Bidspirit auction | The Rema’s First Sefer! Mechir

The Rema’s First Sefer! Mechir Yayin on Megillas Esther Cremona, 1559  * An original commentary on Megillas Esther by Rabbi Moshe Isserles of Cracow, the Rema, who composed this work on the day of Purim 1556 while in exile (see below). This was the first sefer published by the Rema! According to the tradition that the Rema was born in 1540, he was sixteen when he composed this work and nineteen at the time of its printing. In his introduction, the Rema relates that he wrote the sefer in 1556, after fleeing his native Cracow which was consumed by a plague, to the city of Shidlov, near Warsaw. There they lacked even the most basic necessities — “and we had almost no water to drink” — and all the more so, on Purim, they had no wine, “and we could not fulfill the days of Purim with feasting and joy to remove sorrow.” For this reason, he called his sefer Mechir Yayin — ”the price of wine.” The Rema explains in his introduction, following the words of the Zohar, that Megillas Esther, like all the sacred writings, contains both revealed and kabbalistic meanings. Accordingly, he interprets the Megillah as a parable of a person’s life, which is rife with battles against one's evil inclination. At that time, there was no printing press operating in Cracow, and so the Rema sent the work to be printed in Italy. Cremona, 1559. First edition. Page Count: 24 leaves. Size: 19.5 cm. Condition: Good. American leather binding.