Two volumes of Tur with Beit Yosef, from the Beit Yosef edition printed in the author's lifetime.
• Tur Yoreh Deah, with Beit Yosef. [Venice: Giovanni Griffio, 1564.] Second edition of Beit Yosef, printed in the lifetime of the author, R. Yosef Karo.
This volume reached Libya, containing signatures of rabbis of Tripoli and stamps from Benghazi.
Inscription on p. 1a of "David son of R. Shabtai Tayar" – R. David Tayar (1690-1763), a leading Torah scholar and dayan in Tripoli and Rabbi of the city. Late in his life, he immigrated to Eretz Israel and passed away in Safed. He is a signatory of the Gabila ordinance in Tripoli, 1760.
Under it is an additional inscription of "Chaim son of R. Binyamin Waturi" who purchased it from the agent of the widow of R. David – R. Chaim Waturi (d. 1802), rabbi and dayan of Tripoli. He is a signatory on the renewal of the Gabila ordinance in 1778.
Some glosses (apparently by one of the above rabbis).
On several leaves are inscriptions with names of the Lavi family (apparently of Tripoli); inscription (or signature) on several leaves.
On several leaves are stamps of "Leone M. Cohen, Bengasi" – stamp of Yehudah son of Mordechai HaKohen of Benghazi (apparently the son of Mordechai HaKohen of Tripoli, author of Higid Mordechai on the history of Libyan Jews).
398, [25] leaves. Missing [6] leaves with title page, introductions and beginning of index. The leaves are misordered: the gatherings (each with 6 leaves) are bound in reverse order (from left to right – in ascending order of gatherings, like a Latin book, opened from the left side). 37 cm. Overall fair condition. Stains, including large dampstains, dark stains and mold stains. Worming, affecting text. Tears and open tears, affecting text in several places. Two leaves disconnected. Late binding, made in the Ferramonti DP camp in Italy (see below). Damage and wear to binding.
• Tur Even HaEzer, with Beit Yosef. Venice: Giovanni di Gara, 1565. An edition printed in the lifetime of the author.
Signature to title page, in Italian script. Several glosses in Italian script.
Stamps of "Leone M. Cohen", of Benghazi, Libya.
Censorship deletions to several leaves, including deletions relating to laws of marriage, differing from the usual censorship of matters relating to gentiles.
Signatures of censors on last leaves.
258 leaves. 35 cm. Overall fair condition. Stains, including dampstains and mold stains. Worming, affecting text and title frame. Small tears and open tears, affecting text to last leaf. Inscriptions. Late binding, made in the Ferramonti DP camp (see below). Damage and wear to binding.
The binding of both volumes was done in the DP camp in Ferramonti di Tarsia, south Italy, which had served as a concentration camp during the Nazi occupation, and after the war was converted to a DP camp. Inside the binding is mounted a paper label with an English caption saying the book was bound by the bookbinding division of Amal, which was founded by Shraga Kohn and Shlomo Weiss.
Provenance: Estate of Prof. Ephraim Elimelech Urbach.
PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.
