Calendar of Attributes of Days – Fine Lithographic Print – Jerusalem, 1862 – Exceptionally Rare, One of the First ...

Calendar of Attributes of Days – Fine Lithographic Print – Jerusalem, 1862 – Exceptionally Rare, One of the First Lithographs Printed in Jerusalem

Booklet in lithographic print, "Calendar of attributes of all the days of the year", including times of dawn and sunrise on Jerusalem's horizon, according to the calculations of R. Yehosef Schwarz – "on lithographic stone", by Azriel Aharon Yaffe of Courland. Jerusalem: Michel HaKohen and Yoel Moshe [Salomon], [1862]. Fine lithographic print of handwriting. Some words on title page, as well as title frame, printed in gilt ink.
One of the first lithographic prints in Jerusalem (the famous Shoshanta with illustrations of sites in Eretz Israel in lithographic print was printed that year by Salomon's new press; in 1847 Mishpat LeElokei Yaakov was lithographically printed from manuscript, Sh. Halevy no. 43).
The times detailed in the booklet refer to the "horizon of Jerusalem" and are based on the calculations of R. Yehosef Schwarz, author of Divrei Yosef and Tevuot HaAretz. The entire booklet was written in the handwriting of R. Yehosef Schwarz's son-in-law R. Azriel Aharon Yaffe and printed lithographically.
In the introduction on the verso of the title page, the copyist R. Azriel mentions his father-in-law R. Yehosef Schwarz's statement, in his introduction to Divrei Yosef, that his calculations were based on over 4000 measurements of the moment of sunrise, to assure that he would not err. The last three pages contain "principles" for calculating halachic times, as well as a short discussion of calculations for other cities in Eretz Israel (such as Hebron, Safed, Tiberias and others) and various cities across Europe and the United States.

R. Yehosef (Joseph) Schwarz (1804-1865) was an outstanding Torah scholar and kabbalist, one of the first researchers in the field of Land of Israel studies. Learning under R. Abraham Bing at the Würzburg yeshiva, he concurrently studied geography and languages at the local university. While still in Germany, he became involved in Land of Israel studies, and in 1829 he published a Hebrew-German map of Eretz Israel which came to be regarded as a reference by historians and geographers at the time. Immigrated to Jerusalem in 1837. Upon arriving in Jerusalem, he was welcomed by two colleagues from Germany, the founders of the renowned German-Dutch Kollel Hod (an acronym for "Holland-Deutschland"), R. Moses Sachs and R. Eliezer Bergman.

R. Schwarz persisted in Torah scholarship for the remainder of his life, including Kabbalah which he studied at the Beit El kabbalistic yeshiva. There he resumed his research on the history and geography of the Land of Israel, exploring the length and breadth of the country and closely studying a great number of its sites, recording place names according to local traditions and biblical and Talmudic sources. His identifications of various ancient sites are recognized to this day, and his literary works are regarded as starting points for a host of discussions regarding the history of the Land of Israel, from both halachic and academic standpoints. His series of books titled Tevuot HaAretz (named after the main work in the series) were published in Hebrew in Jerusalem.

11 pages. 21.5 cm. Bluish paper. Good-fair condition. Stains. Wear. Small marginal tears to title page and other leaves. Folding marks. Close trimming, affecting text in several places. Front paper wrapper only, partially detached, without binding.

Sh. Halevy, no. 61 (Sh. Halevy did not see this book and calls it "especially rare"; her listing is based on: N. Ben-Menachem, BeShaarei Sefer, Jerusalem 1967, p. 151).
Exceptionally Rare.

The present booklet is one of the first items printed in the lithography press established by Yoel Moshe Salomon and Michel HaKohen in Jerusalem in 1862. Until then R. Yisrael Bak was the only printer in Jerusalem, and the establishment of the new press effectively ended his monopoly over Hebrew printing in Eretz Israel. Bak then sued the partners in Beit Din, arguing that they were infringing on his recognized rights; they, however, argued that since theirs was a lithographic press, they were not encroaching on Bak's business (see: Sh. Halevy, Sifrei Yerushalayim HaRishonim, preface, pp. 25-27).