Bidspirit auction | First and only edition. Ketoret

First and only edition. Ketoret Samim, commentary on the Torah based on gematriot – Warsaw, 1868. - Sefer Ketoret Samim, Warsaw, 1868. Commentary on the Five Books of the Torah based on Masora and gematriot, by Rabbi Aharon son of the honorable Rabbi Aryeh Tenenboim, born in Praga near Warsaw. A unique book, gematriot, acronyms and final-letter acronyms… The author, R. Aharon Tenenboim (1815–1901), was the first Jewish journalist in Warsaw; he wrote in Yiddish, in Hebrew, and in Polish. A historical figure of a chareidi maskil. In 1879 he published a continuation to this work titled “Chadashim LeKetoret”. Owners: On the title page, a stamp: “Tzvi Yosef son of Avigdor Spillerain, Warsaw”. R. Tzvi Yosef Spillerain was among the wealthy of Warsaw, a lover and supporter of Torah whose name appears among the ‘advance donors’ of dozens of books printed in his time. He himself authored a work on the Torah, “Machmadei Yosef”, in three volumes. In 1885 about fifty Jews worked in his button-making factory. He was among the founders of the settlement Yesod HaMaalah in the Galilee. He was a close associate of R. Yechiel Brill, the activist and publisher of the newspaper “HaLevanon”, who was close to the Malbim. In his books, R. Y. Brill refers to his friend as “HaYashar” – initials of R. Hirsh Yosef Spillerain. R. Y. Brill dedicated his book “Yesod HaMaaleh” to this friend; see attached photograph. Both Spillerain and Tenenboim were members of the early “Chovevei Zion” before the Zionist movement was founded, and both had connections with R. Z. H. Kalischer. Attached as a photograph is the text of the tombstone of R. Tzvi Yosef Spillerain’s father, Rabbi Avigdor. Charity stamps: The book includes two stamps for donations of matzot to the poor of Jerusalem through an organization in New York.