Auction 89 - Rare and Important Items
Letter Handwritten and Signed by Rabbi Yom Tov Tzahalon – Jerusalem, 1672
Opening: $1,500
Estimate: $3,000 - $5,000
Sold for: $4,250
Including buyer's premium
Letter handwritten and signed by R. Yom Tov Tzahalon, a Torah scholar of Safed and Jerusalem. Jerusalem, [1672].
Addressed to the wealthy members of the Ancona community, with an appeal for financial assistance to publish a book by his grandfather, R. Yom Tov Tzahalon – the Maharitatz. Concludes with his calligraphic signature: "Yom Tov Tzahalon, in Jerusalem 1672".
R. Yom Tov son of R. Akiva Tzahalon (d. 1697), grandson of the Maharitatz, a Torah scholar of Jerusalem and Safed, dayan in the Beit Din of R. David Yitzchaki and R. Moshe ibn Habib. In his youth, he travelled to Europe as an emissary of Safed (in 1655-1658). He later lived in Egypt, where he was one of the opponents of Sabbatai Zevi and Nathan of Gaza. R. Yaakov Sasportas mentions him in his letter to R. Refael Supino of Livorno (in Iyar 1667), praising him for his wisdom and fear of G-d. He then immigrated to Jerusalem, where he lived until his passing, serving as a dayan. A lengthy responsum he authored is found in Responsa Chut HaMeshulash by R. Yehuda Diwan (Constantinople 1739, section 11). Likewise, there is a Jerusalem regulation from Sivan 1694 regarding a widow collecting her ketubah, by the Beit Din of R. David Yitzchaki, on which R. Yom Tov Tzahalon signed second (ibid., section 26). His also signed second on a letter from the Beit Din of R. David Yitzchaki regarding R. Moshe Hagiz's exit to Egypt. He later signed second on a letter from the Beit Din of R. Moshe ibn Habib, alongside R. Yaakov Molcho (see Responsa Maharam Habib, section 142; a responsum he authored is also printed there). Benayahu writes that the first evidence of him being in Jerusalem is from 1694, and presumes that he immigrated there that year. The present letter however indicates that he was already there in 1672. His efforts to publish his grandfather's book, Responsa Maharitatz, which are manifest in the present letter, eventually bore fruit and the book was published in Venice in 1694. The book opens with a lengthy foreword by R. Yom Tov Tzahalon, in which he describes his travels and the history of the Safed community. see: M. Benayahu, Documents from Italy Relating to the Temporary Abandonment of Safed by the Jews, Eretz Israel III (1954), pp. 244-246.
[1] double leaf. 30 cm. Good condition. Stains. Tears, affecting several characters. Folding marks.
Addressed to the wealthy members of the Ancona community, with an appeal for financial assistance to publish a book by his grandfather, R. Yom Tov Tzahalon – the Maharitatz. Concludes with his calligraphic signature: "Yom Tov Tzahalon, in Jerusalem 1672".
R. Yom Tov son of R. Akiva Tzahalon (d. 1697), grandson of the Maharitatz, a Torah scholar of Jerusalem and Safed, dayan in the Beit Din of R. David Yitzchaki and R. Moshe ibn Habib. In his youth, he travelled to Europe as an emissary of Safed (in 1655-1658). He later lived in Egypt, where he was one of the opponents of Sabbatai Zevi and Nathan of Gaza. R. Yaakov Sasportas mentions him in his letter to R. Refael Supino of Livorno (in Iyar 1667), praising him for his wisdom and fear of G-d. He then immigrated to Jerusalem, where he lived until his passing, serving as a dayan. A lengthy responsum he authored is found in Responsa Chut HaMeshulash by R. Yehuda Diwan (Constantinople 1739, section 11). Likewise, there is a Jerusalem regulation from Sivan 1694 regarding a widow collecting her ketubah, by the Beit Din of R. David Yitzchaki, on which R. Yom Tov Tzahalon signed second (ibid., section 26). His also signed second on a letter from the Beit Din of R. David Yitzchaki regarding R. Moshe Hagiz's exit to Egypt. He later signed second on a letter from the Beit Din of R. Moshe ibn Habib, alongside R. Yaakov Molcho (see Responsa Maharam Habib, section 142; a responsum he authored is also printed there). Benayahu writes that the first evidence of him being in Jerusalem is from 1694, and presumes that he immigrated there that year. The present letter however indicates that he was already there in 1672. His efforts to publish his grandfather's book, Responsa Maharitatz, which are manifest in the present letter, eventually bore fruit and the book was published in Venice in 1694. The book opens with a lengthy foreword by R. Yom Tov Tzahalon, in which he describes his travels and the history of the Safed community. see: M. Benayahu, Documents from Italy Relating to the Temporary Abandonment of Safed by the Jews, Eretz Israel III (1954), pp. 244-246.
[1] double leaf. 30 cm. Good condition. Stains. Tears, affecting several characters. Folding marks.
Manuscripts and Letters
Manuscripts and Letters