The Russian State Library in Moscow– until recently called the V.I. Lenin National Library of the Soviet Union – held an exhibition of Hebrew books last June.
The exhibition was initiated and arranged by Lev. M. Dagovich, whose official title is “Chief expert in Hebrew Literature at the Oriental Center of the Russian State Library,” and was organized by the library in cooperation with the cultural division of the Israeli Embassy in Moscow (the embassy paid for the protection of the books and the printing of the catalog and the announcements).
Dagovitch, who has been with the library since 1978 was born in Kovno in 1919 and graduated from the Hebrew high school (Gymnasiya Ivrit) of his home town. During World War II he served with the Red Army “from Stalingrad until Berlin.” From 1945 to 1947 he worked in Berlin as a Russian-German translator for the army.
At the exhibition were displayed 10 manuscripts, 12 incunabula (books printed before 1500) and 170 other books from the Hebrew treasures of the library.
The manuscripts included a 15th century Torah text with the accent signs, several liturgical works and Higayon by R. Moshe Hayyim Luzzatto. It is, apparently identical with Luzzatto’s Sefer HaHigayon, which has already appeared in print.
Joseph’ Albo’s Sefer HaIkkarim (Soncino, 1485). Rabbi Abraham Ibn Ezra’s commentary on the Torah, Naples, 1488),, Turim (Soncino, 1490) and David Kimhi’s Sefer HaShorashim (Naples, 1491) were some of the incunabula shown.
The other books, printed in different countries and in various periods, representing all fields of Jewish knowledge and learning: Bibles, commentaries on the Bible, tractates of the Talmud, Midrashim, rabbinical, kabbalistic and Hasidic literature, liturgy (including a miniature Siddur, 5×3 cm., printed in Amsterdam ( in 1699) and more. There were also Karaite prayer books, Hebrew works with translations in Ladino, Judeo-German, Judeo-Persian and Judeo-Arabic as well as communal publications, such as “Financial Statement of the Tzedaka Gedolah of Vilna (Vina, 1902) and programs of the Rabbinical Conference of Warsaw” (Warsaw, 1908).
The beginnings of the Russian State Library go back to the year 1862, when in a splendid palace near the Kremlin, Moscow’s first public library was opened. The basis of the library formed the rich collection of books and manuscripts which the heirs of Count Rumiantsev had presented to the state.
During the next 55 years, more than 50 private collections were donated to the library, which was used by Russian’s greatest writers: Tolstoy, Dotoyevsky, Chekhov and others.
After the Russian Revolution, when Moscow was made the capital of the Soviet Union, the Ruminatsev Library became the principal institution of its kind in the state. Lenin, who had used the library in his revolutionary days, and continued to use it after he rose to power, took a personal interest in its growth and development. Nationalized book collections were incorporated into the library. In 1921, the library began receiving books from abroad. After the death of Lenin the library was renamed for him and declared the National Library of the Soviet Union.
Since the 1930s, the library’s facilities have been greatly enlarged through the erection of additional buildings. Its large, beautiful reading rooms accommodate more than 2,300 persons. The library, which is furnished with the most technically advanced equipment, is reported to be in the possession of more than 40 million books and publications in circa 250 languages.
The number of the library’s printed Hebrew books is proportionally very small- 40,000 Hebrew works are listed in the catalog, according to Dagovitch. however, these include quite a number of very rare and valuable volumes. Moreover the library is also in the possession of precious Hebrew manuscripts, many of which are not found anywhere else. The Hebrew books and manuscripts of the library seem to have come, principally from two fine, private collections which were nationalized by the Communists: The fabulous collection of Rabbi Baron David Guenzburg, and the important libraries of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe Rabbi Sholom Dovber Schneerson, ZT”L and of his son and successor Rabbi Yosef Yitzhok, ZT”L.
(Continued next week)
The Jewish Press, Friday, Nov. 11, 1994, p. 70
(continued from last week)
Baron David Guenzburg, was a scion of the rich Russian Guenzburgs, who were philanthropists and communal leaders. He studied in Russia, Germany and France. A versatile scholar, he was particularly interested in Judaic and Oriental studies and made notable contributions in these fields. He assembled a precious collection of Hebrew books and manuscripts. In 1908 he established in St. Petersburg the Academy for Jewish Studies, which he headed until his death in 1910.
