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AN UNRECORDED ILLUSTRATED MINIATURE PASSOVER HAGGADAH
with 50 illustrations, partly with Yiddish translations and instructions.
[Vienna], manufactured for Juetl, wife of Meir Poesing (Mayer Hirschel), by the excellent penman Meshullam Zimmel ben Moses of Polna (Bohemia), 1721.
CONTENTS
Fol. 1r: Titlepage: "Order of Service for the festival of Passover, with nice drawings, with all the signs and miracles that happened to our Fathers in Egypt and near the [Red] Sea etc. And it was made for the important, humble, and pious woman, the highly esteemed Juetlte, wife of the venerable and esteemed Meir Poesing, may he live, and with the letters of Amsterdam".
Fol. 1v: Blank
Fol. 2r: Searching for the chamets
Fols. 2v-4r: Simanim
Fols. 4v-5v: Blessings
Fols. 5v-32v: Text Haggadah
Fol. 33r: Addir Hu
Fols. 33v-34r: Almekhtiger Got (Yiddish translation of Addir Hu)
Fols. 34r-37r: Echad mi yode'a, with Yiddish translation
Fols. 37v-40r: Chad Gadya, with Yiddish translation
Fol. 40r: Colophon: "Engraved on the plates by the calligrapher and scribe Meshullam, called Zimmel, son of the venerable Moses of Polna, May he live long and happily, Amen, in the year 1721" (date in chronogram)
Fol. 40v: blank
CODICOLOGY
40 leaves, no foliation. Thin yellowish vellum, some grains visible, slightly thumbed, some minor stains slightly affecting some text, generally in very good state. Brown ink. Measurements: fol.: 87 x 56 mm., text: 70 x 41 mm., text written within a frame executed in the text ink (6r: 72 x 43 mm.), usually 18 lines per full page. Collation: 1-54, 62 + 2 between 1 and 2, 72 + 1 before 1 and 1 after 2, 82 + 2 between 1 and 2, 9-10s4, no catchwords or running titles. Horizontal and vertical ruling by hard point, on rectos and usually also on versos, possibly applied on unfolded sheets. Square, semi-cursive and Yiddish "Amsterdam letters". Space filling is achieved by dilatation and by the use of anticipated first letters, if necessary with an open space before the anticipated letter; protrusion is prevented by compression of the last letters, by abbreviation and, once, by writing the last letter of the word in smaller size. The tetragram occurs both as a double yod and as various other graphemes, all variations on the double yod with additional curved pen strokes; alef-lamed ligatures appear as well. Hebrew texts with full vocalization, usually omitting those signs that have no influence on the Ashkenazic pronunciation.
BINDING
Contemporary Viennese vellum covers elaborately stamped in silver (now oxidized), consisting of one floral center piece, four floral corner stamps and border stamps, gilt edges, two original plain brass clasps; four original blank paper flyleaves and red decorated endpapers with copper varnish acanthus leaf decoration at both ends. Size of the binding: 92 x 61 mm.
DECORATION
The manuscript contains no less than 50 illustrations, including the titlepage, all executed in brown ink. Many of the illustrations are based on the copper engravings in the printed Amsterdam Haggadot of 1695 and 1712, which were in turn based on Matthaeus Merian's Biblical illustrations (see: R. Wischnitzer-Bernstein, "Von der Holbeinbibel zur Amsterdamer Haggadah", From Dura to Rembrandt. Studies in the history of art (Milwaukee etc. 1990) p. 29-54, 189-190). There are, however, some important new variations on existing themes and a number of original illustration cycles, discussed in more detail below.
The refined execution of the images is a successful imitation of the copper-engraving technique which, in the course of the eighteenth century, had become ever more popular in deluxe printed Hebrew books (the first Haggadah to be printed with copper engravings was the 1695 Amsterdam Haggadah). The scribe even goes so far as to state in his colophon that the images were actually "engraved on the plates".
Meshullam Zimmel exhibits great artistic merit in the diversity of his characters' facial expressions, an important element for conveying the dramatic moments of the Exodus narrative. Also notable are his finely drawn garments and faithful depiction of animals, not altogether common in eighteenth-century Hebrew manuscript decoration. Zimmel further distinguishes his production from most other decorated Hebrew manuscripts of the period through his relatively skilled use of perspective.
Fol. 1r: Architectural titlepage with Moses and the Tablets of the Law (without text) (r.) and Aaron the High Priest (l.) standing in arches, topped by a depiction of Abraham and the three angels, with Sarah on the right, standing and listening in the doorway, within an oval shape with foliage designs; at the bottom two sheep, facing each other, within an oval shape with foliage designs. [1]
The following eight scenes represent various stages of the Seder ceremony, and depict Seder meals of the upper-class with a varying number of attendants, including children, and occasionally with servants. Some of these images combine elements that in most other Haggadot, both printed and handwritten, are depicted separately.
Fol. 2v: Kadesh u-Rechats [2]
Fol. 2v: Karpas Yachats [3]
Fol. 3r: Maggid Rachtsah [4]
Fol. 3r: Motsi Matsah [5]
Fol. 3v: Maror Korekh [6]
Fol. 3v: Shulchan Orekh [7]
Fol. 4r: Tsafun Barekh [8]
Fol. 4r: Hallel Nirtsah [9]
Fol. 6v: Eight Sages in Benei Berak [10]
The occurrence of more than five Sages attending the Seder in Benei Berak is common in Haggadah manuscripts of the eighteenth century and can be explained by the representation of no less than nine Sages in this illustration in the printed Amsterdam Haggadot of 1695 and 1712. The Amsterdam illustrations were based on Matthaeus Merian's depiction of the festive meal which Joseph prepared for his brothers in Egypt. See: K. Schubert, "Die Weisen von Bne Braq in der Haggadaillustration des 18. Jahrhunderts", Artibus et Historiae 17 (1988) p. 71-81.
Fol. 7r: The Four Sons, standing in a landscape [11]
This image is largely based on the one found in the 1712 Amsterdam Haggadah, which differs slightly from the 1695 version.
Fol. 8r: Abraham smashing his father's idols [12]
Fol. 8v: Abraham and the three angels, with Sarah on the left, standing and listening in the doorway [13]
Fol. 10r: Moses fighting with the Egyptian guard [14]
Fol. 11r: The finding of Moses by Pharaoh's daughter [15]
Fol. 12r: The changing of Moses' rod into a snake in front of Pharaoh [16]
The following five illustrations skillfully combine two of the Ten Plagues in a single image. This seems to be the only occurrence of this phenomenon, which may be considered, therefore, an original invention of Meshullam Zimmel of Polna. Single images of the Ten Plagues occur in the 1712 Amsterdam Haggadah, as well as in earlier printed Haggadot.
Fol. 12v: Blood and frogs [17]
Fol. 12v: Lice and swarms [18]
Fol. 13r: Pestilence and boils [19]
Fol. 13r: Hail and locusts [20]
Fol. 13v: Darkness and death of the firstborn [21]
Fol. 14r: Frogs plaguing Pharaoh [22]
Fol. 15r: Pharaoh and his army drowning in the Red Sea, while Moses and the children of Israel stand on the shore and watch [23]
Fol. 16r: Moses receiving the Tablets of the Law on Mount Sinai, while the children of Israel watch and wait outside their tents at the foot of the mountain [24]
Fol. 18v: The Passover lamb, served on a dish, with men standing around the table [25]
Fol. 25r: King David kneeling in prayer, as in the Amsterdam Haggadot [26]
Fol. 27r: The Exodus from Ramses [27]
Fol. 33v: The Temple in Jerusalem [28]
The two concluding songs "Echad mi yode'a" and "Chad Gadya" are both illustrated with cycles of illustrations (excluding the first stanza of Echad mi yode'a), that do not occur in any of the contemporary printed editions. In contrast with the illustrations to Chad Gadya, those to "Echad mi yode'a", perhaps the invention of another scribe who was active in Vienna (Aryeh ben Judah Leib Elhanan Katz of Trebitsch, who included them in a 1717 Haggadah, private collection), are not very common in early manuscripts such as this one. A number of the illustrations, to both songs, are entirely original and do not occur in other Haggadah manuscripts of the period.
