28 Techinot.
Rare Survivals
[Judaica] 28 Techinots. Vilnius, Lithuania: 1854-1879.
28 vols.; 8-32 pages each; sewn.
Twenty-eight 19th-century techinots – women’s prayer books, Yiddish from Hebrew tehinot, meaning supplications – ranging in length from 8-32 pages. Composed by men and women alike, each of the pamphlets of guidance and prayer in this collection were produced for use by women and include subjects such as fertility, mourning, and women’s holidays.
A unique addition to Judaism’s rich textual heritage, the tradition of techinots dates to the 17th century. Traditionally, women did not play a role in theological discussions or in the creation of synagogue liturgy, but techinots have allowed women to secure a section of Jewish worship for themselves. This genre of literature became an important vehicle for Jewish reform movements in the mid-to-late 19th century, as well as one of the earliest ways in which Jewish women participated in religious literature. The prayer books often commemorate the biblical matriarchs, who symbolize many universal challenges faced by women. Originally coming out of Eastern European societies, Techinots were primarily written in Yiddish.
By the mid 19th Century, different forms of Tkinot appeared. As East European Jewish family structure changed, and the age of marriage rose, tkhines were composed that expressed an entirely new sensibility, influenced by the rising ideal of the of the Bourgeois family, with its stress on sentiment and emotional family ties and its new definition of gender roles…. Moreover, tkines themselves became vehicles for various reformist programs. Ben-Tsiyon Alfes (1850 – 1940), an Orthodox author and activist, composed Shas Tkhine Chadosho (A New Thkine of Six Orders) as an integral part of his project to spread love for traditional Jewish life, hoping thereby to counteract the influence of secularism. [NB: Two different printings of this last Thkine are in this collection.] (“Thkines,” YIVO Encyclopedia 2, pp. 1885-86)
Scarce individually, this grouping was compiled from individual volumes that were collected over time, bound together, disbound and dispersed again. The East European techinots (excepting those printed in Prague) were usually printed as small pamphlets on low quality paper, often with no imprint, making their bibliographic history difficult to trace as the inventory below attests.
A remarkable survival.
Inventory:
The Three Gates. Vilnius: 1854.
12mo.; 8 leaves, 16 pages; disbound; browned.
2. Techinot. Warsaw:1854.
12 mo.; 8 leaves, 16 pages; disbound; evenly browned.
3. Techinot of the Three Gates. Warsaw: 1854.
12mo.; 7 leaves, 14 pages; disbound; browned; wear to extremities.
4. Techinot of the Mothers. Zhytomyr: 1861.
16mo.; 11 leaves, 22 pages; disbound; browned.
5. New Techinot for the Month of Ellul. Zhytomyr: 1863.
16mo.; 6 leaves, 12 pages; disbound; lightly foxed.
6. The Smell of the Garden of Eden. Vilnius: 1869.
12 mo.; 8 leaves; 16 pages; disbound; foxed; wear to extremities.
7. A New Techinot for the New Moon of the Month of Ellul. Vilnius: 1872.
12mo.; 4 leaves, 8 pages; disbound; browned; hinges chipped.
8. The Three Gates. Vilnius: 1874.
12 mo.; 8 leaves, 16 pages; disbound; browned; hinges chipped.
9. Gates of Repentance. Vilnius: 1875.
12mo.; 8 leaves, 15 pages; disbound; browned; wear to extremities.
10. The Land of Israel. Vilnius: 1875.
12mo.; 8 leaves, 16 pages; disbound; browned; wear to extremities.
11. Six Orders. Vilnius: 1878.
16mo.; 16 leaves, 32 pages; disbound; foxed; leather strip from binding.
12. Techinot. Warsaw: 1876.
12mo.; 8 leaves, 16 pages disbound; browned; wear to extremities.
13. Techinot. Vilnius: 1877.
16mo.; 16 leaves, 32 pages; disbound; foxed; leather strip from binding.
14. Techinot. Vilnius: 1877.
12 mo.; 14 leaves, 28 p
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