Sefer ha-Roke'ah, Eleazer ben Judah of Worms, Fano: Gershom Soncino, 1505

109 leaves (10 3/4 x 7 3/48 in.; 274 x 194 mm), lacking only the final blank. COLLATION: (*)²,1-17⁶, 18⁵=109 leaves. Title page remargined, losses repaired, affecting only a few words on recto, moreso on verso; affected text expertly replaced in facsimile. folios 1-12 strengthened at gutter; a few leaves with marginal repairs;  a few wormtracks, repaired;  f 109v, owner's armorial inkstamp and censor's signature (Antonio Francesco Enriques, 1687). Modern half vellum over red cloth; gilt stamped spine.

Vinograd, Fano 12; Mehlman 954; Haberman, Soncino 19

THE FIRST HEBREW BOOK TO BE PRINTED WITH A TITLE PAGE

Sefer ha-Roke'ah is a halakhic work which includes minhagim (customs) as well as a considerable amount of ethical material. The author, Eleazer ben Judah of Worms, (c.1165–c.1238) was a member of the renowned Kalonymid family, and the most prominent disciple and student of Judah he-Hasid, the leader of the pietist movement known as Hasidei Ashkenaz.  Eleazer ben Judah of Worms was the last major figure of this social and ideological circle which developed in the Jewish communities along the Rhine during the 12th and 13th centuries. Eleazar's main contribution to the ethical literature of Hasidei Ashkenaz is contained in the first two chapters of Roke'ah. In the first, he discusses the central values of the pietists (love and fear of God, prayer, humility, etc.). In the second, he describes in detail the ways of repentance. Although following the tradition of other halakhic works by the tosafists of northern France and Germany,Sefer ha-Roke'ah was designed to educate the layperson rather than the scholar. Accordingly, the author eschews lengthy exegetical discourses, preferring to deliver the halakhah in a forthright manner, though still referencing Talmudic sources. Unlike other halakhic works written by the tosafists, Eleazar also includes minhagim in his work.