Inconbula is a general term for the first printed books in Europe, which were published between the invention of printing, in the middle of the 15th century, until 1500. During this period, less than 200 Hebrew books were printed, some of which did not survive.
The National Library noted that in about 1492, Joshua Soncino, one of the leaders of Hebrew printing in Italy in the 15th century, published a printing edition of the most important and influential book of halakhah in the period - "Four Columns" by Rabbi Yaakov Ben Asher, who was probably born in 1269 And died in 1343.
Ben Asher was an important and influential jurist, who was nicknamed the "columnist" after his book.
No copy of the essay in this edition has survived in its entirety, only individual pages.
The National Library recently purchased 90 pages of the "Opinion" and "Lifestyle" sections of this rare edition.
Page from the Inconbula, Photo: National Library Archives
These pages do not exist in any library in the world or in any private collection.
The curator of the Judaism Collection at the National Library, Dr. Joel Finkelman, emphasized that these are pages from the file 'Four Columns' (also known as the 'Column'), written by Rabbi Yaakov Ben Asher, the son of the Rosh Hashanah, summarizing the halakhah that was practiced after the destruction. The 'column' is divided into four sections: Lifestyle, Yoreh De'a, Ibn Ha'ezer and Hoshen Mishpat, and encompasses all areas of Halacha.
"In addition to the recently acquired pages, the National Library also holds 59 additional pages from the 'Yoreh De'a' section, including laws pertaining to the laws of prohibition and permission.
Dr. Finkelman added that "this is a rare case of an incunabula of one of the first printed holy books in the world, which although not fully survived, but a few pages of it have nevertheless been preserved and now reach a place of safety - the National Library.
These pages will be a fertile ground for scholars and scholars to become acquainted with one of the most important holy books. "
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