Collection of Responsa, Moses ben Abraham Provençal of Mantua, [Italy, late 16th-early 17th century]

Moses ben Abraham Provençal of Mantua was considered one of the greatest talmudists and most illustrious scholars of Italian Jewry in the Renaissance period. For many decades he was rabbi of the Italian community of Mantua, which as a result became a center of talmudic study. At the time, the Catholic Counter-Reformation was in effect and impacted the sociocultural climate greatly, even within the Jewish communities. As a result, Moses, known for his liberal-mindedness, was persecuted by zealous rabbis for innovations such as the introduction of a new formula for the Havdalah when a festival immediately followed the Sabbath. He became the subject of further censure when he ruled to invalidate a divorce on the grounds of its having been given under duress. He was expelled from office twice, and rabbis from as far as Turkey, Greece, and Safed became involved in the ensuing controversy. Ultimately his dismissal was not implemented, since he continued to act as rabbi of Mantua until his death.

This volume of responsa was arranged by Moses’ grandson Eliezer Provençal. It includes 240 responsa composed from 1554-1575. Responsum no. 2 is a commentary on the 25 propositions appearing at the beginning of the second part of Moses ben Maimon’s Guide. Responsa nos. 64-69 are critiques of Azariah de Rossi’s Me’or Einayim.  Responsum no. 69 is a letter by Leon Moscato to de Rossi. At the end of the volume is an index added by another hand.

Sotheby’s is grateful to Menahem Schmelzer z”l and Benjamin Richler for cataloguing this manuscript.

Provenance

Solomon Halberstam (shelf no. 189)

Physical Description

194 leaves on paper, 13 1/2 x 9 1/8 inches; 342 x 232 mm, written in black and brown inks in Italian semi-cursive script, catchwords, modern foliation in pencil; fols. 1–5 remargined at bottom, fols. 1–15 rather dampstained, with occasional fraying or loss, some very light dampstaining to upper margins throughout, fore-edge margin of fol. 87 repaired, scattered soiling, library stamps on fol. 2r and last page. Black library buckram; stained.

Literature

Hirschfeld (ms. no. 114); R. Bonfil, in Kiryat Sefer, 50 (1975), pp. 157-176, published responsum no. 2 from several manuscripts; D. Kaufmann, in Revue des Etudes Juives, 33 (1896), pp. 77-83, published responsum no. 69; the entire collection of responsa was printed from other manuscripts in 2 volumes (Jerusalem, 1989-1998)