Bidspirit auction | Complete and Rare Siddur Derech

Complete and Rare Siddur Derech Yeshara, with the Haskamah of the Baal HaHafla'ah Offenbach, 1791 * A thick siddur for the entire year and for the festivals, including halachos and customs translated into Yiddish, edited by the kabbalist Rabbi Yechiel Michel Epstein, author of Kitzur Shelah. Includes a Sefer Tehillim with a separate title page. This siddur is known as 'The Tefillah of Rabbi Michel Epstein.' It was first printed in Frankfurt in 1697, and it swiftly became a beloved and popular siddur, subsequently printed in many editions. Its great advantage lies in its pleasing arrangement, together with the instructions of the prayers translated into Yiddish, as well as customs from the Arizal, making it accessible to all. The author of Smichas Chachamim wrote concerning this siddur: “I saw in it new and wondrous things, an extraordinary order [of prayers] to awaken love and awe, fear of Heaven, for both men and women; truly everyone uses it; a benefit for all of Yisrael.” (From his approbation to the Frankfurt an der Oder edition, 1703). The beautiful edition before us bears the approbation of the holy gaon Rabbi Pinchas HaLevi Horowitz, Av Beis Din of Frankfurt, the Ba'al HaHafla'ah. The first title page is beautifully illustrated, depicting King David, his son King Shlomo, the giving of the Torah, and other scenes. Complete and rare copy. In the Institute for Hebrew Bibliography this edition is recorded from an incomplete copy, lacking the first title page and many leaves in the middle. The first title pages bear no date; on the title page of Sefer Tehillim appears the date 1793, while in the approbations of the rabbanim, the year 1791 is mentioned. It therefore appears that the sefer was printed between the years 1791–1793. Offenbach, 1791–1793. Page Count: [3], 5–28, 60, 46, 78, 165 leaves. Condition: Good; a fine copy. A few stains. Binding: Fine antique leather binding with traces of gilt embossing. On the final page appears a list of psalms written in beautiful handwriting from around the late 18th to early 19th-century. — — — — — — — — — — — The author of Smichas Chachamim, one of the sages of Poland, first encountered this siddur upon arriving in the city of Frankfurt an der Oder on a market day. Deeply impressed by the work, he immediately called upon the printer to reprint it and distribute it throughout the cities of Poland (as related in his approbation mentioned above).