Auction 1 - Rare Hebrew Books, Manuscripts & Rabbinic Letters
Lot 14:
Description
Responsa of R. Yaakov ben Yisrael Halevi. Expanded edition published during the author’s lifetime. Venice, 1632–1634.
Rabbi Yaakov ben Yisrael Halevi ranked among the foremost rabbinic authorities of sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century Italy. After serving for many years as rabbi of Ferrara, he settled in Venice, where he continued to issue responsa on virtually every area of halakhah, particularly the complex questions of commerce and civil law that arose within the thriving mercantile communities of Renaissance Italy. His rulings were widely cited by subsequent generations of decisors, among them R. Chaim Benveniste, author of Kenesset Ha-Gedolah, as well as other leading Italian and Ottoman authorities.
Beyond its halachic importance, the collection serves as an unusually vivid historical document. A substantial group of responsa preserves the author’s prolonged conflict with influential lay leaders of the Ferrara community, a dispute that ultimately led to his departure for Venice. Rather than merely recording legal rulings, these responsa provide a rare first-hand account of the delicate balance between rabbinic authority and communal governance in Renaissance Italy, making the work an important source for the social history of Italian Jewry.
The publication history of the work is no less remarkable. The responsa had been prepared for publication years before they finally appeared, but financial difficulties repeatedly delayed the project. The editor, R. Binyamin ben Moshe di Rieti, lamented these obstacles in his introduction, expressing his determination to rescue the manuscript from obscurity despite the considerable expense of Hebrew printing. The present edition, bearing the date שצ״ב on its title page, represents the greatly expanded recension prepared under the author’s supervision, incorporating numerous additional responsa and revisions not found in the earlier printing. Although work on the edition began in 1632, the lengthy printing process continued until its completion in 1634.
The volume also preserves responsa and correspondence with several distinguished contemporaries, including R. Samuel Chayun, R. Chaim Alshich, and R. Aaron Ardot, transforming the work into a rich documentary record of the rabbinic world of sixteenth-century Italy. Issued from Venice—the foremost center of Hebrew printing in Europe—the edition reflects the city’s pivotal role in preserving and disseminating the literary heritage of Italian Jewry.
Physical / Copy-specific: 194 leaves. Modern binding. Ownership inscription reading, in part, “שייך לה״ה הרב הגדול שמואל… מליס”. The first two leaves have reinforced margins with minor worming not affecting text; page 2 trimmed at the lower margin. Pagination skips directly from 2 to 5, as issued. Tears to the upper corners of pp. 101 and 103; marginal tear extending from pp. 108–113; page 114 reinforced at the upper and lower margins with minor worming. A handsome copy of the definitive lifetime edition of one of the most historically revealing responsa collections of Renaissance Italy.
Reference: Benayahu, HaYahasim 230
Provenance: The collection of Abraham Lieberman, Flatbush, Brooklyn NY
Opening price: $800
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