View Auction Listing - Begidat ha-Zeman

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Bidding Information
Lot #		10000
Auction End Date		3/22/2005 4:08:00 PM (mm/dd/yyyy)

Title Information

Title (English)

Begidat ha-Zeman

Title (Hebrew)

משכיל על דבר ימצא טוב

Author

R. Matitthiah ben Moses

City

Offenbach

Publisher

Seligman Reiz

Publication Date

1714

Collection Information

Independent Item

This listing is an independent item not part of any collection

Description Information

Physical
Description

16 ff., 148:88 mm., light age staining, trimmed touching running titles. A good copy bound in modern brown calf boards, tooled in black.

Detailed
Description

R. Matitthiah ben Moses (15th century), Spanish or Provencal Hebrew poet, sometimes identified with Mattathias ha-Yizhari. The maqama, Ahituv ve-Zalmon, attributed to Mattathias and written before 1453 was inspired by the religious disputations held in Spain. Its action is simple. The pagan queen of a legendary island sends three messengers, Zalmon, Eker, and Ahitub, to inquire into the religions of the world. Seven years later, the messengers return and engage in a stormy discussion. Zalmon, who was in Hebron and became converted to Islam, accepts the arguments of Ahitub, himself converted to Judaism in Spain, and becomes a Jew. Eker, converted to Christianity in Constantinople, argues in favor of that religion; however, since the queen and her court, persuaded by Ahitub, have also adopted Judaism, Eker hangs himself in anger, bringing the story to an end. Another maqama, Begidat ha-Zeman, likewise written before 1453, also bears the name of a poet known as Mattathias; it is assumed that both were written by the same author. The maqamat resemble each other in style and vocabulary. The second is written in the first person and the personal element is important. The author repents the sins of his youth, describing his experiences so that his tale might serve as a warning.

Paragraph 2

... נדפס פעם ראשון ע"י איש קרובי ... יוסף בן מוהר"ר נפתלי [טיהינגן ש"ך] ובוטח בי"י אשריו. שכל טוב חן יתן ודרך בוגדים אתן. אביעה רוחי ומשל להמון אודיע דברי בגידת הזמן ...

שם המחבר מתתיה, הנרמז כאן בנוסח הגט שנדפס בספר. עיין שטיינשניידר, CB, עמ' 1681, מס' 6271. אליגוריה, בצורת מקאמה (פרוזה בחרוזים). המחבר מתתיה חי בספרד במחצית הראשונה של המאה החמש-עשרה. עיין עליו: ח' שירמן, השירה העברית בספרד ובפרובנס, ספר שני חלק ב, תשכ"א, עמ' 649-648.

Reference
Description

Z. Malachi, The Life of Matityah ben Mosheh the author of Begidat ha-Zeman & Ahituv ve Tsalmon, Jewish studies at the turn of the Twentieth century, I, Leiden 1999, p. 454-458; EJ

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