(Liturgy). Ritual des Prieres en Hebreu a l’Usage des Israelites de l’Ancien Comtat

AUCTION 8 |
Tuesday, November 16th,
1999 at 1:00
Fine Judaica: Books, Manuscripts and Works of Art
Lot 339
(FRENCH JUDAICA).
(Liturgy). Ritual des Prieres en Hebreu a l’Usage des Israelites de l’Ancien Comtat
Aix: by the Author 1855
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
PRICE REALIZED $1,100
With a Jewish population of barely 250 when this volume was issued, Aix was the most faithful in preserving the traditions of the communities of the Comtat Venaissin. The peculiar Hebrew pronunciation, Judeo-Provencal dialect and unique folklore and liturgy were continued into the 19th-century through the efforts of committed families such as Cremieux and Milhaud.
This prayer-book was based on Elijah Cremieux’s Seder Hatamid of a century earlier, with a wide selection of Piyutim for all the communities of the Comtat Venaissin (i.e. Avignon, Carpentras, Cavaillon and L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue). “...It was more a labor of patriotism than piety, for within a generation it is doubtful whether there was any synagogue at which services according to that time honored tradition were still regularly held.” (C.Roth, The Liturgy of Avignon and the Comtat Venaissin in: Journal of Jewish Bibliography (vii, 1939) p.104