Dina D'Chayei – Commentary on Sefer Mitzvot Gadol, by Rabbi Chaim Benveniste, Author of "Knesset HaGedolah." Part ...

Dina D'Chayei – Commentary on Sefer Mitzvot Gadol, by Rabbi Chaim Benveniste, Author of "Knesset HaGedolah." Part Two. Constantinople, [1742]. First Edition.

The author, Rabbi Chaim Benveniste, was one of the foremost disciples of Rabbi Yosef of Trani (the Maharit), who served as the Chacham Bashi (Chief Rabbi) of Turkey. His esteemed teacher, the Maharit, greatly cherished him, arranged his marriage to the daughter of a wealthy man, and blessed him that he should compose a commentary on Sefer Mitzvot Gadol (SeMaG) by Rabbi Moshe of Coucy. Indeed, at the young age of 21, he authored his first work, Dina D’Chayei, on the SeMaG. He later became renowned for his monumental work, Knesset HaGedolah.

Rabbi Chaim Benveniste, author of Knesset HaGedolah, was born in 1603 in Constantinople. He studied Torah under his grandfather, Rabbi Moshe Benveniste, as well as under Rabbi Yosef of Trani, Rabbi Yosef Samiga, and Rabbi Tzemach Narboni. In 1624, at the age of 21, he was appointed to the Council of Elders in Constantinople and adjudicated matters of issur v'heter (prohibited and permitted laws). In 1643, he began serving as the rabbi of Tiria, near Izmir, and in 1666, he assumed the position of chief rabbi of Izmir.

[1], 136 leaves. 28.5 cm.

Condition: Moderate: Fungal stains, with wear and pasting on the upper right corner of the book’s pages. Slight textual loss on one corner of a leaf. Repairs on the title page. Some worming (one hole running throughout the book). Well-preserved old binding.