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Sefer Yesod Chiddushei HaRashba on Maseches Kiddushin Constantinople, 1717. First Edition. * Chiddushei Kiddushin by the Rashba, Rabbi Shlomo ben Aderes, one of the great Rishonim of Spain and, in the words of the Beis Yosef, “the pillar of the world in whose light we see light.” This is the most fundamental commentary of the Rishonim on this maseches and is studied widely in yeshivos and batei medrash. This sefer is one of the earliest works printed during the golden era of publishing the writings of the Rishonim on the Talmud in the late 1600s and early 1700s (see below). It was printed from an antique manuscript preserved by the dayan and wealthy philanthropist Rabbi Chaim Kimchi of Constantinople. During the printing process, a second manuscript came into the printer's hands, and the work was continued on the basis of both manuscripts. It carries the approbations of the rabbanim of Constantinople, among them the Mishneh LaMelech, Rabbi Yehudah Rosanes, and the Esh Daas, Rabbi Chaim Alfandari. They write: “Fortunate is the generation that merited such a time, when a clear light has been revealed… a commentary on Maseches Kiddushin which the Rashba, of blessed memory, weighed, examined, and perfected….” In the present copy, the leaf with the approbation is bound before the title page. Bound in its original antique leather binding, complete with functioning clasps and fine ornamentation. Rabbi Shlomo ben Aderes, the Rashba (1235–1310) , was one of the greatest Sephardic Rishonim, a disciple of Rabbeinu Yonah and the Ramban, both of whom he cites in this work. He is famed for his commentaries on the Talmud, which became a cornerstone for later commentators, and especially for his far-reaching teshuvos sent to communities across the world. Constantinople, 1717. First edition. Page Count: 88 leaves. Leaf 2 is bound before the title page. Size : 19.3 cm. Condition : Good, with a few stains; small holes and loss in corners on the final two leaves. Fine and rare binding, slight defect at the corners and spine. Bibliography : Stefansky Sifrei Yesod, no. 52. ----------------- The Printing of the Rishonim’s Writings on the Talmud The Venetian printer Daniel Bomberg was the first to establish a printing press dedicated to publishing the writings of the Rishonim on the Talmud as independent works. He printed Rashba’s chiddushim to Brachos, Gittin, and Chulin, and the Ramban’s chiddushim to Bava Basra . Afterward, for many years, almost no such works were printed. Their revival came in the late 1600s, when the foundational writings of the Rishonim on the Talmud — the chiddushim of the Rashba, the Ramban, the Ritva, and others — began to be published in many countries. The present sefer is one of the earliest of these publications. Only two rare works preceded it in that period: the Ran’s chiddushim to Gittin (Constantinople 1711) and the chiddushim of the Hari Migash to Bava Basra (Amsterdam 1702). For more information, see the article (in Hebrew) by Y. M. Ta-Shma: סדר הדפסתם של חידושי הראשונים לתלמוד