Lot : 87

Kesef Nivchar. Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto - The First. Damascus, 1605

Start price: $18,000

Est. Price: $25,000 - $35,000

Kesef Nivchar. Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto – The First–

Extremely Rare! The only Jewish book printed in Damascus.

Essays, commentary and novella on the Torah portions of Bereishis, Shmos an, d Vayikrah by the saintly kabbalist and Rav Hamusmach Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto.

The great kabbalist and genius Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto (circa 1565-1848), also renowned as the Rav Hamusmach, was the forefather of the glorious Pinto dynasty whose
“Fame and light spread throughout the world” (Chida, Shem Hagedolim). His written legacy, especially his Peirush Maharif on Ein Yaakov which expounds upon the Aggadah, was enthusiastically received in yeshivos and Jewish homes around the world. Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto was the nephew and mechutan of the formidable kabbalist Rabbi Chaim Vital.

Rabbi Yoshiyahu’s prime teacher and mentor was Rabbi Yaakov Abulafia, who was ordained by his grandfather Rabbi Yaakov Beirav II and he utilized this force of semichah to ordain his own pupil Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto. Harav Pinto was subsequently called the “Rav Hamusmach.”
The founding of a Jewish printing press in Damascus is a clear testimony to the immense efforts of Damascene Jews to ensure the perpetuation of Torah Judaism and relay their teachings to future generations. It likewise reveals the miraculous flourishing of their community despite the animosity and oppression of their gentile neighbors.

Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto invested his heart and soul to print his sefer Kesef Nivchar. The print type was brought from heirs of the Tzfas printing press, and the printer himself traveled to Damascus from Salonika. Ultimately, Rabbi Pinto was disappointed with the final product, “As the print type did not emerge as desired, ” and he thus ceased his printing endeavors. Hence,
Kesef Nivchar was the first and only Jewish book to be printed in Damascus during that era.

Damascus, 1605-6. First edition. 124 leaves. Page size: 27 cm. Bottom margins cropped; some pages cropped into the bottom line of text, the bottom lines are missing on a few pages. Otherwise good condition. Ornate new leather binding.

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