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MOSES BEN MAIMON (MAIMONIDES / RaMBa’M. Moreh Nevuchim [“Guide of the Perplexed.”] Translated from Arabic into Hebrew by Samuel ben Judah ibn Tibon. Second edition. The first edition with commentaries by R. Shem Tov ben Yosef, R. Yitzhak Duran, and R. Yehuda Alharizi. On title, printer's mark of three crowns (Yaari 18). First word of ibn Tibbon's Introduction (f. 1r) within elaborate engraved surround. Formerly in the library of Rabbi J.L. Gurewicz, Melbourne. ff. (12), 185, (1). Leaves 19-20 lacking and supplied in manuscript in an early hand by an expert scribe exactly matching the printed page. Scattered light foxing and dampstaining, previous owner’s inscriptions and stamps. Bound in 17th-century blind-tooled calf over thick wooden boards, with two brass clasps and hinges, expertly rebacked. Folio. Vinograd, Venice 421. Venice, Alvise Bragadin - Meir Parenzo, 1551. Rare Second Edition of the Moreh Nevuchim (the first edition appeared in Rome c. 1474, without commentary). The final work by Maimonides (1135-1204). The Guide for the Perplexed was completed c. 1185 and is the main source of the Rambam’s philosophical views. He originally wrote it in Judeo-Arabic and it was first translated into Hebrew in 1204 by a contemporary of Maimonides in Southern France, Shmuel ben Yehuda ibn Tibon. Due to its Aristotelian leanings, the work had a history fraught with controversy, both within and beyond the Jewish community. Tragically - and obviously due to other motivations - it was publicly burned by the Dominicans in Paris, 1232. It is said that R. Yonah Gerondi, one of those who agitated for the banning of Moreh Nevuchim, later journeyed to Maimonides’ tomb in Eretz Israel to beg the deceased author for forgiveness. Today the Guide for the Perplexed is undoubtedly the most celebrated philosophical text in all of Jewish literature - and by far the most influential. This volume bound with:  Shmuel ibn Seneh Zarza. Mekor Chaim [commentary to the Chumash]. First Edition. ff. 130. [Vinograd, Mantua 63]. Mantua, 1559.