HaMekach VeHamemkar. Venice, 1602. First Edition. Sefer Yesod on the Laws of Choshen Mishpat.

HaMekach VeHamemkar. Venice, 1602. First Edition. Sefer Yesod on the Laws of Choshen Mishpat.

A complete and rare copy of a Sefer Yesod on the laws of Choshen Mishpat by Rabbi Hai Gaon.

Authored by Rabbi Hai Gaon. This composition deals with laws of Mekach Umemkar, monetary laws, loans, mortgages etc. In his work, Rabbi Hai comprehensively approaches each topic, analyses the laws and arranges them in a most organized manner.

Rabbi Hai was outstanding in his Halachic expertise. He dedicated a separate composition for each area of Halacha and these writings are phenomenal in their clarity, depth and structure.

This copy has 5 additional leaves that are filled with a handwritten transcription of: The title page, the publisher’s preface, indices and the title pages 1 and 2 of the book. In addition, two of the index pages appear twice.

This copy also includes an additional title page with a beautiful illustration printed in the center, with details filled in by hand: Book title, author’s name, place and date of publishing, publisher’s details. It seems that this leaf was taken from a different book, and manually attached to this copy as an additional title page.

Rabbi Professor Simcha Assaf writes about this book “… The most prominent of Rabbi Hai’s books, with six title pages. It is therefore also called She’arim DeRav Hai…”

Printing of the First Edition: The book was first brought to print by Rabbi Moshe Levi Mintz, and proofread by Rabbi Yehuda son of Moshe Saltaro of Fano. In the publisher’s introduction (on the verso of the title page) he writes: “The book was printed from a manuscript that was kept in the Otzar Beit Medrash of Rabbi Avtalion of Modena (father-in-law of the proofreader).”

The rare, last leaf contains additional writings from the publisher:

“The famed commentator on the Torah Rabbi Ovadia Seforno also proofread the manuscript version that the book was printed from. He added some text of Halachot that were not apparent to the first author due to the lack of clarity from earlier copies that were blurry and worn.”

A handwritten annotation appears next to the publisher’s writings.

This book, according to what is printed prior to the book’s indices, was printed according to the translation of Rabbi Yitzchak Albarceloni and not according to the manuscript of the Italian sage’s translation (which is mention in the writings of Rabbi Simcha Assaf).

Rabbi Avtalion of Modena (1529-1611) was a leader of Italian Jewry in the 16th and 17th Century. He was a disciple of the MaHaram of Padua and led the Jewish community of Bologna for many years. Rabbi Avtalion later relocated to Ferrera. His son-in-law was Rabbi Yehudah Saltaro of Fano (Proofreader of this book), author of Mikveh Yisrael, Venice, 1607 on the Reggio Mikvah Polemic. Rabbi Avtalion’s nephew was Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh of Modena.

Rabbi Hai Gaon (930-1038) was the last of the Babylonian sages and stood at the helm of the Pumpeditha Yeshiva. He was the son of Rabbi Shrira Gaon. Rabbi Hai authored commentaries on the Talmud and other fundamental compositions. He authored responsa to thousands of Halachic queries. With Rabbi Hai’s passing, the glorious era of the Geonim came to an end.

Venice, 1602. Juan di Gara Press. First edition. Sefer Yesod.

97, [1] leaves. 20 cm. Good condition. Some worm holes. The title page and the following two leaves, and the final leaf are torn out. Leaf 69 has a small rip on the margins slightly affecting the text. New binding.

Stefansky, Sifrei Yesod No. 222.

First edition, complete and rare copy of a Sefer Yesod on the laws of Choshen Mishpat by Rabbi Hai Gaon.