Bidspirit auction | Manuscript: Torah Novellae, Riddles and

Manuscript: Torah Novellae, Riddles and Jokes by Rabbi Yosef Simchon - When he was Only 14 Years Old!!! - Notepad in clear penmanship with Torah novellae, various compilations, riddles, rhymes and witty jokes by the youth Yosef Simchon. Jaffa, 1869-1870. Written when he was only 14 years old!! This is apparently a manuscript by the gaon Rabbi Yosef Simchon, one of the renowned sages of Jaffa, and rabbi of the Old City of Jaffa. On the second title page: ”Title page of the novellae: I compiled this book in the sacred city of Jaffa ... it is my book, me, the tiny youth, Yosef Simchon ...  I compiled it for the year 1870 (כרת”י [תר”ל] )... at the age of 14 ...  May Hashem grant us the privilege of seeing the rebuilt Temple ...” This manuscript started being written in 1869, and was something of a personal notepad that accompanied Rabbi Yosef during that period. The renowned biographer David Tidhar writes that Rabbi Yosef was born in 1859. However, this notepad shows that he was 14 years old when this was written, in 1870, and if this is the case, the year of his birth should be earlier - in 1856, and not 1959. Rabbi Yosef ascended to the Land of Israel at the age of five, and when he grew up, he was one of the first founders of the neighborhoods upon which nearby Tel Aviv was based. How wonderful to find in the manuscript before us, a long passage occupied with exaltation of the Land of Israel! Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for a brief biography of Rabbi Yosef Simchon . [47] leaf, for the most part written on both sides. 17 cm. Many of the writer's calligraphic signatures. Moderate condition. Worming perforations and tunnels, with damage to the text. Original binding, worn.