Fol. 34v: The two Tablets of the Law, depicted on a pedestal, with the common abbreviations of the commandments inscribed [29]
Fol. 34v: The three Patriarchs in a landscape [30]
Fol. 35r: The four Matriarchs in a landscape [31]
Fol. 35r: The five books of the Torah, showing a man (possibly a scribe) behind a lectern with a Torah scroll [32]
Fol. 35v: The six volumes of the Mishnah, showing a seated man reading, in front of shelved books (shown with two clasps and edges facing forward) [33]
Fol. 35v: The seven days of the week, showing husband and wife, two children and two guests, the children in high chairs with a heart carved out of the back, during the Friday night meal [34]
Fol. 36r: The eighth day of the circumcision, showing a circumcision in synagogue, with a mitered Sandak, and a standing Mohel, the boy being circumcised on a table [35]
Fol. 36r: The nine months of pregnancy, showing a sitting pregnant woman and her maid standing [36]
Fol. 36v: The Ten Commandments, depicting Moses coming back from Mount Sinai and showing the Tablets to the children of Israel in the encampment at the foot of the mountain, a highly unusual illustration for this stanza [37]
Fol. 36v: The eleven stars of Joseph's dream, showing a female figure outside a house pointing to the eleven stars in the sky [38]
Fol. 37r: The twelve Tribes of Israel (here translated 'Geschlecht' in Yiddish, 'generations'), showing twelve male figures standing outside with shields (?) resting on the ground in front of them [39]
Fol. 37r: The thirteen attributes of God, showing a man kneeling in prayer, saying 'El rachum' etc. [40]
Fol. 37v: The lamb, being sold by one man to another [41]
Fol. 37v: The cat, biting the lamb [42]
Fol. 38r: The dog, biting the cat [43]
Fol. 38r: The rod, being used to hit the dog [44]
Fol. 38v: The fire, burning the rod [45]
Fol. 38v: The water, extinguishing the fire [46]
Fol. 39r: The ox, drinking the water [47]
Fol. 39r: The shochet and his assistant, slaughtering the ox [48]
Fol. 39v: The Angel of Death, winged and bearded, killing the shochet [49]
Fol. 39v: The arm of God, a knife in His hand, protruding from a cloud, killing the Angel of Death who hangs in the air [50]
Both depictions of the Angel of Death are unusual and need further clarification.
PATRONAGE
As stated on the titlepage the manuscript was commissioned for Juetl, or Judith, the wife of the well-known Viennese Court Jew Meir Poesing, usually known as Mayer Hirschel. Mayer Hirschel was the youngest of the three sons of Lazarus Hirschel (d. 1710), a very influential Viennese Court Jew. Mayer and his brother Marx were highly esteemed in Vienna and were considered third in importance after the famous Oppenheimer and Wertheimer families. Jonathan Eybeschuetz used to hold meetings (in Mayer Hirschel's house), but Mayer was much closer to Eybeschuetz's greatest opponent, Jacob Emden. Mayer's brother was best man at Emden's wedding and he himself sent a wedding present that, because of its expensive nature, became the subject of controversy between the bridegroom and his new father-in-law. Mayer had also wanted Emden to act as a Rabbi in his house, and offered him an annual salary of 1,000 Reichsthaler, but Emden, too appreciative of his independence, turned down the offer.
Like so many of his contemporaries, Mayer Hirschel was interested in the arts and in books. It is therefore not unlikely that it was he one who ordered the Haggadah for his wife. His love of books also may have influenced his contribution of 150.000 florins to the Karlskirche and the Imperial Library in 1727. His living room in Vienna was described as lavish and elegant and his estate included various paintings, porcelain, two Torah curtains, and a large stock of wine. In 1738, as a result of the enormous financial risks that the Court Jews were compelled to take, he saw himself forced to leave Vienna without a trace, bankrupt, taking with him only a horse and carriage.
Mayer's second wife Judith, or Juetl, (whose marriage to Mayer was her second as well) died without children in Vienna on 25 July 1737. An elaborate epitaph, in intricately rhymed Hebrew, provides some information about her life. She was the daughter of Isaac Berlin/Liebmann and of Merli (Magdalena), daughter of David Tevele Schiff Hakohen, who would later marry Samson Wertheimer, the most prominent Court Jew of the period. Juetl was active on behalf of the poor, supported scholars, and enabled her relatives, as it is phrased in her epitaph, 'to stand in the presence of the Emperors', probably referring to her noble character. Three other manuscripts are known to have been made for her. The first, a 1717 Tikkunei Shabbat manuscript ordered by Mayer Hirschel and executed by Aryeh ben Judah Leib Elhanan Katz of Trebitsch was in the pre-war collection of the Jewish Museum in Vienna (Schwarz, No. 176); its present whereabouts are unknown. The second, a Perek Shirah manuscript executed by Meshullam Zimmel of Polna in 1727, is now in private hands in Zurich. A third, on which no further information is currently available, is apparently in the Library of the Leo Baeck Institute, New York.
