92 200 LOPEZ, AARON (1731–82). Manuscript note: “Received of John Hyer for Acct. of Mr. Aaron Lopez six half barrels of Jew beef… four keggs of Jew beef salt and two kegs of tongue.” One page (cut). (Jamaica), 13th June, 1771. $1500 - $2000 ❧ Born in Lisbon, Aaron Lopez was a Jewish merchant and philanthropist who left Portugal for America in order to reclaim his Jewish identity. Through his varied commercial ventures, he became the wealthiest person in Newport, Rhode Island. In 1761- 62, Lopez unsuccessfully sued the Colony of Rhode Island for citizenship, eventually obtaining it in Massachusetts. 201 MERZBACHER, LEO (1810-56). Autograph Letter Signed written to Dr. Joshua Cohen, in English. A salutary letter of introduction from Leo Merzbacher, rabbi of Temple Emanu-El, on behalf of Rabbi Morris J. Raphall, who was going to Baltimore. Merzbacher writes: “I cannot permit Dr Raphall to leave for Baltimore without given him an introduction… He is in every respect a credit & an honor to our nation and you will feel happy in making his acquaintance.” One page. With integral blank. 8vo. New York, 23rd December, 1849. $800 - $1200 ❧ Leo Merzbacher, a native of Fuerth and erstwhile student of the Chasam Sofer in Pressburg, was the rabbi of Temple Emanu-El, the first Reform congregation in New York. Merzbacher was the editor of the first Reform siddur in the United States: Seder Tefillah - Order of Prayer for Divine Service (New York, 1855). 202 MORDECAI, JACOB (1762-1838). Autograph Manuscript in English (and some Hebrew) entitled: “Explanations of the Sacrifices from Maimonides More Nevochim or Teacher to the Perplexed.” Contains English translations of selected topics from Maimonides’ celebrated work. These topics include his treatment of the red heifer, scapegoat, the prohibition of meat eaten with milk, the altar, Cherubim, showbread, and the efficacy of sacrifices. To these Mordecai appended several other pieces related to the topic of sacrifices, including excerpts from John Landseer’s “Sabaean Researches” (London, 1823), and miscellanies, such as a translation of Rashi to Exodus 1:21, a miniature essay on whether the Jews were a nation or a sect, and one on the Masorah of the Bible: “The Masora is a system of criticism to preserve the true reading of the sacred text.” The Maimonides translations are not Mordecai’s own; they were transcribed from James Townley’s “The Laws of Moses from the More Nevochim of Maimonides” (London, 1827). 16 pages. Original wrappers. Sm. folio. (Richmond, Virginia), 5590, (1830). $8000 - $12,000 ❧ Jacob Mordecai was the son of Moses and Esther Mordecai, observant Jews who in 1760 emigrated from Germany to Philadelphia. During the Revolutionary War Jacob helped supply the Continental Army as a clerk to David Franks, the Jewish quartermaster to General George Washington and was later employed as a clerk for Haym Solomon’s brokerage firm. In a change of careers, Jacob Mordecai rose to become an educational pioneer in Warrenton, NC, where he ran a private liberal arts high school for women, popularly known as Mordecai’s Female Academy. The school revolutionized female education in the South, providing women a classical, as opposed to merely domestic, education. In time Mordecai settled in Richmond, Virginia, where he developed a close friendship with the newly arrived young immigrant Rabbi who was to make a considerable mark on the fortunes of 19th-century American Jewry: Rev. Isaac Leeser. Based upon this manuscript one can learn the profundity of Mordecai’s Jewish scholarship and obtain a window into the private intellectual life of an early American Jew, the topics in Jewish learning that interested him, and the sources he consulted. Lot 201 Lot 202 Lot 200