Bidspirit auction | Musaf Ha-Arukh. Amsterdam, 1655. First

Musaf Ha-Arukh. Amsterdam, 1655. First Edition. A Foundational and Rare Work - Musaf Ha-Arukh. Amsterdam, 1655 [Tav-Tav-Vav]. First Edition. A Foundational and Rare Work. The important work Musaf Ha-Arukh by Rabbi Binyamin Mussafia was composed as a supplement and expansion to Sefer Ha-Arukh by Rabbi Nathan ben Jehiel of Rome — the great and earliest Talmudic lexicon, which served as the cornerstone for all later scholars of rabbinic language and literature. This volume, which also includes the full text of Sefer Ha-Arukh, greatly broadens the linguistic and cultural horizons of the original work. Drawing upon his extensive knowledge of Greek and Latin, Rabbi Mussafia emphasized the necessity of understanding these classical languages in order to grasp the meaning of many expressions and terms found in the Mishnah and Talmud. Through his erudition, he shed new light on numerous words and concepts, and his contribution is regarded as a milestone in the study of Talmudic philology and in the history of Hebrew printing. On the first leaf of the introduction and the final leaf of the book appear the ownership stamps of “Midrash Etz Chaim of the Spanish and Portuguese Congregation” — the historic Beit Midrash of Amsterdam’s Portuguese Jewish community, one of the most prominent Jewish centers in Europe during the early modern period. [2], 193 leaves. 31 cm. Stefansky, Sifrei Yesod, no. 525. Condition: Very Good. Minor light age-staining. Bound in contemporary leather, lightly rubbed. A handsome and impressive copy of this important first edition.