Bidspirit auction | Yalkut HaLevi on the Torah

Yalkut HaLevi on the Torah with Illustrated Riddles. Livorno, 1776. Fine Copy * Fascinating sefer containing explanations on the Torah, teachings of Chazal, and various collected insights by Rabbi Raphael ben Rabbi Aharon Yedidya HaLevi of Ancona. The sefer is divided into three sections: The first section offers explanations on the Torah, arranged alphabetically by topic. The second section presents interpretations on Aggados Chazal, likewise organized alphabetically. The third section features illustrated riddles, songs, lamentations, an index of stories cited in the Zohar arranged alphabetically by the names of those involved, and an introduction to the Mishna. The Nature of the Riddles: These illustrated riddles feature an image alongside rhyming verses. They were commonly written in honor of weddings and served as a program for the celebration. Guests would attempt to solve the riddles and were awarded prizes for correct answers. (See: Dan Pagis, Al Sod Chasum, Jerusalem 1986.) This sefer includes three such riddles (leaves 126–135), accompanied by striking illustrations. The author, Rabbi Raphael HaLevi, a native of Ferrara, Italy, was both a distinguished physician and a great talmid chacham. He was renowned for his dedication to the sick and for his acts of chessed within the Ancona community. At the beginning of the sefer, there is a rare and important approbation by the Gaon Rabbi Yitzchak Nuneze Belmonte, author of ‘Shaar HaMelech’, who was in Livorno at the time on a mission from the sages of Izmir following the great fire that had ravaged the city. The sefer also carries approbations from the emissaries of the Rabbanim of Yerushalayim, including the Mahari”t Algazi and Rabbi Chaim David Chassan, a disciple of the holy Or HaChaim. Livorno, 1776. Singular edition. Page Count: [7], 157 leaves. Size : 22 cm. Condition : A fine copy with wide margins. New half-leather binding. On the title page is an attractive dedication in square script, dated 1828.