The Sixteenth Century Hebrew Book: An Abridged Thesaurus (2 Volumes Set)

THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY HEBREW BOOK

BRILL’S SERIES IN JEWISH STUDIES GENERAL EDITOR

DAVID S. KATZ (Tel Aviv) ADVISORY EDITORS STUART COHEN (Bar-Ilan) ANTHONY T. GRAFTON (Princeton) YOSEF KAPLAN (Jerusalem) FERGUS MILLAR (Oxford)

VOL. 33/1

THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY HEBREW BOOK An Abridged Thesaurus VOLUME ONE BY

MARVIN J. HELLER

BRILL LEIDEN • BOSTON 2004

This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Heller, Marvin J. The sixteenth century Hebrew book : an abridged thesaurus / by Marvin J. Heller. p. cm. — (Brill’s series in Jewish studies ; v. 33) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 90-04-12976-6 1. Hebrew imprints—Publishing—History—16th century. 2. Printing, Hebrew—History—16th century. 3. Judaism—Bibliography. 4. Jewish authors—Biography. I. Title. II. Series. Z228.H4H45 2003 070.5'09'031—dc21 2003050255

ISSN 0926-2261 ISBN 33/1 9004 13308 9 ISBN 33/2 9004 13309 7 ISBN set 9004 12976 6 © Copyright 2004 by Koninklijke Brill nv, Leiden, The Netherlands All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Brill provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910 Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. printed in the netherlands

wrmwa μçb rmwah lk anynj ybr rma rz[la ybr rmaw ykdrm μçb ˚lml rtsa rmatw rmanç μlw[l hlwag aybm R. Elazar said in the name of R. Hanina, whomever repeats something in the name of the one who said it brings redemption to the world, as it says, “and Esther informed the king of it in Mordecai’s name” (Esther 2:22). Megillah 15a; and Hullin 104b . . . μynçy ytpç bbwd μyrçyml ydwdl ˚lwh bwfh ˆyyk ˚kjw hklh hrmanç ym lk qdxwhy ˆb ˆw[mç ybr μwçm ˆnjwy ybr rmad μynçy ytpç bbwd rmanç rbqb twbbwd wytwtpç hzh μlw[b wmçb “And the roof of your mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that goes down sweetly, causing the sleepers’ lips to murmur” (Song of Songs 7:10) R. Johanan said in the name of R. Shimon ben Yehotzedek [var. ben Yohai], whomever repeats a halakhah in the name of someone in this world, “his lips move in the grave,” as it says, “causing the sleepers’ lips to murmur.” Yevamot 97a, Sanhedrin 90b, and Bekhorot 31b.

Contents Volume One Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................... Abbreviations ................................................................................................................ Introduction ..................................................................................................................

ix xi xiii

Texts ..............................................................................................................................

1

Volume Two Texts (cont.) ..................................................................................................................

504

Listings Listing of Titles—Chronological .............................................................................. Places of Publication ............................................................................................ English .................................................................................................................. Hebrew .................................................................................................................. Listing of Authors .................................................................................................... Sources ...................................................................................................................... Bibliography .................................................................................................................. Index ..............................................................................................................................

913 923 927 937 945 953 987 999

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Acknowledgments The Sixteenth Century Hebrew Book: An Abridged Thesaurus is the work of many hands. A book such as this is not written in a vacuum but is the result of the coming together of many people to achieve a common goal. With that in mind I would like to express my gratitude to the individuals who assisted me and the institutions that made their resources available in the work of this book. I would like to begin by noting the institutions and associated individuals who participated in the preparation of The Sixteenth Century Hebrew Book. They are, The Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary—Rabbi Jerry Schwarzbard, the Henry R. and Miriam Ripps Schnitzer Librarian for Special Collections, Mr. David Wachtel, Senior Research Assistant, Special Collections, Dr. Seth Jerchower, previously Special Research Assistant, and Ms. Sharon Liberman Mintz, Curator of Jewish Art; Library of Agudas Chassidiei Chabad Ohel Yosef Yitzhak Lubavitch—R. Shalom Ber Levine, Head Librarian, R. Yitzhak Wilhelm, and Efraim Keller, Librarians; Klau Library, Hebrew Union College, Jewish Institute of Religion, New York—Dr. Philip Miller, Librarian, and in Cincinnati—Dr. David Gilner, Director of Libraries at Hebrew Union College; New York Public Library, Dr. Michael Terry, Dorot Chief Librarian, Roberta Saltzman, Assistant Chief Librarian, Anne-Marie Belinfante, Faith Jones, and Eleanor Yadin, librarians; Bobst Library, New York University—Mr. Marvin Taylor, Fales Librarian and Mr. Mike Kelley, Assistant Fales Librarian; and The Pierpont Morgan Library—Ms. Dupont, Head of Reader Services. Particular mention must be made of the contribution of R. Schwarzbard and R. Wilhelm whose assistance and discussions with me about the contents of this book have made this a much richer work than would otherwise be the case, and of Mr. David Wachtel, who permitted me to make use of his as yet unpublished masters’ thesis. Similarly, the assistance over so many years, of the erudite Dr. Miller is much appreciated. R. Yizhak Holtz, for technical support, and Mr. Jack Neiman, Dr. Isaac Ron, and Ms. Rosemarie Somfleth for their support over several years. I am indebted to Mr. Jack Lunzer, Custodian, Library of the Valmadonna Trust, the foremost contemporary collector of Hebraica and a scholar of the Hebrew book. He has been most supportive of this and other projects, providing encouragement, obtaining material for me not readily available elsewhere, as well as providing reproductions from the Valmadonna Trust to be reproduced in this book. Mr. Daniel Kestenbaum of Kestenbaum & Company, Auctioneer of Rare Books, Manuscripts and Fine Art, has, over several years, graciously supplied me with his catalogues and permitted me to use reproductions from those catalogues in this book. My publisher, E. J. Brill (Brill Academic Publishers), has been wonderful to work with, albeit at a great distance. Among the individuals I have dealt with are Mr. Julian Deahl, Senior Acquisitions Editor, and Ms. Tanja Cowall, Desk Editor. Most of my contact, however, was with Ms. Marcella Mulder, Assistant Editor, whose patience, tact, and general amiability has made my experience with Brill so positive. Preparation of the reproductions was done by Mr. Shlomo Nussbaum of Font 4. The quality of the reproductions is due to his incomparable skill. The reader, looking at the title and sample pages in the book can not possibly imagine the original condition of a number of these pages, reflecting their heavy usage over the ages and the often difficult life of many Jewish books. Similarly, the editor, Mr. Joseph I. Lauer, has worked assiduously to remove “thorns and thistles” from the text, and I am grateful to him for his ix

acknowledgments efforts. I would also like to express my gratitude to Mrs. Janny Offenberg, for preparing the index and suggesting corrections. In addition to the large number of reproductions from the libraries where I did research, noted above, reproductions were also received from the following individuals and institutions, to whom I would like to express my appreciation. They are R. Chaim Reich of Renaissance Hebraica, Dr. Moshe N. Rosenfeld (London), Dr. Benjamin Ogorik, the American Bible Society, the British Library, the Jewish National and University Library, Klau Library, Hebrew Union College (Cincinnati), and the Wellcome Library (London). I am pleased, yet again, to acknowledge the Admor of Stretin, Rav Aaron Yacov Brandwein, Shlit”a. His sagacious advice was frequently sought on both personal and bibliographical issues concerning the book. My family’s role cannot go unmentioned. My wife Shoshana, our children, their spouses, and our grandchildren, twenty-first century people living with and supportive of a person whose focus was firmly fixed on the sixteenth century. I would be remiss if I did not mention my oldest granddaughter, Sarah Brocha, now seven, who from the age of three, would come from school to our house for several hours before going home. We shared a desk, I writing, she drawing or coloring, less often doing homework, always providing an important source of inspiration.

x

Abbreviations CB HUCA JNUL JTS KS SBB ZHB

= = = = = = =

Catalogus Liborium Hebraeorum in Bibliotheca Bodleiana (Berlin, 1852–60). Hebrew Union College Annual (Cincinnati, –) Jewish National and University Library Jewish Theological Seminary Kiryat Sefer (Kirjath Sepher), ( Jerusalem, 1924–) Studies in Bibliography and Booklore (Cincinnati, 1953–) Zeitschrift für hebräische Bibliographie (Berlin-Frankfort on the Main, 1896–1920)

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Introduction The Sixteenth Century Hebrew Book: An Abridged Thesaurus is a paean to the Hebrew books published, their authors, and the printers in the sixteenth century. Approximately 2,700 titles were printed during this period, certainly an incredible achievement for a numerically small dispersed people. The Thesaurus is an attempt to describe those books, printed from 1500 to 1599, for readers, general and scholarly, who need, or simply are interested in the history and background of books printed in the subject period. My intent is to describe the books, authors, and the conditions of their printing, that is the printing presses that issued them and any special factors related to the issuance of the books. In doing so a simple format has been followed, that is, to give a brief biographical sketch of the author, a physical description of the book, and a synopsis of its contents and the author’s stated intent. This is a daunting task, given the number of titles, almost 2,700, printed in the sixteenth century. In contrast to that number, a conservative listing of books that can be said with certainty to have been printed prior to 1500 lists only 139 titles.1 More precisely, in the sixteenth century, 2,672 Hebrew titles (or books with Hebrew letters) were printed, according to Yeshayahu Vinograd.2 Even allowing for unwarranted inclusions and omissions, which most likely cancel each other out, but even if they do not cancel out, we are left with a figure of close to 2,700 titles to contend with. Our treatment of 455 entries would certainly be inadequate, if not for a number of qualifying factors.3 This number, 2,700, contains, for our purposes, considerable duplication. For example, every tractate within each edition of the Talmud is listed as a separate entry; the 1519/20–1523 Bomberg Talmud has forty-three entries, the Basle edition forty-five entries. More than 90 mahzorim and 190 siddurim are listed, excluding separate enumerations of azharot, berakhot, haggadot, hoshanot, kinnot, ma’amadot, selihot, zemirot, etc.4 We also find entries for books printed in Hebrew, Hebrew/Latin, or with some Hebrew letters printed by and for Christian-Hebraists, for example, Wittenberg, with 23 entries, made up of Bibles and grammars. Furthermore, a large number of titles were printed several times, such as Abraham Saba’s Zeror ha-Mor, first printed in Venice in 1522, reprinted there in 1545 and 1567 and in Cracow in 1595. Parenthetically, in considering the number of titles issued as an indicator of a press’s activity or its output, it is worthwhile to keep in mind the variable size of books, so that while statistically the Hilkhot Rav Alfas (Sabbioneta, 1554–55) and the Birkat ha-Mazon (Lublin, 1575) are both treated equally as single titles, the former is a three-volume work comprised of more than a thousand leaves, whereas the latter is comprised of sixteen leaves only. Nevertheless, even if the entries included represent a

1 A. K. Offenberg, Hebrew Incunabula in Public Collections (Nieuwkoop, 1990), p. xiii. It should be noted that other authorities cite as many as 250 titles for the incunabular period. 2 Yeshayahu Vinograd, Thesaurus of the Hebrew Book. Part I Indexes. Books and Authors, Bibles, Prayers and Talmud, Subjects and Printers, Chronology and Languages, Honorees and Institutes. Thesaurus of the Hebrew Book ( Jerusalem, 1993–95), p. xxiv [Hebrew]. In most instances the number of titles credited to a press, below, are taken from volume II of the Thesaurus by the city listing of the press. 3 A handful of entries are not for Hebrew books, but certainly are appropriate given their relationship to the Hebrew book, for example, Cardinal Marcus Vigerius’ Decachordum Christianum (Fano, 1507), printed by Gershom Soncino with the ornamental borders used so often by him and other printers afterwards; the Psalterium (Venice, 1515), the first book printed by Daniel Bomberg, and Des Pfefferkorns Leben (c. 1507–20), a broadside enumerating the alleged crimes of Johannes Pfefferkorn, who led an assault on the Hebrew book. 4 Vinograd, I pp. 343–56.

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introduction fairly comprehensive survey of the sixteenth-century Hebrew book, there are still a number of titles that were, of necessity, omitted. With the concept of “causing the sleepers’ lips to murmur,” in mind, I apologize to those authors whose books were not included for those omissions. The Sixteenth Century Hebrew Book is a historical and descriptive record of the books printed, not an analytical bibliography. That is, we are concerned with describing the books, their authors, and the presses that published them, rather than in performing an autopsy of each book, and reporting on the number and composition of quires, signatures, and other such data for multiple copies of each edition. This means that in the absence of significant variations or other reasons for describing a work, such as Abraham Saba’s Zeror ha-Mor, a single entry is sufficient for our historical and descriptive bibliography. An example of a title that requires more than one entry is the Arba’ah Turim of R. Jacob ben Asher, with five entries (Fano, 1516; Augsburg, Constantinople, and Prague, 1540; and Venice, 1550), still only a representative sample of the many printings of that work. It is the sixteenth century, not the preceding incunabular period, which for Hebrew books began in c. 1469–70, that witnesses the full effects of printing with movable type. Hebrew printing varies in the sixteenth century from the incunabular period in several ways. It is no longer dominated by pioneers as in the previous century, but rather by the rise of great printing houses, much like the change from entrepreneurs to large corporations. There are still pioneers, Gershom Soncino has his most productive years ahead of him when the century begins, and peripatetic printers, such as Hayyim Shahor, Eliezer ben Isaac Ashkenazi, and Samuel ben Isaac Boehm, but we have entered the age of the established printing house. Examples of these firms include that of Bomberg in Venice, Jabez in Constantinople, Jaffe in Lublin, and Prostitz in Cracow. Not all print shops were large or successful, however, witness those in Padua and Verona, short-lived and issuing a few titles only.5 Another difference from the earlier period is that in many locations the Hebrew presses are now owned, if not operated, by non-Jews. Whereas the first printers were Jewish, and remain so in the Ottoman Empire and Poland, in Italy this is no longer the case. To enable the reader to put the description of the books in context a brief overview of Hebrew printing in the sixteenth century follows.6 It is not intended to take the place of a detailed study of that subject, certainly a much needed desideratum. The introduction concludes with some general observations about the Hebrew book and printing in the sixteenth century. Before beginning, a note on the conversion of Hebrew dates to common era dates in both the introduction and the body of the text. All calendar conversions from the Hebrew date are to the modern civil (Gregorian) calendar, introduced in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII. The Gregorian calendar replaced the old civil ( Julian) calendar, introduced by Julius

5 On Eliezer ben Isaac Ashkenazi and Samuel ben Isaac Boehm see, respectively, my “From Lublin to Safed. Eliezer ben Isaac Ashkenazi: A Printer’s Journeys,” Jewish Culture and History 4:1 (London, Summer, 2001), pp. 81–96; and “‘There were in Padua almost as many Hebrew printers as Hebrew books.’ The Sixteenth Century Hebrew Press in Padua,” (Gutenberg-Jahrbuch, Mainz, forthcoming). 6 This overview is, for several of the subject cities, based on previous works of mine, such as, Printing the Talmud: A History of the Earliest Printed Editions of the Talmud (Brooklyn, 1992) (hereafter Earliest Printed Editions), and articles on early printing (ref. bibliography). Where that is the case the material presented here is either enlarged upon or restructured. Treatment of presses is not entirely even. That is not unintentional, more attention being given here to several less familiar presses as opposed to the more familiar print shops that have received extensive coverage elsewhere.

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introduction Caesar in 46 B.C.E. It seems reasonable to use one date-conversion standard only, rather than to have two dating systems, and that the civil calendar be the one in use today. However, many bibliographies convert dates prior to 1582 to the Julian calendar. As a result, the dates in those bibliographies will not be consistent with the civil dates given here. An example of the difference occurring between the Gregorian and Julian calendars is the completion date for the first printing of Zevah Pesah, Don Isaac Abrabanel’s commentary on the Haggadah. The Hebrew date is 9 Kislev, 5266, equivalent to November 16, 1505 in the Gregorian calendar and November 6, 1505 in the Julian calendar.

I Hebrew printing, a noble accomplishment in the fifteenth century, did not exist at the beginning of the sixteenth century. The Hebrew presses of Spain and Portugal were silent, the exile of the Jews from the Iberian peninsula having seen to that, and pressure in Italy had resulted in the same end. However, Hebrew presses in several major centers, that is, Italy, the Ottoman Empire, Bohemia, and Poland, as well as in several less-significant centers, were set to flourish. In Italy, a period of unequaled achievement was about to begin. Gershom ben Moses Soncino, the last Hebrew printer in Italy in the fifteenth century, was about to become the first Hebrew printer in that land in the sixteenth century. During his hiatus Soncino had traveled extensively, as he writes on the title page of R. David Kimhi’s (Radak) Mikhlol (Constantinople, 1532–34), “I toiled and found books that were previously closed and sealed. . . . I traveled to France, Chambéry, and Geneva, to the places of their [the tosafot of Sens,] origin.” Gershom resumed printing in the sixteenth century in Fano, having received permission to operate a press from Cesare Borgia, Duke of Romagna, son of Pope Alexander VI. Gershom began by printing in 1502 with Latin titles as Hieronymus Soncinus. All of the books printed at this time were small books, octavo and quarto in format.7 His first Hebrew books were Me’ah Berakhot (1503), according to the Roman rite, and R. Asher ben Jehiel’s (Rosh) Orhot Hayyim (1504), 160 and 320 in format. They were followed in the next three years by such works as a mahzor with the text of the Haggadah, a selihot, Sefer haRoke’ah of R. Eleazer ben Judah (Roke’ah), Judah ha-Levi’s Kuzari, and Jonah Gerondi’s (Rabbenu Yonah) Sha’arei Teshuvah printed together with R. Hai Gaon’s Musar Haskel. In 1516 Gershom printed R. Jacob ben Asher’s Arba’ah Turim. Among the Latin books printed by Gershom in Fano mention must be made of Abselmii Laurentii, Vita Epaminudae (1502), the first book printed by a Jewish printer in non-Hebrew letters, and the Decachordum Christianum (1507), a beautiful work noteworthy for its ten woodcuts surrounded by ornamental borders, in addition to the title page. These frames would be reused by Gershom with his Hebrew books in Italy and Constantinople, by his son Eliezer after him, and then by additional printers in Constantinople, appearing on the title page of a book as late as 1552–53 (R. Moses Figo’s Zikhron Torat Moshe). Because of the many locations in which Gershom printed—he issued books in Soncino, Brescia, Barco, Fano, Pesaro, Ortona, Rimini, and Ancona, all in Italy, as well as in Salonika and Constantinople—he often gave his name on the title pages of his books as Ger-Shom (sojourner, ref. Genesis 35:27). The first of these relocations in the sixteenth

7

Giacomo Manzoni, Annali tipografici dei Soncino. III (Bologna, 1883–86), pp. 3ff.

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introduction century occurred in 1507, when Gershom moved to Pesaro, in the domain of Giovanni Sforza, seeking a more important locale than Fano for his press, printing Hebrew books there until 1527. Although he had left Fano he would return there to print additional titles, doing so until 1516. In Pesaro Gershom printed over 40 Hebrew books, beginning with Rabbenu Bahya’s commentary on the Torah, a title he reprinted in that location again in 1514 and yet again in 1517.8 He also printed a significant number of talmudic tractates, although not nearly a complete Talmud. Among the tractates are two editions of Berakhot and at least one, and possibly two editions of Bezah, the first printed tractates, issued previously by his uncle Joshua Soncino in 1483/84.9 Unsettled conditions after the death of Sforza led Gershom to return to Fano, print again in Pesaro, and finally move to Ortona and Rimini, printing in the former in 1519 R. Moses ben Kimhi’s (Remak) Sefer Dikduk (Mahalakh Shevilei ha-Da’at), a work he had printed earlier in Pesaro, and Pietro Columna Galatinus’ De arcanis catholicae veritatis (1518), a simultaneous attack on Judaism and defense of Jewish books. Gershom printed in Rimini from 1521 to 1526, issuing a mahzor, and such works as R. Joseph Albo’s Ikkarim, Jacob Landau’s Agur, and the anonymous Kol Bo. A document is extant, dated October 24, 1518 ( Julian calendar) from Rimini, in which that municipality, recognizing the benefits granted by the cities of Rome, Venice and Naples to attract printers, further acknowledges that such a course would bring esteem and benefit to a community, and therefore welcomes a request by Hieronymus Soncinus for facilities for the establishment of his press in their town, granting him exemption from all duties on his books and paper, and promising him a shop or booth on the bridge of St Peter (later Ponte d’Augusto) at the time of the fair of St Julian, and twelve ducats annually for the hire of a house.10

One other Rimini work, important because it informs as to Gershom’s reason for leaving Italy, is R. Vidal Benveniste’s Melizat Efer ve-Dinah (1525), an allegory on pleasure. Here Gershom relates a dispute with an apostate in which harsh words were exchanged, including references to Christianity. It has been suggested that Gershom could not compete with the press of Daniel Bomberg and that is the real reason he left Italy. Moses Marx discounts this, noting that, Whereas Bomberg needed a very large staff of scholars constantly about him, and probably had only the commercial side of the undertaking and its organization in his own hands, Gershom himself occupied most of the positions in his concern and probably had to employ only cheap labor aside from the members of his own family. The work which in Bomberg’s shop was done by the owner, the manager, Cornelio Adelkind, an editor, and a proofreader, such as Isaiah Parnas, or Jacob Ibn Adonijah, etc., Gershom Soncino took care of alone; and if Bomberg in Venice had to raise no inconsiderable sums to pay for his printing shop and for his summer and his winter residences, Gershom surely managed quite often without paying rent, or else, in the smaller places, with only a very small charge for this item. On the other hand, Bomberg, with his larger organization, was able also to produce in larger quantities and this brought about the balance which enabled the two of them to sell their wares at approximately the same prices.11

8 A. M. Habermann, Ha-Madpesim B’nei Soncino (Vienna, 1933, reprinted in Studies in the History of Hebrew Printers, Jerusalem, 1978), pp. 58–69 [Hebrew]. 9 The number of tractates printed by Gershom in Pesaro are in dispute. Concerning the tractates printed and a fragment of Bezah that may have been printed in Pesaro see, Earliest Printed Editions, pp. 87–95, 106–08. 10 E. J. Norton, Italian Printers 1501–1520 An Annotated List (London, 1958), p. 91. 11 Moses Marx, “Gershom Soncino’s Wander Years,” HUCA, XII (Cincinnati, 1936, reprint Society of Jewish Bibliophiles, 1969), pp. 68–69.

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introduction By the time Gershom had to leave Italy he had printed, from 1502 to 1526, according to Moses Marx’s estimate, approximately 66 Hebrew books, as well as about 95 Latin, Italian, and Greek books. Abraham Habermann enumerates 68 Hebrew titles, in addition to a small number attributed to the B’nei Soncino, which may also have been printed by Gershom.12 We turn next to Venice, the dominant city in printing in the sixteenth century, not only for Hebrew printing but for the print world in general. The first use of Hebrew letters there can be credited to Aldus Manutius, the great Venetian printer. Aldus employed Hebrew letters in several small works and distributed a proof sheet of a projected trilingual polyglot Bible, but nothing came of it. It is with the press of Daniel Bomberg that Hebrew printing truly begins in Venice. Bomberg, a non-Jew, came to Venice from Antwerp, obtained a privilege from the Venetian Senate to print three books, and issued as his first imprint a Latin Psalterium (1515) in association with Fratre Felice da Prato (Felix Pratensis). Soon after, in December, 1515, Bomberg requested and received the right to print Hebrew books, with a monopoly based on the expenses already incurred with such an activity, from the Venetian Senate. Bomberg’s first Hebrew imprint was a two-volume Roman rite mahzor (1516). By the time his press closed, more than four decades later in 1548/49, it had published between two hundred to two hundred-fifty titles, including individual talmudic treatises, according to the enumerations, respectively, of A. M. Habermann and Yeshayahu Vinograd, books of considerable quality.13 Among these works are the first rabbinic Bible (Mikra’ot Gedolot), the editio princeps of both the Babylonian (1519/20–23) and Jerusalem (1522–24) Talmuds, and the first Karaite book. These first imprints also include beautiful quarto and folio editions of the Bible. The press’s most productive years were in the first half of the 1520s according to Marx, who provides the following statistics of the Bomberg’s press’s output at that time:

1521: 1522: 1523:

Number of Sheets by Format 40 Books 120 23 162 671 20 100 1240 14 — 1218

fol. 1505 2102 117614

The books printed by the Bomberg press cover the gamut of Jewish literature, encompassing liturgy, Talmud, halakhah, philosophy, and grammatical works. The quality of Bomberg’s books, apart from their physical attraction, is attested to by a decree of the Venetian Senate, concerned over the decline of the Venetian press. That body, in 1537, decreed that all books for which new copyrights were obtained had to be printed on paper that would not blot. Violators were subject to a fine of 100 ducats and forfeiture of their copyright, and the books were to be confiscated and burned in the Piazza San Marco. Joshua Bloch notes that “This legislation does not seem to have ever affected Bomberg’s press, which knew of no poor paper, nor of any cheapening of values, nor of any fictitious claims for copyright.”15

12

Moses Marx, “Among Recent Acquisitions,” SBB, II (1956), p. 182; and Habermann, B’nei Soncino, pp. 55–75 nos. 14–81. 13 A. M. Habermann, The Printer Daniel Bomberg (Safed, 1978) [Hebrew]; and Vinograd I p. 445. 14 Marx, Wander Years, p. 69. 15 Joshua Bloch, “Early Hebrew Printing in Spain and Portugal,” in Hebrew Printing and Bibliography (New York, 1976), p. 73.

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introduction Two of the most important personalities in Bomberg’s press were Cornelius Adelkind and Jacob ben Hayyim ben Isaac ibn Adonijah, both of whom came to a bad end, becoming apostates. This has led to questions as to Bomberg’s motives in printing Hebrew books. Evidence has been adduced by Israel Mehlman and Meir Benayahu from the single antiSemitic book published by Bomberg, Gerardo Veltwyck’s Shevilei Tohu (1539), and the number of apostates employed at the press, for proof of Bomberg’s missionary intent. Habermann, however, notes that Gershom Soncino similarly published Pietro Columna Galatinus’ De arcanis catholicae veritatis (Ortona, 1518) and that Shevilei Tohu is an anomaly among Bomberg’s books, indicating to the authorities that he was not publishing Hebrew works only, but a wide spectrum of books.16 Moreover, the substantial number and quality of Hebrew books printed by Bomberg over decades strengthened Judaism, of which he certainly had to be aware. Bomberg is also reputed to have received property transferred from the Mendes Bank in Antwerp for Marranos settled in Italy, reconsigning it to the owners.17 Another associate of Bomberg was Giullume le Bé, a prominent French engraver, better known for Latin and Greek characters, who prepared six different Hebrew fonts for the press.18 Concerning the distribution of Bomberg’s imprints, Bloch observes that Bomberg initially, as did Soncino, printed his books in small editions to be marketed primarily in Italy. This was not the case for long, for as Bloch observes, the fame of the Bomberg press was such that he had a large export trade, even printing for the Karaites in the Crimea and Jews in Syria. Alexander Marx reports on a German dialogue between a Christian and a Jew, in which the latter informs that “he wants to go to Venice as a rich Christian and a Jew had put together considerable money there and were printing anew the Bible and Talmud in Hebrew of which he was to bring several copies to the Jews of Prague.”19 Bomberg’s Talmud was imported into England, and the first Karaite prayer book was commissioned by Joseph ben Moses Rabyatchi, a Karaite merchant from Constantinople.20 Bomberg is believed to have issued catalogues of his books for sale. While no individual catalogue is extant, the Bibliotheca universalis of Conrad Gesner (1516–65) includes a Bomberg sales catalogue, made up of 75 entries, each comprised of the book’s title and price. Sales catalogues enabled Bomberg to sell his books throughout the Jewish world, informing distributors and individual customers what titles were available and their price. Also included in the catalogue, as reproduced by Gesner, are books from other publishers in Italy and elsewhere. These publishers, generally printers of only a small number of books, also required a distributor for their imprints and might arrange for their books to be included in the catalogue of a larger and more established printer.21

16 Meir Benayahu, Copyright, Authorization, and Imprimatur for Hebrew Books Printed in Venice ( Jerusalem, 1971), p. 17; Habermann, The Printer Daniel Bomberg, p. 15; and Israel Mehlman, “Daniel Bomberg, the printer of Venice,” Areshet, III ( Jerusalem, 1963), pp. 96–98 [Hebrew]. 17 Cecil Roth, The House of Nasi. Doña Gracia (Philadelphia, 1947), p. 31. 18 Bloch, p. 75. 19 Joshua Bloch, “Venetian Printers of Hebrew Books,” in Hebrew Printing and Bibliography. New York, 1976, p. 78; Alexander Marx, Bibliographical Studies and Notes on Rare Books and Manuscripts in the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary, ed. M. H. Schmelzer (New York, 1977), p. 85. 20 Philip E. Miller, “Prayer Book Politics: An Attempt to Print the Karaite Siddur in 1866 that was Canceled,” SBB 18 (Cincinnati, 1993), p. 16. 21 Bomberg’s book sale catalogue, as printed by Gesner, was reprinted by Aron Freimann in “Daniel Bombergs Bücher-Verzeichnis,” in Zeitschrift für hebräische Bibliographie 10 (Berlin, 1906), pp. 38–42. Concerning Hebrew book sale catalogues see my, “The Hebrew Book-Trade as Reflected in Book Catalogues,” Quaerendo v. 26 n. 4 (Leiden, 1996), pp. 245–57. Abraham Yaari questions if the Gesner listing is an actual book sale catalogue. See his, “The Printing-house of Manassah ben Israel. The First Hebrew Book Catalogue,” in Kiryat Sefer 21 ( Jerusalem, 1944, reprinted in Studies in Hebrew Booklore, Jerusalem, 1958), p. 432 [Hebrew].

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introduction There were periods when Bomberg returned to Antwerp and the press seems to have been inactive. In about 1539 he again returned to Antwerp and did not, according to Habermann, return to Venice. Habermann speculates that Bomberg, a Calvinist, may have been forced to leave Venice for reasons similar to those which forced Soncino to leave Italy, that is, religious coercion. In Bomberg’s absence the press was operated in its last years by Cornelius Adelkind, who communicated regularly with Bomberg, keeping him informed as to the press’s activities.22 Bloch enthusiastically summarizes Bomberg’s accomplishments: If there be taken into consideration the difficulties presented by the fact that the art of Hebrew printing was still in its infancy; that practically all of Bomberg’s publications were produced from manuscript copy, and that in his efforts Bomberg met with numerous difficulties which did not beset other printers, his press may be credited with the most tremendous and important accomplishments in the whole history of Hebrew printing. . . . No one can again contribute so much to the external and internal advancement of the Hebrew book. As a printer in Venice he established so high a standard that no one has surpassed his work, even with the aid of modern mechanical improvements, and it is a question whether any Hebrew printing has yet equaled the quality and taste shown in the productions of the Bomberg press.23

In 1545, Marco Antonio Giustiniani ( Justinian), the wealthy son of Niccolo Giustiniani, scion of a patrician family that traced its descent to the tribunes who governed Venice before the election of the first Doge in 697, opened a Hebrew publishing firm on the Calle delli Cinque alla Giustizia Vecchia, close to the Bridge of the Rialto.24 His master printer was Cornelius Adelkind. Printing began with R. Moses ben Nahman’s (Nachmanides, Ramban, 1194–1270) Perush ha-Torah, completed 19th of Adar (March 13, 1545), and Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel’s (1437–1508) Rosh Amanah, completed 7th of Nissan (March 30, 1545). Giustiniani’s fonts were cut by Giullume le Bé and Michel Du Bois, and by an engraver of the Venetian mint.25 Giustiniani’s device, a representation of the Temple, appears either on the title page or elsewhere in his books beginning with his third work, Zevah Pesah, Abrabanel’s commentary on the Passover Haggadah, completed 24th of Sivan ( June 14th, 1545). This device, with the verse, “The glory of this latter House shall be greater [than that of the former,] says the Lord of hosts” (Haggai 2:9), was apparently meant to indicate Giustiniani’s press would overshadow that of his great rival, Daniel Bomberg. Giustiniani’s press did not, however, surpass that of Bomberg in either quality or number of books issued.26 Nevertheless, the high quality of many of Giustiniani’s books, particularly his edition of the Talmud (1546–51), was sufficient to secure his reputation as a printer. That edition is particularly noteworthy for the inclusion of indices, prepared by R. Joshua Boaz, reprinted with all editions of the Talmud to the present, that is, Torah Or, Ein Mishpat-Ner Mizvah, and Mesorat ha-Talmud (now referred to as Mesorat ha-Shas). Among the other titles printed

22

Habermann, The Printer Daniel Bomberg, p. 20 Bloch, “Venetian Printers of Hebrew Books,” pp. 78–79. 24 David Amram, The Makers of Hebrew Books in Italy (Philadelphia, 1909, reprint London, 1963), p. 252. 25 Amram, pp. 253–54; and Bloch, “Venetian Printers of Hebrew Books,” p. 79. 26 Giustiniani’s reputation was such that many later printers used his printer’s mark on either the title pages of or elsewhere in their books. Concerning the use of this mark see Marvin J. Heller, “The Cover Design, ‘The Printer’s Mark of Marc Antonio Giustiniani and the Printing Houses that Utilized It,’” Library Quarterly, 71:3 (Chicago, July, 2001), pp. 383–89. 23

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introduction by Giustiniani’s press are Ein Ya’akov (1546), a folio Mishnayot with the commentaries of Maimonides and R. Samson of Sens, and, in 1550, an edition of the Mishneh Torah, which, as we shall see, led to the burning of the Talmud, censorship of Hebrew books, and the cessation of printing in Venice for several years. Several small presses of note need be mentioned. The dei Farri brothers who, with the assistance of Cornelius Adelkind, printed slightly less than fifteen titles in 1544, among them R. Isaac Aboab’s Menorat ha-Ma’or, Joseph Albo’s Ikkarim, Ba’al ha-Turim on the Torah, Halikhot Olam—Mevo ha-Talmud, Josippon, and Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer. Meir ben Jacob Parenzo, who had previously worked at the press of Daniel Bomberg, printed a few books on his own account from 1546 to 1549 at the print-shop of Carlo Quirino, and shortly afterwards joined with Alvise Bragadin. His books include Psalms, Sha’ar ha-Shamayim, Meshal ha-Kadmoni, Kuzari, and Sha’arei Dura. Francesco Brucioli printed two titles only in 1544, an abridged version of R. Levi ben Gerson’s (Ralbag) commentary on Job and Ru’ah Hen, attributed to either R. Judah ibn Tibbon or Jacob Anatoli and completed on the 33rd day of the Omer that year.27 In 1550, another Hebrew press opened in Venice, that of Alvise Bragadin. Its opening ended a brief monopoly in Hebrew printing in Venice enjoyed by Giustiniani after the closing of the Bomberg press. In that year Bragadin issued Maimonides’ Sefer ha-Mitzvot and his Mishneh Torah, the latter with the text accompanied by glosses of R. Meir ben Isaac Katzenellenbogen (Maharam, 1473–1565) of Padua. Shortly after, also in 1550, Giustiniani brought out a rival edition of the Mishneh Torah, also with Maharam’s glosses, here unauthorized and at the end of the Mishneh Torah. Maharam, faced with serious financial loss due to the Giustiniani edition, turned to R. Moses Isserles (Rema), the leading halakhic decisor among Ashkenazim for a rabbinic decision concerning the unauthorized publication of his glosses. Rema prohibited the purchase of the Giustiniani edition, except under duress, placing anyone who did buy that edition in herem (excommunication). Giustiniani, now faced with a loss, appealed to Pope Julius III. In the ensuing arguments— both sides were represented by apostates—the subject of contention soon became the Talmud, perhaps the real reason for the dispute. After a review by a committee headed by Cardinal Giovanni Pietro Caraffa, the future Pope Paul IV, an extreme reactionary and bitter anti-Semite, a papal bull was issued, dated August 22, 1553, ordering the confiscation and burning of the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds. This occurred in Rome on Shabbat, Rosh HaShanah (September 19, 1553), and in Venice on October 21, of that year, as well as in other locations in Italy. The chilling results of these horrendous events were a considerable decline if not outright cessation of printing in Venice, the subsequent expurgation and censorship of Hebrew books, and changes in the learning habits of Italian Jewry.28 The dispute caused Giustiniani to cease printing in 1552. It is reported that Giustiniani’s involvement with the Hebrew book may not have ceased with the closing of his press. A Marco Antonio Giustiniani, governor of the island of Cephalonia, a Venetian stronghold in the Ionian Sea, was accused of trafficking in unexpurgated and prohibited Hebrew books. Due to a delay in the Inquisition’s investigation the evidence disappeared and the 27

Ch. B. Friedberg, History of Hebrew Typography in Italy, Spain-Portugal and the Turkey, from its beginning and formation about the year 1470 (Tel Aviv, 1956), pp. 66–67, 69 [Hebrew] (hereafter Italy). 28 This is not the place to address the burning of the Talmud and its aftermath in detail. An extensive literature exists on the subject. Among the relevant works are my Earliest Printed Editions, pp. 217–40, and Avraham Yaari, “Burning the Talmud in Italy,” in Studies in Hebrew Booklore ( Jerusalem, 1958), pp. 198–234 [Hebrew].

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introduction accusation could not be proved.29 Bragadin, with the assistance of Parenzo, continued to print until 1554, having issued a much smaller number of books than Giustiniani. The titles published by his press, about fifteen titles, include such works as the Tur Y. D., Maimonides’ Moreh Nevukhim, Moses di Trani’s (Mabit) Kiryat Sefer, Hilkhot Rav Alfas, She’elot Teshuvot le-ha-Rosh, R. Judah Lerma’s Lehem Yehudah, completely burned, but for a single copy, together with the Talmud, and the Arukh of R. Nathan ben Jehiel. Hebrew printing resumed in Venice in 1563, with five Christian printers taking up the publication of Hebrew books. Among them was Alvise Bragadin, who, with the continued assistance of Meir Parenzo, printed in that year R. Mordecai Nathan’s Me’ir Nativ and the Arba’ah Turim O. H., the latter completed in Kislev, 1564. Among the titles that Bragadin would print was, in 1574, a new edition of Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah. Meir Parenzo’s printer’s mark was a seven-branched menorah, Bragadin’s three crowns. Both Parenzo and Bragadin died in the mid-1570s. At times a fourth small crown is added, representing Asher Parenzo, and the verse, “There are three crowns: but the crown of a good name surpasses them all” (Avot 4:17). Members of Parenzo’s family remained associated with the Bragadin press well into the seventeenth century. Alvise Bragadin was succeeded by his son, and after him by successive members of the family well into the eighteenth century, the last known Bragadin being Alvise III. Throughout that time the press remained a leading printer of Hebrew books in Venice. Giorgio di Cavalli, from an ancient Veronese family made Venetian patricians, printed Hebrew books from 1565 to 1567. He was assisted by Vittorio Eliano, R. Abraham Ayllon, and Samuel Boehm, and issued more than twenty Hebrew books, with a printer’s mark of an elephant bearing a turret. He began with the Arba’ah Turim E. H. and concluded with Ashkenaz and Polish rite mahzorim. Between those titles he published Ein Yisrael, Midrash Rabbah, R. Eliezer of Metz’s Sefer Yere’im, Abraham Saba’s Zeror ha-Mor, Shulhan Arukh, Kol Bo, and completed R. Meir Arama’s commentary on Job, Me’ir Iyyov, begun in Riva di Trento but published by Cavalli in Venice. Giovanni Gryphio, likely related to the Lyon family of that name, with whom he shared the printers’ device of a griffin holding a stone in its claws from which a winged globe is suspended, printed less than ten titles, beginning with a mahzor (rite of Aram Zovah, c. 1560), followed by such works as the Arba’ah Turim Y. D. (1564), Tur O. H. (1566), R. Abraham ben Gedaliah’s Or ha-Sekhel, Obadiah Sforno’s Be’ur al ha-Torah and Be’ur al Shir ha-Shirim, and concluding with the Shulhan Arukh (1567). The competence of his staff, which included R. Samuel Boehm, Mycelium Kaufman, Solomon Luzatto, and Samuel Archivolti, notwithstanding, 29

Paul F. Grendler, “The Destruction of Hebrew books in Venice,” American Academy for Jewish Research XLV ( Jerusalem, 1978), pp. 120–30, reprinted in Culture and Censorship in Late Renaissance Italy and France (London, 1981), n.p. Amram, p. 263, writes that it was not this Giustiniani, but another, Antonio, who was tried for press offenses by the Inquisition. There is also the possibility that the charges against this Giustiniani were false. See Brian Pullan, The Jews of Europe and the Inquisition of Venice 1550–1670 (Totowa, N.J., 1983), pp. 84, 93, and 103.

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introduction Gryphio was unable to compete in Venice’s Hebrew book market, and ceased to print in 1567. As Bloch notes, “his printer’s motto, ‘Wisdom without good luck accomplishes little,’ was expressive of his experience.”30 Several members of the Zanetti family printed Hebrew books, all in Venice, excepting Francessco, who was briefly active in Rome (1578, 1580–81). In Venice, Cristophel, working initially at the press of Giovanni di Gara, published, with the assistance of R. Abraham ben Solomon Allon of Safed, seven books from 1564 to 1567. His titles include R. Zechariah ibn Saruq’s Perush Megillat Ahasuerus, Midrash ha-Ne’lam, and liturgical works. The latter group includes a Sephardic rite prayer book, edited by Vittorio Eliano, who supplied the press with Bomberg fonts. Matteo Zanetti, associated with Comino Presigno, established a print-shop on the Calle de Dogan that was continued by his heirs, and published seven books from 1593 to 1596. Among them are the Be’urim attributed to R. Nathan Nata Spira (Shapira), the responsa of R. Bezalel Ashkenazi, Solomon le-Bet ha-Levi’s Divrei Shelomo, Shem Tov Melamed’s Keter Shem Tov, and liturgical works. Daniel Zanetti, active from 1596 to 1608, published more than sixty titles.31 His first title was an Askhenaz rite prayer book, and by 1599 had published, in addition to further liturgical works, such titles as R. Simeon Duran’s Tiferet Yisrael, Moses Almosnino’s Yedei Moshe, Isaac Adarbi’s Divrei Shalom, Moses Alfalas’ Ho’il Moshe and Ba Gad, Baruch ibn Baruch’s Aleh Toledot Adam . . . Kohelet Ya’akov, Tanna de-Vei Eliyahu, R. Jedaiah Bedersi’s (ha-Penini) Leshon ha-Zahav, Abraham Akra’s Mehararei Nemeirim, Samuel Kalai’s Mishpetei Shemu’el, Joseph Taitazak’s Porat Yosef, and Moses ibn Makhir’s Seder ha-Yom. The last and most successful of the Hebrew presses founded after printing resumed in Venice was that of Giovanni di Gara. Active from 1564 to 1611, this press printed more than 270 books, primarily in Hebrew letters, and only infrequently in non-Jewish languages. Di Gara, who had apparently worked for Daniel Bomberg, saw himself as a successor to that printer, a fact that he frequently emphasized.32 In addition to the competition between these presses, there appears to have also been considerable cooperation or, perhaps collaboration, for we know that personnel, for example, Asher Parenzo, moved easily between the presses, and the Bragadin crowns appear on books printed by di Gara, at times with the additional single small crown of Asher Parenzo. Among di Gara’s Jewish associates are R. Asher Parenzo, Samuel Archivolti, Israel Zifroni and his son Daniel, Leon Modena, and, perhaps most importantly, Isaac Gershon.33 Di Gara’s numerous books with Hebrew letters cover the spectrum of Jewish literature, excepting the Talmud, now forbidden in Italy, including titles in Yiddish and Ladino. Turning to presses elsewhere in Italy, we begin with Rome, which has the distinction of being the first location in which Hebrew books were printed. Several imprints, undated, but now generally accepted as having been printed about 1469–72, are assigned to the press of Obadiah, Manasseh, and Benjamin of Rome. Their names appear in the colophon 30

Amram, p. 350; and Bloch, “Venetian Printers of Hebrew Books,” p. 84. Meir Benayahu, “The Books Printed in Venice at the Zanetti Press,” Asufot XII ( Jerusalem, 1999), pp. 9–17 [Hebrew]. 32 A. M. Habermann, Giovanni Di Gara: Printer, Venice 1564–1610, ed. Y. Yudlov ( Jerusalem, 1982), pp. ix–xvi [Hebrew]. 33 Concerning Isaac Gershon see Asufot XIII ( Jerusalem, 2001), pp. 9–90. 31

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introduction of R. Moses ben Nahman’s (Nahmanides, Ramban) Torah commentary, believed to be the first of about nine or ten Hebrew books printed at this time.34 Hebrew printing resumed, briefly, in about 1508, when Maestro Yakovo Mazzochi printed Siddur Tefillot shel Pesah, with the text of the Haggadah, Birkat ha-Mazon, and Pirkei Avot. This is the only work known from this press. In 1518, with the permission of the Pope, a Hebrew press was established by Isaac, Yom Tov, and Jacob ben Avigdor of Padua, in the home of Giovanni Giacomo Fagiot da Montecchio in the Piazza Montanara for the purpose of issuing the grammatical works of R. Elijah ha-Levi Ashkenazi Levita (Bahur). Three books were published, ha-Harkavah, ha-Bahur, and Sefer Dikduk (R. Moses Kimhi’s Sefer Dikduk, that is, Mahalakh Shevilei ha-Da’at with notes possibly by Bahur). Jacob would go to Trino, where, in 1525, he printed an Ashkenaz rite siddur. The volume is a quarto, [134] leaves, with the text in square vowelled Hebrew, with accompanying notes and instructions in rabbinic type. It is the sole Hebrew work attributed to Trino. In the following years a small number of Latin translations of Hebrew books were printed in Rome. The printing of Hebrew books, excepting infrequent Latin translations of Hebrew works, resumed in 1545 at the press of Maestro Antonio Blado, who was official printer to the Papal court from 1516 to 1567 and considered the most distinguished printer in Italy. Blado had previously printed a Hebrew book, namely the Song of Songs, with Latin translation, in 1524. He was assisted by Isaac ben Immanuel de Lattes, son and grandson of papal physicians, and Benjamin b. Joseph d’Arignano, known for his large library of manuscripts. Their chief printers were Samuel Sarfati and Solomon ben Isaac of Lisbon. They began with R. Moses Kimhi’s Sefer Dikduk (Mahalakh Shevilei ha-Da’at) and the responsa of R. Nissim Gerondi (Ran), followed by R. Moses ben Nahman’s (Ramban) Iggeret ha-Kodesh. Only five Hebrew books were published at this time. An interesting sidelight to printing in Rome contemporary with the Blado press is that the son of Pope Paul III (1534–49), Pier Luigi Farnese, applied for the privilege to establish a Hebrew press in Rome at this time. The Pope referred the proposal to a commissioner, who approved, on the condition that only old Hebrew books be reprinted. Pier Luigi, however, accepted instead an appointment as hereditary Duke of Parma and Piacenza, where he became embroiled in disputes with the local aristocracy. Two years after his appointment as Duke, in 1547, Luigi was assassinated. Amram observes that, “if he had confined his ambitions to printing Hebrew books instead of attempting to rule two principalities that hated and despised him, his life might have been more useful. It certainly would have been longer. . . .”35 In 1578 the noted apostate, Vittorio Eliano ( Joseph Romano, b. 1528), and Francessco Zanetti published Sefer Bere’shit in Rome, followed by a Pentateuch with Megillot and Psalms in 1580 and 1581 respectively. Mantua is among the early cities of importance in Hebrew printing in the incunabular period, Abraham ben Solomon Conat, with the assistance of his wife, Estellina, having printed some of the earliest Hebrew books here. It is the second city of importance in Italy in the sixteenth century, with close to 200 titles to its credit. Printing in Mantua resumes briefly, after the incunabular period, from 1513–15 at the press of Samuel ben

34 Concerning Nahmanides’ commentary, the other books printed at this time, and their dating see, Moses Marx, “On the Date of the Appearance of the First Hebrew Book,” in Alexander Marx Jubilee Volume (New York, 1950), pp. 481–501. 35 Amram, p. 248.

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introduction Meir Latif. Among the handful of books printed by Latif are a collection of four small works related to world and Jewish chronology and history; R. Bahya ben Asher ben Hlava’s Shulhan shel Arba; and R. Jehiel ha-Rofe Anav’s Tanya. Latif ’s further involvement in the book trade is noted by Simonsohn, who informs that Latif, during his stay in Mantua, sold a manuscript of R. David Kimhi’s commentary on Psalms to the banker Moses ben Nathaniel Norsa.36 Hebrew books were next printed in Mantua in 1556 by several Hebrew printers at the press of the Christian printer, Venturin Rufinelli, and, after Rufinelli’s death, by his son, Giacomo, and from 1576 by his grandson, Tommaso. R. Joseph ben Jacob Shalit Ashkenazi of Padua, who had earlier worked for Tobias Foa in Sabbioneta, published Rav Saadiah Gaon’s Sefer ha-Tehiyyah ve-Sefer ha-Pedut and ha-Pedut ve-ha-Perkun, both abridgements of chapters from Saadiah’s Emunot ve-De’ot, followed the next year, 1557, by several popular works, Kalonymus ben Kalonymus’s Iggeret Ba’alei Hayyim, Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan’s Mishlei Shu’alim, and Ben ha-Melekh ve-ha-Nazir. Yet another Hebrew printer in Mantua at this time is Jacob ben Naphtali ha-Kohen of Gazzuolo, who had also previously been associated with the Sabbioneta press. Jacob’s first titles were R. Elijah Levita’s (Bahur) ha-Bahur and Jedaiah Bedersi’s (ha-Penini) Behinat Olam. He later became partners with Meir ben Ephraim of Padua, and together their press issued, in addition to a variety of other works, important kabbalistic titles, such as Tikkunei Zohar, Ma’arekhet ha-Elohut with the commentary Minhat Yehudah, and the Zohar. Meir was succeeded, upon his death, by Ephraim ben David of Padua. Another Christian printer who permitted a Hebrew press to operate under his auspices was Francesco Filipponi and afterwards his sons, Filotarsi and Calidono. As Simonsohn notes, the books were printed in “‘his house,’” that is, the press, “also in the clock tower adjoining the building of the commune and next to that of Rufinelli.”37 Hebrew printing in Mantua received an impetus from the closing of the Hebrew presses in Ferrara in 1558 and Sabbioneta two years later. However, renewed competition from Venice resulted in a decline, if not a hiatus in Hebrew printing in Mantua, from 1564 to 1572. In that year, Amram informs, Meir ben Ephraim undertook to reprint Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah, obtaining a license from the Inquisitor of Mantua, Giovanni Battista di Milano. The project was not successful, however, three volumes only are reputed to have been printed, for first an outbreak of plague in Mantua took many lives, including those of Meir’s daughter and daughter-in-law, followed by an edict requiring Jews to wear the yellow star. Then Meir was imprisoned with neither notice nor trial, kept in solitary confinement from after Rosh Ha-Shanah until several days after Yom Kippur, and then released for lack of evidence. Elderly, his health now broken, Meir died after a lingering illness.38 A period followed in which printing was sporadic, the only work of import printed being R. Azariah de Rossi’s Me’or Einayim (1573–74), a controversial work banned by many rabbis and, therefore, not reprinted for more than two hundred years (Berlin, 1794). During this period Hebrew books were printed at the press of Tommaso Rufinelli. In Bologna the Hebrew press was founded by the company of silk weavers in 1536–37. It was the second Hebrew press in that city, the first in more than fifty years, following the incunabular press active from 1477 to 1482. That earlier press’s first book was Psalms 36 37 38

Shlomo Simonsohn, History of the Jews in the Duchy of Mantua ( Jerusalem, 1977), pp. 679–81 n. 366. Simonsohn, p. 682. Also see Amram, pp. 323–331. Amram, pp. 330–31.

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introduction with the commentary of R. David Kimhi, the first book printed from the Hebrew Bible. This second Hebrew printing press was established by the partners, who together formed the company of silkweavers. Although there is a lack of information as to the terms of the partnership, Amram suggests that perhaps their arrangement was analogous to that in Milan, where one partner cut type and prepared the ink while the others provided the financing. Rent for the print-shop was divided equally, but one-third of the profits went to the active partner, the remainder to the four financiers. Amram writes that the partnership was for a period of three years. One of the investors, acting as treasurer, was also responsible for such items as books, utensils, and manuscripts, receiving in return one copy of each book printed. The reader, copier, and corrector were compensated with copies of the books, which could not be sold below the market price. All partners had to be in agreement before beginning any undertaking, all their decisions were taken in secret, they could not have any connection to another press, and the partnership could be dissolved after three years, in which case the press would belong to the active partner.39 There is no way to know if the terms of this partnership paralleled that of the printers in Milan. The partners in Bologna, who simply identified themselves on the title pages as the company of silkweavers, were Menahem ben Abraham of Modena, Jehiel ben Solomon of Verona (Ravenna?), and Aryeh ben Solomon Hayyim of Monselice. They, with the assistance of R. Isaac ben Immanuel de Lattes of Rome, printed about ten titles, nine in Hebrew and one in Italian, between 1537 and 1541. Among them are R. Obadiah Sforno’s Or Ammim, Judah he-Hasid’s Sefer Hasidim, Joseph ibn Yahya’s Torah Or, Menahem Recanati’s Piskei Halakhot, the responsa of Solomon ibn Adret (Rashba), and several liturgical works, including a prayer book in Italian (Tefillot Latini ). After the Talmud was burned in Venice in 1554 there was a precipitous decline, if not a complete cessation, in the number of Hebrew books printed in Venice for several years. The breach was filled by presses in four cities, Ferrara, Sabbioneta, Cremona, and Riva di Trento. Printing in Ferrara had occurred as early as 1477 when Abraham ben Hayyim the Dyer (dei Tintori) of Pesaro printed R. Levi ben Gershom’s (Ralbag) commentary on Job, and, a month later, completed the Tur Yoreh De’ah begun by Abraham Conat in Mantua. Almost seventy-five years later printing resumed here when, in 1551, Samuel ibn Askara Zarefati of Pesaro, perhaps the same Samuel previously associated with the press at Rome and perhaps also a kinsman of Abraham Zarefati, then professor at the University of Ferrara, opened a print-shop, issuing about eight titles through 1552. Among those are Abrabanel’s Ma’yenei ha-Yeshu’ah, Jedaiah ha-Penini ben Abraham Bedersi’s Behinat Olam, Meir ben Jacob ibn Ja’ir’s Hilkhot ha-Re’ah, Hilkhot Shehita, and Rashi’s Likuttei ha-Pardes, Judah ben Solomon Harizi’s Reffu’ot Geviah, and Pitron Halomot attributed to Rav Hai Gaon. In 1553, the press passed to Abraham ibn Usque, with Zarefati now working for Usque as an editor; it is not unlikely that Usque was a founder of the press in 1551. Usque, born Duarte Pinel in Portugal, was suspected there of Judaizing. Fleeing that land in about 1543, Usque came to Ferrara, where he returned to Judaism. Usque, who had published Latin titles in Portugal, began printing in Ferrara

39

Amram, pp. 231–32.

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introduction with a Spanish Bible (Ferrara Bible, 1553) and, also that year, Samuel ibn Usque’s Portuguese language Consolaçam as tribulaçõens de Israel (Consolation for the Tribulations of Israel). He would issue more than twenty-five Hebrew titles in Ferrara before the press closed in 1558. Most, but not all of Usque’s imprints have as his printer’s mark an architectural frame with an astrolabe and anchor within the frame. The variety of books published by Usque include liturgical works, Bibles, halakhic works such as R. Menahem ibn Zerah’s Zedah la-Derekh (1554), the first and only unexpurgated edition of that book, R. Jonah Gerondi Ashkenazi’s (Rabbenu Yonah) Issur ve-Hetter, and Ishmael ha-Kohen Tanuji’s Sefer ha-Zikkaron; philosophical works such as R. Hasdai Crescas’s Or HaShem, Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov’s Sefer ha-Emunot, and Joseph ben Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov’s Kevod Elohim; kabbalistic works such as R. Perez ben Isaac’s Ma’arekhet haElohut and Abraham ben Judah Elmalik’s commentary on talmudic aggadah, Likkutei Shikhhah u-Fe’ah; ethical works such as R. Moses ben Nahman’s (Ramban) Sha’ar ha-Gemul, and more popular works such as Benjamin of Tudela’s Sefer ha-Massa’ot, and stories and fables, that is, R. Nissim Ibn Shahin of Kairouan’s (Rabbenu Nissim) Hibbur Yafeh me-haYeshu’ah. Among the books printed in Ferrara in 1556 is R. Jacob Fano’s Shiltei ha-Gibborim, a poetic work with satirical verses against women. Printed with this book is an elegy on the Marrano martyrs in Ancona, burned for Judaizing. Shiltei ha-Gibborim came to the attention of Cardinal Michele Ghislieri (later Pope Pius V), who, on account of the elegy, ordered the book burned and both the author and printer punished. The book was sent to the flames, so that it is exceedingly rare today, and the press closed, although it is not certain, given the independence of the Este family, dukes of Ferrara, if the Cardinal’s order was a factor in the closing of the press.40 Sabbioneta, in the duchy of Mantua, home to a relatively short-lived (1551–59) but distinguished Hebrew press, is remembered in Jewish history today only because of that press. In 1551, the same year that Abraham ibn Usque began to print in Ferrara, Duke Vespasian Gonzaga permitted R. Joseph ben Jacob Shalit Ashkenazi of Padua, and Jacob ben R. Naphtali ha-Kohen, both of whom had worked previously in Mantua, to establish a Hebrew print-shop at the home of R. Tobias ben Eliezer Foa. Although the Sabbioneta press is commonly associated with Foa, Joseph Shalit appears to initially have been the motivating force behind the press and, with other partners, the provider of necessary financial support. Tobias Foa is credited with providing only the physical quarters, Gonzaga’s patronage, and limited financial assistance. Also associated with the press were Cornelius Adelkind, Vincenzo Conti, and R. Joshua Boaz Baruch.41 The press’s first title was Abrabanel’s Mirkevet ha-Mishneh (1551), followed the next year by two additional titles, R. Isaac Arama’s Hazut Kashah, and Shimush Tehilim. These books note that they were printed by the partners. However, after completing these three works that phrase disappears from the title pages. Shalit left the press, a departure that some suggest was not amicable. Yaari points out, however, that Shalit continued to have an association with the press, for his name appears as an editor in R. Judah Lerma’s Lehem Yehudah (1554). From 1552 Foa is the principal at the press. Cornelius Adelkind, available with the closing of the Hebrew print-shops in Venice, joined the print-shop, his name appearing on

40

Amram, pp. 278–79; and Friedberg, Italy, pp. 27–28. Amram, pp. 288–92; Friedberg, Italy, pp. 76–80; and Avraham Yaari, “The Printers B’nei Foa,” in Studies in Hebrew Booklore ( Jerusalem, 1958), pp. 345–48 [Hebrew]. 41

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introduction either the title pages or colophons of the books printed at this time. Among these works are the Tur Even ha-Ezer with R. Joseph Caro’s Beit Yosef; Maimonides’ Moreh Nevukhim (1553), the last printing of that work for almost two hundred years, until the Jessnitz edition of 1742; and tractate Kiddushin (1554). This last work was perhaps intended as part of a complete Talmud, suggested by the existence of the Rosh and other Rishonim for six tractates (Eruvin, Pesahim, Yevamot, Ketubbot, Nedarim, and Gittin), so foliated as to indicate they were not printed as stand-alone works. Nevertheless, given the climate in Italy, with the burning of the Talmud, only Kiddushin was printed in Sabbioneta, and the last volume of the Babylonian Talmud to have been printed in Italy (Seder Nezikin of the Jerusalem Talmud was printed in Livorno in 1770). Also printed at this time are R. Joseph ha-Kohen’s Divrei ha-Yamim le-Malkhei Zarefat, R. Shem Tov ibn Shaprut Pardes Rimmonim on aggadah, R. Moses ibn Alashkar’s (Maharam Alashkar) responsa, Hilkhot Shehita u-Bedikah, parts of Hilkhot Rav Alfas, and R. Judah Lerma’s Lehem Yehudah, this last burned the year before (1553) in Venice. Including the above, about twelve titles were printed by Adelkind in Sabbioneta. He left the press in about 1554, perhaps due to his conversion. Whether he did in fact apostatize has been the subject of some debate, as well as the time that he did so, if in fact he did leave the religion of his fathers. The evidence today makes it most likely that Adelkind did convert. Yaari brings evidence in support of that position, including an article by A. Spinner, who reports that one Postel, a Christian theologian, writes that he is “traveling to the insignificant town of Sabbioneta, in the vicinity of Cremona, to see the Hebrew press there and the apostate Adelkind.”42 Adelkind’s place in the press was filled by Foa’s sons, Eliezer and Mordecai. Among the later works published by the Foa press are R. Jacob Moellin’s (Maharil) Sefer Maharil and his responsa, R. David ben Abraham of Modena’s Dabar Tov, and liturgical works (1556). The next year saw the publication of Abrabanel’s Ateret Zekenim and Rosh Amanah, Rashi’s Torah commentary, and R. Abraham Menahem ha-Kohen Rapa mi-Porto’s (Rapaport) Zafenat Pane’ah. In 1559, the press issued the Tur H. M. and Mishnayot Seder Zera’im and part of Mo’ed. This last work was completed in Mantua, for the press closed in 1559. By that time, the Hebrew press in Sabbioneta had published, including liturgical works and Pentateuchs, about fifty titles. The closure was brought about, as Amram, quoting de Rossi, reports, due to “anti-Christian statements in some of their publications, which finally brought down upon them the wrath of the church.”43 Amram also notes that several of their publications, particularly liturgical works, for example a prayer book for German Jews living in the Ottoman Empire, as well as in Italy, were intended for export. Printing briefly resumed in 1567, when Vincenzo Conti, who had been printing in Cremona, invited by Duke Gonzaga, opened a press in Sabbioneta. Conti only issued a small number of books before the press closed.44 These are mainly liturgical works, but also include Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer, R. Solomon ibn Verga’s Shevet Yehudah, and R. Menahem ibn Zerah’s Zeidah la-Derekh, this last the second and an expurgated edition, the basis for later editions.