THE ARTIST AND HIS WORK
Meshullam Zimmel ben Moses of Polna (Bohemia) worked in Prague (as attested by a 1716 Seder Tikkunei Shabbat, which is now in the Israel Museum; 180/5), in his native Polna and, most of the time, in Vienna. As the list of his dated manuscripts shows some gaps in his production, it must be assumed that in spite of the fact that he worked for a number of the wealthiest Viennese Court Jews he could not afford to live from his scribal activities alone. He may well have been a copper engraver by profession, as may be deduced from his colophons, where occasionally he refers to himself explicitly as the copper engraver. This would also explain his great drawing skills, which are unparalleled in the period (it should be noted that some of his manuscripts contain multi-colored painted illustrations as well). Lack of money, and the desire to find profitable employment may have caused him to create two of his masterpieces, two huge profusely decorated and beautifully written parchment benediction sheets in honor of the Emperor Charles VI and his wife Elisabeth, now held in the sterreichische Nationalbibliothek in Vienna (Cod. hebr. 223 and 224, dated 1732 and 1733 and measuring 850 x 700 mm. and 737 x 622 mm. respectively). Two other benediction sheets of similar execution, for the Duke of Dietrichstein in Nikolsburg and Prince Esterhazy in Eisenstadt, may be by him as well.
To date fifteen signed manuscripts by Meshullam Zimmel of Polna are known to exist. A further eight can be ascribed to him with certainty, whereas a further two were possibly done by him. Four other manuscripts signed by the scribe (among which a 1716 Haggadah formerly belonging to the Jewish Museum in Vienna, Hs. 5; Schwarz, No. 183) and one that may have been made by him, on all of which no recent information is available, appear in older descriptions of pre-war Austrian collections. Meshullam Zimmel of Polna's earliest dated manuscript is a Seder Tikkunei Shabbat, Vienna 1714, now in the Victor Klagsbald Collection in Paris. The latest date found in a manuscript by Meshullam Zimmel appears in another Passover Haggadah, which he executed in Vienna as late as 1756; it is now part of the S. Segre Amar collection in Montana, Switzerland. Strikingly (i.e. when compared to other prolific scribes of the eighteenth century) only four Passover Haggadot executed by Meshullam Zimmel of Polna, including the one offered for sale here, survive. A fifth one, referred to above, may have disappeared. With a total production of some thirty manuscripts this is certainly not a high percentage.
This Haggadah offered for sale, here described for the first time, is important for its very small size and is, in fact, one of the first miniature booklets produced by the eighteenth-century scribes. Its size, together with its original binding, subject matter, delicacy of execution, fine condition and iconographic innovations render it, like Meshullam Zimmel's three Perek Shirah manuscripts, one of the absolute highlights of this exceptional artist's oeuvre.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
On the artist (only a selection of those publications dealing with the work of the artist could be listed here; references to individual manuscripts were omitted):
- I. Fishof, Grace after Meals. Seder Birkat Ha-mazon. ... a study written ... to the facsimile edition of the original manuscript preserved in the Jewish Museum (Budapest) No. 64.626 (Budapest 1991).
- [I. Fishof], in: V.B. Mann & R.I. Cohen, From Court Jews to the Rothschilds. Art, patronage, and power 1600-1800 (Munich & New York 1996) Nos. 84-85, p. 168-169.
- [V.B. Mann], in: V.B. Mann & R.I. Cohen, From Court Jews to the Rothschilds. Art, patronage, and power 1600-1800 (Munich & New York 1996) No. 86, p. 169.
- E. Namnyi, "La miniature juive au XVIIe et au XVIIIe sicle", Revue des tudes juives 116 (1957) p. 27-71: 63-64.
- E. Namnyi, "The Illumination of Hebrew Manuscripts after the Invention of Printing", in: C. Roth, ed., Jewish Art. An Illustrated History (London 1971), p. 149-162: 159.
- E. Roth, "Interessante hebrische Handschriften der sterreichischen nationalbibliothek (Cod. hebr. 221-224)", Biblos. sterreichische Zeitschrift fr Buch- und Bibliothekswesen, Dokumentation, Bibliographie und Bibliophilie 8 (1959) p. 83-88.
- A. Scheiber, "An illuminated Birkat Ha-mazon manuscript and its copyist", Studies in bibliography and booklore 3 (1958) p. 115-121.
- K. Schubert, ed., Die sterreichischen Hofjuden und ihre Zeit (Eisenstadt 1991) [Studia Judaica Austriaca 12] p. 67.
- U. Schubert, Jdische Buchkunst 2 (Graz 1993) p. 86-87 and infra.
On the patrons (on which notes were provided by Prof. Menahem Schmelzer):
- M. Grunwald, Samuel Oppenheimer und sein Kreis (Ein Kapitel aus der Finanzgeschichte sterreichs (Vienna & Leipzig 1913) p. 272-273.
- A.F. Pribram, Urkunden und Akten zur Geschichte der Juden in Wien. Erste Abteilung, Allgemeiner Teil 1526-1847 (1849) 1 (Vienna & Leipzig 1918) p. 277-278, 301, 326.
- J. Taglicht, Nachlsse der Wiener Juden im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert. Ein Beitrag zur Finanz-, Wirtschafts- und Familiengeschichte des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts (Vienna 1917) No. 80, p. 154-155.
