Sepher Ha’Aruch [Talmudic dictionary]

NATHAN BEN YECHIEL OF ROME.

Gershom Soncino

(Pesaro)

1517

Second Edition. On front blank, inscription of “Jacob Saphir of Jerusalem.” Saphir (1822-1885), a native of Lithuania, is most famous for his travels to the Orient on behalf of the Perushim community of Jerusalem, recorded in his colorful travelogue “Even Sapir” (1866, 1874). See EJ, Vol. XIV, cols. 852-4. Scholarly Hebrew marginalia in an early Sephardic hand. Censor's signature on final leaf

Vinograd, Pesaro 44; Adams N-59; Heller, The Sixteenth Century Hebrew Book (2004), pp. 104-5

JACOB SAPHIR COPY OF ARUCH Nathan’s Aruch is “a manifestation not only of its author’s brilliance and deep acquaintance with sources, but also of his encyclopaedic knowledge. Indeed, in some instances it is the sole source for ancient traditions of Talmudic interpretation.” S. B. Linderman, Sefer Sarid ba-Arachin (1972), introduction. In addition to being important for its many citations of Geonic sources, descriptions of Jewish customs, and citations of long-lost Midrashim, the Aruch is considered authoritative from the standpoint of Halacha (e.g. the citation in Tosaphoth, Kethuboth 6a regarding Sabbath laws)