42 Yaari, “The Printers B’nei Foa,” p. 349. For a summary of the various positions concerning Adelkind’s apostasy see Heller, Earliest Printed Editions, pp. 159–61. 43 Amram, pp. 292–93. 44 Meir Benayahu, Hebrew Printing at Cremona: Its History and Bibliography ( Jerusalem, 1971), pp. 21–22 [Hebrew] (hereafter Cremona).

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introduction Vincenzo Conti (d. 1569) only printed briefly in Sabbioneta. He is better known for his activity in Cremona, where his press was active from 1556 to 1567, issuing more than forty titles. Cremona was part of the Duchy of Milan, which in turn was part of the domain of Phillip II, king of Spain. Nevertheless, the authorities in Milan were of a relatively tolerant nature and allowed the press to operate. Conti, who gave his birthplace on his application to open a press in Cremona as Isola Dovarse, in the vicinity of Cremona, was in fact born in Verona and operated a press there. He later was resident in Venice, where he worked for the press at the Academy Pelligrini of G. F. Doni and perhaps also for Francesco Macolini. The initial privilege issued to Conti to print in Cremona was for Latin books, which he began to do in 1555. The following year, Conti began to print Hebrew books.45 Conti took great pride in his Hebrew books, having new fonts cast, rather than acquiring the worn letters from other presses, thus accounting for the clear and attractive look of his books, and employing skilled Jewish workers, such as R. Samuel Boehm and Zanvil Pescarol. Conti used cursive rabbinic (Rashi) type for the text of his earlier books, until the fonts were burned in 1559. Square letters were cast to replace them, thus distinguishing his earlier and later works. Forced to discontinue printing for about five years, Conti was able to reopen the press in 1565. He printed Hebrew titles for two years, briefly relocated to Sabbioneta, as noted above, and then returned to Cremona, where he again printed Latin but not Hebrew books. Benayahu suggests that Conti not only allowed his press to be used, but actually invested in the Hebrew books he printed in Cremona.46 Printing in Cremona began on an auspicious note, the books printed in the first years of the press being R. Isaac ben Joseph of Corbeil’s Amudei Golah (Sefer Mitzvot Katan, Semak), Jehiel ha-Rofe Anav’s Ma’alot ha-Middot, Ma’amar Haskel (attributed to R. Eliezer of Mainz, Raban), Jacob Moellin’s (Maharil) responsa, Samson ben Zadok’s Tashbez, and Elijah Gallena’s Toledot Adam. The press did not begin without coming under suspicion. Although nominally under the supervision of the local Inquisitor and the Archbishop, and with the apostate Vittoria Eliano on the staff, the press still attracted sufficient attention for the Inquisitor General in Rome, Cardinal Michael Ghislieri, to write to the Senate of Milan questioning the press’s activities and charging that the Talmud, burned elsewhere in Italy, was being printed in Cremona. An investigation found these charges to be spurious and Conti was allowed to continue printing Hebrew books. A reflection of the atmosphere in which Hebrew books were printed is the declaration in books printed in Cremona, the first location to bear such a remark, that objectionable phraseology does not refer to Christians but to idolaters.47 Among the many notable titles printed in the following years are R. Menahem Ziyyoni’s Sefer Ziyyoni, first printed in 1559, burned by the Inquisition, and reprinted in 1560, the first printing in rabbinic type, the second in square letters; an edition of the Zohar that was the preferred of the two editions by eastern European kabbalists, the other being the contemporary Mantua edition, R. Moses Isserles’ (Rema) Mehir Yayin, and Hezekiah ben Manoah’s Hizzekuni. In 1560, just before Rosh Ha-Shanah 5321, Conti completed an Ashke45

Benayahu, Cremona, pp. 13–15. Benayahu, Cremona, p. 15. 47 Amram, pp. 308–10; William Popper, The Censorship of Hebrew Books (1899, reprint New York, 1968), pp. 42–44; and Isaiah Sonne, “Expurgation of Hebrew Books-the Work of Jewish Scholars,” in Hebrew Printing and Bibliography (New York, 1976), p. 219. 46

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introduction naz rite mahzor. The next work attributed to the press is a Psalms with the commentary of R. David Kimhi, completed on 18 Iyyar 321 (Sunday, May 14, 1561). Printing then ceased for five years. Benayahu notes that although bibliographers attribute the Psalms to Cremona, it was in fact printed in its entirety in Riva di Trento, printing having already ceased in Cremona due to the obstacles placed before a Hebrew press, following the burning of Hebrew books there in 1559, a result of the general decree against Hebrew books in Italy that year. It has been suggested that in Cremona the necessary, as opposed to the sufficient cause was a dispute between R. Joseph ben Nathan Ottolenghi and Joshua dei Cantori, an apostate.48 Ottolenghi (d. 1570), originally of Ettlingen, in Baden, Germany, reflected in its Italianized form in his name, was rosh yeshivah at Cremona, and under his tutelage talmudic studies had continued in Cremona after that work had been banned and burned elsewhere. He assisted the press, providing indices and annotations to a number of works and assuring that material offensive to the church had been deleted from those books of value to his yeshiva. The details of his dispute with dei Cantori, knowledge of which is based on R. Joseph ha-Kohen’s Emek ha-Bakhah, are unknown. Ottolenghi’s role in the press, dei Cantori’s apostasy, and the dispute, are accepted by Sonne but questioned by Benayahu. When printing resumed in 1565 the press issued liturgical works and such works as R. Jacob di Illescas’ Imrei No’am, Jehiel ha-Rofe Anav’s Tanya, Judah Ibn Tibbon’s Ru’ah Hen, Solomon ibn Adret’s (Rashba) Torat ha-Bayit, and R. Jacob Moellin’s (Maharil) Sefer Maharil. As noted above, in 1567 Conti removed to Sabbioneta, but shortly after returned to Cremona. However, he did not again print Hebrew books. In 1576, Christopher Draconi, previously associated with Conti, attempted to publish Hebrew books in Cremona. Although he would issue Latin books until 1614, one Hebrew book only was printed at his press, R. Eliezer Ashkenazi’s Yosef Lekah. The Tyrolese town of Riva di Trento, better known for the Trent Blood Libel of 1475 and the Councils of Trent from 1545 to 1563, which formulated the Church’s response to the Reformation, is the source of an unusual episode in the history of the Hebrew book. It was for a short time, from 1558 to 1562, a refuge for the Hebrew book; one in which about forty Hebrew titles were printed. It was in Riva di Trento that Cardinal Cristoforo Madruzzo (1512–78), Cardinal of Trent, a scholar and supporter of learning, who argued at the Council of Trent (1562) for leniency and moderation in condemning books, became the patron and protector of a Hebrew press, which was also a source of revenue for him.49 The other founders of the press were R. Joseph Ottolenghi, noted above, and R. Jacob Marcaria, a dayyan on the bet din presided over by Ottolenghi and a physician, recruited by Madruzzo to help finance and play a role in the press. Marcaria edited and wrote brief prefaces for most of the books printed in Riva di Trento. The press was located in the house of Antonio Broën. The press’s books are variously attributed, in bibliographic sources, to these individuals rather than to one particular person. 48

Benayahu, Cremona, pp. 15–18, 53–58, 99–102; Joshua Bloch, “Hebrew Printing in Riva Di Trento,” in Hebrew Printing and Bibliography (New York, 1976), p. 98; and Sonne, p. 220. 49 On the Riva di Trento press see Amram, pp. 296–302; Bloch, “Hebrew Printing in Riva Di Trento,” pp. 89–110; and the introduction to the facsimile reprint of the 1560 Riva di Trento edition of Benjamin ben Abraham Anav’s Massa Gei Hizzayon ( Jerusalem, 1966), ed. S. U. Nahon, pp. xv–xviii [Hebrew with English introduction].

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introduction The first book published was likely R. Isaac ben Jacob Alfasi’s (Rif ) Sefer Rav Alfas, significant, apart from its inherent value, for the fact that its title pages bear the Cardinal’s coat of arms. Among the other titles printed that year are R. Meir ben Baruch of Rothenburg’s Birkot Maharam, Abraham Klausner’s Sefer ha-Minhagim, Mordecai ben Hillel ha-Kohen’s Sefer Rav Mordekhai, and Isaac Caro’s Toledot Yizhak. The books printed in the following years are primarily halakhic and philosophic works, among the former the responsa of R. Isaac ben Sheshet Perfet’s (Ribash) Teshuvot ha-Rav, in the latter group R. Meir Aldabi’s Shevilei Emunah, and Levi ben Gershom’s (Ralbag) Milhamot HaShem. A sample of the variety of books issued by the Riva press include a work on the Hebrew calendar, that is, Ebronot; a work on the grammatical portions of Rashi’s Torah commentary, Dikdukei Rashi; an ethical satire, R. Benjamin Anav’s Massa Gei Hizzayon; a kabbalistic work on the Sefirot, R. Joseph Gikatilla’s Sha’arei Orah; and a supercommentary on Rashi, R. Israel Isserlein’s (Terumat haDeshen) Be’urim. Cardinal Madruzzo was succeeded as Cardinal in Riva by his nephew, Ludowic Madruzzo, in 1561. As he was less tolerant than his uncle, the press ceased to print Hebrew books the following year. Those books already in press were completed elsewhere. Among the small presses that issued books in Italy are those of Padua and Verona. In the former location two Hebrew books only were published in the sixteenth century, at the press of Lorenzo Pasquato, by R. Samuel Boehm. The Padua titles are R. Meir ibn Gabbai’s Derekh Emunah (1562) and R. Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov’s Derashot ha-Torah (1567). The Hebrew and Yiddish books in Verona were printed at the press of Francesco dalle Donne by Abraham Bath-Sheba. Less than ten titles are known for certain from this press, the majority in Yiddish, a fact that makes the press unique, according to Chone Shmeruk, it being the only Hebrew press in Italy in which the majority of books were in Yiddish rather than in Hebrew. The Hebrew titles printed in Verona are R. Abraham Menahem mi-Porto’s Minhah Belulah (1594), and Midrash Tanhuma (1595). Among the Yiddish titles are liturgical (ma’amadot) and secular (Paris un Viene) works, and moralistic fables (Kuhbukh).50

II Hebrew printing north of the Alps did not begin in a serious manner until the sixteenth century. As H. Zafren observes, “at first the Hebrew consisted of only a few words here and there, often in woodcut, not moveable type.”51 Initially, the books printed in Switzerland and Germany with Hebrew letters were for Christian Hebraists, and only later did some presses also print books for a Jewish market. This is the case in Basle, where the earliest usage of Hebrew is found in two works printed in 1492. The first work is Jerome’s (Eusebius Hieronymus) Hieronymi Epistolae, printed by Nicholas Kessler, in which the first words of Genesis have an Albrecht Dürer woodcut. The second work is Ambrosius’ Opera omnia, printed by Johann Amerbach, the second volume of which has a complete Hebrew alphabet on the margin of Psalm 118, also from a woodcut.52 50 Concerning the Hebrew press in Padua see my, “‘There were in Padua almost as many Hebrew printers as Hebrew books.’” For Verona see my, “A Little Known Chapter in Hebrew Printing: Francesco dalle Donne and the beginning of Hebrew Printing in Verona in the Sixteenth Century,” The Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America 94:3 (New York, N.Y., 2000), pp. 333–46. On the Yiddish imprints see, Chone Shmeruk, “Yiddish Printing in Italy,” Italia III (1982), var. cit. [Hebrew]. 51 Herbert C. Zafren, “Hebrew Printing by and for Frankfurt Jews—to 1800,” in Jüdische Kultur in Frankfurt am Main von den Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart, ed. Karl E. Grözinger (Wiesbaden, 1997), p. 233 52 Printing in Basle dates from about 1468. Berthold Ruppel of Hanau, possibly associated with Gutenberg or Fust and one of the printers driven out of Mainz when that city was sacked in 1462, an identification that

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introduction Among the printers who published books with varying degrees of Hebrew are Michael Isengrin and Henricus Petri. It was Petri’s press which, in the 1530s through 1550s, printed the books with Hebrew letters in Basle. These Hebrew/Latin books are mostly biblical volumes and grammatical works, several by Sebastian Muenster. On occasion Petri also printed other Hebrew/Latin books, such as Josippon (1541), Sefer Tuvia (1542), and Abraham ben Hiyya’s Sefer Zurat ha-Arez (1546). It is the Froben family, however, that had the most significant role in the printing of Hebrew books in Basle. Johannes Froben (1460–1527), who had learned the printers’ trade by Johann Amerbach, and first worked in partnership with Johann Petri and Amerbach, printed his first book, an octavo Latin Bible, in 1491. In 1516 (dated September 1 of that year) he published his first Hebrew title, Hieronymus’ Opera, in nine volumes with, in the appendix to volume VIII, the Quadruplex Psalterium, containing the Hebrew and Greek text as well as Jerome’s translations into Latin.53 Johannes Froben published as many as 250 titles, among them Hebrew/Latin books of the Bible and grammatical works, primarily works by Muenster but also by R. Abraham ibn Ezra and Elijah Levita (Bahur). Decorative borders used by Froben on his Latin title pages appear later on the title pages of Hebrew books issued by the Froben press. For example, the frame with numerous cherubim in various poses, cut by Hans Holbein, used on such Latin works as De optimo Reipublicae and Martin van Dorp’s commentary on St. Paul’s Epistles (1516), was reused with Muenster’s Dictionarium Chaldaicum (1527) and much later, in 1602, on R. Solomon ben Mordecai of Meseritz’s Mizbe’ah ha-Zahav and Moses Ben Hanokh Altshuler’s Brendt Shpiegel, both printed by Konrad Waldkirch. Similarly, the frame, also with numerous cherubim, used by Froben on Erasmus’s Epigrammata (1516), was later used on the title page of R. Jacob ben Isaac Luzzatto’s Kaftor va-Ferah (1580). Johannes died in October, 1527, being succeeded by his son Hieronymus, later joined by his brother-in-law, Nicholas Episcopius. They published, in 1536, the Bible with Muenster’s glosses, individual books of the Bible with texts in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, and Hebrew/Latin grammatical works. Among the latter group is a Hebrew/Latin dictionary of the Christian-Hebraist Johann Foster (Foester), Dictionarium hebraicum novum (1557; 1564), unusual in that it omits rabbinic sources, excepting infrequent references to Rashi, and its pronounced polemical and negative attitude towards rabbinic scholarship. Both Froben and Episcopius died in 1564, leaving the firm to Hieronymus’s sons, Ambrosius and Aurelius, the firm being managed by Ambrosius.54 They continued the practice of printing Muenster’s and Levita’s works for Christian theologians, with Latin introductions and translations. However, at the end of the 1570’s Ambrosius Froben began to print Hebrew books for Jews. This was brought about by a meeting between Froben and R. Simeon Guenzburg (Simon zur Gemze) of Frankfurt at the Frankfurt on the Main book fair in 1577. The latter, having secured rabbinic permission to print an edition of the Talmud without those portions that might be considered offensive to Christians and not of halakhic content,

has been challenged, issued Moralia in librum Job, undated but with the notation 1468 written in. A. F. Johnson, The First Century of Printing at Basle (New York, 1926), p. 6; and Douglas C. McMurtrie, The Book. The Story of Printing & Bookmaking (1943, reprint New York, 1989), p. 187. 53 Alexander Marx, “Hebrew Type in non-Hebrew Books,” in Studies in Jewish History and Booklore (New York, 1944), pp. 334–335. 54 Ch. B. Friedberg, History of Hebrew Typography of the following Cities in Europe: Amsterdam, Antwerp, Avignon, Basle, Carlsruhe, Cleve, Coethen, Constance, Dessau, Deyhernfurt, Halle, Isny, Jessnitz, Leyden, London, Metz, Strasbourg, Thiengen, Vienna, Zurich. From its beginning in the year 1516 (Antwerp, 1937), pp. 2–3 [Hebrew].

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introduction approached Froben, pointing out to him the commercial advantages of such an enterprise. Froben concurred and secured permission from the Basle city council to proceed with the project, in a manner consistent with the Council of Trent’s strictures, which permitted the printing of an expurgated edition of the Talmud. A request for a residence permit for a Jew to supervise the work—Jews were not permitted residence in Basle—was submitted and approved, a necessity as Froben’s compositors were not sufficiently well versed in Hebrew for a project of this scale. The master printer engaged by Froben was Israel ben Daniel Zifroni, an experienced printer who had worked previously for Vincenzo Conti in Cremona and Sabbioneta and would work afterwards for the Di Gara press in Venice. In Basle Zifroni not only worked on the Basle Talmud (1578–81), but also on several other books published by Froben, such as R. Moses ben Nahman’s (Nahmanides) Iggeret ha-Kodesh, R. Ephraim Luntshits’ Ir Gibborim, R. Judah he-Hasid’s Sefer Hasidim (1580), and R. Jacob Luzzatto’s Kaftor va-Ferah (Luzzatto was employed at the press as a corrector). The following year additional Hebrew titles were published, among them R. Mordecai Nathan’s Me’ir Nativ and Menahem Recanati’s Ta’amei ha-Mitzvot (1581).55 Zifroni’s last title in Basle was not printed at Froben’s press, but rather at the press of Thomas Guarin. It was a Pentateuch in Yiddish (1583). Froben, either due to rumors that he had converted to Catholicism or because he wished to print titles for that religion, not permitted in Basle, relocated to Freiburg-im-Breisgau, in Baden, Germany. He was joined there by Zifroni, where, in 1583–84 they issued five or six Hebrew and Yiddish titles, among them R. Aaron of Pesaro’s Toledot Aharon, Jacob Koppelman’s Ohel Ya’akov, the Targum of the Megillot and Targum Sheni to Megillat Esther, and Berechiah ha-Nakdan’s Mishlei Shu’alim. Froben was not the only printer of Hebrew titles in Basle. We have already mentioned Thomas Guarin. More important was Konrad Waldkirch, whose employees included the brothers Hans Jakob and Vecelina Hene, expert typesetters, and Isaac Eckerdorf from Alsweiler, as proofreader. He began printing with a prayer book (1581), a kinnot (c. 1589), acquired Froben’s Hebrew typographic material, including Holbein’s illustrations, and began to issue a greater volume of Hebrew titles. Among the Hebrew books issued by Waldkirch are R. Isaac Tyrnau’s Minhagim (1598), R. Samuel Edels’ (Maharsha) Hiddushim, and R. Isaac ben Meir of Dueren’s Sha’arei Dura (1599), as well as smaller works and prayer books. Waldkirch’s press closed in 1612, by which time he had published almost sixty Hebrew titles.56 Elsewhere in Switzerland, occasional presses printed Hebrew books in Geneva and Zurich. In the former location, Robert Estienne (Stephanus), having fled there to accept Protestantism, printed several books of the Bible. In Zurich, an illustrated edition of Josippon and R. Jonah Gerondi’s (Rabbenu Yonah) Sefer ha-Yirah (1546) were published, followed by Yiddish editions of Psalms (1558, 1599).

III Print shops in France, the Netherlands, and in greater number in Germany, usually associated with universities, that printed Hebrew and Hebrew/Latin books did so primarily

55 Friedberg, Hebrew Typography . . . Basle, p. 3; A. M. Habermann, “The Printer Israel Zifroni and his son Elishama,” in Studies in the History of Hebrew Printers ( Jerusalem, 1978), pp. 223–25, 234–46; and C. W. Heckethorn, The Printers of Basle in the 15th and 16th Centuries (London, 1897), p. 130. 56 Friedberg, Hebrew Typography . . . Basle, pp. 6–7.

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introduction for Christian Hebraists or Christian academics rather than for the Jewish market. The books they printed are mainly published Bibles or grammars, or both. In Paris, Aegidius Gourmont printed Tissard’s Hebrew grammar followed by a Hebrew alphabet and then quarto (Hebrew/Latin) editions of R. Moses Kimhi’s Dikduk, Ruth and Lamentations (1520) and Isaiah (1529), and Gérard Morrhe published the Song of Songs (1531). Latin translations of Hebrew works were published in Paris, most notably, according to De Rossi, a translation by Jacob Mantino, a philosopher and physician, of Maimonides’ Moreh Nevukhim (1520). Gulielmus Morelius issued a small number of works, among them a Latin edition of Rav Hai Gaon’s Musar Haskel (1559) and Seder Olam Zuta (1572). Robert Estienne (Stephanus), the leading French printer of the sixteenth century, published Hebrew editions of the Bible in several formats. Antwerp was an important printing center, beginning with the arrival of Christopher Plantin (c. 1520–89) from Paris in 1549. Plantin, using twenty-two presses by 1576, was responsible for more than 2,000 publications in Antwerp and Leiden, making him the most productive printer/publisher of his time.57 Originally a bookbinder, he began to print books in 1555. Of those, more than thirty titles, biblical books and grammatical works, have significant Hebrew content. Most impressive is his Royal Polyglot, the Biblia Sacra hebraice, chaldaice, graece et latine . . . (1569–72), printed in eight volumes for Phillip II of Spain. Prior to that, however, he published a Biblia Hebraica (1566) in three formats, a one volume 40, a two volume 80, and a four volume 160. Among the grammars is a Hebrew dictionary (1564) edited by an apostate, Joannes Isaac, based on the Lexicon hebraicum of Sante Pagnini. Isaac had, it seems, prepared a Hebrew grammar earlier (1554), for which he was paid 100 copies as royalties, apparently a common practice.58 We have already noted the use of catalogues by Daniel Bomberg. Plantin has been described as being “among the first publishers to make extensive use of catalogues which he distributed and frequently reprinted,” for example, in 1566, 1567, 1568, 1575, and 1584. Many of Plantin’s catalogues were for distribution to booksellers at the Frankfort book fair. A large market for Plantin’s Hebrew Bible of 1566 were the Jews of North Africa, that Bible being “much in demand by scholars in Morocco.” The books were sold by Jan Rademaker, the Barbary coast agent for the wealthy Antwerp merchant and shipowner Gilles Hooftman.59 Among the entries in Plantin’s catalogue of 1575 is a “‘Biblia Hebraica’ (in Hebrew), octavo, 125 leaves . . . 45 sous.” This compares with both pocket and octavo classics, 6 and 4 sheets respectively, each at 1 sou, Virgil, at 3 florins, 5 sou and the Bible Royale, at 70 florins, 60 to dealers.60 It is not known if this Biblia Hebraica is the aforementioned Bible sold to the Jews of Morocco. Another feature of Plantin’s business operations is his use of a sophisticated cost accounting system, introduced by Cornelius von Bomberghen, “whose great uncle Daniel had probably picked up a double-entry system as a master printer in Venice.”61 In the Netherlands, we find Hebrew letters first employed by Dirck van Borne in Johannes Cellarius’ Opuscula quattuor (Deventer, 1517), where there is a single wood cut

57 Friedrich Friedl, Nicolaus Ott, and Bernard Stein, Typography. An Encyclopedic Survey of Type Design and Techniques Throughout History (New York, 1998), pp. 431–32. 58 Colin Clair, Christopher Plantin (London, 1960), p. 61; William Dana Orcutt, Master Makers of Books (Garden City & New York, 1928) p. 126. Concerning Isaac see Clair, pp. 255–56 n. 7. 59 Clair, pp. 203–04. 60 Geo. Haven Putnam, Books and Their Makers During the Middle Ages II (1896–97, reprint New York, 1962), p. 279. 61 Elizabeth L. Eisenstein, The Printing Press as an Agent of Change (Cambridge, 1982), p. 383.

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introduction representation of the Hebrew alphabet. Similarly, Johannes van Westfalen used Hebrew letters, also cut from wood, in Paulus of Middleburg’s Epistola apologetica (Louvain, c. 1488). Hebrew type was first used by Dirck Maertinsz van Aelst in Johannes Campensis’ Libellus de natura literarum et punctorum Hebraicarum (Louvain, 1528). Printing in the Netherlands on a continuous basis, however, only begins with the transfer by Christopher Plantin of his press from Antwerp to Leiden in 1583, bringing eight different Hebrew fonts with him. Plantin was succeeded in 1585 by his son-in-law, Franciscus Raphelengius (d. 1597), who, the following year, was appointed printer to the University. Three Hebrew fonts used by him are the Bomberg fonts used earlier by Plantin in Antwerp. The Fuks note that Hebrew books were only a small part of the press’s publication, for of 730 works printed from 1583 to 1619, only 30 were in Hebrew. What were the Hebrew books printed in Leiden? Plantin printed only one book before returning to Antwerp, the Hebrew grammar of Petrus Martinus, edited by Johannes Drusius (1585), a reprint of the Paris edition of Martin Iuvenis (1580). Raphelengius, who now administered the press, and his son Christopher after him, printed an additional seventeen Hebrew/Latin titles through 1599. These books are almost entirely grammars, dictionaries and books of the Bible, including Psalters with interlinear Latin translations (1592, 1595).62 In Germany we find a number of presses that issued books with Hebrew letters, almost all for Christian-Hebraists rather than for a Jewish market, and at presses generally associated with a university. The books printed in these locations, and more often than not there are only a small number of titles with Hebrew content, are generally biblical books, grammars, and lexicons, often with or in Latin translation. For example, in Cologne, about ten books with Hebrew letters—excepting polemic pieces related to the Pfefferkorn-Reuchlin controversy and printed with woodcut Hebrew letters (1509)—were printed between 1515–1571, beginning with a polyglot Psalms (Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and Chaldean, 1518), edited by Johann Potkin. Other books include Hebrew titles with Latin translations. Almost no Hebrew printing occurs in the two Frankforts, although both would later be home to important Hebrew presses. Nevertheless, four of the nine books issued in 1511–12 by Beatus Murner, the first printer in Frankfort on the Main, are of Jewish interest, three of them with woodcut Hebrew letters. Among them is Ritus, that is, a Latin translation of the Haggadah, the other three translations into Latin or German of Birkat ha-Mazon (1512), one without Hebrew.63 In Frankfort on the Oder a small number of books were issued, beginning with a Bible (1595). In Hagenau, the works of the humanist, Johannes Reuchlin, were printed by Thomas Anshelm, that is, de arte cabalistica (1517) and De accentibus et orthographia linguae hebraicae (1518). R. Moses Kimhi’s Dikduk appeared the following year. Anshelm, a German engraver and printer, first printed in Basle from 1485, worked in Strasbourg (1487, 1488), Pforzheim (1500–10), Tübingen (1511–17) and Hagenau (1516–22). He was the first German printer to successfully employ Hebrew types, likely based on Italian models. In Hamburg a small number of biblical books were printed, most notably a Biblia Sacra (1587), entitled Derekh ha-Kodesh, in which the roots of words are highlighted, known as the Hutter Bible, after its editor, Elias Hutter. Two books are known from Mainz, a Psalms (1523) and a mahzor (1584), the former with Latin, the latter, Orden de Ros hashan y kipur,

62 Fuks, L. and R. G. Fuks-Mansfeld. Hebrew Typography in the Northern Netherlands 1585–1815 I (Leiden, 1984), pp. 11–27. 63 Zafren, p. 233.

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introduction translado en Español. . . .64 Here too, the earliest book with Hebrew letters was one in which those letters were woodcuts, that is, Bernhardus de Breydenbach’s Peregrinato in terram sanctam (1486). Only one book is credited to Tubingen, a Psalms (1512) with German translation. In contrast, more than twenty titles were printed in Wittenberg from 1521 to 1592, beginning with the book of Obadiah and concluding in 1592 with the book of Ruth. In Worms, one book, made up of Sebastian Muenster’s translation of Maimonides’ Shelosh Esrei Ikkarim and Abraham ibn Daud’s (Rabad I) Divrei ha-Bayit Sheni (1529) were issued by the press of Petrus Schoeffer. Two print shops, in Augsburg and Isny, issued Hebrew books of Jewish interest. Hebrew letters, reproduced from woodcuts, appear in books printed in Augsburg in the incunabular period. Most bibliographies of Hebrew printing in Augsburg, however, begin with the apostate Johannes Pfefferkorn’s Der Judenfeind (1509) and two other anti-Jewish works that year. Other anti-Semitic books by apostates published in Augsburg include the works of Victor von Carben (1511) and Anton Margarita (Der Gantz Juedisch Glaub, 1530).65 More positive works of Jewish interest are the translation, by Paulus Ricius, also an apostate, of R. Joseph Gikatilla’s Sha’arei Orah (1515) and the works of Johann Boeschenstein (1472–1540), professor of Hebrew at the University of Wittenberg, who wrote several books on Hebrew grammar, as well as translating and publishing R. Moses Kimhi’s Sefer Dikduk (1520). The printing of Hebrew books in a significant manner begins with the arrival of Hayyim ben David Shahor (Schwartz), among the pioneers of Hebrew printing outside of Italy, in Augsburg. Shahor had worked previously in Prague, perhaps as early as 1512 on the prayer book, the first title printed in that city, and is known to have worked on the famed Pesah Haggadah of 1526. Shahor left Prague that year after a royal privilege (monopoly) was granted to Gershom Kohen. He went first to Oels, Silesia, printing a Pentateuch, completed Friday, 5 Av 290 (August 8, 1530) in partnership with David ben Jonathon. The print shop was destroyed in a terrible storm and Shahor left Oels, coming to Augsburg in about 1533/34, where he likely joined with a non-Jewish printer, perhaps August Wind, a printer of Hebrew works for Christian clergymen. In 1534 Shahor issued a siddur, Haggadah, Iggerot Shelomim, and Rashi’s Torah commentary, this last completed Tuesday, 14 Tevet, in the year Hayyim bar David dywd rb μyyj (294 = January 11, 1534, a Thursday) and an Ashkenaz rite selihot and mahzor (1536). Although their names are not mentioned in these works it seems likely that his son, Isaac, and his son-in-law, Joseph ben Yakar, assisted him at the press.66 Approximately six weeks after completing the selihot on Friday, June 23, 1536, Hayyim left for Italy. It is not known whether his primary purpose in leaving was to sell his books, raise funds to continue printing, or as a result of the enforcement of restrictive laws passed against the Jews of Augsburg on August 3, 1536. Nevertheless, because he did sell books while in Italy, we know the price of his mahzor. Moses N. Rosenfeld reports that a

64 A. E. Cowley, A Concise Catalogue of the Hebrew Printed Books in the Bodleian Library (Oxford, 1929; reprint 1971), p. 555. 65 Aron Freimann, “A Gazetteer of Hebrew Printing,” (New York, 1946, reprinted in Hebrew Printing and Bibliography, New York, 1976, p. 270); and Mosche N. Rosenfeld, Der Jüdische Buchdruck in Augsburg in der Ersten Hälfte des 16. Jahrhunderts (London, 1985), pp. 13–14, 19–20, 31–32 nos. 1–3, 5–6, 34–36. 66 Ch. B. Friedberg, History of Hebrew Typography of the following Cities in Central Europe: Altona, Augsberg, Berlin, Cologne, Frankfort M., Frankfort O., Fürth, Hamberg, Hanau, Heddernheim, Homberg, Ichenhausen, Neuwied, Wandsbeck, and Wilhermsdorf. Offenbach, Prague, Sulzbach, Thannhausen from its beginning in the year 1513 (Antwerp, 1935), pp. 29–31 [Hebrew]; A. M. Habermann, “The Printer Hayyim Shahor, his Son Isaac and Son-in-law Joseph Yakar,” in Studies, pp. 103–07, 115–16; and Rosenfeld, Augsburg, p. 15.

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introduction handwritten entry by the purchaser of the mahzor states, “Bought from R. Chaim Shachor (sic) here in Mantua for 10 Reinisch, today, the 18th Av 296 (August 5, 1536 [Gregorian August 15, 1536]). Samson b. Jacob ha-Cohen.”67 Shahor explored the possibility of printing in Ferrara, the domain of the liberal Duke Ercole, with R. Isaac of Gunzberg, and an apostate, Paulus Aemilus, as their non-Jewish partner. Isaac of Gunzberg hoped to publish an edition of the Talmud but, after eight months and seventy gulden, nothing came of their plans.68 Hayyim Shahor returned to Augsburg in 1540, printing three books, Avkat Rokhel, Arba’ah Turim and a prayer book. Once again, legislation (August, 1541), and a lawsuit by Aemilus, resulting from their failed venture, forced Shahor and his family to cease publication. They moved, briefly, to Ichenhausen, issuing a Pentateuch and a prayer book, both with Yiddish (1544), and then relocated to Heddernheim, where they printed R. Naphtali Hertz Treves’ Naftulei Elohim Niftalti (Simanim al Hiddushei Bahya), and a selihot (1546). After Hayyim Shahor died, the family settled in Lublin. The fonts used by Shahor in Augsburg passed to Elijah Levita, who, in Augsburg at the time, was the proofreader for and wrote a letter in praise of the Turim. The Augsburg type is evident in works Levita printed in Isny. Aemilus, seeing a market in Augsburg for Hebrew/Yiddish books, began to print on his own account. He issued a small number of titles, most notably the Melokhim Bukh (1543), and the Shmuel Bukh (1544), Yiddish poetical renditions of the books of Kings and Samuel. Also printed at this time was a Yiddish Pentateuch. Aemilus printed a Latin translation of the Shmuel Bukh in Ingolstadt (1562), making no mention of his previous Yiddish edition.69 Almost twenty Hebrew, Hebrew/Latin and Yiddish titles were printed in Isny from 1540 to 1542 at the press established by Paulus Fagius (1504–1549). Fagius (Buechelin in German, 1504–1549), a pastor, Christian-Hebraist, humanist, and disciple of Reuchlin, was also a student of Hebrew. His primary teacher of that language was the renowned R. Elijah Levita (Bahur). Fagius, professor of Hebrew at Strasbourg and later appointed to Cambridge (he died shortly after arriving in England), translated a number of Hebrew books into Latin, among them several of Levita’s works. Levita, at the time that the press was established, was a proofreader for Bomberg; he was invited by Fagius to join him in Isny as director of the press. The offer was accepted, for Levita was having great difficulty finding a publisher for his dictionaries, while Fagius saw in them a valuable tool for ChristianHebraists. Levita, who had been in Augsburg, brought typographical material from the Augsburg press, apparent in the Isny imprints. Many of the dictionaries printed in Isny, such as Tishbi, are in two editions, with and without Latin. In addition to Levita’s dictionaries, his Buovo d’Antona (Bove-Bukh), a Yiddish adaptation of the popular Anglo-French romance Sir Bevis of Hampton, here rendered from the Italian Buovo d’Antona, was also issued by Fagius. Other books printed in Isny are Avot, Orhot Zaddikim, Psalms with the commentary of R. David Kimhi, and the Alphabet of Ben Sira. In 1543, Fagius, invited to the University of Strasbourg, relocated the press in Konstanz (Constance). Together with Levita, Fagius issued three titles in that city, Genesis (Latin/Yiddish), a Pentateuch (Yiddish, 1533), and Psalms with the commentary of the Radak (1534).70 A Hebrew press was briefly active in Thiengen, operated by Eliezer and Joseph ben Naphtali Hertz Treves. They issued six books in 1560, before being forced to close by a 67

Rosenfeld, Augsburg, p. 15. Amram, pp. 287–88; Habermann, “The Printer Hayyim Shahor,” pp. 105–06; and Rosenfeld, Augsburg, p. 17. 69 Rosenfeld, Augsburg, p. 17. 70 A. M. Habermann, “The Printer Paulus Fagius and the books of his Press,” in Studies, pp. 149–53, 163. 68

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introduction meeting of the leaders, both Protestant and Catholic, of the Swiss Confederation in June, 1560, who feared that they were about to print the Talmud.71 By that time they had issued six books, R. Simeon ben Samuel’s Adam Sikhli, Begidat ha-Zman, attributed to Mattathias; Tappuhei Zahav or Yesod Shirim, also known as Midrash ha-Ne’lam to the Zohar Hadash on the Book of Ruth; Malah ha-Arez De’ah; Malchial Hezekiah ben Abraham’s Malchial; and Shir ha-Yihud with the commentary of Yom Tov Lipmann Muelhausen. Another short-lived press existed in Thannhausen, Bavaria, where a zultot (supplementary festival prayers) and mahzor were printed in the last decade of the sixteenth century.

IV Prague, for many centuries accounted among the first cities of European Jewry, could attribute its prominence to its large Jewish population, distinguished rabbinic leadership, noted yeshivot, and central location. It was in Prague, capital of Bohemia, that the first Hebrew press was established north of the Alps by R. Meir ben David Michtam (scribe), Solomon ben Samuel ha-Levi, Mordecai ben Eliezer, and Shemaryah ben David, financed by R. Isaiah ben Asher ha-Levi Horowitz and Jekuthiel ben Isaac Dan known as Zalman Bumslau. Their first imprint, the first Hebrew book printed in Prague, was an Ashkenaz rite prayer-book, completed Erev Shabbat, Erev Hanukkah (24 Kislev), “hide yourself for a little while [gr (273 = December 13, 1512), until the wrath has passed” (Isaiah 26:20). This volume, a quarto in format, includes a Haggadah, Pirkei Avot, and Hoshanot, but not grace after meals, and is today exceedingly rare.72 This would be followed by a Pentateuch (Hamishah Homshei Torah), begun in 1514 but not completed until 1518, a Birkat ha-Mazon (grace after meals, 40, 49f.) in 1514, now extant as a unicum, and two prayer books, one Ashkenaz rite, the other Ashkenaz-Polish rite.73 The composition of the printers was now modified, three of the original group having departed, only Meir ben David remaining, joined by R. Gershom ben Solomon haKohen (Katz), Meir ben Jacob ha-Levi Epstein and Hayyim ben David Shahor. In 1527, Gershom ha-Kohen applied for and received a royal privilege from King Ferdinand of Bohemia, allowing him, that is Gershom alone, to enjoy a monopoly on Hebrew printing in Prague. His descendants, known as the Gersonides, continued to print in Prague until the mid-seventeenth century. Another result of that monopoly was that Hayyim Shahor, another of the peripatetic pioneers of Hebrew printing, left Prague. In the interim additional prayer books were printed, by the partners together and separately, and, in 1526, the famed Prague Haggadah appeared. Gershom Kohen, together with his brother Gronem and after his sons, Solomon, Mordecai, Moses, and Judah, primarily printed prayer books and mahzorim, but also issued another Pentateuch (1530) and, an edition of the Tur Orah Hayyim with the glosses of R. Abraham of Prague (1540). Gershom died in 1544. Shortly afterwards, his son Moses submitted a petition to Ferdinand

71 Stephen G. Burnett, “The Regulation of Hebrew Printing in Germany 1555–1630” in Infinite Boundaries: Order, Disorder and Reorder in early Modern German Culture, ed. M. Reinhart & T. Robisheux, Sixteenth Century Essays and Studies, no. 40 (Kirksville, 1998), pp. 329–30. 72 The first non-Hebrew book, a Psalter, was printed in Prague in 1487. Concerning the first decades of Hebrew printing in Prague, see Leopold Zunz, Geschichte und Literatur (Berlin, 1845), 261–303; Friedberg, Central Europe, pp. 1–29; and Charles Wengrow, Haggadah and Woodcut (New York, 1967), 9–23. 73 Concerning the Birkat ha-Mazon see, Grace After Meals. Birkat ha-Mazon. Facsimile of the 1514 Edition with Foreword by Jack V. Lunzer, and introductions from Chimen Abramsky and Bed®ich Nosek (Verona, 1984).

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introduction for the privilege previously granted his father, a request granted in 1545. In addition to liturgical works Moses printed R. Jacob Weil’s Shehitah u-Vedikah (1549), followed by a hiatus in the work of the press due to the unsettled condition of Prague Jewry, subject to expulsion, resuming in 1553 with several books of the Bible in Yiddish translation. There was another brief hiatus in printing, and then the press, now under the direction of Mordecai and his sons, began to print again, sporadically, with a new confirmation of their privileges from Emperor Maximilian. In 1570, the press, now headed by Mordecai ben Gershom Katz and his brothers, printed R. Moses Isserles’s (Rema) Torat ha-Olah (1570), followed by R. Moses Altshuler’s Yiddish ethical work, Brendt Spiegel (1572). After another period of inactivity, Sefer ha-Maggid (1576) appeared, followed by R. Judah Loew ben Bezalel’s (Maharal) Gur Aryeh (1578–79). In 1581 the press issued the classic anonymous ethical work, Orhot Zaddikim, and R. Solomon Luria’s (Maharshal) Menorat Zahav Tohor. In the next two decades addition liturgical works as well as a greater variety of titles were published. Among them are ethical books, additional works of the Maharal, derashot, several books by R. Isaac Chajes, among them Si’ah Yizhak (1587) on the laws of Passover in rhyme, She’elot u’Teshuvot ha-Geonim (1590), R. David Gans’s historical chronicle, Zemah David (1592), R. Jacob Pollack’s Pesak al Agunah (1594), and Pethahiah ben Jacob of Regensburg’s medieval travel narrative, Sibbuv (1595). By this time the press was under the management of the next generation of the Gersonides, most notably Solomon Katz, who had renewed the royal privilege in 1590, and his son Moses. Under their management the press issued a larger number of books than previously. It was not until 1605 that another press opened in Prague, that of Jacob Bak. Nevertheless, the Gersonides continued to print independently until 1784, when their press merged with that of Bak’s descendants, as the firm of Bak and Katz.

V Two great Hebrew printing centers existed in Poland, Cracow and Lublin. Printing began in that land, however, in a less-than-auspicious manner. The first press, in Cracow, was that of the brothers Samuel, Asher, and Eliakim ben Hayyim Halicz. It is assumed, based on their fonts and the composition of their books, that they learned their craft at the Prague press of Gershom ben Solomon Kohen. Their first books were, perhaps, a Pentateuch, Tur Y. D. (1530), and a Haggadah (1531), works no longer extant. More certain is the Sha’arei Dura of R. Isaac ben Meir of Dueren, completed, according to the colophon, on Wednesday, 28 Iyyar 294 (May 23, 1534). The Halicz brothers’ other titles include Arba’ah Turim (1534); Mirkevet ha-Mishneh (1534); Azhorot Nashim, and a Yiddish edition of Orhot Hayyim (1535); and Tur O. H. and Y. D. (1538/39), and other small works. Although the Halicz’s first titles were well done and attractive, the press was not successful. The first consequence of the brothers’ financial difficulties was that Asher left the press. Eliakim and Samuel continued publishing, issuing the above-mentioned Azhorot Nashim by R. David ha-Kohen Shapira. It is a small work (38f., 154 × 108 mm.) in Yiddish on the three mitzvot of women, extant today as a unicum.74 In that same year Eliakim began to

74 The three mitzvot of women are the separating of Hallah, the Friday evening lighting of Sabbath candles, and observing the laws of family purity (Niddah), based on Shabbat 31a, which states “For three transgressions woman die in childbirth. Because they are not observant [of the laws] of Niddah, Hallah, and lighting of Sabbath

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introduction publish independently, while Samuel joined his brother-in-law, Eliezer ben Samuel, in Oels, Silesia, where they printed a large-type prayer book. Samuel returned to Cracow after the Oels press was destroyed in a fire. In 1537, perhaps due to the press’s continuing financial troubles, all three brothers converted to Christianity, assuming the names Andreas (Samuel), Johannes (Eliakim), and Paul (Asher). The Jewish community ostracized the apostates, refusing to buy books they printed, that they distributed from other presses, or to honor debts owed them. The Haliczs secured a decree from King Sigisimund I granting the apostates a monopoly on the printing and selling of Hebrew books, forbidding imports, and requiring the Jews to purchase the Halicz’s Hebrew titles. The books purchased were valued at 1,600 gold gulden, and consisted of 800 mahzorim, 800 selihot, 500 Turim, 400 yozrot, 300 minhagim, 200 large-format zemirot, and 300 small-format zemirot. It is possible that some of these books had been printed elsewhere and were part of the Halicz’s stock. A two hundred marks fine was imposed for non-adherence, and the Halicz’s were permitted to recover their debts on the basis of testimony of non-Jews in the city’s courts. All of this notwithstanding, Jews continued to purchase Hebrew titles printed elsewhere and destroyed those books they were compelled to buy from the Halicz press. Johannes printed a selihot, and the Tur Yoreh De’ah (1539), which were also boycotted. They also reputedly printed, at about this time, the Pesakim of Rav Shalom Shakhna (d. 1558, 40, 7 leaves). A second appeal by the apostates to Sigisimund resulted in the Jewish communities of Cracow, Posen, and, after an appeal by these communities, also of Lvov, being required to purchase the entire stock of books in the Halicz’s warehouse. Forced to buy the Halicz’s entire stock the Jews not only refused to use the books, but apparently also destroyed them, thus accounting for the present rarity of these imprints. The Halicz press soon closed, although Johannes continued to publish, issuing Latin and Polish works for a nonJewish market, and Paul, now a missionary, printed a Yiddish New Testament (Cracow, 1540–41). In about 1550, Andreas Halicz returned to Judaism in Constantinople. There he, and afterwards his son Hayyim, printed Hebrew titles, Samuel alluding to his return in the colophon of these works, writing, “Samuel said do not call me Samuel but Shuvu’el for he returned to his God.”75 Almost three decades passed before another Hebrew press opened in Cracow. In 1569, Isaac ben Aaron of Prostitz received permission to operate a Hebrew press in that city. Prostitz, born in Prossnitz, Moravia, was sent by his father at an early age to Italy to learn the printing trade. After traveling through Italy Prostitz eventually came to work for Giovanni Grypho and Giorgio di Cavalli in Venice. Prostitz acquired Grypho’s typographical equipment, including the letters, ornaments, and frames, when that press closed in 1568, bringing them to Poland. At those presses Prostitz met Samuel Boehm, who would accompany him to Poland and assist him in establishing the new Hebrew print shop. Prostitz, with the enthusiastic support of the Jewish community, petitioned King Sigisimund II Augustus (1548–72) in October, 1567, for the privilege to establish a Hebrew press. His request was approved for him, “and his seed after him,” for a period of fifty years, including the right to print the Talmud and other Hebrew books. The press opened on 15 candles.” Concerning Azhorot Nashim see A. M. Habermann, “The Printers the Sons of Hayyim Halicz,” in Studies on the History of Hebrew Printers and Books ( Jerusalem, 1978), pp. 138–39 [Hebrew]; and Treasures Revealed ( Jerusalem, 2000), ed. Rafael Weiser and Rivka Plesser, pp. 102–03 [Hebrew]. 75 Ch. B. Friedberg, History of Hebrew Typography in Poland from its beginning in the year 1534 and its development to the present . . . Second Edition, Enlarged, improved and revised from the sources (Tel Aviv, 1950), pp. 1–4 [Hebrew]; and Habermann, “The Printers the Sons of Hayyim Halicz,” Studies, pp. 131–47.

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introduction Menachem Av, 329 (Friday, August 8, 1569) with Perush le-Midrash Hamesh Megillot Rabbah by R. Naphtali ben Menahem Hertz, that is, the commentary on Midrash Rabbah on the five Megillot followed by the same author’s commentary on the Torah portion of Midrash Rabbah, begun on Rosh Hodesh Elul (Sunday, August 24, 1569) of that year. The Jewish community’s pleasure in their new press was not matched by the Catholic clergy. Realizing that a Hebrew press had opened in Cracow, those clergymen hastened to Sigisimund with accusations that the Talmud contained disparaging remarks against Christianity. The king responded by forbidding Prostitz from printing additional titles and appointing a committee, headed by Prince Mishkovsy, to investigate the charges. Mishkovsy impounded the books, sheets, and even the typographical equipment at the press, submitting the printed material to a committee of experts for review. The review of Isaac Prostitz’s books by the king’s representatives took longer than anticipated. As the preliminary findings were that the charges were unsubstantiated, Prostitz was given permission to complete the titles he had already begun to set. Work resumed on R. Moses ben Israel Isserles’s Torat ha-Hattat, which has a completion date of Thursday, 25 Heshvan, 330 (November 15, 1569), quickly followed by the kabbalistic sermons of R. Solomon Molcho, Derashot (Sefer ha-Mefo’ar).76 Shortly afterwards Prostitz was found to be innocent of the charges, and all the typographical materials that had been impounded were returned to him.77 On Sunday, 9 Adar 331 (February 14, 1571), Prostitz completed work on Shulhan Arukh Orah Hayyim of R. Joseph Caro with the Mappah, that is, the glosses of the Rema, the first printing of what has since been an integral part of the complete work, now the essential code of law for Judaism. Prostitz also printed Sefer ha-Aguddah by Alexander Suslin haKohen, prayer books, and several Yiddish works, recognizing the communities’ needs for such works. In 1572, however, Sigisimund II Augustus died and Poland entered a period of interregnum. The ensuing political and economic hardships disrupted the lives of the Cracow Jewry, including the press. Only small works were published at this time, and work proceeded slowly. For example, R. Joshua ibn Shuaib’s Derashot al ha-Torah, a relatively small work (96 leaves), begun in 1573, was not completed until eighteen months later in 1575. In 1577, the press became more active, printing a large number of titles. The following year, on Rosh Hodesh Kislev, “Behold, I will send jlç (338 = Monday, November 21, 1578) you Elijah the prophet” (Malachi 3:23), Prostitz began publication of all four parts of the Shulhan Arukh, starting with Y. D., and concluding with H. M. on Thursday, 11 Shevat, “for your testimonies are my meditation yl hjyç (340 = February 7, 1580)” (Psalms 119:99). At least three large format attractive talmudic tractates were published in 1578, Avodah Zarah, Ketubbot, and Rosh Ha-Shanah, the last extant in a ten folio unicum fragment in the library of the Jewish Theological Seminary. Steinschneider writes that Avodah Zarah was printed “si revera Supplementi tantum instar ad ed. Basil,” and “seu castrata . . . Cracoviae vero supplementi instar excusus,” that is, to compensate for its omission from the Basle Talmud. Friedberg writes that printing tractates began with Ketubbot with the initial intent of competing with the Lublin Talmud. Rabbinovicz, who praises these tractates, does not

To err is certainly human, “Who can discern mistakes” (Psalms 19:13). The completion date of the first edition of R. Moses ben Israel Isserles’s (Rema) Torat ha-Hattat given as Thursday, 25 Heshvan, 330 (November 15, 1569) is in error. That date was not a Thursday but a Shabbat. Given that not only Prostitz but his workers were Sabbath-observant Jews it is likely that the correct resolution of the contradictory dates is that the completion date for Torat ha-Hattat was Thursday, 23 Heshvan. 77 Friedberg, Poland, pp. 6–7. 76

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introduction know whether they were part of an entire Talmud. It is Rabbinovicz’s opinion that it is unlikely a complete Talmud was printed in Cracow, doubting that Prostitz would undertake to print a complete Talmud concurrently with the Lublin printer. Moreover, if Prostitz had printed an entire edition at this time it is not unlikely that when he printed the Talmud in Cracow in 1602, he would have noted on the title page that it was his second edition.78 In any case, Prostitz is only known to have printed a small number of tractates at this time and afterwards, such as Bezah in 1587. During this period Prostitz continued to publish despite many hardships. A civil war for the throne of Poland between Sigisimund III and Maximilian, to succeed Stephen Bathory, who reigned from 1576 to 1586, is reflected in a Pentateuch with commentaries, begun while Cracow was still under the rule of Stephanos [Stephen Bathory] and completed on Friday, Rosh Hodesh Tevet, 348 ( January 1, 1588) under Sigisimund. This is reflected in the colophon: . . . we were in war, in great consternation, in tumult. We did not find sleep nor slumber. . . . He delivered us from the hand of those who rose up, these three times, amidst strife and disease . . . between king and king, He will hide me in a succah [shelter] (ref. Psalms 27:5), from fire and conflagration, . . . on the evil day . . . we [our lives] were dependent on the king’s word, prostrate and suffering . . . our souls terrified . . . we said HaShem is in our midst (Exodus 17:7) . . . for He poured from on high [His] spirit upon us, King Sigisimund came within our boundaries. . . . He vanquished with His right [hand] those who arose [against Him, and may it be so] until years everlasting.79

Boehm, who had helped establish the press and who is credited with the high quality of its imprints, died in 1588, succeeded by R. Isaiah Sofer ben Meir. An epidemic began that year, lasting into 1589, followed by plague in 1592, forcing Prostitz and his family to seek refuge in Nowy Dwor, where they completed R. Moses Cordovero’s (Ramak, 1522–1570) Pardes Rimmonim, the only Hebrew book ever printed in that location. After the plague subsided Prostitz returned to Cracow. He would begin a Talmud edition in 1602, completed by his children, who inherited the press. Over three decades, Isaac ben Aaron of Prostitz printed more than two hundred Hebrew and Yiddish books, titles of considerable significance as well as lesser works. These works, encompassing the spectrum of Jewish literature, are in such fields as liturgy, halakhah, Talmud, Kabbalah, philosophy, and ethics. In Lublin, a second Hebrew print-shop in Poland was established by the family of Hayyim Shahor (Schwarz), that is, his son Isaac and his son-in-law Joseph ben Yakar, both of whom had previously worked with Hayyim elsewhere. This press, through descendants and collateral members, would be active for over a hundred and fifty years.80 In 1550,

78 Friedberg, Poland, p. 10; Raphael Natan Nuta Rabbinovicz, Ma’amar al Hadpasat ha-Talmud with additions, ed. A. M. Habermann ( Jerusalem, 1952), p. 79 [Hebrew]; and Moritz Steinschneider, Catalogus Liborium Hebraeorum in Bibliotheca Bodleiana (Berlin, 1852–60), col. 220 n. 1407, col. 228 n. 1427. 79 Friedberg, Poland, p. 13. 80 Friedberg, Poland, p. 45. In the first edition of this work Friedberg expresses doubt as to the date of death of Hayyim Shahor, noting that he might have been the founder of the Lublin press. In the second revised edition he no longer entertains this possibility. This is also the opinion of A. M. Habermann, “The Printer Hayyim Shahor his son Isaac and son-in-law Joseph ben Yakar,” in Studies, p. 107, who writes that Shahor and his sons moved to Lublin in 1547, attracted by the possibilities of printing and selling directly to the Polish Jewish market. They began to print immediately after they arrived, even though they did not receive authorization until 1550. Their first titles were Shomerim la-Boker (1547) and K’tav Hitnatzlut (1548). However, as Habermann notes, no copies of these first Lublin imprints are extant.

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introduction the two brothers-in-law obtained permission from King Sigismund Augustus I to open a Hebrew press in Lublin, and, in the following year, published a folio Polish rite mahzor [holiday prayer book] for the entire year. The two published, with the assistance of R. Jacob ben Moses and R. Meshullam ben Solomon, a yotzrot (1553) and an octavo prayer book (1554). Isaac Shahor died in c. 1554, being replaced by his son Hayyim, sufficiently young so that guardians were appointed on his behalf, and by Joseph ben Yakar, who had left Lublin for Venice to work for Marc Antonio Giustiniani, returning in 1554, but also reported to have died shortly afterwards. We also find other partners at the press at this time. Kalonymous ben Mordecai Jaffe, the husband of Hayyim Shahor’s granddaughter Hannah and a second cousin of the famous Talmudic scholar and codifier, R. Mordecai Jaffe (Levushim), operated the press until his death in 1603, and his descendants managed the printing house until the last decades of the century. Joseph ben Yakar’s position was filled by Eliezer ben Isaac, possibly a grandson of Hayyim Shahor.81 Their first title was a Pentateuch with Megillot and haftarot, in which, concluding, reference is made to the the harsh decrees against the Jews in Bohemia in general and Prague in particular: Because of what we have seen in this time, that due to our iniquities we have experienced hardships, that we have seen a peg driven into the stack, so that holy works could not be printed, we have vowed in our hearts to print a Pentateuch with the commentary of Rashi, and also the five Megillot and haftarot. We entreat God that He help us to print other books, and specifically Talmudic tractates, for the public benefit, so may we merit to quickly see the building of the Bet Habekhira [Temple]. . . . In the year “for the Lord will again bwçy (318) rejoice over you for good” (Deuteronomy 30:9) in the sixth millennium of Creation, for the blessing, “Therefore God give you of the dew of heaven” (Genesis 28:28) continuously, Monday, 24 Marheshvan (October 28, 1557).

In 1559 King Sigisimund Augustus II renewed the rights of the press to print and to trade in Hebrew books. The press then undertook to print the Talmud. The first tractate printed was Shevu’ot, begun in 1559 and concluded in. “Make haste hçwj (319 = 1559) to help (us), [O Lord my salvation]!” (Psalms 38:23), and the last, Ta’anit, completed Sunday, 26 Kislev 337 (November 27, 1576). The names of five partners appear at the end of Shevu’ot, followed soon after by Pesahim and Gittin (1562), printed in the neighboring village of Konska Wola, where the press took refuge from an outbreak of plague in Lublin. Two partners only, Meshullam ben Solomon and Eliezer ben Isaac, are named in this tractate. Soon after the press returned to Lublin, where they printed an Ashkenaz rite mahzor (1563). Their difficulties did not cease, however, for, after their return to Lublin, unrest in Poland, resulting from strife between king and nobles, forced them to take up arms on behalf of the monarch from whom, the previous year, Eliezer and his partners had secured a renewed privilege for their press. The press was idle until the beginning of 1567, resuming printing that year with a Polish rite mahzor with the commentary of R. Abraham ben Avigdor of Prague. The partners at the press at this time were Eliezer ben Isaac, Jacob ben David Gutrat, Kalonymous Jaffe, Eliezer ben Meshullam, and Hayyim Shahor. The last died soon after the completion of the mahzor.82 Work resumed on the Talmud, several tractates being printed in the following years, as well as other works. The activity of the press and the nature of the books printed can be

81 82

Friedberg, Poland, pp. 45–46. Friedberg, Poland, p. 48.

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introduction seen from the period 1570–72, when the titles, apart from talmudic treatises, included R. Menahem ben Moses ha-Bavli’s Ta’amei Mitzvot, R. Isaac Tyrnau’s Minhagim, R. Simeon ben Isaac ha-Levi Aschaffenburg’s Masoret ha-Mikra, and a Polish rite prayer book and selihot. In 1573, Eliezer ben Isaac printed his last title in Lublin, R. Isaac ben Abraham Chajes’ Pahad Yizhak, leaving Poland, with his son, Isaac, for Erez Israel. The press was now under the management of Kalonymous Jaffe. He continued to work on completing the Talmud edition begun earlier, although initially a period of forced inactivity, due to unsettled conditions in Poland, allowed him the opportunity to instruct his sons, Joseph, Hayyim, and Zevi Hirsch, in the printers craft. Due to this delay it took Kalonymous almost fifteen months, that is, from Friday, Eruv Rosh Hodesh Elul 332 (August 18, 1572) to Thursday, 10 Kislev 334 (November 15, 1573), to complete Avodah Zarah, a tractate of only, in this edition, one hundred ten leaves (standard editions are comprised of 76 leaves). Although Jaffe’s privilege was renewed by King Stephen Bathory in 1578, only a small number of books were published in the following years. From 1582 to 1589 the press was idle due to competition from the Prostitz press in Cracow. In 1590, however, Jaffe, having acquired new typographical material, such as letters, decorative frames and borders, began to print again. In 1592, the press took refuge in Bistrowitz to escape an outbreak of plague, printing one title there, Don Isaac Abrabanel’s Haggadah Zevah Pesah, before returning to Lublin. Kalonymous Jaffe continued to print until his death in about 1603, when he was succeeded by Zevi Hirsch. The press remained active, under the management of Jaffe family members, until the beginning of the eighteenth century. Many publishers used earlier printings as copy books for later reprints. This is particularly evident with the Polish presses, where we find numerous editions that are like, for example, the anonymous Ru’ah Hen, variously attributed to Judah ben Saul ibn Tibbon (c. 1120–c. 1190) and to Jacob ben Abba Mari ben Samson Anatoli. Printed five times in the sixteenth century, the last being the 1566 Cremona edition, that printing of Ru’ah Hen was the basis of the Lublin printing (1620), page-by-page identical, excepting necessary modifications to the title page and colophon.

VI The second most important source of Hebrew books after Italy was in the Ottoman Empire. Salonika and Constantinople (Kushta, Istanbul from the Turkish conquest to the present), respectively, published about 150 and 320 titles in the sixteenth century.83 Although printing in Constantinople predates Salonika by several years, it pays to treat the latter city first, as several printers moved from Salonika to Constantinople. Salonika, the second city of the Ottoman Empire, a great metropolis in its own right, was uncommon in that a majority of its residents were Jewish. Printing began there with a Hebrew press, in this instance that of Don Judah Gedaliah. Originally from Lisbon, Gedaliah learned the printer’s trade as an apprentice with Eliezer Toledano. He founded the press in Salonika in c. 1512–13 with fonts originally cast in Lisbon, assisted by his son, Moses, and his daughter, who, due to Don Judah’s advanced age, played an important role in the press’s activities. Among his earliest imprints are a Pentateuch with Onkelos and Rashi, haftarot, and Megillot (1514), followed, the following year, by Ketuvim (Hagiographa),

83

Vinograd II pp. 602–10, 666–69.

