Auction 61 Rare and Important Items
Apr 24, 2018 (Your local time)
Israel
  8 Ramban St, Jerusalem.
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LOT 29:

Mekor Chaim - Mantua, 1559 - Signature of Moses Mendelssohn - Ancient Glosses

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Sold for: $4,800
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Mekor Chaim, commentary on the Torah, by R. Samuel ibn Seneh Zarza. Mantua: Meir son of Efraim of Padua and Ya'akov son of Naftali HaCohen of Gazzuolo, 1559. Only edition.
On the top of the title page is the signature of Moses Mendelssohn: "Moshe of Dessau".
A German inscription appears on the front flyleaf noting that the book belonged to the collection of Moshe Mendelssohn and that the signature at the top of the title page is in his handwriting.
Under this inscription is another ownership inscription signed "L. Loewe" [Dr. Eliezer Loewe, the renowned secretary of Sir Moses Montefiore]. He writes that he received the book from his friend David Friedlander, a member of the Berlin city council [David Friedlander was a member of the Enlightenment Movement and a leader of the Berlin Jewish community, friend and pupil of Moses Mendelssohn].
Pasted under the inscription is a printed ex-libris of "Ya'akov Chaim HaLevi", London 1895, stating that the book came from the estate of his father, Dr. Eliezer HaLevi, with biographic details about his father.
Handwritten marks and references on the leaves (underlining, numbers and Latin letters). Four long glosses in ancient Ashkenazi script appear on p. 43a and on p. 46a. On p. 86b is another gloss in a later Ashkenazi script.
Moses Mendelssohn (1729-1786) was a Jewish-German philosopher, Bible translator and commentator, considered to be the most famous Jew in the 18th century. His articles on the "modern state" and enlightenment in Germany of his times were highly esteemed and his work marked the beginning of a liberal Jewish philosophy that sought to promote values such as humanism, religious tolerance and multi-cultural society. Mendelssohn published the Kohelet Mussar periodical which is considered the first modern Hebrew journal and published German translation and commentary on the Torah (thought to be a prominent accomplishment of the Enlightenment Movement). His important philosophical compositions on metaphysics were widely read and gained him fame (he was dubbed the "German Socrates"). A number of his pupils succeeded him as key figures in the Jewish Enlightenment Movement. David Friedlander who owned this book was an outstanding individual among those pupils. He led the Berlin Jewish community and was one of the most radical members of the Enlightenment Movement.
130 leaves. 29.5 cm. Light high-quality paper. Good condition. Stains. Tear to margins of title page and following leaf. Old binding.
Some copies have a censored leaf of introduction, reprinted after several lines were omitted. This copy has the original introduction leaf.

Provenance: Collection of Dr. Israel Mehlman.


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