Incunable! Mivchar Hapeninim. Soncino, 1484
Essays on Jewish ethics and philosophy, parables and maxims regarding the conduct of a Jew and rectification of one’s character traits by Chacham
Rabbi Shlomo Ibn Gabirol with commentary by Rabbi Shimshon Monei.
As one of the primary books on Jewish ethics, Mivchar Hapeninim had a strong influence on future works of the same genre. This book inspired Torah luminaries throughout the generations, from latter Rishonim and Achronim in Sephardic and Ashkenazic lands to the Shl”a, Vilna Gaon and progenitors of Chassidus and until contemporary times. Throughout over half a millennium, this sefer has remained popular among the Jewish world and been printed in dozens of editions with and without commentaries and in abridged and translated versions.
This first and rare edition was published by the celebrated Italian Ashkenazic Soncino family who founded one of the first Jewish printing presses in Italy. Books printed by the Soncino Press were praised for the high-quality printing, perfection of type and accuracy. The colophon text indicates that this book was completed on 17 Shvat, 5242 (1484), which would make it the second book printed by the Soncino Press, although there are some opinions that it may have been the first.
Mivchar Hapeninim was originally drafted in Arabic and subsequently translated to Lashon Hakodesh by the famed Jewish interpretor Rabbi Yehuda Ibn Tibon. There are also opinions that attribute the work to Chacham Rabbi Yedaya Hapenini, author of Bechinos Olam.
Rabbi Shlomo Ibn Gabirol (circa 1020-1057) was one of the most notable and colorful Sephardic Jewish leaders during the Golden Age of Spain. He was born during the period of the Rishonim in Malaga, Spain, yet spent the majority of his life in Saragossa and passed away in Valencia. Rabbi Shlomo was a world-acclaimed scholar and poet who authored countless songs, piyyutim, Selichos and Kinos which were included in books of prayer and entreaties and are recited until this very day throughout the Jewish world.
Rabbi Shlomo Ibn Gabirol is mentioned on numerous occasions by his illustrious contemporaries, including the Baalei Tosfos, Ibn Ezra, Radak and Ramban.
Soncino, 1484. First edition. [60] leaves. Printed in one column with Spanish-Italian letters. No titles. Features page protectors. Good condition.
For the complete description and Bibliographical sources, see Shimon Yakirson, Catalogue of Hebrew Incunabula from the collection of the Beth Medrash L’Rabbanim in America (New York, 5764/2004).
Vol. 1 97-102 A.M. Haberman, Mivchar Hapeninim – Bibliographical List, Sinai. Vol. 25 p. 53 and on.
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Incunabula! (Cradle Print)
Incunabula (plural of incunable) are books, pamphlets, or broadsides printed in Europe prior to the year 1500. The word derives from the Latin term ‘swaddling cloth, ’ connoting the infancy of the printed word. While the incunable period actually stretches from 1455-1500, the first Hebrew presses opened only two decades later, making the Hebrew incunabula period between 1469-1500.
The estimated number of Hebrew works printed during the incunabula period is approximately two hundred. Today, we know of some 140 titles that are housed in various libraries in the world, albeit most are fragments or incomplete copies.
Complete incunabula are exceedingly rare,
making Incunabula the most desirable collectibles, highly sought-after by antique Judaica collectors.