After the Russian Revolution his collection was nationalized and eventually incorporated into what was to become the V.I. Lenin National Library of the USSR.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Sholom Dovber Schneerson, ZT”L and his son and successor Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok ZT”L were ardent book collectors. Rabbi Salom Dovber Levine, director of the Lubavitch Library in New York, states in his Hebrew book about the Lubavitch Library (Sifriyat Lubavich, NY 1993) that many of the extant letters of the Rebbe, Rabbi Sholom Dovber, related to the acquisition of books and he quotes from them at length. Rabbi Sholom Dovber considered buying the famous Abraham Merzbacher collection when it was offered for sale. The Rebbe did, indeed amass a large and very valuable library.
In the autumn of 1915, when the German army advanced into White Russia, the Rebbe, Rabbi Sholom Dovber and his family left Lubavitch for Rostov in the south of Russia. The Rebbe took along his manuscripts and the most essential books. The remainder of his library and the books of his son, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok — packed into 35 crates, which filled an entire wagon- were sent to a storehouse in Moscow.
According to R. Shalom Dovber Levine’s book, the storehouse. which was owned by a Jew, was nationalized after the Revolution. In 1921, the Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok, who had succeeded his father after the latter’s death in 1920, received permission to retrieve the books from the Moscow depot, but he couldn’t do so because at the time he didn’t have a place for them (half of the Rebbe’s residence in Rostova was taken over by the authorities who claimed that it was too large for him; he was also not permitted to rent additional facilities), When several years later he again asked for the return of the books– which in the meantime had been transferred to the Rumantsiev Library (later renamed the Lenin Library) – his request was denied.
The Rebbe never gave up the hope of getting back his books. Even after he left the Soviet Union he made endeavors to retrieve them. After the Rebbe’s death, his son-in-law and successor the late Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, ZT”L continued the efforts to regain possession of the books.
About two months ago, my wife, our youngest son Rabbi Chaggai Preschel, who serves as Rosh Yeshiva of the Oholei Yaakov Yeshiva of Moscow and I visited the Russian State Library in Moscow (formerly the V.I. Lenin National Library in Moscow (formerly the V.I. Lenin National Library of the USSR). We asked the Deputy Director for permission to see the Guenzburg collection. She immediately telephoned the Oriental Center and a few minutes later the center’s director and an assistant came to fetch us. “Our books are stored in a special, 19 story high annex. The Guenzburg books are on the 11th floor,” the director o the Oriental Center told us as she led us to an elevator. As short time later we found ourselves in a huge storeroom, among rows and rows of long shelves, on which were arranged Baron David Guenzburg’s Hebrew books. Pasted in each volume xwas a bookplate identifying the owner. The Guenzburg ex libris shows the coat of arms of the Guenzburg family surrounded by the Hebrew Misifrei M.G.D. “from the books of Mar (Mr.) Guenzburg David” and the verse “Kulach Yaffa Rayati UMum Ein Bakh” (Shir Hashirim 4:7), “Thou art altogether beautiful my beloved and there is no blemish on thee.” David Guenzburg seems to have chosen this verse for his bookplate to express and demonstrate his great love for his books.
Guenzburgs had given a number to each of his books. According to these numbers the volumes were arranged on the shelves before us. However, the numbers were not always consecutive. Often a volume would immediately be followed by one which had a much higher number. It was obvious that many books were missing. I asked the director of the Oriental Center about it. She told me that the “missing” books were not in Hebrew, but in other languages and they were placed in their respective departments.
(Continued next week)
The Jewish Press, Friday, November 18, 1994 p. 30
(Continued from last week)
In my last article I wrote about our visit to the stacks of the Russian State Library in Moscow. I will permit myself a slight digression.
Last week I met in Manhattan, the Russian-Jewish bibliographer Simeon Mordecai Iakerson, who authored books on the Hebrew incunabula preserved in the libraries of St. Petersburg and Moscow. He told me that Baron David Guenzurg’s ex libris- described in my last article– is reproduced in two books about Russian bookplates, which appeared in St. Petersburg in 1902 and in Moscow in 1905, respectively. Guenzburg’s is probably the only ex libris of a Hebrew collection mentioned in these books.
In my last article I explained the explained the Hebrew initials Mem Gimmel Dalet, which appear in Guenzurg’s ex libris as, as standing for Mar Guenzburg David, i.e. (From the books of) Mr. Guenzburg, David. I heard this interpretation from two persons of the Russian State Library, who are familiar with the Guenzerg collection, and I assumed that they had derived it from some document relating to the books. When I spoke to Iakerson I told him of my doubts regarding this explanation. He shared my view and suggested a different interpretation: Mishpahat Guenzburg David, i.e. (from the books of) the family of Guenzburg David. “David Guenzburg did not start the collection. It was begun by his grandfather and enlarged by his father and uncle. Thus it was, indeed, proper to call it the collection of David Guenzburg’s family,” Iakerson said.
