Several months ago there appeared in Israel a new edition of Abraham ben Nathan HaYarhi’s “Sefer HaManhig” an important medieval work on Halacha.
Abraham ben Nathan, who was a contemporary of Maimonides – he was born about 1155 and died in 1215 – came as his byname HaYarhi (Yareach – moon, lune in French) indicates from Lunel in the Provence.
Lunel was a great center of Torah. The famous Jewish traveler, Benjamin of Tudela, who visited the city about the year 1160 wrote: “There is in this city a holy community who occupy themselves day and night with the study of the Torah.” He went on to name the local scholars and related that all who came there from afar to study Torah were supported by the community.
When he was still very young, Abraham left Lunel and began to move from place to place. He did so probably out of a desire to study at various Yeshivas and to become personally acquainted with some of the leading scholars of his time. He visited various cities in the Provence, in northern and southern France as well as in Germany. Among his teachers were Rabbi Abraham ben David (Rabad) and the Tossafist Rabbi Yitzchak the Elder. Eventually he settled in Toledo, Spain ,where he was well received by the community, his fame as a scholar having preceded him there.
He lived in Toledo until his death, except for a short period during which he returned to his native Provence. He was a member of the rabbinical court of Toledo and there too, he compiled his “Sefer HaManhig.”
During his travels, Rabbi Abraham had observed the differences in customs of the various communities. He sought to trace these and to understand their causes. In his halachic compilation he cites the various customs he had observed, heard of or read about and discusses them in light of the Talmud, Midrash and Rabbinic literature.
The book originally entitled “Manhig Bnei HaOlam” was first printed in Constantinople in 1519 from an incomplete and imperfect manuscript. This edition was reprinted several times.
More extensive manuscripts of the “Sefer HaManhig” have been preserved. The late Rabbi Yehudah Leib Maimon often expressed the hope that a new, correct and more complete edition of this valuable book would be published. Dr. Yitzhak Rapahel,the son-in-law of Rabbi Maimon undertook this task.
Dr. Raphael, who is well known to readers of The Jewish Press from his column has combined distinguished public service with an extensive literary career. A leader of religious Zionism, he served on the executive board of the Jewish Agency, was a member of the Knesset and a delegate to the United Nations, and more recently was Minister for Religious Affairs. On the other hand, he has been associated with various scholarly projects, has edited and authored numerous books and publications and heads Mossad Harav Kook, the world’s largest religious Jewish publishing house.
Raphael’s two volume edition of the “Sefer HaManhig” includes, among others, the laws and customs of prayer, Sabbath festivals, fast days, Tefillin, Tzizt, mezuza, mourning, marriage and divorce, Mikveh, circumcision, Niddah and charity.
The text which is based on several manuscripts, is accompanied by variant readings, source references and explanatory notes.
The extensive references guide the reader to numerous other places in Rabbinic literature where the specific law or customs is mentioned and discussed.
In his long introduction, which fills about eight pages, Raphael writes about the life of the author, about his teachers and about the author’s ideas and views. Other chapters of the introduction include an analysis of the “Sefer HaManhig,” a discussion of it sources and an enumeration of the customs mentioned in the book.
Raphael points out that the author of the Sefer HaManhig” was familar with books which emanated from Kabbalistic circles. Further chapters deal with the influence of the “Sefer HaManhig” and with other works by Rabbi Abraham ben Nathan, notably his commentary on the Massekhet Kala Rabbathi. The commentary to only two chapters has come down to us and it is Raphael’s contention that this is all of the commentary Rabbi Abraham wrote, for only the first two chapters of Kalla Rabbathi were available to him. Interesting also is Raphael’s proof that additons in Machzor Vitry signed ABN (Aleph Bet Nun) are by the author of the Sefer HaManhig and not as hitherto believed by Rabbi Eliezer Ben Nathan of Mayence.
The publication of the new edition of “Sefer HaManhig” has made available to students an important work of halacha and its appearance has been warmly welcomed by scholarly circles in Israel.
The municipality of Tel Aviv Jaffa annually awards the Bialik Prize for outstanding works of Jewish scholarship. Raphael’s edition has been found worthy of the prestigious prize. The award ceremony will take place this month.
The Jewish Press, Friday, February 9, 1979 p. 15