Bidspirit auction | Manuscript – Sermons by Ashkenazic

Manuscript – Sermons by Ashkenazic Rabbis – With a Remarkable Unknown Allusion to World Wars and the End of Days in 1841! – Ashkenaz, ca. 1820 - Approximately 30 handwritten pages containing Torah novellae and sermons for a Bar Mitzvah, Rosh Hashanah, Passover, Sukkot, Shavuot and other occasions. The manuscript includes teachings in the name of “the great Gaon Moreinu HaRav Rabbi Yonatan, may his light shine” (we have not determined whether this refers to Rabbi Yonatan Eybeschütz); Rabbi Asher Wallerstein, Av Beit Din of Karlsruhe and son of the Shaagat Aryeh; Rabbi Gavriel (whose identity has not yet been determined); as well as original novellae by the writer himself. Two sermons attributed to Rabbi Gavriel are dated 1817 and 1819: “What the Gaon Moreinu HaRav Rabbi Gavriel, Av Beit Din of […], expounded on Shabbat Shuvah 5578”; “What the great and renowned Gaon, Rabbi Gavriel, may his light shine, expounded on Shabbat HaGadol 5579.” At the conclusion of the transcription of Rabbi Gavriel’s sermon, on leaf 14b, appears the signature: “The humble Yehoshua son of the honorable Rabbi David, may he live.” This appears to be the signature of the manuscript’s writer. Although the signature was written with a finer pen, the handwriting style appears consistent with the remainder of the manuscript. A Remarkable Allusion to World Wars and the Coming of Mashiach – Around the Year 1841 On leaf 3b appears a fascinating allusion concerning international wars and the coming of Mashiach, centered around the year 1841. The allusion is constructed from the initials of the verse: “And ships shall come from the coast of Kittim, and they shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Ever, and he also shall perish forever” (Numbers 24:24). The initials are expanded as follows: “And the country of France shall kill their king, Immediately their path shall prosper, The crown of their glory shall increase greatly, And standing against them, defeating and humiliating them, Germany, Spain and the King of Russia, And standing […] against them, defeating and humiliating them, Against the sons of Russia, And the completion of their work, 5601 [1840–1841; ‘הוא’ = five thousand, six hundred and one], […] liberty shall be proclaimed, […] David shall come, Amen.” This passage is particularly intriguing in light of the explicit reference to France, Germany, Spain and Russia, together with warfare between nations and a specific chronological allusion to the year 5601 [1840–1841], followed by the expectation of the coming of David – Mashiach. A different version of this allusion – without the reference to the year 5601 – became widely known based on a text found among the writings attributed to the holy Rabbi Shimshon of Ostropoli, who was martyred in the Chmielnicki massacres (Nitzotzei Shimshon, Jerusalem 2013, p. 182). To the best of our examination, the version appearing in the present manuscript, particularly with its explicit chronological reference to the year 5601, is presently unknown from any other source. An intriguing early-19th-century manuscript preserving Torah teachings of Ashkenazic rabbis alongside an unusual and apparently otherwise unknown eschatological tradition concerning European wars and the End of Days. A total of [34] leaves, including [30] handwritten pages of Torah novellae + [4] pages concerning other matters. Height: approx. 18.5 cm. Condition: Good. Minor wear. Stains. Original old soft cardboard binding.