Bidspirit auction | Sefer ha-Zikhronot, by Rabbi Shmuel

Sefer ha-Zikhronot, by Rabbi Shmuel Abohab. [Prague, ca. 1648]. First Edition - The book was printed anonymously — without mention of the author’s name, place, or year of printing. It contains ten sections, each entitled “Zikaron” (“Remembrance”), and each divided into subsections. Its content consists mainly of words of rebuke and exhortation concerning the observance of commandments that had become neglected among the people. A portion of the work deals with the issue of “Stam Yeinam” (wine handled by non-Jews), regarding which leniencies had become common in Italy at that time. Following the title page, the author included a brief preface in the form of a prayer that no error or misfortune should result from his words. The work was printed without rabbinic approbations, and for generations the identity of its author remained unknown — though it was cited extensively in halachic literature. The author, Rabbi Shmuel Abohab (1610–1694), was among the foremost rabbis of his generation, serving as rabbi of Verona and one of the leading sages of Venice, and author of She’elot u-Teshuvot Devar Shmuel. He sent this book to be printed in Prague, deliberately avoiding the superior Italian presses so as to conceal his authorship. The Chida (Shem ha-Gedolim, s.v. Sefer ha-Zikhronot) writes: “The author’s name is not mentioned in the book… yet we know that it was composed by the pious Rabbi Shmuel Abohab, one of the distinguished rabbis of Venice… and in his humility he omitted his name. To obscure the matter further, the paper is dark and the print inferior.” Included with this copy is an extensive scholarly essay discussing the author, the work, and the process by which the author’s identity was eventually revealed. Ownership stamps: “Beit ha-Midrash Ets Haim Ashkenazim, Amsterdam.” [4], 86 leaves. 18 cm. Very good condition. Light age-staining, minor worming, small repair label. Half-parchment binding.