- B. Wachstein, Die Inschriften des alten Judenfriedhofes in Wien (Vienna & Leipzig 1917) No. 827, p. 229-230.
We are grateful to Dr. Emile G.L. Schrijver of Amsterdam, who researched the manuscript and shared his notes with us. The manuscript will be included in his "Repertory of decorated Hebrew manuscripts of the eighteenth century" (in preparation).
with 50 illustrations, partly with Yiddish translations and instructions.
[Vienna], manufactured for Juetl, wife of Meir Poesing (Mayer Hirschel), by the excellent penman Meshullam Zimmel ben Moses of Polna (Bohemia), 1721.
CONTENTS
Fol. 1r: Titlepage: "Order of Service for the festival of Passover, with nice drawings, with all the signs and miracles that happened to our Fathers in Egypt and near the [Red] Sea etc. And it was made for the important, humble, and pious woman, the highly esteemed Juetlte, wife of the venerable and esteemed Meir Poesing, may he live, and with the letters of Amsterdam".
Fol. 1v: Blank
Fol. 2r: Searching for the chamets
Fols. 2v-4r: Simanim
Fols. 4v-5v: Blessings
Fols. 5v-32v: Text Haggadah
Fol. 33r: Addir Hu
Fols. 33v-34r: Almekhtiger Got (Yiddish translation of Addir Hu)
Fols. 34r-37r: Echad mi yode'a, with Yiddish translation
Fols. 37v-40r: Chad Gadya, with Yiddish translation
Fol. 40r: Colophon: "Engraved on the plates by the calligrapher and scribe Meshullam, called Zimmel, son of the venerable Moses of Polna, May he live long and happily, Amen, in the year 1721" (date in chronogram)
Fol. 40v: blank
CODICOLOGY
40 leaves, no foliation. Thin yellowish vellum, some grains visible, slightly thumbed, some minor stains slightly affecting some text, generally in very good state. Brown ink. Measurements: fol.: 87 x 56 mm., text: 70 x 41 mm., text written within a frame executed in the text ink (6r: 72 x 43 mm.), usually 18 lines per full page. Collation: 1-5
BINDING
Contemporary Viennese vellum covers elaborately stamped in silver (now oxidized), consisting of one floral center piece, four floral corner stamps and border stamps, gilt edges, two original plain brass clasps; four original blank paper flyleaves and red decorated endpapers with copper varnish acanthus leaf decoration at both ends. Size of the binding: 92 x 61 mm.
DECORATION
The manuscript contains no less than 50 illustrations, including the titlepage, all executed in brown ink. Many of the illustrations are based on the copper engravings in the printed Amsterdam Haggadot of 1695 and 1712, which were in turn based on Matthaeus Merian's Biblical illustrations (see: R. Wischnitzer-Bernstein, "Von der Holbeinbibel zur Amsterdamer Haggadah", From Dura to Rembrandt. Studies in the history of art (Milwaukee etc. 1990) p. 29-54, 189-190). There are, however, some important new variations on existing themes and a number of original illustration cycles, discussed in more detail below.
The refined execution of the images is a successful imitation of the copper-engraving technique which, in the course of the eighteenth century, had become ever more popular in deluxe printed Hebrew books (the first Haggadah to be printed with copper engravings was the 1695 Amsterdam Haggadah). The scribe even goes so far as to state in his colophon that the images were actually "engraved on the plates".
Meshullam Zimmel exhibits great artistic merit in the diversity of his characters' facial expressions, an important element for conveying the dramatic moments of the Exodus narrative. Also notable are his finely drawn garments and faithful depiction of animals, not altogether common in eighteenth-century Hebrew manuscript decoration. Zimmel further distinguishes his production from most other decorated Hebrew manuscripts of the period through his relatively skilled use of perspective.
Fol. 1r: Architectural titlepage with Moses and the Tablets of the Law (without text) (r.) and Aaron the High Priest (l.) standing in arches, topped by a depiction of Abraham and the three angels, with Sarah on the right, standing and listening in the doorway, within an oval shape with foliage designs; at the bottom two sheep, facing each other, within an oval shape with foliage designs. [1]
The following eight scenes represent various stages of the Seder ceremony, and depict Seder meals of the upper-class with a varying number of attendants, including children, and occasionally with servants. Some of these images combine elements that in most other Haggadot, both printed and handwritten, are depicted separately.
