Bidspirit auction | Siddur Nehora Raba. Ostroh, 1830.

Siddur Nehora Raba. Ostroh, 1830. Extremely Rare! - Order of prayers Nehora Raba according to the Ashkenazic rite, with an old and venerable commentary composed by one of the Tosafists, namely Eliezer ben Nathan, known as Seder Ra’avan. Part I and Part II. Ostroh, 1830. Printed by Shlomo Eliezer Margaliot. Issued with approbations ( lacking in the present copy ) from the leading rabbis: Ephraim Zalman Margaliot of Brody (the printer’s uncle, who relates that he transmitted the manuscript of the Ra’avan, which was in his possession), Rabbi Mordechai Margali of Satanov; and Rabbi Chaim Cohen Rapoport of Ostroh . At the beginning of the siddur, following the approbations, there was printed an apology by the printer (also lacking in the present copy) concerning omissions and changes introduced by censorship: “When the reader sees in this siddur that certain words have been altered or omitted in places, he should not attribute this to a lack of proofreading… for so we were instructed by the censor; and we have already seen that earlier printers were forced to omit many lines from the Talmud… thus we in this generation rely upon the precedent of the earlier ones.” On leaf 85 appears the psalm “Lamnatzeach” arranged in the form of a menorah. Extremely Rare! Recorded in the Bibliography of the Hebrew Book based on a copy in a private collection; the editors note that they saw only a photographic sample of several leaves. It is not held in the National Library of Israel and has appeared only once at public auction (see Sothebys Nov-20-2019, Lot  187 where it brought $11,875) The siddur Nehora Raba was received with great admiration among Jewish communities and saw extensive use. It was printed in several editions, all of which are very rare. In about 1827, Rabbi Ephraim Zalman Margolioth of Brody (1760-1828) published two prayer books, one according to the general Ashkenazic rite (minhag ashkenaz) and the second according to the Chasidic rite (minhag sefarad), in Ostrog. Each was accompanied by a commentary attributed to Rabbi Eliezer ben Nathan of Mainz (Ra’avan; ca. 1090-1170), published from a manuscript in Rabbi Margolioth’s possession. (The manuscript would apparently eventually make its way into the collection of Rebbi Issachar Dov Rokeach, the Belzer Rebbe [1854-1927].) The present lot, titled Seder tefillat nehora rabba, appears to be the second edition of the minhag ashkenaz prayer book of 1830 (a third edition would appear in 1832), printed by Rabbi Margolioth’s nephew. It includes a Passover Haggadah, Pirkei avot, Margolioth’s Beit tefillah (a short treatise in fifteen chapters on the proper intentions required during prayer), and various laws and customs, some of which derive from the halakhic writings of Rabbi Moses Mat (ca. 1551-ca. 1606). Copy from the family of the writer Gershom Bader. Part I: 171 leaves present out of 176 leaves. Part II: 127 leaves present out of 129 leaves.  Final leaf numbered 154.