Collecting Seforim From A Judenrein Shtetl

Before being shut down by the Tsar in 1836, Yalkut Volhynia notes that my family's shtetl "was considered a junior partner to the Slavuta printing industry in the production of rabbinic literature. Many volumes can still be found in private collections, synagogues and libraries...."

Perhaps the largest private collection of seforim from this shtetl can be found on the bookshelf in my living room. Over the past few years, I have collected 22 seforim from this shtetl and continue to search for more. During my visit to Ukraine, I realized the importance of my collection when I discovered that little remained to testify to the fact that the shtetl once had a significant Jewish presence. Today the shtetl is Judenrein and the only remnants of the Jewish community include the ruins of a Jewish cemetery, a few remaining foundation stones from the destroyed shul, and three mass graves.

I would be fascinated to learn the stories of how these seforim made their way through time. One sefer in my collection has a stamp inside it that indicates that it survived the Nazis' destruction of the famed Yeshivas Chachmei Lublin library. I can only speculate the history behind how this sefer left the printing house in Ukraine, survived a fire, and wound up in an antique book store in Jerusalem.

Who were the people who passed these seforim down through the ages? I imagine that each sefer on my bookshelf has a story to tell and a secret yet to reveal.

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My collection of seforim from this shtetl consists of the following volumes:

Beis Ephraim - 1833
Chidushei Haran - 1836
Chidushei HaRashba - 1835
Kitzur Shnei Luchos HaBris - 1831
Maaneh Lashon - 1824
Masas Binyamin - 1833
Meir Einei Chachomim - 1834
Mikdash Melech - 1821
Netivos HaMishpat - 1830
Orchos Tzaddikim - 1835
Pnei Yehoshua (Chelek Shlishi v'Revi'i) - 1834
Pri Megadim - 1819
Sefer Ha'Agur - 1834
Sheulos U'Teshuvos Betzalel Ashkenazi - 1833
Sheulos U'Teshuvos Givat Shaul - 1834
Sheulos U'Teshuvos Maharam Alshich - 1834
Sheulos U'Teshuvos Radbaz - 1836
Sheulos U'Teshuvos Radbaz (Chelek Rishon) - 1836
Shita Mekubetzes - 1836
Shulchan Aruch - Chukei Daas - 1835
Simchas HaRegel - 1836
Trumat HaDeshen - 1835

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Besides seforim from my family's shtetl, I also collect printings of the sefer Degel Machaneh Ephraim. One day I hope to be able to purchase the first edition printed in Koretz in 1810. I am not sure this will ever happen since antique book sellers have told me that this printing has been previously auctioned for $5,000.

To date, I have collected the following printings of Degel Machaneh Ephraim:

1858 - Lemberg
1874 - Zhitomir
1883 - Yosefov
1883 - Warsaw
1912 - Pietrokov
1942 - Satmar
1963 - Jerusalem
1995 - Jerusalem

I continue to search for these four printings:

1850 - Zhitomir
1870 - Lemberg
1912 - Lodz
1947 - New York

If you ever come across any of these seforim, please let me know.