Eric Chaim Kline, Bookseller - Old and Rare Books

Sefer 'Ivranot: [Evronot] Ve–hu Yore derekh le–gemulei Melekh ve–'Atikei Sedim. Im Kuntres [noten Yeshu'a] be-sofo Meir bb. ha-R.R. Natan Yehoshua Hamelburg.

Belin, Eliezer ben Jacob Ashkenazi

Offenbach, Germany: Israel Ken, 1722. Second edition. This is the copy of the Rabbi David (Paul-Bernard) Drach (1791-1868), who converted to Catholicism in 1823 and managed the library of the Propaganda Fide in Rome. The front endpaper has a note that is signed and dated by Drach: "Etudie et annote ce volume; supplee lets mots ronges par les vers, et corrige les fautes typographiques." Notes to margins. Introductory note by Drach lauding the book: "Le calendrier juif, dont les calculs sont d'une exactitude admirable, etait deja en usage du temps de Rabbie Gamliel, pas consequents a l'epoque ou le Verbe eternel caro factum est et habitavit in nobis."

8vo. 40 (in Hebrew letters) numbered leaves [i.e. 80pp.]. re-cased in later vellum with leather strips. Engraved title page. Fascinating work on the Jewish calendar, its estimation, calculation of the New Moon, methods of chronology et.al. Also contains a few pages on the Christian calendar. This work is one of the most profusely illustrated works of Hebraica and Judaica, with charts, ephemerides, sketches and illustrations throughout. One volvell attached. In Hebrew. First ten leaves with one inch holes from bookworms. The rest of the volome with minor circular bookworm hole. Some loss of text on first ten leaves. Item #55261

"The volvelles as well as hand diagrams and tables were some of the tools used not just for calculating and identifying pivotal dates and worshipping times for Jews, but also for ascertaining Christan holidays. This knowledge was a critical aid for protecting Jews from the danger posed by their having different worshipping times and habits from the dominant culture. The headings on the wheel denote the arrival of the new moon, which marks the start of the Jewish month, and the cycle of the sun. Whereas calendars appear in general to be a “convenient way to coordinate human movements with natural time,” as Elisheva Carlebach points out, the Sefer ‘Evronot demonstrates that the methods for doing so are culturally and historically shaped. The wheel, computing information with each push of a finger, demands interaction from the reader in order to yield knowledge not just to use, but to live by." Ref: brevigrapher...interactive book.)

Furst I, 99 & 360, Steinschneider 4988.4.

Price: $3,250.00