Objects

The presented volume, belonging to the Tykocin Museum, consists of two books published and bound together by the Warsaw printing house of H. E. Bomberg between 1848 and 1849. The first is one of the later editions of "Simchat ha-nefesh" (Joy of the Soul) by Elhanan Hendel Kirchhan (1666-1757), Jewish poet and compiler, author of ethical literature in Yiddish. This work focuses on the manner and etiquette of Jewish life in Germany. Its first edition was published in Frankfurt am Main in 1707. The Joy of the Soul was a popular book, especially among women. The second part of the volume is "Ejn szejne historije wos wert gerufn Bowo majse", an edition of excerpts from "Majse-buch", a folk tale book. "Majse-buch" contains a comprehensive collection of stories, legends and folk texts written down in Yiddish by an anonymous author. It was first published in Basel in 1602 under the title "Eyn shoen Mayse bukh" (Beautiful Book of Stories).