21:06:42


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Bidding Information
Lot #    6574
Auction End Date    2/10/2004 11:58:00 AM (mm/dd/yyyy)
          
Title Information
Title (English)    Se’ah Solet/Marpe la-Nefesh/Orah Hayyim
Title (Hebrew)    ñàä ñìú, îøôà ìðôù, àåøç çééí
Author    R. Raphael ben Gabriel Norzi
City    Venice
Publisher    Giovanni di Gara
Publication Date    1578-79
          
Collection Information
Independent Item    This listing is an independent item not part of any collection
          
Description Information
Physical
Description
   First edition of Orah Hayyim. 40, 31 ff., 185:135 mm., corners rounded, age staining. A good copy bound in modern full leather boards.
          
Paragraph 1    Appended at the end is a single ms. p. in a Yemenite hand, describing remedies for scholarship, childbirth, and prevention of miscarriage.
          
Detailed
Description
   Three ethical works by R. Raphael ben Gabriel Norzi (Norsa, da Norcia, 1520–1583?). Norzi was motivated to write these books to serve the religious needs of the public. Although others preceded him, he undertakes this work because most men have neither the time nor the training to master many learned works, and cannot swim in the mighty waters. R. Norzi will provide a summary of the best thought on religion and conduct for those who wish to improve their understanding in these fields. These works represent a unified approach: Se’ah Solet on the essentials of life; Marpe la-Nefesh on fundamental concepts; and Orah Hayyim on ethics. Underlying all is the belief that faith is of central importance, as philosophy cannot supply a firm foundation for Jewish spirituality.

Each book (part) has an individual title page with the same architectural frame but a different verse above the arch. The text of the title page states, “Se’ah Solet (fine flour), sifted in a sieve, ‘[there is none like him in the earth], a blameless and upright man, one who fears God, and turns away from evil’ (Job 1:1, 8; 2:3). . . .” On the verso of the title page are prefatory remarks from Norzi and verse, followed by the text (2a-14b).

The second work is Marpe la-Nefesh (healing of the soul). There is a preface on the verso of the title page and the text begins on 16a, concluding on 40b. The final work is Orah Hayyim. The title page states that it is the third part with Se’ah Solet and Marpe la-Nefesh. Here too there are prefatory remarks on the verso of the title page, with a Latin paragraph naming the famed censor “Padre Dan Marco Marino da Brescia” and concluding with the con licentia de I Superiori. The foliation of the text (2a-31b) begins afresh. In all three books the text is in a single column in rabbinic type.

          
Paragraph 2    ãó èå-î, òí ùòø îéåçã: îøôà ìðôù. ìà ãó, òí ùòø îéåçã: àåøç çééí áãøëé äîåñø... àùø ì÷è... ø' øôàì îðåøöé... åäåà çì÷ ùìéùé øàåé ìçáøå àì ñàä ñåìú åàì îøôà ìðôù... ñàä ñìú åîøôà ìðôù ðãôñå ãó òì ãó òì-ôé îðèåáä ùë"à.
          
Reference
Description
   Bonfil, Rabbis and Jewish Communities, p. 320; EJ; Enelow, “Raphael Norzi . . .” Hebrew Union College Jubilee Volume (1925, reprint N. Y, 1968), pp. 333-378; Habermann, Giovanni di Gara, nos. 48, 50-51; Heller 16th Century Book; Vinograd, Venice 638-39; CD-EPI 0152052
        
Associated Images
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Listing Classification
Period
16th Century:    Checked
  
Location
Italy:    Checked
  
Subject
Other:    Ethics
  
Characteristic
First Editions:    Checked
Language:    Hebrew
  
Manuscript Type
  
Kind of Judaica