Farissol, Abraham. Igereth Orchoth Olam [“The Ways of the World”: Cosmography ]

(AMERICAN JUDAICA)

Israel Landau

Prague

1793

Appended: Maimonides, Moses. Igereth Teiman [“Epistle to Yemen”: Regarding the Pseudo-Messiah of Yemen] and Ibn Ezra, Abraham. Yesod Morah ve-Sod Torah [“Foundation of Fear and Secret of Torah”: On the 613 commandments]. Four imaginative engraved illustrations. Additional page, containing within an engraved scene the following handwritten Hebrew inscription: “To Jonah…Rabbi, expert physician, performer of kindnesses to Torah scholars, R. Jonah Jeiteles, doctor of our community - from his servant, Israel Halevi Landau, son of the Gaon R. Ezekiel Landau, Chief Rabbi of Prague

Vinograd, Prague 1000

Presentation Copy to Dr. Jonah Jeiteles from Publisher Israel Landau, son of the Noda bi-Yehudah. A pioneering work on geography, Igereth Orchoth Olam is divided into two parts: the first dealing with a general description of the earth, its division into climactic zones, continents and individual countries. The second part focuses on the discoveries made by Portuguese and Spanish explorers. Farissol discusses the location of the terrestrial Paradise and gives a detailed account of the discoveries of Vasco de Gama during his travels around the Cape of Good Hope on the way to India. In his chapter on the discovery of America, Farissol describes both the land and the people living there, based on contemporary accounts. It is the first Hebrew text to contain a description of America. The author was Cantor of the Synagogue in Ferrara and a contemporary of Christopher Columbus. See M. Waxman, A History of Jewish Literature,Vol. II, pp. 485-7. Dr. Jonah Jeiteles (1735-1806) trained for the rabbinate in the Prague yeshivah of R. Zerach Eidlitz and in later years became chief physician of the Jewish Community Hospital of Prague. He enjoyed the close friendship of Prague’s Chief Rabbi, Ezekiel Landau. See EJ, Vol. IX, cols. 1330-1