The Business of Seforim (with Israel Mizrahi)

In 1939, Albert Einstein wrote a letter about the fate of German Jews trapped in Europe with nowhere to go. “The power of resistance which has enabled the Jewish people to survive for thousands of years has been based to a large extent on traditional traditions of mutual helpfulness,” he wrote. “We have no other means of self-defense than our solidarity.” That letter—one of 155 lots in Israel Mizrahi’s first auction—is a reminder that the book business is never just about books. It is about the stories, the survivals, and the people who kept them alive.

The Bookstore as a Living Archive

Israel Mizrahi runs Mizrachi Bookstore in Brooklyn, a brick-and-mortar operation that holds roughly 600,000 unique volumes. Unlike a new bookstore that stocks multiple copies of the same title, about 80% of his inventory consists of distinct books. The store has a main floor for browsing, a lower level for overflow, and a separate floor for books cataloged online—off-limits to walk-ins to avoid chaos. Every book on the shelf came from somewhere: a downsizing retiree, an estate, a house clearance, or a customer who simply mailed in a box of books they thought Mizrahi would appreciate.