Get Mekushar.
Constantinople, Reuven and Nissim Ashkenazi, 1767
The ruling regarding this special divorce proceeding was ruled in a place where many Cohanim lived in ancient times. Being naturally more observant these High Priests would often find themselves in a situation when in the heat of an argument they would throw their wives out of the house and ask for a quick divorce, and later would cool down and change their minds but were unable to remarry the wife as it is forbidden for a Cohen to marry a divorcee, even their own ex-wife. Therefore, this document was invented, the production of which takes an extremely long time: every time one line of the document is written it must be folded and sewn before the next line is written, folded and sewn, and so on. This procedure would allow enough time for the hot-headed priest to come to his senses before the procedure was completed.
Rabbi Refael Moshe ben Yosef Buleh (?-1773) was one of the Chachmey Yerushalaim (the Wise Men of Jerusalem) and served as the Sephardi Chief Rabbi of the Land of Israel (HaRishon LeZion) for a period of time. He was born in Thessaloniki and served as the Rabbi of Ancona, Italy, for some time, before travelling to the Holy Land and settling in Jerusalem. He would travel to Constantinople on fund-raising trips and in 1767 printed the offered book there. This publication brought him fame among the Mediterranean as well as European Jewish communities.
First edition, large 4to; [1], 193 ll. Contemporary-style mottled calf, spine richly gilt in compartments, with red morocco label, lettered in English, gilt. Top edge of some pages shaved as a result of previous binding work, with loss of some of title to some leaves. Slight worming to some leaves. Old library stamps to title.
Vinograd (Const.), 605; Yaari 458, p.218.
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