Auction 6 Special and rare items
Nov 22, 2018 (Your local time)
Israel
 Yehuda ha-Nasi St 22, Jerusalem
ספרים ומכתבים, מסמכים היסטוריים, ארכיונים של גדולי ישראל, פולמוס, תצלומים, אנטישמיות ושואה, הרצל וציונות, בולאות, שטרות, חפצי יודאיקה ואמנות
The auction has ended

LOT 48:

The Custom of "Chalakeh" on Lag Ba'Omer in Meron – an Illustrated Publication in Golden Ink, with the "Sidelocks ...

Sold for: $220
Start price:
$ 200
Estimated price:
400-500$
Auction house commission: 20%
VAT: On commission only
tags:

The Custom of "Chalakeh" on Lag Ba'Omer in Meron – an Illustrated Publication in Golden Ink, with the "Sidelocks Song" – a Nice, Special Item – Jerusalem, 1930 – "Then the Child Gets a Jewish Face"
A leaf rpited on both its sides with illustrations and inscriptions about the celebration of Lag Ba'Omer in Meron, with an emphasis on the well-known custom of the "Chalakeh". Solomon printing press. The 7th of Iyar [1930]. The illustrations and inscriptions are in golden ink.
A rare item: the leaf is extremely rare. It is most likely that not many copies of it were printed, and those that were, came into the hands of children, who were not careful with them. The leaf is not listed by the Bibliography of the Hebrew Book and does not exist in the National Library and other libraries in Israel, except for a single copy that is kept in the " Collection of the Central Archive for the History of the Jewish Nation".
The leaf has never been seen in auctions.
Before us is a rare, authentic copy of the "Sidelocks Song" (printed on the leaf), which provides a unique peek at the custom of Chalakeh of those days.
Description of the leaf
On the first page, the following inscription appears:
"The celebration of lag Ba'Omer – the Hillulla of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai – a custom of Israel is considered Torah! Man is the tree of the field and you must circumcise its fruit … a three-year-old baby is put in a room and is educated to observe the commandments and do good deeds. On Lag Ba'Omer it is the custom of the Land of Israel to cut the child's hair, leaving his sidelocks … and then the child gets a Jewish face and you can see he is of the Jewish Nation …"
On both sides, nice illustrations of the figures of Moses and Aaron.
On the second page, the "Sidelocks Song" is printed, in Yiddish, vowelized. At its center, a Star-of-David with various verses.
The name of the writer and printer is not mentioned by the leaf; however, our sources revealed that it is Rabbi Meir Ha'Cohen, who was a well-known activist of the Old Yishuv.
He printed similar leaves during the 1940's (which are more common); however there is a significant difference: on the second page, instead of the beautiful "Sidelocks Song" which is printed on the leaf before us, he printed a certain table related to the custom of the Chalakeh.
Age of item: 88 years old.
Condition: Good. There are tears in the wide margins, most of them with no damage to what is printed.