Beschreibung
In Hebrew. The pages are not numbered. 221 x 145 mm. Half leather with attractive old marbled paper. Blank end papers are many inscription in Hebrew and Yiddish by previous owners. First edition was published in 1519 in Constantinople, second edition was published in Berlin. This is the third edition. Abraham ben Natan also known as Avraham ben Nathan HaYarkhi (HaYarchi) because he was probably born in Lunel, Langedoc. Lunel comes from Lune (French for Moon) and Yare'akh is the Hebrew world for "moon." He was born in the second half of the 12th century, received his education in Lunel, may have studied under Abraham ben David, but his regular rabbinical studies were pursued at Dampierre, Aube in northern France at the academy of Isaac ben Samuel. After a great deal of travelling he settled in 1204 in Toledo, Spain, where his learning quickly gained him the favor of the rich and learned Joseph ibn Shushan and that of his sons, Solomon and Isaac. To these patrons he dedicated this seminal work, Sefer Ha-Manhig (The Guide), or as the author called it, Manhig Olam, which he began writing in 1204 and completed it some years later. In its present form the book consists of two distinct portions, the first is a collection of responsa, compiled from his numerous written and oral decisions, some of the former of which still bear the usual epistolary conclusion: "Shalom! A. B. N." (Greeting! Abraham ben Nathan). The second part contains extracts from the halakhic works of Isaac Alfasi, Isaac ibn Ghiyyat and Isaac ben Abba Mari, a relative of Abraham's. While the Manhig did not exert great influence on halakhic literature and is only occasionally mentioned by rabbis of the Middle Ages, it is of some importance in the history of Jewish literature, for it contains numerous literal quotations from the two Talmuds and most of the halakhic and aggadic Midrashim, as well as from certain collections of aggadot which have been wholly lost. Consequently the Manhig contributes considerably to the textual criticism of all of those works. The Manhig provides interesting and instructive details concerning special synagogue usages, personally observed by the author in northern France, southwestern Germany, Burgundy, Champagne, Provence, England, and Spain, for which there is no other source of information. He tells us, for example, that it was the custom in France for children to bring their Christian nurses to the courtyard of the synagogue on Purim, where their parents and relatives loaded them with gifts. He relates also that this custom was strongly objected to by many, because the Jewish poor were losers thereby, and Rashi is said especially to have denounced it. Abraham is said also to have written a work entitled Mahazik haBede?, on the ritual for slaughtering animals for food, mention of which, however, is made by but one writer in 1467. Renan was mistaken in saying that this work is mentioned in HaManhig, for the words sifri mahaziq habedeq refer, as may be seen from page 2b, line 6, to the HaManhig, which was designed to counteract any schism in matters of ritual. Abraham Zacuto who is followed by David Conforte, ascribes (without giving his authority) a certain book entitled Mahazik haBede? to Abraham ben Nathan. RABN wrote also a commentary on the tractate Kallah, which is extant in fragmentary form only; specimens of it were given in the Hebrew weekly HaMaggid. During his long stay in Spain, Abraham learned Arabic sufficiently to translate into Hebrew a responsum by Saadia Gaon, which is to be found in the HaManhig. His responsa were also published in Wertheimer's Ginzei Yerushalayim, 1896. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 015995
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