Obj. ID: 55235
  Ephemera  Ushpizin plaque, Jerusalem, circa 1870

The following description was prepared by William Gross:

This is an early version of a printed Sukkah plaque from Jerusalem, and, perhaps, the and one of the earliest single-sheet printing with illustrations printed in Jerusalem. This was issued  by Bak after establishing his press in Jerusalem in 1841.

Yisrael ben Avraham Bak was born in in1797 in Berdichev, Ukraine. In 1815, he founded a printing press in Berdichev where he published 30 books until the press closed. Finally, in 1831 he made Aliyah to the Holy Land and settled in Safed where the following year began Hebrew printing for the first time after 245 years. His press was damaged in both the peasant revolt of 1834 and the earthquake of 1837. The final destruction came with the Druze revolt of 1838, after which Bak left Safed and went to Jerusalem. In 1841 he once again established for the third time a Hebrew press in a different city.  This was the first Hebrew press ever in the Holy city of Jerusalem. For 33 years Bak continued to print in Jerusalem, some 130 volumes in all and many single-sheet publications, until his death in 1874. In addition to the importance of his printing activity, Bak was also a leader of the Chasidic community and with his son Nisan established the Tiferet Israel synagogue in Jerusalem for Chasidim.