Tephilah LeMoshe [sermons and homilies on the merits of Torah, with a commentary to Kriath Shema]

ALMOSNINO, MOSES.

Joseph Yaavetz

Salonika

1563

FIRST EDITION. Previous owners signatures, marginal notes, lengthy at times

Vinograd, Salonika 63; Mehlman 900.

Born in Salonika, Moses ben Baruch Almosnino (c. 1515-c. 1580) hailed from a distinguished family who originated from Aragon, Spain. He was renowned both for his intellectual rabbinic expertise as well as his scholarship in the sciences, particularly natural physics and astronomy. In 1565, Almosnino formed a delegation to petition Sultan Selim II for a confirmation of the privileges previously granted to the Salonika Jews in 1537. His efforts procured a favorable decision and in 1568 the Salonika community was granted the status of a self-governing entity, a prerogative it enjoyed for centuries thereafter. See EJ, II cols. 669-71.