תיאור הספר

EXTREMELY RARE! FIRST EDITION of "Sefer Ha-Nizzahon" (the Book of Contention) by German Rabbi Yom-Tov Muhlhausen Lipman. The book, written around 1400, is a polemic against Christianity and Karaite Jews, laying forth arguments based on the different books of the Bible. This edition was printed by Protestant scholar Theodor Hackspan from the University of Altdorf. The edition is appended Latin introduction, a translation (and refutation) of the passages dealing with Christianity and a lengthy essay by Hackspan on Rabbinic literature. The book also features sidenotes in Latin. The title page is an elaborate woodcut ripe with Jewish motifs, and the text itself features several text decorations. 200x160mm, 512 pages (and ~150 unnumbered pages). Grey cloth hardcover. Page edges dyed blue. Cover worn and stained. Cover edges slightly bumped. Back cover detached. Spine torn at several places. Rear whitepage torn and detached. Last 5 pages nearly detached. Pages yellowing. Despite the external wear, this first printing of an influential Jewish text is internally in good condition.