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Bidding Information
Lot #    13433
Auction End Date    3/7/2006 10:00:00 AM (mm/dd/yyyy)
          
Title Information
Title (English)    Rabeinu Bahya
Title (Hebrew)    רבינו בחיי, ביאור על התורה
Author    [Kabbalah] R. Bahya b. Asher ibn Hlava
City    Rimini
Publisher    Gershom Soncino
Publication Date    1524-25
          
Collection Information
Independent Item    This listing is an independent item not part of any collection
          
Description Information
Physical
Description		    [260] ff., 277:190 mm., wide margins, light age staining, initial 3, 256, and final ff. in facimile. Otherwise a very good copy bound in modern vellum boards. Old Moroccan hand on fly.
          
Detailed
Description		    Kabbalistic commentary to the Pentateuch by R. Bahya b. Asher ibn Hlava (13th century), exegete, preacher, and kabbalist. His great commentary on the Pentateuch (Naples, 1492) was written in 1291. According to tradition, he lived in Saragossa and served there as dayyan and preacher. He was a disciple of R. Solomon b. Abraham Adret, whom he called "my master," whenever he quoted from his commentaries. Curiously enough, R. Bahya mentions neither his teacher's kabbalistic sayings nor his commentaries on the mystical teachings of Nahmanides as did R. Solomon b. Adret's other disciples. There are also kabbalistic matters quoted anonymously by R. Bahya which are attributed to R. Solomon b. Adret by other authors. It is also possible that he did not have his teacher's permission to quote him in kabbalistic matters. R. Isaac b. Todros of Barcelona, the commentator on Nahmanides' esoteric teachings, is quoted by Bahya only once, without the attribute "my teacher." Various works (as well as writings whose authors are unknown) have been attributed to R. Bahya. The clarity of R. Bahya's style and his easy exposition have made his books (which draw their material from a variety of sources) popular with the public, particularly his commentary on the Pentateuch which has been published frequently from 1492. In his work R. Bahya interprets the Pentateuch in four ways: literal, homiletical, rational, and according to the Kabbalah. He uses many different sources, beginning with talmudic and midrashic literature, exegetic and philosophic literature, and ending with kabbalistic literature. R. Bahya is considered of great importance in Kabbalah and is one of the main sources through which the kabbalistic sayings of Nahmanides' contemporaries have been preserved. As a rule, Bahya does not divulge his kabbalistic sources. With the exception of the Sefer ha-Bahir, which he considers an authentic Midrash, and Nahmanides, who is his guide in Kabbalah, he rarely mentions other kabbalists, although he uses extensively the writings of R. Jacob b. Sheshet Gerondi, R. Asher b. David, R. Joseph Gikatilla, and others. He treats the Zohar in a similar manner. Parts of the Zohar were known to him, and he copied from them. However, he mentions it only twice (as "Midrash Rabbi Simeon b. Yohai"). Kad ha-Kemah contains alphabetically arranged clarifications on the foundations of faith and had a wide circulation.
          
Paragraph 2    בשער: ותהי התחלתו ... יום שלישי לחדש אלול שנת והיית כ'ג'ן' ר'ו'ה' [רפ"ד]. קולופון: מלך עלי כל חי אלהינו/ שלח לעמו נאמן ביתו// ... הוא גר שם משען למשפחתו// שנה וגם שלש בימינו/ לחקוק דרש בהיר לאומתו// שם ה-מחבר ב-חיי כנו/ פירש לתורת אל באמרתו// הועתק בדיוק רב ... היום בסוף טבת לחדשנו/ פר"ו פרט קטן לעברתו.
          
Reference
Description		    CD-EPI 0122008; EJ
        
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Listing Classification
Period
16th Century:    Checked
  
Location
Italy:    Checked
  
Subject
  
Kabbalah:    Checked
  
Characteristic
Language:    Hebrew
  
Manuscript Type
  
Kind of Judaica