Bidspirit auction | Foundational Work on Astronomy: Yeshuah

Foundational Work on Astronomy: Yeshuah B’Yisrael Magnificent Title Page and Numerous Illustrations   Frankfurt, 1720. First Edition. * An explanation of the Rambam’s laws of Kiddush HaChodesh, by Rabbi Yehonasan Ruzhinai, the leading commentator on the laws of Kiddush HaChodesh. The title Yeshuah B’Yisrael (“Salvation in Israel”) alludes to the fact that the work tackles an exceptionally difficult and intricate subject, one that had received very little attention. It presents it in a clear and accessible manner, serving as a true “salvation” for those studying it. The title page is strikingly beautiful and completely unique, featuring four large woodcut illustrations depicting Moshe and Aharon, and Dovid and Yehonasan. The volume is illustrated throughout with dozens of astronomical and geometric diagrams. In his approbation to a new edition of the sefer, published in 2017, Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky zt”l testified that the Chazon Ish used this work when studying the Rambam’s laws of Kiddush HaChodesh. That same year, the famous edition of the Talmud with Masores HaShas was also printed in Frankfurt. It included a diagram of the Beis HaMikdash created by Rabbi Yehonasan Ruzhinai, which was subsequently reproduced in the vast majority of later editions of the Talmud and Mishnah. Printed on the reverse of the title page are several approbations, including one by Rabbi Yaakov Poppers, author of Shev Yaakov and Av Beis Din of Frankfurt am Main. Throughout the sefer, the author records chiddushim that he heard from his teachers: Rabbi ZZe’ev Av Beis Din of Minsk; Rabbi Ziskind, Av Beis Din of Lublin; and Rabbi Yechezkel Katzenellenbogen, Av Beis Din of Altona-Hamburg-Wandsbek. Frankfurt am Main, 1720. First edition. Page Count: [4], 8, [1] leaves. Large format.   Condition: Good. A few stains. Old binding. On the inside of the rear cover appears the signature of Rabbi Nosson HaLevi Bamberger, together with several handwritten notes by a member of the family. On the title page appears the ownership inscription: “Hakatan Gavriel Hirsch son of Rabbi Bendit Shulhoif.” Bibliography: Stefansky, Sifrei Yesod, Addenda, p. 240.