Bidspirit auction | ALBO, YOSEPH. Sepher Ikrim [philosophy].

ALBO, YOSEPH. Sepher Ikrim [philosophy]. Hebrew and Latin marginalia. ff. 171. Previous owner’s marks, some staining. Contemporary vellum, lightly worn. 4to. Vinograd, Venice 226. Venice, Cornelio Adelkind for Giovanni di Farri, 1544. The Sepher Ikrim presented religious-philosophical problems in a clear form that made them broadly accessible and comprehensible. The author’s philosophical expose proceeds from the view that every religion is founded on three basic principles: The existence of God, Revelation, and Reward & Punishment. True Faith, according to R. Yoseph Albo, is one that recognizes not only the roots of these three fundamental principles, but also their logical consequences. Thus the goal of man lies in perfecting himself - and the way of human perfection, lies in striving to become similar to the supreme symbol of perfection, i.e. God. This can be achieved by doing good through the loving fulfillment of His will, by way of observance of the Mitzvoth. Sepher Ikrim also discusses the terrors of the catastrophe that befell Spanish Jewry. It interprets suffering as “chastisements of love” imposed as a trial seeking to strengthen the bond between God and Israel.