Physical Description

Only editions. Two works in one volume. [7], 142, [7]; [1], 37, [1] ff., 198:125 mm., nice margins, light age staining, old hand. A very good copy bound in contemporary boards, rubbed.

Detail Description

Two collections of responsa, both by R. Hayyim ben Solomon Cohen of Tripoli (c. 1827 - 1905). R. Cohen was born in Djerba but later resided in Tripoli, where he was av bet din. The first work, Devar Mishpot, has an attractive frame on the title page and informs that in addition to the responsa there are discourses at the end of the work. There is an approbation signed by several rabbis and a list of subscribers who made publication possible. The responsa are on all four parts of the Shulhan Arukh. The discourses, which begin on 116b, are on Shabbat Kallah and eulogies. Ve-Arukh ha-Kohen are novellae organized alphabetically. Both books have the same title page and are set in a single column in rabbinic letters excepting headers and initial words. The list of subscribers for Ve-Arukh ha-Kohen is at the end of the book.

Djerba is an island off the coast of Tunisia. In ancient times it was an important Phoenician trading center. According to the local tradition, the Jewish settlement there dates to the reign of King Solomon. A family of priests fleeing Jerusalem in the year 70 C.E. is said to have transported one of the Temple gates to Djerba. It is believed to be enclosed in the synagogue, called al-Ghariba (the extraordinary) of the Hara al-Saghira (the Small Quarter), which is situated in the center of the island, a much frequented place of pilgrimage. The population consisted mainly of kohanim (priests) with a small sprinkling of others, although there were no levites among the residents. According to tradition, the absence of levites on the island is the result of a curse against them by Ezra because they refused to answer his request to send levites to Israel (cf. Ezra 8:15), and they all died. The history of the Jews of Djerba includes three serious persecutions: in the 12th century under the Almohads; in 1519 under the Spanish; and in 1943 under the Nazis. Maimonides, in a letter to his son, expressed a low opinion of their superstitions and spiritual capacity, but praised them for their faith. In the 19th and 20th centuries the yeshivot of Djerba produced many rabbis and writers and they provided rabbis for the communities of North Africa. In 1946 there were some 4,900 Jews in Djerba. Their number dwindled to about 1,500 by the late 1960s, the majority emigrating to Israel and settling on moshavim (many of them on moshav Eitan). The Hebrew press in Djerba was established by David Aydan in 1904, and many books, mainly Passover Hagaddot and other liturgical items, were printed there until 1960.

Hebrew Description

שו"ת על ארבעה טורי הש"ע ובסופו דרושים לשבת כלה ולצדיקים נו"נ [נוחי נפש], פעלת... הראב"ד... בעוב"י טריפולי... ר' חיים הכהן זצוק"ל... ונלוה לזה הגהות מתלמידו... ר' משה זקן מאג'וז זצוק"ל ראש הרבנים פה אי ג'רבה... בשם דבר משה... המשתדל... חיים חורי ס"ט בלא"א הר' אברהם זקן...

קמב, ב: פזמון... על ס' א"ב... >אשר שמענו מהשד"ר לבית התבשיל בירושת"ו... ר' אברהם סוטלאנץ הי"ו<. פותח: אדיר הוא. אדירים עמך ישראל. אדיר יבנה ביתו. ביתו יבנה. על יסוד השיר "אדיר הוא יבנה ביתו בקרוב" שבהגדה של פסח. הסכמת רבני ג'רבה: ר' ציון ב"ר שושן כהן, ר' כ'לפון משה [ב"ר שלום] הכהן, ר' מרדכי כ'מוס אמייס ב"ר יצחק הכהן, ר' מכ'לוף [ב"ר משה] עידאן ור' יוסף בוכ'ריץ (בזרזיס), טו אב תרפ"ח.

וערך הכהן ביאורים וחידושים לכמה פסוקים ומאמרי רבותינו ז"ל בש"ס ומדרשים, על דרך הדרש והרמז... פעלת... הראב"ד...בעוב"י טריפולי... רבי חיים הכהן זצוק"ל... המשתדל... חיים חורי ס"ט בלא"א הר' אברהם זקן חורי...

Reference

EJ; CD-NLI 0140374; 0140375