע הנובר	שערי ציון
1792	ליוורנו	יעקב מפולדא	שושנת יעקב  חכמת היד
1839	קושטא	רפאל אברהם שאקי	שמן ראש  דרושים
1725	יעסניץ	ש הענא	שערי תפלה
1807	ביאליסטאק	בצלאל ב"ר יוסף יוזל	שאלת ותשובות
1743	ברלין	אורי שרגא פייבש חלפן	שו"ת דת האש
1843	כלכותא	יעקב בן יוסף הרופא	שיר חדש
1558	סביונטה	אברהם תמ"ך	שה"ש
1712	פפד"מ	שבתי בס	שפתי חכמים
1709	פפד"א		שו"ת ר יוסף אישקאפה
1806	וילנא	יהודה ליב	שלמי שמחה
1525	פאנו	רבנו יונה	שערי תשובה וספר היראה
1772	ויניציאה		שכיות החמדה
1751	ויניציאה		שערי ציון
1657	ויניציאה	שמחה פריידמן	שמות
1742	ליוורנו		שבר במצרים
1745	ליוורנן	יעקב כ"ץ	שבחי ירושלים
1782	פפד"א		שו"ת הר הכרמל
1710	ויניציאה	יהודה פרץ	שער רחנים כולל עבודת המקדש
1725	יעסניץ	זלמן הענה	שערי תפלה תפ"ה
1661	אמ"ד	באר הגולה	שלחן ערוך או"ח
1661	אמ"ד	באר הגולה	שלחן ערוך  יו"ד
1661	אמ"ד	באר הגולה	שלחן ערוך אה"ע
1605	ויניציאה	מרדכי הכהן	שפתי כהן
1612	האנוויא	שבתי הורוויץ	שפע טל
1546	ויניציאה	צדקיהו הרופא	שבלי הלקט
1615	שאלוניקי	מאיר ב"ר שם טוב מלמד	שו"ת משפט צדק א
1799	שאלוניקי	מאיר ב"ר שם טוב מלמד	שו"ת משפט צדק ג
1519	ויניציאה		שו"ת ר יוסף קלון