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introduction comprising the books of Psalms, Proverbs, Job and Daniel, R. Solomon Almoli’s Mefasher Helmin, Midrash Tehillim, and in 1516 R. Jacob ibn Habib’s Ein Ya’akov. Gedaliah also seems to have printed some tractates, with a Sephardic text and Rashi only, but those initially attributed to Salonika were later determined to have been printed in Fez, the confusion resulting from the likeness of the fonts of both presses, both brought from or cast in the style employed earlier in Lisbon. Among the titles printed by Gedaliah are part two of the Yalkut Shimoni (1521), R. Isaac Arama’s Akedat Yizhak (1522), Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel’s Mashmi’a Yeshu’ah (1526), Solomon Molcho’s Derashot (Sefer ha-Mefo’ar, 1529), and the Arba’ah Turim (c. 1530). The Soncinos came to Salonika from Italy, beginning with Moses Soncino, the first member of that family to print there. Four titles are attributed to him, that is, an edition of R. Joseph Albo’s Ikkarim (1521), part one of the Yalkut Shimoni (1526), a Catalonian rite mahzor (1527) and Kevurot ha-Tzadikim be-Erez ha-Kedoshah (1527). Moses’ name appears in both the Yalkut and the mahzor. It is not certain that he printed the other two works. Gershom Soncino, together with his son Eliezer, arrived in Salonika from Rimini in 1526. They began printing soon after with R. David Kimhi’s Sefer ha-Shorashim and Abraham Bedersi’s Hotam Tokhnit, a dictionary of difficult Biblical words, which appeared the following year. In 1529, they printed a mahzor according to the rite of Aragon and, upon its completion, the Soncinos, father and son, left Salonika for Constantinople. Eliezer, however, returned to Salonika, where he printed the title Me’ah She’arim in 1543, before returning to Constantinople, where he resumed printing Hebrew titles. Astruc de Toulon of Provence, better known for his work in Constantinople, was here briefly, publishing one title, R. Joel ibn Shuaib’s commentary on Lamentations (Perush Megillat Eichah) in 1521. Not long afterwards, in about 1550, and perhaps, Friedberg suggests, even as early as 1543, the Jabez brothers, Solomon and Joseph ben Isaac, grandsons of R. Joseph Jabez (d. 1507), author of Ma‘amar Hasdei HaShem (Constantinople, 1533), opened a Hebrew press in Salonika. The brothers began printing with an Ashkenaz rite mahzor (1550), and, according to Friedberg, also R. Isaac ben Joseph ha-Kohen’s commentary on Megillat Ruth, when an outbreak of plague, in c. 1553, forced them to relocate to Adrianople. In that location they printed four books, R. Solomon ibn Verga’s Shevet Yehudah, Joseph ibn Verga’s She’erit Yosef (1554), the commentary of their grandfather, R. Joseph ben Hayyim Jabez, on Pirkei Avot (1556), and began the responsa of Elijah ben Abraham Mizrahi (1556), four leaves only being printed. When the plague abated Solomon continued on to Constantinople, where he established a press, and Joseph returned to Salonika.84 Joseph printed basic Hebrew works such as prayer books and books of the Bible, including Judaeo-Spanish (Ladino) and Provençal translations. He printed talmudic treatises and other books, for example, R. Moses Almosnino’s Pirkei Moshe on Avot and Tefillah le-Moshe (1563) and Hanhagat Hayyim (1564); R. Solomon le-Bet ha-Levi’s Lev Avot (1565); Shulhan Arukh O. H. and Y. D. (1568); R. Solomon ibn Verga’s Shevet Yehudah (1570); and R. Isaac Caro’s Toledot Yizhak (1572). In approximately 1570–72, due to another outbreak of plague, Joseph Jabez sold his typographical material to David ben Abraham Azubib and left Salonika to join his brother Solomon in Constantinople. The books printed by Azubib, in small numbers, primarily for a local market, are rare. Their number was reduced by heavy usage, while other copies perished in Salonika’s recur-

84

Friedberg, Italy, pp. 134, 144.

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introduction ring fires. About fifteen titles from the Azubib press are known today, some only in single copies. His first title was R. Isaac ibn Arroyo’s Tanhumot El (1578–79), although Azubib’s name appears earlier in Toledot Yizhak, begun together as a partner in the final Jabez Salonika imprint. Despite procuring new letters, the type in Azubib’s books, stylistically similar to the Jabez imprints, have a worn and coarse quality to them. Azubib’s other imprints include R. Isaac ben Samuel Adarbi’s sermons (together with commentaries), Divrei Shalom (1580), and responsa, Divrei Rivot (1582); two volumes of R. Samuel de Medina’s responsa (1580–82 or 1585–87); R. Moses Cordevero’s Pardes Rimmonim (Tishrei, 1584); Solomon ben Abraham ha-Kohen’s responsa (1586); Kehillot Ya’akov; and Yesod ha-Teshuvah, as well as Ladino editions of prayer books and books of the Bible. He also printed at least two talmudic treatises, Berakhot and Gittin. A fire, followed by another outbreak of plague in c. 1588, caused Azubib to close his press.85 In 1592, Sabbatai Mattathias Bath-Sheba (Basevi in Italian), accompanied by his wife Fioretta and his two sons, Abraham Joseph (or Joseph Abraham) and Abraham, established a printshop in Salonika. They had been recruited by R. Moses de Medina, a wealthy scholar and prominent philanthropist, son of R. Samuel ben Moses de Medina (Maharashdam). Moses de Medina was motivated by a desire to print his father’s responsa and talmudic treatises. The Bath-Sheba press would print about forty titles from 1592 to 1605, among them not only the Maharashdam’s responsa (1594–97) and at least one tractate, Berakhot (1592), but also such varied works as Midrash Rabbah (1593), R. Aaron Abiob’s Shemen ha-Mor, Shulhan Arukh O. H. and Y. D., and R. Samuel ben Isaac ha-Sardi’s Ha-Terumot (1596), the responsa of R. Joseph Caro and Zohar Hadash (1597), and a polemic in Ladino, Fuente Clara (c. 1592–99).86 In Constantinople, the first press in any language in the Ottoman Empire, predating Turkish language printing by 234 years—it did not begin until 1727—was the Hebrew print shop founded by David and Samuel ibn Nahmias, refugees from the Iberian peninsula. They had learned their craft there prior to the expulsion of the Jews and brought much of their typographical equipment with them. They began printing in 1493, soon after their arrival in Constantinople, with the Arba’ah Turim. Although clearly stated in the colophon, the date of this Turim was the subject of considerable bibliographic controversy for many years, due to a hiatus in printing in Constantinople for more than a decade, until it was decisively proven by A. K. Offenberg that the colophon date was indeed correct. It is now known that the hiatus was due to the printers’ inability to secure paper from Venice, their source for that necessary commodity, because of a war between Venice and the Ottoman Empire.87 85

Israel Mehlman, “Hebrew Printing in Salonika,” in Genuzot Sefarim ( Jerusalem, 1976), pp. 67–73 [Hebrew]. Mehlman, “Hebrew Printing in Salonika,” pp. 73–89. Concerning the role of Moses de Medina in the press see, Meir Benayahu, The Relation Between Greek and Italian Jewry (Tel Aviv, 1980), pp. 104–06 and 108–113 [Hebrew]. Concerning tractate Berakhot see my “The Bath-Sheba/Moses de Medina Salonika Edition of Berakhot: An Unknown Attempt to Circumvent the Inquisition’s Ban on the Printing of the Talmud in Sixteenth Century Italy,” Jewish Quarterly Review LXXXVII (Philadelphia, 1996), pp. 47–60. 87 Concerning the dating of the Arba’ah Turim see A. K. Offenberg, “The first printed book produced at Constantinople,” Studia Rosenthaliana III (Amsterdam, 1969), pp. 96–112, reprint in A Choice of Corals: Facets of Fifteenth-Century Hebrew Printing (Nieuwkoop, 1992), pp. 102–32; and A. K. Offenberg, “The Printing History of the Constantinople Hebrew Incunable of 1493; A Mediterranean Voyage of Discovery,” The British Library Journal XXII (London, 1996), pp. 221–235. 86

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introduction Printing resumed in 1505 with a Pentateuch with the commentary of Rashi, haftarot (according to the Sephardic rite) with the commentary of R. David Kimhi, and the Megillot with the commentary of R. Abraham ibn Ezra, completed in Nissan 5265 (March/April, 1505). Also printed that year were several of Don Isaac Abrabanel’s works, that is, Zevah Pesah on the Haggadah, Nahalat Avot on Pirkei Avot, and Rosh Amanah (on the principles of the Jewish faith); and at least two talmudic tractates, Eruvin and Pesahim, today extant only in fragments. The next year saw the publication of R. David ibn Yahya’s Leshon Limmudim and Shekel ha-Kodesh, both grammatical works. In 1509, the press issued R. Isaac Alfasi’s (Rif ) Sefer Rav Alfas, tractates Yoma and Rosh Ha-Shanah, and Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah. The tractates are significant for having textual variations from the standard talmudic text.88 In addition to these large works the Nahmias brothers issued other, smaller books, among them prayer books, ethical works, and calendars. Samuel ibn Nahmias either died or left the publishing house in 1509. His brother David, later joined by his son Samuel, continued to operate the press until David’s death in 1511. Samuel operated the press until 1518, but then, unable to manage alone, leased it to several of his workers, who continued to publish under their own names until 1530.89 Yaari lists these workers and the titles credited to them. The most important is Astruc de Toulon of Provence, who, after working for the Nahmias brothers, printed first with Samuel Rikoman and afterwards independently. More than twenty titles are attributed to Toulon’s press, beginning with R. David Kimhi’s Shorashim, Abudarham (1513), Isaac Aboab’s Menorat ha-Ma’or and R. Abraham ibn Ezra’s Perush ha-Torah (1514), and concluding with ibn Ezra’s Safah Berurah (1530). Among the accomplishments of these early Constantinople presses, not equaled elsewhere, is the printing of collections of midrashim. Over two decades dozens of midrashim were published, halakhic and aggadic, many the first editions of these works, later republished both in Constantinople and elsewhere. These midrashic collections, and similar collections of small works in other subject areas, were popular with both scholars who used them in discourses and with the general public. They were known as sifrut ha-kibuzim, because, as has been suggested, they were initially distributed by emissaries from Erez Israel, traveling abroad to raise money for Jewish settlements and yeshivot in the Holy Land, giving copies to wealthy donors.90 A noteworthy collection of talmudic aggadot is the anonymous Haggadot ha-Talmud (1511), preceding the similar but much better known Ein Ya’akov (Salonika, 1516) of R. Jacob ibn Habib. The first printers in Constantinople also excelled in the publishing of halakhic works. Beginning with the Tur in the fifteenth century they went on to print early editions of the major works of Jewish law, such as Alfasi’s Sefer ha-Halakhot, Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah and Sefer ha-Mitzvot, and Isaac of Corbeil’s Amudei Golah (Semak). In 1530, Gershom Soncino and his son Eliezer came to Constantinople. They printed 88 Fragments of tractates Eruvin, Yoma and a unicum of Rosh Ha-Shanah are in the Jewish National and University Library ( JNUL), and Pesahim, in a single leaf, as well as fragments of Eruvin and Yoma, are in the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary ( JTS). Eruvin, in eight leaves, is described in Isaac Yudlov, Ginzei Yisrael, The Israel Mehlman Collection in the Jewish National and University Library ( Jerusalem, 1984), p. 41 n. 141 [Hebrew]. 89 Joseph Hacker, “Constantinople Prints in the 16th Century,” Areshet V ( Jerusalem, 1972), p. 466 n. 36 [Hebrew]; and Avraham Yaari, Hebrew Printing at Constantinople ( Jerusalem, 1967), pp. 17–18 [Hebrew]. 90 Joseph Hacker, introduction to The Alphabet of Ben Sira: Facsimile of the 1519 Edition from the Valmadonna Trust Library (Verona, 1997), pp. 23–24; Joseph Hacker, “Jews of the Ottoman Empire,” in Jewish Thought in the Seventeenth Century, ed. Isadore Twersky and Bernard Septimus (Cambridge, 1987), pp. 114–16; and Yaari, Constantinople, p. 20.

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introduction their first work there that year, the first part of R. David Kimhi’s Mikhlol, that is, Helek ha-Dikduk, and in the same year, a mahzor. During the four years that Gershom was in Constantinople, he died in 1534, he printed fourteen titles, among them Elijah Bashyazi’s Karaite halakhic compendium, Adderet Eliyahu; R. Judah ibn Bulat’s encyclopedic outline on Jewish and secular studies, Kelal Kazar (1531); and R. Joseph Jabez’s homilies, Ma‘amar Hasdei HaShem (1533); concluding with another edition of the Mikhlol, this with a long biographical title page.91 Eliezer issued more than thirty titles, among them Immanuel of Rome’s Mahbarot Immanuel (1535), R. Judah Khalaz’s Sefer ha-Mefo’ar (Sefer ha-Musar, 1537), and the Arba’ah Turim (1540). Eliezer printed until 1547, a year before his death, when he sold the print-shop to Moses ben Eliezer Parnas, a former employee and partner. In addition to the works listed above, the Soncinos printed, in Constantinople, mahzorim, halakhic and grammatical works, Bibles, Ladino translations of Hebrew titles, and, in c. 1541, a Hebrew translation of Amadis de Gaula, the Spanish romance of chivalry and love.92 Parnas did not print long on his own, however, for he died in about 1548–49. Mention should also be made of Solomon ben Mazzal Tov, who not only worked as a typesetter and editor for several presses but also printed books on his own account. A fine poet, his name and words of praise appear at the close of books printed in Constantinople for several decades. Samuel Halicz, who had earlier operated a press in Cracow with his brothers (see above), all of whom apostatized, returned to Judaism and resumed printing in Constantinople in 1548. Only three books are attributed to Samuel Halicz with certainty, a Bible (1551–52), Ma’aseh Yehudit (1552–53), and R. Isaac ben Meir of Dueren’s Sha’arei Dura (1553), a work printed previously with his brothers in Cracow. A fourth work, R. Jonah Gerondi’s (Rabbenu Yonah) Iggeret Teshuvah (1548), without the name of the printer, may have been printed at this press. Samuel refers to his apostasy in the Bible, where he writes, “Samuel said do not call me Samuel but Shuvu’el for he returned to his God.” The press closed with the death of Samuel Halicz. There was no Hebrew press in Constantinople until the 1560s, when several small print shops were active for brief periods of time. Among these presses are those of Samuel ben Kohen Ashkenazi (1560–61) and Joseph ben Samuel ha-Levi Hachim (1560), each printing only two or three books.93 In 1559, Solomon ibn Isaac Jabez, having printed earlier with his brother Joseph in Salonika and briefly in Adrianople, settled in Constantinople, founding a press that was active for about three decades. Solomon’s first title was R. Elijah Mizrahi’s Teshuvot uShe’elot, begun 5 Tishrei, in the year “when I restore ybwçb (320 = September 16, 1559) your captivity before your eyes, says the Lord” (Zephaniah 3:20) and completed 15 Sivan, in the year “Sing aloud wnynrh (321 = June 9, 1561)” (Deuteronomy 32:43, Psalms 81:2). Other titles printed at this time are Judah Zarko’s Lehem Yehudah, dated on the title page, Sunday, 27 Tammuz, “The Lord your God accept you ˚xry (320 = July 31, 1560)”, the responsa of R. Joseph ibn Lev (1561–98), and Emunot ve-De’ot (1562) by Saadiah ben Joseph Gaon. In 1572, Solomon was joined by Joseph, who had previously returned to Salonika from Adrianople. The brothers, Solomon printing independently at first, and afterwards

91

Yaari, Constantinople, pp. 21–22. For a detailed listing of Gershom and Eliezer’s imprints see, Habermann, B’nei Soncino, pp. 79–93. 93 Shraga Abramson, “Iggeret Teshuvah of Rabbenu Yonah Gerondi—Constantinople 1548 and Constantinople 1548,” Tagim 3–4 ( Jerusalem, 1972) pp. 12–13 [Hebrew]; Habermann, “Halicz,” Studies, pp. 134–35; and Yaari, Constantinople, pp. 24–25. 92

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introduction with Joseph, issued more than forty titles in Constantinople. A major undertaking by this press was the Talmud (1583–c. 1593), motivated by the burning of that work in Italy. Eliezer ben Isaac Ashkenazi and his son Isaac arrived in Constantinople in 1575 from Lublin. They printed, both alone and with David ben Elijah Kashti as partner, three books, before continuing on to Safed. Eliezer returned from Safed to Constantinople, printing Samuel Aripul’s philosophical commentary on Ecclesiastes, Lev Hakham (1586), again partners with David Kashti. Afterwards Eliezer returned to Safed.94 In 1592 a new press opened in the palace of Belvedere, at Ortaköy, in the vicinity of Constantinople, overlooking the Bosphorus, the residence of Donna Reyna, the daughter of the famous Doña Gracia and the widow of Don Joseph Nasi (1524–79), Duke of Naxos.95 Donna Reyna appointed Joseph ben Isaac Ashkeloni as manager, and under his guidance they published a number of works, beginning with R. Isaac Jabez’s commentary on the haftarot, Yafik Razon, completed on 13 Tammuz 353 (Tuesday, July 13, 1593). The author was the son of the printer Solomon Jabez. The other works printed in Belvedere are a prayer book, Siddur Tefilot he-Hadash (c. 1593), with the commentary Zevah Elokim by R. Meir ben Abraham Angel of Belgrade and, at about the same time, Angel’s ethical work Keshet Nehushah; the first part of R. Moses Alshekh’s Torat Moshe on Genesis; R. Menahem ben R. Moses Egozi’s derashot, Gal shel Egozim; and a Ladino work, Libro Intitolado Yihus haZaddikim, a guide book to Israel. These book, otherwise varied, are all simply done, without ornamentation. After a hiatus in Donna Reyna’s press’s operations from 1594 to 1597, the press relocated to Kuru-Chesme, a suburb along the Bosphorus to the east of Constantinople. The reason for this move from Belvedere is unknown, an outbreak of plague or conflagration in Constantinople, or Donna Reyna’s reduced circumstances, being possibilities. R. Samuel Uceda’s Iggeret Shemu’el was the first of about ten, primarily small books printed in KuruChesme. Among the other titles issued by the press are part four of the responsa of R. Joseph ibn Lev; Toze’ot Hayyim, an abridgement of the Reshit Hokhmah of R. Elijah de Vidas; Tappuhei Zahav on the first Book of Psalms by R. Moses Alshekh; Pizei Ohev, a commentary on Job by R. Israel Najara; and tractates Ketubbot and possibly Pesahim. Books were printed there until 1599, when the press ceased to publish, possibly due to the death of Donna Reyna. A little more than fifteen titles are known from Donna Reyna’s press in its two locations. Forty years would pass before another Hebrew press of import would open in or near Constantinople. The numerous achievements of the Constantinople and Salonika presses notwithstanding, it was the Venice presses that writers preferred for their books. Despite the hazards of sending manuscripts by sea, the editing of books by strangers, and the censorship of Hebrew books, many Sephardic authors still preferred to send their manuscripts to Italy to be printed. R. Abraham ha-Levi ibn Migash expresses this sentiment when he writes, It is well publicized and known to all exiles that the imprints from Venice are the most correct and exact of all the imprints made today under the heavens. For if you take a Humash printed in Salonica, you will find every sort of sin (i.e., numerous mistakes), which is not the case of the Venice imprints.96

94

Heller, “From Lublin to Safed,” pp. 86–90. Concerning Don Joseph Nasi and his wife Donna Reyna, see, Cecil Roth, The House of Nasi, The Duke of Naxos (Philadelphia, 1948). For Doña Gracia see, idem, The House of Nasi, Doña Gracia. 96 Ibn Migash in Joseph Karo, Avkat Rokhel (Salonika, 1767) n. 27, quoted in Hacker, The Alphabet of Ben Sira, p. 29. 95

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introduction Additional presses, small and of short duration, existed in the Sephardic world in, from a printing perspective, out-of-the-way places. In Fez, the first print shop in Africa was that of Samuel ben Isaac Nedivot. It was, like several other presses around the Mediterranean littoral, founded by Jewish refugees from Spain and Portugal. Nedivot, who had learned the printers’ trade in Lisbon from Eliezer Toledano, printed, together with his son Isaac, seven to fifteen titles from c. 1516 to 1524, among them an Abudarham, Azharot, Hilkhot Rav Alfas, Tur Yoreh De’ah, and several talmudic tractates.97 In Cairo, Gershom ben Eliezer Soncino, grandson of the renowned Gershom Soncino, printed at least two books, Pitron Halomot and Refu’ot ha-Talmud (1557), both unicums, unknown until recovered from the Cairo geniza. In Safed, Eliezer ben Isaac Ashkenazi, having come to Erez Israel from Lublin via Constantinople, printed R. Yom Tov ben Moses Zahalon’s (Maharit Zahalon) Lekah Tov (1577), on the book of Esther. Lekah Tov is not only the first book printed in the Middle East but it is the first book printed in Asia, excluding Chinese imprints. Eliezer printed two additional works, R. Moses Galante’s Kohelet Ya’akov (1577–78) and R. Samuel Aripul’s Sar Shalom (1579). He returned briefly to Constantinople and then, in 1587, again in Safed, resumed printing, issuing three more titles, R. Israel Najara’s Zemirot Yisrael (1587), Baraita de-Rabbi Eliezer, and Mesahek et ba-Tevel, before the press closed. These books, the last printed by Eliezer, as well as several printed by him earlier in other locations, have a copy of the Giustiniani printer’s mark, as well as a crowned, two-tailed lion rampant, the symbol of Bohemia. It is assumed that Eliezer died shortly afterwards, perhaps due to an epidemic in Safed. It would be two hundred forty-five years before another book would be printed in Safed. Eliezer’s fonts passed to the sons of his partner, Abraham ben Isaac Ashkenazi. They made them available, eighteen years later, to Abraham ben Mattathias Bath-Sheba, who came to Damascus to print the first book in that city, R. J. Pinto’s Kesef Nivhar. The letters were worn and the author was displeased with the typography, so that the work was discontinued before the book was completed.

VI A few comments on the sixteenth-century book may be of interest to the reader. Even a cursory review of the books described here make it evident that the works printed with Hebrew letters, whether in Hebrew, Yiddish, or Ladino, were overwhelmingly of a religious nature. Liturgical works, Bibles, commentaries, Talmud, Mishnah, halakhic codes, and kabbalistic works predominate, with only a relatively small number of titles that can be described as belles-lettres. This conclusion is supported by a study of the contents of the libraries based on Mantuan censors’ lists from 1595 by Shifra Baruchson. The inventories, 628 pages from 430 private and 8 public collections, contain 1,234 titles in Hebrew, Yiddish, and Italian, totaling 21,432 printed books and manuscripts, or 15% of all Jewish books printed in Italy, but also including works printed elsewhere. Baruchson notes that liturgy (34.6%) was most prevalent, followed by Bible (22.2%), halakhah (10.7%), ethics

97

Joseph Tedghi, ha-Sefer ve-ha-Defus ha-Ivri be-Fes ( Jerusalem, 1994), pp. 76–83 [Hebrew].

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introduction (6.2%), grammar (4.2%), philosophy (3.8%) mysticism (2.7), and belles-lettres (1.4%). She observes that “printers printed mainly basic prayer books, Bibles, and law compositions that ensured them a steady income, enabling them to print a limited number of books on philosophy, mysticism, and belles-lettres.” By title the most popular books were, after the prayer book and Torah, Pirkei Avot (43.9%), Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah (43%), Mishnayot (39.8%), Arba’ah Turim (35.1%), Shulhan Arukh (33.7%), and books on ritual slaughter of animals (34.7%), R. Isaac Aboab’s Menorat ha-Ma’or (26.5%), Moses Kimhi’s Sefer Dikduk (Mahalakh Shevilei ha-Da’at, 22.1%), and Midrash Tanhuma (20.1%). Talmud is not represented because of the prohibition in Italy on that work.98 Turning to the physical book itself, manuscript books lacked title pages, as did most books in the incunabular period. The information now found on a title page was instead placed at the end of the book, in the colophon. Early printed books were covered by a blank leaf, the first page in the quire, to protect the book. The first use of a title page, although there were earlier works that had some information on that otherwise blank leaf, containing the name of the book, author, printer, date of issue, and a laudatory poem praising its contents, is the Calendarium of Regiomontanus, printed by Erhard Ratdolt (Venice, 1476). Although title pages make their appearance on non-Hebrew books in the fifteenth century, and by the end of that period have become quite developed, the first Hebrew book to have a title page is the Sefer ha-Roke’ah (Fano, 1505) of R. Eleazer ben Judah (Roke’ah, c. 1165–c. 1238), printed by Gershom Soncino. It has no adornment and simply informs that it is the Sefer ha-Roke’ah of ha-Rav Rabbenu Eleazer ben Judah lxz and in smaller type that it was edited with great care by R. Judah, a man of Pesaro. This type of title page, a label-title, replaces the blank sheet at the beginning of a book. It simply identifies the work and provides basic information in an abbreviated format.99 After the appearance of label-titles more elaborate title pages began to appear, many bearing printer’s marks, attractive borders, and more information about the book, such as its author, printer, and date of publication, previously found in the colophon. Later the censors’ approval also found a place on the title page. Title pages with these enhancements and additional information helped promote the book and functioned as an advertisement. The first book to have a sha’ar, literally a gate, that is, an architectural frame, is the Jerusalem Talmud printed by Bomberg from 1522 to 1524. A popular frame, it is made up of the pillars copied from the baroque columns in St. Peters in Rome, derived, according to tradition, from the Temple in Jerusalem. These twisted columns became sufficiently popular that they appear in books of all types printed throughout northern Europe.100

98 Shifra Z. Baruchson, “Jewish Libraries: Culture and Reading Interests in 16th Century Italy,” Library History 10 (London, 1994), pp. 19–26. This contrasts significantly with the books printed by the non-Jewish presses in Italy. Paul F. Grendler writes in “The Roman Inquisition and the Venetian Press, 1540–1605,” Journal of Modern History 47 (Chicago, 1975), p. 55, that in 1550–54 of imprimaturs for new titles, 13.1% were for religious works and 32.7% were for secular vernacular literature. Later, when the situation in Italy changed, these figures reversed, so that in 1590–94 religious works are 35.5% and secular vernacular 16.7%. Similarly, Grendler notes elsewhere, “Religious Restlessness in Sixteenth-Century Italy,” Study Sessions 1966, of the Canadian Catholic Historical Association (Ottawa, 1966), p. 25, in referring to the prolific pen of the popular writer, Pietro Aretino, that he wrote, “Plays, letters, tales, pornography, devotional treatises, and even a translation of Psalms . . .” (Both reprinted in Culture and Censorship in Late Renaissance Italy and France (London, 1981), n.p.) 99 Margaret M. Smith, The Title Page: its Early Development 1460–1510 (London, 2000), pp. 59–60. 100 Abraham M. Habermann, “The Jewish Art of the Printed Book,” in Jewish Art. An Illustrated History, ed. Cecil Roth (New York, 1961), p. 470.

l

introduction The most attractive or elaborate ornamentation, particularly the ornate decorative frames and the woodcuts in illustrated books, were not prepared for Hebrew books but were used initially by non-Jewish printers, who then passed them on to the printers of Hebrew books, often their business associates. For example, the folio and quarto format title pages with mythological figures employed in Sabbioneta, Venice, and Salonika and copied in Cracow, were first used by Francesco Minizio Calvo, a printer of Latin and Italian books in Rome (1521–34) and Milan (1539–45). Another of Calvo’s frames, the floral woodcut block, was also used by the Hebrew presses in Sabbioneta and Salonika. Many books bear the author’s name in the title. This usage is addressed by the Sefer Hasidim (367), who informs that early sages did not place their name in their books, for example, the authors of Torat Kohanim, Mekhilta, and Midrashim, either to not benefit from this world and decrease their portion in the world to come, or to reduce their offspring and the good name of their offspring in this world, because of the benefit that would accrue from placing their name on their works. In contrast, Roke’ah writes that everyone should inscribe his name in his book, as we find in the Tanna de-Vei Eliyahu. R. Joseph Lewy suggests that there is no contradiction in these two positions, Sefer Hasidim referring to explicit mention of one’s name, the Roke’ah to references through allusions and gematriot.101 That is indeed the case, if we understand this liberally, for the Sefer ha-Roke’ah is so entitled because the numerical value of Roke’ah (jqr = 308), the family name, equals his personal name, Eleazer (rz[la = 308). Nevertheless, many titles bear the author’s name. In some instances, the Abudarham, for example, the title was given later and not by the author. Most often, when the author’s name appears, it is done with a biblical verse. For example, Abraham Shalom’s Neveh Shalom, from “[And my people shall dwell in a] peaceable habitation (shalom)” (Isaiah 32:18), and R. Solomon ibn Verga’s Shevet Yehudah, based on the notes of Judah ibn Verga, the title of the book from “The staff shall not depart from Judah” (Genesis 49:10), which also implies the family name, Verga which means staff (shevet). Names are also added to verses, as in R. Judah ben Samuel Lerma Sephardi’s Lehem Yehudah, so entitled because “the bread (lehem) from which I have benefitted is the bread of Torah, for we find the Torah is called bread, as it states, ‘Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mixed’” (Proverbs 9:5). In R. Moses ben Abraham Mat of Przemysl’s Matteh Moshe (Cracow, 1591) the name is included for poignant reasons, the author writing in the colophon that he has called the book after his name for a remembrance and a comfort for the loss of his son. Several other authors who wrote books were also either childless or had lost their children. In addition to Matteh Moshe there are R. Joseph ibn Verga’s She’erit Yosef (see Mantua, 1593) and R. Isaac Caro’s Toledot Yizhak (see Mantua, 1558), whose sons were seized in Portugal for conversionary purposes.102 Many title pages are dated with chronograms, the date being derived from the numerical value of emphasized letters.103 I have attempted, whenever possible, to include these

101 Joseph Lewy, Minhag Yisrael Torah V (Brooklyn, 2001), p. 211 [Hebrew]. For discussions of the titles of Hebrew books see Joshua Bloch, “Some Odd Titles of Hebrew Books,” in Hebrew Printing and Bibliography (New York, 1976), pp. 151–57, and Solomon Schechter, Studies in Judaism, First Series (1896, reprint Philadelphia, 1938), pp. 270–81. 102 Concerning authors who wrote books as a remembrance for children they had lost or because they were childless see, Avraham Yaari, “Shem ve-She’erit,” in Studies in Hebrew Booklore ( Jerusalem, 1958), pp. 114–22 [Hebrew]. 103 For a discussion of colophons see my “Chronograms on Title Pages in Selected Eighteenth Century Editions of the Talmud,” SBB XVIII (Cincinnati, 1993), pp. 3–14.

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introduction chronograms, constraints of space notwithstanding. We also find books with both starting and completion dates, the former on the title pages, the latter in the colophon, often clever and related to the book’s subject matter. While later printers completed a book before printing the title page as it was not always known how much front matter there would be, that is material prior to the text, that is not the case with many Hebrew books of this period. Furthermore, there are instances where the signatures include the title page and front matter, suggesting that they were either printed first or accounted for if printed later. For example, Or ha-Sekhel on Bereshit Rabbah by R. Abraham ben ibn Asher is dated on the title page “The beginning of the work was 14 Tammuz, ‘Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, you righteous; and shout for joy wnynrhw (327 = July 1, 1567), [all you who are upright in heart]” (Psalms 32:11). It was completed, according to the colophon, on Monday, 15 Kislev, “and your judgments are as the light that goes forth axy rwa[k] (328 = November 27, 1567)” (Hosea 6:5).104 The above observation, that is, that the presence of starting dates on the title pages of Hebrew books suggests that, in at least these instances, the front or preliminary matter, if any besides the title page, was either printed prior to the text or taken into consideration before printing began. This is not consistent with bibliographic understanding of early book practice, as expressed by Phillip Gaskell, who writes, “The preliminary leaves or sections (which were nearly always printed after the text of a book except in reprints and sometimes even then). . . .” In fairness, it should be noted that Gaskell continues, “Fifteenthcentury books generally had no preliminaries . . .,” that is prior to the adoption of the title page. He is not clear as to where late-sixteenth-century practice falls, although presumably it is included in his comment on the later printing of preliminaries. Book print practice was alike, whether for Hebrew or non-Hebrew books, and the presses that published Hebrew books belonged to Italian printers during this period. We might question then whether the preliminary leaves or sections were in fact “nearly always printed after the text” during this period as is generally accepted.105 In the second half of the sixteenth century we find, most often towards the bottom of the title page, the phrase, Con licentia de Superiori, indicating that the book had been reviewed prior to printing by the censor or his representatives, and did not contain material objectionable to church authorities. This phrase, or a variation of it, was always in Latin or Italian, so that officials could read it.106 A small number of entries deal with controversies within the Jewish community of Italy that involved rabbinic authorities in other lands prior to their resolution. They are the Pesakim (Venice, 1519) concerning the Finzi-Norsa dispute and Be’ur Zeh Yaza Rishonah and Elleh ha-Devarim (Mantua, 1566) on the Tamari-Venturozzo affair. Still another controversy, noted in passing in several entries but not addressed by a particular work, concerns the dispute surrounding the mikveh (ritual bath) built in 1594 in Rovigo. In a number of instances it is noted that there are, within an edition of a book, textual variations. This may, on occasion, be of some importance. For example, there are in Perushim le-Rashi (Constantinople, c. 1525) numerous and meaningful textual differences.

104

It is well known that work was done by non-Jewish typesetters on Shabbat. What was not previously recognized was that although not specifically stated this can, in a small number of instances, be determined from the date on the title page or in the colophon. See my “And the Work, the Work of Heaven, was Performed on Shabbat” (Torah u-Maddah Journal, forthcoming). 105 Phillip Gaskell, A New Introduction to Bibliography (1972, reprint New Castle, 1995), p. 52. 106 Burnett, pp. 338–39.

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introduction An obvious and glaring error is the title page of Nahmanides’ (Ramban) Sha’ar ha-Gemul (Ferrara, 1556) which attributes the work to Maimonides (Rambam). Quickly corrected, most title pages have the correct attribution, although the original sheet, making up several pages, was retained and used. More often, however, these textual variations simply reflect the nature of the editing and printing process. While it certainly was desirable to correct the sheets before the run began, reading also took place while the run was under way. The corrector, who may or may not have had an opportunity to review the sheets before printing was under way, discovering an error, stops the run so that it can be corrected. The forme is removed, the error quickly corrected, and printing resumes. Such stop-press corrections of type do not, unless the error is substantial, necessitate disposing of the previous sheet—four pages in a folio, more so in a smaller format—but rather both the altered states and the originals are used. In such a case, copies of the book will exist made up of sheets printed from formes in both the earlier and later states. If the collation of the sheets is in the order of printing, the volume with the corrected text will be the later printing. However, if the order of the sheets in the heap is altered—and since after printing one side of a sheet it is hung to dry and need not be taken down in any particular order—the relation of the variant states may not be meaningful and there can be various variant and inconsistent states within one edition.107 This was recognized by C. D. Ginsburg, who writes, “Those who have had to collate old editions know that there are hardly a dozen copies of any book printed in the fifteenth or beginning of the sixteenth century which are absolutely uniform, though the columns have not been re-made up.”108 There are false title pages. Most notably, tractates in the second Bomberg Talmud exist that are not uniform, the result of backdating tractates from the third edition at a time when there was a concern about censorship.109 Hebrew books were widely distributed throughout the Jewish world. This is most evident from the relative scarcity of the later Italian editions of the Talmud in comparison to the earlier printings, contrary to what one would normally expect, that is, that the later printings should be more common. Here, however, the first Bomberg Talmud editions were widely distributed, reaching such locations outside of Italy as the Ottoman Empire and even England, whereas the last Bomberg edition and the Giustiniani Talmud were burned soon after they were printed before they could be similarly distributed. It is well known that books printed in Italy were marketed throughout Europe. However, we also find that many Polish titles were sold to Italian Jewry.110 Another subject of interest is the price of books in the sixteenth century. Dr. Shifra Z. Baruchson-Arbib addresses this issue, summarizing her findings in an article entitled “The Prices of Printed Hebrew Books in Cinquecento Italy.” Prices, considerably lower than in the manuscript period, a manuscript costing one hundred guilders was now only twenty, fluctuated in the sixteenth century. Prices were contingent upon a number of factors, from the format of a book, that is, folio, quarto, octavo, or smaller, the number of pages, the

107 Gaskell, pp. 353–54. Also see Ronald B. McKerrow, An Introduction to Bibliography for Literary Students (1927, reprint New Castle, 1994), pp. 204–13, who devotes a chapter to this issue. 108 C. D. Ginsburg, Introduction to the Massoretico-Critical Edition of the Bible (London, 1897, reprint, New York, 1966), p. 951. 109 Avraham Rosenthal, “Daniel Bomberg and his Talmud Editions,” in Gli Ebrei e Venezia (Milan, 1987), pp. 391–400. 110 Elbaum, Insularity, pp. 52–53.

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introduction quality of paper, labor, cost of manuscripts, and shipping. Another factor was competition. Prices were higher in the early 1540s than in the preceding period, resulting, as noted by the editors of the Giustiniani and Bragadin presses, in a decline in productivity and then the closure of the Bomberg press. After the Talmud was burned Baruchson reports that prices declined, as people disposed of forbidden books, so that R. Elijah Manula wrote to the humanist, Andreas Masius, “now many want to sell their books, but when things calm down prices will go up again.”111 Conrad Gesner, as noted above, includes, in the second volume of his Bibliotheca universalis, a sales catalogue from Daniel Bomberg, printed prior to 1542. Prices vary from less than one lira to more than a ducat, depending upon book size.112 The average price for a small to medium sized book being one to two lira, compared to a large folio at six to eight lira. Books were not yet a commonplace commodity for the general populace. In contrast, within the Jewish community, where literacy was higher and there was a need for books for both scholarly and communal purposes, a greater effort was made to purchase books, with the result that every Jewish household had some volumes, the average household about fifty, some as many as 350 books, and poorer homes as least one to ten books. Most Jews fell in the middle bracket of annual income, that is, about 40 ducats a year. However, rabbis, who had an occupational need for books, earned much less, about 15 ducats in the mid-1540s, 30 ducats plus rent towards the end of the century. In Rome a rabbi’s salary went from 12–18 soldi in mid-century to 36 soldi at the end of the century. There were rabbis who earned considerably more, such as R. Isaac de Lattes, who received a salary of 150 ducats in Pesaro. Relating these figures to known book prices, a small book could cost a middle income person the equivalent of nine pounds of meat, a large book fifty-one pounds of meat or eleven pounds of candles. An Alfasi or a Babylonian Talmud could cost as much as 12 to 15 percent of annual salary.113 Baruchson concludes from this, that “The significant amount of money invested in the purchase of books, illustrates the important role of the book in the social and spiritual life of the Italian Jews, even during the difficult time of the counter-reform, the establishment of the ghettos and the burning of the Talmud.”114 One might add that this devotion to books is equally true of the Jews of Poland and the Ottoman empire.

111

Shifra Z. Baruchson-Arbib, “The Prices of Printed Hebrew Books in Cinquecento Italy,” Bibliofilia 97:2 (Florence, 1995), p. 154. 112 20 soldi equal a lira, 6 lira and 4 soldi (= 124 soldi) equal a ducat. 113 A pound of meat in Venice in 1545 cost between 2 to 3 soldi, a pound of candles in 1569 9 soldi 6 dinar. A slave cost, in Naples in 1521, 36 ducats, a horse 33 ducats. Baruchson, pp. 158–59. 114 Baruchson, p. 161.

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TEXTS

c. 1501, Alphabetum Hebraicum, Aldus Manutius, Venice Courtesy of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

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Alphabetum Hebraicum

tyb πla Aldus Manutius c. 1501, Venice—Aldus Manutius A Hebrew/Latin primer printed, and likely authored by the humanist-scholar-printer, Aldus Manutius (Manuzio, 1449–1515). Manutius was the foremost printer-publisher of his time. His press, established in 1494, issued a wide spectrum of books, with elegant fonts, cut by Francesco da Bologna (Griffo), among them the italic, which Aldus introduced. He printed small pocket-size editions of the Greek and Latin classics, popularizing that format. These works, know as Aldines, many not previously printed, are graced with his printer’s device, a dolphin and anchor, the former representing speed in execution, the latter, firmness in deliberation. The Alphabetum Hebraicum begins with an eight-line Latin dedicatory preface by Aldus. The Hebrew text is in a single small vocalized font accompanied by Latin phonetic equivalents. There are 25 lines of text to a page with signatures, 30 lines to the verso without signatures. The final page has 17 lines. Aldus, fluent in all three classical languages according to the humanist Johannes Reuchlin, was the first to print Hebrew letters, albeit sparingly, in Venice. He first employed woodcut Hebrew type in the Opera of Angelus Politanus (1498), five words from Psalms, and again, the following year, in the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili of Francesco Colonna, four Hebrew lines on one page, and elsewhere in an illustration, several words together with Arabic, Greek, and Latin. Aldus would also, in 1501, use Hebrew fonts in his Introductio utilissima hebraica discere cupientibus, an appendix to a Latin grammar, a work he reprinted eight times. In 1499 Aldus allowed it to be known that he intended to publish a trilingual edition of the Bible, in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. That work never came to fruition, being limited to a pair of proof sheets issued in 1501. Specimens with two different settings were sent out, but by 1502 Aldus acknowledged to Reuchlin that nothing had been printed in Hebrew. The text of the proof sheets, typical of polyglot Bibles, is in parallel columns, enabling scholars to examine and compare the translations. The Hebrew is in newly cut square vowelled letters, the text from the beginning of Genesis. Perhaps it was due to his intention to print this Bible, and other Hebrew works as well, that Aldus opposed and successfully petitioned the Venetian Senate to deny Gershom Soncino, the greatest of the pioneers of Hebrew printing, the right to operate a Hebrew press in Venice. In his Latin works Soncino employed fonts cut by Francesco de Bologna, who had left Aldus, increasing the enmity between the two great printers. Soncino later also claimed that he, as a young man, had written the Introductio, which he gave to someone (Aldus) who, not fully fluent in Hebrew, edited and printed it badly. Aldus never gave up his dream of publishing in Hebrew. As late as 1513, in his Pindar, he still proclaimed his intention to print in Hebrew, but it remained an unrealized goal. The Alphabetum Hebraicum was reprinted twice in facsimile editions in Munich, in 1925 and 1927.

Format 120: 4 leaves.

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1504, Musar Haskel be-Melizah/Orhot Hayyim, Rav Hai ben Sherira Gaon/ Asher ben Jehiel (Rosh), Fano Courtesy of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

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Musar Haskel be-Melizah/Orhot Hayyim

μyyj twjrwa/hxylmb lkçh rswm Rav Hai ben Sherira Gaon/Asher ben Jehiel (Rosh) 1504, Fano—Gershom Soncino Two ethical works, attributed to Rav Hai ben Sherira Gaon of Pumbedita (939–1038) and R. Asher ben Jehiel (Rabbenu Asher, Rosh, c. 1250–1327). Rav Hai Gaon, last of the prominent geonim, was the head of the talmudic academy in Pumbedita. His responsa number well over a thousand, written as authoritative rulings in response to inquiries, many from rabbinic authorities in distant lands. Rabbenu Asher is a significant personality in the development of Jewish law. The outstanding student of and successor to R. Meir of Rothenburg (Maharam) as the leader of German Jewry, Rosh left Germany in 1303 for Spain due to the persecution of the Jews in the former land. He initially stayed at the home of R. Solomon Adret (Rashba) in Barcelona, moving, in 1305, to Toledo, where he became the head of the rabbinic court. More than 1,200 of Rosh’s responsa are extant, answering inquiries from as far as Russia. Rosh’s authoritative halakhic rulings in his Piskei ha-Rosh were codified by his son, R. Jacob ben Asher (Tur) in the Arba’ah Turim. The text of this small unfoliated volume (9 cm.), extant only as a unicum in the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary, is made up of Musar Haskel be-Melizah, [1a–11a]; Ka’arat Kesef [11b–20b] by the thirteenth-century liturgical poet R. Joseph ben Hanan ben Nathan Ezobi of Perpignan; a versified form of Maimonides’ thirteen principles [21a–22a]; a blank page [22b]; and Orhot Hayyim [23a–34b]. At the conclusion of Musar Haskel is a colophon from Gershon Soncino, dated 17 October (yrbwfwa) 264 (Gregorian Thursday, 27 October, 1504). The text of the first part of the book is in three columns in square vocalized letters. Orhot Hayyim is in a single column in square vocalized letters. The purposes of these ethical works is stated in their opening remarks. Musar Haskel, an ethical poem of 189 double verses, begins, “Be roused my son, awake, and be on the alert, hearken to instruction, reproof, and counsel.” Orhot Hayyim’s 131 ethical sayings begins, “These are the things that one should be careful of, in order to avoid the snares of death and to shine with the light of eternal life.” Musar Haskel and Orhot Hayyim, popular works, have been often reprinted and translated into several languages, including English. Orhot Hayyim has been the subject of numerous commentaries, and R. Yom Tov Lipmann Heller (Tosafot Yom Tov, 1579–1654) translated the work into Yiddish and divided it into seven chapters to be recited daily.

Format 320: 32 leaves. Musar Haskel reprinted in Constantinople (1511, 1533), Paris (1559 [with Latin]), Venice (1578), and Frankfort on the Oder (1597 [with Latin]); Orhot Hayyim reprinted in Constantinople (1519), Salonika (1521), Cracow ([1535]), Venice (1544), Lublin ([1572]), and Venice (1578).

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6

Haggadah Zevah Pesah

jsp jbz—jsp lç hdgh Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel 1505, Constantinople—David and Samuel ibn Nahmias The first printed commentary on the Passover Haggadah, by Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel (1437–1508), the noted statesman, biblical exegete, and philosopher. Abrabanel completed Zevah Pesah in April, erev Pesah, 1496, in Monopoli, in the kingdom of Naples, halfway between Brindisi and Bari on the Adriatic coast, one of his many way stations after the expulsion from Spain. Abrabanel arrived here in November or December, 1495, at the age of 58, completed his commentary on Deuteronomy the following February, and, concerned with the calamities that had befallen the Jews, next addressed the problem of redemption. He had suspended work on his commentary on Avot (Nahalat Avot) to work on Zevah Pesah, dealing with the paradigm of the redemption of the Jews from Mizraim (Egypt). Zevah Pesah was brought to press by his son, Judah (Leone Ebreo), author of Dialoghi di Amore, and published together with Nahalat Avot and Rosh Amanah (on the principles of the Jewish faith), all three being sold as a unit and likely also separately. Each of these works begins with a poem, written by Judah Abrabanel, set in the same ornamental border used with the Pentatuech, also printed in 1505. There is no title page. Judah Abrabanel begins his verses for Zevah Pesah with expressions of deep respect and affection for his father. In the introduction Don Isaac Abrabanel relates how, from his youth he had become accustomed to wealth, honor, and associating with the greatest personages of the land. He feelingly recounts how this all came to an end, how the Lord of Hosts “determined to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion” (Lamentations 2:8), the exile of Jerusalem that was Spain. The Lord was as an enemy, “to destroy, to slay, and to annihilate” (Esther 7:4) all the Jews. “He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending” (Psalms 78:49) destructive kings, “and cast them into another land” (Deuteronomy 29:27).

The commentary is lengthy, deep and thorough, but eminently readable. Many sections begin with queries, followed by responses. As with the Abrabanel’s biblical commentaries, Zevah Pesah is a comprehensive and unified work. It has proven to be of enduring popularity, often reprinted. In his colophon Abrabanel writes that Zevah Pesah was completed on the 14th, Erev Pesah, in the year, “Sing wnr (256 = Monday, April 6, 1496) with gladness for Jacob” ( Jeremiah 31:6). Zevah Pesah, Nahalat Avot and Rosh Amanah each have a colophon dating the completion of their writing. In the colophon to Nahalat Avot Abrabanel informs that they came to the kingdom of Naples after the travail of the exile from Spain where they were greeted “with a cheerful face” (Avot 1:15). At the end is the colophon of the printers, David and Samuel ibn Nahmias, stating that the printing of Zevah Pesah was completed Thursday, 9 Kislev, in the year 5266 (November 16, 1505). Abrabanel’s books were preceded by a Pentateuch, completed in Nissan 5265 (March/April, 1505). These are, excepting an edition of the Arba’ah Turim printed in 1493, the first books printed in Constantinople.

Format 20: 40 leaves. Reprinted in Venice (1545), Cremona (1557), Riva di Trento (1561) and Bistrowitz (1592).

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1505, Hamishah Homshei Torah, Constantinople Courtesy of the Wellcome Library, London

8

Hamishah Homshei Torah

hrwt yçmwj hçymj 1505, Constantinople—David and Samuel ibn Nahmias Hamishah Homshei Torah (Pentateuch) with haftarot, the five Megillot, and commentaries. The second book printed in Constantinople, after a hiatus of more than a decade. There is no title page. Several pages, among them the initial pages of Exodus, Numbers, and that of Ma’aseh Ephod, have a decorative border made up of arabesques, tendrils, scrolls, animal figures and grotesques, reflecting an Islamic influence. The frame appears on the verso in Hebrew books, the recto in Latin books, the sides being of uneven width, having been cut to retain the balance of the page. The single exception to this employment of the frame is Leshon Limmudim (Constantinople, 1506, see below, pp. 20–21). Alfonso Fernández de Córdoba of Valencia, a silversmith, cut the frame, employing it in Manuale Caesaraugustanum (Hijar, c. 1487), a Catholic liturgical work. Through de Córdoba’s prior association with R. Solomon ben Maimon Zalmati the frame came into the possession of Eliezer ben Abraham ibn Alantansi and Zalmati, who, at the same location, printed a Bible (1486–89), the first Hebrew book with a border. It is believed that de Córdoba also cut the Hebrew letters used by Alantansi, a service that brought him the wrath of the Inquisition, forcing him to flee for his life. The border next became the property of R. Eliezer Toledano in Lisbon, who used it with several books, among them R. Moses ben Nahman’s (Ramban) Torah commentary and the Abudarham (1489), in that location, before it came to Constantinople. In addition to the border there are ornate decorative initial letters. The volume includes the text with Massoretic accents, Targum Onkelos and Rashi, haftarot according to the Sephardic rite with the commentary of R. David Kimhi (Radak), Megillot with the commentary of R. Abraham ibn Ezra, and Megillat Ahasuerus (Esther). The text of the Pentateuch concludes on [362b]. At the end of each book is the sum of the verses, sedorim, and parashiot. The haftarot and Megillot take up another [152] leaves; the order being Song of Songs, Ruth, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, and Ahasuerus. Both large square letters and rabbinic type are employed, the former like those used by Toledano in Lisbon. The latter, however, is an Italian style semi-cursive, never used in the Iberian peninsula. Signatures appear both in the upper left hand corner of the recto of the first folio in a gathering, and at the bottom left hand corner of each folio on the first four leaves of the gathering. Four watermarks have been noted, two of a human head surmounted by a saltire (St. Andrew’s cross) on a vertical line, a hand with a star, and a column surmounted by a cross. The first two watermarks are found in early sixteenth century paper, the third is dated to 1485, the last to 1465, all of the papers originating in south-east France. In the colophon the editor, R. Abraham ben Joseph ibn Yaish, recounts the hardships encountered by the exiles from Spain in their wanderings, and the importance of this printing, due to the exiles’ lack of such works, and the names of the sponsors, two merchants, R. Yeshua ben Saadiah and Isaac Kasputah. Verse from R. Joseph ben Joel Bibus concludes the volume. The colophon gives a completion date of Nissan 5265 (March/April, 1505), during the reign of Bayazid II (1481–1512).

Format 20: [514] leaves.

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10

Sefer ha-Roke’ah

jqwrh rps Eleazer ben Judah of Worms 1505, Fano—Gershom Soncino A halakhic work with minhagim (customs) and considerable ethical material by R. Eleazer ben Judah (Roke’ah, c. 1165–c. 1238). The author, a member of the renowned Kalonymus family, was a student of his father, R. Judah ben Kalonymus, R. Judah he-Hasid, and other prominent halakhists, such as R. Moses ha-Kohen and Eliezer of Metz. A scholar and kabbalist, Eleazer was one of the Hasidei Ashkenaz, qualities reflected in many of his works. The Sefer ha-Roke’ah is so entitled because the numerical value of Roke’ah (jqr = 308, the Perfumer), the family name, equals his personal name, Eleazer (rz[la = 308). He personally suffered from the persecution of the Jews; while working on his Torah commentary, on the 22nd of Kislev, 1196 (d”nqtt), two crusaders entered his home, murdered his wife, Dulcina, his daughters, Belat and Hannah, his son Jacob, and his son’s teacher. Eleazer was severely wounded. A week later a perpetrator was apprehended and executed. The condition of Jewish life at the time of the Crusades, emphasized by Eleazer’s personal tragedy, are reflected in the world view and manner in which the correct service of the Creator is given in the Sefer ha-Roke’ah. Ha-Roke’ah is not a detailed or casuistic work, but rather gives the halakhah in a direct manner primarily based on talmudic sources, referencing the Jerusalem as well as the Babylonian Talmud. Use is also made of Midrashic sources and the book reflects the influence of Kabbalah. It is intended for the average person rather than directed to scholars, obvious in its approach, which is practical rather than theoretical. Sefer ha-Roke’ah begins with a discussion of the love and fear of God, prayer, and humility (Hilkhot Hassidut), followed by the text, which is divided into 497 sections, beginning with a chapter on repentance (29 sections). The remainder of the book deals with the laws encompassing Jewish life, such as prayer, Sabbath, festivals, mourning, and dietary laws. Sefer ha-Roke’ah is the first Hebrew book with a title page. That page, really a title-label page, is simple, devoid of ornamentation, and provides only the most basic information, that is, the title, author, and the name of the editor, who performed his task “with great care.” This last statement notwithstanding, the editor of the third edition (Cremona, 1557), perhaps to extoll his own work, wrote “The first printer ‘has profaned the consecrated thing of the Lord’ (Leviticus 19:8) and ‘a ruin, a ruin’ (Ezekiel 21:32), throughout the land. ‘That which is crooked cannot be made straight’ (Ecclesiastes 1:15).” The date of completion, erev Pesah 265 (Wednesday, March 29, 1505), and the place, Fano, are to be found in the colophon. Written in a clear and lucid style, ha-Roke’ah is a popular and much reprinted work. The ethical portions have also frequently been reprinted apart from the complete Sefer haRoke’ah. More than fifty works are credited to Eleazer, including piyyutim (liturgical poetry), many of a mystical nature, commentaries on the Torah, Megillot (Yayyin ha-Rekah), Haggadah, and works of a kabbalisitic nature. Many of Eleazer’s writings remain in manuscript.

Format 20: 110 leaves. Reprinted in Venice (1549) and Cremona (1557).

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12

Selihot—Ashkenaz Rite in Italy

twjyls 1505, Fano—Gershom Soncino Penitential prayers. Printed in Fano by Gershom Soncino. The volume begins with a long introduction by the publisher, R. Naphtali Treves, who extols the value of prayer and Selihot. He begins with an acrostic of several lines of verse from the Selihot that spell out his name. The text of the introduction begins “‘Simon the righteous . . . used to say, the world stands upon three pillars, on Torah study, on the service [of God], and on good deeds,’ (Pirkei Avot 1:2) and equivalent to them is the statement in the Jerusalem Talmud (Ta’anit) Rabbi Eleazer says, three things annul the harsh decree; they are, prayer, charity, and repentance.” The introduction concludes, “And the custom is to distribute charity to the poor, as [it states], ‘As for me, I will behold your face in righteousness; [I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with beholding your likeness]’ (Psalms 17:15) for we are given over to judgement. . . .” The Selihot begin at the week prior to Rosh Ha-Shanah, followed by erev Rosh HaShanah, erev Yom Kippur, Zom Gedalyah, Aseret Yemei Teshuvah (ten days of penitence between Rosh Ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur), and fast days, such as the tenth of Tevet and Ta’anit Ester. The volume is completed with the pertinent Torah readings for fast days. There are 182 Selihot, although the enumeration concludes at 181, the selihah after 153 not being numbered. The Selihot are according to the Ashkenaz rite in Italy, which differs from that of the Sephardim, the latter being said for more days, and having a somewhat different arrangement. The volume is undated; a later date and different place of printing have been suggested, but the Selihot is generally believed to be a Fano imprint. There is no title page and the text is unpaginated. The quires, there are eighteen, are of six leaves, except for the last which is four leaves. The verso of the first leaf is blank. The first text page has an ornamental woodcut frame. This frame was employed on several other works, for example, tractate Sukkah (Pesaro, 1515), but not nearly as often as the components of the frame from the Decachordum Christianum (Fano, 1507). The first word is set in large decorative letters. The text of this Selihot was later subjected to considerable inking out by censors due to material they presumed to be objectionable. Selihot according to the Ashkenaz rite in Italy was recited in northern Italy, in such places as Verona, Mantua, and Venice, and in Ansbach in Bavaria. These Selihot were reprinted in Venice in 1612 and 1735 and in Venice in 1823.

Format 20: 106 leaves.

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c. 1505, Tractate Pesahim, Constantinople Courtesy of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

14

Tractate Pesahim

μyjsp tksm c. 1505, Constantinople—David and Samuel ibn Nahmias Pesahim, the third tractate in Seder (Order) Mo’ed, dealing with the festival of Passover and the related Temple service. Printed in Constantinople in c. 1505, this edition exists in a unicum of one leaf and a very small fragment of another leaf in the Jewish Theological Seminary. The foliation of this tractate varies from the standard foliation. The recto, consisting of 43 lines of text, equivalent to 55b to 56a, begins at f[wm dsphl and ends at ˆyçw[ μda lk ˆk. The verso continues from ˆwxrb alç wlaw wlaw ala to yswy ybr wnyyh and consists of 48 lines of text, equivalent to 56a to 57a, that is, the second line of the latter amud. Within the text the Tetragrammaton is represented in a Sephardic manner by two yodin followed by a quarter circle line curved back over the yodin. Lines are here often justified, that is completed, with the first letter of the next line. The text is accompanied by both Rashi and tosafot. Tosafot was not traditionally learned in Spain nor was it included with tractates printed there. Its inclusion here, and in subsequent tractates published in Sephardic centers, reflects the influence of the Soncino incunabula treatises and the Nahmias brothers’ recognition of the marketing advantages of printing tosafot with tractates. A characteristic of the tosafot in Sephardic tractates is that they often vary from the standard tosafot. Tractates based on Sephardic manuscripts are known to have variant readings. This fragment, certainly a small sample for a tractate with 121 folios, is generally comparable to current tractates, except for a number of minor variants readings, for example, “the elder one” for “Jacob our forefather” and the omission of occasional words and even names. Two more significant variations, however, are the substitution of R. Shimon ben Pazi for R. Shimon ben Lakish and the omission of the beginning of the gemara after the Mishnah, from “The rabbis taught, six things were done by King Hezekiah” to “he intercalculated the month of Nissan but [the sages] did not agree with him.” In addition to Pesahim at least one other tractate, Eruvin, is known to have been printed at this time. Almost as rare, it exists as a 16 folio 31 cm. fragment in the JTS library and a smaller folio fragment in the Israel Mehlman collection in the JNUL. The latter has been described in the collection’s catalogue as, [ Tractate Eruvin with Rashi’s commentary and Tosafot]. [Constantinople, ca. 1505]. 23 cent. fragment of 8 leaves, very defective, from an unknown edition. The letters and the order is very similar to the Rif, Kushta, 1509: the fullness of the rows, the width of the center and the commentaries (80, 48mm) and typographical characteristics which are the same in both. The form of the Tetragrammaton is three yodin in the form of an inverted segol, followed by an inverted zayin. The text is in the middle with square letters, Rashi’s commentary is on the inner side of the page and the Tosafot are on the outer side, both in Rashi script. The arrangement of the pages varies from the customary editions. The fragments here are equivalent to pages 12a–13a, 14b–21b.

In c. 1509, the press issued at least two additional tractates, Yoma, fragments of which are in the JTS library and the JNUL, and Rosh Ha-Shanah, a unicum fragment in the JNUL.

Format 20.

