She’arit Yosef Responsa. Cracow, 1590. First Edition. Rare.

She’arit Yosef Responsa. Cracow, 1590. First Edition. Rare.

Responsa and novellae on the book, the ‘Mordechai. Authored by the Gaon Rabbi Yosef Katz, Av Beit Din and Rosh Yeshiva of Cracow and brother-in-law of the Rema.

A most important book of responsa. Rabbi Katz’s responses and directives are quoted by the greatest Halachic authorities including the Bach, Sefer Meirat Einayim, the Taz, the Shach and others.

Rabbi Yosef Katz, (1510-1591) was one of the Torah luminaries of his era. He sat jointly with his brother-in-law, the Rema on the Beit Din. He debated with the Rema, the MaHarshal and the MaHaRaM of Padua. People from far and near turned to him with their queries.

In 1541, Rabbi Katz was appointed as a Dayan of Cracow’s lower Beit Din (the court that dealt with smaller monetary cases). He advanced in his position, and eventually became one of the three primary Dayanim of the highest Beit Din, along with the Rema and Rabbi Moshe Landau. The Rema wrote that Rabbi Katz was in fact the most stringent in his rulings.

Rabbi Katz’s name often is accompanied by the title Av Beit Din, and indeed such is his title on his tombstone. Rabbi Chaim David Dembitzer claims that this is in fact merely an honorary title, and was not literally his position. Rather his primary position was as Rosh Yeshiva.

Cracow, 1590. Issac Prostitz Press. First edition.

92, 32 leaves.

Very good condition. High quality, thick paper. Lovely, renewed, half-leather binding.

Otzar Hasefer Computerized Database, No. 59514.

Found in rare item collections in the National Library.

Complete, beautiful and rare copy of one of the fundamental books of responsa. First edition.