Bidspirit auction | Extremely Rare: A Poem Composed

Extremely Rare: A Poem Composed by the Hafla’ah for the Coronation of Emperor Franz II – Frankfurt am Main, 1792 * A printed pamphlet consisting of five large pages, in Hebrew and German, containing a poem composed by the holy gaon Rabbi Pinchas HaLevi Horowitz, Av Beis Din of Frankfurt am Main, author of the Hafla’ah, in honor of the coronation of Emperor Franz II, who at that time ascended the throne as Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. The Hafla’ah publicly recited the poem in the synagogue, which was festively adorned in honor of the occasion. The acrostic of the poem spells out “Franziskus, ” the emperor’s name. Following the poem, the traditional prayer “HaNosen Teshuah LaMelachim” was printed. Copies of this pamphlet were given to the emperor and to members of his family, with the letters plated in gold (see further: Rabbanei Frankfurt, p. 167). This is an especially rare pamphlet . It is not recorded in the Institute for Hebrew Bibliography, and is absent from the National Library of Israel and from the Frankfurt University Library. Only a handful of copies are known worldwide. Two years earlier, in 1790, Leopold II was crowned emperor, and the Hafla’ah prepared a similar poem for his coronation. He passed away two years later and was eulogized by Rabbi Shmuel Landau at the instruction of his father, the Noda B’Yehuda. Leopold was succeeded by his brother Franz II, who was then only twenty-four years old and was crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Frankfurt, 1792. Three leaves comprising five printed pages: a German title page, two pages in Hebrew, and two pages in German. Large pamphlet, approximately 25 × 40 cm. Condition : Good. Several stains. Fold marks. A tiny hole on the first leaf. — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Text of the German title-page: “Gebet welches von dem Frankfurter Oberrabiner verfaßt, und nach der am 5ten July 1792 glücklich vollzogenen Kayserwahl, von der Frankfurter Judengemeine in der erleuchteten Synagoge, am Freytag Abend, den 13ten July 1792 unter der hiezu angestimmten Chormusique feyerlich abgelesen worden ist.” A loose translation: “A prayer composed by the Chief Rabbi of Frankfurt, which, following the successful election of the Emperor on the 5th of July 1792, was festively recited by the Jewish community of Frankfurt in the illuminated synagogue, on Friday evening, the 13th of July 1792, accompanied by specially arranged choral music.”