Volume of Mohel Ledgers from Szeged – Documentation of Thousands of Circumcisions From 1806-1859 – Incantation ...

Volume of Mohel Ledgers from Szeged – Documentation of Thousands of Circumcisions From 1806-1859 – Incantation against the Evil Eye by the Author of the "Yismach Moshe"

Volume containing nine Mohel ledgers ("Mohel bichels") from Szeged (Segedin, Hungary), from the years 1806-1859.
Nine handwritten ledgers of Mohalim (circumcisers) from Szeged, bound in one volume. The ledgers document the activity of the city's Mohalim in the first half of the 19th century and contain thousands of names of community members and many biographical and genealogical details. The present item is a valuable documentary source for the history of the Jews of Szeged in the 19th century.
At the beginning of the volume is an inscription (in Hungarian) recording a decision that a circumcision ledger was to be handed over to the Rabbi of Szeged, R. Dr. Leopold Löw. An additional inscription signed by his son and successor, R. Dr. Immanuel Löw, states that the ledgers were bound together in 1880.
At the beginning of the ledgers are added inscriptions (made when the ledgers were assembled), with the names of Mohalim, their numbering in the volume, and more. Stamps of "Szegedi Főrabbisag 1850" [=Chief Rabbi of Szeged, 1850] appear on the leaves of the ledgers (1850 was the beginning of R. Dr. Leopold Löw’s tenure as Rabbi).

Description of ledgers:

· Ledger of Mohel R. Avraham Schweiger – contains 188 inscriptions on circumcisions between 1817-1840 (on R. Avraham Schweiger, an activist of the city involved in the deposition of R. Daniel Pillitz in 1847 for his support of religious reforms, see: R. Yekutiel Yehudah Grünwald, Korot HaTorah VehaEmunah BeHungaria, Budapest 1921, p. 63).

· Ledger of Mohel R. Leib Fischer and his son R. Yehonatan Fischer – contains about 80 inscriptions on circumcisions performed by R. Leib Fischer between 1816-1837 (including the circumcision of his son Yehonatan in 1821). At the end of the ledger is an inscription on the passing of R. Leib, "my beloved, dear disciple R. Leib Fischer", signed "Moshe Gottein" (R. Moshe Goitein was also a Mohel in Szeged, and his ledger is bound in this volume; see below).

At the beginning of the ledger are added about 15 inscriptions on circumcisions performed by the son, R. Yehonatan Fischer, from 1845-1851. Before the first inscription is an opening paragraph (based on the prayer for a Mohel from Sod Hashem, widespread in Mohel ledgers): "…I give thanks and praise to His great name, for graciously granting me the merit to be the means of bringing Jewish children under the wings of the divine presence by circumcising them and removing their foreskins. In this book are the names of children circumcised by me, 1845". Several family inscriptions on the leaves of ledger.

· Ledger of Mohel R. David Ausländer, bound with Sod Hashem by R. David Lida, [Vienna, 1801] (missing title page and leaf 11). On the first leaf is the signature of the Mohel "David Ausländer, 1819". Contains over 470 circumcision inscriptions from 1819-1852. On the wrappers are early inscriptions of some of the circumcisions, which were later copied to the ordered inscriptions on the leaves of the ledger.

· Two ledgers of the Mohel R. Yehudah Pollak – the first ledger is bound with Sod Hashem, Vienna, 1814, with inscriptions on about 90 circumcisions between 1819-1833 (with mounted pieces of paper on circumcisions from 1834 and 1838). In the second ledger are inscriptions on over 200 circumcisions between 1819-1853. Some of the inscriptions overlap in the two ledgers. Between the two ledgers is a leaf with inscriptions on four circumcisions from 1854-1859.

· Ledger of the Mohel R. Moshe Zinner, with inscriptions on 102 circumcisions from 1842-1850. At the beginning of the ledger is an opening section (worded similarly to that of R. Yehonatan Fischer), dated 1842. On the last leaf are inscriptions in Yiddish mentioning names of other Mohalim in Szeged (whose ledgers are included in the present item): R. "Yehudah Pollak", R. "Hirsch Goitein" and R. "David Ausländ".

· Two ledgers of the Mohel R. Moshe Goitein (Gottein) and his son R. Tzvi Ze'ev (Hirsch Wolf) Goitein, bound at the end of Sod Hashem, Vienna, 1837 (an edition unknown bibliographically). Signature on title page: "Belongs to me, Hirsch Wolf Goitein, here, Segedin". The first ledger, of the son R. Hirsch Wolf, contains inscriptions on 159 circumcisions from 1832-1852. At the beginning of the ledger is an opening section (in square script): "I have come to note and record the names of the children that G-d has granted me the merit of being the means of bringing them under the wings of the divine presence, and circumcising and removing their foreskin… Tzvi Ze'ev son of Ella" (above the line is added: "[son] of Moshe"). Afterwards appears the ledger of the father, R. Moshe Goitein, with inscriptions on over 500 circumcisions from 1806-1852. The inscriptions also include family inscriptions. In many places, the Mohel added later to some of the names inscribed in the ledger that "they left the religion", adding curses against them. In 1839 appears the inscription: "Due to being occupied and having suffered misfortunes, as well as forgetfulness which human are wont to have, I did not note in this book the names of the dear children who were circumcised from 8th Av 1839 to 7th Adar II 1840, but they are recorded by the dear R. David Ausländer or by the dear R. Yehudah Pollak or by my dear son R. Hirsch Wolf".
Between the two ledgers and at the end of the second ledger are about 20 pages with various selections: Segulot, cures, sayings and more (in Yiddish and Hebrew). One leaf bears a hashbaa for ayin hara by the rebbe author of Yismach Moshe. Heading the hashbaa: "For ayin hara by R. Moshe Teitelbaum Rabbi of Ohel". 

· Mohel ledger, containing 29 inscriptions on circumcisions from 1834-1846. The beginning of the ledger is labeled "Abony" (Hungary). Two inscriptions are labeled "Kecske" (apparently Kecskemét, near Abony). One inscription is labeled "Körösújfalu". On the last page is an inscription in pencil: "Ledger of R. Yosef Klein, dayan here, Segedin – Abony".

R. Dr. Leopold (Lipót) Löw (1811-1875), a historian and one of the first Neolog rabbis in Hungary. Löw was born in Černá Hora (South Moravia), was educated in several yeshivas and studied linguistics, education and Christian theology. In 1841, he began to serve as Rabbi in Nagykanizsa (Hungary), learned Hungarian and was the first to use this language in synagogue sermons. He served as Chief Rabbi of Szeged from 1850 until his passing. In 1858-1867 he edited a Hebrew periodical called Ben Chananja.

His son, R. Dr. Immanuel (Avraham Chaim) Löw (1854-1944), was a Biblical and Talmudic scholar and a leading researcher of Semitic languages. Successor of his father as Chief Rabbi in Szeged, and a leader of Neolog Judaism in Hungary. He published various works and scientific studies, including "Aramaic Plant Names" (Aramäische Pflanzennamen) and "Flora of the Jews" – a study to which he dedicated most of his life, and which is considered to this day a foundational work in the field.

[130] leaves in manuscript (in addition to leaves of the books of Sod Hashem), and more blank leaves. Approx. 17-18 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains and wear. Stamps. Original binding (on its spine is mounted a piece of paper labeled in Hungarian: books of circumcision). Wear and damage to binding.