Bidspirit auction | Chamishah Chumshei Torah. Vienna [1807]

Chamishah Chumshei Torah. Vienna [1807] - Special copy prepared for administering oaths to Jews in court, Signed by Rabbi Eliezer Flekeles Av”d Prague. - The Five Books of the Torah with Haftarot and the Five Megillot. Vienna, [circa 1807], with the handwritten signature of Rabbi Elazar Fleckeles, Chief Rabbi of Prague, and the signature of the censor Karl Fischer. A unique copy intended for administering oaths to Jewish witnesses in a non-Jewish court of law. By special dispensation, Jews were permitted to swear in court upon a Jewish Pentateuch. For this purpose, the relevant authorizations were written and signed in this very copy. On the front flyleaf, Karl Fischer, the officially recognized imperial censor, wrote and signed a handwritten statement in German. Followed by an additional signed certification in German from Rabbi Elazar Fleckeles, Chief Rabbi of Prague, confirming that this Chumash is fit to be used for administering oaths to Jews in court. The document is dated 1807. With an impressive official court stamp. As was customary in that period, Jews taking an oath were instructed to place their hand between the pages of the sefer and point to a specific verse at the time of the oath. In this copy, the designated location is marked in Parashat Behar, folios 38a–b. For this purpose, handwritten pagination appears in numerals up to the relevant verses of the oath, alongside the printed Hebrew-letter page numbers. A historical item that was in public use, and despite frequent handling, has been preserved in very good condition. Rabbi Elazar Fleckeles (1754–1826), one of the foremost disciples of the Noda BiYehuda and Rabbi Meir Fischels, was among the leading sages of his generation and served for many years as Chief Rabbi of Prague. He is best known for his responsa work Teshuvah Me’Ahavah (three volumes), among other writings. In 1779, he was appointed Av Beit Din in the city of Kojetín (Moravia), where he was greatly admired by his community. After about four years, he longed to establish a yeshiva and to reside in a place with prominent rabbis with whom he could engage in advanced Torah discourse. Following consultation with his teacher, Rabbi Yechezkel Landau, he was offered a position as a judge on his court. In 1783, he began serving as a dayan in Prague, his birthplace. In 1801, upon the passing of Rabbi Michael Bachrach, head of the rabbinical court, Fleckeles assumed leadership of the court, serving alongside his teacher’s son, Rabbi Shmuel Landau. Several synagogues in Prague recognized him as their rabbi, and over time his influence extended beyond the city. His leadership was challenged due to a fierce conflict with communal leaders, particularly because of his strong opposition to the Sabbateans, whom he sharply denounced. Despite enduring significant opposition, he testified that he never ceased studying Torah day and night. For many years, he continued to correspond with his teacher, the Noda BiYehuda, exchanging Torah insights with great humility and reverence. Karl Fischer (1757–1844), a scholar and Hebraist, served as an imperial censor and as an editor and translator of Hebrew works for the royal court. A non-Jew who was notably sympathetic toward Jews, he treated rabbis with great respect and maintained friendly relations with the rabbinical authorities of Vienna. His signature appears on the title pages of works by the Noda BiYehuda, for which he expressed approval. Fischer was highly proficient in Hebrew and corresponded in the language with Rabbi Elazar Fleckeles . In Teshuvah Me’Ahavah (Part I, responsum 26), a lengthy responsum is printed in which Rabbi Fleckeles addresses Fischer regarding the issue of administering oaths to Jews on sacred books in a Christian court.  70, 72, 53, 62, 70 leaves. 23.4 cm.