Mosaf Ha-Aruch [A supplement of linguistic entries by the reknowned physician and philologist Benjamin Mussafia to the Aruch of R. Nathan b, Yechiel with new explanations to the Latin and Greek words cited in the Aruch.]

WITH IMPORTANT COMPREHENSIVE MARGINAL NOTES THROUGHOUT BY WOLF HEIDENHEIM AND SOME OF THE MOST OUTSTANDING SCHOLARS AND PHILOLOGISTS OF THE 19TH CENTURY. The renowned grammarian, exegete and Masoretic scholar Wolf Heidenheim wrote a full page inscription on the opening blank stating that he acquired an ancient manuscript version of the Aruch which has been a ”salvation” to him (vehu haya li leyeshuah) in editing and correcting many mistakes which appear in the printed editons. He delineates at length the description of this manuscript. The marginalia extend from a linguistic, philological nature to lengthier notes of a more scholarly . halachic nature. The notations written in a very small, precise, neat hand are mostly in Judeo-German and Latin and are of a linguistic nature explaining many of the difficult terms. The author of these notes is identified in a different Ashkenazic hand as “ Ha’chacham ha’manoach ( the late scholar) Ha’rav Hertz Dessau Vanal “ who resided in Mannheim and was a disciple of the Gaon R. Jonathan Eybescheutz. The notes in this dark, thicker yet clear hand are very erudite, citing obtuse Talmudic sources and halachic responsa. For example, see ff. 52b citing the responsa of the Rashbash (R. Shlomo b. Shimon Duran), and ff. 53a and 125b where he garners various sources (from Bavli, Yerushalmi, and Tosefta) to explain the term Dikdukei Sofrim. Another note (more similar to Heidenheim’s hand) on f. 125b in a lighter brown ink further amplifies this subject. Heidenheim himself was an accomplished Talmudic scholar who studied under R. Joseph Steinhardt, the author of Zichron Yoseph. R. Nathan’s Aruch itself is “a manifestation not only of its author’s brilliance and deep acquaintance with sources, but also of his encyclopaedic knowledge. Indeed, in some instances it is the sole source for ancient traditions of Talmudic interpretation.” S. B. Linderman, Sefer Sarid Be’arachin (1972), introduction. It is important for its many citations of Geonic sources, descriptions of Jewish customs, and citations of Midrashim which are not found in the extant editions. In addition, it is historically noteworty as the only literary production of the Italian Jews of this era. It is thus a significant monument in the history of Jewish culture