HANOVER, NATHAN NATA. Sha’arei Zion [collection of kabbalistic prayers]. With Yiddish translation

(LITURGY)

Ch. Lipa Shapiro

Slavita (i.e. Jozefow)

1843

This edition not listed in Vinograd

Nathan Nata Hanover (d. 1683), a native of Volhynia, survived the infamous Chmelnicki massacres of 1648-9 and recorded the atrocities in his woeful chronicle “Yeven Metzulah” (Venice, 1653). In Italy, where he sought refuge, he made the acquaintance of the great kabbalists of the time: Moses Zacuto, Hayyim Cohen, Nathan Spira, and Benjamin Halevi. In the present work, Sha’arei Zion, Hanover recorded for posterity the Lurianic traditions he imbibed from these men, in turn, his work served as a conduit for the kabbalistic traditions and became immensely popular. After being forced to leave Slavita, the printers, the Shapiro Brothers published a number of titles in Jozefow before finally settling in Zhitomir. Most of the title-pages of these books (as this one) have the word "Slavita" in large bold letters, while in far smaller letters is stated: "Published in Jozefow by the press previously in..." followed by the word "Slavita" prominently in bold