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Judaica and Hasidic Books and Manuscripts

Lot 68:

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Important 1854 Warsaw Printing of Sefer Keritut – Featuring Foundations of Ger Chassidut & Major Polish Rabbinic Approvals (Complete Copy)

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Start price: £100

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Description

An extraordinary, museum-grade mid-19th-century printing of one of the foundational masterpieces of Talmudic methodology and hermeneutics, distinguished by an incredibly prestigious collection of approvals from the absolute titans of Polish and Chassidic history.

  • Title: Sefer Keritut (ספר כריתות / The Book of Covenants). A classic, foundational methodology handbook used for centuries to navigate the intricate logical guidelines and structural rules of the Talmudic sages.
  • Author: Composed by the legendary medieval French Tosafist and halachic pioneer, Rabbi Samson of Chinon (רבינו שמשון מקינון זצ"ל; c. 1260–1330).
  • The 1854 Warsaw Edition: Printed in Warsaw (ווארשא) in the Hebrew year תרי"ד (1854) by the celebrated press of N. Schrifgiser. This edition is highly prized for featuring the debut of Likutei Mordechai (לקוטי מרדכי), an expanded commentary block compiled by the scholar Chaim Mordechai Silberman of Plotsk.
  • The Titans of Rabbinic Approvals: The opening leaves preserve formal recommendations (Haskamot / הסכמות) from an elite assembly of the greatest rabbinic figures of the 19th century:
  • Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Alter of Ger (מרן הגאון החסיד רבי יצחק מאיר אלטער זצ"ל): Universally revered as the Chiddushei HaRim, the foundational First Rebbe of the Ger Chassidic Dynasty. Endorsements by the first Gerrer Rebbe are incredibly rare and intensely sought after by collectors of Chassidica worldwide.
  • Rabbi Dov Berush Meisels (הגאון רבי דוב בעריש מייזלס זצ"ל): The world-renowned Chief Rabbi of Krakow (קראקא) and later Warsaw, famous for his monumental halachic authority and leadership during periods of intense political upheaval in Poland.
  • The Malbim (Rabbi Meir Leibush ben Yechiel Michel — מרן המלבי"ם זצ"ל): The immortal Biblical commentator, providing a highly desirable formal endorsement during his tenure in Kemplen.
  • Rabbi Yitzchak Avigdor of Kovno (קאוונא).
  • Rabbi Yeshaya [Muskat] of Praga (רבי ישעי’ בהרב יעקב משה זצ"ל מפרסטה-פראגא): The celebrated Warsaw area authority and author of Harei Besamim.
  • Collector’s Visual Detail: The final leaf remarkably features a rare, beautiful 19th-century woodcut graphic illustration of the Western Wall and the Holy Temple in Jerusalem (כותל מערבי / בית המקדש), serving as a striking structural tailpiece to the volume.

Condition report:

Status: Antique Survival / Study Copy (100% Textually Complete).


Binding: Housed in its original 19th-century quarter-leather binding over classic dark marbled paper boards. The binding displays honest external wear, chipping along the leather spine tips, and paper loss on the outer corners, but the spine matrix remains structurally solid. Both covers are currently held stable via a functional rubber band.

Title Page & Leaves: The book is complete with all text and commentary layers, including the Lua\'ach Ha-Ta\'uyot (errata) page. The main title page exhibits an antique circular hole puncture in the center, affecting a few words of the subtitle, but the main text boundary remains clean and untouched.

Paper Matrix: The paper blocks show uniform, heavy natural brown age-toning and light peripheral edge-fraying consistent with active multi-generational study. The final leaf displays corner tissue loss and fragile edge wear on the left margin, but the graphic print block of Jerusalem remains completely intact, clear, and unimpeded.