1598	שאלוניקי		שו"ת ר יוסף קארו
1610	קושטא		שו"ת מהראנח
1552	ויניציאה		שו"ת לרבנו אשר
1547	ויניציאה		שו"ת ר בצלאל אשכנזי
1544	ויניציאה	צדקיה בן אברהם הרופא	שבלי הלקט
1743	ויניציאה	שמשון בן יהושע משה מורפורגו	שו"ת שמש צדקה
1646	לובלין	עם ט"ז	שלחן ערוך יורה דעה
1763	אמ"ד	דפוס ראשון	ש"ך על חושן משפט
1616-19	קראקא	חושן משפט	שלחן ערוך
1616-19	קראקא	אבן העזר	שלחן ערוך
1616-19	קראקא	אורח חיים	שלחן ערוך
1616-19	קראקא	יורה דעה	שלחן ערוך
1536	קושטא	דוד הכהן מקורפו	תשובות מהרד"ך
1776	שאלוניקי	יוסף אלפרנגי	תולדות אהרן חדש
1556	קרימונה	דמדון ב"ר צדוק	תשב"ץ
1789	ליוורנו	שמואל יפה	תיקון סופרים
1701-1713	פיורדא-פראג	שלמה מזאלקווא	תפארת הקדש
1578	שאלוניקי	יצחק ן ארויו	תנחומות
1604	פראג	משה ברוינשויג	תיקוני זבח
1604	פראג	אברהם שידל	תיקוני הבדק
1717		MANUSCRIPT	תקוני שבת
1831	ליוורנו	יצחק עטייה	תנא ושייר
1515-16	לובלין	אפרים זלמן שור	תבואות שור
1598	ויניציאה		תנא דבי אליהו
1638	ויניציאה		תחינות פיוטים פזמונים וקינות
1623	מנטובה	יחיאל מילי	תפוחי זהב  קיצור ראשית חכמה
1650	אמ"ד	יעקב יהודה אריה ליאון	תבנית היכל
1544	רייוא די טרינטו		תועליות הרלבג
1624	לובלין	אברהם חיים שור	תורת חיים
1677	פפד"א	שבתי כ"ץ	תקפו כהן
1546	ויניציאה	ישראל איסרלן	תרומת הדשן
1623	מנטובה	משה קורדואירו	תומר דבורה
1520	קושטא	אליה מזרחי	תוספות על סמ"ג
1552	וירונה	שלמה מאריני	תיקון עולם
1691	פפד"א	י אייזק שור	תולדות יצחק בן אברהם
1861	ליוורנו	מימון עבו	תהלים באור דגל אברהם
1789	ליוורנו	שמואל יפה	תיקון סופרים
1712	האנווא	עם פירוש הקצר	תהלים
1598	ויניציאה		תנא דבי אליהו
1557	PARIS	מוגה ע"י יוחנן מירקירוס	תרגום יונתן בן עוזיאל
1530	ליידן		תהלים
1565	קרימונה	יחיאל הרופא	תניא
1770	לונדון	יעקב איינשטאט	תולדות יעקב
1765	אמ"ד	גדליהו טייקוס	תורת קטן  חן הלשון
1793	ויניציאה	כמנהג ק"ק אשכנז	תפלת כל השנה
1695	פפד"א	י אייזק שור	תולדות יצחק בן אברהם
1652	וירונה	שלמה מאריני	תיקון עולם
1538	קושטא	דוד קארקו	תפלה לדוד  תפלות זמירות ופיוטים
1556	אמ"ד	רפאל מהנובר	תכונת השמים  באורים על רמב"ם
1701	פיורדא	שלמה מזאלקווא	תפארת הקודש
1591	ויניציאה	אהרן מפיסאר	תולדות אהרן
1737	אמ"ד		תקנות ק"ק אשכנזים באמ"ד
1601	ויניציאה	משה אלשיך	תורת משה
1609	קראקא	עם פירוש מרב דוד בן מנשה דרשן	תלמוד ירושלמי
1607	באזיליאה	עה"ת ומגילות	תרגום יונתן בן עוזיאל
1519	ויניציאה		תשובות שאלות לרמב"ן
1597	שקלאוו	יוסף ליסקאווע	תולדות יוסף
1697	פפד"מ	אהרן קאידנובר	תפארת שמואל
1725	פראג	על פירוש רשי	תפארת יוסף
1599	ויניציאה	מהר"ל מפראג	תפארת ישראל
1761	ליוורנו	מרדכי ברוך קאראבליו	תועפות ראם
1676	פראג	עם באור זקוקין דנורא	תנא דבי אליהו
1605	ויניציאה	שמואל כהן צדק	תורה אור
1776	NEW YORK		PRAYERS OF THE SPANISH PORTUGUESE JEWS
1693	Unrecorded		Seder Olam
1806	Newport R. I.	M. LOPEZ	ISRAELITE HEBREW CALENDAR 1805
1794	NEW YORK	LETTERS TO DRP PRIESTLY	LETTERS TO THE JEWS
1674	LONDON	ROBERTSON	THE SECOND GATE שער השני
1572	VENICE	ISAAC ABARBANEL	DIALOGHI DIAMORE
1691	PARIS		HISTOIRE D'OLIVER CROMWELL
1653	LONDON	Robertson	A gate or door to the holy tongue
1635	AMSTERDAM	MENASSEH BEN ISRAEL	CREATIONE
1734	HAGUE		ORDEN DE LAS ORACIONES QUOTIDIANAS
1635	FRANKFURT A"M	MENASSEH BEN ISRAEL	CONCILIADOR
1682	LONDON		THE PRESENT STATE OF THE JEWS
1669			HISTORIA SABATAI SEVI
1575	LONDON		JOSEPH BEN GURION
1636	AMSTERDAM	MENASSEH BEN ISRAEL	RESURRECION DE LOS MUERTOS
1692	LIPSIA		ANTIQUTATE HEBRAICA
1992	NIEUWKOOP	OFFENBERG	A CHOICE OF CORALS
1718	AMSTERDAM		LOS CINCO LIBROS
1718	AMSTERDAM		APHTAROTH
1770	AMSTERDAM		DISCURSOS PREDICABLES
1542	ISNA	BEN SIRA	TRANSLATA PAULUM FAGIUM
1680	BASILEAE	J BUXTORF	SYNAGOGA JUDAICA
1782	BERLIN	MENASSEH BE ISRAEL	RETTUNG DER JUDEN
			BIBLIOGRAPHIA KABBALISTICA
1588	VENETHS		TRACTUS DE ORIGINE HEBRAEORUM
1705	LONDON	DAVID NIETO	DISPUTE

