Bidspirit auction | Shu”t HaRosh – Important Edition

Shu”t HaRosh – Important Edition with Newly Added Material – Venice, 1607 * This is a collection of responsa (shu”t) by one of the greatest rabbanim of Ashkenaz, Rabbeinu Asher, known as the Rosh. It is organized into one hundred and eight “klalim” (sections).   This fundamental work has been referenced countless times in the writings of the poskim.   The Rosh is one of the three great pillars of halachic authority upon which the Beis Yosef based his rulings, alongside the Rif and the Rambam. The work was first printed in Constantinople in 1517, followed by a Venice edition in 1552. The present volume is the third edition. This edition is of particular importance because it incorporates numerous passages printed here for the first time from manuscript sources, shedding valuable new light on the teachings of the Rosh. The title page declares: “It is astonishing to us how anyone could have issued halachic rulings based on the previously printed editions of these responsa!” Indeed, the newly published passages introduced in this edition were subsequently incorporated into later editions of Shu”t HaRosh. These newly added sections are identified by a pointing-hand symbol printed in the margins. Rabbi Asher ben Yechiel (c. 1240–1327), the Rosh, was one of the greatest Rishonim and one of the three principal halachic authorities upon whose rulings Rabbi Yosef Karo based the Shulchan Aruch, alongside the Rif and the Rambam. Venice, 1607. Page Count: 180, [17] leaves, plus [2] additional leaves containing a halachic ruling by Rabbi Yosef Sorazina (bound after leaf 178). Large format. Condition: Good. Minor restoration to the title page. Some stains. Old binding, slightly worn. Early signatures, including that of Rabbi Leib Ech, Av Beis Din of Hechingen, Germany, during the eighteenth century. Bibliography: Stefansky, Sifrei Yesod, no. 267 (in note).