Bidspirit auction | Magid Meisharim. Calcutta, complete volume

Magid Meisharim. Calcutta, complete volume of 47 issues. 1895–1896 (תרנ”ו). Exceptionally rare!!! - Magid Meisharim – Weekly Judeo-Arabic Newspaper Edited by Rabbi Moshe Tawina. Calcutta, 1895–1896 (תרנ”ו). Complete Volume – 47 Issues A full bound volume containing all 47 weekly issues of the significant Judeo-Arabic weekly Magid Meisharim, the most important Jewish newspaper published in India and the East at the time. This volume includes the entire seventh year of the publication, from Issue no. 1 (6 Cheshvan 5656 / 24 October 1895) through Issue no. 47 (11 Tishrei 5657 / 18 September 1896). Most of the content is written in Judeo-Arabic (Arabic language in Hebrew script). Historical Background: Edited by Rabbi Moshe Tawina, born 1856 in Baghdad, a student of Hacham Abdallah Somekh at the Bet Zilkha Yeshiva. In 1880 he was sent to serve the Jewish community in Bombay, India, where he worked under the patronage of Ezekiel Joshua Gabbai. In 1882, he relocated to Calcutta, where in 1888 he established a Hebrew printing press. In 1890, he began publishing Magid Meisharim, a weekly newspaper in Judeo-Arabic, which he also edited. The paper served as a literary and cultural forum and reported extensively on the plight of the Jews in Baghdad. It appealed to Indian Jewry—especially the prominent Sassoon and Gabbai families—to aid their brethren in Iraq during times of oppression and hardship. The stated purpose of the newspaper (as expressed by Tawina himself): ”It is my intention to publish a paper out of necessity—to inform readers of the suffering and oppression endured by our brethren in Baghdad at the hands of the authorities and Muslim citizens, as relayed to us through numerous letters requesting that we print them so our wealthy brothers may assist in saving them.” The paper regularly featured: News from global Jewish communities Fixed columns dedicated to India’s main communities: “Akhbar Kalkutta, ” “Akhbar Bombay, ” and “Akhbar Rangoon” Updates from Iraqi Jewry under “Masa Bavel” Reports from Eretz Israel under “Akhbar Me’eretz Yisrael” / “Yerushalayim HaBenuyah” Correspondence from Jewish-Baghdadi communities in Hong Kong, Singapore, and the Far East Bibliography: A. Yaari, The Hebrew Printing in the East, vol. II, pp. 96–97 – mentions only 46 issues for the 7th year, ending on 3 Tishrei 5657. This copy includes an additional and rare 47th issue from 11 Tishrei 5657. Physical Description: 47 issues, [135] leaves Size: approx. 34 cm Bound in simple binding Condition: Very good Exceptionally rare in complete form. A cornerstone of Jewish press history in the East.