Rambam, Venice 1551 - "Sefer HaMuge" (Proofread) - With Marginalia in an Ancient Handwriting from the Egypt Yeshiva ...

Rambam, Venice 1551 - "Sefer HaMuge" (Proofread) - With Marginalia in an Ancient Handwriting from the Egypt Yeshiva of Rabbi Bezalel Ashkenazi and his Disciples
Mishne Torah L'HaRambam, Vol. 1: Minyan HaMitzvot, Mada, Ahava and Zemanim (until the end of Hilchot Shabbat). [Venice, 1551. Justinian printing press].
Many marginalia in ancient Oriental handwriting [characteristic to Eretz Israel/Egypt in the 16th century]. The content of the marginalia (glosses and the corrections) are identical to the well-known glosses in the Sefer HaMuge – a proofread manuscript with glosses by Egyptian sages. In the gloss which appears on leaf 58/r titled "Gilayon (sheet)" is the inscription: "I have found it in the accurate books of the R[ambam] which exist here in Egypt". This copy found its way to Yemen and also contains glosses and inscriptions from various times in Yemenite script.
This is a copy of the Sefer HaMuge, with the well-known glosses of sages of the Egypt Yeshiva, headed by the Radvaz and his leading disciples.
At the yeshiva of the Radvaz in Egypt, leading disciples edited various compilations and proofread printed books [according to accurate manuscripts in their possession]. The most famous book created in the Egypt yeshiva is the Shita Mekubetzet on various tractates, edited primarily by R. Bezalel Ashkenazi [one of the leading disciples of the Yeshiva and one of its heads], together with his pupil, the Arizal. R. Bezalel and his disciples also created another work with version amendments and short anthologies on Seder Kodshim from the Talmud [which was printed with many mistakes] and as of the Vilna edition, their glosses were printed on the margins of the Talmud leaves titled Shita Mekubetzet [this composition was prepared for printing by his disciple R. Shlomo Adani, who originally named this work Melechet Shlomo L'Chochmat Bezalel]. Another composition which did not survive in its entirety is Sefer HaMuge which contains a careful editing of the Mishne Torah of the Rambam. These glosses are often cited in the work Kesef Mishne by R. Yosef Karo and he refers to them as "Sefer Muge, which originated in Egypt". Especially famed are the important glosses on Mesoret HaTorah (which appear in this volume in Chapter 8 of Hilchot Sefer Torah), which are extensively cited in the words of the Kesef Mishne and in the books of the Maharam di Lonzano on the Mesorah.
This copy belonged to R. Dov Zvi Rothstein (founder and head of Machon Zvi in Jerusalem), who researched it and published many of the glosses. R. D. Z. Rothstein reffered to this copy of Sefer HaMuge as a copy used in the 16th century by Safed sages such as R. Yosef Karo, R. Moshe Galante (the I), R. Menacham de Lonzano and perhaps also the Arizal (see enclosed articles: article by R. A. Chavatzelet and R. Rothstein: Moriah, 115, Tevet 1996, pp. 19-28; Sefer HaZikaron by R. Moshe Lifshitz, NY, 1996, pp. 353-460; article by R. Shalom Chaim Porush, Kor'ei Oneg, Issue 186, 19th Tevet 1996). The evidence to support the claim of R. D. Z. Rothstein were not all published and R. A. Chavatzelet writes in his article: "After the entire composition is printed, the editor will add proofs to these assumptions". R. D.Z. Rothstein passed away before publishing the evidence that this copy came from Safed sages. During our research we did not find verification of his aforementioned assumptions that this is the same copy used by the Safed sages. Evidently, these assumptions were based on premises which are not known to us. However, clearly this is a copy of Sefer HaMuge, with a copy of the well-known glosses of the sages of the Egypt Yeshiva at which the Arizal studied and participated in editing his teachers' books [other copies of the glosses of Sefer HaMuge exist – see enclosed articles].
* The first four leaves are a replacement from a different printed edition. On leaf [4v] is an inscription of a birth in an ancient Oriental script, by the father of "the boy Yedidya" born on the 26th of Tamuz 1576. On the same page is an adorned Oriental signature, "R. Moshe". In the articles cited above, this signature and inscription of birth are attributed to R. Moshe Galante the first, whose son R. Yedidya [author of Chiddushei Galante] was born in Safed at that time, however we did not find evidence to support that assumption. Moreover, the first four leaves, as mentioned, are a later replacement from another edition and are not at all related to the copy of Sefer HaMuge which begins at leaf 10.
Part 1, ending with Hilchot Shabbat in the middle of Zemanim (originally, part 1 ends on leaf 389, the end of Sefer Kedusha. However it was often bound in two ore more volumes due to its size). This copy is lacking title page and another 10 leaves. At the beginning, [4] leaves from another edition replace missing leaves: [4], 10-24, 26-43, [1], 25-26, 1, 10-40, 42-134 leaves. Mispagination. Lacking title page, leaves 2-9, leaf 25 of the first pagination, and Leaf 41 of the last pagination.
36 cm. Condition varies among the leaves, good-fair. Stains. Several leaves have signs of fungus. Leaves were restored and cleaned. Several leaves with coarse tears, some affecting text, restored with paper and gluing. New binding.