Bidspirit auction | Responsa Be'er Esek – Venice,

Responsa Be'er Esek – Venice, 1674. Only Edition – Halachic Controversies. Signatures - Sefer Be’er Esek – A Collection of Responsa. By Rabbi Moshe Shabbetai ben R. Menachem Mendel Chaim Be’er Only Edition.  Venice, 1674. This rare and important responsa work was written by Rabbi Moshe Shabbetai Be’er, one of the notable students of Rabbi Menachem Azariah of Fano (רמ”ע מפאנו), and of Rabbi Aharon Berechiah of Modena, author of Ma’avar Yabok. He is also the author of: Yotzer for Hoshana Rabbah (Venice, 1668), B'Shefela Eshta'ol (Verona, 1821), Lev Avot al Banim (Livorno, 1824). In 1673 he journeyed abroad as a rabbinic emissary on behalf of the Holy Cities of Eretz Yisrael, but passed away while on that mission. Some of the responsa printed in this work sparked considerable halachic debate, especially: His testimony that his teacher, the Ram”a of Fano, shaved his beard. His lenient rulings regarding reciting Kiddush and Havdalah over stam yeinam (non-supervised wine). These rulings led to fierce objections. The Rabach (R. Chaim Benveniste) wrote critically: “The words of the author of Be'er Esek are not to be relied upon, as many halachic authorities have already contended with him.” Another notable responsum addresses the question whether to continue reciting kinot (dirges) for the destruction of the Temple after the appearance of Shabtai Tzvi. Rabbi Shabbetai answers decisively: “They must continue to be recited until we truly go from bondage to freedom...” Shlomo Volk – antique signature on the title page Raphael son of R. Baerman Segal – antique signature “Eizik Kalisch” – another early signature of note [4], 134 leaves. 20.4 cm