SHE'ELOT U-TESHUVOT MEHA-GE'ONIM. ASHER NIDPESU BI-YEME KEDEM BE-KIRYAT KUSHTANDINAH VE-'ATAH POH .. by Kabuli, Shelomoh ben Menahem; Norzi, Jedidiah Solomon Raphael ben Abraham - 1597

Mantovah [Mantua]: Bi-Defus Shelomoh Mi-Nortsi, 1597. Hardcover. Later boards. 8vo. 72 pages, 21 cm. In Hebrew. Title translates to "Response of the Geonim. " Third edition of the Geonic responsa, following the Prague first edition printed in 1590 and a 1596 Mantua edition. Four hundred responsa from the geonim, heads of the talmudic academies, mainly in Babylonia, in Sura and Pumbedita, in the period after the redaction of the Talmud. The ge'onim, undisputed halakhic authorities of the time, received many thousands of inquiries from throughout the Jewish world encompassing all aspects of Jewish life and learning. The title page has the ornate Prague frame with Moses holding the tablets of the Law at the top, cherubim on the either side of him, and along the sides two bearded figures above additional cherubim, a single Magen David on the right, and at the bottom two lions about the spread hands of the Kohen. On the verso is a preamble from Rarbbi Solomon ben Menahem Kabuli, and below that a two tailed crowned lion, the emblem of Bohemia. Next are the contents by subject, in two columns (6 f.), the text, and then verse in praise of the work, and, on the last page, epilogues from Rabbi Menahem Aguzi and the editor, Rabbi Ezekiel Moses ben Jacob. The final one makes its first appearance in this printing.       The text, in square letters in a single column, is unpaginated. Both queries and responses are concise, often simplifying a complex law in an epigrammatic manner. The names of the submitter, in contrast to later responsa, are omitted. The contents, by subject, are: tefilla and tefillin; Shabbat, Yom Tov and Pesah; the sanctity of the Kohen; first born and milah; honoring parents and proper conduct; laws related to dining; forbidden foods; usury; bans and lashes; gentile wine; oaths; illicit relations; betrothal; divorce and refusal of a minor; ketubbot; levirate marriage and halitzah; charity; judges and witnesses; ethics; injury; theft; deposits; sale; agency and partnership; borrowing and lending; deeds; inheritance and orphans; and mourning. SUBJECTS: Responsa -- To 1040. Geonic literature. Vinograd, Mantua 192. Steinschneider, C. B. No. 4052, col. 642; Zedner, p. 726. Amram, D.W. Makers of Hebrew books in Italy,; page 333. OCLC lists 7 copies worldwide (OCLC: 232916878) . Repair to title page with one word replaced in pen, additional notations in various hands, including an owner's notation dated 1629. Final leaf repaired with loss to top quarter of page. Old paper-tape on preceeding two leaves with some loss to text. Light damp stains to some pages. Overall fair condition. (RAB-65-29-BL).