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De rudimentis Hebraicis Johannes Reuchlin 1506, Pforzheim—Thomas Anshelm Introductory grammar and lexicon for scholars with no knowledge of Hebrew. Johannes Reuchlin (1455–1522), a renowned jurist, statesman and humanist classics scholar, was an important Christian-Hebraist. A Christian student of Kabbalah, he is also known as Capnion from the name of a Christian character in his kabbalistic De verbo mirifico (Basel, 1494). Reuchlin was a prestigious and vigorous defender of the Talmud in the Battle of the Books (Pfefferkorn affair, see below, p. 29). Reuchlin taught Greek and published a Latin lexicon (1475–76), obtained a law degree (1481), and afterwards, until 1512, held court and judicial posts in Württemberg and Stuttgart. From 1519, he was professor of Greek and Hebrew at Ingolstadt, and from 1521 at Tübingen. Reuchlin’s study of Hebrew began as early as 1473 in Paris. A more intense interest in Hebrew and Kabbalah resulted from the influence of the Italian humanist, Pico della Mirandola, whom Reuchlin met on a visit to Italy in 1490. Reuchlin then studied with Jacob ben Jehiel Loans (d. 1506), physician to Emperor Frederick III, and Obadiah Sforno (1450–1550). Reuchlin was more favorable to Jewish studies than to Jews, and, although his defense of Jewish books was unwavering, he cannot be considered a philo-Semite. Although preceded by Conrad Pellican’s Hebrew grammar (Strasbourg, 1504), the De rudimentis is much superior and therefore considered the first important Christian work on Hebrew philology. It was influential in promoting the study of Hebrew and, as a result, study of the Hebrew Bible in the original. This, Reuchlin’s first Hebrew work, is based primarily on the Sefer ha-Shorashim of David Kimhi (c. 1160–c. 1235). De rudimentis Hebraicis is a Hebrew grammar and lexicon written for students in Latin. Nevertheless, Reuchlin cleverly organized and paginated it like a Hebrew book, so that it reads from right to left. The title page simply states PRINCIPIVM LIBRI. The text concludes Finis Libris; a Latin poem follows: You are looking at the end of the book, not the beginning. This book is not to be read like the others. Hold the front to the left and the back to the right, and the pages from left to the right, turn to whatever pages and you will see, If from proper Latin, words are translated into Hebrew, they are to be read from the right to the left. The text is divided into three books: the Hebrew lexicon to letter K; from L to the end of the alphabet; and the grammar with exercises. Although most of the text is vowelled, at the end there is unpointed material for advanced students. The book concludes with a long colophon from the printer, and on the last page a large woodcut with the insignia of Reuchlin. Reuchlin published De rudimentis Hebraicis at his own expense. It did not initially sell well, for 750 of the 1,000 copies printed remained unsold in 1510. Two additional works on Hebrew grammar and works on Kabbalah were published by Reuchlin, earning him the appellation, Father of Renaissance Hebrew studies. De rudimentis Hebraicis was printed by Thomas Anshelm of Baden, active from 1488 to 1522, and in Pforzheim from 1500 to 1511. His device appears after the colophon. In some exemplars, but not here, there are Hebrew letters. Format 20: p. 624.

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1506, Kuzar, Judah Halevi, Fano Courtesy of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

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Kuzar

rzwkh rps Judah ben Samuel Halevi 1506, Fano—Gershom Soncino Philosophic classic from R. Judah ben Samuel Halevi (c. 1075–1141), one of the greatest Jewish poets and philosophers of the middle ages. Born in Tudela, or perhaps Toledo, Spain, Halevi trained as a doctor and practiced medicine for most of his life. He achieved his reputation as a poet, being acknowledged as accomplished in that field at an early age, when he won a contest in Granada. He was very close to R. Abraham ibn Ezra, who reputedly married (or it may have been ibn Ezra’s son) Judah’s daughter. Halevi wrote both secular, which he later regretted, and religious poetry, about 800 poems being known today. It is the religious poetry that is considered unequaled, reflecting mastery of the Hebrew language, fervor of feeling, pride in Israel’s selection and grief at its suffering. In 1140 he traveled to the Holy Land. According to tradition, when Halevi arrived before the gates of Jerusalem, and while kissing its stones, an Arab horseman galloped out of the city and trampled him, as he was reciting his Ziyyon ha-lo tishali. There is some evidence, though, that he did not reach the Holy Land but that he died in Egypt and was buried there. Judah Halevi’s philosophical masterpiece, The Book of Argument and Proof in Defense of the Despised Faith, known today as Kuzari, was written in Arabic and translated into Hebrew by Judah ibn Tibbon (c. 1120–c. 1190). It is his best known work. Written in defense of the Jewish faith, it is based on a historical event, the conversion of the king of the Khazars, a Tartar tribe, to Judaism in the tenth century, after examining Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Kuzari is written in the form of a dialogue between the pagan king and three philosophers, representing each of the three faiths. At the end, the king and his people, convinced as to the truth of Judaism, convert to that faith. Halevi is an independent and original thinker, rejecting contemporary rationalist philosophies. His book is a super-rational argument to demonstrate the superiority of Judaism and that it is in sole and complete possession of the truth. Halevi defends creatio ex nihilo, prophecy, and the truth of revelation. He emphasizes God’s selection of Israel, noting that the other religions are derivative and imitative, and the importance of performing precepts. Kuzari is divided into five parts discussing the existence and manifestation of God, creation, Sinai, and the Jewish people; Divine attributes, philosophy of Jewish history, the distinct function of the Jewish people, and the uniqueness of Erez Israel; a discussion of the tenets of Judaism and Jewish history; a discussion of the names of God; and finally, a critique of Aristotelian and other philosophies, free will and Providence. The title page of this edition is simple, consisting of one line only, stating the name of the work as Sefer ha-Kuzar. There is an introductory poem on the verso of the title page, and another, at the end of the volume, by Meir ben Joseph ibn Yihyya of Lisbon. The gatherings of the book, which is unpaginated, are a-wf4, wy2. Kuzari has proven to be a popular and influential work, translated into many languages, with numerous commentaries written on it.

Format 40: [62] leaves. Reprinted in Venice (1547 and 1594).

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Leshon Limmudim

μydwml ˆwçl David ben Solomon ibn Yahya 1506, Constantinople—David and Samuel ibn Nahmias Grammatical work, printed together with Shekel ha-Kodesh on metre and versification. R. David ben Solomon ibn Yahya (c. 1440–1524), student of R. Joseph Hayyun and rabbi in Lisbon, was among the exiles from Portugal. Ibn Yahya proceeded to Naples, where, his property despoiled by the French in their invasion of that kingdom, he sailed to Corfu, finally settling in Constantinople. He was a contemporary of R. Elijah Mizrahi, the leading rabbinic authority of the Ottoman Empire, who refers to ibn Yahya with great honor in a responsum after the latter questioned one of his rulings. Ibn Yahya wrote both biblical commentaries, on halakhah, and grammatical works. This is the first edition of Leshon Limmudim, written prior to leaving Portugal. It includes all the rules of Hebrew grammar in a concise format. The book is divided into four sha’arim (gates), each subdivided into chapters. Leshon Limmudim was written as a tutorial for his cousin and pupil, David ben Joseph ibn Yahya (1465–1543), who prepared an abridgment, printed in Rome in 1540. Leshon Limmudim is followed by Shekel ha-Kodesh on prosody. That work, originally attributed to David ibn Yahya, is now believed to have been written by Solomon ben Jacob Almoli (c. 1485–c. 1542, see below, pp. 73, 201). The first page of Leshon Limmudim is set within the delicate decorative border first used in Hijar, Spain and with several Constantinople books, beginning with the 1505 Pentateuch. It is here employed on the recto of the first leaf, the only time it was so used with a Hebrew book, otherwise always appearing on the verso of the other imprints. That is because, being cut for a book with Latin letters, reading from left to right, the outer margin has a wider gutter, thereby having a less-attractive appearance when so employed on the recto of a Hebrew book This is the last usage of that frame. Signatures are set throughout in the upper left-hand corner of the recto. There is no foliation. The ornamental border was repeatedly employed by the Nahmias brothers, until 1509, in such diverse works as Abrabanel’s Zevah Pesah, Nahalat Avot, and Rosh Amanah; Alfasi’s Sefer ha-Halakhot; and Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah. Ibn Yahya’s other works include a work on Proverbs, Kav ve-Naki (Lisbon, 1492); Hilkhot Terefot ha-Sirkhah (Constantinople, 1519); on the principles of Judaism, Tehillah le-David (Constantinople, no date); and a commentary on Daniel (Dessau, 1808).

Format 40: 56 leaves. Reprinted in Constantinople (1519 and 1546).

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22

Sha’arei Teshuvah

hbwçth yr[ç Jonah ben Abraham Gerondi c. 1506, Fano—Gershom Soncino Classic ethical work by R. Jonah ben Abraham Gerondi (Rabbenu Yonah, c. 1200–1263). Jonah was a cousin of Nahmanides (Ramban), who married Jonah’s father’s sister, and a student of the brothers R. Moses and Samuel ben Shneur Evreux and afterwards Solomon ben Abraham of Montpellier. When the latter opposed and placed a ban on Maimonides’ Moreh Nevukhim Jonah was a signatory, an action he later regretted and publicly repented after Maimonides’ books were burned by the Inquisition. Jonah determined to settle in Erez Israel, but was delayed in Barcelona where he gave discourses for three years. He again set out for the Holy Land, but in Toledo the community induced him to stay and instruct them. Jonah founded a yeshivah there and died before he could complete his journey. Among his students are R. Solomon ben Abraham Adret (Rashba), Solomon ben Eli of Sarai and Hillel ben Samuel of Verona. It is from the latter that we have biographical information about Jonah. Sha’arei Teshuvah (Gates of Repentance) is one of the basic works of Judaism on repentance and conduct. It is divided into four portals (she’arim), namely repentance and its principles; how one may awaken himself to return to God; recognizing the stringency of the mitzvot and the punishments for their violation; and Atonement. Each of these portals is in turn subdivided into smaller units. It has been suggested that Jonah was influenced by the Sefer Hasidim of Judah he-Hasid, but this is uncertain. There is no title page, the book beginning, “Sha’arei Teshuvah from the pious (ha-Hasid) Rabbenu Yonah lz” in square letters, immediately followed by the text in semi-cursive rabbinic letters. The volume is unpaginated. Printed with Sha’arei Teshuvah are Musar Haskel (36b–39b) by R. Hai Gaon and Sefer ha-Yirah (39b–45a), also by Jonah, both popular ethical works frequently reprinted. The colophon at the end of the volume simply states, “In the city of Fano by the young printer μyqqwjmh ry[x of the Bnei Soncino.” The date, c. 1506, is only an approximation. The text is preceded, in some well-preserved copies, by a blank leaf. This leaf, designed to protect the volume in the absence of a title page, is often included in the enumeration of the quires, as is the case here, where the first signature of the first text page is ba. Sha’arei Teshuvah is Jonah’s most important and influential work. Among the other ethical works written by him are Iggeret Teshuvah (Constantinople, 1548; Prague, 1595, see below, pp. 838–39), Sha’arei ha-Avodah (Bnei Brak, 1967), recently discovered and, although the attribution is uncertain, credited to Jonah. These works, together with Sha’arei Teshuvah and Sefer ha-Yirah, may be part of Sha’arei Zedek, a larger work cited by Hasdai Crescas but no longer extant. Jonah also wrote a commentary on Hilkhot Rav Alfas, compiled by his students, of which only the portion on Berakhot has been published; novellae on Bava Batra and Sanhedrin, as well as on other tractates that are no longer extant; and commentaries on Proverbs and Avot. Other works are credited to Jonah in the writings of rishonim (early sages) and more recently several books have been ascribed to him, but these attributions are unsubstantiated.

Format 40: 46 leaves. Reprinted in Constantinople ([1511]), Venice (1544), and Cracow (1581).

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Be’ur al ha-Torah

hrwth l[ rwayb Bahya ben Asher ben Hlava 1507, Pesaro—Gershom Soncino Popular multi-faceted commentary on the Torah by R. Bahya ben Asher ben Hlava (Rabbenu Bahya, 13th century). Bahya, a student of R. Solomon ben Adret (Rashba) and R. Isaac ben Todros (Isaac Tauroci), both of whom are referred to in the Be’ur, served as a dayyan and preacher in Saragossa, Spain. Based on comments in the Be’ur it is estimated that it was completed in 1292. Bahya begins each parsha with a quote from Proverbs followed by a relevant homily built upon that quote as understood by R. Jonah Gerondi. The commentary is rich, encyclopedic, and clearly written with considerable ethical content and emphasis. Bahya, as he remarks in the introduction, divides his commentary into four parts: 1) The literal meaning, based on earlier sages, such as Rashi and Rabbenu Hananel. Bahya’s purpose here is to plant and build upon his predecessors, whom he regards as authoritative. Rashi and R. Hananel are specifically mentioned 112 and 40 times, respectively, and Saadiah Gaon 15 times, the latter translated into Hebrew from Arabic by Bahya. The Ramban and Abraham ibn Ezra, as well as others, are important sources. 2) Homiletic, based on midrashim. Bahya’s use of this aggadic material, comprising a large portion of the work, is comprehensive. 3) Sekhel (philosophic), to show that the Torah encompasses all wisdom. Interpretations are included only if they are consistent with tradition. Primary sources are Maimonides and Bahya ibn Paquda. 4) Kabbalistic, the path of light, for the revealed Torah is connected with “superior knowledge.” Considerable use is made of the Zohar and other kabbalistic sources, not mentioned by name, with the important exception of the Ramban. The title page of this edition simply states Sefer Rabbenu Bahya Be’ur al ha-Torah. The colophon is dated the 1st of Sivan, 5267 (Wednesday, May 22, 1507). Several initial pages have decorative frames from the Decachordum. Although these woodcut frames were cut for that work, they appeared here first, the Be’ur preceding the Decachordum to publication. The decorative frame used with the first page of Leviticus, however, is not from the Decachordum, but was used in several other works printed by Gershom. In his 1514 and 1517 edition of Bahya’s Be’ur the identical Decachordum frames are reused, but the other ornamentation varies. Variant copies of this edition exist. In some examples, the border of the initial word of Exodus, unlike the other initial words where the border is set within a larger frame, covers the width of the page, while in others copies the setting of that initial word does not vary. The Pesaro, Rimini, and a reputed Constantinople edition, have material considered to be anti-Christian and therefore omitted from later editions. Bahya’s Be’ur al ha-Torah is one of the most popular Torah commentaries. Printed twice during the incunabular period (Naples, 1492, and Portugal, 1497), it has been reprinted more than twenty times and has been the subject of at least ten supercommentaries, among them Naftulei Elohim (Heddernheim, 1546, below, p. 315) by Naphtali Hertz Treves. A Latin translation by Conrad Pellican remains in manuscript. Bahya’s other works, also popular, include Kad ha-Kemah (Constantinople, 1515, below, p. 67) and Shulhan shel Arba (Mantua, 1514, below, p. 65). Format 20: 288 leaves. Reprinted in Pesaro (1514, 1517), Rimini (1524), Venice (1544, 1546), Riva di Trento (1559), and Cracow (1592).

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Decachordum Christianum (The Christian Ten-Stringed Harpsichord) Cardinal Marcus Vigerius 1507, Fano—Gershom Soncino The Decachordum Christianum (the Christian ten-stringed harpsichord) has been described by Moses Marx “as the most beautiful book that Gershom ever published. . . . One may state without hesitancy that no contemporary printer could have produced the book with greater taste.” The Decachordum includes ten full-page woodcuts, prepared by two artists, as well as thirty vignettes situated at the beginning of chapters. The book is further enhanced by the elegant manner in which it was set. Cardinal Marcus Vigerius (Marco Vigerio), Bishop of Sinigaglia in Rome, was the author; publication was paid for by Urbano Vigerio, governor of the city of Fano and a close kinsman of the Cardinal. The dedication is to Pope Julius II. Gershom’s remuneration, according to the Archives of Fano, was 296 ducats. Urbano Vigerio also payed 30 ducats to Antonio Mattioli in Fabriano, Marca d’Ancona, for the paper. An unbound parchment copy of the Decachordum was sent by the Cardinal to King Louis XII of France, so that the monarch might more comfortably hold and read it. The Decachordum has ten woodcuts surrounded by ornamental borders, in addition to the title page. There are, however, essentially only two frames made up of four parts. Each frame is comprised of identical left and right margins, which can be combined with combinations of the upper and lower borders, which are not all of uniform size. The use of movable pieces in the frame, rather than a single unit, permits the rearrangement of the component parts, giving the appearance of variation, and provides flexibility, so that the woodcut portions for the top or bottom of the frame can be arranged aesthetically to accommodate longer or shorter text within the border. The borders are signed, in the lower corners, with the letters FV, the F reversed. They have been attributed to Florio Vavassore, but this book is earlier than other appearances of his name. In addition, more than thirty vignettes, at the beginning of chapters, give the book a warmer tone than the customary decorative initials. Although the beautiful ornamental frames were originally cut for the Decachordum, they actually appeared earlier in Gershom’s edition of Bahya, published May 22, 1507, the Decachordum not being completed until August 10 of that year. These borders were employed afterwards in almost all of Gershom’s Hebrew folio titles and in his Latin titles, in the many locations in which he printed. The frames from the Decachordum were subsequently used by Gershom’s son Eliezer Soncino, and then by Moses ben Eliezer Parnas, who acquired the Soncino press, being employed in Constantinople into the mid-sixteenth century. The beauty of the Decachordum was immediately appreciated and secured additional contracts for Gershom. He was hired to print the Statuta Civitatis Fano, using the same paper as in the Decachordum, followed by the statutes of the city of Jesi in 1516 and Rimini in 1525. He was also recommended by the lawyers Aurelio Superchio and Tommaso Diplovatazio to print Pesaro’s statutes, which they had revised, but he did not receive this contract.

Format 20.

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c. 1507-20, Des Pfefferkorns Leben Courtesy of the Klau Library, Hebrew Union College

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Des Pfefferkorns Leben c. 1507–20 Anonymous broadside enumerating the numerous alleged crimes of Johannes Pfefferkorn (c. 1469–1521/24) committed prior to his apostasy. Reputedly, Pfefferkorn’s baptism secured absolution for himself, saving him from the gallows. Pfefferkorn’s significance stems from the Pfefferkorn-Reuchlin affair, a cause célèbre in the first decades of the sixteenth century, over the suppression of the Talmud. In this instance all the major participants were Christian rather than Jewish. The culmination of the affair was a significant factor in the beginning of the Reformation. Pfefferkorn, a semi-literate, ignorant butcher, convicted of theft and burglary, was released after payment of a fine. He then converted to Christianity, at the age of 36 (1504), together with his wife and children. Soon after, with the guidance of the Dominicans, Pfefferkorn wrote a series of anti-Jewish pamphlets, among them Der Judenspiegel (Cologne, 1507), calling for the cessation of usury, attendance at Christian sermons, and, perhaps most importantly, the seizure and destruction of the Talmud, which he claimed, although obviously ignorant of its contents, caused hatred against Christianity. Subsequent pamphlets, more bitterly anti-Jewish, called for the expulsion of the Jews. The Dominicans provided Pfefferkorn recommendations to Countess-Abbess Kunigunde, sister of Emperor Maximilian, who influenced the Emperor to put an end to Jewish blasphemies and to seize their books. On August 19, 1509, the Jews were ordered to deliver their books to Pfefferkorn. Books had already been confiscated in several cities when the Elector and Archbishop of Mayence, Uriel von Gemmingen, claimed that the Emperor’s decree was in error. Maximilian responded to the opposing parties on November 10, 1509 by having von Gemmingen lead a panel to investigate the books in question. Johannes Reuchlin, one of the leading intellectuals of Germany and a Christian-Hebraist, was to be a member. Reuchlin, alone, defended the Talmud, only agreeing to the destruction of clearly offensive books such as Nizzahon and Toledot Yeshu. Pfefferkorn next attacked Reuchlin with a venomous pamphlet, Handspiegel (Mainz, 1511), who replied with his classic Augenspiegel, directed against Pfefferkorn, and by implication his Dominican supporters, which includes a defense of the Talmud. Additional pamphlets were issued, becoming the subject of disputations, the ensuing furor involving the pope, churchmen, intellectuals, and universities throughout Western Europe. Erasmus, the famed humanist, although not personally involved, referred to Pfefferkorn as “a criminal Jew who had become a most criminal Christian.” In 1520 Pope Leo X issued a verdict in favor of the Dominicans and against Reuchlin. Although the Domincans won a formal victory, the books were returned to the Jews and, more importantly, Reuchlin’s opponents were completely discredited. Diverse groups, ranging from important cardinals, intellectuals, and heads of state, to the zealous Franciscans, supported Reuchlin. These disparate bodies felt that the Dominicans brought them to a state of disrepute rather than upholding Church values. Finally, not only was the Talmud not burned, as demanded by Pfefferkorn and the Dominicans, but instead, Pope Leo X gave his imprimatur to the public printing of the Talmud by Daniel Bomberg in Venice.

Format 10.

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Sefer Rav Alfas

spla br rps Isaac ben Jacob Alfasi (Rif ) 1509, Constantinople—David and Samuel ibn Nahmias Halakhic compendium by R. Isaac ben Jacob Alfasi (Rif, 1013–1103). Alfasi, born in the Algerian city of Qal’at Hammad, was a student of the great sages R. Nissim ben Jacob (c. 990–1062) and Hananel ben Hushi’el (d. c. 1055) in Kairouan. After learning with them Alfasi relocated to Fez, from where his surname al-Fasi (Rif ) is derived, and became recognized as the leading talmudic sage of the time. In 1088, at the age of 75, two informers denounced him to the government—the charges are unknown—and he was forced to flee to Spain. Eventually settling in Lucena, Alfasi succeeded R. Isaac ben Judah ibn Ghayyat (c. 1020–89), who had died a few months earlier, as head of the yeshiva. Among Alfasi’s most prominent students are R. Ephraim of Kala’t Hamad (in Fez) and R. Joseph ibn Migash, Judah Halevi, and Baruch ben Isaac ibn Albalia (in Lucena). Alfasi’s major work, Sefer Rav Alfas (Hilkhot Rav Alfas, Sefer ha-Halakhot of Alfasi, and Talmud Katan), is one of the greatest works in halakhic literature. Sefer Rav Alfas is an abridgment of the Talmud, extracting all pertinent legal decisions and eliminating non-halakhic material, discussions, and subject matter not applicable today. It covers orders Mo’ed, Nashim, and Nezikim, as well as tractates Berakhot and Hullin. Laws in Kodashim and Tohorot, such as mezuzah and tefillin, are organized as Halakhot Ketannot. Sefer Rav Alfas differs from earlier works, such as Halakhot Gedolot, in that it is more comprehensive and more detailed, and includes material from the geonim, although, like them, it follows the order of the tractates. Where the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmud are in dispute, he follows the former, it being the more recent work. This edition, printed in two volumes, shares the decorative border on the volume title pages used in other Constantinople imprints of the period, such as Zevah Pesah and Leshon Limmudim. However, the tractates do not have individual title pages. The title page has a proem from David ben Joseph ibn Yahya and further verses in praise of the work are at the end of each volume. The text is accompanied by commentaries, one to a tractate, identified at the beginning of each tractate, that is, Rabbenu Yonah ( Jonah ben Abraham Gerondi), R. Nissim ben Reuben Gerondi (Ran, 1310–c. 1375), Jonathan ben David haKohen of Lunel (1135–c. 1210), and the Nimmukei Yosef of Joseph Habiba (14th–15th cent.). The text is followed by the Mordekhai of Mordecai ben Hillel ha-Kohen (c. 1240–1298). Material found in later editions, beginning with the Bomberg 1521–22 printing, is lacking here. It seems that this edition is correct, those entries being later insertions. Work was completed “[And he said, Bring them, I beg you, to me], and I will bless them μkrbaw (269 = 1509)” (Genesis 48:9). Maimonides writes that Sefer Rav Alfas has superseded its predecessors (the geonic codes), due to its comprehensiveness, and that he has deviated from Alfasi’s decisions thirty times only (Mishneh Torah), but elsewhere (Mishnayot) he writes ten only. R. Joseph Caro utilized Alfasi as one of the three amudim (pillars) upon which he based his decisions in the Shulhan Arukh. Alfasi also wrote responsa, many in Arabic, of which several collections have been published. Additional responsa are in collections of other decisors.

Format 20: I 379, II 436, leaves. Reprinted in Venice (1521–22), [Salonika 1522 (1527)], [Fez in 1524], Venice (1552), Sabbioneta (1554–55), Riva di Trento (1558), and Cracow (1597–99).

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Amudei Golah (Semak)

hlwg ydwm[ rps Isaac ben Joseph of Corbeil c. 1510, Constantinople—[David and Samuel] ibn Nahmias Concise halakhic compendium by R. Isaac ben Joseph of Corbeil (d. 1280) of the Ba’alei Tosafot. The author, son-in-law and student of Jehiel of Paris and pupil of Samuel of Evreux, was known for his outstanding piety. He is sometimes referred to as Ba’al haHotem (man with the nose) because, as stated in the introduction of R. Mordecai ben Nathan, of hair growing on his nose. Among his students are eminent tosafists, who induced him to write an abridgement of R. Moses ben Jacob of Coucy’s Sefer Mitzvot Gadol (Semag). Amudei Golah is also known as Sefer Mitzvot Katan (Semak) to distinguish it from that work. Indeed, according to the title page, “Sefer Amudei Golah, called Sefer Mitzvot Kazzar, small in quantity and great in value.” The author states his purpose in writing this book in the introduction: Because of our iniquities the Torah is forgotten. I saw that many do not know well the reasons for the mitzvot we are obligated to perform. I wrote those commandments that are incumbent upon us today in seven pillars corresponding to the seven days of the week. I request every man to read one pillar daily . . . for there are many commandments that a person is not obligated to fulfill until they come to his hand. When one reads and takes to heart to perform them, the Holy One, blessed be He, considers it as if he had fulfilled the precept.

The seven pillars, each related to at least one of the ten commandments, described in the author’s introduction, are: 1) service of the heart; 2) matters dependent upon individual action and time; 3) laws related to speech, for example, vows and prayers; 4) related to one’s hands, that is, manual labor; 5) dietary laws; 6) financial matters, which includes laws of homicide, most often resulting from monetary transactions; and 7) the laws of Shabbat and milah. R. Perez ben Elijah of Corbeil (d. c. 1295), a student of Isaac of Corbeil, wrote annotations to the Amudei Golah, printed with subsequent editions, here interspersed with the text. Amudei Golah is built upon the Sefer Mitzvot Gadol. However, although it follows the enumeration and details of commandments in that work, it does not adhere to the Semag’s organization nor does it contain its detailed, involved halakhic discussions. There is no necessity or basis, from either the Torah or the Talmud, in the structure followed by the Semak. Nevertheless, Amudei Golah proved to be a popular work, outlining contemporary halakhah for a large audience, with parables and similar matter of interest. It also found favor with other codifiers who often quote from Amudei Golah. The index of the commandments, found at the beginning of this edition, were included in a number of prayer books to be recited daily in lieu of tehinnot (supplications) and psalms. Isaac of Corbeil had multiple copies made and distributed at his own expense. He requested that additional copies be made, which should be available to the public.

Format 40: 146 leaves. Reprinted in Cremona (1556) and Cracow (1596).

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1510, Calendar, Constantinople Courtesy of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

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Calendar

jwl 1510, Constantinople—David and Samuel ibn Nahmias The earliest extant printed Hebrew calendar in pamphlet format, printed in 1510. The calendar is for a twenty-year period, from 1511 to 1530. Although the place of printing and the name of the printer are missing, it is clear from the letters that it is a Constantinople imprint. The Calendar begins with a brief accounting of the Biblical foundation of the Jewish year, its components, such as seasonal cycles, intercalation, the molad (conjunction of the moon with the sun), and the new moon. The following paragraph includes a chronology of the world, dating events to the current period, beginning with the creation. For example, it is 2,824 from the exodus from Egypt, 2,400 years from the building of the first Temple, 1,872 years from the building of the second Temple, 1,443 since its destruction, and it is 1,872 years for deeds, based on the reign of Alexander of Macedonia, and 1,007 from the completion of the Talmud. Dates for the Christian and Moslem calendars are noted, as well as their method of computation. Seasonal and geographical information, much as in modern calendars, are included, with the times of the molad, based on the locations of major cities. Isaac Rivkind writes that calendars are among the earliest items printed, although none of those first calendars are extant today. The only earlier surviving Hebrew calendar is a wall calendar, printed by Gershom Soncino, in Barco, Italy in 1497. Notwithstanding that this calendar is not dated, it is clear that it was printed prior to 1511, as the first date is Rosh Ha-Shanah 5271, which began in 1510. This calendar was likely the first printed in a book format, a format followed afterwards both as a standalone item and as an attachment to other works. Based on the introduction it is likely that this calendar was not only printed but also was prepared by the Nahmias brothers, and, given the use of the plural throughout, that it was done by both of them.

Format 40: 12 leaves.

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36

Mashreh Kitrin

ˆyrfq arçm rmam Abraham ben Eliezer ha-Levi 1510, Constantinople—David ibn Nahmias and Astruc de Toulon Kabbalistic commentary on the book of Daniel by R. Abraham ben Eliezer ha-Levi (haZaken, c. 1440–c. 1528). Abraham, among the exiles from Spain, was a student of R. Isaac Gakon and brother-in-law of R. Abraham Zacuto (Sefer Yuhasin). While yet in Spain Abraham wrote Masoret ha-Hokhmah (Tradition of Wisdom), on the Sefirot and other kabbalistic topics. After the expulsion Abraham wandered, passing through Italy, Greece, Turkey, and then going to Erez Israel via Egypt. Abraham settled in Jerusalem where he became a Rosh Yeshivah in the yeshivah of R. Isaac ha-Kohen Sholal (d. 1524), the last naggid of Egyptian Jewry. Abraham was also a colleague of many of the great kabbalists in Safed. Anticipating the redemption, he wrote letters to Jews in the diaspora calling on them to repent in order to hasten the coming of the Messiah. The title page of Mashreh Kitrin has a single line of text that states, “Ma’amar Mashreh Kitrin on the book of Daniel h”[.” The title is from “[Because an excellent spirit, and knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles,] and solve problems (Mashreh Kitrin, untier of knots), [were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar]” (Daniel 5:12). At the end Abraham writes that the book was completed in Greece in 1508. The printers’ colophon states that it was printed by “the aged David ben Nahmias and I, Astruc de Toulon, a man of Provence . . . and the printing was completed on ‘The glory of this latter ˆwrjah (270) House [shall be greater than that of the former, says the Lord of hosts]’ (Haggai 2:9) in the sixth millenium on Friday, 15 Sivan ( June 3, 1510) in Constantinople.” On the verso of the title page is verse from the author which begins, “I will reveal that which is obscure, in Daniel that which is abtruse, concealed concerning the end of days, hidden matters.” The text follows, in a single column in rabbinic type, excepting headings and initial words which are in square letters. Mashreh Kitrin lacks foliation. Mashreh Kitrin is a kabbalistic interpretation of the book of Daniel concerned with the coming of the Messiah and the final redemption, which Abraham anticipated would occur in about 1530. Abraham believed that the Turkish conquest of Constantinople (1453) was a precursor of the fall of Rome and the coming of Messiah. Among the topic headings in Mashreh Kitrin are, “Peace, peace for him who is far off and for him who is near” (Isaiah 57:19) to the young and adult [3b]; And after this he states the mystery of the end [5a]; Now stand and I will make known to you that which was spoken by his servants the prophets [5b]; “[And he said to me], until nightfall, morning, two thousand [and three hundred]” (Daniel 8:14) [11b]; and, Now we shall speak about the mystery of the names of the sons of Judah. Among Abraham’s other works are a commentary on Nevu’at ha-Yeled, a difficult and enigmatic work attributed to a young Nahman ben Pinhas and reputedly found in a jar in the ruins of Tiberias, dealing with the end of days; Megillat Amrafel, on the value of an ascetic life; and Ma’amar Perek Helek on the discussion of the redemption in tractate Sanhedrin. A facsimile edition of Mashreh Kitrin, with an introduction by Gershom Scholem, was published in Jerusalem in 1977.

Format 40: [19] leaves.

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Sefer ha-Mitzvot

twwxmh rps Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides, Rambam) c. 1510, Constantinople Enumeration of the taryag mitzvot (613 commandments in the Torah) by R. Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides, Rambam, 1135–1204). Sefer ha-Mitzvot belongs to the Book of Commandments genre which attempt to list, by various categories, all of the 613 commandments in the Torah. In these books of commandments the composition of the mitzvot vary according to the compiler. Maimonides disapproved of such works, popular in his time, believing that they tended to be arbitrary, slovenly, and often erroneous, stifling interpretation, enshrining errors and fantasies. He particularly disapproved of mere listings of the mitzvot. Among the works singled out for special criticism are the influential Halakhot Gedolot of Simeon Kayyara (second half ninth century), Sefer ha-Mitzvot of R. Hefez Ben Yazli’ah (10th century), and the Azharot of Solomon ibn Gabirol, for paytanim, who sacrifice content for form, should not venture into halakhah. Maimonides has been criticized for his harsh comments on earlier compilations, by, among others, R. Moses ben Nahman (Ramban), who wrote Hassagot ha-Rambam in defense of Halakhot Gedolot (Constantinople, 1510). Maimonides was reluctant, for the above reasons, to compose his own enumeration. He also noted that intellectual conservatism accepts previous rather than new works as authoritative. In light of this Maimonides did not compose Sefer ha-Mitzvot as merely another enumeration of mitzvot, but as an afterthought, intended to be a preparatory checklist for his monumental Mishneh Torah, designed to insure that work’s comprehensiveness. His stated intention is not to explain but to fix the number of the mitzvot, that is to define the 248 positive and 365 negative commandments, deduced from fourteen principles, thus differentiating his listing from others that also served as a code. Others had repeatedly included aspects of a commandment as commandments. Maimonides’ intentions notwithstanding, Sefer haMitzvot has become an independent and important work in its own right, published apart from the Mishneh Torah. Sefer ha-Mitzvot is the basis for many subsequent lists, and has generated numerous commentaries and other works based on it. Sefer ha-Mitzvot, written by Maimonides after his commentary on the Mishnah, was completed in 1170 when he was thirty-five years old. It was written in Arabic (Kitab al-Fara’id ) and translated into Hebrew in his liftime by Abraham ibn Hasdai, Solomon ibn Job, and Moses ibn Tibbon. The Ramban and the Sefer ha-Hinuch utilized the translation if ibn Hisdai, which is no longer extant. This edition is based on the translation of Moses ibn Tibbon, as we are informed in the first line of text. There is no title page and neither the date nor the place of publication is given elsewhere in the volume.

Format 40: 68 leaves. Reprinted in Venice (1550).

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40

Arba’ah ve’Esrim (Bible)

μyrç[w h[bra 1511–1517, Pesaro—Gershom Soncino Complete Hebrew Bible printed by Gershom Soncino in Pesaro. This Bible was printed in two parts; the first, from Genesis through Kings and including the five Megillot, is dated 1511; the second, from Isaiah through Chronicles, is dated 1515. The first page of the first volume has a decorative border but no text and the verso is blank. The biblical text is in two columns to a page, 36 lines to a column. Two blank folios can be found at the end of Numbers (78) and at the beginning of Joshua (109). The colophon at the end of Kings states, The sum of the verses in the book of Kings is one thousand five hundred and thirty four or t”t d”lçt (1534). It was completed on 14 Nissan in the year 271 (April 22, 1511) q”pl by the humblest of printers and the least of the students of the B’nei Soncino, who dwells (Gershom μç rg) in Pesaro, a city of Duke Constantine Sforza . . . In the seventh year of Pope Julius II (may his majesty be exalted).

The second volume is made up like the first, that is, the text is in two columns of thirtysix lines to a column. There is one blank folio (70) after Ezekiel. The colophon to this volume states, I have seen the completion of the printing of the Four and Twenty (Bible) with vowels, accents, and corrected. Praise to the blessed God and glory to his great name. Although “the wicked have waited for me to destroy me” (Psalms 119:95) I will bless the Lord Who has not given me over as prey to their teeth (paraphrase Psalms 124:6). . . . In the year [rz (277), 1 Adar (1517).

These remarks have been understood as referring to Gershom’s rivals in Venice and elsewhere. However, as Moses Marx notes, “It appears best of all to apply to a dangerous adventure on the road, which was always unsafe because of marauders and highwaymen.” Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles are not divided into two books and Nehemiah is included in the book of Ezra, in accordance with the Massorah. There are only 149 Psalms, for Psalms 90 and 91 are both numbered 90. The sum of the verses is given at the conclusion of each book, excluding Samuel and the twelve minor prophets. Gershom made use of not only the type but the set up in the first volume to print the Nevi’im Rishonim (Earlier Prophets) two more times, once with the commentary of Don Isaac Abrabanel and again with that of R. David Kimhi (Radak), the former preceding the latter, based on the condition of the type. Similarly, the set up in the second volume was used to print the Nevi’im Ahronim (Later Prophets) with the commentary of Kimhi. This is also evident from the setting of initial words, which are set in hollow letters enclosed in an ornamental border for selected books and Hosea in the minor prophets but in others, such as Jeremiah, the initial word is merely set in larger type.

Format 20: 192; 176 leaves.

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42

[Haggadot ha-Talmud ]

dwmlth twdgh 1511, Constantinople—David and Samuel ibn Nahmias Collection of aggadot in the Babylonian Talmud; the author is anonymous. There is no title page. The volume begins with a page of verse (1a) from R. Joseph ben Yoel Bibas; followed by an index ([1b–12a]) of the verses in the text, arranged by parsha, giving the initial words of the verse, the tractate and the chapter in which it appears, for example, Seder Toldot Yizhak, “Because Abraham obeyed my voice” (Genesis 26:5), Kiddushin ch. Asarah Yuhsin. The order of the tractates in the work (12b) varies from the standard order, for example, Seder Nashim: Kiddushin, Yevamot, Ketubbot, Gittin, Nedarim, Nazir, Sotah, and Niddah. The text is in two columns in rabbinic type, except for initial words which are in square letters. The colophon dates the completion of the work to Rosh Hodesh Sivan, in the year “let me see ynyarh (Wednesday, June 7, 1511) your countenance,” (Song of Songs 2:14) [gpl] and gives the names of the sponsors of the book. There are editions in which the front matter, that is, the first twelve pages, are bound at the end of the book, which, based on the tractate references, were printed after the text. Haggadot ha-Talmud is similar in style and purpose to Ein Ya’akov (Salonika, 1516, see below, pp. 92–93). However, it also differs considerably from that work. The text of Haggadot ha-Talmud is not accompanied by a commentary, except for a small number of brief glosses within the text. The talmudic texts used are from Sephardic treatises with textual variations; those texts appear to have been subject to a degree of censorship. In a small number of instances the compiler has included halakhic material. The text varies from that in the Talmud and many aggadot included in Ein Ya’akov are omitted. Others are often given in an abbreviated format. For example, the aggadot in Sukkah from 9a–20b are omitted, while the aggadot on 21b are much abbreviated, as can be seen from the following entry in Ein Ya’akov (Haggadot ha-Talmud in bold). It was taught in a Baraita, R. Simeon said, from the conversation of R. Gamaliel we learned two things: slaves are excused from the precept of Sukkah and that one who sleeps under a bed has not fulfilled the mizvah of Sukkah. Say from the words of R. Gamaliel, it comes incidentally to inform us that which R. Aha bar Ada, others say R. Aha bar Ada in the name of Rav Hamnuna who said in the name of Rav, from where do we know that even the casual conversation of talmudic sages requires study, for it says, “its leaf also shall not wither” (Psalms 1:3)

It is the opinion of Rabbinovicz that Haggadot ha-Talmud is based on an early manuscript rather than written close to the time of printing. If the author had been alive he would certainly have included Rashi’s commentary with his brief comments, it being so basic to all students of Talmud. Rather, the anonymous author explains the text according to his own understanding, often in a strange manner. Rabbinovicz remarks that a manuscript frequently quoted by the author, which he estimates was written in the 13th century, shares many textual variations with Haggadot ha-Talmud, including scribal errors, so that he concludes the anonymous author must have utilized that manuscript. Its limitations notwithstanding it is an attractive work. A facsimile edition of Haggadot ha-Talmud was published in 1961 and a new three-volume small-format edition in Jerusalem in 1980.

Format 20: [12], 182 leaves.

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44

Nevi’im Rishonim with the commentary of Abrabanel

μynwçar μyaybn çwryp Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel 1511, Pesaro—Gershom Soncino Nevi’im Rishonim (Earlier Prophets) with the commentary of the statesman Don Isaac Abrabanel (1437–1508), who traced his lineage to King David. Abrabanel was the grandson of Samuel and the son of Judah Abrabanel, the former an advisor to three Kings of Castile, the latter to the King of Portugal. Isaac Abrabanel was unusually well educated, receiving a thorough Jewish education, studying Talmud under R. Joseph Hayyun (d. 1497), as well as instruction in philosophy, classics, and even Christian theology, this last useful in his defense of Judaism. Abrabanel succeeded his father as treasurer to King Alfonso V of Portugal, during which time he was instrumental in redeeming Jewish captives brought to Portugal. Upon the death of Alfonso in 1481, João II (1481–95) became king of Portugal. In 1483, João accused Abrabanel of participating in a conspiracy. Forewarned, Abrabanel fled to Spain. In Segura de la Orden, near the Portuguese border, Abrabanel composed his commentaries on Joshua, Judges, and Samuel, four volumes comprising 400,000 words, in four and a half months. However, before he could complete the book of Kings he entered the service of Ferdinand and Isabella of Castile (1484). Those monarchs attempted to induce Abrabanel to convert and remain in Spain at the time of the expulsion, in 1492, but he preferred exile as a Jew. Abrabanel sailed from Valencia to Naples, where, on Erev Rosh Ha-Shanah, 1493, he completed his commentary on Kings. Abrabanel’s commentary is accompanied by the text of the prophets. The only title page is for Joshua, and that merely states, “The book of Joshua with the commentary of the Abrabanel.” The following page (2a), with the Abrabanel’s introduction, has a frame from the Decachordum Christianum, which appears again on the last page (306a). Initial words are set in large hollow letters enclosed in a decorative parallelogram. The title page lacks both the date and place of printing. Pagination, in Arabic numerals, is irregular while catchwords appear in the commentary only. At the end of Joshua, Judges, and Samuel, but not Kings, is the Massoretic summary registering the number of verses and sedarim for each book. Each of these summaries is worded differently. Although they coincide with the current Massoretic recension as to the number of verses they differ, in Joshua and Samuel, as to the number of sedarim. Abrabanel divides his commentary into sections, each preceded here by six questions, in contrast to his Perush ha-Torah, where the number is not fixed. The use of this artificial number was selected because he felt it enabled students to more readily remember salient points. However, the limitation of six questions led to the inclusion of many sub-questions. He is strongly opposed to the rationalistic school of interpretation and explanations based on philosophical allegory. (Concerning his method of exegesis see below, Perush ha-Torah, Venice, 1579, p. 693.) Each Prophet is preceded by a long introduction, in which Abrabanel discusses the identity of the author and the book’s contents. He mentions contemporary events, often interpreting them in terms of biblical events. Abrabanel disputes Christian interpretations, although he is not reluctant at times to borrow from them when they seem correct.

Format 20: 306 leaves.

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46

Midrash Rabbah

hbr çrdm 1512, Constantinople—Samuel ibn Nahmias Largest, most popular, most important, and earliest collection of Midrashim on the Pentateuch and five Megillot, hence its name, Rabbah (large), here on the Torah only. Midrash Rabbah, recording the sayings of tannaim and amoraim, primarily from Erez Israel, is not, in fact, a unitary work but rather a collection of independent Midrashim written at different times, with individual styles, assembled together under a single title. The parts comprising the Midrash on the Pentateuch are Genesis Rabbah (Bereshit Rabbah); Exodus Rabbah (Shemot Rabbah); Leviticus Rabbah (Va-Yikra Rabbah); Numbers Rabbah (Bemidbar Rabbah); and Deuteronomy Rabbah (Devarim Rabbah). The combined work was already known as Midrash Rabbah by the beginning of the thirteenth century. Genesis and Leviticus Rabbah are among the earliest amoraic Midrashim, dating to the fifth century. They are in Mishnaic Hebrew, with Western Aramaic and Greek, possibly contemporaneous with the completion of the Jerusalem Talmud. Deuteronomy Rabbah, too, is a relatively early work. Exodus Rabbah is comprised of two separate works, known as Exodus Rabbah I and II, written respectively no earlier than the tenth and ninth centuries. Numbers Rabbah (Bemidbar Rabbah), also in two parts, Numbers Rabbah I and II, was compiled, respectively, in the eleventh and ninth centuries. These Midrashim differ: Leviticus and Deuteronomy Rabbah are homiletic; Genesis and Exodus Rabbah are exegetical. Numbers Rabbah, with elements of both, is primarily homiletic. The volume lacks a title page and is unpaginated. Each book has a simple heading in bold square letters, for example, “Sefer ve-aleh Shemot Rabbah,” but the text is in rabbinic letters. The colophon dates the completion of the work to “the 5th of Nissan, in the year, ‘for your voice is sweet br[ (272 = March 31, 1512), and your countenance is comely’” (Song of Songs 2:14). The individuals whose sponsorship made publication possible were Joseph Gabbai and Abraham Yerushalmi. The text contains many inaccuracies. The editors took considerable liberties with their manuscripts, adding material from other Midrashim, their own interpretations, altering, abbreviating, reordering, and omitting matter. This is evident from several books in this edition not in conformity with any known manuscript. It is possible, however, that the printers utilized one or more manuscripts, no longer extant, that were defective. It is also possible, the printer’s name being absent, that the printer was not Samuel ibn Nahmias, but rather Astruc de Toulon, who became active about this time, and being from a Provencal family, may have utilized a manuscript from that location. No mention is made of the editor or editorial work, such as, “printed with great care,” in any of the more than one hundred books printed to 1530, with but three exceptions. This condition changed, however, when the Soncinos, who took pride in publishing welledited works, arrived in Constantinople in 1530. It has also been observed, however, that the absence of such remarks notwithstanding, books were certainly edited in Constantinople, the Midrash Rabbah being an example, precisely because of the editorial changes to which it was subjected.

Format 20: 68; 44; 34; 67; 16 leaves. Reprinted in Venice (1545 by both Bomberg and Giustiniani, 1566), Cracow (1587), Venice (1597) and Salonika (1594).

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Midrash Tillim (Tehillim)

μylt çrdm 1512, Constantinople—Samuel ben David ibn Nahmias Aggadic Midrash on Psalms. This Midrash is actually in two parts; the first, printed here, is from Psalm 1 through 118; the second, from Psalm 119ff. was printed in Salonika in 1515 (see pp. 74–75). The title page consists of two words only, that is, the name of the work, given as Midrash Tillim μylt çrdm. The colophon informs that the work was completed on 25 Adar, “[let me hear your voice;] for your voice is sweet br[ (272 = March 23, 1512), [and your countenance is comely]” (Song of Songs 2:14) in Constantinople, during the reign of Sultan Bayazid [II] (reigned 1481–1512). The date is incorrect for 25 Adar was a Saturday that year. The text, unpaginated, is in two columns in rabbinic type, with initial words only in square letters. Midrash Tehillim is known by several names, among them Shoher Tov from the opening verse and Aggadat Tehillim. The name Midrash Tehillim is first mentioned in the Arukh of Nathan ben Jehiel of Rome (1035–c. 1110). Neither the names of the authors or the redactor of Midrash Tillim are known. The Midrash is a later compilation of discourses which followed the reading of Psalms. It was composed over several centuries from several different manuscripts, some quite divergent in style and content, and includes fragments of the Aggadat Tillim mentioned in the Jerusalem Talmud. As a result, Midrash Tillim is not a uniform work. For example, in some places the Midrash is a lengthy line-by-line discourse, whereas in other places the exposition is neither continuous nor lengthy. Also, some material is repetitive. It is not possible to establish a date of redaction, various periods, from that of the Talmud to the end of the geonic period, have been suggested, with the place of redactions being in Erez Israel or Italy. Nevertheless, the content of Midrash Tillim appears to be a product of Erez Israel. This is derived from the fact that the phraseology, style of haggadic comments, and most of the Amoraim mentioned are from Erez Israel, while those from Babylonia are mentioned in the Jerusalem Talmud. In keeping with that, it has been suggested that at one time there was a custom in Erez Israel to read the Midrash as part of the triennial cycle of Torah readings. The Midrash searches for the inner meaning of Psalms. Within explications note is frequently made of the qere and the ketiv (the oral and written form of words), full and defective spellings, gematrias (numerical values of words), and notarikons (interpreting component parts of words). It also contains numerous parables and proverbs with ethical content, on such subjects as the existence of the Torah prior to creation; revelation; the Torah, for the children of Israel as a song and mark of distinction; interpretation of biblical events; chastisements; the world to come; and the lives of rabbis. There are also frequent references to Rome, including the founding of the city by Remus and Romulus (Psalm 17:12). In summary, this is a beautiful aggadic Midrash. Midrash Tillim is among the first titles, if not the first title, printed by Samuel ben David ibn Nahmias as proprietor of the Nahmias press. He succeeded his father and uncle, both now deceased. After the death of Samuel Nahmias in c. 1510, the second Nahmias brother, David, had brought his son, Samuel, into the press and it now passed into his hands.

Format 20: 52 leaves. Reprinted in Venice (1546).

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Massekhet Purim

μyrwp tksm Kalonymus ben Kalonymus 1513, Pesaro—Gershom Soncino Purim parody in the form of a talmudic tractate by R. Kalonymus ben Kalonymus (c. 1286–c. 1328). Massekhet Purim is printed with Megillat Setarim, attributed to Levi ben Gershom (Ralbag, Gersonides, 1288–1344), and Sefer Havakbuk ha-Navi, an anonymous work. The title page states, “Sefer Havakbuk ha-Navi on the dithyrambs twnwygç to be read at an appropriate time on Purim. Vowelled and with accents, printed by the printers known in Yehudah and Israel in the city of Pesaro in the land of Italy in the year 273 (1513). . . .” The text begins on the verso with Sefer Havakbuk, six folios only. It is followed by the title page for the next two works, which simply states, “Massekhet Purim.” On the verso of this title page begins Megillat Setarim, followed by, with no additional title page, Massekhet Purim; these two works do not have vowels or accents. The book is unpaginated. It concludes with R. Solomon ibn Gabirol’s humorous verse, Ki-Khelot Yeini. (Concerning Sefer Havakbuk see below, 1552.) Megillat Setarim is more mishnaic in style than talmudic and is also similar to a Midrash. There are three chapters: 1) Havakbuk received; 2) All are obligated to drink on Purim; and 3) When Adar begins. It opens as a parody on Pirkei Avot, with the drunkard’s chain of tradition, “Habakbuk received the Torah from Karmi and transmitted it to Noah, and Noah to Lot, Lot to the brothers of Joseph, the brothers of Joseph to Nabal the Carmelite, . . .” There are numerous puns, as in the preceding passage; Habakbuk is a play on the name of the prophet Habakkuk and on bakbuk (bottle), Carmelite on cerem (vineyard), the others, all biblical associations with intoxication. It also states, “Why is it called Megillat Setarim (scroll of secrecy)? Because the pious men of old handed it down in secret to their pupils, making it known only to one who was possessed by a good spirit and under the influence of wine.” Ralbag refers often to himself and notes the local custom of a Purim King. Massekhet Purim is designed to read like a talmudic treatise, with Mishnayot that are discussed as in a Gemara. There are four chapters: 1) On the first of Adar; 2) A wealthy person; 3) Purim that comes out on Shabbat; and 4) The Megillah is not read to woman except in lo’az (not Hebrew). The first deals with preparations for Purim, when they should be begun, womens’ duties in preparing for the feast and the twenty-four dish menu; the second with the quantities of food to be eaten and drunk; the last two detail Purim customs of 13th-century Italian Jewry, some not otherwise known, all in a humorous style. The quantity of meat to be served per plate is three pounds, for a glutton, to determine the amount of meat at the bottom of a bowl of soup, once dived in and almost drowned. Three pounds, however, is sufficient to be seen, even by a nearsighted glutton, thus avoiding a repetition of this near tragedy. Discussions are between tanna’im and amora’im with names such as R. Samhan (merry maker), Kamzan (miser), Kazvan (deceiver) and Shakran (liar). Massekhet Purim concludes with a humorous Hadran followed by, “. . . it was written in fun, to amuse people on Purim. One who reads it is none the worse than if he had read books on medicine and other topics which are beneficial to the body but harmful to the soul.”

Format 40: 34 leaves. Printed previously in Pesaro ([1509]) and reprinted in Venice in 1552.

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1513, Seder Olam, Olam Zuta, Megillat Ta’anit, and Sefer ha-Kabbalah, Mantua Courtesy of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

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Seder Olam, Olam Zuta, Megillat Ta’anit, and Sefer ha-Kabbalah

hlbqh rpsw ,tyn[t tlgm ,afwz μlw[ ,μlw[ rds 1513, Mantua—Samuel ben Meir Latif

Four works related to world and Jewish chronology and history. They are: Seder Olam (Rabbah): Midrash ascribed to the tanna (Mishnaic sage) Yose ben Halafta (2nd century). The earliest chronicle in Hebrew of persons and events from the creation of the world to the destruction of the second Temple and the revolt of Bar Kokhba. It is mentioned in the Talmud (Shab. 88a; Yev. 82b; and Nid. 46b). Its chronology conflicts in a number of instances with modern accounts. Several works have been written addressing these inconsistencies. Olam Zuta: A briefer medieval chronicle based on Seder Olam Rabbah. It concisely records the generations from Adam to Jehoiachin, the father of the Babylonian exilarchate. The history of the Babylonian exilarchs is provided, to show that they were of Davidic descent. The author is unknown. Megillat Ta’anit (scroll of fasting): A calendar of thirty-six holidays originating in the Hasmonean period commemorating victories and joyful occurrences during that time. On these days fasting and hespedim (eulogies) were forbidden. Sefer ha-Kabbalah: Influential historical work by R. Abraham ibn Daud (Rabad I; c. 1110–1180) proving the validity of rabbinic tradition in opposition to Karaite claims. It is followed by two smaller books, Zikhron Divrei Romi and Divrei Malkhei Yisrael be-Vayit Sheni, the former a history of Rome, in reality a polemic against Christianity; the latter, discussing the monarchy during the period of the second Temple, in reality about the Sadducees, seen as forerunners of the Karaites. The composition is: Seder Olam, leaves 1–13b; Seder Olam Zuta, 13b–14a; Megillat Ta’anit, 14a–19a; and Sefer ha-Kabbalah, 20a–51a. The volume, typical of Latif ’s Mantua imprints, lacks a title page, catch words, and is unpaginated. They also, excepting Sefer Tanya, which has an initial ornamental letter, are devoid of ornamentation. The colophon states: Sefer ha-Kabbalah of the Rabad was completed here, Mantua, 4 Marheshvan, in the year “That then the Lord your God will turn your captivity, and have compassion upon you ˚mjrw (274 = October 14, 1513), and will return and gather you from all the nations, where the Lord your God has scattered you,” (Deuteronomy 30:3) Amen. Blessed is “He (Who) gives power to the faint; and to those who have no might he increases strength” (Isaiah 40:29). Hazak.

Seder Olam . . . is the first book printed in Mantua by Samuel ben Meir Latif, previously associated with presses in Soncino and Naples. It was followed by the Shulhan shel Arba of R. Bahya ben Asher in 1514 and Sefer Tanya, attributed to R. Jehiel ben Jekuthiel. Latif died shortly afterwards and his press, the first in Mantua since that of the pioneer printer Abraham Conat in the 1470s, excluding a small number of questionable works, closed. It would be more than three decades before another Hebrew press would be established in Mantua. Seder Olam, Olam Zuta, and Sefer ha-Kabbalah were translated into Latin by Gilbert Genebrard (1537–1597).

Format 40: 51 leaves. Reprinted in Venice (1546) and Basle (1580).

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1514-17 Complutensian Polyglot Bible, Alcalá de Henares Courtesy of the American Bible Society

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Complutensian Polyglot Bible 1514–1517, Alcalá de Henares—Arnaldi Guillelmi de Brocario The first complete polyglot Bible in six volumes and the first Hebrew Bible printed by Christians. The text of the Hebrew Bible, four volumes, has parallel Hebrew (with revised Masoretic text), Greek, Latin, and (for the Pentateuch) Aramaic texts. A Hebrew vocabulary is appended. It is the first complete, and best known of the polyglot Bibles. It was printed, in about 600 copies, from 1514 to 1517, and published in 1521/22 with the authorization of Pope Leo X. The Bible was begun in 1502 under the sponsorship of the archbishop of Toledo, Cardinal Francisco Ximenes ( Jimenes) de Cisneros (1436–1517), at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Universidad de Alcalá de Henares). The primary editor was an apostate, Alfonso of Zamora (c. 1474–1544), professor of Hebrew at Salamanca. Alfonso had left Spain in 1492, but, in 1506, returned with his father, Juan de Zamora, to be baptized. He worked on the Bible for fifteen years. The title pages of each volume, except that of the New Testament, bear the arms of Cardinal Francisco Ximenes in red. The Cardinal was also a grand inquisitor; during his tenure 2,500 lapsed “New Christians,” were burned. Ximenes, in a prefatory letter (1517), wrote that “the meaning of heavenly wisdom [coelestisus sapientiae sensus]” can have its source in any language. This notwithstanding, the Bible, in translation, is full of meanings “which cannot be understood except from the font of the original language.” Ximenes sought the best manuscripts and skilled editors, many converted Jews, for this Bible, for which he bore the expense. The manuscripts came from the Cardinal’s own collection, others were borrowed, some from the Vatican. One Hebrew manuscript, dated to Toledo, 1280, still bears the rubricator’s and redactor’s marks. The form of the text suggests that manuscripts from before the ninth century, with Babylonian punctuation, were also used. It was rumored that the latter were sold to a fireworks maker in 1749, but that appears now not to have been the case. Other sources for the Hebrew Bible were the Lisbon Pentateuch of 1491 and the Naples Bible of 1492. These manuscripts notwithstanding, the Hebrew text is faulty, having been made to conform to the Vulgate tradition. The editors also dispensed with the accents, mistakenly believing they were used solely to guide the reader in the “modulation of their hymns,” not appreciating their importance in interpreting the text. When the Bible was completed, John Brocario, the printer’s son, brought a copy to the Cardinal, who exclaimed, “I give thee thanks, O most high God, that thou hast brought this work which I undertook to the long-wished-for end.” He informed those about him that he considered this to be among the finest acts of his long administration. He died shortly afterwards, at the age of 81. Although printing was completed by July, 1517, papal sanction was not received until March 22, 1520. The Vatican only received the Pope’s presentation copy on December 5, 1521, and general publication took place the following year. These delays may be attributed to a four-year papal and imperial license, granted in 1516, to Erasmus for a Greek New Testament, as well as the death, in 1517, of Ximenes.

Format 20: 300, 260, 204, 268, 272, 224 leaves.

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1514-18, Hamishah Homshei Torah, Prague Courtesy of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

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Hamishah Homshei Torah

hrwt yçmwj hçymj 1514–18, Prague—Gershom ben Solomon ha-Kohen and partners Hamishah Homshei Torah (Pentateuch) with haftarot and commentary of Rashi. A magnificent edition, with ornate woodcut frames and large type for the text. Each book has a decorative opening page, there is no title page, comprised of four separate pieces, those on the pillared sides with vases, leaves, and cherubim, similar but not identical, the top piece with a concave bottom edge. Genesis has a convex curved piece to fit with this top piece on the upper half of the page, with winged angels holding a shield with the spread hands of the Kohen giving the priestly blessing. Exodus has a different convex top, with animals, a Magen David, and buildings; the last three books are without a convex top, having more text instead. The text is in large square letters (24 pt.), accompanied by Rashi in a much smaller cursive Ashkenaz font. Initial words are set in a decorative frame. Each parsha is followed by its haftarah. At the end of the book are the Megillot. R. Meir ben David Mikhtam, Solomon ben Samuel ha-Levi, Mordecai ben Eliezer, and Shemaryah ben David, founders of the Prague press and printers of the 1512 prayer book, were joined, two years later, by R. Gershom ben Solomon ha-Kohen, Meir ben Jacob ha-Levi Epstein and Hayyim ben David Shahor. Financing was initially provided by R. Isaiah ben Asher ha-Levi Horowitz and Jekuthiel ben Isaac Dan, known as Zalman Bumslau. Work on the Pentateuch began on 10 Sivan dr[ ( June 14, 1514) but, perhaps encouraged by the success of the prayer book, the partners found they had overextended themselves and found it necessary to suspend work on this project for two years. Three of the original partners, that is, all but Meir ben David left the press, one, Solomon ben Samuel, subsequently returning. The now five partners printed several other works with sufficient success to enable them to resume work on the Pentateuch on Rosh Hodesh Tammuz, “‘all who see them shall acknowledge them’ the printers, ‘that they are the seed [rz (277 = Sunday, July 1, 1517) which the Lord has blessed’” (Isaiah 61:9). In the colophon at the end of Exodus the printers recount their difficulties. The completed Pentateuch concludes with a full-page colophon. They describe the hardships facing Bohemian Jewry, the excellence of this Pentateuch, and their reasons for printing: We five printers have seen the afflictions of our brothers of the House of Israel worsening, as a result that that which revives the soul and illuminates the eyes [the Torah] is forgotten. . . . Dwindled is the circle [who study the Torah’s] precious pearls. To our inquiry, why don’t you study Torah, your crowning glory, they responded with bitterness of soul ( Job 21:25). Dire is the distress; the enemy has made us the targets for their arrows, troubles overwhelm our heads; they have taken and set aflame our Torahs. . . . Therefore we have set our hearts to make volumes aplenty and to spread abroad the Torah. . . . Concluded in the year and parasha (VaEira), “And I will put a division between my people and your people; tomorrow shall this sign be. And the Lord did so” (Exodus 8:19–20) quickly. Tuesday . . . 22 Tevet j[r (278 = Tuesday, 15 January, 1518). . . .

In 1530 Gershom and his sons reprinted this Pentateuch in an identical format except for changes to the decorated initial pages.

Format 20.

