Sod Hashem with Sharvit HaZahav, prayers, halachot and customs of circumcision, by R. David of Lida, with additions. Amsterdam: sons of Shlomo Proops, 1745.

After the printed book is a handwritten mohel ledger (on blank leaves originally bound to the book for this purpose), documenting over 200 circumcisions performed by the mohel R. Leizer son of R. Meir Adler, between 1821-1838, in his town of Leeuwarden and other cities in the Netherlands.

Book and mohel ledger in original leather binding, with gilt decorations and inscription of owner's name: "Leizer son of the community leader R. Meir Adelaar – for the community of Leeuwarden". The center of the binding (both sides) features the Adelaar family coat of arms (an eagle).

Many circumcisions were performed in Leeuwarden, while others were performed in Amsterdam, Sneek, Gorredijk, Harlingen, Heerenveen, Bolsward and other cities. Parallel Hebrew and non-Hebrew inscriptions.

The inscriptions mention his father Meir (no. 142), his brother Elimelech (no. 168) and his nephew Shlomo Zalman (no. 11).

At the beginning of the volume are several leaves with various inscriptions, and a copying of Vecharot Imo HaBrit and Shirat HaYam.

Sod Hashem: 30 leaves. Handwritten mohel ledger: [36] leaves + [4] leaves at beginning of volume. 14.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Many stains, including dark wine stains (mainly to printed leaves of book). Original leather binding.

Provenance: Collection of Mozes Heiman Gans; see his book: M. H. Gans, Memorbook, p. 462.

Two works bound together:

• De hoop van Israël: een werck met groote naukeuregheyt beschreven [Hope of Israel…], by Menasseh Ben Israel. Amsterdam: Jozua Rex, 1666. Third printing. Dutch.

This book was published in Hebrew as Mikveh Yisrael. First published in Spanish by the author's son in Amsterdam, 1650. The book was translated into Latin and English the same year, and in 1666 the present edition was published in Dutch. The book was later translated into Yiddish and Hebrew.

In this work, Menasseh Ben Israel discusses the ten lost tribes of Israel, identifying them with the Indian natives of South America, and his concept of the redemption. At the beginning of the work, he cites the testimony of the Portuguese Marrano Antonio de Montezinos of his meeting with an Indian tribe who observed some Jewish customs and his claim that they are descendants of the tribes of Reuben and Levi. The work goes on to cite other testimonies from studies and travelogues, along with a discussion of the redemption, based on a conception connecting Jewish settlement throughout the world with the coming of the messiah.

Originally published along with the short work Verantwoordinge voor de edele volcken der Jooden en kinderen van Israel by Eduardo Nicolas (Amsterdam: Jozua Rex, 1666), also included in the present volume.

• Bound with: Histoire abregée de la naissance & du progrez du Kouakerisme, avec celle de ses dogmes [Abridged history of the birth and progress of Quakerism and of its tenets], by Philippe Naudé. Cologne: Pierre Marteau, 1692. French.

An early work, the first of its kind, about the Quaker movement. The Quakers, or the Religious Society of Friends, is a Protestant Christian movement established around the midpoint of the 17th century by English mystic George Fox (1624-1691).

Kouakerisme: [12] leaves, 174, 107-110 pages, [3] leaves. De hoop van Israël: [7] leaves, 124 pages, [1] leaf, 26, [1] pages. 13 cm. Overall good condition. Light wear and defects. Creases to a few leaves. Minute marginal tears to a few leaves. Puncture to title page of Hoop van Israël. Ink inscriptions and notations to title page, back endpaper and interior of binding. Old parchment binding. Wear and stains to binding.

Bookplate of Mozes Heiman Gans.

Seder Meah Berachot – blessings, prayers and piyyutim, including the Passover Haggadah, with Spanish translation. Amsterdam: Albertus Magnus, 1687. Approbations by R. Yitzchak Aboab, R. Yaakov Sasportas and R. Shlomo de Oliveira.

Pocket format.

Includes a prayers for various occasions, among them unique prayers reflecting the lives of Amsterdam's Jews at the time: descendants of Marranos who underwent conversion to establish their Jewish status with certainty; trade and ownership of slaves by Jews, such as in the section "Circumcision and Immersion of Converts and Slaves" and the "Blessing upon the Purchase of a Slave"; and a special prayer for Marranos who were burnt at the stake in Spain and Portugal.

