Auction 53 · Lot 59

CHAIM SHABTHAI. (MaHaRCHa”SH). Torath Chaim [responsa]. Parts I, II and III (complete)

Estimate: $700–$1,000
Hammer price: $500

Historical auction record. Hammer prices exclude buyer’s premium and taxes.

author

(BRAZIL)

Place

Salonika

Publication

1713, 1715 and 1722

Description

FIRST EDITIONS. Three parts bound in three volumes.

references

Vinograd, Salonika 211-12 & 223

summary

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 from the Jewish Community of Recife, Brazil to R. Chaim Shabthai, Chief Rabbi of Salonika, and one of the outstanding scholars of his time. The circumstances of living in the tropical climate of Brazil created questions regarding 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.

Part I: ff. 5,148 * Part II: ff. 4, 128 * Part III: ff. 8, 192. Ex-library, scattered marginalia in a Sephardic hand, some staining, slight marginal repair on title of Part II, small hole on on first leaf of index of Part I. Later boards, loose. Folio

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