Agadath Shmuel [literary prospectus].

Although he was one of the great preachers of the 16th century, little is known of Shmuel Aripul (1540? -after 1586). It appears that he was a resident of Salonika for at least a portion of his life (see the poems from scholars of Salonika at the beginning of this volume) and later settled in Safed. See EJ, Vol. III col. 437. Agadath Shmuel outlines the contents of Aripul’s works and would appear to be the earliest Hebrew book-prospectus. Five works are thus advertised with specimens: i) Rechev Yisrael on Psalm 119. ii) Yaalath Chen, later published under the title Sar Shalom (Safed, 1579) on Song of Songs. iii) Pi Chacham later published under the title Lev Chacham (Constantinople, 1586) on Ecclesiasties. iv) Vavei Ha’Amudim on prayer (never published). v) Livyath Chen on the choseness and merits of the Jewish People (never published).