Akeidat Yitzchak on chumash Bereishit by Rabbi Yitzchak Arama, known by the moniker ‘ Ba’al HaAkeidah ‘ after the name of this book. Jaun di Gara Press, Venice, 1573. Owner’s notation on the title page: ‘Anshel son of Rabbi Aharon Yosef Yozeli Katz, z”l.’ One-word gloss on leaf 42.
The famous book Akeidat Yitzchak has been published in many editions, and served as a model for many sermonizers who came after him, to the extent that it was observed that “All books by sermonizers of recent generations drew from his example.” Along the length of the book, Rabbi Yitzchak cites leading Jewish philosophers and thinkers, such as Rasa”g, Ibn Gabriol, Rabbi Yehudah HaLevi, Ibn Ezra, Rabbeinu Bechayyei ibn Pekudah, the Ramba”m and others; he even quotes Aristotle’s words with respect.
Don Rabbi Yitzchak Abarbanel, in his biblical commentary, cites certain parts of the book Akeidat Yitzchak . Each time (except for one), the citation is not accompanied by Rabbi Yitzchak Amara’s name as the source of the words. As a result, Rabbi Yitzchak’s son, Rabbi Meir Amara, accuses the Abarbanel of plagiarism from his father’s work. In the introduction to the new edition of Akeidat Yitzchak , there is a quote from the scholar Ryy”a Falk, who proved, according to his view, that the Abarbanel’s commentary was written in his youth as notes to himself, and was not intended for dissemination, so the Abarnanel did not take the trouble to cite his sources – there was no intent to plagiarize.
Rabbi Yitzchak Amara, ‘ Ba’al HaAkeidah ‘ [1420 – 1494] was one of the Spanish sages during the generation of the expulsion. He was a philosopher and biblical commentator. He served as a rabbi and rosh yeshivah in Zamora, in northern Spain, and in Calatayud, and in the rabbinate of Tarragona in South Catalonia, and in Parga, Aragon. When the Jews were exiled from Spain, He set out for Portugal with his son Rabbi Meir, and then he immigrated to Italy, where he passed away in Naples in 1494. Engraved on his tombstone: “Patriarch In Torah, Patriarch In Wisdom, He Left None Like Him Amongst His People … This Is Not A Tombstone, But An Alter/ Yitzchak Is A Sacrificial Offering.”
89 leaves, 36 cm. High-quality paper.
Fine condition. Aging stains. Reinforcements to the title page with slight damage to text. Antique binding with lack in the spine.