Bidspirit auction | Masoret HaBrit HaGadol – Rare,

Masoret HaBrit HaGadol – Rare, Sole Edition. Mantua, 1622 - Masoret HaBrit HaGadol, a commentary on approximately 1,650 Masoretic traditions found throughout the Bible, by the Gaon and Kabbalist Rabbi Meir Angel. Mantua, printed by Yehudah Shmuel of Perugia, 1622. Rare, sole edition. A unique work combining Masorah, homiletics and Kabbalah, containing explanations and discourses on the Masoretic traditions of the Bible, based upon the precise traditional reading of the Biblical text. The author states that the material originated in sermons he delivered over the course of many years, and in the present edition he expanded his work to encompass all the books of the Bible. At the end of the volume appears a short prayer based on Kabbalistic teachings, composed by the author himself. The present work is an expanded version of the author's Masoret HaBrit, printed in Krakow in 1619 and well received among the sages of Israel. In this edition, the author considerably enlarged his work and therefore entitled it Masoret HaBrit HaGadol. This is the first and only edition of this expanded version, published during the author's lifetime. The author, Rabbi Meir ben Rabbi Avraham Angel (c. 1564–1644), was born in Bulgaria and immigrated with his family to Safed in his youth, where he studied in the circles of the city's leading sages and Kabbalists. Among his teachers were Rabbi Elazar Azikri, author of Charedim; Rabbi Shmuel Uceda, author of Midrash Shmuel; Rabbi Chaim Vital, foremost disciple of the Arizal; and Rabbi Yisrael Sarug, one of the principal disseminators of the Arizal's Kabbalah in Europe. He subsequently served in a rabbinical capacity in Constantinople, and later as Chief Rabbi and Av Beit Din of the communities of Sofia and Belgrade, becoming one of the foremost Balkan Torah scholars of his generation. Before us is a rare work embodying the distinctive synthesis of the Biblical Masorah with homiletic and Kabbalistic literature, and considered among the important Masoretic works printed in the early 17th century. 84; 102 leaves. 29 cm. Condition: Good. Minor worming. Age stains. Worn leather binding.