Bidspirit auction | Important Brass Seal of Rabbi

Important Brass Seal of Rabbi Yosef Chaim Shrim – Jerusalem, 19th Century - A remarkable and rare brass seal, finely engraved, reflecting both the spiritual and artistic world of 19th-century Jerusalem. At its center appears a detailed engraving of the Western Wall and the Temple Mount, with the inscription “Kotel HaMa’aravi” (Western Wall) beneath, followed by the two Hebrew letters “Tav-Vav”—an abbreviation for “Tibaneh veTikkonen” (“May it be rebuilt and established”). Encircling the image is an elegant Hebrew legend reading: “HaTz.B.Y. (HaTza’ir BeYisrael – the youngest in Israel) Yosef Chaim Bechor Shereim, resident of the Holy City (Ir HaKodesh) Jerusalem, may it be rebuilt and established speedily in our days, Amen.” A small Star of David is engraved at the end of the inscription. The seal uniquely combines a visual representation of the Holy Site with the personal rabbinic signature, forming a deeply moving devotional object that expresses Rabbi Shereim’s intimate bond with Jerusalem—both earthly and divine. Rabbi Yosef Chaim Shrim (1851–after 1900) was born in Syria and immigrated to the Land of Israel as a child. In Jerusalem he became one of the prominent Sephardic sages, served as an emissary (shadar) and prolific author, and is listed in Otzar HaRabbanim no. 8809 and Arzei HaLevanon, p. 977. Comparable examples appear in the Feuchtwanger Collection, pp. 196–200. Diameter: 4 cm | Material: Brass | Condition: Very good; the wooden handle is missing. A moving and historically significant artifact, serving as a tangible testament to one of Jerusalem’s 19th-century rabbis and to the enduring yearning for redemption and the rebuilding of the Temple—literally engraved in metal.