Mateh Dan / Cuzari Chelek Sheni.

NIETO, DAVID.

Thomas Ilive

London

1714

FIRST EDITION. Hebrew with dedication in Spanish. Decorated title, architectural arch incorporating portrait-roundel of Rabbi Judah the Prince flanked by armor-suited angels. Initials and tailpieces. Printed in two columns. On title, in cursive Sephardic script, signature and Hebrew inscription of former owner: “This book was given to me as a gift by the great Rabbi Israel, may he live - I the insignificant Yedidyah Tarikah” (see below.) Scattered rabbinical marginalia in old Sephardi hands (see ff. 4, 8v, 9v,13r). ff. (6),118.

Vinograd, London 5; Roth, London 5.

R. David Nieto composed the Mateh Dan as a defense of rabbinic Judaism from the scorn of free-thinking former Marranos. Nieto considered his work a continuation of the tradition of Judah Halevi’s Kuzari (Fano, 1506), a philosophical exposition of Judaism, opposing the attacks of Karaites, heretics and other creeds. The present copy formerly belonged to R. Yedidyah Tarikah (b.1713) a native of the Isle of Rhodes, who served as Rav Av-Beth-Din of that community beginning in the year 1740. He was a close colleague of Rabbi Elijah Israel (c.1715-84), another native of Rhodes. While some of the marginalia in the book appear to be in R. Yedidyah Tarikah’s own hand, others appear to be the handwriting of another, perhaps of the previous owner R. Elijah Israel. See S. Vanunu, Arzei HaLevanon (2006) Vol. II, p. 759 and Vol. I, p. 268; JE, Vol. X, p. 401.