Physical Description

Third edition of GRA. 14, 43, [29], 1. [1] ff., quarto, 205:175 mm., usual light age staining. A very good copy bound in contemporary boards, rubbed.

Detail Description

With commentary by R. Elijah ben Solomon Zalman of Vilna (1720-97) is a dominant figure in Jewish intellectual thought, his importance and prestige undiminished, as great today, if not greater, than in his own time. The Vilna Gaon’s extraordinary intelligence, expressed by his expertise in Torah at the age of three, outdistancing his tutors while a young child, his incredible proficiency over the entire expanse of the written and Oral Torah by nine, by which time he was already studying Kabbalah, accompanied by complete piety, are attested to by numerous reputable sources. More than seventy works, encompassing Bible, halakhah, Talmud, Kabbalah, and general sciences are attributed to him.

The Book of Creation, the earliest extant Hebrew text of systematic, speculative thought. Its brevity - no more than 1,600 words altogether even in its longer version - allied to its obscure and at the same time laconic and enigmatic style, as well as its terminology, have no parallel in other works on related subjects. The result of all these factors was that for over 1,000 years the book was expounded in a great many different ways, and not even the scientific investigations conducted during the 19th century succeeded in arriving at unambiguous and final results.

Hebrew Description

עם חמשה פרושים... הראב"ד... הרמב"ן... רב סעדי' גאון... ר' אליעזר מגרמזייא [!]... מוה' משה בוטריל. ואחריו... הגאון... ר' אלי' מווילנא... הובא לבית הדפוס ע"י... ר' מנחם מענדל בהרב מוה' ברוך בענדט משקלאוו...

הובא לבית הדפוס שלישית ע"י הרבני לוי לובין...

על-פי הוראדנא תקס"ו, עם ההסכמות שבהוצאה זו, בתוספת "פירוש האר"י ז"ל ששייך למשנה א" (א, [1] דף).

References

CD-NLI 0154974; EJ