Sefer Yosef Lekach on Megillas Esther, first printed edition. The ‘Yosef Lekach’ commentary to Megillas Esther was authored by R. Eliezer Ashkenazi (HaRofeh).This Cremona edition was printed by the author himself while serving as Rabbi of Cremona, and is the very first book he published. ’Yosef Lekach’ is perhaps the most fundamental commentary to Esther printed in the last 500 years.
Yosef Lekach was printed in honor of and dedicated to philanthropist Don Yosef Nassi, who had supported R. Ashkenazi in his many endeavors. Hence the name Yosef Lekach.
R. Eliezer Ashkenazi (1513-1586), a Disciple of Rabbi Yosef Taitatzak and Rabbi Yosef Caro (together with Rabbi Alshikh). At the age of 26 he served as rabbi in Egypt. For a year he was forced to leave Egypt and move to the city of Famagusta in Cyprus as described in his introduction to this Sefer.
Later, he moved to Venice but due to a serious dispute with R. Shmuel Yehuda Katzenelnbogen of Padua, he was forced to relocate to Prague. He eventually became Rabbi of Poznan and headed a Yeshiva there. He died in 1586 and is buried in Krakow.
It is well known that those who visit his gravesite in Krakow are immediately answered.Maran Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Binyamin Sofer, the Ksav Sofer, made serious attempts to visit his gravesite but was unsuccessful. In recent years, however his gravesite has been found and preserved.
This is the last Hebrew book to be printed in Cremona. The commentary of the Vilna Gaon on Megillat Esther is based on this commentary.
Vinograd, Cremona 46.
Stefansky, Classics 16.
Old repairs on title page, missing text in the first 4 pages (filled in in the hand of R’ Yakov Schnell), rest of volume is in good condition, small repair to margin of last page. Later binding.
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Lot #294