Bidspirit auction | Menorat HaMaor with the Commentary

Menorat HaMaor with the Commentary Nefesh Yehudah. Amsterdam, 1700–1701. First Edition of this Commentary. Small and Elegant Copy - Menorat HaMaor – by Rabbi Yitzhak Aboab of Spain, with the Commentary Nefesh Yehudah by Rabbi Moshe ben Shimon Frankfurt. Amsterdam, 1700–1701 [Tav–Samekh / Tav–Samekh–Aleph]. First Edition of this Commentary. Small and Elegant Copy. Very Good Condition. A beautiful Amsterdam edition of Menorat HaMaor, the classic ethical and homiletic work of Rabbi Yitzhak Aboab (known as HaDarshan HaGadol – “the Great Preacher”), one of the foremost rabbis of pre-Expulsion Spain. Organized around the symbolism of the seven branches of the Temple Menorah, the book comprises seven sections devoted respectively to faith, reverence of God, proper character traits, Torah study, prayer, charity, and social conduct. It became one of the most influential Jewish moral works of all time and was for centuries a central text in Jewish homes and study circles. This edition includes for the first time the important commentary “Nefesh Yehudah” by Rabbi Moshe ben Shimon Frankfurt, the distinguished rabbi and Av Beit Din of Amsterdam. His lucid, learned commentary expands upon Aboab’s homilies, elucidating them through ethical reflection and rabbinic insight. This is the first edition of the commentary, which was later reprinted in numerous subsequent editions throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The title page bears the date 1700 (Tav-Samekh), while the colophon records 1701 (Tav-Samekh-Aleph) – indicating that the printing extended over two years, as was common in major Amsterdam presses of the period. The volume contains notable approbations from leading rabbis of Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and Rotterdam, underscoring the esteem with which this edition was received among Western European rabbinic circles at the dawn of the eighteenth century. A small, elegant copy, finely printed on bright, high-quality paper, preserved in a handsome contemporary wooden binding covered in leather, with gilt tooling and remains of original clasps – a characteristic feature of fine Amsterdam bindings of the era. [12], 330 leaves. Height: 16.5 cm. Condition: very good. Clean, crisp paper; minor wear consistent with age. A charming and well-preserved copy of this landmark edition – the first appearance of the Nefesh Yehudah commentary on one of the great moral classics of Hebrew literature.