Sepher Hilchoth Rav Alfas [Rabbinic code]. With commentary of Rashi, index on quotations from Arbah Turim of Jacob b. Asher, and index of Biblical quotations

ALFASI, ISAAC BEN JACOB (RI”F)

Immanuel Benveniste

Amsterdam

1643

Three parts in one volume. Titles within woodcut architectural arch, incorporating printers’ device (Yaari no. 61)

Vinograd, Amsterdam 66; Fuks, Amsterdam 210

A Handsome Copy. Isaac Alfasi brought the Geonic period to a close. His fame rests on this great work, whose purpose was to provide a comprehensive compendium for ready reference to facilitate Talmud study. The work remains an important and widely admired code. Joseph Karo regarded Alfasi’s scholarship with utmost respect and determined the laws of his Shulchan Aruch upon his authority. Indeed, between the 16th and 19th centuries when the Talmud was banned in Italy, Alfasi’s work was expressly exempted and thus became a principal subject of study among Italian Jews