Also includes: redemption of a vineyard, the order of flogging, laws of shechitah in rhyme, tables and charts for calculating tekufot and festivals, a chronological list of events in the history of the Jewish people until the Chmielnicki massacres (1648-1649) [in Spanish], and more.

Hebrew text and Spanish translation on facing pages (with corresponding pagination).

The editor of the book, Binyamin Senior Godines, writes in his introduction that he found the manuscript of the book in the library of R. Yitzchak son of Matityahu Aboab (mentioned in the Spanish preface as the translator of the book).

[11] leaves, [1], 303, 304; 54, [11], 7, [20] pages. 13 cm. Overall good condition. Stains, including light dampstains. Small marginal tears to illustrated title page and several other leaves. Handwritten inscriptions on several leaves. Light worming. Early wooden binding, with new leather spine.

Bookplate of Mozes Heiman Gans.

Two high holiday machzorim, one in Hebrew and one in Spanish, bound together in one volume.

Original, especially elaborate binding, with rich vegetal decorations on both sides of binding, gauffered gilt edges, and brass clasps. See below for more information on the binding and order of leaves.

• Sephardic high holiday machzor, order of Selichot and prayers for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Amsterdam: Yosef Athias, 1689.

[1], [3], 120-168, 33-42, 170-309, [3] leaves. Lacking leaves: 2-32, 43-119, 169. Leaves bound out of order. First three leaves after title page, with prayers for Ten Days of Repentance, are not from the present edition.

• Orden de Ros asanah y Kipur [Prayers for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur]. Amsterdam: David Tartas, 1684. Spanish.

On verso of title page, introduction in Spanish by printer.

[2], 219-284, 283-300, 75-108, 301-314, 109-128, 315-530 pages. Lacking pages: 3-74, 129-218. Leaves bound out of order. Blank leaves bound in several places, with handwritten passages and prayers.

The owner of the present machzorim appears to have custom-made his own machzor, meant for Yom Kippur only, hence the leaves are bound out of order (some leaves from both machzorim lacking), lines are deleted and blank leaves are mounted over parts of them, various prayers and passages are added by hand (in Hebrew and Spanish), and a new handwritten pagination is added. The machzorim were then bound elaborately (apparently soon after the date of printing).

Bookplate of Mozes Heiman Gans.

Azharot by R. Shlomo ibn Gabirol, with Petil Techelet commentary by R. Yaakov Chagiz. London: printer not indicated, 1714. Second edition, printed by his son R. Moshe Chagiz.

Azharot for Shavuot by R. Shlomo ibn Gabirol, with Petil Techelet commentary. At the end of the book are rare leaves with an ethical will and selections of good practices and ethics (including Orchot Chaim by the Rosh). These leaves are omitted from most copies of this edition – see below.

[4], 75 leaves. 18.5 cm. Somewhat dark parts of leaves. Good-fair condition. Stains. Minor worming. Early binding, with defects (binding loose on both sides).

Stamps on title page of R. Hermann Adler (1839-1911), Chief Rabbi of Great Britain between 1891-1911.

Bookplate of Mozes Heiman Gans.

One of the first Hebrew books printed in England.

Rare. Recorded in the Bibliography of the Hebrew Book based on a copy in the British Library. Does not appear in NLI catalog.

In the Bibliography of the Hebrew Book and all other bibliographic records we know of, only [4], 71 leaves are recorded. The present copy additionally contains leaves 72-75, with practices and ethics (incorporating the famous work of the Rosh), written by the author of the book R. Yaakov Chagiz (this work was later reprinted with variants under the name Zikaron Livnei Yisrael, by R. Moshe Chagiz, R. Yaakov's son).

For more information on the printing of this book by R. Moshe Chagiz, the author's son, while traveling to London that year, see Meir Benayahu, "Books Authored and Published by R. Moshe Chagiz – In London and Germany", Alei Sefer, III, 1977, pp. 94-96 (Hebrew). Benayahu writes that the London edition is rare, and that he is unaware of the reason for this. Notably, Benayahu also notes that the practices and ethics were omitted from the 1714 edition but reprinted in Zikaron Livnei Yisrael in Leket HaKemach, Wandsbek 1726. Benayahu's remark indicates that he also had not seen a copy with leaves 72-75 in the present rare edition, which were printed in London and included with only some copies.