"Out of the Depths I Call to You, O Lord"
Beautiful Commentary on Tehillim in the Handwriting of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch
Germany, 19th Century
Four large sides in the handwriting of one of the greatest figures of German Jewry, the towering intellectual and visionary, Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, rabbi of the Adath Jeshurun community in Frankfurt am Main.
In these pages, Rabbi Hirsch expounds upon the eight verses of Perek 130 in Tehillim: "שיר המעלות, ממעמקים קראתיך ה” ("A song of ascents, out of the depths I call to You, Hashem”).
The text is written in German, with two words in Hebrew: ב”ה (B’ezras Hashem – With Hashem’s Help) at the top of the first page, and "סלחתי" (I have forgiven).
Autographic handwriting characteristic of Rabbi Hirsch, with corrections and erasures. A comparison has not been made between this manuscript and the printed version, which was first published in Frankfurt in 1882. (Attached are photographs of the commentary in German from the 1914 Frankfurt am Main edition, with its Hebrew translation.)
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888) was the “guardian of Khal Adath Jeshurun in Frankfurt.” He fought against the Reform and endeavored mightily to safeguard the nation from the clutches of the Enlightenment and assimilation. Rabbi Hirsch was a prolific author, whose writings on Torah philosophy and guidance for youth left an everlasting impact for future generations.
Germany, apparently before 1882. Two large double-sided leaves.
Size: 22.5 x 28.3 cm. Thin German paper.
Condition: Good, with minor tears at the edges and ink burns.
