Bidspirit auction | Rare and Unique Museal Item!

Rare and Unique Museal Item! A Book that was Found in Hitler's Bürgerbräukeller by the Rav of the Brigade - A rare Holocaust item, unique and of extraordinary historical importance - the book Milin Derabbanan containing thousands of proverbs, sayings and expressions that were compiled from the Bavli Talmud. This book was found after the Holocaust, in 1945, by the Rav of the Jewish Brigade - in Hitler's Bürgerbräukeller (Beer Hall) in Munich.  That very same Beer Hall, which became one of the defining symbols of Hitler’s and Nazism’s rise to power; the place where Hitler proclaimed the ”National Revolution, ” where the Nazi Party held key rallies and ceremonies, and which became one of the sites most identified with the early days of the tyrant - and yet, right there, in the very heart of the Nazi lair, Jewish Sifrei Kodesh were found. It seems that the only thing matching Hitler’s abysmal hatred for the Jewish people was his hatred for their sacred books and spiritual heritage. He sought to uproot not only the Jews themselves, but also their Torah, their books, and the memory of their world. Sifrei Kodesh were meticulously gathered from synagogues, libraries, and Jewish collections across Europe, only to be burned by the tens of thousands. What, then, were Jewish Sifrei Kodesh doing in the heart of the arch-demon’s lair? How did they get there, who brought them, and why to the very place that served as one of the most prominent symbols of anti-Semitism? This is one of the most fascinating mysteries remaining around the treasures of Jewish books looted during the Holocaust. Was the book the property of an especially distinguished individual? Or did books of this kind, containing the spiritual treasures of Judaism, arouse particular interest among those engaged in the systematic destruction of Jewish cultural heritage? This book, Milin Derabbanan, is a book compiling thousands of sayings, proverbs and expression from the Sages' Torah - a concise summary of Chochmat Yisrael, compiled from the entire Bavli Talmud.  Appearing on the leaf preceding the title page and on the title page are ownership stamps and signatures from the Holocaust and before it, some in Hebrew and some in a foreign language; some of this are Rabbinic notations. There are addiitonal notations on the leaves of the book including a Yiddish one: ”איך בין זעהר איין גוטער מנץ” – [I am a very good person]... This is thus an extremely rare museal Holocaust item: a Jewish Sefer Kodesh containing ancient ownership notations that was found in Hitler's Beer Hall.  Who owned it before the war? How did it reach Munich? Why there? And what did it go through until it was found by a soldier of the Jewish Brigade? These questions might never be answered. The book, however, survived - thus bearing one of the most tangible and chilling testimonies to the story of the Holocaust, the looting, the survival of the Jewish book, and the rebirth of the Jewish people. *** On the front flyleaf of the book, there is a handwritten notation by the person who found the book, Rav of the Jewish Brigade, Rabbi Yaakov (Gil) Lifshitz, stating that he found the book in Hitler's Beer Hall: ”מצאתיו במרתף הבירה של היטלר ימ”ש בתש”ה, יעקב ליפשיץ”.  It should be noted that an additonal volume of the Bavli Talmud - Masechet Pesachim - was found with this book, in the same Hall and on the same occasion, by the Rav of the Jewish Brigade, Rabbi Yaakov Lifshitz. That volume was given to Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac Halevi Herzog and for dozens of years was part of the Herzog Family Collection.  Eventually, at the request of Yad Vashem, the book was donated by President Yitzchak Herzog to the Yad Vashem Museum, a donation that stirred much interest [see enclosed pictures]. Today it is exhibited in Yad Vashem.  The presence of the corresponding volume at Yad Vashem, along with the fact that this book remained in private hands, presents collectors with a rare opportunity: to own a Jewish Sefer Kodesh with that same extraordinary provenance, found alongside a volume now held as one of the most fascinating and unique items in the collections of the national Holocaust memorial museum. For more information about these items, see:  From Hitler’s Beer Hall to the National Library in Jerusalem 103 pp. Approx. 15 cm. Thick quality paper.  Fair-good condition. Many notations. Ancient stamps. Marks of usage. Moth. A tear to the edge of the title page. Original binding, partly detahced. In several places in the book, damage to text.