Idra Zuta or the Lesser Holy Assembly. Translated from the Aramaic Chaldee into Arabic (in Hebrew characters) by Abraham David Ezekiel.
AUCTION 53 |
Thursday, December 08th,
2011 at 1:00
Fine Judaica: Printed Books, Manuscripts Autograph Letters & Graphic Art
Lot 149
(INDIA)
Idra Zuta or the Lesser Holy Assembly. Translated from the Aramaic Chaldee into Arabic (in Hebrew characters) by Abraham David Ezekiel.
Poona: A.D.Ezekiel 1887
Est: $600 - $900
The A.S. Sassoon Copy of the Poona Imprint of the Zohar.
The Sassoons were the driving force in Indian Jewry from the time of their arrival from Baghdad at the beginning of the nineteenth-century and even after their relocation to London around the turn of the twentieth century. The Judeo-Arabic culture and language served as a constant reminder of their Baghdadi origins, of which they were immensely proud.
The progenitor of the Sassoon dynasty, David S. Sassoon, had his summer residence in Poona, where he built the David S. Sassoon Hospital and the synagogue Ohel David (1863), with its 90-foot spire, a Poona landmark. David Sassoon's mausoleum is situated in the courtyard of the synagogue. See EJ, Vol. XIV, cols. 896-901.
There is a glitch in the Sassoon inscription: The Hebrew and English dates do not coincide. 5661 a.m. comes out to 1901 c.e.; 1903 c.e. would be 5663 a.m.