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Perush ha-Torah

hrwth çwryp Abraham ibn Ezra 1514, Constantinople—Astruc de Toulon Torah commentary of R. Abraham ben Meir ibn Ezra (c. 1089–c. 1168). Ibn Ezra, born in Tudela, Spain, was a person of considerable scholarship and accomplishments, as reflected by his commentaries on the Bible, poetry, grammars, philosophy, science, mathematics, and astrology. A contemporary of R. Moses ibn Ezra and Judah ha-Levi (Kuzari ), he was particularly close to the latter, giving rise to the legend that ibn Ezra married Judah haLevi’s daughter. Ibn Ezra, always impecunious, had five sons, four of whom died in their youth; his wife too had an untimely death, and his fifth son, Isaac, allegedly converted to Islam (later repenting), misfortunes alluded to in a poem in which he writes that “if I were a candle maker the sun would shine day and night, a maker of shrouds, no one would die.” He left Spain in about 1140, wandering through Italy, France, and North Africa, reaching as far as London and Baghdad. Most of ibn Ezra’s works, written during the period of his travels, are in Hebrew, because the lands he visited did not understand Arabic. This, ibn Ezra’s most important work, begins with an introduction, followed by the title page, which simply states, “Perush ha-Torah written by Abraham ben Ezra lz.” In the introduction, he states his methodology, beginning, “This is Sefer ha-Yashar, of Abraham the poet, bound with cords of grammar, and tested by the eye of knowledge, whomever holds it tight will be made happy.” Ibn Ezra makes clear that his commentary will be built upon the literal meaning ( yeshar or peshat), strict rationality, and philology. He describes the approaches taken by earlier commentators, who expound at length, deviating from the subject; who, in the manner of the Sadducees, interpret freely, ignoring rabbinic teachings; who reduce biblical events to allegory; and who explain the text according to Midrashim without concern for the literal meaning. Ibn Ezra rejects these approaches, stressing the literal meaning, with emphasis on logical and grammatical analysis. His language is precise, even terse, and sarcastic when commenting on earlier, less exacting, works. Although ibn Ezra takes considerable exegetical freedom and his commentary is rationalistic, he displays a true felt belief in the sanctity of the bible and its precepts, the Massoretic text, and adheres to talmudic interpretations of halakhah. In that vein, ibn Ezra is sharply critical of Karaism. According to an inscription in a manuscript in the Vatican (Codex 39), ibn Ezra states that he completed his commentary on the Torah in Av ( July) 1167. This edition of the printed work was completed, according to the colophon, on 10 Sivan dsj br (274 = June 14, 1514). A popular and influential commentary, Ibn Ezra’s Perush ha-Torah has been reprinted several times, is included in almost all editions of the rabbinic Bible, and has been the subject of numerous supercommentaries. The printer, Astruc ben Jacob de Toulon, had worked for David Nahmias (1510–11) and from 1513 printed on his own account, initially with Samuel Rikomin and afterwards independently, printing a small number of books intermittently until 1530.

Format 20: 84 leaves.

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Perush ha-Torah le-R. Ya’akov

lz bq[y wnybrl hrwth çwryp Jacob ben Asher 1514, Constantinople—Samuel ibn Nahmias Abridged introductions to a more detailed commentary on the Torah. R. Jacob ben Asher (c. 1270–1340), son of R. Asher ben Jehiel (Rosh, 1250–1327), commonly referred to as Ba’al ha-Turim, after his halakhic masterpiece, the Arba’ah Turim. Born in Cologne, Jacob left Germany, due to the severe persecution of the Jews, together with his father, eventually resettling in Toledo. Although Jacob served on the rabbinic court in Toledo, he would not accept any wages for his services, nor would he accept an official rabbinic position, preferring to devote his time to study, with the result that he lived a life of privation. The Ba’al ha-Turim is primarily a halakhist, as reflected in his works. In addition to the Arba’ah Turim, among the greatest works of halakhic literature, he also wrote Kizzur Piskei ha-Rosh (Sefer ha-Remazim, Constantinople, 1515, see below, pp. 70–71), a summary of his father’s halakhic rulings. The Ba’al ha-Turim also wrote an extensive commentary on the Torah, based primarily, but not solely on the work of R. Moses ben Nahman (Nahmanides, Ramban, 1194–1270), whom Jacob refers to in his preface, “Behold, I have seen the sea, great and broad of measure: the Torah explications of the Ramban l“z, who is of great plumage and abundant wing: And my soul yearns to go through that sea, even in waters waist deep: But I fear, for vast and swollen are the waters.” Ramban’s influence was a factor in Jacob’s writing his commentary, abstracting the latter’s literal explanations and ignoring that exegete’s kabbalistic interpretations, for “My soul has not entered its secret.” Other classical sources utilized in his commentary are Saadiah Gaon, Rashi, Rashbam, Abraham ibn Ezra, David Kimhi, and his father, the Rosh. Jacob disclaims having done anything worthy of distinction, for he is “but akin to one who selects food from food; Oh, would that I have not turned food into chaff.” This modest disclaimer notwithstanding, the Ba’al ha-Turim’s Perush contains much original material. Each weekly section begins with an “appetizer,” made up of gematriot and explanations of the masoretic notes, to “whet the mind,” and attract the attention of students. Unlike the commentary, which is based on the peshat (literal meaning), these introductory comments explain the text according to the numerical value of the letters, calculations, and letter substitution. Perush ha-Torah le-R. Ya’akov, a popular work, frequently reprinted, is actually these introductory appetizers. The complete work was not to be published for almost three hundred years (Zolkiew, 1806). The title page of Perush ha-Torah le-R. Ya’akov has an ornamental frame. Above the text is the device of R. Judah ben Joseph Sassoon, who provided financial support for this and other books through 1516, that is, a white lion passant, facing left, against a black background with a twine border. This mark appears on the title page or end, or both, of all the books financed by Sassoon. The volume is completed with words of praise for the book by Solomon ben Mazzal Tov, who worked at the press as a typesetter and editor. A fine poet, his name and words of praise appear at the close of books printed in Constantinople for several decades.

Format 40: 72 leaves. Reprinted in Venice (1544).

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Perush ha-Torah

hrwth çwryp Moses ben Nahman (Ramban) 1514, Pesaro—Gershom Soncino Classic and profound commentary on the Torah by R. Moses ben Nahman (Nahmanides, Ramban, 1194–1270). Most of the Perush appears to have been written in Spain and was either completed or at least emended in Erez Israel, where he acquired firsthand knowledge of the geography of the Holy Land. Ramban states his purpose as “satisfying the needs of students who, weary of the exile and woes, read the sedrah on the Sabbath and holidays, to better understand it, to rejoice their hearts with pleasant and satisfying explanations.” He aims to strengthen the resolve and console the hearts of his readers. Rashi and Abraham ibn Ezra are among Ramban’s important sources, about whom he writes, “I will be enlightened by the lights of the pure menorah, the commentary of Rabbenu Shelomo, ‘a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty,’ (Isaiah 28:5) . . . the right of the first born is his. In his words will I meditate. . . .” Concerning the ibn Ezra, whose rational approach the Ramban criticizes, “And with Abraham ben Ezra there will be open admonition and hidden love.” Ramban’s admiration for Rashi does not, however, prevent him from strongly disagreeing with him. Maimonides, whom he admires, is mentioned less often, and then generally to take issue with his positions in the Moreh. Ramban’s Perush is not a running commentary, but rather an extensive elucidation of selected passages. There is minimal concern with linguistics. It is deep, analytical, complex, and thorough, containing philosophical ideas, and aggadic and kabbalistic interpretations, all lucidly written. Many of Ramban’s interpretations are original and demonstrate considerable psychological insight. The text of the title page begins with the following four lines of verse (Psalms 119:19, 154, 165, 103), the first words of which give Gershom’s name in an acrostic: rg I am a stranger on earth; do not hide your commandments from me. hbyr Plead my cause, and save me; give me life according to your word. μwlç Great peace have those who love your Torah; and nothing can make them stumble. hm How sweet are your words to my taste! Sweeter than honey to my mouth! Work “began on Rosh Hodesh Tevet dr[ (274 = Wednesday, November 30, 1513) and was completed today, the 3rd of Sivan, dr[ (274 = Sunday, June 7, 1514).” The title and first text page of Genesis have a decorative frame comprised of the same panels from the Decachordum. Between them is Ramban’s preface and introduction, the initial words of the latter in a Soncino ornamental border. Ramban’s Perush ha-Torah is considered by many the most important Torah commentary after that of Rashi. It was printed three times in the incunabular period (Rome, 1469; Lisbon, 1489, and Naples, 1490), the 1469 edition being one of the first printed Hebrew books; its popularity and importance are undiminished. The Perush ha-Torah has been the subject of supercommentaries.

Format 20: 178 leaves. Reprinted in Constantinople (1522) and Venice (1545).

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64

Shulhan shel Arba

[bra ˆjlç rps Bahya ben Asher ben Hlava 1514, Mantua—Samuel ben Meir Latif Laws concerning meals. R. Bahya ben Asher ben Hlava (13th century), author of one of the most popular Torah commentaries (see above, 1507), Kad ha-Kemah on ethics and faith, and a commentary on Pirkei Avot. In his introduction, R. Bahya remarks that eating and drinking are among the most basic and necessary human functions. “The hearts of most men slumber . . . and ‘as oxen eat straw’” (Isaiah 65:25) they eat their bread (ref. Berakhot 10b where this refers to those who eat before praying). Their souls are empty and void, full of the wine of desire but of intelligence empty. Bahya therefore determined to write this brief work, in which are “goodly words” (Genesis 49:21), “to be at hand by one’s table, always with him to be read . . . and if he will peruse it when eating,” the reader “is ensured of attaining the level of complete piety and observance, able to wage the wars of the Lord against his desires.” Bahya calls this work Shulhan shel Arba (Table of Four [Meals]) for four reasons. The meal enables the body, composed of the four elements, to exist; we are commanded to sanctify ourselves with four sanctities; this work is divided into four parts corresponding to the four blessings after a meal; and the complete (sanctified) table before the Lord, and the higher spheres from which the soul is sustained, correspond to the four living creatures in the chariot above, to the four corners of the world and the four elements below of the lower world. Those ascents are the intellectual meal called the world to come. As in his other works, Bahya brings various levels of interpretation to his subject. Shulhan shel Arba is divided into four parts: the blessings and other obligations of a person by the table; the intentions a person should have when eating; how a person should conduct himself at the table; and the meal of the righteous in the days to come. The book begins, “This is the table that is before the Lord” (Ezekiel 41:22). In the concluding paragraph Bahya writes, “our table, ‘This is the table that is before the Lord,’ and he will call out, greater is our table than the table of kings.” In contrast, the Venice and Prague editions (the Cracow and Lublin editions were not seen), as well as modern editions, state, “‘that the table may be carried with them’ (Exodus 25:28) that is before the Lord. . . .” This is but one of many differences between the Mantua and later editions. The Venice Shulhan shel Arba, printed by Giustiniani, is certainly more handsome. Nevertheless, it is the Mantua printing, albeit that it has many errors, which is the more correct edition. The volume ends with a one-line colophon, stating, “This completes Sefer Shulhan shel Arba of the Ramban (Nahmanides).” This often repeated attribution is incorrect, for it is clear, from the language and style, that Bahya is the author. Furthermore, much of the contents in this work can also be found in Bahya’s Torah commentary.

Format 40: 16 leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (1514) and reprinted in Venice (1546), Cracow (1579), and in Lublin and in Prague (1596).

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Kad ha-Kemah

jmqh dk rps Bahya ben Asher ben Hlava 1515, Constantinople—Samuel ben David ibn Nahmias Sixty homilies by R. Bahya ben Asher ben Hlava (13th century), known also for his Be’ur al ha-Torah (Naples, 1492) and Shulhan shel Arba (Constantinople and Mantua, 1514, see above, pp. 64–65). The discourses, pietistic and ethical, rather than speculative and legalistic, are on the tenets of Judaism, encompassing faith, morals, precepts, and major events of the Jewish calendar. Although Bahya writes simply and with great clarity, these dissertations are detailed and comprehensive. He uses material from his Be’ur, and borrows considerably from the works of R. Moses ben Nahman (Ramban), Abraham bar Hiyya (Higayon ha-Nefesh), Rabbenu Yonah, David Kimhi (Radak), and Bahya ibn Paquda. Subject matter is arranged alphabetically by initial letter, but within that letter the order is not always maintained. For example, the order in the letter alef a is ma Emunah (Faith [in God]); ha Ahavah (Love [of God]); ra Orhim (Hospitality); and ba Eivel (Mourning). Each discourse begins with a biblical verse, expounded prior to the essay proper, based on midrashim and the Talmud, in a manner always related to the subject of the discourse. The homilies include such varied matter as daily benedictions, synagogue, robbery, haughtiness, converts, redemption, lust, flattery, bridegroom, fear of God, lulav, rain, Pesah, charity, prayer, and fast days. There is also, under Atonement (Kippurim), a commentary on Jonah, from Higayon ha-Nefesh. The title, Kad ha-Kemah, is from I Kings 17:14 and 16, referring to the jar of meal that was not spent, as Elijah, by the word of God, promised the widow in Zarephath who provided him from “but an handful of meal in a jar.” In the introductory verses Bahya states his purpose and alludes to the difficulties of the times, resulting from external pressures and internal confusion: I shall call upon everyone who thirsts, to drink from the waters of the well [of Torah] He will neither hunger nor thirst, and an offshoot of righteousness will grow up An offering of my lips will I bring, to God the Creator Living waters are its libations, and also the jar of meal ... And hearts are closed up, discerning ones decreasing On account of their hardships their thoughts have become confused Their yoke is heavy upon them, for they stand in the straits, their hearts troubled, their intellect hindered, to ascend the ladder Their foot ensnared, their shade removed, their intellect hindered, from discerning the ladder to ascend the mountains of the Talmud, “More to be desired are they than gold” (Psalms 19:11) “And a multitude of rubies” (Proverbs 20:15).

The title and final pages have the lion device of R. Judah Sassoon. The colophon informs us that Kad ha-Kemah was completed on Thursday, 18 Iyyar, “[And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk,] the God which fed h[rh (5275 = May 13, 1515) me [all my life long to this day]” (Genesis 48:15).

Format 40: 87 [1] leaves. Reprinted in Venice (1546) and Lublin (1596).

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Ketuvim

μybwtk 1515, Salonika—Don Judah Gedaliah Ketuvim (Hagiographa), comprising the books of Psalms, Proverbs, Job and Daniel. This volume was preceded by a Pentateuch with Onkelos and Rashi, Haftarot, and Megillot (1514). Ketuvim measures about 29 cm. There is no title page. The volume is unfoliated and lacks catchwords. The placement of the signatures from the first into the third quire are at the bottom of the page, but from the second leaf of the third quire to the end of the book are at the top of the page. Another unusual feature of the signatures is that they are separated, the quire number at one end of the line, the position within the quire at the other end. The text is accompanied by Rashi, the first printing of that commentary with Ketuvim. Rashi is placed along the first four lines of the top and eight to twenty lines of the bottom of the page; the text is between, in two columns. The printing generally reflects the Portuguese tradition. The fonts and ornamental borders of the initial letters are Portuguese in style. However the influence of the Soncinos can be seen in the representation of divine names, which do not follow earlier Sephardic practice. The inverted nuns in Psalm 107 are missing, as are a number of other massoretic variants, although the text does, in general, conform to the massoretic recension. The volume, concludes, however, with the following colophon: The holy work of these four books, Psalms, Proverbs, Job, and Daniel, is completed in the house of Don Judah Gedaliah, here, Salonika, in the reign of the lord, Sultan Salim, may his majesty be exalted, on the fourth day of Elul in the year 5275 (= August 25, 1515) of creation. When the poet saw the usefulness of these four books and the fine manner in which they were printed, he rejoiced and took up his parable and said: Friends and companions, men known to be of understanding, wise and wealthy, great and good, each whose heart and mind desire God be near at hand and dwell within him, to gather books in order to know and serve the Searcher of hearts and Requiter of the guilty. To turn to the work kept and arranged to benefit the many; without blemish or defect, perfect in beauty. The fruit therein is the fruit from the mouths of sweet poets, distinguished in generations, accomplished in the Torah, pure sayings with generous spirit, Proverbs and the wisdom of Solomon recondite, and the songs of maidens prepared for the father. Is there a man in any book such as Job, who raises aloft his doubts with a pained heart? Purchase now the anticipators of the future, sealed and ornamented by the praiseworthy men which are to be found in the Ketuvim. The four books, versified, set them as a seal upon the heart: Exalted for knowledge, to feed to satisfaction and to leave over to satisfy those that thirst and hunger. In them are gates for young hearts, for seekers and those that quest are showers of rain. It is a perfect work, with excellent type, printed with skill for dear friends; by Don Judah together with his sons, for a Law and testimony, for those who run and who return. Most pleasant of the builders μynwbm is Gedaliah the wise μynwbn, the pleasant plant, like a vineyard of grapes. Completed in Elul in beauty and perfection. Thanks and praise to Him who dwelleth between the cherubim. He will gather the dispersed with the coming of the Messiah. He will quicken with His spirit the injured grapes. He will comfort the mourners and He will strengthen those who languish when He destroys the idols, the graven images of the peoples. He will restore His chosen house to light, and to its majestic splendor and He will do good to those that are good. Printed by the printer, the humblest of men and the least of students, Joseph Masraton.

Format 20: 142 leaves.

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1515, Kizzur Piskei ha-Rosh, Asher ben Jehiel (Rosh)/Jacob ben Asher (Tur), Constantinople Courtesy of the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad Ohel Yosef Yitzhak

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Kizzur Piskei ha-Rosh

çarh yqsp rwxyq Asher ben Jehiel (Rosh)/Jacob ben Asher (Tur) 1515, Constantinople—Judah Sassoon and Samuel ibn Nahmias Summary of the halakhic rulings in the Piskei ha-Rosh of R. Asher ben Jehiel (Rabbenu Asher, Rosh, c. 1250–1327) prepared by his son, R. Jacob ben Asher (Ba’al ha-Turim, Tur, c. 1270–1340). Rosh is unusual, if not unique, in that he was the leading decisor of his generation for Sephardim as well as for Ashkenazim. Several Sephardic authorities, such as R. Solomon ha-Kohen (Maharshakh, c. 1530–c. 1602), write that where the Rosh and Maimonides differ on a halakhic matter, “One should not rule contrary to the Rosh, and specifically in our place [Salonika], for the Rosh is the Rav of the Sephardim.” Even in Spain, Rabbenu Asher received inquiries from as far away as Russia. The title page has an ornamental border, one employed on a number of books by the Nahmias press. Below the text is the device of R. Judah Sassoon, a lion rampant facing left. Its brief text states, “This is the book Kizzur Piskei ha-Rosh lz, written by Rabbenu Jacob lz Ba’al ha-Turim.” Within the book text is in two columns in rabbinic type, except for tractate names, topic headings, and section numbers. The volume begins with Berakhot, followed by tractates in Orders Mo’ed, Nashim, the second half of Nezikin, the Halakhot Ketannot, and then the Bavas. The colophon informs: The entire work, the work of Heaven, is finished and completed, attractive, refined and purified sevenfold. Printed by the craftsmen, the printers, “whose heart ( μbl sic) stirred them up” (Exodus 35:26) to increase and spread Torah in Israel. They are the honorable and respected R. Judah ben Joseph Sassoon and Samuel ben David ibn Nahmias, may their work and righteousness be pleasing before God and stand for them forever. It was completed Wednesday the 6th of the month of Adar, in the year “the God which fed me h[rh [ gpl] (March 3, 1515)” (Genesis 48:15). . . .

Piskei ha-Rosh (Hilkhot ha-Rosh, Sefer ha-Asheri ) is a legal précis/compendium-commentary on the Talmud, stylistically modeled after the Alfasi and reflecting the opinions of the Ba’alei Tosafot, including all major sources with their arguments, and encompassing almost the entire Talmud and the Halakhot Ketannot. Rosh’s purpose was to determine halakhah consistent with the Talmud applicable outside of Erez Israel. He cites Ashkenazic and Sephardic authorities, particularly the Ba’alei Tosafot, Alfasi, and Maimonides. In doing so Rosh does not subject himself to contemporaries or post-talmudic authorities, writing that anything not brought in the Talmud, as arranged by Rav Ashi and Ravina, is subject to review, even from the Ge’onim. Although primarily composed when older and resident in Spain, Piskei ha-Rosh reflects his Ashkenazic methodology. Piskei ha-Rosh is one of the three amudim (pillars) utilized by R. Joseph Caro in his Beit Yosef to determine normative halakhah and has also been the subject of numerous commentaries. Kizzur Piskei ha-Rosh sets forth the conclusions of the halakhic discussions culled from Piskei ha-Rosh by the Tur in a concise manner without discussion. As a result, the work is also known as Sefer ha-Remazim. Kizzur Piskei ha-Rosh is today printed after Piskei ha-Rosh in the Talmud.

Format 20: 116 leaves.

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Mefasher Helmin

ˆymlj rçpm Solomon ben Jacob Almoli 1515, Salonika The classic Jewish book on the interpretations of dreams. The author, R. Solomon ben Jacob Almoli (c. 1485–c. 1542), was either born in Spain or was the son of exiles from that land. He spent his formative years in Salonika, prior to coming to Constantinople some time before 1515, where he served as a congregational rabbi and dayyan. Almoli complains constantly of having insufficient funds, so that he was unable to afford a good teacher of Talmud. He supported himself as a physician, “to earn a living without disgrace or shame,” counting among his patients the sultan. Almoli, accomplished in a number of fields, was also a kabbalist, grammarian, and philosopher. Almoli was also the author of Halikhot Sheva (Constantinople, c. 1520), a grammatical work on the correct usage and relationship of vowels, Me’assef le-Khol ha-Mahanot (a prospectus for a Hebrew encyclopedia, Constantinople, 1530–32, see below, pp. 200–01), and Shekel ha-Kodesh, printed with the Leshon Limmudim of David ibn Yahya (Constantinople, 1506, see above, p. 21). This last has only recently been recognized as being by Almoli. Additional titles are referenced or proposed by him, or exist in a few pages only. Almoli’s literary efforts also extended to the publication of books by other authors on Hebrew grammar. Almoli wrote Mefasher Helmin after he realized that there was no single work devoted to the interpretation of dreams, and that, unlike earlier ages, people neglected its study due to the difficulties of the subject. Initially circulated as a manuscript, Mefasher Helmin was printed only after it proved to be popular. At the end of the introduction, Almoli writes that “I entitled this book Mefasher Helmin (Interpreter of Dreams; see Daniel 5:12), because its primary purpose is to provide the reader the true principles and rules for the interpretation of dreams ( pitron halomot) and their meaning.” The reader will understand the significance of dreams, his own and those of others as well, and learn how to mitigate or annul the effects of evil dreams. The book therefore, in three sections, imparts an understanding of or the principles of dreams, how to interpret them and the meaning of their symbols, and how, when necessary, to rectify or alleviate evil in them. Almoli explains talmudic passages referring to dreams and their interpretations, and incorporates the work of earlier sages into Mefasher Helmin. The primary sources for Mefasher Helmin are classical Jewish works, such as Berakhot 55a–57b and Pitron Halomot, attributed to Rav Hai Gaon. Mention is made of classical Sephardic authorities, as well as philosophers, and there are references to medieval non-Jewish philosophic sources, in Hebrew translation. Mefasher Helmin is a popular work, frequently republished under the title Pitron Halomot, and translated into Yiddish (1694), Judeo-Persian (1901), and English (1998). An abbreviated version was published in Salonika in 1853. Portions of Mefasher Helmin have been published under other titles without mention of Almoli.

Format 80: 64 leaves. Reprinted in Constantinople (1550 or 1570) and Cracow (c. 1580).

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74

Midrash Tehillim

μylht çrdm 1515, Salonika Midrash on Psalms 119 through 150. This Midrash is a supplement to the Midrash Tillim printed in Constantinople in 1512, which was only through Psalm 118 (see above, pp. 48–49). Psalm 119, alfa beta, has the commentary of Mattathias ha-Yizhari of Saragossa, Spain (14th–15th century). Mattathias, believed to be a student of Hasdai Crescas, participated in the disputation of Tortosa (1413–14), where he was the initial spokesman on the second day of the daily forums. He mentions the disputation in his commentary. There is no title page. The text is in two columns in rabbinic letters. Initial words are in square letters. Neither the date nor the place of printing are given, but rather are determined from the type. However, as the fonts are like those used in Lisbon by Eliezer Toledano in the Abudarham, which were subsequently reused in both Fez and Morocco, one bibliographer, I. Yudlov (Ginzei Yisrael ), attributes the Midrash to “Salonika or Fez, c. 1515”. Mattathias’s commentary, which follows the text of the Midrash, is here only to the letter shin. The Midrash on these Psalms is generally believed to be a later addition, not part of the original text. That is the case with the Midrash on Psalms 119 through 121 and from Psalms 138 to the end (150), which may be as late as the thirteenth century. They differ in language, style, and introductory forms, and omit names in the Midrash on the earlier Psalms. The Midrash on Psalms 122 through 137 is copied word for word from the Yalkut, excepting Psalms 123 and 131, which are not found in the Yalkut. It is possible that the compiler of this part of Midrash Tehillim was Mattathias ha-Yizhari. The complete Midrash Tehillim, that is both the part printed previously in Constantinople and the Midrash on the remaining Psalms printed here, was published by the Bomberg press in Venice in 1546. Mattathias’s commentary on Psalm 119 was partly translated by Philippe d’Aquin into Latin (Paris, 1629) as part of his commentary on Psalms. Of Mattathias’s other works, only the discourses on the Torah, Or HaShem, which remains in manuscript in Parma, is extant.

Format 20: 24 leaves.

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76

Nevi’im Ahronim with the commentary of David ben Joseph Kimhi

q”dr çwryp μ[ μynwrja μyaybn h[bra David ben Joseph Kimhi (Radak) 1515, Pesaro—Gershom Soncino Nevi’im Ahronim (Later Prophets) with the commentary of R. David ben Joseph Kimhi (Radak, c. 1160–c. 1235). This volume, on Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the twelve minor Prophets, is a companion volume to the Soncino edition of Nevi’im Rishonim (Former Prophets) with the commentary of Kimhi printed four years earlier in 1511. The title page has the ornamental frame from the Decachordum Christianum, the same as in the Nevi’im Rishonim with the commentary of Don Isaac Abrabanel (1511). The text states: Four Later Prophets with the commentary of David ben Joseph Kimhi printed for the second time by the B’nei Soncino as the good hand of the Lord was upon them. They were completed in the month of Kislev in the year wr[ (276 = November/December 1515) q”pl. Praise to the Lord, may He be blessed and glory to His great name.

The phrase, “printed for the second time” refers to the previous Soncino edition, printed in 1484. The colophon supplies the information lacking on the title page, that is, the printer is Gershom (μç rg) Soncino and the location is Pesaro, which is in the domain of the Duke of Urbino and Soro and Prefect of Rome. The colophon is dated, “[And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,] and all flesh shall see it together; [for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it]” (Isaiah 40:5) “For great is (the name of ) the Lord, and greatly to be praised; he also is to be feared awh arwnw (275 = 1515) [above all gods]” (I Chronicles 16:25). Initial words of Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Hosea are in large hollow letters enclosed in a decorative woodcut border. Other biblical books begin with the initial word set in larger type. In two columns, the biblical text is in the inner, the commentary in the outer column. The former in square, voweled and accented type, the latter in rabbinic type. Only Isaiah has the Massoretic Summary at the end. There is no foliation, and catchwords are for the commentary. Two blank folios are at the end of Isaiah (70) and after Malachi (244). Kimhi regarded the writing of his commentaries as a religious duty, one that he categorized as ma’asim tovim (good deeds). The primary emphasis of Kimhi’s commentary is peshat (literal interpretation). In arriving at his interpretations he relies on ibn Ezra, the works of his father, R. Joseph Kimhi, and his brother, R. Moses Kimhi. David Kimhi makes considerable use of rabbinic literature and the Targum. In his interpretation of the text Kimhi avoids the homiletic discourses popular in his time although he does make use of aggadic interpretations. Philology is an important aspect of this commentary and, strongly influenced by Maimonides, some events and visions are explained philosophically. This is especially evident in Kimhi’s commentary on the Merkavah (Chariot) in Ezekiel. Written in a clear and lucid style Kimhi’s commentary is popular and much printed. Its popularity is attested to by the fact that in many early printed Bibles there were often only two commentaries, those of Rashi and Kimhi.

Format 20: 244 leaves.

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1515, Petah Devarai, David ben Judah Messer Leon, Constantinople Courtesy of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

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Petah Devarai

yrbd jtp David ben Judah Messer Leon 1515, Constantinople Grammatical work attributed to R. David ben Judah Messer Leon (c. 1470/72–c. 1526). Born in Mantua, David learned in his father’s yeshivah in Naples and afterwards in Padua at the yeshivah of R. Judah Mintz, from whom he received ordination at the age of eighteen. Leon resided in Florence, Salonika, and, after a sojourn in Constantinople, served as rabbi, from about 1512 in Valona, Albania, at an annual salary of seventy florins. Valona had three congregations, representing different communities, and he officiated every third Shabbat at a different synagogue. Disputes between the Spanish and Portuguese communities caused Leon to return to Salonika, where he died. He was widely educated in both rabbinic and secular subjects, and knowledgeable in Kabbalah. The title of Petah Devarai is a label-title, consisting only of the words Petah Devarai (lit., prologue [to my words]) before the author’s introduction. The colophon dates the completion to Friday, 13 Elul, “the God which fed me h[rh (5275 = September 3, 1515) [all my life long to this day]” (Genesis 48:15). The text of this grammatical composition is in a single column in rabbinic type. The last ten leaves are made up of additional works printed with Petah Devarai. They are Pitron Halomot, attributed to Rav Hai Gaon and Ma’aseh Torah, which in turn is comprised of derashot on “seven things that hinder prayer from being accepted” and “this is ma’aseh Torah said by Rabbenu ha-Kodesh.” The latter was printed previously with the Kol Bo (Naples, c. 1490). Petah Devarai was published previously in c. 1490 in Naples. That edition, in early bibliographies of Hebrew incunabula, is listed as an anonymous work. Petah Devarai was reprinted in the Dikdukim (Venice, 1546), a collection of four grammatical works, where the reference to the author states, “attributed to one of the earlier sages of Sepharad.” Current bibliographies attribute it to Leon. Leon was a prolific writer, but only two works that are definitely attributed to him have been published. They are Tehillah le-David (Constantinople, 1577), which has been described as “a summary of Jewish theology of an encyclopedic scope . . .,” much influenced not only by Maimonides but also by Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae; and Kevod Hakhamim (Berlin, 1899), his justification for banning two individuals over a dispute on a ritual issue that culminated in an argument in which Leon was insulted on the night of Yom Kippur. Among his unpublished works are Avir Ya’akov on medicine and science; Ein ha-Kore on Maimonides’ Moreh Nevukhim; Magen David on the Sefirot; and Sefer ha-Derashot, sermons; as well as other works, some still in manuscript, others no longer extant.

Format 40: [37], 10 leaves. Reprinted in Dikdukim (Venice, 1546).

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80

Psalterium 1515, Venice—Daniel Bomberg Latin Psalter printed by Daniel Bomberg. The Psalterium is notable because it is the first book known with certainty to have been printed by Daniel Bomberg, a non-Jew, who became one of, if not the most prominent of all Hebrew book printers. Bomberg, the son of the Antwerp merchant Cornelius Van Bombergen and Agnes Vranex, was born ca. 1483. Although he had previous experience with typography, Bomberg came to Venice because of the family business. In Venice, he associated with Fratre Felice da Prato (Felix Pratensis), an apostate (c. 1513) become Augustinian friar, who is credited with influencing Bomberg to engage in Hebrew printing. Felice had already obtained a privilege for publishing books in Rome and the states of the Church. He not only induced Bomberg to publish his Psalterium but also pointed out the possibilities of a Hebrew press. The volume is entitled Psalterium ex hebreo diligentissime ad verbum fere tralatum. The text is a translation from the Hebrew into Latin by Felice, who reputedly performed the translation in less than fifteen days. The title is in red and black; chapter headings, initial letters, and initial verse letters are also in red. Four initial letters are historiated. There are Latin and occasional Hebrew marginalia. The Hebrew alphabet, accompanied by the names of the letters in Latin, appears in the margins by Psalm 119. The text begins on 3a and concludes on 63b, followed by the colophon, where Bomberg’s name is given as Daniel Bombergi Antuerpiensis. The volume concludes with a page of errata. The Psalterium was printed at the press of Hermann Liechtenstein, as Bomberg did not yet have a privilege to publish. Felix’s intent was to translate the entire Bible into Latin but only this volume appeared. Bomberg’s many accomplishments include the editio princeps of the Babylonian (1519/20–23) and Jerusalem (1522–23) Talmuds, establishing the pagination of the former to this day. Bomberg printed the first Mikra’ot Gedolot, a four-volume Rabbinic Bible with commentaries (1516–17); the first Alfasi (1522); and the first Karaite book, a four-volume prayer book (1528–29). He was the first printer of Hebrew books in Venice and the first non-Jewish printer of Hebrew titles. When the press, no longer under Bomberg’s direct management, closed in 1548/49, it had published, including talmudic treatises enumerated individually, more than two hundred and fifty titles. Bomberg’s first application to the Venetian Senate, beginning his formal endeavors as a printer of Hebrew books in Venice, is dated April 23, 1515, and is to print three books translated from Hebrew into Latin and a Hebrew Bible with commentaries. It was approved with reservations by the Senate for four months only. His second petition, submitted seven and a half months later and approved shortly afterwards, was for a ten-year monopoly. The date of Bomberg’s first volume, however, is a matter of conjecture. Although some early Hebrew chroniclers date the press’s beginining to 1511, no imprints to that date are extant. More recently Israel Mehlman discovered a Biblia Hebræa with a title page dated 1511 and Bomberg’s name; the text is from Bomberg’s 1517–18 quarto Bible. Mehlman hypothesizes that printing of the quarto began early, sales being delayed due to difficulties in publishing Hebrew books in Venice. This hypothesis is problematic, given Felice’s involvement with Bomberg, and the investment in and employ of typesetters for such an enterprise prior to the Venetian Senate’s approval, so that the 1511 title page remains an enigma. The Psalterium remains the first book known with certainty to have been published by Daniel Bomberg. Format 80: 2, 64 leaves.

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Tractate Eruvin

ˆybwry[ tksm c. 1515, Pesaro—Gershom Soncino Eruvin, the second treatise in Seder Mo’ed, deals with the four Sabbath domains, public and private, and the prohibition on transferring objects between them and the conditions when one may do so. The text of the tractate includes mathematical computations and, to aid the student, explanatory diagrams and illustrations. The title page has an ornamental border, made up from the frames of the Decachordum Christianum (1507). Printed with the text are Rashi and tosafot, an innovation introduced by Gershom’s uncle Joshua Solomon Soncino with the first printed tractate, Berakhot (1483/84), and following the text is Piskei Tosafot. The tractate has 140 leaves, in contrast to the standard pagination of 105 leaves. Eruvin, as were many of the Pesaro tractates, was printed with the support of patrons. David Porteira, whose name appears on the title page, sponsored a number of Pesaro tractates and, it has been suggested, provided a Sephardic influence on their texts. Another patron, Abraham Esquerra Zarfati, who also sponsored Rosh Ha-Shanah, explains in the colophon his reason for supporting the publication of these tractates: Although every Jew is required to set aside time, day and night, for the study of Torah, business has prevented me from participating in the inheritance of HaShem. I said I will help those who do the work of printing, the work of Heaven, thereby supporting [learning].

From 1497 to 1503, when Gershom did not print any books, he traveled to France and Switzerland in search of manuscripts of the Tosafists, the twelfth and thirteenth century Talmud exegetes. The tosafot he selected to be printed with his tractates are those printed with the Talmud to this day, and, since Gershom printed most of a Talmud edition, he not only selected the tosafot for his tractates, but also determined which tosafot would be printed in future editions of the Talmud. These tosafot are referred to as “our tosafot,” to differentiate them from other versions of Tosafot still in manuscript or printed separately, later, from manuscripts. Gershom refers to this period on the title page of the Mikhlol (Constantinople in 1532/34) of R. David Kimhi (Radak, 1160?–1235?): I toiled and found books that were previously closed and sealed, and brought them forth to the light of the sun, to shine as the firmament, as the tosafot from Touques of R. Isaac and of Rabbenu Tam. I traveled to France, Chambéry, and Geneva, the places where [the books] were conceived, so that the public might benefit from them, for in Spain, Italy, and all the lands, we have only heard of [the tosafot] of Sens, of R. Perez, and R. Shimshon and their colleagues.

The number of tractates printed by Gershom Soncino has long been in question. He wrote, on the title page of the Mikhlol, that he had “printed twenty-three tractates customarily [learned] in yeshivot.” However, the number of tractates that can be attributed to him, including incunabula treatises, is larger. One possible solution is that the number twenty-three refers to different tractates he printed, exclusive of tractates he reprinted, which were enumerated one time only.

Format 20: 140 leaves.

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84

Tractate Sukkah

hkws tksm c. 1515, Pesaro—Gershom Soncino Tractate Sukkah, Seder Mo’ed, dealing with the laws of the festival of Sukkot. It is one of approximately more than twenty tractates printed by Gershom Soncino in or about Pesaro (see above, Eruvin), beginning with Yevamot in 1509. The majority of the Pesaro tractates were printed during Gershom’s first years there. This can be seen from the title pages, which first mention Giovanni Sforza, for example in Bezah, and after his passing in 1510, the regency of Galeazzo Sforza, as noted on the title page of tractate Bava Batra, printed between 1510 and 1511. These tractates are not uniform, indicating that Gershom did not intend to print a complete edition of the Talmud and that they were not meant to be a set. The differences between tractates include volume size, the makeup of the title page, from the bare text of Yevamot and Gittin, the latter consisting of two words only, Tractate Gittin, to others, at least seven, with ornamental borders, made up of various components from the Decachordum, and in two instances, Sukkah and Avodah Zarah, with a different frame. In Bava Kamma and Bava Mezia, the Decachordum frame appears on the first page of the text in a manner reminiscent of the incunabula tractates, whereas in Gittin it appears on the title and first text page. In at least six tractates, including Sukkah, the initial word is in ornamental letters, while in at least nine others the first word is in non-ornamental letters larger then the text but otherwise plain. Within the text, column headings vary in size, some volumes, but not all, have signatures, and in a number foliation is on top with Arabic numerals. The width of the lines of the commentary is not constant, only three tractates (Yevamot, Berakhot, and Bezah) include Maimonides’ commentary on Mishnayot, and only two (Berakhot and Bezah) have the Mordekhai. Most, if not all, were printed with Piskei Tosafot. The title page of Sukkah has a frame used earlier with the Italian rite Selihot Gershom published in Fano (1505) and with several other titles, although it was not used nearly as often as the frame from the Decachordum. It also appears on the title page of non-Hebrew books, for example, Marcus Antonius Sabellicus’s Chroniche de la Origine Veneti, printed by Gotardo da Ponte (Milan, c. 1508). That Gershom used it both before and after the appearance of Sabellicus’s Chroniche suggests a business relationship, however limited, with the non-Jewish printer. The title page of Sukkah states: Until now our help has been HaShem. So may He continue to do so in the future. We have had the merit to begin and we should have the merit to complete [our work]. With the help of the One who makes the darkness to be as light as the day, we will begin the tractate Sukkah with the command of the sage R. David Porteira ≈y [may his Rock watch over him] who benefits the multitude.

The tractate has 72 leaves, in comparison to the standard pagination of 56 leaves. Sukkah has a number of accompanying diagrams. In the Bomberg Talmud blank spaces were left, but not filled, for the insertion of these diagrams in the same places in the text and Rashi as in the Soncino edition, indicative of Bomberg’s use of the Soncino tractates. In at least one instance, 7b–8b according to the standard foliation, the positions of Rashi and Tosafot are transposed. Format 20: 72 leaves.

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Zohar ha-Raki’a on the Azharot

twrhzah l[ [yqrh rhwz Simeon ben Zemah Duran 1515, Constantinople—Joseph ben Ayyid Kabizi Commentary on the Azharot of R. Solomon ibn Gabirol by Simeon ben Zemah Duran, (Rashbaz, 1361–1444). Born to a Provencal family descended from Nahmanides (Ramban) in Palma, on the isle of Majorca, Duran was a student of R. Ephraim Vidal and Jonah Desmaestre, marrying Bongoda, the latter’s daughter. In addition to his rabbinic education, Duran also studied secular subjects such as astronomy, mathematics, and philosophy. He was, professionally, a physician for many years in Palma. In 1391, Duran and his family fled to Algiers to escape the massacres of Jews, losing all of their possessions. There Duran may have become a member of the bet din of R. Isaac bar Sheshet (Ribash), chief rabbi, whom he later succeeded. The relationship between the two was not always amicable, for they disagreed upon a number of issues, among them whether the government should confirm the appointment of the chief rabbi, Bar Sheshet approving, Duran disapproving. Duran would later acknowledge that he had not been sufficiently respectful of Bar Sheshet. A highly regarded halakhic authority, Tashbez (Amsterdam, 1738–41), with more than 900 of Duran’s responsa, is recognized as an authoritative work. Zohar ha-Raki’a is a commentary on the Azharot of R. Solomon ibn Gabirol (c. 1020– c. 1057). Azharot are liturgical poems enumerating the taryag (613) mitzvot, recited by Sephardim on Shavuot, the most famous being those of ibn Gabirol. (Ashkenazim recite the Akdamut of R. Meir b. Isaac Nehorai (11th cent.).) The title page is plain, without any ornamentation, simply stating, “Sefer Zohar ha-Raki’a written by ha-Rav Simeon l”z b”r Zemah l”z on the Azharot.” The colophon informs that work was completed on the 11th of the month of Menahem [Av], in the year, h[rh [gpl] (5275 = August 2, 1515). Folios 1b to 4b are a listing of the precepts according to the author of the Azharot. The text, which is unpaginated, begins on 5a. Ibn Gabirol’s Azharot, a versified listing of the 613 precepts, is, of necessity, brief. Gabirol, a poet, follows the Halakhot Gedolot in his order of the mitzvot, without adding, subtracting, or elaborating. This is not the case for Duran, a halakhist, who wrote Zohar ha-Raki’a, his commentary on the precepts, in Algiers in 1417. Duran follows Maimonides’ enumeration of the precepts, defending him against the criticisms of Nahmanides (Ramban). At the beginning of the work Duran discusses the sources of the number 613, supporting it against Nahmanides’ reservations, although at the end of the book he acknowledges that it is not possible to resolve all the questions on the issue. Duran’s commentary on the Azharot is detailed and comprehensive. Nevertheless, it is a homiletic rather than a halakhic work. Duran was a prolific and varied writer, his subject matter encompassing a wide variety of subjects, among them liturgy, religious poetry, biblical exegesis, halakhah, novellae, elegies, polemics, and philosophy. Joseph ben Ayyid Kabizi, the printer of Zohar ha-Raki’a, rented the Nahmias press to issue this work, the sole title known to have been printed by him.

Format 40: 116 leaves.

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88

Arba’ah Turim

μyrwf h[bra Jacob ben Asher 1516 Fano—Gershom Soncino Comprehensive halakhic masterpiece by R. Jacob ben Asher (Ba’al ha-Turim, Tur, c. 1270–1340) that is the basis of subsequent codes to the present. The Arba’ah Turim (Four Rows) is concerned with laws currently applicable; omitting those inoperative in the absence of the Temple. Prior to writing the Turim, Jacob summarized his father’s (R. Asher ben Jehiel, Rosh) halakhot as Kizzur Piskei ha-Rosh (Constantinople, 1516), subsequently appended by tractate to editions of the Talmud. Building upon that work, but in a different format, Jacob then composed the Arba’ah Turim. The Arba’ah Turim (Four Rows) is divided into four parts: Orah Hayyim, laws applicable from rising to retiring for weekdays, Sabbath, and festivals; Yoreh De’ah, on issur ve-hetter (dietary laws), oaths, usury, and mourning; Even ha-Ezer, matrimonial law, such as divorce and betrothal, as well as other matters relating to women; and Hoshen Mishpat, on civil law, testimony, and other personal and business matters. This order is intended to assemble relevant material in an easily usable format. Entries begin with sources in the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds, followed by citations from Geonim, responsa and codes to his time. A wide spectrum of divergent opinions is presented in this encyclopedic work, but extraneous material is excluded. The halakhah, based on the Ba’al ha-Turim’s understanding and current practice, is then presented. The title page is made up of components of the frame from the Decachordum. It states that it is “Printed for the second time . . . in the year w[r” (276 = 1516). The reference is to a prior Soncino printing, perhaps a 1507 edition of Tur O. H. by Gershom recorded by Manzoni but otherwise unknown, or else an incunabula edition by another member of the family. The verso of the title page has the introduction of the Tur, the contents, followed by the text. The initial text word is set in ornamental letters between a decorative border (above and below). The remaining books lack title pages, beginning with Jacob’s introduction, also with ornamental frames and decorative initial letters. The book is set in square letters, is unpaginated, and lacks the diagrams in the next Soncino edition, printed by Eliezer ben Gershom (Constantinople, 1540), otherwise much like this printing. The Tur Y. D. was printed in Fez (c. 1516–18, 30 cm. 134f.) and soon afterwards in Venice (1522). The latter edition contrasts with this printing, being smaller (40 148, [120, 80, 195]f.) and set in rabbinic letters, excepting initial words. The last three books note that they were printed by the brothers, the sons of Baruch Adelkind, for Daniel Bomberg. The Arba’ah Turim is comprehensive in content and written in a clear and beautiful style. As a result, within a short period of time it was widely accepted as an authoritative halakhic compendium by all segments of Jewry. It has been the subject of commentaries that are major halakhic works in their own right, such as R. Joseph Caro’s Beit Yosef, Moses Isserles’s (Rema) Darkhei Moshe, and Joel Sirkes’s Bayit Hadash. Its organization has been followed in later halakhic works, most notably the Shulhan Arukh.

Format 20: 86, 74, 45, 117 leaves. Printed to 1540 in whole or in part in Fez (1516), Venice (1522), Salonika (c. 1530), Cracow (1538–39), and Augsburg, Constantinople and Prague (1540).

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90

Divrei ha-Yamim le-Moshe Rabbenu

h[ wnybr hçmlç μymyh yrbd 1516, Constantinople—Samuel ibn Nahmias Collection of small Midrashim and a traveler’s tale. The contents are: Divrei ha-Yamim le-Moshe Rabbenu (1a–5a): An embellished biography of Moses’ early life prior to the Exodus of Egypt. It expands upon the information in Exodus, based on older Midrashim. It includes his miraculous birth and wars in Ethiopia. Divrei ha-Yamim is considered to be a medieval work. Petirat Aharon (5a–7a): Midrash describing in detail the death of Aaron. Petirat Moshe Rabbenu (7b–13b): Midrash on the death of Moses. It has been suggested that the author’s name is Sa’adiah, and elsewhere that it is actually part of Divrei ha-Yamim le-Moshe Rabbenu. This Midrash exists in several different recensions. Tuvi ben Tuvial (14a–18a). Eldad ha-Dani (18b–20a): by Eldad ha-Dani (late 9th century) who claimed to be from the tribe of Dan. It recounts his journeys through Africa and Asia in the ninth century. Mishlei Sindabar (Sindbad) (20b–27a): On the wickedness of women within the framework of a tale about the kings of India. Ma’aseh shel Yerushalim (28a–33a): Popular tale attributed to R. Abraham ben Moses Maimon. Sefer Hanokh (33a–34a): Midrash based on “And Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, for God had taken him” (Genesis 5:24). Hidot Isopeto (34b–38a). Fables derived from Aesop’s fables. Meshalim shel Shelomo (38a–40a): Related aggadah. Melizat Efer ve-Dinah (41a–48a): Poetical allegory on pleasure written by Vidal Benveniste (early 15th century) for Purim. The volume lacks a title page and is unfoliated. Text, in two columns, is in rabbinic type, excepting headings and initial words. There are two colophons, the first after Meshalim shel Shelomo on 40b, giving the name of the printer and the completion date, a second, in verse, after Melizat Efer ve-Dinah, praising that work.

Format 40: 48 leaves. Reprinted in Venice (1544).

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Ein Ya’akov

bq[y ˆy[ Jacob ben Solomon ibn Habib 1516, Salonika—Don Judah Gedaliah Collection of aggadah in the Talmud compiled by R. Jacob ben Solomon ibn Habib (c. 1445–c. 1515). Ibn Habib was born in Zamora, Castile, and studied under R. Samuel Valency, subsequently heading a large yeshivah in Salamanca. In 1492, with the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, ibn Habib went to Portugal. He was forced to flee Portugal after the forced baptism of Jewish children, among them ibn Habib’s son Levi, finding refuge in Salonika in 1501. There ibn Habib again headed a yeshivah, became a leader of that city’s Jewish community, and was consulted on halakhic matters by other rabbis. Ibn Habib apparently withdrew from communal affairs to work on Ein Ya’akov. He had access to the extensive libraries of Don Judah ben Abraham Benveniste (1460–1515) and Samuel Benveniste enabling him, as he notes, to write Ein Ya’akov. Ein Ya’akov is a collection of the aggadot in the Babylonian Talmud and, to a lesser extent, the Jerusalem Talmud. The title is from “. . . the fountain of Jacob (ein Ya’akov) shall be upon a land of grain and wine” (Deuteronomy 33:28). Ibn Habib’s objective was to collect the aggadot scattered throughout the Talmud into a unified work, accompanied by traditional interpretations and his own insights, entries for the last preceded by “the writer says.” The introduction states, “Alfasi and later codifiers took upon themselves the task of assembling and conveying in clear and understandable manner all the halakhot. It is also important to gather the aggadot in which the profound thoughts of our sages are concealed.” The existence of a previous work, Haggadot ha-Talmud (Constantinople, 1511), which lacks a commentary and is incomplete, is noted (see above, pp. 42–43). However, no work exists that assembles all the aggadot and commentaries. This collection addresses that need, assembling material that contains the basis of faith, morals, and repentance. It makes the ethical content of the Talmud more widely known and refutes charges against the Talmud, based on aggadot, by Spanish apostates. A characteristic of the commentary is ibn Habib’s great humility. There is no title page. The contents are by tractate, concluding with the Jerusalem Talmud. The inner column is the text, the outer column the commentary, from R. Solomon ben Isaac (Rashi), Tosafot, Moses ben Nahman (Ramban), Solomon ibn Adret (Rashba), Yom Tov ibn Ishbili (Ritba), Nissim ben Reuben Gerondi (Ran), and others. Ibn Habib attempts to provide clear, simple explanations of the aggadot, eschewing philosophical commentaries, criticizing authors who interpret aggadot in that manner. The first part only of Ein Ya’akov, on Orders Zera’im and Mo’ed, was published in his lifetime. The remainder was published by his son, Levi ibn Habib, who was unable to find his father’s notes, so that ibn Habib’s commentary is limited and the larger part are the traditional commentaries. Also lacking are the intended indices, by subject and Torah readings. Ein Ya’akov has proven to be a work of great popularity. Often republished, in its entirety or in part, it has also been translated into several languages, among them English, and placed on the Index, so that when it was reprinted it was often under the name Ein Yisrael (see below, 1566, pp. 572–73). It has also been the subject of numerous commentaries.

Format 20: [239]; [441] leaves. Reprinted in Venice (1546, 1566), Cracow (1588, 1591), and Salonika (1593).

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94

Mikra’ot Gedolot (Biblia Rabbinica)

μybwtkw μyaybn ,hrwt yçmwj hçmj

1516–17, Venice—Daniel Bomberg The editio princeps of the rabbinic Bible (Mikra’ot Gedolot). This splendid and important edition was printed by Daniel Bomberg in four volumes, Torah (Pentateuch), Former Prophets (Nevi’im Rishonim), Later Prophets (Nevi’im Ahronim), and Hagiographa (Ketuvim). The title page of the first part, with an architectural frame, the first use of such a frame in a Hebrew book, describes the contents of the entire work. On the verso is the Latin dedication of the editor, Felix Pratensis, to Pope Leo X (1513–21), dated 1517. Directed towards the non-Jewish market, another impression exists without the Latin dedication. The text and Targum Onkelos follow, in two columns, below them the commentary of Rashi. The initial word of Genesis is in large letters in an ornate frame; the initial words of subsequent books and the Targum are set in a woodcut frame covering their respective columns. Chapter and verse headings are given for the first time in a Hebrew book. The text is not paginated. In the margins are variant readings assembled by Pratensis from manuscripts. At the end of each book is the Masoretic summary providing the number of verses. The volume concludes with a repetition of the summaries and the total of the verses in the Torah. These summaries are inconsistent, errors existing in both book totals and in the final summary. Sectional divisions, that is, the open and closed sections, are inconsistent with the present recension. The title page of the Nevi’im Rishonim informs that it has the Targum ( Jonathan ben Uzziel), the commentary of R. David Kimhi (Radak), and that it was printed “in the sixteenth year of Doge Leonardo Loredano (1501–21) by Daniel Bomberg a man of Flanders.” The first word of Joshua is similar to that of Genesis, and the following books are like the other books of the Pentateuch. Pagination is irregular. Samuel and Kings are divided into separate books, the first time in a Hebrew Bible. At the division between I and II Samuel is the statement, “Here non-Jews (μyz[wlh) begin the second book of Samuel which is the second book of Kings to them.” I and II Kings are separated by an asterisk and in the margin is the statement, “Here non-Jews begin the fourth book of Kings.” Only Joshua and Kings have the Masoretic summary, here consistent with the present recension. The third volume (Nevi’im Ahronim), unpaginated, also has Targum ( Jonathan ben Uzziel) and the commentary of Kimhi. Only Ezekiel has the Masoretic summary, here too consistent with the present recension. The final volume (Ketuvim) lacks pagination. There are at least six sets of signatures, suggesting that the work, printed in about six months, was set up by different compositors and printed in separate compartments. Only Proverbs has the Masoretic summary, consistent with the present recension. Ezra and Nehemiah are divided, as is Chronicles, for the first time, into two books. Psalms, Proverbs, Job, and the Megillot are with Targum R. Joseph. Other commentaries are Kimhi (Psalms); Kav ve-Naki by R. David ben Solomon ibn Yahya (Proverbs); Moses Gerondi and Abraham Farissol ( Job); Rashi (Megillot); Levi ben Gershom, that is, Ralbag (Daniel); and Rashi and Shimoni (Ezra and Chronicles). After Psalms is Kimhi’s refutation of Christian interpretations of those Psalms in which they claimed to find support for their faith. A long epilogue from Bomberg, dated 27 Kislev 278 (Friday, December 21, 1517), is followed by the license granted by the Pope to Pratensis. Among the appendices is the Jerusalem Targum on the Torah and Targum Sheni to Esther. Format 20: 134; 120; 180; 238 leaves.

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96

Sefer ha-Pardes

sdrph rps Jedaiah ha-Penini ben Abraham Bedersi c. 1516, Constantinople An ethical and philosophic work that also addresses the value of science. R. Jedaiah haPenini ben Abraham Bedersi (c. 1270–1340), the author of many ethical, poetical, and philosophic works, was the son of the poet, R. Abraham of Beziers (1230–1300). Jedaiah, from Beziers, is also associated with Perpignan and Montpellier, also in Provence. His primary teachers were his father and R. Meshullam of Beziers (Sefer ha-Hashlamah, c. 1175–1250). Among the secular subjects Jedaiah studied were Greek and Arabic philosophy, and he wrote commentaries to several of those works. His greatest influences, however, were Abraham ibn Ezra and Maimonides, whom he praises extensively. Apart from the fact that Jedaiah may have been a physician, little more of his biography is known. Sefer haPardes was written, as Jedaiah states at the end, at the age of seventeen. Sefer ha-Pardes was printed without a title page and lacks pagination. The date of publication has been estimated as being from 1515 to 1520. An essay in eight chapters, or gates (she’arim), it presents Jedaiah’s view, as stated in the first line, of morality and good conduct. Other issues addressed are science and rhetoric. The chapters are: 1) isolation from the world and its inconstancy; 2) Divine worship and service; 3) learning and the science to be acquired after completing one’s religious instruction; 4) the laws and conduct of a judge; 5) grammar; 6) sophistry; 7) astronomy; 8) and rhetoric and poetry. The poet informs that “Without poetry, there can be no religion, for it is the foundation of faith. It softens man’s heart and strengthens his belief.” He also warns the reader to “beware of arousing the poet’s hostility, for his falsehood is more readily believed than your truth.” Jedaiah’s other works are Bakkashat ha-Memim, a 1,000-word hymn, each word of which begins with the letter mem (Soncino, 1488); Behinat Olam (Mantua c. 1474), a popular philosophical work on the vanity of worldly things, republished as many as eighty times (see below, 1546, pp. 298–99); Leshon ha-Zahav (Venice, 1599, see below, pp. 900–01); Ohev Nashim (Zilzal Kenafayim, Lover of Women, in Jubelschrift . . . Zunz, 1884), written in response to Judah ibn Shabbetai’s satirical Sone Nashim (Hater of Women, see below, pp. 270–71); Iggeret ha-Hitnazzelut (in She’elot u’Teshuvot Rashba, 1545, and, separately, Lemberg, 1809), addressed to R. Solomon ben Abraham Adret (Rashba), in defense of philosophy and science after the latter placed a ban on the study of philosophy in 1305. He was also author of a commentary on Midrash Rabbah (Rödelheim, 1854) and on Pirkei Avot ( Jerusalem, 1970). The attribution of several works, Bakkashat Elef Alfin (Venice, 1552), comprised of 1,000 words, all beginning with the letter alef; and Shir ha-Lamedin (Frankfort on the Oder, 1812), for the Day of Atonement, made up of words containing the letter lamed, but none of the subsequent letters in the alphabet, are in question, that is, whether Jedaiah or his father, Abraham, was actually the author. Much that Jedaiah wrote, such as scientific and philosophical works, remain in manuscript.

Format 40: 6 leaves.

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1516, Psalterium Hebraeum, Graecum, Arabicum, et Chaldaeum Augustino Giustiniani, Genoa Courtesy of the Library of the Valmadonna Trust

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Psalterium Hebraeum, Graecum, Arabicum, et Chaldaeum

ˆçwrp μ[ μymwgrt hçlçw μwgrt μ[ ybr[ ynawwy yrb[ μylyht Augustino Giustiniani—Editor 1516, Genoa—Pietro Paolo Porro A five-language polyglot Psalter in eight columns, four to a page, consisting of Hebrew; Vulgate translation of the Hebrew; Vulgate translation of the Greek; Greek Septuagint; Arabic; Aramaic; Latin translation of the Aramaic; and in the final column and margin, Scholia (Latin notes). Conrad Pellican assisted with the Hebrew text. This is the first true polyglot volume from the Bible, the Complutensian Polyglot Bible (1514–17, above, pp. 54–55) having not yet appeared, and excluding the Aldus proofsheet (1501, above, pp. 2–3), a Quincuplex Psalterium by Robert Estienne (1509 and 1513), which had four columns of Latin and one of Hebrew, and Erasmus’s appendix to volume eight of his edition of Jerome (Amerbach, August 25, 1516), with Greek, Latin and Hebrew in four columns. The book’s utility to scholars is the convenience of having several languages and translations next to each other for comparison purposes. The presence of Arabic is notable, being its first appearance in a complete book of the Bible and its second usage in a book, the first, reputedly, being a prayer book printed in Fano in 1514. Bishop Agostino Giustiniani (c. 1470–1536) of Nebbio in Corsica, who held the chair of Hebrew in Paris, recruited Pietro Paolo Porro from Turin, having him come to Genoa to print the Psalter, the only book printed there in the first part of the century. Giustiniani, a Christian-Hebraist, belonged to a patrician family and was a distant relative of the (to be) famed Venetian printer, Marco Antonio Giustiniani. The marginal notes, based on rabbinic sources, are those of the bishop, who also published Latin translations of R. Moses Kimhi’s Hebrew grammar (Liber Viarum Linguae Sanctae, Paris, c. 1520), and Maimonides’ Moreh Nevukhim. In the preface Giustiniani announces plans to publish the entire Bible in this format, but nothing else appeared. Giustiniani was lost at sea on a trip to Corsica. The title page has an arabesque border; its text, and that of the colophon, are in five languages, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic and Aramaic, printed in red and black ink. The date, mense .VIIIIbri (November), appears in the colophon. The Psalter was printed in 2,000 paper and 50 vellum copies, the latter for presentation to royalty. It is dedicated to Pope Leo X and was well received. Nevertheless, the Psalterium did not sell well. No Jews were permitted to participate in any phase of its production. At about the same time that the Psalterium was being printed Doge Ottaviano Fregoso decreed the expulsion of the Jews from Genoa. A close copy of this bold arabesque border appears, two years later, on the title page of the four-language Psalter printed in Cologne at the press of Johann Soter, with Johann Potkin as editor. In that edition the languages are given as Hebrew, Greek, Chaldean and Latin, an error as the Chaldean is actually Ethiopic. A double-spread opening of that Psalter reads from left to right: Latin, Ethiopic, Greek and Hebrew. A lengthy gloss to Psalm 19:5, “their words reach the end of the inhabited world,” provides the first biographical description of Christopher Columbus and his discoveries, reflecting Genoa’s pride in “Columbus, the Genoese.” Nevertheless, Columbus’ son, Ferdinand, criticized the description of his father as inaccurate and the senate of Genoa ordered the Psalter destroyed. If their order was carried out it must have been done halfheartedly, for the Psalterium is not scarce. Format 20: 200 leaves.

