A Rare Book of Morals and Parables: 'Ben HaMelekh veHaNazir' by Rabbi Avraham Halevi b. R'Shmuel Chasdai. Mantua 1557.

A Rare Book of Morals and Parables: 'Ben HaMelekh veHaNazir' by Rabbi Avraham Halevi b. R'Shmuel Chasdai. Mantua 1557.

A Hebrew composition from the 12th-13th C written by the R' Avraham Halevi Chasdai, from an ancient source attributed to the sages of ancient Greece. Rabbi Avraham changed and innovated the composition in many different ways. Although Rabbi Avraham called his book 'Rivuch and Salvah', it later became known by the name 'Ben Hamelech vaHaNazir' – 'The King's Son and the Monk.'

Among the prominent issues arising from the educational meetings between the king's son and the monk:

Emphasizing the value of wisdom over failures.

Charity saves from death. Contentment with little.

Love for another. Honesty and loyalty. Not being afraid of the unknown.

Marry for love. Don't be ashamed to learn from anyone. set boundaries.

Matters of eating, medicine, faith and knowledge of God. Old age, death, submission, anger, forgiveness, silence, lie, secret, modesty, generosity and more.

The book contains some two hundred and fifty wise proverbs that contain morals, rules of conduct and advice for ways of leading ones life. These proverbs are expressed in a wide variety of ways, such as good and bad, wisdom and stupidity, humility and pride, generosity and stinginess, old age and youth, laziness, envy, greed, words of thought and faith, flattery, the importance of preparation for the life of the next world and life as a threat to this world.

Ibn Chasdai introduced changes into the plot and the characters, adapting them to fit Jewish beliefs and concepts.

Mantua 1557.

92 leaves. A complete and beautiful copy.

Otzar HaSefer HaIvri 51611.

Rare and valuable.