Birkei Yosef. Commentary to Shulchan Aruch, Even ha-Ezer, Chapter IV

Different Mahadurah of Chida's Birkei Yosef with Numerous Significant Variants. R. Chaim Joseph David Azulai (1724-1806), known by the acronym Chid"a, one of the greatest Rabbinic authorities of his day, spent most of his life as a shada"r (shelucha de-rabbanan), emissary and fundraiser on behalf of the Jewish community of Eretz Israel. His travels on behalf of the Yishuv took him throughout Europe and North Africa. Born in Jerusalem, he spent his final years in Livorno, Italy, where he was buried. (In 1960, his remains were disinterred and reburied in the Har ha-Menuchoth cemetery in the Givath Shaul section of Jerusalem). The Chid"a was an unusually prolific scholar, producing by a conservative estimate some 100 works. (Benayahu places the actual number much higher, at 151 works. See Benayahu, p. 179.) What is truly unique about the Chid"a is his skill as a bibliographer. Wherever he travelled, he made notes of the libraries encountered. From these notes, he forged his monumental bibliographic work, Shem ha-Gedolim, which is divided both according to authors and works. In his observations, Azulai displays a critical eye of history, which oftentimes anticipates modern scholarship. According to biographer Benayahu, the Chid"a began the composition of Birkei Yosef, the commentary to Shulchan Aruch as early as 1754, and continued to labor on it throughout his travels. The printing of Birkei Yosef in Livorno took three years, 1774-1777. See M. Benayahu, Rabbi H.Y.D. Azulai (1959), p. 107; A. Ya'ari, Shluchei Eretz Yisrael (1977), pp. 569-580; H. Rosenberg, "Unpublished Works of Hayyim Joseph David Azulai," Kiryath Sepher, V (1928-1929), pp. 159, 261; EJ, Vol. III, cols. 1019-1020. The present manuscript discusses laws of forbidden marriages, specifically with an Egyptian, and also the questionable permissibility of a Jew dwelling in Egypt in present times. Comparative analysis of the manuscript reveals numerous significant variants. In one instance, a few lines of the manuscript are not to be found in the printed version at all. On the other hand, entire passages found in the printed version are wanting in the manuscript. In another instance, the printed version contains an error which significantly changes the meaning of the passage. Finally, there are many differences in style, whereby the same thought is expressed in different language. As the composition of Birkei Yosef continued for at least twenty years, it stands to reason there would exist more than one mahadurah (edition) of the work. Add to this the fact that the author led the life of a shada"r or itinerant emissary, it becomes even more understandable that there would exist some duplication of effort. For example, in an entry in his diary Ma'agal Tov (p. 59), datelined Tunis, 1774, the Chid"a writes: "I forgot the part of Birkei Yosef in which I wrote many novellae" (Benayahu, p. 107). Because of his peripatetic lifestyle, some biographers speculate that many of Chida's works are notably abbreviated. Given the fact that he was constantly travelling, the author could produce short works, whereas it would be more difficult to sustain a longer work. Perhaps our mahadurah (edition) - so different from the printed version - is the telltale sign of Chida's wanderings. A partial list of variants accompanies the lot and is available upon request