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c. 1516, Tractate Rosh Ha-Shanah, Fez Courtesy of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

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Tractate Rosh Ha-Shanah

hnçh çar tksm c. 1516, Fez—Samuel Nedivot A unique example of a talmudic treatise printed with both the text and Rashi in rabbinic (Rashi) fonts. Its publication is attributed to the Fez press of Samuel Nedivot. The sole tractate printed in this manner, with semi-cursive Sephardic letters employed throughout. The only square letters in the volume are initial letters, for example, indicating the beginning of a Mishnah or gemara. The use of rabbinic letters for the text and Rashi was apparently due to a lack of small square letters at the time the press was founded. Rosh Ha-Shanah was most likely the first work printed in Fez. Eruvin, printed later, has the text in square letters. Rosh Ha-Shanah lacks both a title page and a colophon. The representation of the Tetragrammaton in Rosh Ha-Shanah is two yods, followed by a line that extends upward and turns back, but without curving over the yods. That differs slightly from the form used in Eruvin, which consists of two yods followed by a quarter circle line curved back over the yods. Signatures here are in Rashi letters and abbreviations are represented by a dot above the word rather than the customary line. The square letters used in Eruvin for the text, although smaller, are the same as the initial square letters in Rosh Ha-Shanah and the Abudarham, and were clearly cast by the same person. Also, the Rashi script is the same in all three titles. The omission of tosafot is consistent with Sephardic practice at the time, as reflected in Spanish incunabula tractates, of not learning tosafot but rather the novellae of Nahmanides (Ramban). Eruvin has a colophon, which provides a completion date, Sunday, 10 Kislev, 282 (November 20, 1521) but no place of printing. Based on the typography of these works, the books accepted as having been printed in Fez with a high degree of certainty, besides Rosh Ha-Shanah, are tractate Eruvin, Abudarham, Sefer Azharot, Hilkhot Rav Alfasi, and the Tur Yoreh De’ah. Fragments of other treatises, also from the Nedivot press, are also extant. Haim Dimitrovsky discovered an uncatalogued fragment of two leaves of a manuscript of Hagigah, similar to the printed edition of Rosh Ha-Shanah, with the text in Rashi script, which, he suggests, was prepared by Nedivot as a copy-text for the typesetters, although there is no evidence that the tractate was printed. This manuscript copy-text was prepared from a printed edition of Hagigah, most likely from Guadalajara. Preparation of a copytext was necessitated by differences between Nedivot’s tractate and the original, that is, the Guadalajara tractate was printed with a square font, whereas Nedivot was still using rabbinic type. Furthermore, in the Guadalajara tractates, mishnayot are at the head of the chapter, whereas Nedivot placed them within the text according to their relation to the subject matter. (Dimitrovsky’s thesis is questioned by Yaakov Spiegel, ref. notes.) Dimitrovsky also attributes a fragment of Hullin to Fez. The similarities between this and the other Fez tractates, for example, the fonts, the final peh π, abbreviations, absence of catchwords, and other marks, justify this attribution. Nevertheless, differences, such as the layout of the page, reflecting the influence of the tractates printed in Soncino and Pesaro, indicate that Hullin was printed later than the other tractates.

Format 19 cm.

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102

Sefer Abudarham

μhrdwba rps David ben Joseph Abudarham 1517, Fez—Samuel Nedivot The Sefer Abudarham is a classic work on Jewish liturgy. It was composed by R. David ben Joseph Abudarham in about 1340 in Seville. Abudarham is reputed to have been a student of R. Jacob ben Asher (Turim) and a leader of the Jewish community in Toledo. Abudarham informs us in the introduction that he wrote this work because people had become unfamiliar with the words and meanings of prayers and customs. His purpose was to state the laws of Jewish prayer, the reasons for them, and to explain their content. Based on Talmudic and geonic sources, as well on the works of later commentators, Ashkenaz and Provencal, as well as Sephardic, it is a valuable source of works that have not otherwise survived. It also includes a commentary on the Passover Haggadah, the Jewish calendar, and the order of the weekly Torah readings and haftarot for the year. The Abudarham is one of a number of books known by the name of its author, having no other title. Perhaps in some cases the name proposed by the author was omitted by the copyist, the work becoming known afterwards by the author’s name. Another possibility, appropriate here, is that Abudarham’s intent was to join his commentary on Jewish liturgy to a prayer book, so that it did not require a title, and those who came after called it by his name, Sefer Abudarham. First published in Lisbon in 1489 by Eliezer Toledano, that edition served as the copytext for the typesetters for this edition. The Nedivot Abudarham is an exact copy of the Toledano edition, in the beginning and ending of both the pages and the lines on the page, except that in the middle of a long colophon—and it is the only book printed in Fez with a colophon that unquestionably confirms it is a Fez imprint—Nedivot replaces his and his son Isaac’s name, the place of publication, that is, Fez, and the date, Kislev, in the year hrz[ (5277 = 1516) for the information supplied by Toledano. Nedivot brought typographical equipment with him from Lisbon to Fez, accounting not only for the likeness in layout, but also for the similarity in the fonts, making the two editions almost indistinguishable. The workmanship in Abudarham shows greater technical skill and experience than the Nedivot edition of Rosh Ha-Shanah, indicating that it was printed later than the tractate. The volume lacks a title page, perhaps because of Nedivot’s concern that he would not have an adequate supply of paper. The scarcity of paper was felt even during the press’s early days, and, it has been suggested, it was the difficulty in acquiring paper, resulting from a Spanish prohibition on the sale of paper to the press, that finally caused this printshop to close.

Format 28 cm.: 170 leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (1513) and reprinted in Venice (1546 and 1566).

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Arukh

˚wr[h rps Nathan ben Jehiel 1517, Pesaro—Gershom Soncino Comprehensive lexicography by R. Nathan ben Jehiel of Rome (he-Arukh, 1035–c. 1110), a member of one of the four noble families exiled from Jerusalem to Rome by Titus, most likely the Anav family. He was a student of R. Mazli’ah b. Elijah ibn al-Bazak of Sicily, Moses ha-Darshan of Narbonne, and, perhaps, Moses Kalfo of Bari and Moses of Pavia. Nathan suffered much tragedy in his life, alluded to in a poem at the end of the Arukh. Although his father was a payytan and head of a yeshivah, Nathan was initially employed selling linen for shrouds. Upon his father’s death in c. 1070, Nathan, who had recently returned from abroad, where he had studied under the mentors mentioned above, succeeded him, together with his two brothers, as head of the yeshivah. Four of his sons died at an early age and Nathan, with unshaken faith in his Creator, prays for the well-being of Reuven, his remaining son. In addition to being a talmudic scholar and conversant with the breadth of rabbinic literature, Nathan was also an accomplished linguist, all evident in the Arukh. Difficult terms in the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds, Midrashim, and Targumim are explained. The arrangement is alphabetical. Talmudic words and expressions are not only defined, but in hundreds of case their etymology is supplied. The French biliteral system of Hebrew roots is followed, although Nathan also notes words with single-letter roots. However, the Arukh is not a mere dictionary, but more akin to an encyclopedia. Not only are words explained, but the comments of contemporary and earlier rabbis, many from the time of the geonim, are noted, often the only source for those quotations. Nathan’s detailed explanations include material of historical and bibliographical value, and descriptions of Jewish customs. The version of the texts quoted is often more correct than in current editions. Nathan completed the Arukh in the fall of 1100, having worked on it for thirty years. The decorative frame on the title page is from the Decachordum Christianum. Signatures are in Hebrew only, but pagination is in Arabic numerals. The place of printing is given on the title page as “in the Land of Italy,” but in the colophon mention is made of Pesaro. It has been suggested that the accepted understanding of “in the land of Italy” as equivalent here to Pesaro is not correct, but rather Gershom, again on the road, began the Arukh between Fano and Pesaro and completed it in the latter city. Other works with that language were printed after he had again left Pesaro. The Arukh is the basis for later Hebrew lexicographies. First printed in Rome (c. 1469), it is among the earliest printed Hebrew books. Its remains a popular much-referenced work. Editions have been published with additions and emendations, such as those of Benjamin Mussafia (Musaf he-Arukh, Amsterdam, 1655), supplementing Greek and Latin words, and of Alexander Kohut (Arukh ha-Shalem, Vienna-New York, 1878–92), the latter in eight volumes. There is even a supplement to that edition, Tosefot he-Arukh ha-Shalem (Vienna, 1937). An abridged edition, He-Arukh ha-Kazar, first published in Constantinople in c. 1511, has been reprinted several times.

Format 20: 196 leaves. Reprinted in Basel (1527), Venice (1531 and 1553), and Basle (1599).

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1517, She’elot Teshuvot le-ha-Rosh, Asher ben Jehiel (Rosh), Constantinople Courtesy of the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad Ohel Yosef Yitzhak

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She’elot Teshuvot le-ha-Rosh

çarhl twbwçt twlaç Asher ben Jehiel (Rosh) 1517, Constantinople—Samuel ben David ibn Nahmias and his son Moses Responsa from R. Asher ben Jehiel (Rabbenu Asher, Rosh, c. 1250–1327). The responsa are divided into 108 kellalim (general subjects) organized by subject matter, as stated in the introductory paragraph, “all the responsa found in [tr.] Kiddushin are assembled in one kellal entitled kiddushin,” so that material can be found with ease. Each kellal includes subheadings, for example, kellal 25, kiddush ve-havdallah has three responsa, while kellal 24, hametz u-matzah, has 14 responsa. Neither the kellalim nor the subheadings were made by the Rosh, however, but rather by those who followed him. The title page consists of a single line, giving the name of the work. She’elot Teshuvot begin with a detailed index. The text, which is unpaginated, was completed, according to the colophon, on the 33rd day of the Omer (18 Iyyar) in the year h”rz[ (5277 gpl = May 20, 1517). A fragment of another edition, tentatively dated to 1517, exists with the first few responsa only. The two printings, from the same press, are alike, including the errors, except the incomplete edition, which lacks a title page, refers to the work as She’elot u’Teshuvot le-ha-Rosh, and has minor typographical differences, such as the use of square letters in captions. It has been suggested this may be a fragment from a 1520 Constantinople edition, known only from a 1595 Mantua censor’s list. In his responsa and other works, Rabbenu Asher’s greatest influence was the Ba’alei Tosafot, particularly Rabbenu Tam (R. Jacob ben Meir), although he at times takes issue with him. Among the other decisors from after the period of the ge’onim close to his own time that the Rosh mentions are R. Isaac ben Abba Mari (Ittur), R. Moses ben Jacob of Coucy (Sefer Mitzvot Gadol, Semag), Baruch ben Isaac (Sefer ha-Terumah), Isaac ben Moses of Vienna (Or Zaru’a) and Nahmanides (Ramban). Rosh often quotes Maimonides, praises and decides according to him, but nevertheless does not hold as highly of him as some of the others decisors and seems to have a higher regard for Abraham ben David of Posquières (Rabad III), whom he quotes more frequently. The Rosh’s influence can be seen from Kellal 14:5 where, although not alone in this position, he advocates only two blessings on the four cups of wine at the seder, resulting in a modification to Sephardic practice. Rosh, responding to an inquirer’s remark (55:8) that knowledge of logic is necessary to determine halakhah, writes that he is thankful to God for not engaging in secular studies. Although a modest and humble man, there are instances where he felt it necessary to issue decrees approving mutilation and even condoning capital punishment, possible in Spain (17:1). Where Rosh’s rulings in his responsa are not consistent with those in his talmudic works the rule is that the halakhah follows the latter. Besamim Rosh (Berlin, 1793), a collection of responsa attributed to Rabbenu Asher, is today considered a forgery either in its entirety or in part. The publisher, R. Saul Berlin, certainly wrote many of the responsa in support of his own enlightened views.

Format 40: 190 leaves. Reprinted in Venice (1552).

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c. 1517, Teshuvot She’elot, Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides, Rambam), Constantinople Courtesy of the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad Ohel Yosef Yitzhak

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Teshuvot She’elot

twlaç twbwçt Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides, Rambam) c. 1517, Constantinople Correspondence and responsa of R. Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides, Rambam, 1135– 1204). The title page, undecorated, and lacking both the place of printing and the date, states: Teshuvot She’elot and letters of the great light, the western candle, our rabbi and teacher, Moses ha-Maimoni, l”xz, which came to him from the east and west, from the north and south, from the sages of France, Sefarad, Yemen and Bavel.

The text is in two columns in rabbinic type, excepting headings and initial words which are in square letters. There is no index and folios are not numbered. Teshuvot She’elot begins with Maimonides’ letter to his son Abraham, beginning “Know my son, Abraham,” that is, the second part of Maimonides’ testament, without the longer preceding paragraphs in other versions, known as Sefer ha-Mussar. Among the letters are those concerning the kingdom of Edom (Rome), a number addressing the disputes over Maimonides’ writings, particularly the Moreh Nevukhim and Sefer haMaddah, that is, Book I of the Mishneh Torah, the philosophical-theological prolegomen to that work. Many of the letters related to these controversies were written after Maimonides’ death. These include correspondence between R. David Kimhi (Radak) and R. Judah ben Joseph; letters from R. Moses ben Nahman (Ramban) to the communities of Aragon, Navarre, and Castile; from R. Meir ben Todros ha-Levi of Toledo to R. Moses ben Nahman; and from R. Joseph ben Gershom to Maimonides’ son Abraham. There is also correspondence between Maimonides and R. Samuel ibn Tibbon, who translated the Moreh Nevukhim into Hebrew. The subject matter is varied, covering all aspects of Jewish thought and law, both practical and theoretical, the latter related to talmudic issues. An example of the last is a responsum on Ketubbot 9b, concerning “all who would go out to fight a war of the house of David would write a get (divorce) for his wife.” The longer and more involved responsa are replies to queries from prominent persons. One of particular interest concerns the prohibition by R. Samuel ben Ali, Gaon of Baghdad, of sailing on a river on Shabbat. Samuel was critical of the Moreh Nevukhim and differed with Maimonides on several issues (see below, Ma’amar Tehiyyat ha-Metim, 1569, pp. 604–05). Here, Maimonides, in detail, argues that it is permissible to do so. Teshuvot She’elot was reprinted as Iggeret le-ha-Me’or . . . u-Teshuvot in Venice in 1544 and 1545 by, respectively, the dei Farri and the Giustiniani presses. Both are small octavo (80, 95f.) editions, set in a single column in square type, the latter a page-by-page copy of the former. The master printer for both presses when Iggeret u-Teshuvot was published was Cornelius Adelkind, who worked for dei Farri in 1544 and Giustiniani in 1545–52.

Format 20: [24] leaves. Reprinted in Venice (1544, 1545).

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Torah, Nevi’im, Ketuvim (Bible)

μybwtkw μyaybn ,hrwt

c. 1517–18, Venice—Daniel Bomberg First edition of the Bomberg Bible in quarto format. This Bible, based on the clarity of the type and layout, is possibly the most beautiful Bible published in the sixteenth century. Published at about the same time as the folio rabbinic Bible (Mikra’ot Gedolot, see above, pp. 94–95), it was issued as a less-expensive alternative for those who could not afford the more costly folio edition and for readers, primarily non-Jewish, unable to read the Hebrew commentaries and appendices accompanying the folio Bible. The quarto is then the folio Bible in reduced format without the commentaries. The type was removed from the formes of the folio and simply made up in quarto format. Another difference, in consideration of the Jewish market, is the absence of the name of the editor, Felix Pratensis, an apostate, and the dedication to the Pope. It is in four parts, that is Torah, Former Prophets (Nevi’im Rishonim), Later Prophets (Nevi’im Ahronim), and Hagiographa (Ketuvim). The title pages are unornamented, that for the first part simply stating that it is a Pentateuch (hrwt yçmwj hçymj) “Printed by Daniel Bomberg of Antwerp in Venice.” The colophon to the last part gives more information, stating, “The entire work, the Holy work was completed in the year 5278 (1517/18) . . . in the sixteenth year of Doge Leonardo Loredano,” also as in the folio. The initial text word of books is set in large letters enclosed in an ornate woodcut border. Text is twenty-nine lines to a page, with vowels and accents. The book is not paginated and signatures are in Hebrew letters. Words and letters are identical with the text of the folio edition, including any peculiarities that occur there. There most likely were occasions, however, when removing the type from the forme for the folio and resetting it into a forme for this quarto, that accidents did occur, with words or even whole lines breaking and having to be readjusted. In some of these instances errors in the folio must have been noticed and corrected, accounting for minor variances between the two editions, such as in vocalization and even more so in the marginalia. The marginalia, consisting of variant readings from manuscripts, assembled by Pratensis, as noted above, is an important feature of these Bibles.

Format 40: 140; 118; 122; 150 leaves.

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Tractate Berakhot

tkrb tksm c. 1517, Pesaro—Gershom Soncino The second Pesaro edition of tractate Berakhot printed by Gershom Soncino in about 1517 or slightly thereafter. He had previously printed Berakhot, in about 1508 or possibly 1510/11, also in Pesaro. That he had printed the tractate a second time in 1517, or perhaps as late as 1520, was, until recently, unknown. The two Pesaro editions of Berakhot are dissimilar, and both vary from the incunabulum edition. Among the physical differences between the text of the two editions—the title and first pages of the earlier Pesaro edition are no longer extant—are that in the c. 1508–11 Berakhot the chapter names on the top of the pages are small, the Hadran at the end of a chapter is the same size as the text, and, in some cases, is not on a line separate from the beginning of the next chapter. The first word of a chapter is the same size as the remainder of the text and is only separated from the text by a space. In contrast, in the c. 1517 Berakhot a larger font is employed for chapter headings, Hadrans appear in large letters at the end of a page—the same size as the text in the middle of a page—and the first words of a new chapter are in large type on a separate line. Both editions lack pagination. The title page of this edition employs segments of the border used earlier in the Decachordum Christianum. The initial word of text, ytmyam, is surrounded by a frame copied from, but not identical to the Soncino incunabulum edition (1483/84) of the tractate. On the sides, the borders have been adjusted to accommodate two hares, like those that first appeared in the 1484 Bezah. Unlike the earlier tractates printed in Pesaro, which made mention of that city, the title page of Berakhot, and Hullin (1519) as well, state that they were “Printed in the land of Italy,” perhaps indicating that Soncino had already departed from Pesaro. Berakhot was then one of the last tractates, if not the last tractate, printed by Gershom Soncino. Why did Soncino again publish Berakhot? It has been suggested that he did so in response to anticipated competition from Daniel Bomberg, who was preparing or had already begun to print his Talmud, with authorization from the Church, and had greater funds at his disposal. Gershom, hearing of Bomberg’s proposed edition, assumed that printing would begin with Berakhot, the first treatise in the Talmud. To forestall the Venetian printer, Gershom reissued Berakhot. Bomberg, however, began his Talmud with Pesahim, not previously printed by Soncino. Furthermore, Bomberg was able to prepare and print as many as ten tractates in one year, in volume and well done, which discouraged Soncino from printing additional tractates. Nevertheless, if Gershom Soncino, with his smaller, peripatetic press could not compete with the larger Bomberg press in issuing Talmudic treatises, he was able to issue other titles, requiring a smaller staff, with little of the overhead borne by the larger Venetian print-shop, and therefore was able to successfully continue to publish Hebrew books in Italy for several more years.

Format 20.

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De accentibus et orthographia linguae hebraicae Johannes Reuchlin 1518, Hagenau—Thomas Anshelm Third work on the Hebrew language by the famed jurist, Christian-Hebraist, and Christian student of Kabbalah, Johannes Reuchlin (1455–1522). Preceded by his grammatical De rudimentis Hebraicis (Pforzheim, 1506, see above, pp. 16–17), and a companion piece on Psalms with a literal Latin translation (1512), De accentibus deals with Hebrew accentuation. Biblical Hebrew, unlike Latin, has no vowel letters, capital letters, or conventional clause and sentence endings. Vowel markings, accents, and punctuation, affecting pronunciation, emphasis, word meaning, and sentence structure, are located above, below, behind, and before the twenty-two consonants comprising the Hebrew alphabet. For the Christian reader, already struggling to learn to read a language from left to right, this complicated his study of Scriptures in the original, further aggravated by the fact that these markings are often absent from texts. Together with the other grammatical volumes, Reuchlin’s works are intended to simplify the task of learning Hebrew for the Christian student. Reuchlin was further motivated in writing these works by the fear that Jews would soon be exiled from all of Europe. De accentibus has the same title page as the De rudimentis Hebraicis (above), with the large woodcut bearing Reuchlin’s coat of arms and, after the colophon, a large woodcut with two cherubim, each holding the end of a scroll with the name of the Christian deity in Hebrew and Latin. In the middle of this woodcut is Anshelm’s device. Below the device is the permission to print, Cum Privilegio Imperiali. The book is dedicated to Cardinal Adrian (later Pope Adrian VI, 1522–1523). There is an introduction (IIa–IVb) and then the text, reading from left to right, in Latin with considerable Hebrew in large square letters with vowel marks, concluding on the verso of LXXXIII. Three of the text pages have Hebrew text in red ink. Some of the leaves are misnumbered. From [83b–87b] are nine pages of musical score, the first printed Jewish music notation. Accompanied by Hebrew text and reading along with it from right to left, the notations are for Tenor, Discantus, Altus, and Bassus. The score has variously been ascribed to Christophorus Silling from Lucerne and Johann Boeschenstein, a Christian-Hebraist born in Esslingen, who was a student of Jewish liturgy. Also printed in Hagenau, in the prior year, was de arte cabalistica, Reuchlin’s major work on Kabbalah. The text is in Latin with occasional Hebrew and some Greek. The book, written as a dialogue between Simon the Jew, Philolaus the Pythagorean, and Marranus the Moslem, is in three parts, that is, on messianism, the relation of the Pythagorean system to Kabbalah, and practical Kabbalah. Reuchlin’s understanding of Kabbalah reflects a negative Christian attitude to Judaism. Nevertheless, de arte cabalistica aroused the hostility of the Dominican, Jacob Hochstraten, an opponent of Reuchlin in the Pfefferkorn affair, who in response wrote Destructio Cabalae (Cologne, 1519). De arte cabalistica has been translated into English.

Format 40: 83, [5] leaves.

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De arcanis catholicae veritatis Pietro Columna Galatinus 1518, Ortona—Gershom Soncino A simultaneous attack on Judaism and defense of Jewish books. The most important work of Pietro Columna Galatinus (Galatino, 1460–1540), a Franciscan friar, Christian philosopher, theologian, and kabbalist. Galatinus served as lector at the convent of Ara Cœli, provincial in the province of Bari, and penitentiary under Leo X. It was that pope who requested that he write the De arcanis in 1516, due to the attention, and furor over Jewish books in the Pfefferkorn controversy, resulting from Johannes Reuchlin’s Augenspiegel. Galatinus, a friend of Reuchlin, defended him, but also resolved to oppose Judaism based on Jewish sources, primarily Kabbalah. The complete title of the work is Opus toti christianae reipublicae maxime utile, De arcanis catholicae veritatis, contra obstinatissimam judeorum nostrae tempestatis perfidiam (A Work of the Greatest Usefulness to the Whole Christian Republic, Concerning the Secrets of Catholic Truth against the Most Obdurate Perfidy of the Jews of Our Time). Written in the form of a dialogue between Capnio (Reuchlin) and the Inquisitor Hochstraten, O. P., Galatinus responds in a conciliatory manner to the queries and proposals of the former and rebuts the objections of the latter. Galatinus supports the publication of the Talmud, which Pfefferkorn and his Dominican ally, Hochstraten, had sought to confiscate and prohibit. This Latin work, with numerous Hebrew quotes from rabbinic sources, also includes Greek and Ethiopic words (fonts), is the most typographically complex and one of the finest books printed by Gershom (Hieronymus) Soncino. The title page, and twelve other pages as well, employ sections of the frames of the Decachordum Christianum (1507). There are many six-line woodcut intials. Galatinus made considerable use of and was deeply in debt to the Dominican Raymond Martini’s (1220–1285) anti-Jewish polemic, Pugio Fidei (Dagger of Faith), which he refashioned but did not outright plagiarize. He also used Jewish sources, particularly the Zohar. Although De arcanis attempts to find support for Catholicism in Jewish texts and has an anti-Jewish bias it is to a large extent a defense of Reuchlin. It has been suggested that the De arcanis was acceptable to Gershom because it supported the publication of the Talmud. The book proved to be popular among Christian-Hebraists and was republished several times. Gershom printed four books during his brief stay in Ortona (Ortonamare), in the kingdom of Sicily, the De arcanis being the first; only one, the Sefer Dikduk (1519) of Moses Kimhi (Remak, d. c. 1190), is in Hebrew. His stay in the small town of Ortona, from the spring of 1518, was meant to be brief, for in the colophon to the De Re militaria of Cornazano, Gershom writes, “I am stopping temporarily in Ortonamare.” The Jews had been expelled from the kingdom of Sicily in 1509, but, it has been suggested, this was no hindrance for Gershom, for “the printer was wanted more than the Jew was hated.” By the spring of 1519 he was again on the road.

Format 20: p. 312. Reprinted in Basle (1550 and 1561).

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1518, Ben ha-Melekh ve-ha-Nazir, Abraham ben Samuel ha-Levi Ibn Hasdai, Constantinople Courtesy of the Library of the Valmadonna Trust

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Ben ha-Melekh ve-ha-Nazir

ryznhw ˚lmh ˆb Abraham ben Samuel ha-Levi Ibn Hasdai 1518, Constantinople—David and Samuel ibn Nahmias The Hebrew version of an Arabic tale, derived from an Indian romance. A popular story, Ben ha-Melekh ve-ha-Nazir (The Prince and the Hermit), has been translated into several languages. The Hebrew version, derived from the Arabic Kitab Balahuar wa-Budasaph, was prepared by R. Abraham ben Samuel ha-Levi ibn Hasdai in the first decades of the 13th century. Originally a Hindu (Pahlavi) story, there are Georgian, Greek and Latin versions of this popular tale. The Hindu version centers about a prince (Buddha) who becomes an ascetic; the protagonists are Balauhar and Budasaph. In its Christian version, as Barlaam and Josaphat, the story became so popular that it was introduced into the Catholic calender and its protagonist (originally Buddha) became an unofficial saint. The title page has an arabesque frame, and label-title text, which merely provides the title and R. Abraham ha-Levi bar Hasdai’s name. The colophon dates the completion of the work to Monday, in the month of Nissan, in the year “Blessed μykwrb ([5]278 = 1518) be you [of the Lord]” (I Samuel 23:21, Psalms 115:15). Two introductions precede the text. The Hebrew version of Ben ha-Melekh ve-ha-Nazir, concerned with the vanity of this world, consists of of thirty-five chapters. The book is a series of tales, fables, maxims and proverbs in intermingled prose and verse, prepared by Abraham ben Samuel ha-Levi ibn Hasdai. A sybaritic king, after exiling his chief minister for becoming a hermit, has a son whose horoscope foretells that he too will become an ascetic (hermit). To forestall this event, and to keep his son ignorant of the troubles and sorrows of the world, the king has a castle built on an isolated island, to which the young prince is sent. The king hopes to thus prevent the prince from obtaining worldly knowledge. Nevertheless, one day the prince, while walking, comes upon a hermit, the former royal minister, also exiled by the king. They begin a series of discussions, and, over a period of time, the hermit instructs the prince in a variety of subjects, among them ethics, philosophy, and theology. Intermixed with these discussions are others concerning romance, diverting tales, parables, and even humor. Ibn Hasdai’s version of Ben ha-Melekh ve-ha-Nazir contains a number of parables not found in other versions, as well as varying from other translations, suggesting that it is closer to the original Indian tale, as well as that some of the material may have been added by Hasdai. His rendition of this work, together with the rhymed prose, attests to Hasdai’s skills as a story teller. The 1557 Mantua edition has both an introduction and an index from the editor, R. Joseph Shalit of Padua.

Format 40: 56 leaves. Reprinted in Mantua (1557).

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Torat ha-Adam

μdah trwt Moses ben Nahman (Ramban) 1518, Constantinople Laws of mourning, related subjects, and the meaning of life by R. Moses ben Nahman (Ramban, Nahmanides, 1194–1270). Born in Gerona, Aragon, Ramban was the scion of a prominent family. He learned the talmudic methodology of the tosafists and of Provence from, respectively, R. Judah ben Yakar and Meir ben Isaac of Trinquetaille, and Kabbalah from R. Ezra and Azriel, both of Gerona. Ramban, who worked professionally as a physician, was recognized as the foremost halakhic authority in Spain in his time. Ramban took a moderating position in the dispute over Maimonides’ Moreh Nevukhim, although he did oppose the public study of that work. In 1263 he engaged in the famous disputation with the apostate Pablo Christiani in Barcelona, winning convincingly, with the result that Ramban was compelled to leave Spain, emigrating to Erez Israel. Torat ha-Adam, divided into thirty she’arim (gates), discusses the laws pertaining to death and mourning. The subject matter includes illness, healing, the duty to save a live overriding the laws of the Sabbath, rending the garment, eulogy, burial, mourning, laws pertaining to Kohanim, work, wearing shoes, words of Torah, greeting people, wearing Tefillin, washing, cutting one’s hair, Sabbath and holidays, and concludes with Sha’ar ha-Gemul, on the rewards and punishments after death, immortality, and resurrection. Sha’ar ha-Gemul was printed individually in Naples in 1490 and in Ferrara in 1556 (see below, pp. 430–31). Torat ha-Adam is a primary work on the laws of mourning, extensively utilized by the Tur and the Shulhan Arukh on that subject. It differs considerably from Maimonides’ treatment of the laws of mourning in the Mishneh Torah, for the Ramban reviews, analyzes, and synthesizes the preceding literature on mourning. He concludes that it is as equally wrong for a person to rejoice without reflection on the human condition as it is to be depressed about the futility of human endeavor. Rather, one should rejoice at times of prosperity and good fortune and mourn at times of adversity, for both are equal elements in the service and worship of God. The title page is bare, simply stating, “this is Sefer Torat ha-Adam of the Ramban lxz,” and devoid of ornamentation. One leaf only is paginated, j (8); signatures, which begin with the third quire, on leaf 16, are in the upper left-hand corner of the recto. Furthermore, that quire is numbered a (1), it being the third quire notwithstanding. The signatures are a-j0, the first four being signed. The signatures are in Hebrew, reading from right to left, except for a small number that read left to right. The colophon lists the she’arim and the date the book was completed, that is, the 25th of Kislev, f[rh (5279 = Monday, December 9, 1518). The book concludes with verse from R. Joseph ben Joel [Bibus]. Ramban was a profound thinker and a prolific writer. Among his works are Perush al ha-Torah (Pesaro, 1514, above, pp. 62–63), second only to Rashi’s commentary in popularity and the subject of supercommentaries; Hiddushei ha-Ramban, novellae on the Talmud (Venice, 1523, below, pp. 156–57); responsa; a commentary on Job; ethical, halakhic, and kabbalistic works; sermons; and Sefer ha-Vikku’ah, the record of his disputation.

Format 20: 64 leaves. Reprinted in Venice (1595).

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Sefer Dikduk (Mahalakh Shevilei ha-Da’at)

(t[dh ylybç ˚lhm) qwdqd rps Moses ben Joseph Kimhi 1519, Ortona—Gershom Soncino Grammatical work by R. Moses ben Joseph Kimhi (Remak, d. c. 1190). Eldest son of the grammarian, exegete, poet and translator, R. Joseph Kimhi (c. 1105–c. 1170), and brother of R. David Kimhi (Radak, c. 1160–c. 1235). Joseph moved to Narbonne from Spain to escape the Almohad persecutions, and it was there that Moses lived and raised David, only ten at the time of their father’s death. He predeceased the Radak, who often refers to Moses, “my teacher, my brother, R. Moses, of blessed memory.” Sefer Dikduk, the first printed Hebrew grammar book, is Moses’ best known work, entitled by him and better known as Mahalakh Shevilei ha-Da’at, from the initial letters of his name Moshe (hçm = t[dh ylybç ˚lhm). The title page has no ornamentation and its text is brief, noting that this is the third printing, in the domain of “our lord, the king Don Carlos, king of Sicily and Jerusalem.” The rare first edition, printed in Soncino by Joshua Soncino, is dated 13 Av 248 ( July 30, 1488). The volume is printed from the preceding Pesaro edition, except that folios 21 through 24 have been printed out of order, that is, as 21a, 23b, 24a, 22b, 23a, 21b, 22a, 24b. There is an introduction and commentary attributed to R. Benjamin ben Judah. The attribution notwithstanding, the commentary is by R. Elijah Levita (Bahur). The introduction has been ascribed to the Italian grammarian and exegete R. Benjamin ben Judah Bozecco (Bozecchi, 1290–1335), the commentary erroneously to Benjamin of Rome. Reputedly, Levita had prepared his commentary as notes (nimmukim) for his students, but, when preparing the text for publication this Benjamin inserted additional material from other works and claimed credit for the entire work. A corrected and properly attributed edition was published in Venice in 1546. Sefer Dikduk, with considerable brevity, emphasizes philological and syntactic analysis, and presents the fundamental rules of the Hebrew language, without addressing the many exceptions to those rules. Moses divides the noun into four cases and stresses the conjugation of verbs. Indeed, the standard arrangement of the seven conjugations of verbs currently in use among Hebrew grammarians can be credited, with slight modifications, to Moses Kimhi. This important and much reprinted work reflects the influence of his father, Joseph Kimhi, and R. Abraham ibn Ezra. Moses was also an exegete, writing commentaries to the books of Proverbs, Ezra, and Nehemiah, printed in rabbinic Bibles, but incorrectly ascribed to ibn Ezra. He was also the author of a brief grammatical treatise Sekhel Tov (REJ, 1894), and a commentary on Job (published in Tikvat Enosh, Berlin, 1868). Other works attributed to Moses are no longer extant. Sefer Dikduk has been translated into Latin, by Sebastian Münster (Liber Viarum Linguae Sanctae), and German, the Latin translation being printed several times in the sixteenth century. This is Gershom’s only Hebrew book out of four titles printed by him during his brief stay in Ortona.

Format 40: [35] leaves. Printed previously in Pesaro ([1508]), and reprinted in Hagenau (1519), Augsburg (1520), Paris (1520), Basle (1531, 1536), Rome (1545), Venice (1546, [1552]), and Mantua (1563, 1578).

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Likkutei ha-Pardes

sdrph yfwql Solomon ben Isaac (Rashi) 1519, Venice—Daniel Bomberg Collected halakhot and responsa attributed to R. Solomon ben Isaac (Rashi, 1040–1105), together with other works. Because of Rashi’s prominence as a talmudist and exegete par excellence, his prestige as a halakhic authority has been overshadowed. Rashi was, in fact, a leading decisor of his time, consulted even by distant halakhists; much of his correspondence, however, has been lost. His decisions are referenced in many halakhic works by rishonim, for example, R. Asher ben Jehiel (Rosh), Isaac of Vienna (Or Zaru’a), Mordecai ben Hillel (Sefer Mordekhai ), Rabbenu Tam, (Sefer ha-Yashar), and Zedekiah ha-Rofei (Shibbolei ha-Leket), as well as later authorities. Although the attribution of several halakhic titles credited to Rashi has been questioned it is nevertheless accepted that even in those instances where he may not have been the author they represent his views as recorded by his students. Among these halakhic books is Likkutei ha-Pardes. The title page is typical of the Bomberg press at this time, being brief and unadorned. The text is in two columns in rabbinic letters, excepting headings which are in large square letters. The text is unpaginated. Among the topics in Likkutei ha-Pardes are: a groom in the first year of marriage; benedictions; conclusion of the Sabbath; Yom ha-Kippurim; redemption of the first born; circumcision; visiting the sick; fasting; 9th of Av; and responsa. Pardes Rimmonim concludes on 22a. The colophon names R. Hiyya Meir ben David as the editor. Ha-Pardes is followed by: Refuot ha-Geviyah le-hakham Rabbenu Judah [ben Solomon al-]Harizi (22b–23b). Al-Harizi (c. 1165–c. 1234) was a poet and translator, best known for his Sefer Tahkemoni (see below, pp. 684–85). Refuot is a versified adaptation of Chapter four, Hilkhot De’ot of Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah. Sefer ha-Tapu’ach ve-Sefer ha-Nefesh. Sefer ha-Tapu’ach (24a–27a) is an Aristotelian work that begins, “Abraham bar Hisdai says when I looked into this book . . . and saw that it is of value to our faith . . . and therefore translated it from Arabic to Hebrew.” Sefer ha-Nefesh (28a–32b), attributed to Galinus ha-Rofei, was translated from the Arabic by al-Harizi. Takkanot me-Rabbenu Gershon (sic) (33a–34a). The takkanot of Rabbenu Gershom Me’or haGolah (c. 960–1028). Mishlei Hakhamim ve-Hidosam (34a–35b). Sha’ar forty-four from Al-Harizi’s Tahkemoni. Aryeh Mesubach (35a) by Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan (12th–13th century). This is parable sixty-eight from his Mishlei Shu’alim.

Format 40: 36 leaves.

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1519, Ha-Likkutim ve-ha-Hibburim, Constantinople, Astruc de Toulon Courtesy of the Library of the Valmadonna Trust

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Ha-Likkutim ve-ha-Hibburim

μyrwbjhw μyfwqylh 1519, Constantinople—Astruc de Toulon Collection of seventeen Midrashim or midrash-like works, the first and best known being the Alfa Beta (Alphabet) of Ben Sira. The Hebrew presses of Constantinople, beginning with the Nahmias brothers, and their successors as well, surpassed all other early Hebrew printing centers in the publication of Midrashim. Over several decades they printed dozens of Midrashim, encompassing major collections, halakhic Midrashim, collections of aggadic Midrashim, and anthologies of medieval and later Midrashim. Joining small individual works together in this manner is a venerable practice, carried over from the manuscript period. Ha-Likkutim ve-ha-Hibburim is a collection of small Midrashim. The title page states: This is Sefer Ben Sira with ma’asiyyot in the Talmud, with Midrash Megillat Esther, with Ma’aseh Torah, a copy of the letter sent [to the Pope in Rome] by Pistari Goan [that is, Priesty Goan/Juan, the mythical Christian priest-king] of the Indies [or India, Prester John] (aydnyh al yd ˆawg yrfçyp), Ma’aseh Avraham Avinu, Divrei ha-Yamim le-Moshe Rabbenu, Sefer Zerubbabel, Midrash va-Yosha, Sefer Tuvia, Orhot Hayyim of R. Eliezer ha-Gadol, and Petirat Moshe and Aaron.

Not all the Midrashim in this collection are noted on the title page. The complete contents are: 1) Sefer Ben Sira (2a–18b) (a midrash-like work); 2) Ma’aseh Rabbi Yehudah ben Levi (19a–20a); 3) Arba’ah ve-Esrim Devarim Me’akvim Teshuvah (20a); 4) Otiyyot Meshiah (20a–21a); 5) Eilu Yamim she-Mitanin Bahem (21a–21b); 6) Midrash Megillat Esther (22a–27b); 7) Shevah Devarim ha-Me’akvim et ha-Tefillah (28a–28b); 8) Ma’aseh Torah (28b–32a); 9) a copy of the letter sent by Priesty Juan [Prester John] to the Pope in Rome (32a–35a); 10) Yerushalmi: Gazru Shemad (35a–35b); 11) Ma’aseh me-Avraham Avinu ve-Nimrod (35b–37a); 12) Eldad haDani (37a–39a); 13) Ma’assiyyot she-be-Talmud (39a–62b); 14) Sefer Zerubbabel (60a–62b); 15) Midrash va-Yosha (62b–72a); 16) Sefer Tuvia (72a–77b); and 17) Orhot Hayyim (77b–80a). The text is in a single column in rabbinic type excepting the names of books and initial words. There is no foliation and where necessary lines are generally, but not always, completed with the first letter of the next line. The colophon, where the title, Ha-Likkutim ve-ha-Hibburim, appears, dates the completion of the work to the 20th of Sivan hrf[ (5279 = Friday, May 30, 1519). It has been suggested that, as with other Constantinople imprints, individual Midrashim of Ha-Likkutim ve-ha-Hibburim were likely sold separately, enabling buyers to acquire the parts at lesser cost and providing the printer with a quicker return on his investment. Mitigating against this is that several Midrashim begin immediately after the end of the preceding Midrash on the same page. Many of the Midrashim were reprinted, individually and as part of other collections, in Constantinople and elsewhere. Alfa Beta of Ben Sira, in two parts, Sefer Ben Sira (2a–10b) and Alfa Beta Aheret le-Ben Sira (10b–18b), was reprinted five times in the sixteenth century, twice accompanied by Latin translations.

Format 40: 80 leaves.

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Sefer ha-Manhig

gyhnmh rps Abraham ben Nathan ha-Yarhi 1519, Constantinople—Solomon ben Mazzal Tov Laws and customs on prayers, synagogue, Sabbath, and festivals from R. Abraham ben Nathan ha-Yarhi (c. 1155–1215). Abraham, from a distinguished family, counted among his relatives R. Isaac ben Abba Mari (Ittur). He was born in Avignon, Provence, and, because of his association with the city of Lunel (Yarhi in Hebrew), is known as ha-Yarhi. Among his teachers are R. Abraham ben David of Posquières (Ravad), Isaac ben Abba Mari, and several of the Ba’alei Tosafot. Abraham left home at an early age, for reasons not known with surety, but seemingly to attend the distinguished yeshivot in France, particularly that of R. Isaac ben Samuel of Dampierre (RI, Isaac ha-Zaken). During this time he experienced considerable deprivation and hardship. Abraham, whose itinerary also included Germany, eventually reached Toledo, where he eventually settled. In Toledo, Abraham found a wealthy patron in R. Joseph ibn Shushan and his sons, Solomon and Isaac, to whom Sefer ha-Manhig is dedicated, and became a member of that city’s rabbinical court. The title page is simple, stating the name of the book and the author, set within a decorative woodcut floral frame. It is made up of sixteen quires of eight leaves, numbered at the upper left corner of the recto of the first four leaves. The text is in rabbinic type in two columns. The colophon informs that the work was completed on Tuesday, 8 Tammuz, 5279 ( June 17, 1519), and that the printer was Solomon ben Mazzal Tov. The text of this edition is corrupt, replete with errors and omissions. Recent editions have attempted, based on manuscripts, to establish a complete and corrected text. Sefer ha-Manhig is an unusual work for a student of the Ba’alei Tosafot. It does not engage in casuistry, but is rather a record of the customs of the Jews of France, Germany, Provence, Spain, and England, as observed by the author on his extensive travels. Abraham does not restrict himself, however, to merely recording variant customs, all of which he regards as valid, but also attempts to determine the reason and source for them, “for all are ‘set upon sockets of fine gold’ (Song of Songs 5:15).” His extensive literary sources include the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds, Midrashim, Geonic responsa, and works of rishonim. Sefer ha-Manhig is primarily concerned with prayer, Sabbath and Festival, and synagogue practice. However, there are also responsa from Abraham, aggadah, of importance as some are not otherwise known, and even kabbalistic matter. Sefer ha-Manhig is the only source for many of the customs recorded by Abraham. It has not, however, had the influence its author and contents would seem to merit. This may be due to Abraham’s not making sufficient copies, so that the work was not well known or distributed; the appearance of this edition, due to its poor quality, did not help. Abraham entitled this work Manhig Olam but it has become known as Sefer ha-Manhig. He wrote a commentary to Massekhet Kallah Rabbati and translated a responsum by R. Saadiah Gaon into Hebrew from Arabic. Other works, such as Mahazik ha-Bedek, on issur ve-heter, have been attributed to him.

Format 40: 130 leaves.

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130

Midrash Hamesh Megillot

twlgm çmj çrdm 1519, [Pesaro]—Gershom Soncino Midrash Rabbah on the five Megillot, that is, Song of Songs (Shir ha-Shirim Rabbati ), Ruth (Ruth Rabbah), Esther (Esther Rabbah, Midrash Ahasuerus), Lamentations (Eikhah Rabbah), and Ecclesiastes (Kohelet Rabbah). This, the first printing of Midrash Rabbah on the Megillot, is the basis of later editions. These Midrashim were written, or compiled, at different times, centuries apart. Eikhah Rabbah, ascribed to a single redactor, most likely in Erez Israel, makes no mention of any sage later than the fourth century. Kohelet Rabbah, in contrast, references much later material, suggesting that it was not compiled prior to the eighth century. The decorative frame on the title page is identical to that of the Decachordum Christianum. The text of that page could not be simpler, merely stating, Midrash Hamesh Megillot. The text of the first page is set in the same frame as the title page; the initial text word of the Song of Songs is made up of ornamental letters with a hare on each side facing inward. The other Megillot also begin with decorative initial letters and frames, excepting the first proem to Eikhah, although the text itself also begins with decorative letters. This material was much used by Gershom in his later Italian publications. The hares and borders about these initial words are reminiscent of those used by his uncle Joshua Soncino in the incunabular period, begining with tractate Bezah (1484), being similar but not identical to that work. Midrash Hamesh Megillot is printed, excluding the first page, in two columns. The book is unpaginated, and the text is not accompanied by any commentaries. The concluding paragraph begins, “‘From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs’ (Isaiah 24:16), to all the midrashim . . .,” ending with an apology for any errors, followed by verses that start with the name of Moses doubled, that is, ç ,m ,m . . . etc., and a colophon. The latter informs us that it was printed “in the land of Italy,” often understood as Pesaro but, as noted above, may more correctly mean that Gershom has left that city, and, in this case, was on the road between Ortonamare and Rimini. The colophon includes the date of publication, 1519, and the prayer that he, Gershom, should print more books, without end.

Format 20: 100 leaves. Reprinted in Constantinople (1520).

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132

Pesakim

μyqsp 1519, Venice—Daniel Bomberg Collection of rabbinical decisions concerning a change of venue in the Finzi-Norsa dispute. Pesakim was published by the Rabbinate of Venice and sent to other authorities in Italy and abroad. It gives details of the case and names prominent rabbis involved, including the personal remarks they made about each other. The work is rare, existing in two copies, only one complete, that in the Jewish Theological Seminary, the other in the Bodleian. Its rarity is attributed to the small press run—for limited distribution—and the possibility that copies were destroyed because of the uncomplimentary remarks, inappropriate in any case and certainly for rabbinc correspondence and responsa. There is no title page. The text is in rabbinic type in a single column, pagination in the lower left-hand corner. A blank page in the middle may have been left to print additional material, if available. At the end is the statement that the printer was Hiyya Meir ben David, at the behest and command of the Venetian rabbinate (μypwlah) and other ge’onim. Pesakim is also known as Piskei ha-Ga’on R. Liva mi-Ferrara ve-Rav Avraham Minz. The dispute was between Immanuel ben Noah Raphael da Norsa, reputedly the second richest Jew in Italy, and Abraham Raphael ben Jacob da Finzi of Bologna. They were partners in a business venture, a loan bank in Ferrara, and joined by the double marriage of their children. Finzi suffered business reverses, and it was charged, by his side, that Norsa had caused him the loss of 5,000 gold florins and precious gems. Finzi’s only asset was the partnership with Norsa, which he was compelled to dispose of to satisfy creditors. Pressed by the creditors and realizing that Norsa would never agree to an advantageous sale, Finzi sold his rights to Norsa at the latter’s terms, which amounted to onesixth the actual value of the partnership. Before completing the sale, however, Finzi made a moda’ah (declaration) on Sunday, 16 Adar 5267 (March 10, 1507), before witnesses that the sale, made without good will and under compulsion, was null and void and he retained the right to sue his former partner at a more opportune time. Approximately twelve years later, on Monday, 25 Av 5278 (August 12, 1518), Finzi submitted this document to a rabbinical court in Bologna headed by R. Abraham ben Moses ha-Kohen ha-Sephardi. Norsa, however, refused to respond to a summons from Kohen. After five witnesses testified that given Norsa’s power in Ferrara—both Jew and Christian, rabbi and scholar bowed to him—it would be impossible to get a judgment against him in Ferrara. Finzi was granted a change of venue. Norsa, in turn, would not accept this decision, insisting that the case be held in Ferrara. Finzi now turned to the Venetian rabbinate, headed by R. Bendit Axelrod ben Eleazar, who, together with his colleagues, R. Hiyya Meir ben David, Anshel Levi Zion, and Moses Basan Navarra, supported the change in venue. Norsa was supported by R. David Pizzighettone of Ferrara and Abraham ben Judah ha-Levi Minz. Before the acrimonious dispute was settled rabbis throughout Italy were involved, among them R. Liwa of Mantua, and it even reached the eminent R. Jacob ben Joseph Pollack of Poland, who excommunicated Minz for exacerbating the controversy. Minz in turn excommunicated Pollack (see below, p. 833). At the end Norsa had to submit, to appear before an impartial court outside of Ferrara. No record has been preserved as to the monetary resolution of the litigation which prompted the dispute.

Format 40: 2, 36 leaves.

133

1519, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Joseph ben Solomon Colon (Maharik), Venice Courtesy of the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad Ohel Yosef Yitzhak

134

She’elot u’Teshuvot

twbwçtw twlaç Joseph ben Solomon Colon (Maharik) 1519, Venice—Daniel Bomberg One hundred ninety-five responsa from R. Joseph ben Solomon Colon (Maharik, c. 1420– 1480), the preeminent Italian talmudist of his time. Colon, likely born in Chambéry, was a descendant of Rashi, through the Trabots of France. His teachers were his father and R. Mordecai ben Nathan. At an early age Colon left home, wandering and supporting himself by teaching children. He headed a yeshivah in Seville from 1462, afterwards becoming rabbi of Pieve di Sacco, and then served in Mestre (near Venice), Bologna, and Mantua. In the last location Colon became involved in a dispute with R. Judah Messer Leon that became so public that the authorities banished both of them from the city. Colon relocated to Pavia, which he turned into the center of talmudic studies in Italy. Colon’s prominence as a halakhic authority was widely recognized, so that inquiries were submitted from locations as far apart as Ulm, Germany, and Constantinople. Known for not being cowed by authority or unduly respectful of personages, Colon was unequivocally committed to justice and the rights of the powerless. This is exemplified by the first responsum, where he writes that a defendant cannot be forced to move his case to another jurisdiction when there is a local court, a practice followed by the rich, thus placing undue hardship on the poor. In a famous reply, the Jews of Regensburg, falsely accused, had to raise money for ransom and turned to Colon to enable them to place a tax upon neighboring communities. He rules that one community can be taxed for the deliverance of another. In an inquiry peculiar to Italy, as to whether academic robes are considered gentile garb, Colon responds negatively. However, where this garment is found to be four-cornered, he requires that zizit be attached, an opinion not shared by some other Italian authorities. Colon reproves the German sage, R. Israel Bruna, for judging a case in which he had an interest and disputes him in another on the relationship between the grantor and recipient of ordination, holding the latter subordinate to the former. He became involved in a dispute with R. Moses Capsali, the Hakham-Bashi of the Ottoman Empire, whom Colon believed made grievous errors concerning engagement and divorce, threatening Capsali with excommunication. This dispute, which involved rabbis in both lands, concluded when Colon discovered he had been misinformed. He attempted to make amends, and on his deathbed sent his son Perez to request forgiveness for him. The responsa were assembled, after Colon’s death, by his son-in-law, Gershon, and a student, Hiyya Meir ben David. The book begins with a detailed listing of the contents and concludes with a half-page of verse from Hiyya, followed by a colophon that ends, “And the work was completed on Wednesday, the 22nd of Adar, 279 (March 5, 1519), by the brothers of the seed of Israel, sons of Baruch Adelkind at the press of for our lord Daniel Bomberg of Antwerp.” Colon’s responsa are considered authoritative and influenced later decisors. This collection of Colon’s She’elot u’Teshuvot are incomplete. Additional responsa were published in 1970. Colon wrote a commentary on the Torah, on Moses of Coucy’s Sefer Mitzvot Gadol, published in part (Munkacs, 1899) and together with novellae to Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah as Hiddushei u-Perushei Maharik ( Jerusalem, 1970).

Format 40: 10, 233 leaves. Reprinted in Cremona (1557).

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136

Terumat ha-Deshen

ˆçdh tmwrt rps Israel ben Pethahiah Isserlein 1519, Venice—Daniel Bomberg Three hundred fifty-four responsa from R. Israel ben Pethahiah Isserlein (1390–1460). A pietist and ascetic in the tradition of the Hasidei Ashkenaz, Isserlein was much influenced by the Sefer Hasidim and Sefer ha-Roke’ah. Much of the personal information about Isserlein comes from Leket Yosher, written by a student, R. Joseph bar Moses (Berlin, 1903). Born in Ratisbon, Isserlein moved to Neustadt after his father’s death, where he learned with his maternal uncle, R. Aaron Blumlein. After the martyrdom of his mother and uncle in 1421, Isserlein briefly emigrated to Italy but returned to Neustadt. Scheindlein, Isserlein’s wife, a woman of scholarly accomplishments, wrote a responsum to a woman for her husband. Isserlein was, from 1445, rabbi and av bet din of Wiener-Neustadt, Austria, where he founded a yeshivah. He spent the rest of his life there, so that, because of his influence, Wiener-Neustadt became a center of Jewish learning, attracting a large number of students, many of whom later served as rabbis in various communities. He was known for his strict integrity and impartiality and declined to accept a salary from his community. In deciding halakhic questions Isserlein was not swayed by rabbis or community leaders, strenuously opposing the mistreatment of common people. Isserlein informs us, in the colophon, that he called the work Terumat ha-Deshen because the numerical value of deshen ( ˆçd) equals the number of responsa in the book. The responsa, following the order of the Arba’ah Turim, are based on the Talmud and Ashkenaz decisors, although the works of Alfasi and Maimonides are also utilized. It has been assumed, because the sources of the inquiries are not given, that the decisions are not practical, Isserlein having written the questions and the responses to clarify or elaborate on halakhic rulings. However, as a number of the responsa are repeated in Pesakim u-Khetavim and Leket Yosher, with the names of the submitters, while others address contemporary events, it now appears that the responsa are indeed to questions presented to Isserlein. Printed with Terumat ha-Deshen is Pesakim u-Khetavim, 267 additional responsa of Isserlein collected by his students. Seventy-eight address marital relations, the remainder ritual and civil law. Not all are by Isserlein; fifteen are from one of his teachers, R. Shalom of Wiener-Neustadt, and five from a leading contemporary, R. Jacob Weil. Twenty-seven, in a somewhat different form, can be found in Terumat ha-Deshen. These responsa are important today, in addition to their halakhic value, for the information they provide about the life of central European Jewry in the fifteenth century. Isserlein was recognized by both contemporary and later rabbinic authorities as a leading decisor, so much so that R. Samuel de Medina (Maharashdam) writes, “We rely on him . . . as much as Isaac bar Sheshet” and Solomon Luria (Maharshal); “Do not deviate from his works for he was great and eminent.” Isserlein’s works include Be’urim, a supercommentary on Rashi (Venice, 1519 and 1545, Riva di Trento, 1562, see below, pp. 532–33); thirty-two She’arim, glosses on Sha’arei Dura (issur ve-hetter) of R. Isaac of Dueren; and further responsa, included in the responsa of his contemporaries.

Format 40: 132 leaves. Reprinted in Venice (1546).

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Babylonian Talmud

ylbb dwmlt 1519/20–1523, Venice—Daniel Bomberg The most significant of Daniel Bomberg’s many accomplishments in the three decades his press was active, and more than two hundred titles were issued, is the printing of the first complete Babylonian Talmud (1519/20–23). This edition, the editio princeps, is the basis of subsequent Talmud editions to the present; the layout and pagination of current editions conform to the layout and pagination of the first Bomberg edition of the Talmud. In 1518, Bomberg, forced to reapply to the Venetian Senate to renew his privilege to print in Venice, also requested approval for the exclusive right to print the Talmud. His request was approved and he also obtained the endorsement of Pope Leo X for the project. Printing began with tractate Pesahim, the third tractate in Seder Mo’ed, in 1519/20 and was completed with the Mishnayot of Seder Tohorot in 1523. Hiyya Meir ben David was the editor, and the Adelkind brothers were the printers. The Talmudic text consists of about 2-½ million words on 5,894 folio pages. Forty-four individual tractates were printed, and bound into 12 volumes, an organization generally followed in subsequent editions of the Talmud for over three hundred years. It is estimated that it cost Bomberg approximately 100,000 ducats to print the Talmud. The tractates’ title pages are simple, devoid of ornamentation, family crests or printers’ marks, attributed to Bomberg’s love of simplicity and dislike of ornamentation. A sample title page states: TRACTATE KETUBBOT WITH THE COMMENTARY OF RASHI, TOSAFOT, Piskei Tosafot and the commentary on Mishnayot, and Rabbenu Asher printed by Daniel Bomberg from Antwerp in the year 281 [1521] q”pl [by the abbreviated era], here VENICE

A page in the Bomberg Talmud consists of the text, surrounded by Rashi along the inner margin and tosafot along the outer margin. At the end of the tractate, after the text, is Piskei Tosafot, Maimonides’ commentary on Mishnayot, and Rabbenu Asher, in that order. Pesahim, the first tractate printed, is the only tractate that is undated. Minor differences among tractates, such as the placement of the chapter name on each page, are indicative of the order and year of printing. Although current Talmud editions adhere to the pagination in this Talmud, Berakhot, with 64 pages, is an exception, following the second Bomberg Talmud. In this edition the tractate has 68 pages. In contrast, the first Soncino edition of Berakhot (Soncino, 1483/84) had 100 text pages. In preparation the text was, to some extent, based on the Soncino tractates. The first Bomberg Talmud is an extraordinary accomplishment. Within a relatively short period of time it was brought to press, notwithstanding that only a third of the Talmud, the entire Rosh and the commentary on Mishnayot, had not previously been printed. The text is unexpurgated, in contrast to later editions which were subject to the censor’s oversight. It is a beautiful and elegant folio edition, printed on fine paper, with excellent type, good ink, and full margins.

Format 20: Reprinted by Bomberg (1526–39, recorded by some as two editions, and 1543–49).

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140

Derekh Emunah

hnwma ˚rd Abraham ben Shem Tov Bibago 1521, Constantinople On Divine will, knowledge and Providence by the philosopher R. Abraham ben Shem Tov (Yom Tov in many manuscripts) Bibago (Bivach, d. c. 1489). Well versed in philosophic and scientific literature, in both Arabic and Latin, Bibago was the author of commentaries on works of Aristotle and Averroes. He lived, taught, and delivered sermons in various cities in northern Spain, lastly Saragossa, although his name is most often associated with Huesca, Aragon, a center for conversos. Based on a later Inquisitional trial, Bibago is reported to have openly, before twenty to thirty men, circumcised Juan de Ciudad, a personage of some stature, and later other returnees to Judaism. Derekh Emunah was written at a time of relative political calm but serious religious challenge to Jews, who found themselves in dire straits. It is meant to strengthen faith in Judaism and attract conversos not yet committed to Christianity. Bibago attempts to define faith, transcending rational perception, arguing that Judaism is the one true rational faith, Judaism leads to salvation, and God knows and cares for the Jews. Maimonides (ha-Rav), primarily the Moreh Nevukhim, is Bibago’s most important source, mentioned throughout, often several times on one page. He also mentions a large number of other Jewish philosophers, Arab philosophers, and Greek works. He claims familiarity with Christian scholars too, but the only such work mentioned by name is Eusebius’s Praeparatio evangelica. An example of his objectives can be found in the homily on “And Moses said to Hobab”: Therefore it is said, “Leave us not, I pray you; for you know how we are to camp in the wilderness” (Numbers 10:31), which means, Please do not abandon our faith and perfection, through which perfection and goodness may be attained. This is the meaning of “you know”. Through the fact that we adhere to our faith you know that we camp in the wilderness; if we did not trust in this truth and perfection how could we have endured all this cruelty and hardship.

The volume begins with an introduction, followed by the text, divided into three books, further subdivided into chapters, on, respectively, Divine knowledge and Providence; the second part addresses man, the nature of intellect, its importance to salvation, obstacles to that goal, and tradition; and the third part on the principles of faith, miracles, and creation. The final chapter is on Maimonides’ thirteen principles. Physically, the title page is stark, stating the name only. The colophon is concise, merely informing that the work was completed in Heshvan, 282 (October/November, 1521). The printer’s name is not given; pagination is on the bottom left-hand corner of the recto. Derekh Emunah was influential in the sixteenth century. Abrabanel and Isaac Arama, although they do not mention Bibago by name, made considerable use of his writings; others, such as Gedalyah ibn Verga, Azariah de Rossi, and Joseph Delmedigo, reference him. R. Joseph of Rosheim (c. 1478–1554), shtadlan for German Jewry, wrote Sefer haMikneh ( Jerusalem, 1970), the second part largely a précis of Derekh Emunah, demonstrating an unusual knowledge, for a contemporary Ashkenazi, of Sephardic philosophy. Bibago also wrote Zeh Yenahamenu (Salonika, c. 1522/23), a small book (14 leaves) on creation and the Sabbath, as well as works still in manuscript. Format 20: 102 leaves.

