Brafman Âkov Aleksandrovič- Jews and Kahals. A work published in Russian in Vilna in the year 1870 [Lviv 1875].

Brafman Âkov Aleksandrovič/ Jews and Kahals. Published in Russian in Vilna in 1870/ Lviv 1875/ by J.Dobrzanski and K.Groman's printing house/ translated by Kalikst Wolski/ second edition/ binding in half leather/ p.188/ Good condition-, leather rubbing on spine, corners of cover with rubbing, provenience stamps on title page and last page, some soiling in text, tear along inner margin of p.178, p.23 and 18 loose. Uncommon.

A work on the activities of kahals, or Jewish self-governments. In it, the author, Jacob Brafmann, advances the theory that the traditional form of Jewish self-government forms a network through which Jews supposedly rule the world; he accuses the communities of manipulating and exploiting non-Jews and of working to the detriment of the general public through secret persecution and other unethical practices. The book is based on an extensive collection of alleged "kehillah records and documents" from 1794-1833, arranged in numbered extracts. It outlines the extent of the authority of the kehillah and bet-din (with enforcement of decisions by the herem), the role of the "factotum" as an intermediary with secular authorities, the system of financing through fees and a tax on kosher meat (with supervision of slaughterhouses), and the network of brotherhoods (chevrot) - Talmudic, charitable, funeral and craftsmen. It includes regulations for rituals and social gatherings (e.g., circumcisions, weddings), comments on the "authenticity" of the material (paper, writing, watermarks) and references to state norms favoring the collection of fees; the final portions move on to a description of the ritual of aliyah (Torah reading). The whole is meant to prove - in the author's interpretation - the existence of a centralized, causal power of the kehillah affecting the life of the community and its surroundings.