Sefer HaShorashim - Venice, 1546 - Printed by Bomberg - Important Signatures - Signature of Rabbi Yosef ...

Sefer HaShorashim - Venice, 1546 - Printed by Bomberg - Important Signatures - Signature of Rabbi Yosef Wassertrillingen, upon whom the Chida Recited the Blessing "SheChalak MeChochmato"
Sefer HaShorashim, Part II of HaMichlol composed by R. David Kimchi (the Radak). Venice: Daniel Bomberg, 1546.
Signatures on the title page: "Anshe[l son of R.] Yosef David"; "Ensli Oettingen"; "Yosef son of R. Ensli… of Oettingen" - signature of R. Yosef Wassertrillingen, dayan of the Ansbach district (d. 1760) - the same signature appears with his name and that of his father in his responsum from 1746 printed in Be'er Yaakov (Fürth, 1767, p. 26a). The Chida met R. Yosef Wassertrillingen during his mission in Germany, and he quotes Torah novellae in his name ("R. Yosef son of R. Asher Wassertrillingen") in several places in his books. In his travel diary, the Chida recorded: "…and on Shabbat, after the meal at midday, I went to visit his astute, erudite, pious and modest son-in-law, R. Yosef, a dayan in the Ansbach district, and I discussed one topic after another with him for six hours, and my thoughts were in line with his on some matters… and I enjoyed his brilliance, erudition and straight thinking… and I recited the blessing of SheChalak MeChochmato [blessing recited upon seeing an outstanding Torah scholar]" (Maagol Tov, p. 15). In his book Shem HaGedolim, the Chida portrays him: "…and I had the merit of seeing this R. Yosef, and he is both erudite and brilliant, and he produced Talmudic novellae with his broad knowledge and logical study, and he would study the four parts of Shulchan Aruch every month in the synagogue, as he wrote in his preface that he divided it into thirty parts to complete it every month, and he was a dayan in the Ansbach district. His father-in-law, the exceptional community leader R. Wolf, is known to have studied the Talmud and Arbaa Turim thirteen times, and I indeed observed that immediately after the prayer service, he would study a leaf of theTalmud in the synagogue" (Shem HaGedolim, Maarechet Sefarim, Zichron Yaakov). The above-mentioned R. Wolf, his eldest brother and father-in-law, was a community leader of the Ansbach district.
Early owners' stamps: "Yitzchak Tovia Landau" (Rabbi of Węgrów in 1850, Otzar HaRabbanim 11335); "Leib son of Maharam".
143, [1] leaves. 29 cm. Fair condition. Stains and wear. Dampstains and traces of past dampness. Tears and worming. Large tear to title page, affecting border (hand drawn replacement of border ornaments, damaged from ink erosion). Tears to other leaves, affecting text (handwritten replacements in some instances), repaired with paper. Final two leaves with significant paper repairs. Old binding, damaged and detached.