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Torah, Nevi’im, Ketuvim (Bible)

μybwtkw μyaybn ,hrwt

1521, Venice—Daniel Bomberg Second edition of the Bomberg quarto Bible, necessitated by the popularity of the first edition. This printing is, with the variances noted below, identical with the previous 1516–17 Bible printed by Daniel Bomberg. The title page is simple, merely informing that it is the second edition and the date, 1521. It is based on and like the earlier printing. Initial words of books are in large letters set in an ornate woodcut border. First and last words of pages, and frequently but not always of lines, are identical, excepting Psalms which here is in two columns. Among the other differences are that this edition is paginated, in Hebrew letters, and signatures are in Roman and Arabic numerals, whereas in the earlier printing they were in Hebrew letters, and the Megillot have been moved to follow the Pentateuch. Even the Massoretic summaries at the end of books contain the same errors. Less obvious differences are that the variant readings noted in the margins of the first edition are largely absent here. For example, in the first edition in Joshua 160 such readings, assembled by Pratensis from manuscripts, are noted, mainly related to vocalization and accents and some to the keri (or correct reading), but here there are only six. Nevertheless, there are instances where the keri is noted here that were not annotated previously. The use of peh p and sameh s to indicate open ( petuhot) and closed (setumot) sections, used sparingly in the 1515–17 edition, is absent. At the end of the last volume is a list of the readings of haftarot. Another, non-textual difference is found in the colophons. The first, after the Torah portion and at the end of that volume, states that it was printed by the sons of Baruch Adelkind for Bomberg. The more detailed colophon at the end of the work states: Printed for the second time with great care by the brothers, the sons of Baruch Adelkind, in the month of Elul in the year 281 (August/September 1521) for Daniel Bomberg at his press. And so may the Lord grant us the merit to complete the entire Talmud and also the book of the great Alfasi according to the will of our master the above Daniel, for until now we have completed twenty-five tractates from the Talmud and twelve parts of the book Rav Alfas.

These colophons reflects Bomberg’s sensitivity to the Jewish market. The editors are now the Jewish Adelkinds, instead of the apostate Felix Pratensis. Instead of dedicating the book to the pope, there is a reference to the printing of the Talmud. The statement that twenty-five tractates have been completed is inserted to distance this edition from its predecessor and, according to C. D. Ginsburg, to permit the editors to “give greater assurance of being thorough Jews by stating that they are already engaged in editing the Talmud and Alfasi which is their diploma of orthodoxy.” This Bible, as was the case with its predecessor, is a truly beautiful edition, attesting to the skill and aesthetic sense of its printers.

Format 40: 528, [1] leaves.

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144

Akedat Yizhak

qjxy tdyq[ Isaac ben Moses Arama 1522, Salonika—Don Judah Gedaliah Philosophic commentary on the Torah by R. Isaac ben Moses Arama (Ba’al ha-Akedah, c. 1420–1494). Arama was born in Zamora, in Leon, Spain. He was, at an early age, head of the local yeshiva, and afterwards served as rabbi in Tarragona and Fraga in Aragon. It was in these positions that he wrote most of his works, which he edited and finalized in Calatayud, his next and last rabbinic position in Spain. Arama left Spain in 1492, together with the other exiles from that unhappy land, going to Naples, where he died two years later. He was buried there by his only son, Meir, who after an earthquake, or on account of the French invasion of Naples, relocated to Salonika. Arama was a preacher, and much of his work is based on his sermons, which were, in part, designed to counter the obligatory conversionist sermons Jews were forced to attend. He also participated in public disputations with representatives of the Church. A talmudic scholar, he engaged, as was the practice in Spain at the time, in the study of philosophy, reflected in his writings, which are anti-Aristotelian. He was not a proponent of philosophic study, however, expressing negative comments towards its study. Akedat Yizhak is Arama’s most important work. There is no title page. The last page has a register of the quires, and the colophon dates completion of the work to 12 Adar I 5282 (February 19, 1522). The book is divided into 105 portals, which are actually 117 sermons, written in the order of the weekly Torah readings. Each homily begins with brief introductory remarks, often from a midrash or the Talmud. The homily is divided into two parts, derishah, a philosophical investigation of a concept related to the text, and perishah, an expository commentary and illumination of the scriptural text, resulting in the resolution of any difficulties that may have arisen. At the conclusion it is evident that the parts form a harmonious unit. Arama’s objective is to demonstrate the truth of Judaism and revelation and the ascendancy of Torah over philosophy. He often cites the Zohar, and, without detracting from the literal meaning, provides allegorical interpretations of text. Arama disagrees with Maimonides, Crescas, and Albo as to the articles of faith of Judaism, suggesting instead six fundamentals, represented by the six festivals, that is, creation, miracles, revelation, providence, repentance, and immortality of the soul. Arama also wrote commentaries to the Megillot (Riva di Trento, 1561), including Esther (Constantinople, 1518), although the commentary to Esther printed with Akedat Yizhak after 1573 is that of his son Meir. The latter also published a pamphlet accusing Isaac Abrabanel of plagiarizing the Akedat Yizhak. However, as Arama and Abrabanel were contemporaries, and not only knew each other but while in Naples used to meet and discuss their philosophies and beliefs, and the latter actually published first, it is not unlikely that they influenced each other. Arama also wrote Hazut Kashah (Sabbioneta, 1552), on philosophy and religion, and Yad Avshalom (Constantinople, 1565), on Proverbs, written in memory of his sonin-law, who died shortly after his marriage.

Format 20: I. 383, II. 194 leaves. Reprinted in Venice (1546, 1565, and 1573).

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146

Ikkarim

μyrq[ rps Joseph Albo 1522, Rimini—Gershom Soncino Philosophic work on the principles of Judaism by R. Joseph Albo (c. 1380–c. 1444; concerning Albo and the Ikkarim see p. 275). Gershom Soncino had been printing in Pesaro but in 1520, most likely due to anticipation of warfare, left that city. He had, two years earlier (October 24, 1518), been formally invited by the consuls and Ecclesiastical Council of the City of Rimini, in response to a petition by him, to establish a print-shop there. Wishing to attract a master printer, with whose associates, it is believed, they had had previous experience, they replied: We . . . grant him privileges, releases, and subventions. We, therefore, consider it proper to free and release the aforementioned Hieronymus Soncinus from all taxes and from duties upon his books and paper required for his business . . . Moreover we grant him a shop . . . in which he can offer his books for sale during the Market of St. Julian, free for one year, and promise him as a present twelve ducats for the renting of a house. . . .

Two years later Gershom accepted, moving to Rimini, where he printed about ten Hebrew and a number of Latin titles from 1520 to 1526. The Ikkarim was preceded by mahzorim for different rites, and followed by Bahya’s Be’ur al ha-Torah (1524), Kol Bo, Melizat Efer VeDinah, and Rashi al ha-Torah (1525), and ha-Agur and Avkat Rokhel (1526). The title page of the Ikkarim states that it is being “Printed for the third time, corrected by the youngest of the Bnei Soncino, in the year five thousand 282 (1522) in the land of Italy in the city Rimini. The statement that this is the third printing of the Ikkarim is not correct, for, in addition to an incunabula edition (Soncino, 1486), there are also, reputedly, Fano (1506), Salonika and Venice editions (1521). The first three were printed either by Gershom (Fano) or other members of the Soncino family, and the Venetian edition by Daniel Bomberg, perhaps intentionally overlooked, making this, in fact, the fifth edition. The volume begins with a long introduction and concludes with a colophon by Gershom. In the former he quotes from his grandfather, Israel Nathan, and assails Bomberg’s editors. The device on the title page is a fortified stone tower set within a thin rectangular border, and on the sides is the phrase “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runs into it, and is safe” (Proverbs 18:10). In some instances the verse, used previously with another mark, appears above and below the tower rather than to the right and left of it. It has been suggested that the tower is the badge of the city of Soncino in Lombardy, or the device of Rimini, although no such tower exists in either location. In any case, this is Gershom’s first use of the famed device, which appears afterwards as his printer’s mark on a majority of his imprints. It was also utilized by his descendants, and can be found on books printed in Rimini, Salonika, and Constantinople between 1522 and 1533, The tower ensign reappears four centuries later, in the 20th-century, used by the Soncino Gesellschaft in Germany and the Soncino Press in London. An earlier tower device was used by Gershom with the Meshal ha-Kadmoni (Fano, 1505).

Format 40: 154 leaves. Printed previously in Fano (1506), Salonika and Venice (1521) and reprinted in Venice (1544) and Lublin (1597).

147

148

Jerusalem Talmud

ymlçwry dwmlt 1522–24, Venice—Daniel Bomberg Editio princeps of the Jerusalem (Palestinian) Talmud. This Talmud, the result of the discussions in the academies of Erez Israel (the Land of Israel), contains gemaras to tractates missing from the Babylonian Talmud, and, to a greater extent, lacks gemaras to tractates in the Babylonian Talmud. Written in Western Aramaic, the Jerusalem Talmud is on four Orders only, Zera’im, Mo’ed, Nashim, and Nezikin, the last with the first three chapters of tractate Niddah. It is possible, this is a matter of speculation, that there may have also been gemaras to Orders Kodashim and Tohorot but they either were not committed to writing or were lost. Also, the title, Jerusalem Talmud, is misleading, for it was mostly written in Northern Israel. Printed as a large folio (34 cm.), there is a general title page and, beginning with Mo’ed, title pages for the parts, all with a copper plate of a pillared frame. The text of these pages contains supplications in Aramaic, the first to begin and complete the Talmud diVenei Ma’arava (Talmud of the Jews of the West, that is, Erez Israel). The initial letter is in a floral border that covers the width of the page. At the conclusion of Nezikin, it is noted that they have printed what is available and the wish is expressed that the fifth part of the Jerusalem Talmud will be found (Maimonides, in his introduction to Mishnayot, refers to a fifth Order, Kodashim). This Talmud is undated. It is possible, however, to estimate its dates, as Bomberg began work on it after completing the Babylonian Talmud and completed it prior to Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah, making the start date after 2 Kislev, 283 (December 1, 1522), and the completion date several months before 25 Tammuz, 284 ( July 6, 1524). It is printed without commentaries, reflecting the fact that the Jerusalem Talmud was not as intensively studied as the Babylonian Talmud. The poor textual condition of this Talmud resulted from persecutions by gentile rulers in Erez Israel in the fifth century, so that although the Jerusalem Talmud was studied in the period of the ge’onim its influence and state suffered greatly. As stated in the colophons to Mo’ed and Nezikin, Bomberg, in an attempt to bring out the most correct edition possible, sent letters and representatives in search of manuscripts, hoping to find a copy of the fifth Order. The text is based upon the Leyden manuscript, the sole extant complete manuscript of this Talmud, written by Jehiel ben Jekuthiel ben Benjamin ha-Rofe (Tanya Rabbati ) in 1289. As the scribe remarks, the text is corrupt and full of errors, which he has attempted to correct as much as possible. His marginal corrections are reflected in this text. Nevertheless, the editor, R. Jacob ben Hayyim ibn Adoniyahu (who later became an apostate), was also able to make use of three additional manuscripts (since lost but for a fragment), which he describes as being more correct. All of this, however, results in a somewhat eclectic text. Adoniyahu edited the manuscripts and prepared the text for printing. However, he has been accused of not being completely familiar with the style of the Jerusalem Talmud, therefore corrupting as much as he corrected. Further evidence of this Talmud’s neglect is that this is the first printing not only of the complete work, but also of any part of it, excluding Shekalim, in contrast to the Babylonian Talmud, from which tractates were printed in the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, prior to the first Bomberg Talmud. Almost a century passed before the next edition was printed (Cracow, 1609). Format 20: 65, [1]; 83, [1]; 66; 51, [1] leaves.

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Perush Rashi al ha-Torah

twlgm çmj l[w hrwth l[ yçr çwryp Solomon ben Isaac (Rashi) 1522, Venice—Daniel Bomberg Rashi’s Torah commentary and Megillot. The single most important, influential, and popular of all Torah commentaries, the subject of several hundred supercommentaries. R. Solomon ben Isaac (Rashi, 1040–1105), who traced his ancestry to King David, was born in Troyes, France, and studied under R. Jacob ben Yakar, whom he considered his primary teacher, and also under Isaac ben Judah, and Isaac ben Eleazar ha-Levi. When, at the age of twenty-five, Rashi returned to Troyes he was already regarded as one of that generations leading talmudists. Nevertheless, Rashi never accepted a rabbinic profession, but supported himself as a wine merchant. In about 1070 Rashi founded a talmudic academy, numbering among his students R. Simhah ben Samuel of Vitry, Shemaiah, Judah ben Abraham, Joseph ben Judah, and Jacob ben Samson, all relatives. Rashi had three daughters; his grandsons were all prominent scholars, the most prominent, the sons of his daughter Jochebed, being R. Samuel ben Meir (Rashbam), Jacob ben Meir (Rabbenu Tam), and Isaac ben Meir (Ribam). Rashi devoted his life to his commentary on the Babylonian Talmud, which, with rare exception, has been printed with every edition of the Talmud, along the inner margin accompanying the text, from the first printing of a tractate from that work in 1483 to the present, again with rare exceptions. The most essential and basic commentary on the Talmud, it is the portal for students into that work. Perush Rashi al ha-Torah is a concise running commentary, emphasizing, as Rashi often states, the literal meaning. It is written in a clear and unadorned style, combining halakhic and aggadic homiletics. Grammatical issues are addressed and difficult terms explained, often in old French. The Perush, reflecting Rashi’s encyclopedic knowledge of rabbinic literature, is multifaceted, so that both basic or sophisticated readers can peruse a passage, simultaneously finding meaning on their level, that is, either a basic explanation of the text or rich allusions to the works from which the exegesis is derived. Rashi edits his diverse material so that it reads in a uniform and smooth manner. The title page is simple, stating, in addition to the name of the work, only that it was printed with great care by Daniel Bomberg from Antwerp, in the year 282, on the 23rd of the month of Nissan (April 30, 1522). The colophon, also brief, states that it was “printed by the brothers, the sons of Baruch Adelkind, of Padua, for Daniel Bomberg.” The text, in two columns, is set in rabbinic (Rashi) letters. Pagination is in square letters, signatures in rabbinic letters. Most initial words of books, both for the Pentateuch and the Megillot are in enlarged plain square letters, but in some instances, for example, Exodus, the initial word is in ornamental letters. This is the first edition of Rashi’s commentary on the Megillot. That is not the case, however, with Perush Rashi al ha-Torah, which is among the first published Hebrew books (Rome, [1469]), is the first dated Hebrew book (Reggio di Calabria, 1475), and was printed three additional times in the incunabular period (Guadalajara, 1476; Soncino, 1487; and Zamora [1492]). In addition to the editions enumerated below, Rashi’s Perush is also included in all of the editions of the Rabbinic Bible. Format 40: 137 [3] leaves. Reprinted in Rimini [1525], Augsburg (1534), Venice (1535, 1538, 1539, 1548), Constantinople ([1552]), Sabbioneta (1557), Venice (1567, 1578, 1590) and Constantinople (1598).

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Tractate Nedarim

μyrdn tksm 1522, Venice—Daniel Bomberg Nedarim, the third tractate in Seder Nashim, deals with vows. It was printed in 1522 as part of the Bomberg Babylonian Talmud. There are, however, two distinct title pages, leading bibliographers to initially believe that the tractate was printed two times. The first title page, dated Tammuz, 1522, states Tractate Nedarim with three different commentaries and also tosafot which is not in its usual place, but at the end of the tractate because they are incorrect. Printed by Daniel Bomberg in the month of Tammuz, 1522 q”pl, here, Venice.

Nedarim is printed with the commentary attributed to Rashi along the inner margin. Along the outer margin is the commentary of Rabbenu Nissim (Nissim ben Reuben Gerondi, Ran) and at the bottom of the page is the Rosh (Asher ben Jehiel). Tosafot are found at the end of the tractate, and printed on daf 22b is the following: “it is lacking here and I copied from the commentary of R. Gershom.” The tractate is followed by the commentary of Maimonides on the Mishnayot, at which point the pagination and numbering of the signatures ends. The volume is completed with tosafot, Piskei Tosafot, and Rabbenu Asher. The second title page, dated Tammuz, 1523, states: Tractate Nedarim with Rashi’s commentary and tosafot and Rabbenu Nissim and the Rosh. Tosafot is not in its place, but at the end of the treatise. Printed by Daniel Bomberg in the month of Tammuz, 1523, q”pl, here, Venice.

Both editions of the tractate are otherwise alike. Rabbinovicz noted that he had three tractates with the first title page and two with the second. After examining the volumes he found that all had identical errors in pagination, for example, page 69 is misnumbered as 68 and page 84 as 87. He also found the printers’ errors to be the same in all cases. From this he determined that there were not two editions, but rather one and that the title page was changed in 1523. Bomberg replaced the first title page in 1523, it being inappropriate, for it states, “with three different commentaries,” without identifying them, and then adds, “because they are incorrect.” Rabbinovicz concluded that, “it is not the manner of a merchant to disparage his goods nor a baker to denigrate his dough. Therefore Bomberg printed another title page and corrected that which he had done previously.”

Format 20.

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154

Zeror ha-Mor

rwmh rwrx Abraham ben Jacob Saba 1522–23, Venice—Daniel Bomberg Commentary on the Pentateuch by R. Abraham ben Jacob Saba (d. c. 1508), based on kabbalistic and midrashic sources. Born in Castile, Spain, Saba, after the expulsion of the Jews from that land, found refuge in Guimarães, Portugal. It was there that he began to write Zeror ha-Mor. The respite in Portugal was brief, however, for, in 1497, King Manuel of Portugal ordered the conversion of Portuguese Jewry. After losing his sons to forced baptism, “the anger of the Lord burned against His people . . . and he [King Manuel] commanded the seizure of all [Hebrew] books.” Saba recounts that he left his library, which was extensive, by the river Porto; he placed himself in great danger by bringing the manuscripts of his commentary on the Torah, on the Megillot, Avot, and Zeror ha-Kesef, written in his youth, with him to Lisbon. However, when he reached that city local Jews informed him that possession of Hebrew books was considered a capital offense, so that Saba buried his manuscripts under a “green olive tree, fair, full of beautiful fruit.” ( Jeremiah 11:15). For him it was more bitter than wormwood, and I called it the tree of weeping, for there I buried that which was more desirable to me than fine gold, my commentary on the Torah and mitzvot, for through them I was comforted for my two sons who were taken involuntarily to be baptized.

Saba was arrested, imprisoned for six months, and pressured to accept baptism. When that failed, Saba was released and permitted to go to Morocco. He settled first in El Qsar el Kebir, ill, as a result of his hardships. When he recovered, Saba was able to rewrite, from memory, with only a Chumash to assist him, most of Zeror ha-Mor. He later moved to Fez, where he completed that work, and rewrote Eshkol ha-Kofer, his commentary on the books of Esther (1904) and Ruth (1908). After residing in Fez for ten years, Saba traveled to Verona, Italy. En route a storm arose. The captain, in despair, requested Saba to pray for the ship’s safety. He agreed, but on the condition that, if he were to die at sea, the captain should not bury him at sea, but rather take him to a Jewish community for proper burial. The captain agreed, Abraham Saba’s prayers were answered, and the storm abated. Two days later, on the eve of Yom Kippur, Saba died. The captain took his body to Verona, where the Jewish community buried him with great honor. Zeror ha-Mor is homilies on the Torah, primarily from a literal but also a mystical perspective. The title page is dated Kislev 283 (November/December 1522) and the colophon 20 Shevat 5283 (Thursday, February 15, 1523). Publication was sponsored by R. Hayyim ben Moses Alton and the editor was Jacob ben Hayyim ibn Adoniyahu. The title is from, “My beloved is to me a bundle of myrrh (zeror ha-mor), that lies between my breasts” (Song of Songs 1:13). Eshkol ha-Kofer is from the following verse, “My beloved is to me a cluster of henna (eshkol ha-Kofer) in the vineyards of Ein-Gedi.” Zeror ha-Mor was listed on the Index Librorum Expurgatorum when that work was first prepared, and was later, in 1568, ordered burned. A translation into Latin of Zeror ha-Mor by the German Hebraist, Conrad Pellicanus (Pellican, 1478–1556), remains in manuscript.

Format 20: 171 leaves. Reprinted in Venice (1545 and 1567), and Cracow (1595).

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156

Hiddushei ha-Ramban Bava Batra

artb abb ˆ”bmrh yçwdyj Moses ben Nahman (Ramban) 1523, Venice—Daniel Bomberg Novellae (hiddushim) to tractate Bava Batra by R. Moses ben Nahman (Ramban, 1194–1270). Ramban was a prolific author, producing a large number of works on a variety of subjects. Nevertheless, his novellae on tractates of the Talmud are among his most numerous and most important works. Ramban introduced the critical study of tosafot and their methodology into Spain, and his explanatory and critical notes are highly valued, being studied to this day. The Hiddushei ha-Ramban are written in the style of the Ba’alei Tosafot, and encompass most of the Talmud. Nevertheless, Ramban is also rooted in the Spanish school of talmudic study, frequently referencing earlier Sephardic sages. His novellae, then, can be seen as a synthesis of the two schools of learning, combining the comprehensive intellectual understanding of the Ashkenaz Ba’alei Tosafot with the Sephardic elucidation of the halakhic implications of the Talmud. Isaac Canpanton (1360–1463), in Darkhei ha-Talmud, observes that “One is to exercise utmost care in studying the Hiddushim of Ramban, as all his words are carefully chosen with precise measure and intent, not a syllable being redundant.” The Iberian treatises, printed in the fifteenth century, include Rashi but not tosafot, the reason being that Spanish and Portuguese yeshivot learned the Hiddushei ha-Ramban in place of tosafot, and there was, therefore, no need to print the latter. David ben Judah Messer Leon (c. 1470/72–c. 1526), rabbi, in 1512, in Valona, Albania, writes in his Kevod Hakhamim, “I entered within the boundaries of the Sephardi scholars, to debate the novellae of Nachmanides, although it is not our custom in the German and Italian yeshivot. . . . Their debates are on [Nachmanides’] novellae, ours are on tosafot, . . . But, even so, I concern myself very much with the novellae of Nachmanides, whether on Torah or Talmud, because it is very sharp.” Printed with the Ramban’s novellae on Bava Batra, on leaves 110 to 116, is his monograph, Dinei de-Garme. This work had been printed previously (Constantinople, 1515). As the subject matter is treated in several places in Bava Batra it is appended to the hiddushim for that tractate. Dinei de-Garme deals with causative damage, that is, assessing liability for damages, if indeed such liability exists, when an individual did not directly cause physical damage to another person’s property, but was a causative factor in the damage occurring. Ramban reviews the discussions of his predecessors and analyzes their positions, among them whether garmi and gerama are distinct or like terms. His presentation of Dinei de-Garme is an essential contribution to the ongoing halakhic discussion on this subject. This volume is the first of Ramban’s novellae to be published. Hiddushei ha-Ramban was printed in conjunction with R. Solomon Adret’s (Rashba, c. 1235–c. 1310) novellae on tractates Berakhot, Gittin, and Hullin.

Format 40: 116 leaves.

157

1523, Hiddushei ha-Rashba Massekhet Hullin, Solomon ben Abraham ibn Adret (Rashba), Venice Courtesy of the Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University

158

Hiddushei ha-Rashba Massekhet Hullin

ˆylwj a”bçrh yçwdyj Solomon ben Abraham ibn Adret (Rashba) 1523, Venice—Daniel Bomberg Novellae (hiddushim) on tractate Hullin by R. Solomon ben Abraham ibn Adret (Rashba, c. 1235–c. 1310), one of the preeminent talmudists and halakhic authorities in medieval Spain. Born to a distinguished family in Barcelona, Adret was a student of R. Jonah Gerondi (Rabbenu Yonah) and R. Moses ben Nahman (Ramban). He served as rabbi of Barcelona for forty years, achieving such recognition and respect that he was acknowledged as El Rab d’Espana (Rabbi of Spain). His yeshivah attracted students from afar, many of whom became prominent rabbis and scholars. Regarded as fair and incorruptible, renowned for his humility, Adret was turned to by all strata of society, from an orphan, for whom he was the guardian, against powerful state officials, to Pedro III of Aragon, who requested that Adret adjudicate entangled cases between Jewish communities. He dealt with internal and external issues, such as the Maimonidean controversy and anti-Semites, such as the Dominican, Raymond Martini. In the former instance, concerning the dispute over studying philosophy, Adret defended Maimonides, but placed serious restrictions on the study of science and philosophy; in the latter case he refuted Martini’s Pugio fidei as well as a comparable work by a Moslem scholar. Adret, as a student of the Ramban, continued the introduction and development of the casuistic method of Talmudic exegesis of the Tosafists, in conjunction with the Spanish emphasis on practical understanding. He often quotes the Jerusalem Talmud and his keen analysis is characterized by a clear style. Adret’s novellae, covering seventeen treatises, are based on his discourses in his yeshivah. Also printed at this time are the novellae on Berakhot and Gittin and Ramban’s novellae on Bava Batra. Despite their well-recognized importance, publication of Adret’s other novellae did not begin until the eighteenth century, with Shabbat (Constantinople, 1720), and continue into the twentieth century. However, not all the novellae attributed to Rashba are actually his. The title page includes a statement that, given the great benefit to be obtained from this work, each entry of Adret’s novellae is marked with the folio number corresponding to that folio of the Talmud just printed by the press. The first Bomberg Talmud, the editio princeps, established the uniform pagination used to this date. Bomberg, by noting his Talmud pagination in his novellae—Gittin, but not Berakhot, and the Ramban’s novellae on Bava Batra, share the same text on the title page—enhanced the compatibility of his Talmud and these hiddushim. The title page further states the usefulness of this pagination to those who lack his Talmud. They can, presumably, find the place in their tractates by accounting for the variance in pagination. Headings are in square letters, the text in rabbinic letters. Adret also wrote responsa, first printed in Rome (c. 1469) and reprinted several times in this century. His other printed works include Piskei Hallah (Constantinople, 1516) on the laws of hallah; Avodat ha-Kodesh (Venice, 1602) on Sabbath and Festivals; Torat ha-Bayit (Venice, 1607) on issur ve-heter; and an abbreviated version of that work, Torat ha-Bayit haKazer (Cremona, 1566). A work on aggadot, Hiddushei Aggadot ha-Shas, was only published recently (Tel Aviv, 1966).

Format 40: 134 leaves.

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Sefer ha-Hinnukh

˚wnjh rps 1523, Venice—Daniel Bomberg The taryag (613) mitzvot arranged according to their occurrence in the Torah. The author is anonymous. It is believed that he was a student of R. Solomon ibn Adret (Rashba) and that Sefer ha-Hinnukh was written in the mid-thirteenth century. The title page is simple, stating that it is the Sefer ha-Hinnukh, written by R. Aaron [of Barcelona], printed by Daniel Bomberg, and that the sponsors were R. Solomon Walid and R. Hayyim ben Moses Alton. The colophon, by the editor, R. Jacob ben Hayyim, dates completion of the book to Thursday, 13 Tammuz, 283 ( July 6, 1523). The verso of the title page has a letter from the author (Iggeret ha-Mehaber), a listing of the precepts, and the author’s introduction. The text is in two columns in rabbinic type, except for headings and initial words, which are in square letters. In the introduction the author states his purpose, the education of the young and laymen. He has written it according to the order of the Torah to arouse the hearts of the young, so that as part of learning the weekly sidrah they should learn and be familiar with the precepts. The editor is Jacob ben Hayyim ibn Adonijah. The composition of the mitzvot in ha-Hinnukh is not drawn directly from the original sources such as the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds, but rather is built upon the works of Maimonides, as given in the Sefer ha-Mitzvot and the Mishneh Torah, and R. Isaac Alfasi (Rif ), Rashba, and Moses ben Nahman (Ramban), but here arranged according to the weekly Torah readings. Each entry is divided into four parts: a concise statement of the essence of the precept, its source in the Torah, and development in the Talmud, geonic literature, and rishonim; the purpose of the mitzvah, perhaps the most original part of each entry; the principles of the mitzvah’s application, drawn from the Mishneh Torah, often verbatim, and other rishonim; greater detail concerning performance of the precept, including the times of its performance, who is obligated to perform it, and the punishment for its violation. Ethical instruction is included within the details of the commandments. The author does not identify himself, except to note, in the introduction, that he is a Jew from the house of Levi in Barcelona. None of the many manuscript copies, in the more than two hundred years until its printing, identify the author, who is known simply as Ba’al ha-Hinnukh. However, Jacob ben Hayyim, the editor of this, the first printed edition, credits ha-Hinnukh to a R. Aaron, but without the appellation ha-Levi of Barcelona. Jacob did not have a source, but rather found an allusion, noted by the editor of the second edition (Venice, 1600), near the beginning of precept 95. This identification became widely accepted. It seems, however, that all that can be said with certainty about the author’s name is that he is a Jew from the house of Levi in Barcelona. Ha-Hinnukh is written in a clear and simple style. A popular work, it was frequently copied in manuscript, and is much reprinted. It is the subject of commentaries, most importantly the Minhat Hinnukh of R. Joseph Babad (1800–74/75).

Format 40: 179 leaves.

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Mesorat ha-Talmud

dwmlth trwsm c. 1523, Salonika—Don Judah Gedaliah Index to tractates of the Talmud. The title page states: Mesorat ha-Talmud Printed in the house of the aged, the honorable Don Judah of the house of Gedaliah wxy [May his Rock and Redeemer watch over him] in the year, “The Lord has made bare his holy arm [wrz (283 = 1523) [in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God],” (Isaiah 52:10), which is the third year of our lord the king, Suleiman [reigned 1520–66], may his majesty be exalted. These are the tractates according to their organization. . . .

The title page then enumerates, in two sets of two columns each, the tractates covered by the index, which are, Shabbat, Eruvin, Pesahim, Yoma, Rosh Ha-Shanah, Sukkah, Megillah, Ta’anit, Hagigah, Mo’ed Katan, Berakhot, Hullin, Yevamot, Kiddushin, Ketubbot, Gittin, Sotah, Nazir, Nedarim, Niddah, Bava Kamma, Bava Mezia, Bava Batra, Sanhedrin, Shevu’ot, Makkot, Horayot, Avodah Zarah, and Eduyyot. The author is not named nor does the volume have an introduction or an epilogue. The printer, Don Judah Gedaliah (d. c. 1526), originally from Lisbon, learned the printers’ trade in that city at the press of Eliezer Toledano, where he served his apprenticeship. Gedaliah founded a Hebrew press in Salonika ca. 1512–13, with fonts originally cast in Lisbon, as well as new type similar to the fonts used by the Hebrew press in Constantinople. Already advanced in years at this time, Gedaliah was assisted by his son, Moses, and his daughter at the press. Among the early works that he printed is the first part of Jacob ibn Habib’s Ein Ya’akov. In the introduction to that work the author praises Gedaliah and provides brief biographical information regarding him (see above, pp. 92–93).

Format 20: 54 leaves.

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Mikneh Avram

μrba hnqm Abraham ben Meir de Balmes 1523, Venice—Daniel Bomberg On Hebrew philology, by the physician, grammarian, and philosopher, R. Abraham ben Meir de Balmes (c. 1440–1523). De Balmes, a grandson of R. Abraham de Balmes of Lecce (d. 1489), court physician to King Ferdinand I of Naples, was a student of Messer Leon. He resided in Padua, where he attended and later lectured at the renowned medical school at the University of Padua. It is reported that his Christian students attended his funeral. De Balmes went from Padua to Venice, where he was personal physician to Cardinal Domenico Grimani, under whose auspices de Balmes translated medieval Arabic works on philosophy and astronomy, among them Averroes and Ibn al-Hayham, into Latin. De Balmes, as did many other individuals who were both rabbis and physicians, became involved in the publication of Hebrew books, in this instance as a corrector and editor for Daniel Bomberg. Indeed, it was at the urging of the latter that de Balmes wrote Mikneh Avram. Mikneh Avram, so entitled although de Balmes name is Abraham (ref. Genesis 13:7), because of his personal troubles, recounted in the introduction, is a systematic treatise on Hebrew grammar, particularly syntax. It is divided into eight portals, the first three devoted to phonetics, mutation of letters, and punctuation. Portal four, on nouns, is exhaustive, dividing them into 311 classes; portal five is on verbs, six on adverbs and particles, and seven on syntax. The eighth and final portal, on accents, was incomplete when de Balmes died, so that it was finished by Kalonymous ben David. De Balmes’s approach is philosophic, each section being prefaced by philosophic and logical definitions of grammatical principles. He builds upon and provides a critique of the principles and theories of prior grammarians, both Hebrew, and Latin. De Balmes’s style is cumbersome, so that Mikneh Avram, although a scholarly accomplishment, was not very popular. Mikneh Avram was printed in a Hebrew (Sefer Dikduk, 157 leaves) and a Hebrew and Latin edition, entitled Peculium Abramae. The translation of this, the bilingual edition, with a Latin introduction by Bomberg, is credited to Kalonymous ben David. Mikneh Avram is unpaginated. The Hebrew, excepting the introduction, is in square letters and vocalized. The leaf number within a quire is given with a dot above the letter, for example, ii x, iii x. This is the sole instance of such usage by Bomberg until his final Talmud edition (1543–49, see below, p. 263, for its significance there). The recto and verso of a folio are in one language, followed by a folio in the other language, for example, i x and iii x Hebrew, ii x and iv x Latin. The unnumbered leaves in the quire follow this pattern, which is consistent throughout the book. This was necessitated by using the Hebrew text from the same setting in both editions (excepting the signatures). In his introduction, de Balmes praises Bomberg, writing, And behold there came to me Daniel Bomberg, a man greatly beloved of whom glorious things were spoken. . . . He was a Christian and feared his God. . . . The feet of his father did not stand at the foot of Sinai but to him did I turn all my fountains, for he was one of those who spend their money freely in the service of God . . . to print Bible, Mishnah and Decisions beyond all other printers. He also studied Hebrew and crowned himself therewith and all his deeds shine like the splendor of the sky. Format 40: 314 leaves. Reprinted in Hanau (1594).

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166

Sefer ha-Terumah

hmwrth rps Baruch ben Isaac 1523, Venice—Daniel Bomberg Halakhic code by the tosafist R. Baruch ben Isaac (late 12th–early 13th century), known as Baruch of Worms, after his birthplace, and, perhaps, although this latter identification has been seriously challenged, as Baruch of Regensberg, after his place of residence. Baruch spent considerable time in France—he was the foremost student of R. Isaac ben Samuel the Elder of Dampierre and later of R. Judah of Paris, and a colleague of R. Sampson of Sens—so that when he speaks of Germany he does not do so as a resident of that land. Baruch later emigrated to Erez Israel, where he died. Sefer ha-Terumah is an important Ashkenaz code from the time of the Ba’alei Tosafot. It varies from contemporary halakhic codes in that the material is not arranged according to the order of tractates of the Talmud but rather by subject matter, which, within the halakhah, is then presented by tractate order. The book begins with a detailed digest of its contents, in effect a synopsis and the essence of the halakhah, covered in the book’s twelve subject areas, in 254 chapters (paragraphs) of varying length. The purpose of this comprehensive listing is to enable the reader to study concepts prior to learning them in greater detail and to review them afterwards. Baruch places great emphasis on this preliminary abstract, referring to it in the colophon. The contents are: Hilkhot Shehitah (1–8); Treifus (9–25); Issur ve-hetter (26–79); Hallah (80–85); Niddah (86–109); Gittin (110–132); Halizah (133); Avodah Zarah (134–160); Yayyin Nesech (161–188); Sefer Torah (189–202); Tefillin (203–213); and Shabbat (214–254), the last divided into nine subheadings. These contents encompass religious and family law, but do not include civil law or communal customs. Baruch did not base Sefer ha-Terumah on his own understanding of the halakhah, but rather on the rulings of his teachers, particularly Isaac ben Samuel. He quotes his sources, mostly naming French sages, particularly R. Samuel ben Meir (Rashbam), Jacob ben Meir (Rabbenu Tam), and Isaac ben Meir (Ribam). No Sephardic sages are mentioned. In the concluding paragraph Baruch states that he entitled this work Sefer ha-Terumah because it represents the best teachings of his time. The colophon informs us that it was completed on Friday, 26 Nissan (April 21), 1523. The value of Sefer ha-Terumah, and it was a popular and well-distributed manuscript work, frequently quoted by later rishonim, is not because of novellae or profundity, but rather due to its direct and concise summary of the halakhah and its being written in a clear and lucid style. Entire sections were copied by Simhah ben Samuel of Vitry in the Mahzor Vitry. Baruch also wrote tosafot to Zevahim, normally printed with the Talmud, and on a number of other tractates, which are no longer extant.

Format 20: 139 leaves.

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168

Mikra’ot Gedolot (Biblia Rabbinica)

μybwtkw μyaybn ,hrwt yçmwj hçmj

1524–25, Venice—Daniel Bomberg Second Rabbinic Bible (Mikra’ot Gedolot) printed by Daniel Bomberg. This edition, the editio princeps of the Rabbinic Bible with the Masorah (the vowel symbols and liturgical, diacritical notations), is the basis of subsequent editions of the Bible. The work was begun almost ten years after the previous Rabbinic Bible and at the time that Bomberg’s tenyear monopoly was about to expire. The entire work is in four volumes, each with its own individual title page, excepting the first volume, which has the title page for the entire work. That page has an architectural frame with the phrase at top, “[the entrance of the] New Gate of the Lord[’s house]” ( Jeremiah 26:10), and the verses “Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold on her; and happy is every one who holds her fast” (Proverbs 3:16–18) around the text. The text details the contents of the entire work. The title page is followed by forty-two lines of verse in praise of the work by R. Joseph ben Samuel Zarfati, perhaps one of the correctors, and then the lengthy introduction of Jacob ben Hayyim ben Isaac ibn Adonijah, the editor. He describes his considerable efforts “to collate and arrange the Masorah” and the manuscripts he examined, and praises Bomberg, “whose expenses in this matter far exceeded my labors.” He outlines the history of the Masoretic text, commenting on predecessors who addressed the subject, and discusses that text and its components,. This is followed by lists of the chapters by number, Sedarim, and ibn Ezra’s introduction. The initial word of each book is set within a large decorative woodcut frame surrounded by a square made up of lines, varying in number, comprising the Masoretic rubrics. At the end of each book is the Masoretic summary. The text is generally in four columns, the inner columns the text and Targum Onkelos, the outer columns the commentaries of Rashi and ibn Ezra. Above (three lines) and below (length as needed) the inner columns (text and Targum) are the Masorah Magna and in the space between these two columns is the Masorah Parva. In the narrow outer column are portions of the Masorah Parva that did not fit between the text and Targum. The second volume is Former Prophets (Nevi’im Rishonim). The initial word of books here is as in the first volume. The division of Samuel and Kings into two books is noted in the running heads, whereas in the previous Rabbinic Bible this division was noted only in the text or margins. Nevertheless, these second books are treated as a unit with the first books for Masoretic purposes, and lack the decorative initial words. The arrangement of columns is generally like the preceding volume; the Targum is that of Jonathan ben Uzziel, and the commentaries are Rashi, R. David Kimhi (Radak), and Levi ben Gershom (Ralbag). Volume three is the Later Prophets (Nevi’im Ahronim), volume four the Hagiographa (Ketuvim). There are variations in both commentaries and layout in these parts. Enumeration of the signatures is continuous throughout all four volumes, the last quire being fyq 119. The work concludes with the completion of the Masorah Magna, treatises on points and accents, on the variations between western and eastern codices, and the variations between ben Asher and ben Naftali (Babylonian and Palestinian Masters of the Masorah). Work on this, the single most influential Rabbinic Bible, was completed on 24 Tishrei 286 (Wednesday, October 21, 1525). Format 20: [234; 210; 212; 298] leaves.

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170

Mishneh Torah

hrwt hnçm Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides, Rambam) 1524, Venice—Daniel Bomberg All-encompassing halakhic code, the magnum opus of R. Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides, Rambam, 1135–1204). The Mishneh Torah, begun in about 1170, is the culmination of Maimonides’ halakhic and talmudic oeuvre, following his commentaries on parts of the Babylonian Talmud, Mishnayot, and his Sefer ha-Mitzvot on the precepts. This work, although completed after ten years, was, for Maimonides, open ended, for he continuously reviewed and revised the Mishneh Torah. Maimonides’ intent in writing the Mishneh Torah is stated in the introduction, where he begins with a brief history of the oral law, and notes that, due to the vicissitudes of the times, wise men are no longer, understanding is lost, and commentaries of earlier sages have become difficult to understand, all the more so basic texts. He has studied Talmudic, geonic another halakhic literature, with the view of putting together the results obtained from them in regard to what is forbidden or permitted, clean or unclean, and the other rules of the Torah—all in clear language and concise style, so that the entire Oral Law might become systematically known to all, without citing difficulties and solutions or contrary views, one person saying thus, another otherwise, but consisting of statements clear and convincing, in accordance with the conclusions and commentaries that have appeared from the time of our Holy Master [R. Judah] to the present, so that all the rules shall be accessible to young and old . . . no other work should be needed for ascertaining any of the laws of Israel, but that this work might serve as a compendium of the entire Oral Law, including ordinances, customs, and decrees from the days of our teacher Moses. . . . I have entitled this work Mishneh Torah, for the reason that a person who first reads the Written Law, and then this compilation, will know from it the whole of the Oral Law, without having occasion to consult any other book between them.

The Mishneh Torah is comprised of fourteen books, each a separate halakhic category, and is therefore also known as the Yad ha-Hazakah (strong hand), yad dy having a numerical value of fourteen. Written in classical Mishnaic Hebrew, the subject matter, in contradistinction to other halakhic works, encompasses the entire corpus of halakhah in the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds, practical and theoretical, including such subjects as the Temple service and laws not currently applicable. The halakhah is presented in a straightforward manner, without arguments, proofs, contrary opinions, or sources, for which Maimonides was strongly criticized, most notably by R. Abraham ben David of Posquières (Ravad, 1125–97), whose glosses are printed here and in subsequent editions of the Mishneh Torah. Also printed with this and subsequent editions are Migdal Oz of Shem Tov ben Abraham ibn Gaon, Maggid Mishneh of Yom Tov of Tolosa, and Haggahot Maimuniyyot of Meir haKohen of Rothenburg, the latter two printed previously in Constantinople (1509). Mishneh Torah is considered an unparalleled tour de force, and Maimonides is referred to as ha-Nesher ha-Gadol (the Great Eagle) for his achievement. Among the first Hebrew printed books (Rome, c. 1469), it continues to be regularly reprinted. It has been the subject of more than three hundred and twenty-five commentaries and translated into a number of languages.

Format 20: [2], 2–389 [6]; [1], 394–767 leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (1509) and reprinted in Venice (1550, Bragadin; 1550, Giustiniani, and 1574).

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1524, Oratio de laudibus trium linguarum, Robert Wakefield, London

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Oratio de laudibus trium linguarum Robert Wakefield 1524, London—Wynkyn de Worde First book printed in England to include Hebrew and Arabic letters. Oratio de laudibus is a trilingual work by Robert Wakefield, the first Hebraist of name in sixteenth-century England. Among the first to matriculate at St. John’s College, Cambridge (1514), Wakefield obtained a degree in canon law two years later. In 1518, he enrolled in the trilingual college in Louvain, succeeding Matthew Adrianus as professor of Hebrew the following year. Wakefield returned briefly to Cambridge in 1519, then back to the Continent where, in 1522, he succeeded Reuchlin at Tübingen, being paid 104 florins to lecture. Soon after he again returned to Cambridge, staying until 1530, when he moved to Oxford, where he remained for the rest of his life. When Henry VIII (1491–1547, reigned 1509–47) annulled his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, Wakefield, after initial opposition, backed the king, asserting that support for the king’s action would be forthcoming from rabbinic sources. Wakefield’s competence as a Hebraist was disputed. Wolfgang Rychard of Ulm, writing to Luther from Tübingen, claimed Wakefield taught Hebrew so badly that “he is beginning to make everybody sick.” Most others were laudatory about his abilities, the Rector of Tübingen for one, who considered Wakefield superior to Reuchlin. In 1524, Wakefield delivered an oration in Cambridge on the importance of Hebrew, published as the Oratio. The title page, with a decorative frame, states that it is Oratio de laudibus et utilitate trium linguarum Arabicae, Chaldaicae & Hebraicae (On the three languages), which is misleading, for three-quarters of the book deals with Hebrew. The title page is followed by a dedicatory letter to Henry, a page with that monarch’s escutcheon in an ornate setting, Wakefield’s apology for composing the oration, and the text. The purpose of the Oratio, expressed in the apology, is to demonstrate Wakefield’s competence; the relationship between Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic; to refute opponents of the study of Semitics; and to show respect for the scholars of Cambridge. The Oratio emphasizes the importance of Hebrew to Christians, a necessity for theologians if they wish to propagate their faith and dispute with Jews. Indeed, Christians cannot understand their religion without it, the Vulgate (Latin) being so corrupt that it should be bypassed; rather than drink from streams (Vulgate) they should go to the pure well itself (Hebrew). Examples are given of others who have mastered Hebrew as encouragement for students. Hebrew grammar, verb forms, nouns and adjectives, singular and plural, take up about a third of the book. There are examples of Greek and Latin words derived from Hebrew, such as sakkos, balsamum, and myrrha. Wakefield’s Hebrew sources include the Mekhilta, Talmud, Maimonides’ works, Kabbalah, Ibn Ezra, and most importantly R. David Kimhi’s (Radak) Mikhlol, many of these known only through secondary sources. Wakefield also testifies to the superiority of Hebrew and the ancient Hebrews, the discoverers of every known art. Oratio de laudibus introduced the study of Hebrew philology to England and drew Englishmen to the study of Hebrew. Wakefield also wrote Syntagma de hebraeorum codicum incorruptione (London, c. 1530), a companion to the Oratio; Kotser codicis (London, c. 1528–32) on quotations from the Hebrew Bible in opposition to Henry’s remarriage (written before he reevaluated his position); and Paraphrasis in librum Koheleth (c. 1536), a synopsis of Ecclesiastes. Format 40.

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174

Be’ur Perush ha-Ramban

hrwthm l”z ˆbmrh çwryp rwayb Isaac Aboab (II) 1525, Constantinople Supercommentary on Perush ha-Torah of R. Moses ben Nahman (Nahmanides, Ramban) by R. Isaac Aboab II (1433–1493), the “last gaon of Castile.” He is referred to as the second to distinguish him from Isaac Aboab I (Menorat ha-Ma’or). This Isaac Aboab, a student of R. Isaac Canpanton, was rabbi and head of a yeshivah in Toledo and later in Guadalajara, where, in 1491, he learned with Don Isaac Abrabanel. Aboab accounted among his students R. Abraham Zacuto and Jacob Berab. In 1492, at the time of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, he was part of a delegation of thirty Jewish notables to King João II of Portugal requesting that the Jews be allowed entry into that country. He and his companions were permitted to settle in Oporto, where Aboab died seven months later, in the winter of 1493. The title page of the Be’ur is simple, stating the name of the work and author only. It is followed by the text, which is unpaginated, and set, excepting initial words, in rabbinic type. Be’ur is, as stated on the title page, a commentary on the Ramban’s Perush ha-Torah. However, as the Perush is, to some extent, a supercommentary on Rashi, so too Aboab’s Be’ur addresses Rashi’s commentary, often taking Rashi’s comments as his starting point. The colophon states, “All the work, the work of Heaven, completed, well-refined, sevenfold, Thursday, the 8th day of the month of Tammuz, in the year 5285 from the creation ( July 9, 1525), by the craftsman, R. Menahem Dayyan. . . .” The name of the printer is lacking. There are variant printings of this edition. The second 1548 Venice edition is part of a Pentateuch with the Targum, and commentaries of Rashi and the Ramban. Aboab also wrote Nehar Pishon (Constantinople, 1538), derashot on the Torah and other books of the Bible; novellae on tractate Bezah, published with the responsa of R. Moses Galante (Venice, 1608); on Bava Mezia quoted by Bezalel Ashkenazi in his Shitah Mekubbezet; novellae on Ketubbot and Kiddushin, and additional derashot, all still in manuscript; as well as responsa printed with Sheva Einayim (Livorno, 1745). No longer extant are a supercommentary on Rashi, additional responsa, and a commentary on the Arba’ah Turim, O. H. and Y. D., but quoted by R. Joseph Caro in his Beit Yosef, where he refers to Aboab as “our great rabbi and teacher.”

Format 40: [106]. Reprinted in Venice (1548).

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1525, Melizat Efer ve-Dinah, Vidal Benveniste, Rimini Courtesy of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

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Melizat Efer ve-Dinah

hnydw rp[ txylm Vidal Benveniste 1525, Rimini—Gershom Soncino Poetical allegory on pleasure written for Purim by R. Vidal Benveniste (early 15th century). This edition is published as an individual title, eight years after it was printed together with a number of midrashic works. What makes this edition of Melizat Efer ve-Dinah of interest is the material appended by Soncino, recounting the events that resulted in his having to leave Italy for Salonika. Soncino was in Venice, at the print-shop of Daniel Bomberg, where he met an apostate, perhaps Fra Felice, with whom he engaged in a dispute. Soncino writes, in a mixture of prose and poetry: In the month of January, 1525 came a Marrano apostate from Rome to Venice. The entire day he spoke against God, and His Torah, and against our people most wickedly. He leaps at our young and old like a goring ox. His dreams and words caused great fear to Israel. It came to pass that while I was in the winter house of Messer Daniel in Venice, speaking to him about business matters in the presence of Cornelio Israel [Adelkind] . . . the worthless one (lit. naked), his mouth full of vulgarities, challenged me to versify with him. He wrote upon paper wrong and meaningless words, unintelligible even to understanding, which he himself did not believe. He raised his voice, took hold of my coat, and pressed me to respond to him. He praised his verses to the skies, answering words unsaid. Who was seen or heard such a thing? I entered into a spice store and quickly wrote these few words. I was besides myself because of him, ashamed of his untoward behavior, who was brazen enough to praise himself. Don Daniel I saw a strong man who attempted to write verse, But when he recited them to us we saw that they were laments. ... He is no man, he has no eyes to see. He thought in [Rome] to rise, he fell to the depths when he displayed his verses there, because they are frightful and odiferous. Better to remain silent as the dumb beasts than to open the mouth to demonstrate the errors of one sunk so deep, he is but a boor.

Soncino continues on in this vein, with references to Christianity. The aggrieved apostate accused Gershom Soncino in Rome of printing Talmudic treatises without a license and mocking his new religion. These accusations forced Soncino to expend his savings either defending himself from an unfavorable ruling from Rome or avoiding an already decreed punishment. Gershom, previously a wealthy man after printing titles in Hebrew, Latin, and Italian for forty years, was forced to flee Italy to Salonika in an impoverished state, primarily attributed to the above incident with the apostate. The last title Gershom printed in Italy was Machir ben Isaac’s Avkat Rokhel (Rimini, 1526). He had printed, since 1502, about seventy Hebrew and almost one hundred Latin, Italian, and Greek titles. Gershom left Rimini for Cesena in 1527, his last halting-place before his final departure from Italy.

Format 40: 10 leaves. Published previously in Constantinople as part of Divrei ha-Yamim le-Moshe Rabbenu (1517), and afterwards in Ferrara [1543], Rome (1548), and Salonika (1595) together with with several other works.

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Perushim le-Rashi (Sefer Canizal)

(lzynq rps) lxz yçrl μyçwrp Aaron Abulrabi, Samuel Almosnino, Jacob Canizal, and Moses Albelda c. 1525, Constantinople Four supercommentaries on Rashi’s Torah commentary from R. Aaron Abulrabi (Abu al Rabi), Samuel Almosnino, Jacob Canizal, and Moses Albelda, and a small part of a commentary on the Ramban. Abulrabi (c. 1376–c. 1430) a Sicilian of Spanish origin, was a well-traveled person of diverse interests, knowledgeable in Kabbalah, astronomy, and philosophy, a grammarian and biblical commentator. His commentary, somewhat polemical, refuting Karaite, Muslim, and Christian biblical interpretations, is his only extant work. Almosnino (d. 1551) served as rabbi in Salonika in the sixteenth century. His commentary on the minor prophets is included in the Bible printed by R. Moses Frankfurter (Amsterdam, 1724–27). It is possible that Almosnino was not the author of the commentary here credited to him. Albelda (1500–c. 1583), dayyan and rosh yeshivah, was rabbi of Arta (Greece) and afterwards in Valona (Albania). Among his works are Reshit Da’at (Venice, 1583), Sha’arei Dimah (1586), Olat Tamid (1601), and Darash Moshe (1603). Canizal, most likely from the fifteenth century, is best known for the commentary printed here. Perushim le-Rashi is often referred to as Sefer Canizal. The title page is simple, merely stating Perushim le-Rashi lxz. The text begins on the verso of the title page in two columns, the inner the commentary of Canizal, the outer of Almosnino. After parashat No’ah there is an apology from the printer, stating that he did not initially have the commentary of Moses Albelda for Bereshit, but has since obtained it and prints it here. From Lekh Lekha there are three commentaries, Albelda on top, the two others in columns as before. At the end of Lekh Lekha there is a second similar note from the printer and he now adds the commentary of Aaron Abu al Rabi. The format is now Albelda at the top in the outer column, the inner column R. Aaron. Below are Canizal and Almosnino as before. This format is not adhered to throughout, however, for in places the commentaries, while still in two columns, are offered sequentially. Excepting occasional headings and initial words, the entire work is set in rabbinic letters. Pagination is neither consistent nor always correct; the colophon simply notes the completion of the work. There is another edition with a different title page, adding the names of the commentators and noting that it was printed during the reign of Sultan Suleiman. Suleiman ruled from 1520 to 1566. However, based on the fonts and style of the book, Perushim le-Rashi is generally tentatively dated c. 1525. This issue has significant variations in both the text and pagination. In some instances the commentary of Canizal is longer, suggesting that a more complete manuscript was found and the longer pages substituted. It has also been suggested that it is possible that in fact there may not be two issues of Perushim le-Rashi, that is, copies in varying states printed from one setting of type but altered by corrections or additions, but rather two editions, that is, resulting from a new setting of type for the book.

Format 20: 98, 24, 23–73 leaves.

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180

Ha-Agur

rwgah Jacob Barukh ben Judah Landau 1526, Rimini—Gershom Soncino Concise halakhic compendium by R. Jacob ben Judah Landau (15th cent.). A member of a prominent German rabbinic family, Landau, as did many other Jews in the fifteenth century, resettled in Italy. After about ten years in Italy he settled in Pavia (1480) and afterwards in Naples (1487), where he worked for a time as a proofreader at the press of Joseph Gunzenhauser. Among the works printed at that press in 1491, by Azriel ben Joseph Gunzenhauser, is Landau’s ha-Agur. In the introduction we find the source of the title and Landau’s purposes in writing the Agur. It begins, “[ The words of ] Agur the son of Jakeh, [the burden] (Proverbs 30:1), to his distinguished pupil, Ezra ben David Ovadiah ha-Rofeh . . . who put forth his hand for the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which are the commandments explained in the Talmud.” His student’s time for Talmud was limited, however, by his studies of physics and metaphysics, necessitating a more concise work to instruct him in his Jewish studies. Ha-Agur is a distillation of halakhah in Orah Hayyim and Yoreh De’ah. Although Landau makes use of a large number of sources, he relied primarily on the Tur of Jacob ben Asher, also following the arrangement of that work. Mention is made of later decisors and their rulings subsequent to the Tur, among them Israel Isserlein, Jacob Weil, Joseph Colon, and his father, Judah Landau. Ha-Agur reflects the Ashkenaz tradition in halakhah and minhag. Landau also integrates kabbalistic content into the text, he quotes from the Zohar, one of the first, if not the first to do so in a halakhic work. The scope of the Agur is evident from the description of the contents on the title page: Hilkhot Tefilah, Zizit, and Tefillin, Blessings with the laws of Shabbat and holidays, the laws of [ritual] slaughter, Issur ve-Hetter (laws pertaining to forbidden foods and related topics), the scouring of utensils. The laws of Niddah, Tevillah, Mikva’ot, Sefer Torah, Mezuzot, and Eruvin.

The title page of the Agur has an architectural frame. It is dated from “the third year of our lord Pope Clement VII [Giulio de’ Medici, 1478–34, pope from 1523 to 1534],” that is, 1526. The text is followed with a table of its contents and the book is completed with Sefer Hazon, another work by Landau. Hazon is a small book of talmudic conundrums. It does not, in this edition, have a separate title page, but its presence is noted on the title page of the Agur. The incunable edition of the Agur was the second Hebrew book published in the lifetime of its author, the first being Judah ben Jehiel’s (Messer Leon) Nofet Zufim (Mantua, before 1480) and the first book to contain rabbinic haskamot (approbations), from R. Judah Messer Leon, Jacob ben David Provenzalo, Ben Zion ben Raphael, Isaac ben Samuel Hayyim, Solomon Hayyim ben Jehiel Raphael ha-Kohen, and Nethaniel ben Levi of Jerusalem, reprinted here. Messer Leon writes that he has examined ha-Agur and that “it is a work that gives forth pleasant words, . . . and therefore I have set my signature unto these nectars of the honeycomb, these words of beauty.” No other works by Landau are known.

Format 40: 102 leaves. Reprinted in Venice (1549).

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182

Babylonian Talmud

ylbb dwmlt 1526–1539, Venice—Daniel Bomberg Second edition of the Talmud printed by Daniel Bomberg. The first Bomberg Talmud, the editio princeps, printed from 1519/20 to 1523, sold well, being exported as far as England and Central Europe, as indicated by the dialogue between a Christian and a Jew, where the Jew says that he wants to go to Venice as a rich Christian and a Jew were printing anew the Bible and Talmud in Hebrew, of which he was to bring several copies to the Jews of Prague. Title pages are simple, the basic text stating, “printed for the second time with great care by Daniel Bomberg.” Some treatises were reprinted from the editio princeps, with only the most minor errors corrected, while other tractates vary considerably from the prior edition, material having been removed, added, and modified on the basis of manuscripts and the judgments of the editors. Pagination is identical, excepting Berakhot, with 66 pages in the first edition and 64 pages in the second. The number of lines to a page varies in many tractates between editions. The register at the end of the tractates in the prior edition is absent, except for tractates Hagigah, Ta’anit, and Shevu’ot. Even where alike it is possible to distinguish between the editions. In this Talmud the tractate name is to the right and the page number is next to it on the left at the top of the page, as in later editions. This is in contrast to the previous edition, where the treatise’s name either does not appear, or, if it does, the tractate name is to the left and the page number is to the right. Hokhmat Shelomo, the emendations to the Talmud of R. Solomon Luria (Maharshal, 1510–73), are based on this edition. Nevertheless, it is the first, rather than the second Bomberg Talmud that is the most influential. Tractates were printed in 1526–31 and 1538–39. Variations between copies of tractates may be attributed to the backdating of treatises properly belonging to the third Bomberg Talmud. (See below, third Bomberg Talmud, p. 263.) It has been suggested that treatises dated 1538–39 are actually 1528 imprints, not marketed at that time. Replacement title pages, dated 1538 and 1539, were printed for the volumes in storage for a decade, and sold as new imprints. As shown on the facing page, at the end of Hagigah it states in small letters, “printed in 1528,” followed by “completed in the month of Iyyar, 1538” in very large letters. Another possibility is that the tractates printed from 1528 to 1539 constitute two editions, 1526–31 and 1538–39, with the 1543–49 Talmud being a fourth edition. Proof is found in the extended time frame in which the treatises were printed, and that the letters of the tractates printed in 1538–39 are thicker and darker than those printed from 1526–31. It seems unlikely, however, that the small number of tractates, eight only were printed in 1538–39, constitute a separate edition, when at least four, and possibly five of those tractates had not been printed in 1526–31. Other editions of the Talmud are known to have taken longer than a decade to complete. Typographical differences can be expected over this period of time, as fonts became worn and had to be replaced. Furthermore, Bomberg never considered the tractates printed in 1538–39 a third edition, for he wrote on the title pages of his last edition, “third edition,” rather than “fourth edition.”

Format 20: Printed previously by Bomberg (1519/20–23) and reprinted in 1543–49.

183

184

Haggadah

jsp lç hdgh 1526, Prague—Gershom ben Solomon ha-Kohen A magnificent, influential, illustrated Haggadah. Although fragments exist of earlier illustrated haggadot, it is the woodcuts in this edition that are the model for subsequent haggadot to the present. Printed by Gershom Kohen and his brother Gronem (Geronim) with more than sixty woodcuts by Hayyim Shahor (Schwartz), and an unknown gentile artist, some borrowed from the repertoire of non-Jewish sources in early Prague imprints, others, with a Jewish theme, executed for this volume. There is no title page. However, three pages with engraved borders in Gothic style are strategically placed in the Haggadah. The first, for the search for leaven, has a white-onblack border of bucrania (ox-skulls) and an inset of a man with a candle in his right hand and a bowl and feather in his left hand. The top frame of the second border, on ke-ha lahma anya (this is the bread of affliction), has the spread hands of the priestly blessing with Gershom Kohen’s name angled on the sides and flanked by angels. At the sides, under pillars, are representations of David and Goliath on pedestals. The bottom of the frame has a vignette of the judgment of Solomon. The third of these pages, shefokh hamatkha (pour out your wrath), has representations of Adam and Eve on the right and left sides, respectively, and below them Samson with the gates of Gaza and Judith with the head of Holophernes. The bottom segment has the Bohemian coat of arms, a lion rampant with a bifurcated tail. To the sides are men garbed in fur skins, and to the left of the shield, the initial ç refers to Shahor. About fifty small marginal woodcuts are spread throughout the Haggadah illustrating various aspects of the Exodus from Egypt and the Passover Seder, for example, the four sons, the drowning of the Egyptians at the Reed Sea, and reclining at the Seder meal. There are also a number of larger illustrations, such as that depicting Pharaoh bathing in the blood of Jewish children. The architecture is European, rather than Egyptian or ancient, reflecting the period in which the Haggadah was printed. Many of the woodcuts portray biblical heroes with no immediate relationship to the Haggadah, a practice also evident in medieval illuminated haggadot. A number of the woodcuts are labeled and repeated, for example, “the head of the house makes kiddush on wine” appears four times. The borders and many of the woodcuts have been copied from gentile sources, such as the Nuremberg Chronicle (1484), for example, that of a crowned king, seated holding an orb. Instructive remarks, many detailed, are throughout the Haggadah, between paragraphs and in the margins. An Ashkenazi font, 36, 18, and 12 point, is newly cast, reproducing manuscript script. This is most noticeable in the vowels, which are composed of lines, rather than dots, for such marks as sh’va, tzere, and segol, and in the rapheh (horizontal line) above words, indicating pronunciation. A number of initial words are elaborately ornamental, but more are in large black letters (larger than 36 point). The text, instructions, and depictions of Jews follow Ashkenaz practice. The Haggadah is completed with the song Addir Hu, followed by a Judeo-German translation, and a colophon from Gershom ben Solomon ha-Kohen declaring himself, with the aid of his brother, the printer, the customary for the time praise of his accomplishment, and the date of completion, 26 Tevet 5287, that is, December 30, 1526.

