Select manuscript from this collection: B26  B285 B314  S102  40/107

Country of Location:
Country of Location
Switzerland
Location:
Location
Zürich
Library / Collection:
Library / Collection
Braginsky Collection
Shelfmark:
Shelfmark
B288
Manuscript Title:
Manuscript Title
Seder Tefillot u-Virkhot ha-Mohel (Order of prayers and blessings for the circumciser)
Caption:
Caption
Parchment · 8 ff. · 17 x 10.6 cm · [Nyitra], copied and decorated by Leib Zahr Sofer of Lackenbach · 1816
Language:
Language
Hebrew
Manuscript Summary:
Manuscript Summary
This book of prayers for the Mohel, who performs circumcisions, consists of only a few leaves; according to a note on the title page, it was a gift from Mendel Rosenbaum to his brother-in-law Joseph Elsas of Nitra (now in Slovakia, but formerly in Hungary). The manuscript is signed by Leib Zahr Sofer (scribe); the work of this unknown artist shows a close formal relationship to that of the most important calligrapher and illustrator working in Nitra in the early 19th century, Mordecai ben Josl (alias Marcus Donath). The final page has a calligram with the figure of Moses, holding the Tablets of the Law in one hand and pointing to the Pentateuch with the other hand. (red)
DOI (Digital Object Identifier):
DOI (Digital Object Identifier
10.5076/e-codices-bc-b-0288 (http://dx.doi.org/10.5076/e-codices-bc-b-0288)
Permanent link:
Permanent link
http://e-codices.ch/en/list/one/bc/b-0288
IIIF Manifest URL:
IIIF Manifest URL
IIIF Drag-n-drop http://e-codices.ch/metadata/iiif/bc-b-0288/manifest.json
How to quote:
How to quote
Zürich, Braginsky Collection, B288: Seder Tefillot u-Virkhot ha-Mohel (Order of prayers and blessings for the circumciser) (http://e-codices.ch/en/list/one/bc/b-0288).
Online Since:
Online Since
12/18/2014
External resources:
External resources
Rights:
Rights
Images:
(Concerning all other rights see each manuscript description and our Terms of use)
Document Type:
Document Type
Manuscript
Century:
Century
19th century
Dated:
Dated
1816
Decoration:
Decoration
Figurative, Full Page, Fully Painted, Margin, Ornamental, Text Block
Liturgica hebraica:
Liturgica hebraica
Occasional Prayers
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e-codices · 04/27/2016, 14:46:01

From: A Journey through Jewish Worlds. Highlights from the Braginsky collection of Hebrew manuscripts and printed books, hrsg. E. M. Cohen, S. L. Mintz, E. G. L. Schrijver, Amsterdam, 2009, p. 146. (PDF-version of the catalogue: http://dare.uva.nl/record/1/319244)

The place of production of this illustrated prayer book for the ritual circumciser is not entirely clear. An inscription on the title page states that it was a gift from Mendel Rosenbaum to his brother-in-law Joseph Elsas of Nyitra, Hungary (now Nitra in Slovakia). The otherwise unknown scribe signed his name on folio 3v as Leib Zahr Sofer (scribe) of L”B (Lackenbach, Hungary, now eastern Austria). Although it cannot be known with certainty where the scribe copied the manuscript, Nyitra is the likeliest option for two reasons. First, it is not likely that the scribe would have signed his name with his city of birth if he were still residing there. Second, the manuscript is reminiscent of the work of the most important Hungarian scribe of the early nineteenth century, Mordecai ben Josl, also known as Marcus Donath, who worked in Nyitra. Donath is known to have produced around a dozen manuscripts, as well as an engraved megillah.
The artistic school of Nyitra is known for its use of Hebrew micrography. Using this technique, Moses is depicted here as a calligram, holding the Tablets of the Law and pointing to the five volumes of the Pentateuch. The text above reads: “Now Moses was a very humble man, more so than any other man on the earth” (Numbers 12:3), whereas the text below, inspired by Proverbs 7:1–2 (with mistakes) reads: “My son, keep my commandments and live; the commandments of the Lord he created in an enlightening manner,” includes a chronogram. The letters marked with a dot have a total numerical value of 576, i.e. the Jewish year 5576 (1816). Within the frame in the right-hand bottom corner is a paraphrase of Exodus 34:29, “And behold, the skin of his face was radiant,” to which is added in the left-hand corner “because of the 613 commandments contained in it.” Among the texts used for the calligram is that of the Ten Commandments.

e-codices · 04/27/2016, 14:45:32

Aus: Schöne Seiten. Jüdische Schriftkultur aus der Braginsky Collection, Hrsg. von Emile Schrijver und Falk Wiesemann, Zürich 2011, S. 50.

