Tzuras Ha’Aretz by Rabbi Avraham Hanassi, Basel, 1546.

Tzuras Ha’Aretz by Rabbi Avraham Hanassi, Basel, 1546.

First book on astronomy written in Hebrew!

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Fundamental Sefer

Sefer Tzuras HaAretz by Rabbi Avraham Hanassi ben Rabbi Chiyya HaSephardi

Fundamental work on astronomy regarding the structure of the earth and orbits of the planets, complete with diagrams. Printed together with the work Kitzur Meleches Hamispar by Rabbi Eliyahu Mizrachi, the Re’em.

Rabbi Avraham Hanassi ben Rabbi Chiyya HaSephardi lived in the 11th century in the period of the early Rishonim. His extensive works on astronomy, geography and mathematics were the first to appear in Hebrew and are regarded as Jewish fundamentals on these subjects. Rabbi Avraham Hanassi’s writings were studied and discoursed by the greatest Jewish philosophers and commentators of all times, among them the Rambam, Ibn Ezra, Radak, Rabbeinu Bechaye and more. It was subsequently translated into several languages by gentile scholars who drew fundamental knowledge and understanding of astronomy from the book and its diagrams.

Basel, 1546. First edition. [9], 207. [1]: [5] + [1 blank leaf], 351, [1] side . Antique parchment binding with engravings and remnants of clasps. Two facing title pages and additional title page for Kitzur Meleches Hamispar. One of the title pages is partially printed in red ink. Beautiful, complete copy in good condition.

Provanance:The title page is imprinted with the stamp of philanthropist Moshe Chalifin of Berlin, who was famous for his impressive library.

Stefansky Sifrei Yesod #507

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