Physical Description:

First Edition of Be'er Hetev. [4], 396 ff., octaco, 182:111 mm., wide margins, light age and damp staining. A very good copy bound in recent boards, rubbed.

Detailed Description:   

Hoshen Mishpat in a pocket size edition with two commentaries.

Be'er Heṭev - R. Moshe b. Simeon Frankfurt (1672-1762), dayyan and printer of Amsterdam. It appears from his epitaph (Mælder, "Jets over de Bergraafplaatsen," p. 15) that Frankfurt assumed in his old age the name of "Aaron." In 1720 he established a printing-press at Amsterdam, from which he issued some of his own works. He was the author of: "Nefesh Yehudah," a commentary on R. Isaac Aboab's "Menorat ha-Ma'or," with a Judæo-German translation (Amsterdam, 1701); "Zeh Yenaḥamenu," a short commentary on the Mekilta (ib. 1712); "Sha'ar Shim'on," prayers for the sick, a compendium of his father's "Sefer ha-Ḥayyim," in two parts, the second in Judæo-German (ib. 1714); "Sheba' Petilot," the moral teachings of the "Menorat ha-Ma'or," in seven chapters (ib. 1721); "Ṭob Leket," glosses to the Hilkot Semaḥot of the Shulḥan 'Aruk, Yoreh De'ah (ib. 1746); "Be'er Heṭev," glosses on Shulḥan 'Aruk, Ḥoshen Mishpaṭ, similar to those of Judah Ashkenazi on the three other parts of the Shulḥan 'Aruk (ib. 1749). Frankfurter also edited several works, the most important being the rabbinic Bible entitled "Ḳehillat Mosheh," which contains many commentaries not found in other editions. It includes his own glosses to the Pentateuch (ib. 1724).

Be'er ha-Golah by R. Moses b. Naphtali Hirsch Rivkes (d. c. 1671/72), Lithuanian talmudist. It is not known when R. Rivkes went to Vilna, but he was one of those expelled from Vilna in 1655 (together with R. Shabbetai b. Meir ha-Kohen, R. Ephraim Cohen, and R. Aaron Samuel Koidonover) during the war between Poland and Russia. He reached the Prussian border but was prevented from proceeding further because of the Swedish army which was invading Russia. He then sailed for Amsterdam, where he was well received by the Sephardi community. Although most of the refugees were sent to Frankfort, Rivkes, through the influence of R. Saul Levi Morteira and R. Isaac Aboab, remained in Amsterdam. He later returned to Vilna, where he passed on.

R. Rivkes' fame rests upon his Be'er ha-Golah. At the request of Ephraim Bueno, "the distinguished doctor," and Jacob Castello, he corrected the edition of the Shulhan Arukh printed in Amsterdam, adding to it the sources and clarifying the reasons for conflicting opinions. The work (first published in the Amsterdam (1661–66) edition of the Shulhan Arukh) became an integral part of the Shulhan Arukh, appearing in all editions. R. Rivkes also wrote additions to the Shulhan Arukh and a commentary on the Mishnah, which were never published. In the sphere of Jew-gentile relations, R. Rivkes favored tolerance and mutual respect, condemning dishonesty toward non-Jews in commercial dealings and stressing the duty of Jews to respect Jews and gentiles alike, since Christians shared with Jews certain religious beliefs based upon the Bible. He was renowned for his personal piety and was called he-Hasid ("the pious"), an unusual appellation for that time. In his ethical testament he refers to his sons, Pethahiah, Joseph, and Judah, who died in his lifetime, and to his sister's son, R. David Lida, rabbi of Amsterdam. Rivkes was an ancestor of R. Elijah Gaon of Vilna, who was supported by a legacy established by him.

Hebrew Description: