RaMBa”M). Mishneh Torah (codification of Jewish Law)

MOSHE BEN MAIMON (MAIMONIDES/.

Gershom ben Moshe Soncino [Menzlein Soncino]

Soncino

1 Nisan 5250 = 23 March, 1490

Second edition. The second book produced by Gershom Soncino

RARE. NOT LISTED IN D. GOLDSTEIN, HEBREW INCUNABLES IN THE BRITISH ISLES, 1985. The Mishneh Torah is Maimonides’ most famous work, written about 1180 C.E. Maimonides was the most important Jewish philosopher and Halachic codifier of Talmudic jurisprudence of the 12th century and one of the most illustrious Jewish historical figures of all time. Contains: The first seven of the fourteen books of the Yad (14) Ha-Chazakah - Sefer Mada,Ahavah, Zemanim, Nashim, Kedushah, Haflaah and Zeraim. It is interesting to note that the Mendel Gottesman copy in Yeshiva University, starts where this copy ends. St. Cat. Bodl. 6513, 2; Zedner p. 582; Freimann Thesaurus A. 55; Goff Heb-77 Schwab 58; I. Adler, Les Incunables Hebraiques de la Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, 1962, pp. 32-34; A. Berliner,”aus meiner Bibliothek, Beitrage zur Hebraischen Bibliographie u. Typographie” Frankfurt AM. J. Kaufmann, 1898,pp.32-33; M. Marx, Studies in Bibliography and Booklore 1(1953) p. 41 no. 50; A. M. Habermann,Studies in the history of Hedrew Printers and Books,Jerusalem, 1978, pp. 49-50; On the textual variants of this edition see: M. Lutzki, Afterword, Shulsinger edition, NY 1947, who states that manuscript sources were used for the preparation of the text of this edition; however, Prof, S.Z. Havlin in the introduction to the facsimile of the Constantinople edition, Jerusalem,1973pp. 14-18 suggests that the present edition may have been produced on the basis of the Rome editon and marginal glosses therein. For typographical differences in various copies of this edition, see I. Rivkind,Kiryat Sefer,4,1927,pp.275-276, Idem, Sefer Ha-Yovel...Marx NY,1950, p.404, See also I. Dienstag, Mishne Torah...pp. 23-25 in Studies...in honor of I.E. Kiev, NY,1971; G. Cohen, Hebrew Incunabula... Yeshiva University,NY, 1984, pp. 49-50.