«Bouwman Oriental Books»

Na sequência dos meus últimos artigos, faço hoje referência a um Livreiro Antiquário, da Holanda, especializado em manuscritos orientais (com um interessante conjunto de livros hebaicos e muçulmanos, aqueles que foram objecto de reflexão e comentários). Pelo que deixo aqui o seu endereço:

http://www.bouwmanbooks.com/index.html

Convido-vos a darem uma “espreitadela” pelo acervo desta Livraria...mais que não seja, para se familiarizarem com o tipo de livros objecto das minhas reflexões.
Aqui ficam dois exemplares escolhidos um pouco ao acaso:

Qufic Manuscript, Dalail al-Khayrat, Marocco 1565

Dalail al-Khayrat wa Shawarig al-Anwar, by Muhammad b. Sulayman al-Gazuli (d.870/1465), GAL GII, 252.16th century, Marocco.Collective volume with text in Arabic, paper, 200 fols. (300x200 mm). Maghribi script of calligrahic quality, full leather Islamic binding with blind tooled ornaments. The two usual illustrations of Mecca and Medina (graves and niche) are present here in their schematic form. Various illuminations of openings show the luxurious intentions for this manuscript. Occasional repairs and some damage as a result of ink corrosion.

Toldot Yitzhok

Author: (Kabbalah) R.Isaac b. Joseph Caro
Title: Toldot Yitzhok
Language in hebrew printed book paper
Place/date: Mantua by Vinturin Rufanelli 1558
physical app. Hebrew paper, 81 fols, 292x195mm, old hands, age and damp staining, wide margins. A very good copy bound in later half cloth boards. bibliogr.
Nr. prhebr140

Context: Commentary on the Pentateuch, which includes literal, homiletic, kabbalistic, and philosophical interpretations by R. Isaac b. Joseph Caro (c. 1458 - c. 1535), Spanish scholar who lived at the time of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492. He was a native of Toledo, where he headed a yeshiva. Several years before the expulsion he moved with his yeshiva to Portugal. When the expulsion of the Jews from Portugal was decreed in 1497 he escaped to Turkey where he became one of the rabbis of Constantinople. There he published Toledot Yizhak (Constantinople, 1518). His book reveals him as a man of very wide culture. Its extreme popularity is evidenced by the fact that four editions were published in the short period of 14 years. In the introduction he describes the many hardships, including the death of his children, which he endured during his wanderings. He adopted his nephew, R. Joseph Caro, the author of the Shulhan Arukh, who frequently mentions him in terms of the highest admiration. He states his desire to settle in Erez Israel but it is not clear whether he was able to fulfill his wish. Only remnants of his other works remain. Three of his responsa appear in the works of R. Joseph Caro (Avkat Rokhel, Salonika 1791, no. 47, 48; Bet Yosef, Salonika 1598, on Even ha-Ezer, end). In his introduction to the latter work R. Judah, the son of R. Joseph Caro, declared his intention of collecting and publishing the rest of Isaac's responsa. Some of them are extant in manuscript (JTS, no. 0348). He also wrote novellae to tractate Ketubbot (Margoliouth, Cat, 535/2–3). His homilies under the title Hasdei David are in manuscript. Remnants of his commentary on Avot are quoted in the Midrash Shemu'el (Venice, 1579) of R. Samuel de Uceda.

Keyword(s) Toldot Yitzhok (Kabbalah) R.Isaac b. Joseph Caro

Espero que a vossa “visita virtual” vos tenha despertado o interesse para este tipo de impressões, quer pela sua beleza estética quer pela excelente qualidade de impressão.

Saudações bibliófilas.