9780405126154 (1 risultati)

Hardcover. Condizione: As New. No Jacket. In Hebrew. 247 x 175 mm. 34 page introduction by Shlomo Zalman Havlin. Limited, numbered, facsimile edition of 550 copies, on fine Swedish paper, of the first edition (Rome, circa 1469). This is a facsimile of the very first printed book of responsa and one of the earliest Hebrew incunabula. It is of great importance to scholars, as well as bibliophiles, since all the later editions have deviated from this first one. The RASHBA (c.1235-c.1310) was one of the greatest Jewish scholars of his time. Early in life he engaged in finance (at one time he had the king of Aragon among his debtors), but he later withdrew from business and accepted the position, which he was to hold for over 40 years, of rabbi in Barcelona. Recognized as the leading figure of Spanish Jewry before he was 40, his opinions carried great weight with communities all around the Mediterranean as well as in central Europe. Well versed in both Roman law and local Spanish legal practice, he played a vital role in the formation of the legal basis for the structure of the Jewish community and its institutions. Many of his responsa are devoted to communal matters and to the activities of rabbinical courts. Many others clarify problematic biblical passages and some deal with philosophy and the fundamentals of religion. He opposed both the allegorical method of interpreting the Bible that was then prevalent among the rationalists in southern France, and the extreme mystical tendency which was growing in Spain. He also engaged in both oral and written disputations with the detractors of Judaism. His responsa were a major source for the Shulhan Aruh. They are also of great historical importance, serving as a primary source of Jewish history. Unlike official documents and formal histories, they shed light on the lives of those who were neither kings nor generals, and on the beliefs and customs of that age. 7" x 9.5" x 1" 44. [4]. [?] pages. The Teshuvut is un-paginated.