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Rare 1893 Warsaw Printing of Sefer Ma'at Mi-Kol – Rabbi Aharon Yissachar Shifrin (First Edition)

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Start price: £100

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Description

An exceptionally rare and intellectually striking late 19th-century ethical-philosophical treatise from the twilight of the Eastern European Haskalah (Enlightenment) era, documented from the premier capital of Hebrew typography.

  • Title: Sefer Ma’at Mi-Kol (ספר מעט מכל) – Subtitled: O Devarim Shel Ta’am Ve-Devarim Shel Mah Be-Kach (או דברים של טעם ודברים של מה בכך / A Little Bit of Everything: Things of Substance and Trivial Matters).
  • Author: Authored by the erudite, traditionalist rabbinic scholar Rabbi Aharon Yissachar Shifrin (אהרן ישכר שיפרין), who applied classical rabbinic erudition to the shifting cultural and societal challenges of late-19th-century European Jewry.
  • Philosophical Focus: Written in an elegant, multi-layered homiletic style (Drush / דרוש), the work serves as a sharp psychological and philosophical Musar (Ethical) guide. The intentionally provocative title challenges the reader to look inward and distinguish between "Things of Substance" (eternal ethical and spiritual truths) and "Trivialities" (frivolous worldly distractions and shifting contemporary fads).
  • Print Origin & Context: Beautifully printed in Warsaw (ווארשא) in 1893 (תרנ"ג) by the renowned press of Rabbi Meir Yechiel Halter ("Bey Typographin M. I. Halter, Nalewki No. 23"). The text features parallel title layouts and official Russian Imperial censorship approvals dated January 4, 1893 ("Дозволено Цензурою / Варшава, 4 Января 1893 г.").
  • Rarity: Specialized works of standalone late-19th-century Eastern European Musar philosophy are significantly scarcer than standard liturgical or Talmudic printings from this era. This volume serves as a powerful primary artifact capturing the ideological and moral anxieties within Orthodox Polish Jewry before the turn of the century.

Condition report:

Status: Antique Collectible Condition (Textually 100% Complete).


Size: Small Octavo (8vo format), measuring approximately 7.25 × 5.2 inches (18.5 × 13 cm), a classic, compact size for late 19th-century scholarly monographs.

Binding: Housed in its original period quarter-cloth binding over dark green marbled paper boards. The spine shows heavy wear and splitting along the joints, rendering it structurally loose.

Interior: Complete with all 102 content pages, including the index ("Rashei Perakim") and censorship leaves. The main title page is completely detached from the text block but is present and intact. The inner leaves display uniform natural age-toning, historic peripheral edge-fraying on the initial and final leaves, and light minor foxing. The text block remains entirely stable, clear, and perfectly legible.