Haggadah Collections » Yudlov 772 Haggadah Warsaw 1836

Yudlov 772 Haggadah Warsaw 1836

Publisher: David Ari Lieb

This Haggadah, featuring the Ma’aseh Nissim commentary, was printed in Warsaw in 1836 (תקצ”ו) on the printing presses of Dawid ben Arje Lejb Szkłower (David L. Sklower) [1].

🖋️ The Censorship Stamp

A feature of this copy is the prominent circular ink stamp placed directly over the center layout. During the 19th century, Congress Poland was under the iron grip of the Russian Tsarist regime, meaning no Hebrew book could be legally sold without passing government inspection.

“CENZI… AKSTA”: Short for Cenzura Akta, marking the official government registry file where this book’s approval was logged [1].
“HEBR”: Refers to the specialized Department for the Censorship of Hebrew Books (Cenzura Ksiąg Hebrajskich) [1]. Because general clerks could not read Hebrew, a dedicated sub-committee analyzed the text [1].
“OSW” & “PUL”: Administrative marks showing the book was cleared by the Ministry of Education (Oświecenia) for public (Publicznych) sale and distribution [1].

👑 What Were They Censoring?

Unlike earlier religious inquisitions, the 19th-century Russian censors were looking for political subversion. They carefully checked the text to ensure that discussions of liberation from the Egyptian Pharaoh could not be read as a secret allegory encouraging Jews to revolt against the Russian Tsar. They also policed expressions of nationalism or messianic yearnings that went against imperial assimilation laws .

The presence of this seal proves that THIS SPECIFIC COPY was personally held, vetted, and signed off by an imperial clerk—making it a verified “first-wave” book cleared for history.

SPECIAL