1915 Rigshe Yehuda by Rabbi Yehuda Zundel Coblenz (Koblentz) - Interesting combination of Prenumeranten רגשי יהודה - יהודה זונדל קובלנץ

Title page of Rigshe Yehuda

In 1915 Rabbi Yehuda Zundel Coblenz published his Rigshe Yehuda. Skimming through his Prenumeranten (pre-subscriber) lists, I discovered some noted people who are listed, including Rabbi Meir Bar-Ilan, Max Reisin, J. D. Eisenstein, Rev. Tzvi Hirsch Masliansky and J. L. Magnes along with many other American Rabbis of the time. Pretty diverse selection, including all streams of Judaism. In addition, Ephraim Deinard, who in general hated nearly everyone who ever wrote anything, has nothing but praise to say about him in Kohelet America and wishes that the author produce more such works.

Kohelet America's entry on Rigshe Yehuda

Prenumeranten Lists for Rigshe Yehuda

By looking at the few details we know of his life, we can have a glimpse into what type of Rabbi was a likable and popular Rabbi in this era in American History.

 Rabbi Yehuda Zundel Coblenz was born on 15 April 1858 in Riga. His father was Rabbi Meshulam Feivish and his mother was Fruma Hinda, need Cohen (verso of title in Rigshe Yehuda).  By 9 January 1887 he was married and living in Ponevez (today Panevezys), Lithuania, where his oldest son (and future rabbi), Adolph, was born. In about 1888, at the same time that his parents and siblings emigrated to America, Sigmund moved his family to Frankfurt am Main in Germany. His wife died in Frankfurt between 1898 and 1903, and in 1903 he emigrated with five of his children to America, where their entry was sponsored by his father, Rabbi Meshulam Fivel (Philip) Koblentz. By 1910 he and four of his children were living at 194 South 2nd Street in Brooklyn. By 1923 he was living at 1076 Kelly Street in the Bronx. When Risghe Yehuda was published in 1915, he was Rabbi of Hevra Kadisha in Brooklyn, NY. He pass away on 3 Shevat, 1923.

His Sermons are filled with a wide knowledge of Talmud, Medrashim and Tanach and show as well his great worldly knowledge. Socrates, Ptolemy, Freud, Schopenhauer, a Harvard Professor etc all appear in his lectures. When demonstrating great Rabbis of the day, he uses Krochmal, Shadal and Rival as examples (page 25). He addressed the Mizrachi Confrence in Altona, Germany in 1902. One Sermon in his book is in response to Police Commissioner Bingham's remark in 1909 that 50% of New York's criminals are Jews. Another lecture was given in 1914 on the visit to NY of Rabbi Meir Hildesheimer and Rabbi Ahron Walkin.

His Drushim show a brilliant ability to adapt teachings of H"azal to modern day and age problems, including a brilliant analysis of the revulsion of Western Europeans to the masses of Jews converting to Christianity. An Avid Zionist, he also was active in the fight against Reform Jewry and his sermons are sprinkled with urges to prevent assimilation.

When Books are meant to be yours, they'll find you

About a month ago, I visited an old synagogue in Mass. that has closed it's doors. I purchased about 1000 books from the 5000 books in their library, leaving behind 4000 books which I could not use, Prayerbooks, 1940s Jewish Bestsellers, partial sets etc. Nice books, but books we really did not need in our store.
A few days ago, a good friend, calls me to tell me he has a van-load of books for me. We met up last night in the store and as we start unloading the books I discover that the books I was bringing in now to my store, were the very same books I had turned down at the Mass. Synagogue. It seems the books were meant to be by me, regardless of my own interests.
Turns out that my friend was contacted by the synagogue after I had taken what I wanted and offered the balance. Someone had driven out 2 hours each way, packed and loaded the books and then had them brought to our store after I had voted against them. Part of life as a Bookseller- the Theatre of the Absurd.

I just bought 8 pairs of Tefillin stolen from a Synagogue - One thief down !

