Klausen Book of Psalms

According to the colophon, the scribe in Prague who produced the Klausen Book of Psalms, Shabbetai Sheftel ben Zalman Auerbach (d. 1738), was descended from a family expelled from Vienna in 1669/70, and his father served as a dayan (rabbinic judge) in Nikolsburg. The colophon also states that the manuscript was copied accurately and has vowel markers. In it, Auerbach describes himself as an “expert scribe and craftsman.” The manuscript was donated to the Klausen Synagogue by the followers of the rabbi and commentator Meir Perles (1666–1739). On the frontispiece, below the biblical figures of Moses (on the right) and Aaron (on the left), is an image of six Jews in prayer shawls making their way toward a building that may represent the Klausen Synagogue. Two other manuscripts by Auerbach are known: a collection of liturgical poems for the morning service produced for the Maisel Synagogue in Prague (1719) and a collection of memorial services and prayers dedicated to the memory of his family (1731).