Bidspirit auction | Fundamental Sefer Yesod by the

Fundamental Sefer Yesod by the Rema, First Edition: Darkei Moshe HaAruch on Orach Chaim and Yoreh De'ah – Sulzbach, 1692 and Furth, 1760 * Chiddushim and halachic rulings from the great sages of Ashkenaz that were not included in the Beis Yosef, arranged in the order of the Tur, on the sections of Orach Chaim and Yoreh De'ah. It was authored by Rabbi Moshe Isserles, known as the Rema, Av Beis Din of Cracow. The Rema first wrote his sefer Darkei Moshe, which subsequently served as the source for his Hagahos HaRema, the famous “map” on the Shulchan Aruch. (This followed the same pattern as Rabbi Yosef Karo himself, who first wrote his sefer Beis Yosef on the Tur, and afterward wrote his halachic rulings in the Shulchan Aruch.) The Rema testifies to this himself several times in his teshuvos: “…and so I wrote in my work Darkei Moshe, from which I arranged the Shulchan Aruch” (Shu”t HaRema, siman 35). Elsewhere, he writes: “…so too I established in the newly printed Shulchan Aruch on Orach Chaim; however, the reasoning I wrote, with Hashem’s help, is in my sefer [that is, Darkei Moshe], which is the sefer I used to write the halachos in the Shulchan Aruch” (ibid., siman 131). In other words, the Hagahos of the Rema on the Shulchan Aruch, which are the very foundation of Ashkenazic Jewish practice over the past several centuries, have their source in the sefer Darkei Moshe before us. The Rema wanted to print this work, and at the beginning of the Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim with his Hagahos (Cracow, 1570), he writes: “I hope, G-d willing, that also my lengthier writings will spread throughout Klal Yisrael.” In practice, however, the printing of the work was delayed for a long time. From Darkei Moshe, only two sections were printed in the early period, and both are present here : Orach Chaim, printed in Furth in 1760, and Yoreh De'ah, printed in Sulzbach in 1692. The section on Choshen Mishpat was printed only recently, in Jerusalem, 1979–1983. This edition is known as Darkei Moshe HaAruch, to distinguish it from Darkei Moshe HaKatzar, an abridged version of the sefer printed in the margins of the Tur in the Berlin edition of 1702–1703. Many times, the exact meaning of the Rema’s Hagahos can only be properly understood through their source in Darkei Moshe HaAruch . As Rabbi Ephraim Zalman Margolios wrote in his sefer Ma'alos HaYuchasin: “In truth, the complete Darkei Moshe is of great benefit to the learner; through the abridged version, it is sometimes impossible to understand the intent properly.” Yoreh Deah: Sulzbach, 1692–1693. First edition. Page Count: [2], 108 leaves. Size : 32.5 cm. Condition : Good, with tiny restorations to a few leaves. The paper is brownish and soft. New binding. Orach Chaim: Furth, 1760. First edition. Page Count: [1], 87 leaves. Size : 32.7 cm. Condition : Good. Light wear to the title page. Stains. New binding. Signatures. Beautiful approbations by the Korban Nesanel, Rabbi Shmuel Hillman of Metz, and others. Bibliography : Stefansky, Sifrei Yesod, no. 154. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - In his introduction to Darkei Moshe on Orach Chaim, the Rema writes with characteristic humility: “I apply [this verse] to us [that is, the Beis Yosef and the Rema, Rabbi Moshe Isserles], though there is no comparison between the two of us, the pasuk, ‘And Moshe took the bones of Yosef , for he had bound them by an oath…’” — alluding thereby to his role as merely following and carrying forward the work of the Beis Yosef, upon which his own is built.