CHAIM SHABTHAI

AUCTION 10 | Tuesday, June 27th, 2000 at 1:00

Fine Judaica: Printed Books, Manuscripts and Works of Art

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Lot 57

CHAIM SHABTHAI

(MaHaRCHa”SH). Torath Chaim [responsa]. Parts I and III. Vinograd, Salonika 211 & 223. Salonika, 1713 and 1722. * Shailoth Uteshuvoth. Vinograd, Salonika 186. Salonika, 1651. * WITH: Tzahalon, Yom Tov ben Akiva. Shailoth Uteshuvoth. Vinograd, Venice, 1467. Venice, 1694. Variously worn and bound. Sm. folio 57

v.p.: v.d.

Est: $1,000 - $1,500

PRICE REALIZED $2,250

The earliest recorded responsa from the New World. Torath Chaim, Vol. III, Responsa no.3, discusses the appropriate season to pray for rain. The inquiry was sent to R. Chaim Shabthai, Chief Rabbi of Salonika and one of the outstanding scholars of his time, from the Jewish Community in Recife, Brazil. The circumstances of living in the tropical climate of Brazil created concerns regarding preserving the traditional season to recite the Prayer for Rain. “Thus making the New World’s first contribution to the Responsa Literature.” See M.A. Cohen, Sephardim in the Americas, American Jewish Archives vol. XLIV (1992) p.218.