Rambam
Venice, 1551
Giustiniani Edition
Complete, beautiful set!
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The Giustiniani Edition of Mishnah Torah L’HaRambam is regarded as one of its most impressive and famous editions. This impressive find is a complete set that includes rare leaves missing from most extant copies of this nearly 500 year old set!
This exclusive set, which presents in 3 thick volumes, was preserved in complete, pristine condition and features all titles pages, index pages, and printer’s emblems. The printers made use of the highest quality ink, thick white paper, and wide margins, bound in ornate leather covers.
A complete set of the Giustiniani Edition of Mishnah Torah in superior condition as the present item is a rare treasure!
This edition of Mishnah Torah L’HaRambam, which includes the Maggid Mishnah, Migdal Oz and Teshuvos Maimonios commentaries, was meticulously edited based on earlier accurate editions, and proofread by 16th century Italian sages Rabbi David Pitzigitun and Rabbi Ezriel Diena, with glosses by the Maharam of Padua. The leaves include references to the Tur and Smag, and a reference sheet was added to Migdal Oz.
Bound in 3 volumes:
Volume 1: Sefer Mada, Sefer Ahavah and Sefer Zmanim, beginning with Sefer Hamitzvos L’haRambam, with additions and queries by the Ramban.
Volume 2: Sefer Nashim until Sefer Taharah
Volume 3: Sefer Nezikin until Sefer Shoftim with glosses by Maharam of Padua
Volume 1 opens with a concise list of the 613 imperative mitzvos and prohibitions [4 leaves].
The Hebrew Bibliography Institute records that this “Minyan Hamitzvos” (List of Mitzvos) was omitted from the Rambam’s preface to Mishnah Torah, yet the present copy includes the full List of Mitzvos! (Apparently, the list was inadvertently omitted from the original printing, yet the printers eventually noted their error and attached it to later copies of the same edition. This theory is supported by the fact that the list is printed out of order and appears on separate leaves before the first title page. Its actual place should be at the end of the Rambam’s introduction, at the bottom of the first column on leaf 2b).
2.
Sefer Hamitzvos L’HaRambam [leaves 2-24]. Leaf 24b features the printer’s emblem.
3.
Hasagos HaRamban on Sefer Hamitzvos [leaves 25-43];
Hasagos HaRaavad on Sefer Hamitzvos.
4.
List of 613 Mitzvos presented in the order of the 14 books of Yad Hachazakah [leaves 24b-26a + leaf 1].
5.
Maharam of Padua’s glosses are printed at the end of Volume 3.
Other leaves feature references to the Tur and Smag, as well as references to Migdal Oz.
In the mid-16th century, the two premier Hebrew presses in Venice, Italy, the celebrated printing capital of the world, were the Giustiniani and Bragadin Presses. These two printing houses vied for the most prestigious Jewish customers, but their rivalry evolved into an all-out war with the printing of Mishnah Torah L’HaRambam. The owners of the Bragadin Press accused Giustiniani Press printers of stealing the Maharam of Padua’s comments on the Mishnah Torah L’HaRambam, while the Giustiniani press printers vigorously denied the accusation. The controversy swelled to epic proportions and eventually reached the Beis Din of the Rema in Krakow (see Shu”t Rema Ch. 10).
Legend has it that following this bitter controversy, local Christians reported several sections in the Talmud that include disparaging statements about Christianity to Pope Julius III. The slanderous reports caused the Pope to sign a decree ordering the burning of the Talmud and immediate closure of Hebrew printing presses in Venice. Sadly, it would take a full decade before these establishments reopened.
In the introduction to the present edition, the printers of the Giustiniani Edition enumerate the advantages of their edition over the Bragadin Edition of the Rambam.
Venice, 1550-1551. Complete set! [4], 43, [1], 25-26, 1, 10-228: [1]: 394-767, [5] leaves. Large format measuring 40 cm. Three complete volumes in ornate leather bindings.
The present item boasts a distinguished provenance and ownership by eminent Rabbis and sages of Reggio, Italy.
1. All 3 volumes feature the autograph of the holy kabbalist Rabbi Eliezer Nachman Foa, who signed his name with his initials: “ARNN.” Rabbi Eliezer Nachman Foa was the prime disciple of the Rema of Pano and author of Midrash B’chiddush among others. He passed away in 1659.
2. Record of ownership of Rabbi Yechiel Foa of Reggio who inherited the sefer from his father. Rabbi Yechiel is apparently the brother-in-law of the Rema of Pano. (Yaari mentions the Foa brothers in a list similar to the present list in Mechkarei Sefer p. 333 #43.)
3. “It reached the portion of Mar Verdimos… who is Rabbi Verdimos Foa, brother of the abovementioned Rabbi Yechiel Foa, who was also a brother-in-law of the Rema of Pano and disciple of the kabbalist Rabbi Eliezer Nachman Foa. (See lists of his disciples in the beginning pages of Midrash B’chiddush.)
4. Other owners’ signatures include Gershon ben Rabbi Avraham Padua and Shimshon Meir Padua.
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