Bidspirit auction | Beard Shaving According to Kabbalah

Beard Shaving According to Kabbalah Shu”t Be'er Esek. First Edition. Venice, 1674 * Shailos and teshuvos in practical halachah by Rabbi Shabsai Ber. Includes the widely discussed ruling on shaving the beard according to Kabbalah (Ch. 70). In his teshuva, Rabbi Shabsai Ber writes that the great kabbalist the Rema of Pano, would shave his beard every Erev Shabbos. (He notes, however, that there is a difference between shaving in Eretz Yisrael and the Diaspora). Many later sages who dealt with this question cited Rabbi Shabsai’s response in ‘Be'er Esek’ (see Shu”t Chasam Sofer Orach Chaim Ch. 159). In contrast, the famous kabbalist Rabbi Yosef Ergas in ‘Teshuvos Divrei Yosef’ (Ch. 25) refuted the Be'er Esek’s testimony, quoting instead the Rabach who saw a portrait of the Rema of Pano in Mantua with a beard. Venice, 1674. First edition. Rabbi Shabsai Ber (d. 1675) was a prominent Italian sage and Kabbalist. He was a disciple of Rabbi Yitzchak Berachya of Pano and son-in-law of the Rema of Pano. He studied in the Beis Medrash of the author of ‘Ma'avar Yabok’. He immigrated to Jerusalem and was sent on its behalf as a fundraiser (shadar) to Italy, where he passed away. He signed his name at the end of the introduction with an interesting acronym: Shabsai Ber shin-yud-mem-shin-tzaddik-vav-ches-yud-vav-beis-be is, which stands for “shaliach Yerushalayim, mursheh shel Tzfas v’Chevron yibanu v’yichoninu bimheirah b’yamenu - emissary of Jerusalem, agent of Tzfas and Chevron, may they be rebuilt and established speedily in our days.” Page Count: [4], 132, [2] leaves. Page Size: 20.5 cm. Additional description: Title page with attractive engravings of two angels holding the luchos, depictions of Moshe and Aharon and lions. Condition: Good; small defect in title page, single hole throughout the sefer, stains on last pages. Original leather binding, worn. New leather spine. Signatures of owners: Chaim Weil of Schwersenz (Posen) with handwritten annotations Provenance: William Gross Collection, Tel Aviv