Elijah’s Cup – Magnificent Silver Goblet from the Estate of Rebbe Yitzchok Wertheim of Bender / Rebbe Yitzchok of ...

Elijah’s Cup – Magnificent Silver Goblet from the Estate of Rebbe Yitzchok Wertheim of Bender / Rebbe Yitzchok of Bender’s Handwritten List of Books, 1869

1. Elijah’s cup – Magnificent Silver Goblet "from the estate of Rabbi Yitzchok of Bender". [Moscow, Russia, 1837].
Silver, repoussé and engraved (marked with the silversmith’s mark of Gavrila Ustinov; silver examiner’s mark of Nikolai Dubrovin; city mark; and silver quality mark); gilt; niello.
Large, splendidly made goblet, with a polygonal (multifaceted) body and a smooth tall, broadening rim. On the base of the cup in an engraved (Hebrew) inscription: "From the estate of my grandfather, the righteous rabbi, R. Yitzchok of Bender". The body of the cup has 14 facets, adorned with niello craftsmanship, producing vertical, alternating gilt and silvery decorative bands bearing recurrent vegetal patterns. Artfully engraved in large Hebrew letters, in square, Ashkenazi script, just beneath the rim, is the inscription "Cup of Elijah". Apparently, this inscription was engraved on the cup at some point in the 19th century, either at the time it was gifted to Rabbi Yitzchok Wertheim, or when it was handed down to some member of his family. The lower inscription, ascribing the cup to the estate of Rabbi Yitzchok of Bender, was evidently added following his passing in 5671 [1911].
Another kiddush cup, also the product of the silversmith Gavrila Ustinov and also bearing a Hebrew inscription, can be found in the Collection of The Israel Museum, Jerusalem (item no. B55.03.0949).

Height: 10 cm. Diameter at rim: 9 cm. Good condition.

Reference and exhibitions:
 • Passover Splendor: cherished objects for the seder table, Barbara Rush. New York, 2004, p. 68 (illustrated).
 • A Mosaic of Israel's Traditions, by sther Shkalim. Jerusalem, 2006, p.203.
 • Koscher & Co. über Essen und Religion, edited by Michal S. Friedlander. Berlin, 2009, p. 226.

 • Jodendom: een boek vol verhalen, by Edward van Voolen. Amsterdam, Museumshop De Nieuwe Kerk, 2011, item no. 98.
 • Alles hat seine Zeit / A Time for Everything, edited by Felicitas Heimann-Jelinek. Heidelberg, Kehrer, Jüdisches Museum München, 2013, pp. 86-87.

2. Catalogue list of a collection of treasured books / "Zikhron BiSefer Tokhen HaSfarim". A list of books, handwritten by Rabbi Yitzchok Wertheim. Bender (or Bendery, a.k.a Tighina, today in Moldova), 5629 [1869].
A manuscript booklet, handwritten by Rebbe Yitzchok of Bender, containing a list of the roughly 620 books that would have comprised his personal library ("within the confines of my abode, which the Lord has mercifully bestowed upon me"), some of which he inherited from his father ("thanks to my dear father, may his virtue protect us, Amen") and some which he purchased himself, so as "to privilege my soul, and render satisfaction unto my Maker and Creator"). The list is arranged alphabetically. The Rebbe's inked stamp appears on the title page: "Yitzchok, son of the rabbi, example to the generation, Shimeon Shlomo, the Master of the Community Rabbinic Court Bender Wertheim".

[25] leaves. 21 cm. Good condition. Creases and minor stains. New binding.

Rebbe Yitzchok Wertheim of Bender was the son of rabbi Shimeon Shlomo of Bender and grandson of Rebbe Aryeh Leib of Bender, founder of the Bender Hasidic Court and brother of Rebbe Moshe Zvi Giterman of Savran (the surname "Wertheim" derives from their renowned grandfather, rabbi Samson Wertheimer of Vienna, chief rabbi of Hungary and Moravia). Yitzchok Wertheim was married to the daughter of Rebbe Yosef of Radvil. He gained fame as a miracle worker among the Jews of Bessarabia and Moldova thanks to the amulets he wrote and distributed, and was actively involved in the establishment of charitable and educational foundations in his city of Bender (Tighina). Rebbe Yitzchok was a disciple of rabbi Avrohom Yaakov Friedman, the First Rebbe of Sadigura, thus following in the footsteps of his father and father-in-law, who were disciples of Avrohom Yaakov’s father, the great Ruzhiner Rebbe, R. Yisroel Friedman of Ruzhin.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 017.001.084 (the cup) and EE.011.030 (the manuscript).
The cup is documented on the Center for Jewish Art (CJA) website, item no. 35777, and the manuscript is documented in the National Library of Israel (NLI).