Fol. 2v: Kadesh u-Rechats [2]
Fol. 2v: Karpas Yachats [3]
Fol. 3r: Maggid Rachtsah [4]
Fol. 3r: Motsi Matsah [5]
Fol. 3v: Maror Korekh [6]
Fol. 3v: Shulchan Orekh [7]
Fol. 4r: Tsafun Barekh [8]
Fol. 4r: Hallel Nirtsah [9]
Fol. 6v: Eight Sages in Benei Berak [10]
The occurrence of more than five Sages attending the Seder in Benei Berak is common in Haggadah manuscripts of the eighteenth century and can be explained by the representation of no less than nine Sages in this illustration in the printed Amsterdam Haggadot of 1695 and 1712. The Amsterdam illustrations were based on Matthaeus Merian's depiction of the festive meal which Joseph prepared for his brothers in Egypt. See: K. Schubert, "Die Weisen von Bne Braq in der Haggadaillustration des 18. Jahrhunderts", Artibus et Historiae 17 (1988) p. 71-81.
Fol. 7r: The Four Sons, standing in a landscape [11]
This image is largely based on the one found in the 1712 Amsterdam Haggadah, which differs slightly from the 1695 version.
Fol. 8r: Abraham smashing his father's idols [12]
Fol. 8v: Abraham and the three angels, with Sarah on the left, standing and listening in the doorway [13]
Fol. 10r: Moses fighting with the Egyptian guard [14]
Fol. 11r: The finding of Moses by Pharaoh's daughter [15]
Fol. 12r: The changing of Moses' rod into a snake in front of Pharaoh [16]
The following five illustrations skillfully combine two of the Ten Plagues in a single image. This seems to be the only occurrence of this phenomenon, which may be considered, therefore, an original invention of Meshullam Zimmel of Polna. Single images of the Ten Plagues occur in the 1712 Amsterdam Haggadah, as well as in earlier printed Haggadot.
Fol. 12v: Blood and frogs [17]
Fol. 12v: Lice and swarms [18]
Fol. 13r: Pestilence and boils [19]
Fol. 13r: Hail and locusts [20]
Fol. 13v: Darkness and death of the firstborn [21]
Fol. 14r: Frogs plaguing Pharaoh [22]
Fol. 15r: Pharaoh and his army drowning in the Red Sea, while Moses and the children of Israel stand on the shore and watch [23]
Fol. 16r: Moses receiving the Tablets of the Law on Mount Sinai, while the children of Israel watch and wait outside their tents at the foot of the mountain [24]
Fol. 18v: The Passover lamb, served on a dish, with men standing around the table [25]
Fol. 25r: King David kneeling in prayer, as in the Amsterdam Haggadot [26]
Fol. 27r: The Exodus from Ramses [27]
Fol. 33v: The Temple in Jerusalem [28]
The two concluding songs "Echad mi yode'a" and "Chad Gadya" are both illustrated with cycles of illustrations (excluding the first stanza of Echad mi yode'a), that do not occur in any of the contemporary printed editions. In contrast with the illustrations to Chad Gadya, those to "Echad mi yode'a", perhaps the invention of another scribe who was active in Vienna (Aryeh ben Judah Leib Elhanan Katz of Trebitsch, who included them in a 1717 Haggadah, private collection), are not very common in early manuscripts such as this one. A number of the illustrations, to both songs, are entirely original and do not occur in other Haggadah manuscripts of the period.
Fol. 34v: The two Tablets of the Law, depicted on a pedestal, with the common abbreviations of the commandments inscribed [29]
Fol. 34v: The three Patriarchs in a landscape [30]
Fol. 35r: The four Matriarchs in a landscape [31]
Fol. 35r: The five books of the Torah, showing a man (possibly a scribe) behind a lectern with a Torah scroll [32]
Fol. 35v: The six volumes of the Mishnah, showing a seated man reading, in front of shelved books (shown with two clasps and edges facing forward) [33]
Fol. 35v: The seven days of the week, showing husband and wife, two children and two guests, the children in high chairs with a heart carved out of the back, during the Friday night meal [34]
Fol. 36r: The eighth day of the circumcision, showing a circumcision in synagogue, with a mitered Sandak, and a standing Mohel, the boy being circumcised on a table [35]
Fol. 36r: The nine months of pregnancy, showing a sitting pregnant woman and her maid standing [36]
Fol. 36v: The Ten Commandments, depicting Moses coming back from Mount Sinai and showing the Tablets to the children of Israel in the encampment at the foot of the mountain, a highly unusual illustration for this stanza [37]
Fol. 36v: The eleven stars of Joseph's dream, showing a female figure outside a house pointing to the eleven stars in the sky [38]
Fol. 37r: The twelve Tribes of Israel (here translated 'Geschlecht' in Yiddish, 'generations'), showing twelve male figures standing outside with shields (?) resting on the ground in front of them [39]
Fol. 37r: The thirteen attributes of God, showing a man kneeling in prayer, saying 'El rachum' etc. [40]
Fol. 37v: The lamb, being sold by one man to another [41]
Fol. 37v: The cat, biting the lamb [42]
Fol. 38r: The dog, biting the cat [43]
Fol. 38r: The rod, being used to hit the dog [44]
Fol. 38v: The fire, burning the rod [45]
Fol. 38v: The water, extinguishing the fire [46]
Fol. 39r: The ox, drinking the water [47]
Fol. 39r: The shochet and his assistant, slaughtering the ox [48]
Fol. 39v: The Angel of Death, winged and bearded, killing the shochet [49]
Fol. 39v: The arm of God, a knife in His hand, protruding from a cloud, killing the Angel of Death who hangs in the air [50]
Both depictions of the Angel of Death are unusual and need further clarification.
