TESHUVOT SHE’ELOT (RESPONSA AND LETTERS BY AND ABOUT RABBI MOSES MAIMONIDES), [CONSTANTINOPLE: ASTRUC DE TOULON?, CA. 1513-1514]

The first edition of Maimonides’ responsa.

This work comprises a collection of responsa as well as correspondence from, to, and, in some cases, about Rabbi Moses Maimonides, the great rabbinic authority, codifier, philosopher, and royal physician (1138-1204).

Teshuvot she’elot includes Maimonides’ ethical will contained within a letter to his son Rabbi Abraham (1186-1237). Other missives relate to the widespread disputes over Maimonides’ philosophical writings, particularly the Moreh nevukhim (see lot 22) and Sefer ha-madda, the philosophical-theological first book of his fourteen-part magnum opus, Mishneh torah. Some of these were written after the death of Maimonides in 1204 and are addressed to his son Abraham. Also present is correspondence between Maimonides and Rabbi Samuel Ibn Tibbon (ca. 1165-1232), who translated many of the great sage’s works from Judeo-Arabic into Hebrew.

Assembled in gatherings of six leaves, the second half of the book (quires 3 and 4) was printed separately from the first half (quires 1 and 2). The typographic distinctions between the sections are evident in all known copies of this exceedingly rare work. The second half, however, was reset and enjoyed a second printing marked by very slight but unmistakable differences in the typography (compare the copy in the National Library of Israel). This second impression reflects the obvious demand for the work, whose second complete edition would appear in Venice in 1544. According to bibliographic scholar Meir Benayahu, the Constantinople edition of Sefer abudarham (see lot 210) was printed together with Teshuvot she’elot and (at least occasionally) appended thereto.