Lot 66
  • 66

Sefer Abudarham (Commentary on Prayer), David ben Joseph Abudarham, Constantinople: Astruc de Toulon, 30 November, 1513

Estimate
8,000 - 10,000 USD
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Description

100 leaves (10¾ x 7 7/8 in.; 273 x 200 mm). Title wormed and mended in all margins touching inner column of text on verso, marginal mends on next six leaves a few of which leaves are short in the fore-margin, some marginal dampstains and spotting, last leaf wormed and mounted affecting a few words. Censors' inscriptions on final leaf: recto (Giovanni Domenico Vistorini 1609) and verso (Hippolitus of Ferrara 1601). Antique cloth, blindstamped.

Provenance

Andrea della Motta- ownership note on last leaf

Literature

Vinograd, Constantinople 38; Yaari, Constantinople 22; Mehlman 603. Walter Orenstein, "The Influence of Judah Ben Jakar's Liturgy on Abudraham" in J.Q.R., NS,  Vol. 62, No. 2 (Oct., 1971), pp. 120-128

Condition

100 leaves (10¾ x 7 7/8 in.; 273 x 200 mm). Title wormed and mended in all margins touching inner column of text on verso, marginal mends on next six leaves a few of which leaves are short in the fore-margin, some marginal dampstains and spotting, last leaf wormed and mounted affecting a few words.Censors' inscriptions on final leaf: recto (Giovanni Domenico Vistorini 1609) and verso (Hippolitus of Ferrara 1601). Antique cloth, blindstamped.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

Abudarham, the classic commentary on Jewish liturgy is an eponymously titled work composed in Seville in 1340 by David ben Joseph Abudarham. The lack of a more descriptive title is likely attributable to the author's intention of  having the work serve as a running commentary to the liturgy rather than as an independent work.

In the preface the author states that it is his desire to afford people with the means of using the liturgy intelligently. To these ends, he assembled material for the explanation of each portion of the prayer-book. His sources include the Babylonian and the Jerusalem Talmuds, the literature of the Geonim and all the commentaries available in his time. Recent scholarship has suggested that Abudarham based his text in large part on the work of Judah ben Jakar, from whose 12th century commentary Abudarham quotes liberally and literally, and without attribution. Nevertheless, it was Abudarham who succeeded, as no one else had before him, in generating what was to become a virtually indispensable commentary on Jewish liturgy.

Three introductory chapters, on the reading of the Shema (Deut. 6:4), the Amidah Prayer, and the various benedictions, precede the commentary, which begins with the Evening Prayer, and then follows the order of the prayer-book, chiefly of the Sephardic Minhag, from beginning to end: first the Daily Morning, Afternoon, and Evening Prayers: then the Sabbath, the New Moon, and the Passover Prayers (including the Passover Haggadah) and the Pentecost Prayer. Considerable space is given to the prayers of the Jewish fast-days in general, besides those of the national fast-days in commemoration of Jerusalem; then follow Rosh ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur and the Sukkot festival prayers. This section is followed by a chapter on the Hafarot, and then follow one on the calendar and a special discourse on the Tekufot and the superstitious beliefs concerning it. The last section treats, in nine chapters, of various benedictions.