PATRONAGE
As stated on the titlepage the manuscript was commissioned for Juetl, or Judith, the wife of the well-known Viennese Court Jew Meir Poesing, usually known as Mayer Hirschel. Mayer Hirschel was the youngest of the three sons of Lazarus Hirschel (d. 1710), a very influential Viennese Court Jew. Mayer and his brother Marx were highly esteemed in Vienna and were considered third in importance after the famous Oppenheimer and Wertheimer families. Jonathan Eybeschuetz used to hold meetings (in Mayer Hirschel's house), but Mayer was much closer to Eybeschuetz's greatest opponent, Jacob Emden. Mayer's brother was best man at Emden's wedding and he himself sent a wedding present that, because of its expensive nature, became the subject of controversy between the bridegroom and his new father-in-law. Mayer had also wanted Emden to act as a Rabbi in his house, and offered him an annual salary of 1,000 Reichsthaler, but Emden, too appreciative of his independence, turned down the offer.
Like so many of his contemporaries, Mayer Hirschel was interested in the arts and in books. It is therefore not unlikely that it was he one who ordered the Haggadah for his wife. His love of books also may have influenced his contribution of 150.000 florins to the Karlskirche and the Imperial Library in 1727. His living room in Vienna was described as lavish and elegant and his estate included various paintings, porcelain, two Torah curtains, and a large stock of wine. In 1738, as a result of the enormous financial risks that the Court Jews were compelled to take, he saw himself forced to leave Vienna without a trace, bankrupt, taking with him only a horse and carriage.
Mayer's second wife Judith, or Juetl, (whose marriage to Mayer was her second as well) died without children in Vienna on 25 July 1737. An elaborate epitaph, in intricately rhymed Hebrew, provides some information about her life. She was the daughter of Isaac Berlin/Liebmann and of Merli (Magdalena), daughter of David Tevele Schiff Hakohen, who would later marry Samson Wertheimer, the most prominent Court Jew of the period. Juetl was active on behalf of the poor, supported scholars, and enabled her relatives, as it is phrased in her epitaph, 'to stand in the presence of the Emperors', probably referring to her noble character. Three other manuscripts are known to have been made for her. The first, a 1717 Tikkunei Shabbat manuscript ordered by Mayer Hirschel and executed by Aryeh ben Judah Leib Elhanan Katz of Trebitsch was in the pre-war collection of the Jewish Museum in Vienna (Schwarz, No. 176); its present whereabouts are unknown. The second, a Perek Shirah manuscript executed by Meshullam Zimmel of Polna in 1727, is now in private hands in Zurich. A third, on which no further information is currently available, is apparently in the Library of the Leo Baeck Institute, New York.
THE ARTIST AND HIS WORK
Meshullam Zimmel ben Moses of Polna (Bohemia) worked in Prague (as attested by a 1716 Seder Tikkunei Shabbat, which is now in the Israel Museum; 180/5), in his native Polna and, most of the time, in Vienna. As the list of his dated manuscripts shows some gaps in his production, it must be assumed that in spite of the fact that he worked for a number of the wealthiest Viennese Court Jews he could not afford to live from his scribal activities alone. He may well have been a copper engraver by profession, as may be deduced from his colophons, where occasionally he refers to himself explicitly as the copper engraver. This would also explain his great drawing skills, which are unparalleled in the period (it should be noted that some of his manuscripts contain multi-colored painted illustrations as well). Lack of money, and the desire to find profitable employment may have caused him to create two of his masterpieces, two huge profusely decorated and beautifully written parchment benediction sheets in honor of the Emperor Charles VI and his wife Elisabeth, now held in the sterreichische Nationalbibliothek in Vienna (Cod. hebr. 223 and 224, dated 1732 and 1733 and measuring 850 x 700 mm. and 737 x 622 mm. respectively). Two other benediction sheets of similar execution, for the Duke of Dietrichstein in Nikolsburg and Prince Esterhazy in Eisenstadt, may be by him as well.
