![Page from Sefer Elim, showing the portrait of a man in a hat](/sites-drupal/default/files/styles/max_scale_640x640/public/field_ers_item_record_image/2023-04/TL28.jpg?itok=kWYvwwrN)
Sefer Elim
Joseph Solomon Delmedigo, 1591–1655; Willem Cornelisz Duyster 1599–1635 (artist); Willem Jacobsz Dellf, 1580-1638 (engraver)
Sefer Elim (Book of Elim)
Amsterdam: Menasheh ben Yiśraʼel, ca. 1628–29
Joseph Solomon Delmedigo was an eminent rabbi, physician, and mathematician who was descended from a distinguished family in Candia, a town on the island of Crete, Greece. He studied astronomy with Galileo in Padua, lived in Venice, visited Egypt and Turkey, and researched the Karaite religious communities in Lithuania, where he worked as a personal physician of Prince Krzysztof Radziwiłł for five years. He finally settled in Amsterdam in 1623, and it was there that in 1628 he published his most famous work, Sefer Elim. It deals with 12 general and 70 specific philosophical, scientific, and mathematical questions that a Karaite scholar named Zera ben Nathan of Troki, Lithuania, sent to Delmedigo. It also alludes to 12 fountains and 70 palm trees at the place mentioned in the book of Exodus called Elim.
In his book, Delmedigo embraced the astronomical theories of Copernicus and Galileo. By doing so he positioned himself as one of the first proponents of the Jewish Enlightenment, which came into full flower in the 18th century and reconciled the spirit of Judaism with the newest scientific accomplishments of his time. On display are the title page of Sefer Elim and a portrait of Delmedigo in an oval frame on the facing page. The Latin text inside of the oval frame indicates his name, Cretan origin, professional status (doctor of philosophy and medicine), and his age when he sat for the portrait (37 years old, written in Roman numerals). The floral script beneath the portrait indicates the names of the artist, Willem Cornelisz Duyster, and the engraver, Willem Jacobsz Dellf.
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