Auction 5 Rare Hebrew Books, Manuscripts and Silver
By Taj Art
Sep 13, 2022
16 Betzalel st. Jerusalem 94591, Israel
The auction has ended

LOT 146:

Thanksgiving Prayer. Rare and Significant Jewish Document During the Siege of Prague, 1757.


Start price:
$ 400
Estimated price :
$600 - $800
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Auction took place on Sep 13, 2022 at Taj Art
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Thanksgiving Prayer. Rare and Significant Jewish Document During the Siege of Prague, 1757.


A rare pamphlet printed by the Jewish community of Prague, in the city’s Old-New (Altneu) synagogue, containing prayers of thanksgiving recited by the Jews of Prague in 1757. These prayers were said following the end of the siege on the city and the retreat of the enemy, Frederick the Great.

The siege of Prague was an unsuccessful attempt of the Prussian army, led by Frederick the Great, to capture the Bohemian city of Prague during the Third Silesian War (Seven Years’ War). This took place in May, 1757, immediately after the Battle of Prague. Despite winning this battle, Frederick lost 14,300 men, and his greatly weakened power was not sufficient to attack Prague. Instead, Frederick decided to lay siege to the city, hoping to force it to surrender from lack of supplies.

During the siege, the members of the Jewish community were busy fortifying the walls, extinguishing fires that broke out in the city and with other assistances. Even on Shabbat, the Jews continued to strengthen the fortifications of the city, their work limited solely to rabbinical prohibitions (which in times of war are not prohibited).
At the end of the siege, a special thanksgiving prayer was established, and when ‘Maria Theresa’, archduchess of Austria and queen of Bohemia and Hungary, paid a victor’s visit to the city, the Jewish community took part in the royal reception, including ‘wondrous dances’ by ‘the maidens of Judah’ – the girls of the community (in the words of ‘Mofet Hador’, page 36).