To date fifteen signed manuscripts by Meshullam Zimmel of Polna are known to exist. A further eight can be ascribed to him with certainty, whereas a further two were possibly done by him. Four other manuscripts signed by the scribe (among which a 1716 Haggadah formerly belonging to the Jewish Museum in Vienna, Hs. 5; Schwarz, No. 183) and one that may have been made by him, on all of which no recent information is available, appear in older descriptions of pre-war Austrian collections. Meshullam Zimmel of Polna's earliest dated manuscript is a Seder Tikkunei Shabbat, Vienna 1714, now in the Victor Klagsbald Collection in Paris. The latest date found in a manuscript by Meshullam Zimmel appears in another Passover Haggadah, which he executed in Vienna as late as 1756; it is now part of the S. Segre Amar collection in Montana, Switzerland. Strikingly (i.e. when compared to other prolific scribes of the eighteenth century) only four Passover Haggadot executed by Meshullam Zimmel of Polna, including the one offered for sale here, survive. A fifth one, referred to above, may have disappeared. With a total production of some thirty manuscripts this is certainly not a high percentage.
This Haggadah offered for sale, here described for the first time, is important for its very small size and is, in fact, one of the first miniature booklets produced by the eighteenth-century scribes. Its size, together with its original binding, subject matter, delicacy of execution, fine condition and iconographic innovations render it, like Meshullam Zimmel's three Perek Shirah manuscripts, one of the absolute highlights of this exceptional artist's oeuvre.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
On the artist (only a selection of those publications dealing with the work of the artist could be listed here; references to individual manuscripts were omitted):
- I. Fishof, Grace after Meals. Seder Birkat Ha-mazon. ... a study written ... to the facsimile edition of the original manuscript preserved in the Jewish Museum (Budapest) No. 64.626 (Budapest 1991).
- [I. Fishof], in: V.B. Mann & R.I. Cohen, From Court Jews to the Rothschilds. Art, patronage, and power 1600-1800 (Munich & New York 1996) Nos. 84-85, p. 168-169.
- [V.B. Mann], in: V.B. Mann & R.I. Cohen, From Court Jews to the Rothschilds. Art, patronage, and power 1600-1800 (Munich & New York 1996) No. 86, p. 169.
- E. Namnyi, "La miniature juive au XVIIe et au XVIIIe sicle", Revue des tudes juives 116 (1957) p. 27-71: 63-64.
- E. Namnyi, "The Illumination of Hebrew Manuscripts after the Invention of Printing", in: C. Roth, ed., Jewish Art. An Illustrated History (London 1971), p. 149-162: 159.
- E. Roth, "Interessante hebrische Handschriften der sterreichischen nationalbibliothek (Cod. hebr. 221-224)", Biblos. sterreichische Zeitschrift fr Buch- und Bibliothekswesen, Dokumentation, Bibliographie und Bibliophilie 8 (1959) p. 83-88.
- A. Scheiber, "An illuminated Birkat Ha-mazon manuscript and its copyist", Studies in bibliography and booklore 3 (1958) p. 115-121.
- K. Schubert, ed., Die sterreichischen Hofjuden und ihre Zeit (Eisenstadt 1991) [Studia Judaica Austriaca 12] p. 67.
- U. Schubert, Jdische Buchkunst 2 (Graz 1993) p. 86-87 and infra.
On the patrons (on which notes were provided by Prof. Menahem Schmelzer):
- M. Grunwald, Samuel Oppenheimer und sein Kreis (Ein Kapitel aus der Finanzgeschichte sterreichs (Vienna & Leipzig 1913) p. 272-273.
- A.F. Pribram, Urkunden und Akten zur Geschichte der Juden in Wien. Erste Abteilung, Allgemeiner Teil 1526-1847 (1849) 1 (Vienna & Leipzig 1918) p. 277-278, 301, 326.
- J. Taglicht, Nachlsse der Wiener Juden im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert. Ein Beitrag zur Finanz-, Wirtschafts- und Familiengeschichte des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts (Vienna 1917) No. 80, p. 154-155.
- B. Wachstein, Die Inschriften des alten Judenfriedhofes in Wien (Vienna & Leipzig 1917) No. 827, p. 229-230.
We are grateful to Dr. Emile G.L. Schrijver of Amsterdam, who researched the manuscript and shared his notes with us. The manuscript will be included in his "Repertory of decorated Hebrew manuscripts of the eighteenth century" (in preparation).