(SeMa”K). Amudei Golah-Sepher Mitzvoth Ha’katan [abridgement of Moses of Coucy’s rabbinic code (SeMa”K]

ISAAC BEN JOSEPH OF CORBEIL.

ibn Nachmias

Constantinople

c. 1510

FIRST EDITION. Title within woodcut border

Vinograd, Const. 67; Yaari, Const. 36; Mehlman 735; not in Adams

A FINE COPY The French Tosafist, Isaac of Corbeil, was both son-in-law and disciple of R. Yechiel of Paris. He also studied at the Academy of Tosafists at Evreux. This compendium lists all the Mitzvoth applicable in the present post-Temple era, and gives an excellent short synopsis with pertinent halachic details. It is divided into seven parts, corresponding to the seven days of the week, so that it could be reviewed regularly. The Author intended his Code to be of popular usage, thus he interspersed it with many Agadic passages, moral maxims and ethical teachings which enhanced its appeal. The Author sent copies to various communities at his own expense and asked that more copies be made for public use. The work thus gained broad popularity (especially in Germany) and was accepted as an authoritative halachic source and was much cited by later Codifiers - including the Tur. Indeed the title page reads “short in quantity but long in quality”. The Author's disciple R. Peretz of Corbeil added his corrections and additions which were copied from manuscript to manuscript and incorporated in this first printed edition. The publisher of this work appended a lengthy introduction by R. Mordecai of Strassburg which includes many interesting historical and biographical details pertaining to Isaac of Corbeil, his school and his methods of research