Dieses nur wenige Blätter umfassende Buch mit Gebeten für den Mohel, der das Beschneidungsritual vornimmt, war gemäss Vermerk auf dem Titelblatt ein Geschenk von Mendel Rosenbaum für seinen Schwager Joseph Elsas von Nitra. Ehemals zu Ungarn gehörend, ist Nitra (deutsch Neutra) heute die viertgrösste Stadt der slowakischen Republik. Der ansonsten unbekannte Künstler Leib Sahr Sofer (Schreiber) bezeichnet sich als mi-L''B, «aus Lackenbach», einem Ort, der früher ebenfalls zu Ungarn gehörte und heute zum österreichischen Burgenland. Seine Synagogengemeinde zählte zu den jüdischen «Siebengemeinden» im Fürstentum Esterházy.
Zwar ist nicht belegt, dass dieses Manuskript in Nitra entstand. Es besteht aber zweifellos eine enge formale Verwandtschaft mit den Werken des in Nitra wirkenden Kalligrafen und Illustrators Mordechai ben Josel, der auch den Namen Marcus Donath führte. Von ihm stammen rund ein Dutzend Manuskripte sowie eine gravierte Estherrolle. Mordechai ben Josel bediente sich in seinen Werken häufig der Mikrografie als gestalterischem Mittel.
Im Mohelbuch von Leib Sahr Sofer zeigt die Schlussseite das Kalligramm einer Moses-Figur, die in einer Hand die Gesetzestafeln hält und mit der anderen auf den Pentateuch zeigt. Auf Moses als Übermittler des göttlichen Gesetzes der Tora verweisen auch die beiden Inschriften über der inneren Rahmenleiste: rechts eine Paraphrase des Bibelverses «[Da nun Moses vom Berg Sinai herunterstieg,] wusste er nicht, dass sein Gesicht von Strahlen glänzte[, weil er mit dem Herrn geredet hatte]» (Exodus 34:29) und links die Worte «wegen der 613 darin [in der Tora] enthaltenen Gebote». Die obere Randinschrift lautet: «Moses aber war ein sehr demütiger Mann, demütiger als alle Menschen auf Erden» (Numeri 12:3). Am unteren Rand steht ein durch die Sprüche Salomons (7:1-2) inspirierter Text: «Mein Sohn, beachte meine Gebote, so wirst du leben, die Gebote, die der Herr in seiner Weisheit schuf!» Darin findet sich auch ein durch Punkte über den Buchstaben gebildetes Chronogramm mit dem Zahlenwert (5)576, was dem Jahr 1816 der christlichen Zeitrechnung entspricht.

e-codices · 04/27/2016, 14:44:27

From: A Journey through Jewish Worlds. Highlights from the Braginsky collection of Hebrew manuscripts and printed books, hrsg. E. M. Cohen, S. L. Mintz, E. G. L. Schrijver, Amsterdam, 2009, p. 142. (PDF-version of the catalogue: http://dare.uva.nl/record/1/319244)

Hijman (Hayyim ben Mordecai) Binger (1756–1830) is best known for a decorated daily prayer book, now in the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana (Hs. Ros. 681) in Amsterdam, which he executed in cooperation with his sons, Marcus and Anthonie, in 1820. He also copied numerous single-leaf manuscripts of contemporary poetry, mostly for family occasions, which are now housed in various collections worldwide. Binger began his career as a bookkeeper, but later worked primarily in a clothing rental business; he also may have been active in international trading. In 1827 he inherited a lending library from his brother, Meijer Binger, to which he devoted most of his time.
Both the above-mentioned prayer book and the Hijman Binger Haggadah typify Hebrew manuscript decoration in Central and Northern Europe at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth centuries. The previous flowering of Hebrew manuscript ornamentation and illustration started to decline around the middle of the eighteenth century. With few exceptions, notably a number of late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth century examples from Hungary (such as cat. no. 54), the Bouton Haggadah (cat. no. 56) and the Charlotte von Rothschild Haggadah (cat. no. 55), most later works randomly copied iconographic and stylistic elements from the vast tradition of the preceding centuries. As a result, the later manuscripts lack the internal consistency and relative unity of style of the earlier examples.
In light of similarities between the illustrations in the Hijman Binger Haggadah and those in some of the later Haggadot executed by Joseph ben David of Leipnik, for example, the Rosenthaliana Leipnik Haggadah of 1738 and a Leipnik Haggadah from 1739 (cat. no. 45), it is likely that a Haggadah by this artist served as Binger’s primary model. The inclusion of a Hebrew map of the Holy Land, printed in the Amsterdam Haggadah of 1695, though not unique to eighteenth-century manuscripts, may well be considered a rarity.

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A Journey through Jewish Worlds. Highlights from the Braginsky collection of Hebrew manuscripts and printed books, hrsg. E. M. Cohen, S. L. Mintz, E. G. L. Schrijver, Amsterdam, 2009, p. 146-147.

Schöne Seiten. Jüdische Schriftkultur aus der Braginsky Collection, Hrsg. von Emile Schrijver und Falk Wiesemann, Zürich 2011, S. 50-51.

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