Bidspirit auction | A Remarkable Work! Collection of

A Remarkable Work! Collection of Poems by Rabbi Yisrael Binyamin Bassan, Friend of the Ramchal – With Engravings – Venice, 1753 * “La corona estense” (“The Este Crown”) – a collection of fifteen sonnets composed in honor of Duke Francesco III d’Este of Modena on the occasion of the birth of his grandson and printed in vowelized Hebrew with an Italian translation on the facing page. A sonnet is a uniquely structured poetic form consisting of fourteen rhyming lines and is regarded as one of poetry’s most refined artistic forms. The sonnets were composed by Rabbi Yisrael Binyamin Bassan, Av Beis Din of Reggio , son of Rabbi Yeshayah Bassan — the teacher of the Ramchal and his leading defender during the controversy surrounding him — and grandson of Rabbi Binyamin HaKohen (the Rabach), a leading Italian Rav in the seventeenth century. Rabbi Yisrael Binyamin was a close friend of the Ramchal. They studied Torah and wisdom together under Rabbi Yeshayah Bassan, and they delved together into the mysteries of Kabbalah (see the Ramchal’s letter to Rabbi Yisrael Binyamin explaining a passage from the Zohar: Iggros Ramchal U’Bnei Doro, Letter 54). One of the Ramchal’s most well-known literary works, Migdal Oz, was composed in honor of Rabbi Yisrael Binyamin’s wedding, as he wrote: “On the occasion of the wedding of the wise and insightful one, my dear friend, cherished companion, and close confidant, the distinguished Rabbi Yisrael Binyamin.” The sefer was produced with exceptional elegance, in a magnificent bibliophilic edition! It was printed with wide margins and features a large decorative initial at the beginning of each sonnet. A beautiful engraved illustration depicting scenes of nature appears at the bottom of every page. Several engravings recur throughout the volume, including the coat of arms of the duke’s family, in whose honor the work was composed and printed. The final page is adorned with three illustrations extending across the entire page. A rare work, offering remarkable testimony to the cultural flourishing of Italian Jewry during the eighteenth century and to the cordial relationship between the Jewish community and the rulers of the land. Rabbi Yisrael Binyamin Bassan of Reggio (1701–1790) was a distinguished Torah scholar who received semichah from his grandfather, the Rabach, at the age of eighteen. He delivered drashos, published sefarim, and authored halachic teshuvos that reflect the breadth of his scholarship. Alongside his greatness in Torah, Rabbi Yisrael Binyamin was an accomplished poet and scholar. The researcher Meir Benayahu wrote of him: “He was perhaps the greatest Italian poet after the Ramchal” (in his article Shirei Kinah al Rabbi Binyamin HaKohen MiReggio, p. 258). Rabbi Chananel Nipi likewise praised him, writing: “He possessed mastery of the academic sciences and was held in esteem even by the Christians” (Toldos Gedolei Yisrael, p. 153). Venice, 1753. Page Count: [19] leaves.   Size: Approx. 29.5 cm. Condition: Good. Wide margins. A few stains. Old cardboard binding; spine partially lacking. Provenance: William Gross Collection, Tel Aviv.