Bidspirit auction | Sefer Yesod: Shu”t HaRashba Livorno,

Sefer Yesod: Shu”t HaRashba Livorno, 1657. First Edition. * Four hundred and five teshuvos by Rabbeinu Shlomo ben Aderet, the Rashba, on matters of Choshen Mishpat. The Rashba’s teshuvos were printed over the course of many centuries. The present edition bears the title Toldos Adam, though among Torah scholars, it is commonly referred to simply as “Part II.” The sefer was edited three times and includes the introductions of the three editors. The first was Rabbi Dovid Svivi, an emissary from Eretz Yisrael who brought the manuscript from Constantinople. The second was Rabbi Baruch bar Yosef, one of the rabbanim of Livorno. The third was Rabbi Avraham Gedalia, an emissary from Eretz Yisrael, known for his commentary Bris Avraham on the Yalkut Shimoni. Rabbeinu Shlomo ben Aderet (1235–1310) , more commonly known by his acronym, Rashba, was one of the greatest Sephardic Rishonim and commentators on the Talmud. He was a talmid of Rabbeinu Yonah and the Ramban, and from his residence in Barcelona, dispatched thousands of teshuvos that were universally accepted as cornerstones of halachah. A significant portion of the Beis Yosef is based on the Rashba’s teshuvos, and in his writings, Rabbi Yosef Karo praises him with the accolade, “A pillar of the world; through his eyes, we see light” (Beis Yosef, Yoreh Deah, Ch. 110). Leaves 95-104 are marked “Teshuvos Me’HaRama, ” which refers to Rabbeinu Moelin HaLevi, the Maharil. This was one of the very first Hebrew works printed in Livorno! Livorno, 1657. First edition. Page Count: 8, 104 leaves. Size: 28.4 cm. Condition : Good; a fine copy. Minor restorations to the first leaves. A few isolated holes. Fine new binding. A gloss in Sephardic handwriting appears on leaf 35b. Bibliography : Stefansky, Sefer Yesod, no. 266. ------------------------------------ The Rashba was one of the greatest halachic respondents of all time. His teshuvos reached every corner of the world and are considered a cornerstone of Jewish law. Over time, various compilations of Shu”t HaRashba were formed, and their printing was spread over hundreds of years and in different locales. The order of the compilations and their first editions is as follows: Part I, containing 1,255 teshuvos: Bologna 1499. Part II (the present volume), known as Toldos Adam, containing 405 teshuvos: Livorno 1657. Part III, containing 446 teshuvos: Livorno 1778. Part IV, containing 330 teshuvos: Salonika 1803. Part V, containing 293 teshuvos: Livorno 1828. Part VI, containing 286 teshuvos: Warsaw 1899. Part VII was originally printed in two separate sefarim that together contain 540 teshuvos: The compilation Teshuvos She’eilos, Rome circa 1472, and the compilation Shu”t LaRashba, Constantinople 1516. These two sefarim are exceedingly rare; in 1899, they were printed together under the title “Part VII, ” and this is how they are known today in batei medrash. An additional section is known as “Teshuvos attributed to the Ramban, most of which are of the Rashba, ” containing 288 teshuvos: Venice 1519.