SEFER TOLEDOT ADAM VE-HAVVAH AND SEFER MEISHARIM (HALAKHIC CODES), RABBEINU JEROHAM BEN MESHULLAM, CONSTANTINOPLE, 1516

The first editions of two major halakhic codes.

Rabbeinu Jeroham ben Meshullam (ca. 1290-1350), a native of Provence, arrived in Toledo, Spain, after the expulsion of Jews from France in 1306. There he studied with Rabbis Asher ben Jehiel (Rosh) and Abraham ben Moses Aldubi. His first known work, Sefer meisharim (Book of the Upright), was devoted to civil law, including the pecuniary aspects of family law, and meticulously organized so as to facilitate research. At the urging of his contemporaries, he composed a second work, Sefer toledot adam ve-havvah (Book of the Chronology of Adam and Eve), arranging Rosh’s pesakim (legal decisions) and those of other French, Provencal, and Spanish authorities according to a man’s lifecycle: the Adam section (ff. [1v]-202r) treats the laws appertaining from birth until marriage, while the Eve section (ff. 202r-272r) discusses those that apply from marriage until death. Some of the foremost halakhists of the sixteenth century, including Rabbis Joseph Caro (1488-1575) and Samuel de Medina (1505-1589), quoted him extensively. The present lot comprises the first editions of both works, published by Spanish exiles in a single volume (the later book coming first), with each quire distributed to subscribers on Shabbat in order to finance the printing.