He told me that he saw in the Russian State Library 20 Hebrew incunabula carrying the Guenzburg ex libris and added that, according to the old Jewish Encyclopedia (entry: Incunabula) the Guenzburg collection was in the possession of 25 such books.
I hope to write on another occasion about the interesting personality of S.M. Iakerson, the self taught lover and student of the Hebrew book, who learned the Alef Beth at the age of 16.
I also recently met Samuel Goldenberg, who was employed for 14 years- from 1980 until the end of November 1993- in the Hebrew department of the Russian State Library. A native of Czortkow, Eastern Galicia, he served during World War II with the Red Army. He was a soldier in the division which liberated his hometown. In his youth he studied Tanakh and Talmud with commentaries. After the war he graduated from Lwow University’s faculty of law. He later attended, for five years, courses in Arabic at the University of Moscow. During his service with the Russian State Library, he occupied himself much with the Guenzburg collection.
According to him, the Hebrew books of the Guenzburg collection– with the exception of the incunabula which were kept in a separate place — as well as those of some other collections, mainly Sifrei Kodesh, were for decades in accessible to the public. They gathered dust in the storehouses. It was only in 1980 that permission was given to prepare these books for use by readers.
He has written a book in which he tells the story of three generations of the Guenzburgs, traces the growth of their library, speaks of the various types of books represented in the collection and offers descriptions of the most important, valuable and interesting volumes. Goldenberg who now resides in Brooklyn is looking for a foundation or institution which could help publish his book.
Now, back to our visit to the Russian State Library.
When we asked the deputy director for permission to see the Guenzburg collection, we made no mention of our interest to see the “Schneerson Collection” (I.E. the books of the Rebbes of Lubavitch) as well. We knew that the Lubavitchers were making strenuous efforts to get these books back and feared that any request to see them might lead to a refusal to admit us to the stacks.
However, now after we had already been admitted into the stacks and were looking at Baron Guenzburg’s books, my son asked the director of the Oriental Center about the “Schneerson Collection.”
“It is on this floor. Not far from where we are she answered and led us to a row of shelves on the opposite side of the storeroom.
I took out several books, looked at their titles and searched for a signature, a stamp or a bookplate of one of the Rebbes of Lubavitch.
The director watched me in silence for several minute, then she removed a large volume (it was a copy of Tumat Yesharim printed in Venice in 1622) and showed me on the inside cover a Hebrew ex libris, saying: “This is what you are looking for.”
The bookplate read: “B.H. The Treasures of Sifrei Kodesh assembled by Yosef Yitzchok Schneerson of Lubavitch…..”
I thanked the director and asked her whether she would give us a copy of the bookplate. She ordered her assistant to prepare one and presented it to us.
(Continued next week)
The Jewish Press, Friday, November 25, 1994 p.24
When we first visited the Russian State Library, Lev M. Dagovitch, the expert in Hebrew literature, was not there. We met him on our next visit.
He told us about his work and about the exhibition of Hebrew books, which he had planned and organized. He said that a list of the Hebrew books in the Russian State Library had been forwarded to the Jewish National and University Library in Jerusalem enabling its librarians to establish whether the Russian State Library was in possession of any Hebrew books, which were not found elsewhere. The Russian State Library was also in the process of systematically microfilming manuscripts of the Guenzburg Collection and sending copies to the Jerusalem Institute for the Photography of Hebrew Manuscripts.
We also talked about the “Schneerson Collection.”
“Most of the Lubavitch books do not carry any ex libris or any other marks of ownership” Dagovitch said. “I asked the Lubavitch librarian Rabbi Levine to provide me with some distinguishing marks, such as the color of the binding, letters printed on the covers, etc., by which I could recognize the Lubavitch volumes. On the basis of the information I was supplied by Rabbi Levine, I was able to identify about 2000 Lubavitch books.”
However, Lubavitch is not satisfied,” Dagovitch continued. “Rabbi Levine claims that there must be many more Lubavitch books in the library.”
What are the claims of Lubavitch?
Soon after my return to New York, I contacted Rabbi Shalom Dovber Levine, the librarian of the Lubavitch Library, who participated in the negotiations with the Soviet authorities and the heads of the Lenin Library for the return of the books. He write briefly about these negotiations in his book about the Lubavitch Library. In our conversation he updated me on the situation.
In the 1980s the Lubavitcher made great efforts to have their books returned. They were helped in their endeavors by the late Armand Hammer and his Moscow office as well as by J. Weintraub, a Hollywood producer who was closely acquainted with Soviet leaders.
