plague afflicted the population of Yemen, between the years 1434 and 1436, in which many of its inhabitants perished. Be apprised that in the year 1747 of the Seleucid era (= 1436 CE), there was a very great plague, and epidemic, and death, and of the people none remained other than a few in most cities. The epidemic moved from city to city, while many of the people [that had fallen] were left unburied. It would linger in a city for a period of forty days, and after this period, it would move on. And anyone who went from a city where the epidemic had visited, he would pass-on [the disease] unto [other] people, and the people of the other city would die, and anyone who took away anything of the precious objects of the dead, he too died. Those remaining of the people became [like] kings over the city while those who had been downtrodden became rulers and those who had been poor became rich. Midrash ha-Ḥefetz Midrash ha-Ḥefetz, also spelt Midrash ha-Hefez, is unique among Hebrew midrashic literature, as it is not only a collection of biblical homilies, but is a commentary on difficult phrases and words of the Torah. Many of these difficult words and expressions have been collected and arranged in a separate volume of Indices, published by the editor. Midrash ha-Ḥefetz also incorporates philosophical notions derived from Greek and Arab philosophers, where they were thought to be in agreement with the teachings of Israel's sages. Philosophical ideas drawn from Maimonides' Guide for the Perplexed are also employed in his work. In this work, Zechariah ha-Rofé also expounds on the meaning of the accompanying verses of the Haftara, in its several sections. Many of the hermeneutical principles used in biblical exegesis are explained in the prologue of Midrash ha-Ḥefetz. In some cases, Zechariah ha-Rofé deviates from the conventional explanation of biblical verses and offers novel explanations of his own. Thus, in the verse which says (Leviticus 19:18): "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (), and where "loving one's neighbour" is traditionally understood in the context of "as one's own self," meaning, whatsoever is unpleasant to one's own self, he should refrain from doing the like of which to his neighbour, here, Zechariah explains its sense as meaning that one is to look upon his neighbour's opinion as though it were his own opinion and worthy