[in Hebrew] Sefer Zimrat ha-aretz ... by Berab, Jacob ben Hayyim (fl. c17-c18) - 1745

Mantova [Mantua]: Raphael Hayyim mItalia, 1745. First edition. Very Good. Quarto (21 cm); 16 leaves. Text in Hebrew and Ladino. Title page within elaborate woodcut border; six woodcut tail-pieces in text. In recent marbled paper over boards. Minor paper repairs to outer corners of all leaves. Old, illegible inscription in Hebrew on final blank.

The text concerns the establishment of a community of diaspora Jews at Tiberias on the Galilee, and of their journey and settlement there. It is followed by a series of verses in Ladino and Hebrew dedicated to resettlement and to the Galilean community. The work offers a glimpse into life during the First Yishuv (that is, Jewish life in Palestine before the waves of European Jews began to emigrate there in the 19th century), and the experiences of the Jewish community in the Galilee region of Ottoman-controlled Palestine of the early-mid 18th century. OCLC locates no copies of this first edition in North America.