“If you don't get caught, you deserve everything you steal.”   Daniel Nayeri, Another Faust

To buy or not to buy? When you deal with second hand items, sometimes you purchase things which you would prefer to not have to deal with. Last Night, a message was left on the store's voicemail, a fellow had Tefillin for sale. Returning the call at 11am, I asked the man on the phone to bring them in to the store so I can inspect them. Within a half hour a young man, in full religious garb showed up with a briefcase with 8 pairs of tefillin, looking mostly rather new.
The tefillin were said to be from a Yeshiva for Baale Teshuva, and these were tefillin of people who moved on or passed on leaving the tefillin behind in the Yeshiva. The Yeshiva has decided to sell them and use the money for books.

Slightly suspicious, I figured it will be best to buy them either way, lest we lose all trace of it and purchased the 8 pairs from the young man. Upon inspecting the tefillin bags, I noticed one had a name, and after googling the name, it came up as a gabbai of Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto. I left a message with Rabbi Pinto's Yeshiva for the named man to contact me, within 10 minutes they discovered that 8 pairs were indeed missing from the synagogue he prayed in that morning, Shuva Yisrael in Brooklyn.

Turns out that the thief, which they immediately identified from the security cameras in my store, prayed with them regularly and they knew him well. A heavy drug addict, his need for money made him trade in their tefillin for some cash. Luckily the tefillin were reunited with their owners within 2 hours after they were stolen, but it can very nearly not have ended this way. If only the thief had thought for a moment, he would have removed the tefillin from the bags and no one would have ever known. Thankfully he didn't, and the tefillin are back with their owners and Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto has one less thing to worry about.

As much as we don't like to hear it, synagogues are not safe deposit boxes and we need to start taking extra precautions with security in our synagogues, so things like this aren't begging to happen.

Here is a still from the store security cameras showing the thief giving a last glance at the room after counting his cash

Holland’s largest Hebrew bookstore - Samech is no longer, 100,000 books sold or given away

One of Western Europe’s largest Hebrew bookstores closed in Amsterdam as its former owners prepare to immigrate to Israel.
Samech, located in southern Amsterdam, has been supplying Hebrew-language books to members of Holland’s Jewish community for nearly 40 years and possessed a stock of 100,000 books, according to the website of the Dutch Israelite Religious Community, or NIK.
The store, which used to be the largest of its kind in the Netherlands, belonged to Daan and Shulamit Daniel, who are planning to move to Israel. All their children had already moved out of the Netherlands in favor of “places with richer Jewish lives than Amsterdam,” according to NIK.
The store’s entire stock was sold or given away last month, the NIK report said. Holland has a Jewish population of 41,000 to 45,000, according to the European Jewish Congress.
Immigration from Western Europe brought 3,243 new arrivals to Israel in 2012, an increase of 6 percent from the previous year. However, immigration from the Benelux area  — Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg — dropped that year by 26 percent to 209 new arrivals.
Samech used to service Holland’s outsized population of Israeli expats, estimated by the Dutch Jewish community to be approximately 10,000. (JTA)

The Prophecy of Yosef Ibn Yahya: the birth of the state of Israel in the 1940s

Jewish Literature is replete with warnings against calculating the end of days and the coming of Mashiach, but predictions of the era of Mashiach are nearly as common. Some turned out to be more accurate then others, others far off. Here is a lesser known one, which turned out to be surprisingly on the mark, it is found in the commentary of Yosef ben David Ibn Yahya's commentary on the Megillot and Daniel, printed in Bologna in 1538.
Joseph ibn Yahya ben David, was an Italian exegete and philosopher born at Florence 1494 died at Imola 1539. His son was Gedaliah, author of Shalshelet Hakabbalah. He was the author of two works: (1) "Perush" (Bologna, 1538), a commentary on the Five Scrolls and Ketuvim, and (2) "Torah Or" (ib. 1537-38), a treatise on theology and eschatology.
Here is the paragraph from the book where the prediction is made, it appears on page קי in the Bologne edition, in the line that starts with the word באופן

"      באופן כי בסוף החמשת אלפים ושבע מאות שנה לבריאת העולם בקירוב אם מעט אחר כך יבוא קצנו בעזרת ה למען יוכלו לשבת בני ישראל בטח על אדמתם כשלש מאות שנה מהאלף הששי למען יתראה לעין כל היות האמת אתם....."
"In the end of five thousand and seven hundred years from creation (equivalent to the year 1940), or a bit before or a bit after will come the time with the help of god that the nation of Israel may settle securely on their land, for approximately 300 years of the sixth millennium ......."

