Bidspirit auction | Or Zaru’a. Two parts. Zhitomir,

Or Zaru’a. Two parts. Zhitomir, [1862]. First edition. - A major halakhic work comprising legal rulings, talmudic commentaries, and responsa, including exchanges with the leading early Ashkenazic sages. Authored by Rabbeinu Isaac ben Moses of Vienna, a disciple of Ravyah (Rabbi Eliezer of Touques) and the teacher of Maharam of Rothenburg. Parts I–II were printed in Zhitomir by the brothers Rabbi Ḥanina Lipa and Rabbi Yehoshua Heshel Shapira, grandsons of the rabbi of Slavuta, in 5622 [1862]. This is the first edition. For centuries this important work lay hidden and unknown. It was first printed from an ancient parchment manuscript that had been preserved in the archives of Rabbi Akiva Lehrin of Amsterdam, and earlier in the collection of Rabbi Saul Berlin, author of Besamim Rosh. The manuscript was transported by ship; the ship sank, yet—miraculously—the manuscript survived. The book is adorned with approbations by the author of Ḥiddushei HaRim, Rabbi Isaac Elchanan of Kovno, and others. The author, Rabbi Isaac ben Moses of Vienna (c. late 12th–early 13th century), is among the foremost Rishonim and the teacher of Maharam of Rothenburg. He is also known as Rabbi Isaac Or Zaru’a, after this seminal work. Rabbi Isaac studied in the academy of Paris and was a disciple of Ravyah (after whom he apparently named his son Ḥayyim Eliezer), Rabbi Samson of Falaise, Rabbi Judah the Pious, and others. His son, Rabbi Ḥayyim Eliezer (Mahariḥ Or Zaru’a), prepared an abridgment of his father’s work, known as Or Zaru’a Ha-Katzar or Simanei Or Zaru’a. Rabbi Isaac achieved lasting renown primarily through Or Zaru’a, frequently cited by later halakhic authorities. Although composed in the 13th century, it was printed only in the 19th century. The work contains halakhic rulings, explanations, and responsa arranged by topics, in a manner akin to the order of the tractates. Several liturgical poems in the prayer rite are signed “Isaac ben Moses, ” and are attributed by some to Rabbi Isaac ben Moses of Vienna, author of Or Zaru’a. Part I: 4, [2], 5–232 pp. Part II: [4], 184 pp. Both parts bound together in a single half-leather binding. Condition: Very good.