KETER TORAH (CROWN OF THE TORAH), RABBI DAVID BEN SOLOMON VITAL, CONSTANTINOPLE: ELIEZER BEN GERSHOM SONCINO, 1536

The first edition of a succinct commentary on Maimonides’ Sefer ha-mitsvot.

The Talmudist, preacher, and liturgical poet Rabbi David ben Solomon Vital (d. after 1546) resided in Patras, Greece, until his home was destroyed and his library lost in 1532, after which he relocated to nearby Arta. A respected halakhic authority, Vital corresponded with leading rabbis of the period, such as Jacob Tam ibn Yahya and Meir Katzenellenbogen, who refer to him in laudatory terms in their responsa.

The present work is a summary of the 613 biblical commandments, in accordance with the enumeration of Maimonides in his Sefer ha-mitsvot, plus seven rabbinic injunctions. (The word keter in Hebrew has the numerological value of 620.) Each commandment (248 positive, 365 negative, 7 rabbinic) is initially epitomized as a single word, and when strung together, these constitute a rhyming mnemonic poem. The book then proceeds to expound upon the reasons for and applications of each mitsvah, and in some entries the author attempts to defend Maimonides against his critics. The title page employs one of the Soncino ornamental frames, topped by a crown (keter), an allusion to the work’s title. Two woodcut diagrams – one of three hands (relating to the Hebrew calendar), the other of a lung (relating to the dietary laws) – are included as well.