Sefer Levush HaOra, commentary on Rashi’s commentary on the Torah, by Rabbi Mordechai Yaffe – "Ba’al HaLevush".
Prague: Chaim son of Ya’akov HaCohen, 1604. First edition, printed in the author’s lifetime.
Commentary of Rabbi Mordechai Yaffe Rabbi of Posen, "Ba’al HaLevush", on the Rashi commentary on the Torah. On the verso of the printed title page: "This book is the sixth Levush of the book Levush HaMalchut, composed by R. Mordechai called Yaffe… contains explanations of Rashi’s commentary on the Torah and discussion of a few of the commentaries on Rashi – R. Eliyahu Mizrachi and the Maharal of Prague, author of Gur Aryeh… and he named this book Levush HaOra after the verse The Jews had light (ora)…".
The device of the printer, Chaim son of Ya’akov HaCohen, appears on the verso of the title page. The device of another printer, Yehuda Loewy son of Moshe, an employee of the printing press, appears on the last page.
An illustrated map of Eretz Israel appears on p. 84b, prefaced on the previous page: "This is a drawing of the borders of Eretz Israel according to the Rashi commentary as I have been taught and it is true and correct according to Rashi’s words as I will explain. Just as we have merited drawing it, so shall we merit seeing it with our own eyes rebuilt and settled…".
91, [1]] Leaves. 29 Cm.
Without the [8] leaves containing appendixes and novellae by the author to his works Levush HaTechelet and Levush HaChur after their printing, apparently they weren’t added to all copies.
Overall Fair condition, stains, tape repaired worming affecting text, some marginal page repairs, tear with loss to text on last page, original leather binding has rubbed edges and damaged spine.
The map was not recorded in the Eran Laor Cartographic Collection.
Signature on the title page of Rabbi Binyamin Niederhofheim (1810-1885) was an expert mohel who performed more than 7,000 circumcisions! He was a merchant and talmid chacham, an important member of the Frankfurt-am-Mein community during the time of Rashar Hirsch. He continued the “minyan” of Rabbeinu Natan Adler (rabbi of the Chatam Sofer), which he founded to pray according to the Sefardi nusach, which had passed first to his student Rabbi Leib Amrich and then to Rabbi Binyamin, who was the son-in-law of the son-in-law of Rabbi Leib (Rabbi Be’er Danan). It existed until the Shoah and was called the “Niederhopheimische Shul.” He had a large private library with rare manuscripts.
With a important woodcut map of the Land of Israel and surrounding nations, charting the travels of the Children of Israel. Decorative and clearly defined, the map depicts ships riding the seas with cities delineated by towers adorned with flags - an altogether sophisticated representation. The details of the map were entirely based on information derived from the Bible and its commentaries, for, as E. & G. Wajntraub point out in their “Hebrew Maps of the Holy Land” (1992) p. 41 “it was not possible to draw eye-witness reports, and all geographical data is based [only] on the geographical knowledge of the Bible.”
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Lot #25