Interesting halachic responsum handwritten and signed by R. Shmuel Shemaya Papo, grandson of the Remez. Ancona, [1747]. With a handwritten and signed endorsement by R. Yaakov Yisrael Ben Porat. Senigallia, 18th Kislev 1747.
Four pages handwritten by R. Shmuel Shemaya Papo, in Sephardi script (with many interlinear additions). At the foot of the last page, an endorsement handwritten by R. Yaakov Yisrael Ben Porat, in Italian script.
This responsum is part of a polemic which arose between Italian rabbis in 1747. Each year, before Sukkot, the Jewish community of Ragusa (today Dubrovnik) used to send the Four Species to the nearby Sarajevo community. In 1747, the Ragusa community had only one etrog. The Sarajevo community begged the Ragusa community to share the etrog, at least for several days, so that they too could fulfill the mitzvah. The Ragusa community was divided over how to respond. After Sukkot, a query was sent to R. David Pardo and he wrote a long responsum ruling that the Ragusa community had already fulfilled the mitzvah of the Four Species on the first day of Sukkot and therefore, they were obligated to send the etrog to the Sarajevo community to enable them to fulfill the mitzvah during the remaining days of the festival. R. Pardo's responsum started a halachic debate between several Italian rabbis. Some of the responsa on the subject were printed in R. David Pardo's Responsa Michtam L'David.
In this manuscript, R. Shmuel Shemaya Papo rejects the ruling of R. David Pardo, vehemently refuting his arguments.
To the best of our knowledge, both the responsum of R. Papo and the endorsement by R. Yaakov Yisrael Ben Porat were never printed.
R. Shmuel Shemaya Papo, rabbi of Ancona, was the son of R. Avraham David Papo – son-in-law and disciple of R. Moshe Zacuto (the Remez). He corresponded with the Chida after meeting him in 1754 (see enclosed material).
R. Yaakov Yisrael Ben Porat, an Italian Torah scholar, was a disciple of R. Yosef Fiametta in Ancona. From 1748, he served as rabbi of Senigallia.
[2] leaves (4 written pages). 24 cm. Good condition. Stains and wear. Marginal tears. Folding marks.

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Manuscript, Medical Aphorisms of Hippocrates, with Rambam's commentary. [Italy, 18th century]. Hebrew and Italian.
The first part of the manuscript contains a neat copying of the entire composition, translated to Hebrew by R. Moshe ibn Tibbon, in cursive Italian script. Hippocrates' Aphorisms occupy the center of the page, surrounded by Rambam's commentary (in two columns). The second part of the manuscript consists of the Italian translation (in Latin characters) of the entire composition.
The composition (whether in the original Arabic or the translation by R. Moshe ibn Tibbon) remained in manuscript until 1961, when it was first published by Dr. Süssmann Muntner.
46, [2] leaves (leaves 18-24 and 41-46 remain blank). 20 cm. Good condition. Stains (dark ink stains to two pages). Loose or detached leaves. Original card binding, with defects.

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Manuscript, homilies on Aggadah and halachic responsa, following the order of the weekly Torah portions. [Italy, ca. 19th century].
The sections were first arranged following the order of the Parashiot, yet the writer later deleted some of the names of the Parashiot and numbered the sections instead (sections 1-26). Each section opens with a poem. Leaf with table of contents (detached) at the end of the manuscript.
The identity of the writer of this manuscript is not clear to us, though it is obvious he was an Italian Torah scholar, and a nephew of R. Yitzchak Shimshon Malach (Torah scholar in Livorno, author of Seder Bnei Yisrael, Girsat HaNe'arim and Tikkun Yitzchak).
Section 5 contains a lengthy responsum on the topic of Metzitzah, where the writer demonstrates that Metzitzah is only a medical rather than halachic procedure in circumcision, and can therefore be omitted in light of scientific findings which prove it to be ineffective. He testifies that he performed many circumcisions without Metzitzah.
During the 19th century, the Metzitzah polemic spread in Germany and other parts of Europe. Not much is known about the development of the polemic in Italy, and the responsum found in the present manuscript sheds additional light on the matter, presenting the opinion of an Italian Torah scholar from those times.
Inscriptions in Italian script in several places.
[54] leaves (and additional blank leaves). 23 cm. Good condition. Stains and wear. Minor marginal tears to several leaves. Original card binding, slightly damaged.

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Manuscript, Mussaf for Yom Kippur, according to Sephardi rite, with the piyyutim and the High Priest's Yom Kippur Temple service (Atah Konanta by Yosi son of Yosi Kohen Gadol). [Italy, early 19th century].
Large square script, on thick paper. The beginning of the manuscript is vocalized.
The manuscript contains the chazan's repetition of mussaf, with the subsequent selichot, followed by the High Priest's service. Lacking end. Glosses with textual variations on several leaves.
The date 1817 is lettered on the spine of the new binding.
[116] leaves (incomplete). 19 cm. Particularly thick paper. Good condition. Stains. Minor worming. Several leaves reinforced with tape. New binding.

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Year-round Italian rite machzor. Part I – daily prayers, Shabbat, Rosh Chodesh, Pesach and Shavuot; Part II – High Holidays and Sukkot. Venice, [1750]. Two parts in two volumes.
Original, gilt-decorated leather bindings, with gilt initials on both boards: "S.L.U." (the owner was possibly a member of the Uzielli family).
Hundreds of notes in Italian script, some lengthy, by several writers: kabbalistic kavanot, explanations of piyyutim, novellae, citations from manuscripts, and more. Some of the notes provide interesting documentation of the Florence community and its customs, with mention of rabbis who served there. Some notes are slightly trimmed.
Bound at the beginning of vol. II is a list of the cantors and their assistants who led the Yom Kippur prayers in Florence in the years 1738-1783, including some interesting accounts. Among the cantors, rabbis of the community: R. Yehuda Refael Yehoshua Monselice, R. Menachem Azaria Padua, R. Yaakov Chai Boreh Levi.
This list was apparently written by R. Efraim Yosef Rimini of Florence (as is written in several places: "I, Efraim Yosef Rimini"). Presumably, he also wrote many of the glosses. The list was written over many years, starting in 1738 (more than a decade before the printing of this machzor). Interestingly, one of the notes is also dated 1738. It seems that it was copied from a different machzor. In this note, the writer mentions "my grandfather, R. Yochanan Giron" (R. Efraim Yosef Rimini was the son of R. Giron's daughter, see enclosed material).
Two volumes. Vol. I: 281, [2] leaves. Lacking [1] engraved plate. Leaves 73-80 are bound out of order. Vol. II: [1], 323, [1] leaves. Leaves 322-323 are bound after leaf 311. 19.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Dampstains. Many stains to some leaves. Wear. Two detached leaves in vol. I. First leaves of vol. II detached. Some tears, repaired with paper. Original, gilt-decorated leather bindings. Damage to bindings.

PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.