Rare: Mishnayos - Seder Kodshim, With Commentary of the Tosafos Yom Tov, Cracow 1644. Printed During The Author's ...

Rare: Mishnayos - Seder Kodshim, With Commentary of the Tosafos Yom Tov, Cracow 1644. Printed During The Author's Lifetime

An exceedingly rare complete copy of Mishnayos Seder Kodshim, with the commentary of the Tosafos Yom Tov, authored by R. Yom Tov Lipmann Heller, after which he is known. 

Cracow 1644, printed during the author's lifetime. Second edition, with many additions and corrections. The importance of this edition cannot be overstated, as the classic "Tosafos Yom Tov" commentary found in virtually all editions of the Mishnayos is based on this second edition. Moreover, it was printed in the year 1644, a mere four years before the Chelminicki massacres of 1648-49. As such, only a small handful of books which were printed in this region during this era have survived throughout the ages, making this copy highly scarce.

It is interesting to note that this edition consists of 213 pp., compared to only 117 pp. found in the first edition! This gives important perspective of just how much new commentary was added by the author in this edition. Small hands are seen throughout, indicating where new commentary was added for the first time. 

On pp. 206 is an architectural woodcut diagram of the Beis Hamaikdash, drawn up by the Tosafos Yom Tov himself. Interestingly, the Tosafos Yom Tov writes that he specifically made a smaller, more condensed version of the map so that it should fit in an exact way, according to the size of the paper. He was worried that if he were to make a full-size map on a large sheet of paper, it would need to be folded, which would eventually cause damage and loss of text due to the many folds. 

In overall good condition, with occasional minor worming. Library stamp on title. Bound in a modern cloth binding. 

Page size: 20cm

213 pp.