Bidspirit auction | Rosh Yosef. Köthen, 1717. Signed

Rosh Yosef. Köthen, 1717. Signed by the Gaon Rabbi Yehudah Bonomo of Izmir. - Sefer Rosh Yosef, novellae on the aggadic passages of the Babylonian Talmud, by Rabbi Joseph ben Jacob of Pińczów, who served as Av Beit Din and Rosh Yeshivah of Selz in the early 17th century. A disciple of Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch of Lublin, he also served as rabbi of Kosova and Hamburg. First Edition. Köthen, 1717. With important approbations at the beginning of the volume from leading Lithuanian sages, including Rabbi David Oppenheim, Rabbi Judah Leib of Brisk, Rabbi Abraham Broda, and others. The title page bears the signature of the gaon Rabbi Yehudah Bonomo of Izmir. Also with an ownership inscription from the Beit Midrash of the philanthropist Aharon Yehudah, and an ownership inscription of the philanthropist Raphael Abraham Bonomo, father of Rabbi Yehudah Bonomo. Rabbi Yehudah Bonomo, affectionately known by his contemporaries simply as ”Rabbeinu, ” was one of the outstanding Torah scholars of Izmir. His father, the distinguished communal leader Rabbi Raphael Abraham Bonomo, passed away in 1837. In the eulogy published in Teshuat Yehudah (Derush 6), Rabbi Yehudah ben Benveniste extols Rabbi Yehudah Bonomo in glowing terms, describing him as holy from birth, devoted to sacred pursuits, diligent in the study and observance of mitzvot, beloved by both Heaven and mankind, charitable, and generous. He further relates that Rabbi Yehudah passed away tragically while still in the prime of his life. Similarly, in Derash Avraham (Parashat Vayakhel), Rabbi Nissim Abraham Ashkenazi writes of him: ”This young Torah scholar was worthy of profound mourning. He studied constantly in the Beit Midrash, producing original Torah insights day and night. He probed and challenged the texts tirelessly, afflicting himself with prolonged fasts and self-denial in pursuit of Torah.” Two sermons by Rabbi Yehudah Bonomo, titled Derashot Rabbi Yehudah Bonomo, were later appended to Matza Chen (Izmir, 1841) by Rabbi Eliyahu Hacohen. This is a rare imprint. As far as is known, only four seforim were printed in Köthen between 1717 and 1718. Köthen is located in the historic region of Anhalt-Bitterfeld in present-day Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. [2], 67 leaves. 25.5 cm.