Bidspirit auction | Sefer HaChinuch – Second Edition,

Sefer HaChinuch – Second Edition, with Important Variants from the First Edition. Venice, [1600]. Magnificent Copy - Sefer HaChinuch, one of the fundamental works devoted to the enumeration and explanation of the commandments – a comprehensive work on the 613 mitzvot of the Torah, arranged according to the weekly Torah portions. Venice, 5360 [1600]. Second edition, containing important variants from the first edition. The work opens with the words: “All the commandments that the Blessed God gave to His people Israel, which are included in the Book of the Torah and are established for all generations…” It proceeds to enumerate and explain the Torah’s commandments according to the author’s system. Sefer HaChinuch ranks among the classic and most influential works in the literature of the commandments. It follows in the tradition of earlier enumerators of the mitzvot, foremost among them Maimonides in his Sefer HaMitzvot, the Semag, and the Semak. Its distinctive character, however, lies in the fact that it does not merely enumerate and define the commandments, but also discusses at length their underlying principles and reasons, details of their laws, the circumstances in which they apply, and the penalties for their violation, together with numerous ethical and philosophical insights. Over the generations, Sefer HaChinuch became one of the principal works studied in connection with the 613 commandments, and numerous commentaries and works were written upon it. The most famous of these is the Minchat Chinuch, which extensively discusses the halachic details and sources of the Sefer HaChinuch. The author of Sefer HaChinuch chose not to reveal his identity. In his introduction, he describes himself only as “a Jewish man of the House of Levi, of Barcelona.” In his discussion of Commandment 315, he also alludes to having written a commentary on Tractate Beitzah, although no such work is known today. Offered here is the second edition of Sefer HaChinuch, printed in Venice in 5360 [1600], approximately seventy-seven years after the first edition, which was likewise printed in Venice in 5283 [1523]. This edition is of particular textual and bibliographical importance, containing significant variants from the text of the first edition. As one of the earliest editions of this fundamental classic of the literature of the commandments, it represents an important stage in the transmission and printed history of Sefer HaChinuch. 228 leaves. 19.5 cm. White paper. Condition: Very good. Fine antique leather-covered wooden binding. Remnants of clasps.