Seder HaHa’arachah VeHanhagah [communal tax regulations and obligations for the years 1651-54].

(ITALY)

Raphael Chaim d’Italia

Mantua

(1651-53)

Title within architectural arch. Endorsed by Rabbis Yechiel b. Yedidya Solomon Norzi, David b. Israel Yechezkel and David b. Eliakim HaLevi. Uncut copy.

Vinograd, Mantua 423.

From the beginning of the 16th century the Mantuan Community organized its financial obligations through the levying of taxes. These tax regulations chart the economic changes of Mantuan Jewry and the kinds of property and income that were taxable. Every three years taxes of the Jewish community would be reviewed after which a new set of regulations were published. The present edition, published by the Va’ad HaKelali (Community Council) covers the period from January, 1651 until December, 1654. See S. Simonsohn, History of the Jews in the Duchy of Mantua (1977) pp. 375-90.