Now that the author has proven himself with foretelling the future, the second part of his paragraph may not be as eagerly anticipated:
באלף השביעי יהפך העולם לתהו In the Year 6000 (2240 A.D.) the world will transform to emptiness.

the Stamp of Rachel Citron, daughter of the Rogatchover Gaon

I just came across what for me was a first, a stamp of a Rebbetzin in a book. The stamp is that of the famed Rachel Citron, the daughter of the Rogatchover. Note the English portion of the stamp, Rev. Mrs Rachel Citron. Much has been written about Rev. Mrs Citron, and her devotion to publishing her father's writings. Below is a photo of a book of her husband she published, Rabbi Yisrael Aba Citron's chiddushim. The introduction is signed by Rachel Citron, "in a pained and broken heart" בלב כואב ונשבר.

Her husband's death, childless, left her in a complicated halachik position regarding her halitzah. One of the deceased's two brothers was an apostate in Germany, the second was a communist, inaccessible in Soviet Russia. You can read about the ensuing debate about how to get the halitzah done, in Marc B. Shapiro's Between the Yeshiva World and Modern Orthodoxy, pages 95-96. She never ended up remarrying, and was murdered in the Holocaust.

When the Rogatchover Gaon passed away in 1936, his daughter Rachel Citron left the safety of her home in Petach Tikva (Israel) to return to Dvinsk, Latvia for the purpose of assembling the Rogatchover's many unpublished manuscripts and make them available to future generations of Talmud students. She worked with Rabbi Yisroel Alter Safern-Fuchs (her father's devoted student and successor). They published two volumes before the Nazi onslaught prevented further publication in Europe. With utter destruction approaching, they hurriedly photographed (into microphotos ) thousands of pages of the Rogatchover's Talmud and Rambam (containing the Rogatchover’s notes and comments on the sides of pages) and his correspondence files, and mailed them weekly in manila envelopes to Rav Alter's granduncle, R. Zvi Hirsch Safern, in New York from 1940-1941. They begged him to be sure to deliver everything to the rabbinic authorities for publication.


Shortly after the last envelope was mailed, the Nazis deported the Jews from Dvinsk to Breslau where they were all murdered on June 3rd 1942 and lie together in a mass grave. Rebbetzin Rachel Citron was a childless widow, and Rabbi Yisroel Alter Safern-Fuchs was only thirty years old and unmarried at the time they were murdered. They spent the last five years of their lives (1936-1941) working feverishly to publish the invaluable writings of the Rogatchover and his correspondences from rabbis in all continents[1]


[1] http://www.tzafnat.com/mission--history.html

A bencher from the wedding of Rabbi Nosson Slifkin

A bentcher from the humble wedding of the famed Rabbi Natan Slifkin.
If you dig through geniza enough, some interesting things eventually show up.

hat tip: Rabbi Yehuda Ariel Ovadia

On a descendant of the Chatam Sofer

        

This week, I had the pleasure of meeting Prof. Moshe Schreiber, a descendant of the Chatam Sofer (and depriving him of his books). In his home, he had Portraits of his illustrous ancestors, the Chatam Sofer, the Ktav Sofer, the Shevet Sofer, followed by a photo of himself with the caption טעות סופר. I got enjoyment out of it, I figured I'd share.
The source for the quip is said to have originated with Rabbi Yehuda Leib Fishman Maimon in reference to Avraham Sofer, the editor of several volumes of the Meiri, from manuscript.

Tolaat Yaakov by R. Meir Ibn Gabai; does the ד in פרד"ס stand for דרש or דין ?

The title page of Tola'at Yaakov throughout the editions, describe the book as a commentary based on פרד"ס   

interestingly, the title page does not use the standard פשט, רמז, דרש, סוד rather substituting  דרש with דין. I found no record of anyone using this version elsewhere, though I imagine it was used just to make it fit in with    פרד"ס as the author did not use Derash.

What's interesting is that the Koenigsberg (1859) edition's publisher changed it to דרש  presumably thinking the original edition had it in error.

THE 1793 ZHOLKVA EDITION

THE 1859 KOENSIGSBERG EDITION