Bidspirit auction | Sefer Yesod: Shemos Rabbah with

Sefer Yesod: Shemos Rabbah with the commentary Yefeh To’ar Venice, 1657. First Edition. * Yefeh To’ar, a commentary on Midrash Shemos Rabbah (together with the text of the Midrash), by the gaon Rabbi Shmuel Yaffe Ashkenazi of Constantinople, one of the great sages of his generation. This is a comprehensive commentary on Midrash Rabbah; all commentators on Midrash Rabbah in the generations that followed made use of Yefeh To’ar. Rabbi Shmuel is considered the foremost commentator of Midrashim, and his work Yefeh To’ar on the various Chumashim of Midrash Rabbah is one of the greatest works of Jewish scholarship printed in the early centuries of Hebrew printing. The sefer was edited and corrected by the famed kabbalist Rabbi Moshe Zacuto (the Ramaz), who referred to it as “a hidden treasure.” The Ramaz also added indexes and signed the approbation with the rabbanim of Venice. The printing was limited to 650 copies , as noted in the approbation of the sages of Constantinople: “No man shall approach… to increase the printing of this Sefer Yefeh To’ar on Shemos Rabbah, beyond the agreed number of six hundred and fifty copies.” Rabbi Shmuel Yaffe-Ashkenazi (ca. 1525–1595) , a famed darshan for many decades and disciple of Rabbi Yitzchak ben Lev of Salonika, was known for his brilliant drashos and several halachic teshuvos. The sages of Constantinople wrote of him: “A great man in Yisrael, like Shmuel HaNavi in his generation.” “If all the sages of Yisrael were on one side of the scale and the Yefeh To’ar on the other, the halacha would follow the decisive one [i.e. the Yefe To’ar].” (Shu”t Maharitatz §40). He authored several sefarim, but his magnum opus is the Yefeh To’ar on Midrash Rabbah: Bereishis (Venice, 1597), a monumental work of about 550 leaves; Shemos (Venice, 1657 – the edition before us); Vayikrah (Constantinople, 1648); while Bamidbar and Devarim remained in manuscript and have only recently been printed. To appreciate the extraordinary magnitude of Yefeh To’ar: according to research by the Zichron Aharon Institute, the commentary contains approximately 2.5 million words, whereas the entire Talmud Bavli contains about 1.8 million words! Venice, 1657. First edition. Page Count: [4], 102, 102–130, [1], 130–225, 224–246, 254–256, [1] leaves. Condition: Overall good; minor wear to the first and last leaves; a few holes in the final leaves. Bound in an impressive antique leather binding with fine gilt engravings, light restoration to the spine and margins. Bibliography: Stefansky, Sifrei Yesod, no. 137. M. Benayahu, “Rabbi Shmuel Yaffe Ashkenazi: Some Notes About Him, His Works, and Other Commentators on the Midrashim, ” Tarbitz 42:3–4, p. 433, no. 5. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Signatures and inscriptions on the title page: The sefer was purchased in 1831 from the estate of Rabbi Akiva Eiger, Av Beis Din of Altona (he is likely the one mentioned as the recipient in the famous teshuva from Rabbi Akiva Eiger to ”the Rabbi Akiva, Av Beis Din of the holy community of Altona, ” Shu”t Tinyana §53). Signature of Rabbi Moshe Yisrael ben Yitzchak Itzik Wallach at the top of the title page, with a dedication from him at the bottom dated: Frankfurt am Main, 1842. Stamp of Rabbi Menachem Greenwald, Av Beis Din of Schaffran (Adenburg), a disciple of the Ksav Sofer.