The Soviet authorities replied that they know nothing of a “Lubavitch” or “Schneerson Collection.” Even after they had been given a copy of the list of the books which the late Rebbe, Rabbi Shlom Dovber ZTL had sent in 1915 from Lubavitch to Moscow, they claimed that they could not locate the books. The late Mr. Hammer thereupon suggested that the Soviet authorities invite a team of Chabad experts to help in the search for the collection.
In the meantime, Rabbi Shalom Dovber Levine, attempted on his own, to ascertain whether the Lubavitch books were still in the Lenin Library for there were repeated rumors in the past that they had been removed from there. He picked the titles of 20 rare books from the list of the late Rebbe, Rabbi Sholom Dovber ZTL, gave them to a friend who was leaving for Moscow, and asked him to find out whether the books were to be found in the Lenin Library. The friend informed him that 12 of the 20 books were listed in the library’s catalog.
In 1988 Rabbi Shalom Dovber Levine, Dr. Nissan Mindel and Rabbi Shlomo Cunin were invited to Moscow to help in the search for the books. Not long after their arrival they were told that they would not be permitted to inspect the stacks, but would have to content themselves with examining the library’s catalog.
R.S.D. Levine handed the list of the 12 books of whose existence in the library he had learned from his friend, to one of the library’s directors.
Conclusion next week
The Jewish Press, Friday, December 2, 1994
Conclusion
The Lubavitch team met with Dagovitch who acknowledged that the 12 books — the list of which Rabbi S. D. Levine had handed on the library’s directors– were in the library, but he added that these books belonged to the Polyakov collection. He explained that he didn’t know anything about the origin of this collection, which contained more than 7,400 books. R. Levine thereupon expressed his opinion that this collection consisted in reality of the books of the Lubavitcher Rebbes and that the name of Polyakov (a family of Russian-Jewish bankers and railroad builders) had been attached to it by mistake.
When the 12 books were brought from the stacks, R. Levine discovered that four of them carried on their title pages, notes by the late Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok, ZT”L in his own handwriting.
“Now we were positive that the so-called Polyakov Collection were our Rebbes’ books,” Rabbi Shalom D. Levine told me.
The delegation appealed immediately to the authorities for the return of the books. They were given promises and returned to the U.S. with great hopes. The promises were not kept.
Towards the end of 1990, R. Shalom D. Levine visited Russia again. Once more he was given promises by the authorities, but the heads of the library refused to part with the books, declaring that first they had to make certain that the books were indeed, those of the Lubavitcher Rebbes.
It was at that time that Dagovitch asked R. Levine for some distinguishing marks by which he could recognize the Schneerson books.
“I described several marks. I also gave Mr. Dagovitch a copy of the list of books of the late Rebbe, Rabbi Sholom DovBer ZT”L,” Rabbi Levine told me.
When Dagovitch told him that on the basis of his information he could identify only about 2000 books, R. Levine responded that if he had searched for the books according to the list he was given, he would surely have found more volumes bearing marks which verified that they belonged to the Schneerson collection. Dagovitch countered that he was instructed by the heads of the library to search solely with the help of identification marks and not to use the book list.
R. Levine explained to Dagovitch and other members of the library’s staff why he was convinced that the “Polyakov” books belonged to the Schneerson collection. During his first visit to Russia, he and his friends had examined the library’s catalog and discovered it listed almost all of the Lubavitch books. Moreover, for decades, the books of the so called Polyakov collection were kept together as a separate entity. The fact that this separate collection included more than 2000 books which without doubt belonged to the Rebbes of Lubavitch, was surely proof that all the volumes belonged to Lubavitch and the title “Polyakov Collection” was a mistaken designation.
After the political upheaval in Russia in the summer of 1991, the authorities submitted the request of the Lubavitchers to the Moscow Court of Arbitration, which decided that the books must be returned. The government too, issued an order for their return. But all this was to no avail. The books have remained in Moscow.
“We continue our efforts for the return of our books. We are confident that one day — and that day my not be far off — the heads of the library will become convinced that many thousands of Hebrew books in their possession are ours and they will restore them to us,” R. Levine said.
The Russian State Library also holds Lubavitch manuscripts. The heads of the library do not deny their former ownership and have even supplied the Lubavitch Library in New York with a list of these writings.
In a separate article we will write about editions of books which are entirely or partly based on manuscripts preserved in the Baron Guenzburg collection in the Russian State Library.
The Jewish Press Friday, December 9, 1994, p.25