Shiltei HaGiborim
Exceptional Work on Beis Hamikdash and its Vessels
First Edition. Mantua, 1612
A fascinating and unique work containing ninety chapters that offer a vivid and detailed portrayal of every aspect of the avodah in the Beis Hamikdash: its structure, its vessels, the musical instruments of the Levi’im and the halachos governing their song (with ten chapters devoted to this alone!), the stones of the choshen, the herbs of the ketoreis (incense), coins, korbanos, and much more.
This work is a kind of “encyclopedia” for all concepts relating to the Beis Hamikdash, while expanding on the scientific aspects as well. It is brimming with delightful Torah gems.
This work served as a key resource for almost all who engaged with these topics, even in the author’s generation, including the Tosafos Yom Tov, who refers to the author with the title “Hashalit” (the ruler/authority), the Chavos Yair, the Chasdei Dovid (Rav Dovid Pardo), the Tiferes Yisrael, and many others. Rabbi Eliyahu HaKohen, author of ‘Midrash Talpiyos’, copied entire sections from this sefer into his own.
The work contains ninety chapters followed by a separate section containing three parts with separate title pages which contain tefillos and set prayer orders for weekdays, Shabbos, and Yom Tov.
Rabbi Avraham HaRofeh of Sha’ar Aryeh (d. 1612) was a tremendous scholar in both Torah and secular sciences. A talmid of Rabbi Avraham Provenzalo and Rabbi Moshe Kazis, he was one of the great sages of Mantua. He possessed an extraordinary breadth of knowledge and, as described in his introduction, was fluent in ten languages. He utilized these languages throughout his work, and included at the beginning of the sefer a small treatise on “The Languages of the Nations, ” in which he printed the Greek alphabet!
The sefer was printed by the Venetian printer Elisha HaZifroni who traveled to Mantua specifically to print it, as attested to by the author in his introduction).
For more on the author, see the detailed introduction in the new edition published by Machon Yerushalayim (2010).
Mantua, 1612. First Edition (not reprinted until the 1940s).
Page Count: 12, 186 leaves.
Condition: Stains on the first and last leaves, otherwise in good condition. Fine new leather binding.
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As a testament to the author’s vast knowledge, he even includes several references to the continent of America—which had only recently been discovered at the time (see, for example, leaf 183a). This is one of the earliest Hebrew sefarim to mention America!
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The author brings a remarkable chiddush regarding the reason for the halachah brought in the Gemara that the one grinding the spices in the Beis Hamikdash says, “Hadek heitev heitev hadek” (“Grind well, well grind”), because the sound is beneficial for the spices.
He explains that during the grinding, dust particles of the spices rise into the air. If the grinder were to sneeze or cough because of the strong spices, there is a concern it could lead to “dangerous diphtheria”. Therefore, by saying “heitev hadek hadek heitev” aloud, he pushes out the words forcefully with his breath, which simultaneously drives the rising spice particles out of his throat—thus protecting him from being harmed by the spice dust rising in the air!
