Magen Dovid
Constantinople, 1517
A treatise defending the Radak
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Magen Dovid = Defending Dovid (Rabbi dovid Kimchi )
Responses to grammatical question and critique raised against the Radak’s principles and rules of grammar in sefer Maaseh Eifod and Lashon Limudim , by Rabbi Elisha ben Rabbi Avraham ben Rabbi Mattisyahu from Portugal
Rabbeinu Dovid Kimchi, renowned by his initials Radak, was one of the great sages and grammarians in Jewish history, known to many as “Gadol Hamedakdekim, Greatest of the Grammarians”. His landmark sefarim on lashon hakodesh, including Sefer Hashorashim and Sefer Michlol, are both fundamentals in this realm. The Radak’s works spurred several responses that contested his principles and rules in grammar; the present sefer by Rabbi Elisha ben Rabbi Avraham seeks to defend the Radak’s position, and was thus aptly named Magen Dovid, literally, “shield of Dovid.”
The colophon states:
“This sefer was completed on Erev Pesach 5277 to Creation and printed in metropolitan Constantinople…”
The author
Rabbi Elisha ben Rabbi Avraham ben Rabbi Mattisyahu was one of the great Turkish sages who lived in the era of the Re’em. He was expelled from Portugal together with his Jewish brothers in 1517.
Chacham Rabbi Yitzchak ben Moshe , also known as
Profiat Duran Halevi was a philosopher and grammarian. He authored his famous work Maaseh Eifod in Catalonia, 1403, although the sefer didn’t appear in print until 1865. Rabbi Elisha possessed a handwritten manuscript of Chacham Yitzchak’s work which enabled him to formulate his responses to the questions posed.
Rabbi Dovid ben Yichya was one of the great sages of Portugal in the era of the expulsion. He fled Portugal and settled in Turkey. His fundamental work Lashon Limudim was printed in Constantinople, 1506.
The present sefer was proofread both by the author and the esteemed chacham Rabbi Shlomo Almoli, author of Mefasher Chalmin, Me’asef Lechol Hamachanos and others. Rabbi Shlomo Almoli also numbered among the refugees of the Portuguese expulsion, arriving in Turkey as a young child.
Constantinople, 1517. Singular edition. [26] leaves. Page size: 19.4 cm.
The title page features in a decorative border. Good condition with new binding.
Bibliography: YAARI KUSHTA #52.
SOTHEBY’S – SCHOCKEN 12/06/1993
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