Format 20: 36 leaves.

185

1527, Dictionarium Chaldaicum, Sebastian Muenster, Basle Courtesy of the Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University

186

Dictionarium Chaldaicum

˚wr[ Sebastian Muenster 1527, Basle—Johannes Froben Aramaic grammar by the Christian-Hebraist scholar Sebastian Muenster (1489–1552). Muenster, a cosmographer, astronomer, and orientalist was, for twenty-three years, professor at Basle. Born in Niederingelheim, Hesse, the son of a Spitalmeister (hospital master), Muenster had no university education nor did he ever receive a degree. His education consisted of some private instruction in Latin and later studies at Freiberg and attendance at lectures given by the Franciscans. In 1506, Muenster entered the Minorite order and was sent to study in Rufach under Conrad Pellican (Pellicanus, 1478–1556). The following year he took vows and, in 1512, was ordained a priest. Muenster assisted Pellican in teaching in Pforzheim and, from 1524–29, occupied the chair of Hebrew at the University of Heidelberg. In 1529, Muenster converted to Protestantism and moved to Basle, where he occupied the chair of Hebrew, at a salary of 60 gulden; from 1547/8 he was rector. From about 1525, Muenster was a student of Elijah Levita, translating and editing his grammatical works. Muenster also translated a number of other Hebrew works into Latin and was a prolific author in his own right. By the time of his death more than 100,000 volumes of his works were in circulation. His Jewish oeuvre, more than three-score publications, covers all aspects of Judaica, excepting Kabbalistic studies, which did not interest him. In 1523, Muenster published Dictionarium Hebraicum . . . adiectis Chaldaicis vocabulis, his study of the Aramaic language. More an appendage than a full study, it was followed in 1527 by his Chaldaica Grammatica, a complete grammar. Also published that year was the Dictionarium Chaldaicum, the first Aramaic dictionary written by a Christian. It is primarily based on the Arukh of Nathan ben Jehiel of Rome (1035–c. 1110). The title page of the Dictionarium Chaldaicum has an architectural frame with nine cherubim in various positions, as well as additional cherubim below mounted and otherwise. This title page, designed by Hans Holbein, was used as early as 1516 on Basle statutes and into the seventeenth century. Froben’s printer’s mark is present here and, in its more-standard form, on the last page. It is a caduceus with a bird perched atop, facing right. Two crowned serpents entwine the staff, which is held by two hands extending from billowing sleeve cuffs. The letters FRO and BEN. appear to the sides of the staff respectively. The title page is followed by a Latin introduction and, from page 1, the dictionary. The book reads from left to right but the text follows the Hebrew alphabet. Words are given in vocalized Hebrew, followed by their etymology, definition and examples. Muenster is also known for his Hebraica Biblia with original Latin text (Basle, 1534–35); two versions (Latin) of Josippon (1541, 1553); and a list of the 613 precepts (Basle, 1533) gleaned from the Amudei Golah (Semak). His Torat ha-Mashiach (Matthew, 1537), the first Hebrew translation of any book of the Christian Bible, begins with a missionary treatise intended for Jews.

Format 40: [1], 434, [7] pages.

187

188

Perush al Rashi

y“çr l[ çwrp Elijah ben Abraham Mizrahi 1527, Venice—Daniel Bomberg Supercommentary on Rashi’s Torah commentary by R. Elijah ben Abraham Mizrahi (Mizrahi, c. 1450–1526), a great talmudist and halakhic decisor. Mizrahi succeeded R. Moses Capsali (1420–1496/97) as the leading rabbinic authority of the Ottoman Empire, although he did not have the formal title hakham bashi. Mizrahi was a student of R. Elijah ha-Levi and Judah Mintz of Padua (c. 1408–1506) and, until the death of Capsali, concentrated on rabbinic studies and teaching. It is reported that, like Capsali before him, he had a seat, assigned by the sultan, on the divan beside the mufti and above the Christian patriarch. Mizrahi’s scholarship was widely recognized, so that he was accepted as a halakhic authority and as the greatest posek in the Ottoman Empire. A Byzantine (Romaniot) Jew, that is, a descendant of the Greek Jews long resident in the area, rather than a Sephardic Jew, Mizrahi insisted upon the preservation of the customs of the older community, as opposed to their replacement with the culture of the Jewish refugees from Spain. Nevertheless, he worked tirelessly on behalf of the refugees, writing in one responsum that he neglected his duties as a dayyan and rosh yeshiva because of these activities. Although opposed to intermarriage between Karaites and Rabbinic Jews, Mizrahi permitted them to be instructed in Talmud in order to draw them closer to Rabbinic Judaism. Mizrahi was also conversant with secular sciences, particularly mathematics and astronomy, which he studied under Mordecai ben Eliezer Comtino (1420–d. before 1487). The Perush al Rashi, referred to simply as Mizrahi, was brought to press by his third son, Israel. The text of the title page is comprised of Israel’s praise for his father’s work and notice that there was insufficient time to edit it properly, any errors being his responsibility. The colophon notes the efforts of R. Hayyim ben Moses Alton to have the work printed and that it was printed by Cornelius Adelkind. Work was completed, according to the colophon, on Friday, 22 Elul 5287 (August 29, 1527, a Monday that year). Perush al Rashi is Mizrahi’s most significant work. He attempts to determine the source of Rashi’s talmudic and midrashic comments, and analyzes Rashi’s commentary in considerable detail. Although frequently disagreeing with Rashi, Mizrahi defends him against other critics, particularly the Ramban. A popular commentary, Perush al Rashi has in turn been the subject of several supercommentaries. Mizrahi’s inherent value is enhanced by reference to Romaniot sources not otherwise known. Among Mizrahi’s other published rabbinic works are Tosefot ha-Smag, novellae on the Sefer Mitzvot Gadol of Moses of Coucy (Constantinople, 1521) and responsa. An abridgement, Kizzur Mizrahi (Prague, 1604), was issued by Isaac ben Naphtali ha-Kohen of Ostrog. Among Mizrahi’s works are also books on secular subjects, among them Sefer ha-Mispar (Constantinople, 1533) on mathematics, which was well received and even translated into Latin. The map on the facing page reappears in Devek Tov (Venice, 1588, below, pp. 758–59), and Be’urim (Venice, 1593, below, pp. 804–05).

Format 20: 340 leaves. Reprinted in Venice (1545 and 1574) and Cracow (1595).

189

190

Tractate Shekalim

μylqç tksm 1527, Venice—Daniel Bomberg Shekalim, on the half-shekel tax collected annually to defray the expenses of the Temple service, is the only tractate in Seder Mo’ed of the Babylonian Talmud with no gemara. To complete the Order, tractate Shekalim from the Jerusalem Talmud is therefore included together with the tractates of the Babylonian Talmud. This is not a recent practice; many codices of the Babylonian Talmud have manuscripts of Shekalim attached to them. This edition of the tractate is of interest because of the description of the title page provided by M. Steinschneider in his catalogue of the Bodleian Library, which states, “Ven. 1527. . . . Per. Dav. b. Corn. Bomberg,” that is, the printer’s name is given as Dav. Bomberg. This has led to speculation that Daniel Bomberg had a son, David, who was active in the Bomberg press. In a book on Hebrew printing in Italy we find that “About the year 1527 Bomberg’s son David began his work at the press of his father, afterwards to become his partner and to be among those who inherited his press. It seems to have escaped bibliographers that there was more than one Bomberg. . . .” Further evidence is adduced from correspondence, where the use of the plural can be found in phrases such as, “the house of . . . the Bombergs.” This material has been expanded upon, so that in a subsequent article on Hebrew printing in Venice we find a more-detailed description of David, which states: That Daniel Bomberg and his son David . . . were engaged in the production of Hebrew books. . . . David Bomberg became an apprentice in his father’s printing establishment in the year 1527. Subsequently, he appears as a partner in the business, and after his father’s death, which occurred in December, 1553, David is among those who inherited the famous press. In 1538, Daniel is said to have left Venice and returned to Antwerp, his native city, leaving his son David in charge of his press at Venice.

This description of David Bomberg was challenged by the Hebrew bibliographer, A. M. Habermann, who observed that Shekalim had the only title page where Dav. Bomberg’s name is reputed to appear. A comparison of the description in the Bodleian catalogue to the text of the actual title page disclosed that the catalogue is in error, the title page actually referring to Daniel ben Cornelius Bomberg. There was no David Bomberg, who, in any case, would have been Daniel’s brother (ben Cornelius). How did this error occur? It was Steinschneider’s practice to copy information from books in Oxford, return to his home in Berlin, and there transcribe the material by hand for the printer. Since he found the name Dav. written in his own hand, it was printed that way. Apart from the fictitious David Bomberg, members of the family are known to have been associated with the Plantin press in Antwerp. The discovery of a genealogy book, Genealogie de la famille Van Bomberghen (Brussels, 1914), by A. Coovaerts and H. van Bomberghen, reveals that Daniel Bomberg married Marie de Clark in about 1525, in Antwerp. They reputedly had seven children.

Format 20.

191

192

Siddur ha-Tefillot ke-Minhag Kahal ha-Karaim

μyarqh lhq ghnmk twlypth rwdys 1528–29, Venice—Daniel Bomberg Prayer book according to the Karaite Rite. Karaism, a Jewish sectarian movement founded by Anan ben David (c. 760), is characterized by its denial of the validity of the Oral Law, expressed in the Talmud, and its reliance only on the Bible as a source of Divine revelation. Karaite prayer was modeled after the Temple service by Anan in his Sefer ha-Mitzvot (Book of Precepts), no longer extant except for fragments. There are, as in the Temple service, only two daily prayers, at dawn and sunset. There are additional services (mussaf ) for Sabbath and festivals This liturgy, in Hebrew and consisting primarily of biblical passages, such as Shema, Psalms, and other piyyutim, was constantly in flux and, as a result, not uniform, if not chaotic, until the thirteenth century. At that time, Aaron ben Joseph ha-Rofe (Aaron the Elder, 1250–1320), the leading Karaite biblical exegete, was successful in codifying the Karaite liturgy—two previous attempts had failed—so that it met with general approval. He also added a number of his own hymns. Siddur ha-Tefillot ke-Minhag Kahal ha-Karaim, the first printed Karaite book and sole Karaite work printed at the press of Daniel Bomberg, was commissioned by Joseph ben Moses Rabyatachi (Sinan Chelebi), a wealthy Karaite merchant from Constantinople. It is in five parts in two volumes, only the first part with a title page. The text of that page is limited to the title, the name of the sponsor, printer, and location. The colophons to several of the parts add that it was printed by Cornelius Adelkind. The colophon to the final part states that it was completed in the month of Iyyar, 288 (April/May 1528). However, the first volume has two colophons, the first, at the end of part one dated Adar 1528 (March 1528), and another, after part two, dated 5289, that is, 1529. The title page is followed by verse and introductory matter. The text is in square vocalized letters in a single column, and the initial words of parts two and three are in decorative borders. It is a comprehensive prayer book, encompassing the Karaite liturgy for weekdays, Shabbat, festivals, fast days, and benedictions. Volume I has parts 1) weekdays and Shabbat; and 2) Pesah through Shavu’ot. Volume II has parts 3) from 9 Tammuz through 7 Av; 4) Yom Teruah through the ten days of Rahamim; and 5) Yom Kippur, Succoth, Shimini Azeret, and Purim, including Megillat Ruth. There are indexes of the contents at the ends of the parts. In contrast to the embrace of printing by rabbinic Jews, Karaites made little use of the printing press. Only three other Karaite books were printed in the sixteenth century, that is, Elijah ben Moses Bashyazi’s Adderet Eliyah (1531, Constantinople), Aaron the Elder’s Kelil Yofi (1581, Constantinople), and Judah Fuki’s Sha’ar Yehudah (1582, Constantinople). All were published by commission at presses belonging to rabbinic Jews. The next Karaite work to be published was issued by Manasseh ben Israel, namely, Joseph Malinovski’s HaElef Lekha Shelomo (Amsterdam, 1643). The first Karaite printers were the brothers Afdal and Shabbetai Jeraka, who printed a number of liturgical sheets in 1733 in Constantinople before moving the following year to Chufut-Kale in the Crimea where they printed an edition of haftarot, and, in 1731, a complete Karaite liturgy. In 1735 they issued a rabbinic liturgical work and, in 1741, their last work, a book of benedictions.

Format 40: 110, 60; 165; 56; 57–213; [6], 50–105, 105–133, 133–224 leaves.

193

1529, Derashot (Sefer ha-Mefo’ar), Solomon Molcho, Salonika Courtesy of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

194

Derashot (Sefer ha-Mefo’ar)

(rawpmh rps) twçrd Solomon Molcho 1529, Salonika—Don Judah Gedaliah Derashot (Sefer ha-Mefo’ar), kabbalistic sermons by R. Solomon Molcho (c. 1500–1532). The author was born to a Marrano family in Lisbon and, as Diogo Pires, had attained the position of secretary to the council and recorder at the court of appeals of King Joao III, when David Reuveni, self-styled emissary of his brother, Joseph, reputedly king of the Jewish tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, arrived in the Portuguese capital in 1525. Pires, inspired by Reuveni’s visit and claims, circumcised himself, and took the name Solomon Molcho. Advised by Reuveni, Molcho fled, eventually arriving in Salonika, where he studied Kabbalah under R. Joseph Taitazak (c. 1487/88–c. 1545), a renowned kabbalist and esteemed halakhic decisor. Molcho, who claimed to have visions, rapidly became proficient in Kabbalah, gathering disciples to whom he delivered sermons. Molcho met, or at least had an influence on, R. Joseph Caro, as expressed in the latter’s Maggid Mesharim (Lublin, 1646), where Molcho is referred to as “my chosen one.” Molcho resided for a time in Safed, and, by 1529, was in Rome, where he sat as a beggar among the diseased at the gates of Rome, to fulfill the requirements of the Messiah. He met and sufficiently influenced Pope Clement VII to secure protection from the Inquisition. Molcho predicted a flood which inundated Rome in 1530 and an earthquake in Portugal the following year. When accused by the Inquisition of judaizing and sentenced to be burned at the stake, another man, a condemned criminal, was burned in Molcho’s stead, as a result of the pope’s intervention. After these successes, Molcho, together again with David Reuveni, went to Regensburg, Germany, in 1532 to meet with Emperor Charles V, ostensibly to gain his support for raising a Jewish army to fight the Turks. Molcho bore a banner with the word ybkm, which stood for “Who among the mighty is like unto God?” (Exodus 15:11). Charles imprisoned both Reuveni and Molcho. The former died in prison, whereas Molcho, tried by an ecclesiastical court in Mantua, and refusing a pardon from the emperor if he would return to Christianity, was burned at the stake. Derashot has no title page. As stated on the first page, it was written at the urging of Molcho’s students, who requested, when he was in Italy, that he send them his sermons. A brief introduction is followed by eight lines from various Psalms. Derashot is a kabbalistic work containing gematriot and apocalyptic speculations, and is replete with eschatological computations. Molcho is concerned with the coming of the Messiah, which he predicts will occur within eleven years, that is, in 1540, a calculation derived from the book of Daniel. Unlike Reuveni, Molcho believes the redemption will not be by means of war, but through the name of God. The book is dated, in the colophon, with the verse, “He has given food to those who fear him; [he is ever mindful of his covenant]” (Psalms 111:5). Subsequent editions of the Derashot are entitled Sefer ha-Mefo’ar. One additional work of Molcho’s, Hayyat Kaneh (Amsterdam, 1658), was published. Addressed to Taitazak, it is a small, eight-page kabbalistic treatise.

Format 40: 36 leaves. Reprinted in Cracow (1570 and 1598).

195

196

Sefer ha-Shorashim

μyçrçh rps David ben Joseph Kimhi (Radak) ha-Sephardi 1529, Venice—Daniel Bomberg Lexicon by R. David ben Joseph Kimhi (Radak, c. 1160–c. 1235). Ha-Shorashim is actually the second part of Kimhi’s Mikhlol, the first part, dealing with grammar (Helek haDikduk), and which came to be known by the name of the whole (Mikhlol ), and this, the lexical portion, being the helek ha-inyan, known as the Shorashim (roots). The title page of this edition is devoid of ornamentation, stating only that it is Sefer ha-Shorashim, and it is Part two of the Mikhlol written by Rabbenu David Kimhi. Printed at the press of the noble Daniel Bomberg in the year fprh [5289], here, Venice.

The text is numbered by column rather than paginated. The book concludes with verse by R. Elijah Levita. In the epilogue Kimhi explains his purpose in undertaking his grammatical work, written after much urging, for he did not undertake it for reputation or honor, but to fulfill the wishes of those wiser and greater than me, [who are dissatisfied] with the work of my predecessors because of the difficulty in utilizing their works, which were translated from language to language [Arabic to Hebrew] making them difficult to comprehend. I saw that by accommodating them great benefit would accrue to me, for I would review what I learned in my youth and acquire new knowledge. I therefore overcame my indolence and undertook this work with the help of Him Who gives fortitude to the tottering and succor to the weak.

The text is arranged, as might be expected, alphabetically. It lists the three, but on occasion two or four radical letters into which Hebrew roots can be grouped. Each entry is described, often with references to his predecessors, examples are provided, and, in the margins, biblical citations. In the 1547 Giustiniani edition there are also Latin citations. To some extent Kimhi relies on the work of R. Jonah ibn Janah (first-half 11th century), who wrote a two-part work on Hebrew philology, in Arabic, the second part being a lexicon translated by R. Judah ibn Tibbon as Sefer ha-Shorashim. Kimhi is, nevertheless, quite independent, supplying new etymologies and comparisons with contemporary Hebrew and Aramaic. Among his other sources are his father, Joseph, a well-known grammarian; R. Jacob ben Eleazer (13th century), a Spanish grammarian; and Abraham ibn Ezra. Sefer ha-Shorashim is among the first printed Hebrew books, the first edition being among the undated books issued in Rome c. 1470, in addition to a second incunable edition (Naples, c. 1490). It has been translated into other languages and often reprinted, including a second Bomberg edition in 1546 and a Giustiniani edition the following year.

Format 20: [2] pages, 5–570 columns, [2] pages. Printed previously in Constantinople (1513), and reprinted in Salonika [1534], Basel (1535, 1539), Venice (1546, 1547), Basel (1548), Paris (1548), and Wittenberg (1568).

197

198

Haggadah

jsp lç hdgh c. 1530, Constantinople A fragment of an early Haggadah, variously dated from the incunabular period to 1534, believed by some to be the first printed illustrated Haggadah. Twelve scattered leaves from this Haggadah exist in several libraries. There are two pages with two illustrations each and no text, that is, of [drpx (frogs) and μynk (lice), and of bwr[ (swarm of wild beasts) and drb (hail); pages with text and illustrations, two woodcuts of people sitting at the Seder table, one of four people (used three times), the other of six people, a full-page illustration with only the word μd (blood) representing that plague, and a fragment with illustrations of mazzah flanked by small flasks, and of maror; and pages of text only. The style of the illustrations is Oriental-Spanish. The lack of a date and its Sephardic style has resulted in the printing of this Haggadah being tentatively dated from prior to the expulsion of the Jews from Spain to 1534. A. M. Habermann notes instructions in the text written in Ladino. He also remarks that there is a leaf with ornamental letters, and even the hares, like those employed by Gershom Soncino in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Furthermore the letters are like those in the Barcelona rite mahzor according to the custom of Castile (Salonika, 1527). He concludes from this that the Haggadah was likely printed by Moses Soncino in Salonika in about 1527 or by Gershom in Constantinople in approximately 1530. Subsequent to Habermann’s suggesting a later date for this Haggadah, A. Scheiber located additional leaves. In a middle page Scheiber found the device of R. Judah ben Joseph Sassoon, a white lion passant, facing left, against a black background with a twine border. Sassoon printed books at the Nahmias brothers’ press from 1514 to 1516. Scheiber therefore determines that this Haggadah precedes the Prague 1526 Haggadah and is the earliest printed illustrated Haggadah. Isaac Yudlov, in his bibliography of the Haggadah, observes that next to Sassoon’s device, reproduced by Scheiber, is the printer’s mark of the Nahmias brothers, that is, a Magen David with flowers at its points in an Arabic style, used by them in their edition of the Arba’ah Turim (1493). Yudlov observes that the devices are in the middle of the text, having been placed there as ornaments rather than as pressmarks, which customarily appear either at the beginning or the end of a work. He concludes that these two devices came into the possession of the Soncinos who used them, as they did other decorative material they acquired from their predecessors, solely as ornamentation. Yudlov gives as examples the decorative border used with Kad ha-Kemah and Kizzur Piskei ha-Rosh (1515) and reused with Kelal Kazar (1531) and Sefer ha-Mispar (1533). Avraham Yaari, whom Yudlov cites, notes only one usage by the Nahmias brothers of their Magen David device, that is, the 1493 Tur. Moreover, Yudlov does not note any other usage by the Soncinos of either the Nahmias or Sassoon pressmarks. Nevertheless, the weight of the evidence suggests a later rather than an earlier date for this Haggadah.

Format 40.

199

200

Me’assef le-Khol ha-Mahanot

twnjmh lkl πsam Solomon ben Jacob Almoli c. 1530, Constantinople—Ashtruk Detulon A prospectus for one of the earliest encyclopedias in Hebrew. The author, R. Solomon Almoli (see above, p. 73), was a physician, and served as rabbi and av bet din of a congregation in Constantinople. A person of considerable scholarly attainment, the author of several books, Almoli proposed to assemble all the information available, scientific and general, as well as Jewish, into a single work that would contain all the knowledge needed by the student. Two-thirds of the work would address Jewish topics, one-third would address general subjects such as medicine and science. Almoli believed that man’s purpose in this world was to obtain knowledge, acquire the truth, and serve his Creator through the Torah. He observed, however, that knowledge was not merely to be perused. Rather, “‘there is not a man on earth’ (Genesis 19:31) to lift up his hand or foot to seek wisdom and to understand all that was done under the sun and to achieve his purpose.” Almoli could find no one qualified to instruct him, but for “‘from a city one, and from a family two’ ( Jeremiah 3:14), ‘in a land of deserts and of pits’ ( Jeremiah 2:6), and they suppressed their prophecy and would instruct me only at a dear price and in their leisure time.” Of necessity, he had to purchase many and varied books to attempt to quench his thirst. He thus saw that there are “many books, there is no end” (Ecclesiastes 12:12), of which the material is repetitive and endless. Almoli proposed, therefore, to prepare an inclusive work which would obviate the need to seek many books. He recognized that the project was beyond the competence or ability of one person. Nevertheless, in the absence of a collaborator, he began to work on the project, with the hope that others would join him. Almoli found personal encouragement in this monumental project from the fact that the study required by this undertaking was so educational. The proposed encyclopedia was entitled Me’assef le-Khol ha-Mahanot, from “And the standard of the camp of the sons of Dan set forward, which was the rearguard of all the camps twnjmh lkl πsam throughout their armies . . .” (Numbers 10:25). It is likely that Almoli selected this verse due to the accompanying Rashi, which states, “The Jerusalem Talmud states, since the tribe of Dan was numerous in population it would journey last, and whoever lost anything, it (Dan) would restore it to him.” Almoli is the collector or compiler (me’assef ) of the camps, that is, knowledge. Me’assef le-Khol ha-Mahanot is divided into three parts, Mahaneh Yisrael, knowledge required by every Jew; Mahaneh Leviyyah, general knowledge; and Mahaneh Shekhinah, on Jewish languages (Hebrew and Aramaic), Bible, theology, Kabbalah, and the commandments of the Torah. Almoli’s hope of support was not realized. Instead, the project received a negative response from the scholars of Constantinople and did not attract potential co-workers. All that was issued was this small prospectus.

Format 40: 24 leaves.

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1530, [Sefer Mikhlol] Helek ha-Dikduk, David ben Joseph Kimhi (Radak), Constantinople Courtesy of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

202

[Sefer Mikhlol] Helek ha-Dikduk

qwdqdh qlj [lwlkm rps] David ben Joseph Kimhi (Radak) ha-Sephardi 1530, Constantinople—Gershom ben Moses Soncino A clear and lucid grammar of the Hebrew language by R. David ben Joseph Kimhi (Radak, c. 1160–c. 1235). David Kimhi was the son of R. Joseph Kimhi (c. 1105–c. 1170), not only a renowned grammarian, but also an accomplished exegete, poet, translator and polemicist. Joseph, who died when David was only ten, had relocated the family from Spain to Narbonne, Provence, to escape the Almohad persecutions. David was raised by his brother Moses, also a grammarian and exegete of note. It is David, however, who is the most illustrious member of this distinguished family, excelling in a variety of fields, but most notably as a Bible commentator and grammarian. He was also a defender of Maimonides in the dispute over the Moreh Nevukhim. The title page of the Mikhlol has an ornate, but obviously much used frame. Its text is simple, stating merely that it is “Helek ha-Dikduk by the Radak, with references, vowels, and accents, as needed.” The colophon dates the completion of the work to “Monday, 17 Elul, hprh.” In the absence of an indicator, gpl (the full era, that is, 5285 = September 15, 1525), or qpl (the abbreviated era, that is, 290 = September 19, 1530) the date would be uncertain. In this instance, however, as 17 Elul was a Sabbath in 1525 and a Monday in 1530, the correct reading of 1530 is unambiguous. Furthermore, in 1525 Gershom Soncino was still in Italy. The Mikhlol is the morphological and syntactic (grammatical) section (Helek ha-Dikduk), dealing with consonants, verbs and particles, of a larger work. The second part, the lexicon, Sefer ha-Shorashim, among the very first printed Hebrew books (Rome, c. 1470), is printed separately. It is the intent of the Radak, who describes himself as a “gleaner after the reaper,” to impose order on the works of his predecessors, R. ibn Janah, ibn Hayyuj, ibn Ezra, and his father, too, whose debt he acknowledges, but noting also that the former are too prolix, the latter too concise, and, as much of that work has been done in Arabic, to provide a grammatical work in Hebrew. He entitles it Mikhlol, for, “I intend to include therein both the grammar and the lexicography of the Hebrew language and to make it easily and readily available for the student.” Nevertheless, Radak is no mere compiler. Mikhlol is a rigorous and systematic work, with original ideas. He develops and systemizes the theories originated by his father, dividing vowels into five long and five short divisions, the former in open syllables, the latter in closed syllables. Radak supplies rules of conjugation, changes of punctuation, and accents, and etymologies for terms that puzzled earlier grammarians. If much of Kimhi’s work has been seriously challenged, it has also had distinguished defenders. Nevertheless, it marks the closing of the “Golden era” of Medieval Hebrew philology. The Mikhlol was translated into Latin by Sebastian Muenster, and reprinted in that language several times, influencing Christian-Hebraists. In addition to his grammatical works, Radak is equally, or today perhaps better known for his Bible commentaries, printed both separately and as part of rabbinic Bibles. The importance of Radak’s work can be appreciated from the play on Avot 3:21, “If there is no flour jmq (cf. Kimhi yjmq) there is no Torah.” Format 40: 168 leaves. Reprinted in Constantinople (1532–33 in 20 and 80), Paris (1540), Venice (1544, and in 1545 in 20 and 80), and Paris (1554).

203

1531, Adderet Eliyahu, Elijah ben Moses Bashyazi, Constantinople Courtesy of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

204

Adderet Eliyahu

whyla trda Elijah ben Moses Bashyazi 1531, Constantinople—Gershom ben Moses Soncino Karaite halakhic compendium by Elijah ben Moses Bashyazi (Bashyatchi, c. 1420–90). Bashyazi was born in Adrianople, the son of Moses and grandson of Menahem ben Joseph, Karaite hakhamim, who instructed him in their literature. The family moved to Constantinople in 1455, where Bashyazi studied rabbinic literature under R. Mordecai Comtino (1420– c. 1487), whom he later attacked in one of his polemical works. Bashyazi also studied and attained proficiency in mathematics, astronomy, and philosophy. In 1460, he succeeded his father as hakham of the Karaite community of Adrianople, and from about 1480 was the head of the Constantinople community. Bashyazi’s influence was widespread, for even the Karaite communities of Poland and Lithuania accepted the innovations in Karaite practice instituted by the Bashyazi family, which represented the liberal trend in Karaite practice, permitting benefit from light on the Sabbath, beginning the Torah reading cycle in Tishrei, and other practices more in conformity with rabbinic Judaism than traditional Karaite convention. Bashyazi’s purpose in writing “Sefer ha-mitzvot entitled Adderet Eliyahu” was to elevate the level of Karaite scholarship, bring conformity to and establish an authoritative halakhic work for the Karaim, as well as to justify the lenient Bashyazi interpretations of Karaite law. In many cases he utilized rabbinic sources. Bashyazi succeeded, in that Adderet Eliyahu quickly became and remains to this day the authoritative Karaite code. The title page has a much-used decorative frame, and within it, below the text, the Soncino tower. The verso has verse from the author, beginning with an acrostic that spells out his name, set within a frame from the Decachordum, followed by Bashyazi’s introduction. The initial text word, in ornamental letters, is set in a decorative border. Adderet Eliyahu is divided into subjects and subdivided into chapters. The subjects, in traditional Karaite order, are intercalation of months, the largest section with forty-two chapters and full-page tables; Sabbath; Pesah; mazzah; Shavu’ot; Yom Teru’ah; Yom Kippur; fast days; Sukkot; and prayer, this last further divided into ten principles of faith; shehita; tumah ve-taharah; parah adumah; forbidden relations (with tables); laws concerning women; milah; kilayim; shemittah (sabbatical year) and Yovel ( Jubilee); and oaths. Bashyazi died before he could complete the work, the last three parts being completed by his student and son-inlaw (or brother-in-law) Caleb Afendopolo (1464–1525), known for his poetry. The need for the work was so great that it was distributed by chapters as they were completed. Adderet Eliyahu, only the second printed Karaite book, has been the subject of commentaries. Bashyazi also wrote Iggeret ha-Yerushah, Iggeret ha-Zom, and Iggeret Gid ha-Nasheh, all polemic works, the first against rabbinic opponents, the latter two against Karaite opponents, all published by Abraham Firkovich (1786–1874) with the second edition of the Adderet (Eupatoria, 1835); Kizzur Inyan ha-shehitah (Vienna, 1830, with other Karaite works); Melizat ha-Mitzvot (Vienna, 1864, on the prayer book); as well as Halukat ha-Karaim, on their schisms; and Keli Nehoshet, on the construction of an astrolabe and astronomy.

Format 20: 117, 37 leaves.

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c. 1531, Kelal Kazar. Judah ben Joseph ibn Bulat. Constantinople Courtesy of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

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Kelal Kazar

rxq llk Judah ben Joseph ibn Bulat c. 1531, Constantinople—Gershom ben Moses Soncino Encyclopedic outline on Jewish and secular studies by R. Judah ben Joseph ibn Bulat (c. 1475–c. 1540). Bulat, born in Estelia, Navarre, was among the exiles from Spain, eventually finding his way to Constantinople. He became a dayyan and was member of the bet din of R. Elijah Mizrahi, co-signing some of Mizrahi’s decisions. Nevertheless, Bulat did not hesitate, as is evident from some of his responsa, from disagreeing on occasion with Mizrahi. Bulat opposed the uncritical acceptance of stringencies and emphasized the critical study of Talmud. The title page has the ornate border common to many Soncino publications, used previously by the Nahmias brothers, for example Perush ha-Torah le-R. Ya’akov (1514). The long text begins by informing that it is a brief abstract of that which has been recorded encompassing the nine categories of knowledge. Three major categories are described, each comprised of three subcategories. The main categories are: 1) Bible, Mishnah, Talmud, Midrash, Kabbalah and other traditional sources; 2) Grammar, Logic, and Science; and 3) poetry, literature, magic, etc. Kelal Kazar is not dated. However, the title page concludes that it was printed in the tenth year of Sultan Suleiman, who reigned from 1520 to 1566, so that the book was most likely printed c. 1531. The title page is followed by a chart of the categories, and the text, which begins with introductory remarks from Bulat. The text is in a single column in square letters, the initial word in ornamental letters with a fleur-de-lis on either side. In the text Bulat advances a methodology for Torah study and related subjects, and a classification of the sciences. Kelal Kazar is similar to and apparently was influenced by R. Solomon Almoli’s Me’assef le-Khol ha-Mahanot (Constantinople, c. 1530), including the tripartite organization, except that Almoli’s work is a prospectus for a much larger work. It is estimated that Almoli completed Me’assef by 1526; it is not known when Bulat wrote Kelal Kazar. It is possible that both authors knew and influenced each other. The book concludes with the price, a perah (florin), the wages for Bulat’s idleness (that is, his labors that would otherwise been directed to other purposes) and the value of his troubles for almost forty years; a prohibition of benefit for ten years, even to one who pays, for whom reading only is permitted, that is, apparently, perusal only, but one who listens and hears may do so, for there is no misappropriation (me’ilah) in that, and a schematic chart of the contents. Bulat was also the author of Derush be-Hilkhot Pesah (Constantinople, 1524), a small work on the halakhot of Pesah (40 4f.), and responsa, which are included in the responsa of Mizrahi (Constantinople, 1560) and in Oholei Tam (Venice, 1622), the responsa of R. Tam ibn Yahya, which is included in the Tummat Yesharim of R. Benjamin Mutal. Bulat also was responsible for the publication of R. Yeshu’ah ha-Levi’s Halikhot Olam together with Samuel ha-Nagid’s Mevo ha-Talmud (Constantinople, 1510).

Format 40: 20 leaves.

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208

Sefer Mikhlol

lwlkm rps David ben Joseph Kimhi (Radak) ha-Sephardi 1532–34, Constantinople—Gershom ben Moses Soncino A grammar of the Hebrew language by R. David ben Joseph Kimhi (Radak, c. 1160–c. 1235). This is the third printing of the Mikhlol in as many years by Gershom Soncino, beginning with a 1530 edition (see above, p. 203) and two printings of the Mikhlol at this time, one a folio, and, preceding it, an octavo edition (1532–33, 250f.). The corrector, Abraham ben Ephraim ibn Shangi, does not mention the octavo, and Solomon ben Mazzal Tov, the editor of the octavo, does not refer to this folio. The Soncino tower appears in the octavo but not this edition. The title page of this folio edition has a frame from the Decachordum and begins with a poem by ibn Shangi. About ten different paper stocks were used, one unmarked, in this printing. At the end of the volume in a colophon, ibn Shangi notes that Gershom did not live to complete the Mikhlol, which was finished by his son Eliezer. He dates the completion of the work to the 18th of, “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine (= Elul, Song of Songs 6:3), 294 (September 8, 1534). This edition is noteworthy for the long autobiographical title page. Gershom writes of his many accomplishments, his endeavors on behalf of the Marranos, and, somewhat bitterly, his rivalry with Daniel Bomberg, and being forced, in his old age, to leave his home in Italy to dwell in a foreign land, that is, in Turkey. By Gershom, a man of Soncino, son of Moses, the son of the outstanding scholar Israel Nathan, the son of Samuel, the son of Moses l”z, who fought in the city of Feurth against the wicked Fra Juan di Capistrano, and had driven him and all his forces from there. He was the fifth generation from Moses of Speyer, mentioned in the tosafot from Touques. . . . And may the Lord, blessed be He, impart of His splendor on one who hopes and waits for His grace, and may He guide me in truth and instruct me, even as He has brought me, from the days of my youth, from success to success. I toiled and found books that were previously closed and sealed, and brought them forth to the light of the sun, to shine as the firmament, like the tosafot from Touques of R. Isaac and of Rabbenu Tam. I traveled to France, Chambéry, and Geneva, to the places of their origin, so that the public might benefit from them, for in Spain, Italy, and in all other lands they have only heard of [the tosafot] of Sens, R. Perez, and R. Samson and their colleagues. I have printed books without end on our holy Torah, besides the twenty-three tractates of the Talmud with Rashi and Tosafot, that are customarily [learned] in yeshivot. The Venetian printers copied my editions and attempted to cause my downfall, but the Lord sustained me. Even though time has treated me perversely, while my spirit remains I will not cease from editing books for the ease of their readers and correcting them as is the will of the Lord. Although my time wanes, and I have come to a strange land, and here I am as a dumb animal, the Lord will assist and support me in my old age. He will remember that which I have done to assist the Marranos from Spain and particularly those of Portugal, how I have exerted myself, even unto death, to deliver them from their enemies, and to guide them to the shelter of the Almighty, even to this day. The blessed One is my constant hope. And praised be His glorious Name forever.

Format 20: 64 leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (1530 and 1532–33), and reprinted in Paris (1540), Venice (1544, and in 1545 in 20 and 80), and Paris (1554).

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210

Ma’amar Hasdei HaShem

‘h ydsj rmam Joseph ben Hayyim Jabez 1533, Constantinople—Gershom ben Moses Soncino Homilies on the faith of Judaism by R. Joseph ben Hayyim Jabez (d. 1507). A student of R. Joseph Hayyun (d. 1497), Jabez was greatly influenced by him and by Don Isaac Abrabanel. Among the exiles from Spain, and afterwards Portugal, Jabez eventually reached Mantua, Italy, where he was welcomed with great honor and afterwards delivered sermons. In Mantua he associated with R. Judah Hayyat, influencing him to write his Minhat Yehudah on the Ma’arekhet ha-Elohut of R. Perez ben Isaac. Jabez strongly opposes the study of philosophy, which he blames for many Spanish Jews abandoning their faith. He is similarly opposed to the rational enumeration of principles of Judaism, instead espousing a mystically oriented faith firmly rooted in the Bible and Talmud. This is expressed in all of his writings, among them Ma’amar Hasdei HaShem, which are designed to lead Jews to a purer faith, study, and observance and fulfilment of precepts. The title page of Hasdei HaShem has no ornamentation. It was printed in the twelfth year of the reign of Sultan Suleiman (1520–66), and is dated Rosh Hodesh Shevat in the year 5293 [g”pl] ( January 7, 1533). Gershom gives his family genealogy on the title page, stating that it was printed by Gershom ben Moses ben Israel Nathan of the family of Moses of Speyer, mentioned in the tosafot from Touques. The title page is followed by an introduction from Jabez’s son Isaac, who brought the book to press, and by the author. The text, divided into ten chapters, is unpaginated. The colophon, by Isaac, prohibits benefit to anyone from an unauthorized printing of anything he has printed by the decree of ç”jn (excommunication, ban, and anathema). The topics covered in the chapters are an explanation of the verse, “And he said, Behold, I make a covenant” (Exodus 34:10); that it is only through God’s great kindness that we can cleave to Him; that just as the congregation of Israel is distinct from the nations so was King David distinct by dint of his royalty; an explanation of the verse, “Behold, my servant shall prosper” (Isaiah 52:13); and an explanation of the verse, “I will recount the grace of the Lord” (Isaiah 63:7). Hasdei HaShem is concerned with Divine providence, God’s love for his creatures, and messianic redemption. Although opposed to rationalistic dogmas, Jabez posits, based on the verse, “I am that I am” (Exodus 3:14), three fundamental principles of Judaism, namely: 1) the unity of God; 2) Divine providence; and 3) redemption, which includes the Messiah, and recognition by all mankind of God’s unity. Jabez was a prolific writer. His works include Or ha-Hayyim, Ma’amar ha-Ahdut, and Yesod ha-Emunah (Ferrara, 1554), all three initially printed together, and reprinted several times, the first on philosophy and its baleful influence on Spanish Jewry, the last on the principles of Judaism; a commentary on Avot (Adrianople, 1555), and on Psalms (Salonika, 1571), as well as other works still in manuscript. Jabez’s works were popular and he became known as the Hasid Jabez. His son, Isaac, was the author of Hasdei Avot (Constantinople, 1583) on Avot, Yafik Razon (Belvedere, 1593) on the haftarot, and Torat Hesed (Belvedere, c. 1593) on Hagiographa; his grandsons, Solomon and Joseph Jabez, were the printers in Salonika and Constantinople.

Format 80: 40 leaves.

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212

Haggadah

jsp lç hdgh 1534, Augsburg—Hayyim ben David Shahor An attractive illustrated Haggadah for Pesah printed by Hayyim Shahor, who is believed have prepared some of the woodcuts in the 1526 Prague Haggadah. The title page has a rococo frame, used earlier in Augsburg with Caspar Turnaer’s Von dem Jüdischen vnnd Israelischen volck und jren vorgeern (1528). The date is given in the colophon as Sunday, 3rd of Shevat, in the sixth millennium, in the year Hayyim bar David dywd rb μyyj (294 = 1534) Shalit. The complete date is problematic. The third of Shevat came out on Monday, January 29th, 1534. The printer erred in either the day or the date, for the 3rd of Shevat cannot come out on a Sunday in the Jewish calender. There are four large and nine small woodcuts. Two woodcuts depict family scenes with lifelike figures. The larger of the two is a Seder scene in which well-dressed figures are seated about the table to partake of karpas (the dipping of vegetables). The text above is the kiddush for Friday night (Shabbat), and the text below is the kiddush to be recited when Pesah falls on a weekday. There are two scenes of a hare hunt ( jagen-Has). This phrase, pronounced YaKNeHaZ , is a Talmudic mnemonic for the order of Kiddush (benedictions) at the beginning of the Seder, that is, Yayin (wine), Kiddush (sanctification), Ner (candle), Havdalah (separation), and Zeman (the blessing She-Heheyanu on the arrival of the festival). (See TB Pesahim 102b–103a.) Such scenes also appear in earlier German manuscripts and in other printed haggadot. Most often such scenes depict hounds chasing hares. In this Haggadah there are, for the first time, two scenes. In the first of these woodcuts the hares are being driven into a net by the hounds and a hunter afoot blowing a horn. In the second scene the hares have escaped by crawling under the net to the other side, and, having escaped, turn their heads to look back at the hounds. These woodcuts are based on illustrations of the fable of frogs and hares in the edition of Aesop’s Fables printed in Ulm in 1476/77, for the hunter wears the same type of boots and the hounds are of the same breed. The woodcuts are reproduced here without the frogs. The two scenes can be understood as a parable for the persecution and deliverance of the Jewish people from their persecutors. The vocalization of the text departs from the style of the Prague Haggadah, dots supplanting the small slashes for vowels continued from manuscript practice. This Haggadah is extremely rare; a single complete copy, on parchment, is in the British Library, and a small number of fragments are in other collections.

Format 40: 24 leaves.

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Iggerot Shelomim

μymwlç twrga 1534, Augsburg—Hayyim ben David Shahor Collection of sixty-two letters; the author, or compiler, is unknown. This is the first such collection, although other collections of letters were published soon after. The title page is simple, without ornamentation, stating only, “Printed qqjn in Augsburg, the capital city, in five thousand dxr (294 = 1534) of the creation by Hayyim the printer.” The name Iggerot Shelomim does not appear on the title page or elsewhere, and the book is so known, retroactively, from the Basle edition of 1603. Two editions were printed that year, one in Hebrew, the other in Hebrew and Latin. The Constantinople edition (1534), with additions, is entitled Mahbarot Shevet Mussar. Iggerot Shelomim begins with a table of contents, followed by an introduction, in which the compiler states that it is the way of people for one to seek something from another, a list of flowery greetings, depending upon the recipient’s position, and the correspondence. The letters deals with the casual relation resulting from requests, their subsequent denial, the ensuing anger, followed by reconcilement, trust, and love. Below are examples of greetings and entries from the contents: To an honorable person “Calamus and cinnamon” (Song of Songs 4:14). His fragrance is as the persimmon. Full of mitzvot as the pomegranate. His voice is as a bell, they covet him “Like the dew of Hermon” (Psalms 133:3). To an honorable person or head or leader “honey and the honeycomb” (Psalms 19:11). Words more desirable than fine gold, refined. On him hang the shields of the chieftains. 46 One informs his friend that he will come to him and do his will. 49 One requests a loan from a friend. 55 One reproves his friend for leaving his wife with her son naked and lacking [bereft of everything]. 59 One informs his wife that he forgives her and also reproves her for things she has done against him many times. 60 One informs his wife and consoles her, that he will never leave her. 61 One reproves his friend or wife on how to follow the advice of others.

Iggerot Shelomim, measuring 14.5 cm., has been described as an octavo (80) and as a duodecimo (120). The chain lines, however, are vertical, indicative of an octavo, and the composition of the quires, a-g8, d7, the first leaf only being signed, in large block letters, support this conclusion. The text is in a single column in rabbinic letters. The printer, Hayyim ben David Shahor (Schwartz), who had printed previously in Prague and Oels, Silesia, came to Augsburg in 1532/34. He began printing, perhaps with August Wind, a non-Jewish printer, with a siddur. Although their names are not mentioned in the Augsburg imprints, it seems likely that his son, Isaac, and his son-in-law, Joseph ben Yakar, assisted him at the press.

Format 80: 31 leaves. Reprinted in Constantinople (1534).

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Mirkevet ha-Mishneh

hnçmh tbkrm Asher Anshel of Cracow 1534, Cracow—Samuel, Asher, and Elyakim, sons of Hayyim Halicz A concordance and glossary of the Bible. The first Yiddish book printed in Poland. The identity of the author is uncertain. It has been suggested, based on the fact that the second edition (Cracow, 1584) is simply called Sefer shel R. Anshel, that the author was a person of repute, well known in the Jewish community. It is also possible that the author was one of the printers, Asher Halicz. More likely, Mirkevet ha-Mishneh was written prior to the sixteenth century, for many of the German terms date to the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The title page is preceded by two leaves of introduction, with an acrostic of the name Anshel. On the title page are a sworded horseman, a crowned snake swallowing a boy, a crowned eagle, and a three-turreted castle, representing, respectively, the Duke of Lithuania, the Duke of Milano (?), the Polish monarchy, and Cracow. The text, in three double columns, is arranged alphabetically, organized with references and Yiddish translations of the words according to the principles in the Sefer ha-Shorashim of R. David Kimhi (Radak), that is, the root of a word is followed by its derivatives, its Yiddish translation, set in Vaybertaytsh, and its usage in the Bible. The book’s purposes included facilitating the study of the Bible for uneducated Jews, particularly women and children. The book also had polemical value, familiarizing Jews with the Bible, thereby enabling them to respond in a disputation. Enlarged letters in the colophon spell out the name “Yizhak bar Menachem,” perhaps the editor or a proofreader. It informs that Mirkevet ha-Mishneh was so entitled because it is composed (merkov) of two (mishneh) languages. The title can also be found in, “And he made him to ride in his second chariot (be-mirkevet hamishneh)” (Genesis 41:43). The Yiddish type in this work is unlike that in the other Halicz books. The press established by the Halicz brothers, Samuel, Asher, and Elyakim, between 1530 and 1534, the first Jewish press in Poland, was unsuccessful. In 1537, the brothers, under great pressure brought on by their debts, converted to Christianity. Polish Jewry refused to purchase books from the apostates. In response to an appeal from the Haliczes, King Sigismund I ordered the Jews to buy their books and forbade the importation of Hebrew books from other lands, under penalty of a two hundred marks fine. A second royal decree, in 1539, ordered the Jews of Cracow and Posen, and later Lvov, to acquire the inventory of the Halicz press, composed of 800 mahzorim, 800 selihot, 500 Turim, 400 yozrot, 300 minhagim, 200 large-format zemirot, and 300 small-format zemirot, valued at 1,600 gold florins (gulden). The community paid for the Halicz’s stock within three years, but refused to use the books, destroying them, accounting for their great rarity. The Halicz press soon went out of business. One brother, Andreas, reappeared in Constantinople in about 1550, where he returned to Judaism and took his original name, Samuel. He printed Hebrew titles in that city, as did his son, Hayyim ben Samuel Ashkenazi, after him. Among Samuel’s titles in Constantinople is a Bible (1551–52), in which he repents his apostasy, stating in the colophon, “Samuel said do not call me Samuel but Shuvu’el for he returned to his God.”

Format 40: [88] leaves. Reprinted in Cracow (1584).

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Mahbarot Immanuel

lawnm[ twrbjm Immanuel ben Solomon of Rome 1535, Constantinople—Eliezer ben Gershom Soncino Lyrical, and occasionally ribald, poetic work. Immanuel ben Solomon ben Jekutiel of Rome (c. 1260–c. 1328), a physician, was descended from the famed Zifroni family, which traced its ancestry to the time of Titus. In addition to Talmud and Jewish philosophy, Immanuel was educated in the natural sciences, Greek, Latin and Italian. Pious and scholarly, and admittedly deeply influenced by Maimonides, Immanuel was the author of objectional poetry. Immanuel held a position of import in the Roman-Jewish community, and associated with non-Jews, among them Dante’s friend Bosone da Gubbio, who described Immanuel as “the happy laughing soul (la mente tua, che gia ridea).” The Mahbarot is a poetic collection of twenty-seven Maqamas, an Arabic form of rhymed prose. It employs heavy Arabic meter while introducing to Hebrew poetry the Italian Petrarchian sonnet, consisting of fourteen lines divided into four strophes, the first two of four lines (quatrains), the last two of three lines (tercets). Verses are manipulated to achieve new meanings with light rhymes and short meters. Among the influences on Immanuel were the works of Judeo-Spanish poets, such as Solomon ibn Gabirol and Judah Halevi, the most influential being, however, the Tahkemoni of Judah Al-Harizi (1170–1235). The Mahbarot, with its riddles, laments, and legends, expresses a love of beautiful women, but speaks derogatorily of unattractive women (he has only praise for his wife), addresses wine and friendship, includes parody and jest, but also writes touchingly of old age. There are a limited number of palinodes, that is, changing spellings or separating words into their component syllables, thus creating a lampoon. There is also serious matter, such as elegies and piyyutim (liturgical poetry). The hymn Yigdal may be derived from a poem of Immanuel. The concluding Maqama, ha-Tofet ve-ha-Eden (Hell and Paradise, also published separately, Prague, 1613), modeled after Dante’s Divine Comedy, describes a visit to those regions. A prolific writer, Immanuel produced commentaries on all of the books of the Bible, although Proverbs only (Naples, 1487) was printed prior to the nineteenth century, when additional parts, but not all, were issued; Migdal Oz, on Hebrew letter symbolism, now lost; and Even Bohan, a Hebrew grammar, still in manuscript. He composed poetry in Italian, as Manoello Giudeo (Immanuel the Jew). This is the second edition of the Mahbarot, it having been first printed in 1491 in Brescia by Gershom Soncino. R. Joseph Caro, however, forbade reading the Mahbarot, citing it as an example of secular and erotic literature, writing, “because of the prohibition against participation in a gathering of scoffers, and one transgress ‘you shall not turn to false gods’, that is, not turn to your inclinations. Concerning erotic literature, a further transgression exists, because by reading it one’s evil inclination is aroused. One who writes, copies, and needless to say, prints it cause the public to sin” (Shulhan Arukh O. H. 307:16). The Mahbarot was not again printed for more than 250 years (Berlin, 1796).

Format 40: 156 leaves.

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Keter Torah

hrwt rtk David ben Solomon Vital 1536, Constantinople—Eliezer ben Gershom Soncino A summary, in verse, of the 613 commandments by R. David ben Solomon Vital (d. c. 1536). The author, among the Jewish exiles from Spain, was a student and son-in-law of R. David ha-Kohen (Maharadakh). In addition to his rabbinical responsibilities, Vital was likely also a physician, as he is referred to as ha-Rofe (the doctor). Vital resided in Patras, Greece, until his home was destroyed and his library lost during the Turco-Venetian war (1532), relocating afterwards to Arta. A respected scholar, Vital corresponded with leading rabbis such as Jacob Tam ibn Yahya and Meir Katzenellenbogen, who mention Vital in laudatory terms in their responsa. Vital calls his book Keter Torah because it summarizes the 613 mitzvot (commandments) in the Torah, and the seven rabbinical commandments, “the sum of which is keter (620), the number of letters in the ten commandments, and on each and every letter is a versified word and for each word a mitzvah is explained according to the great ashel (tamarisk), the Rambam l’z.” Keter Torah is, then, a commentary on the Sefer ha-Mitzvot of Maimonides, the order of the mitzvot following the order of that work, each entry beginning with and explaining entries in the Sefer ha-Mitzvot. In his exposition on the Sefer ha-Mitzvot, Vital quotes from a large number of halakhic authorities, often defending the Rambam from his critics. Indeed, Vital writes that he “did not turn to the right nor to the left of the great ashel.” Mitzvot are not discussed equally, some being presented in a succinct manner, while others are addressed at length. Keter Torah is generally regarded as a kizzur (abridged) Sefer haMitzvot. The title page has the Soncino ornamental frame, much worn from usage, topped by a crown, alluding to the title (keter). Within the text are two diagrams, one of three hands, relating to the calendar, the other of a lung, relating to the dietary laws. The book is completed with a poetic colophon from Solomon ben Mazzal Tov. Keter Torah is unpaginated, although there are signatures. Vital’s other works are Hilkhot Bedika u-Shehitah (Mantua, 1570) and Mikhtam le-David (Venice, 1546), a versification of Maimonides’ thirteen articles of faith, to prove they are deduced from the Shema, followed by 1,000 supplicatory verses (words) beginning with the letter he.

Format 40: 128 leaves.

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Sefer ha-Mefo’ar

rawpmh rps Judah ben Abraham Khalaz 1537, Constantinople—Eliezer ben Gershom Soncino Ethical work with kabbalistic content. R. Judah ben Abraham Khalaz (d. before 1537), scion of a distinguished family, left Castile for Granada in 1477, due to persecution of the Jews. Five years later he removed to Malaga, then, in 1486, to Honain, and finally to Tlemcen, Algeria, where he was a leader of the community, a teacher, and was regarded as one of the great rabbinic figures of his time. The family name Khalaz is, perhaps, derived from the Arabic khallaz, collector of taxes. Sefer ha-Mefo’ar, better known by its subtitle, Sefer ha-Musar, is essentially an abridgement of Israel ben Joseph ibn Al-Nakawa’s (Alnaqua, d. 1391) Menorat ha-Ma’or. A popular, but also a long, extensive, scholarly work—it was first printed in the twentieth century—Khalaz made the Menorat ha-Ma’or more accessible for the average person. Strangely, Al-Nakawa’s name is not mentioned in the Sefer ha-Mefo’ar, nor in the lengthy introduction written by Moses ben Eliezer Khalaz, the nephew (grandson?) who brought the book to press. It has been suggested that this is due to the fact that Menorat ha-Ma’or was so well known to the Jews of North Africa that it was not necessary for Khalaz to mention his source, and that, as in many of his other books, Khalaz’s sole objective was to provide a practical work for students and the average person. Furthermore, he does not, anywhere in the Sefer haMefo’ar, take credit for having written the book. A considerable amount of kabbalistic content is to be found in Sefer ha-Mefo’ar. Khalaz explains the inclusion of this material in the introduction, primarily from the Zohar. He has included it to elucidate the precepts and to aid in disseminating kabbalistic concepts among the Jewish public. Sefer ha-Mefo’ar is divided into twenty chapters dealing with such topics as charity, repentance, humility, respect for parents, flattery, and rejoicing in one’s lot, following the order of the Menorat ha-Ma’or. Sefer ha-Mefo’ar, however, is much more than a simple abridgement. Although the fourth chapter, on the obligations of prayer, comprising about a fifth of the book, is taken almost in its entirety from Al-Nakawa’s work, the contents of other chapters do not follow the order of the original, and the style and language are completely different. Commentaries on earlier works and variant positions of earlier sages are omitted. Khalaz also added material of his own, as did Moses Khalaz, the latter primarily of kabbalistic content. Moses Khalaz’s lengthy introduction was much abbreviated in later editions. Khalaz wrote several other works, also primarily for students, among them a commentary on the Ramban’s (Nahmanides, Moses b. Nahman) novellae on Bava Mezia; an introductory work to the Talmud; Maggid Mishneh on the laws of shehitah in the Rambam (Maimonides); and Mesi’ah Illemim, on Rashi’s Bible commentary.

Format 40: 140 leaves. Reprinted in Mantua (1560) and Cracow (1598).

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Or Ammim

μym[ rwa rps hz Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno 1537, Bologna—Company of Silk Weavers Philosophical work in defense of Judaism by R. Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno (c. 1470– c. 1550). Born in Cesena, Italy, Sforno acquired a thorough rabbinic education and studied mathematics, philology, and philosophy prior to traveling to Rome, where he taught Talmud, studied and afterwards practiced medicine. His rabbinic learning was recognized by R. Meir Katzenellenbogen and Joseph Colon, both of whom refer to him in their responsa. His standing as a scholar was also acknowledged by Cardinal Domenico Grimani, who suggested him to the humanist Johannes Reuchlin, when the latter sought to improve his knowledge of Hebrew literature and grammar and for whom Sforno wrote and then translated into Latin a work on Hebrew grammar. Obadiah left Rome in 1525, traveling about Italy, before settling in Bologna, the residence of his brother Hananel, to whom he was very close, and who supported him financially for a time. Sforno founded a yeshivah in Bologna which he headed until his death. Or Ammim, printed in “May he send you help ˚rz[ (297 = 1537) from the sanctuary, [and strengthen you out of Zion!]” (Psalms 21:3), was written in opposition to those tenets of Aristotelian philosophy in conflict with Jewish belief. In the introduction Sforno states that he wrote this work because even so great a personage as Maimonides had expressed belief in the correctness of many of Aristotle’s theories. Among the Aristotelian positions Sforno attempts to refute, utilizing not only biblical but also Aristotle’s own teachings, are those on the eternity of matter, God’s omniscience, and the universality of the soul. Obadiah opposes the position that the Torah is based on belief rather than knowledge; a person must inquire, not being content with mere belief. Scriptures provides a clearer and more reliable exposition of truth than philosophy. Only the Bible instructs on the central role of man in the universe, which has been created and exists for man, who, made in God’s image, is endowed with free will. Man’s purpose is to become like his Creator. “That is why the righteous man who fulfills God’s will is more precious to the Creator than the entire universe and all the heavens.” Sforno is the last of the Jewish scholastic scholars, as reflected in the subject matter and methodology of Or Ammim. A prolific writer, Sforno’s other published works include a popular and much reprinted commentary on the Torah (Venice, 1567, see below, pp. 586–87); commentaries on Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes (Venice, 1567); Psalms (Venice, 1586); Mishpat Zedek on Job (Venice, 1589, together with Ohev Mishpat by Simeon ben Zemah Duran); and Jonah, Habakkuk and Zechariah (Amsterdam, 1724–28, in the Rabbinic Bible, Kehillot Moshe). A commentary on Avot was published with the Roman rite Mahzor (Bologna, 1540–41). Still in manuscript are his translation of Euclid; Didkuk Leshon Ebri, on grammar; and derashot. Or Ammim was translated by Sforno into Latin and published, with the imprimaturs of the censors, as Lumen Gentium (Bologna, 1548). It is dedicated to King Henry II (1519–59) of France, to whom Seforno also sent a copy of his commentary on Song of Songs.

Format 40: 64 leaves.

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Siddur—Roman Rite

hmwr q”q ghnmk rwdys 1537, Bologna—Company of Silk Weavers Prayers for the entire year according to the Roman rite. The title page, which has an architectural frame, has the phrase, “This is the gate of the Lord” (Psalms 118:20) at the top. The text states: They will come into it, every man and women from the children of Israel, three times daily, to seek “God, with the voice of joy and praise” (Psalms 42:5), to serve Him with all [their] heart with this tefillah [siddur], from the beginning to the end of the year, continuously, as arranged according to the custom of the [holy community] of Rome. We have added ypswmw according to our ability. And the beginning of the work (ref. Genesis 10:10) was here Bologna by the partners, who together form the company of silkweavers. “May the pleasantness of the Lord our God be upon us” (Psalms 90:17) and His purpose prosper in our hands (ref. Isaiah 53:10).

The title page notes that the siddur was printed by the partners, who are unspecified. The anonymous partners are Menahem ben Abraham of Modena, Jehiel ben Solomon of Verona (Ravenna?), and Aryeh ben Solomon Hayyim of Monselice, known as the company of silkweavers. The press was also assisted by R. Isaac ben Immanuel de Lattes of Rome, residing in Bologna at the time. The colophon states, “the work was completed here, Bologna, by the young printer, Rafael Talmi, for the partners. Tuesday, 5 Sivan, ‘[May He] send you help ˚rz[ (297 = May 25, 1537) from the sanctuary’” (Psalms 20:3). The tefillah is printed with the Seder ha-Ma’arakhah of R. Elijah ben Menahem ha-Zaken, eleventh-century French liturgical poet, student of Rabbenu Gershom and possibly son-inlaw of Sherira Gaon. The Seder ha-ha-Ma’arakhah are biblical passages to be recited daily in the manner of ma’amadot, printed here for the first time. The siddur includes daily and Sabbath prayers, Rosh Hodesh, special piyyutim for Shabbat Bereishit and Hanukkah, selihot for fast days, yozerot for the arba’ah parashiot, and prayers and piyyutim for Pesah and Shavu’ot, before selected Shabbatot, Rosh Ha-Shanah, and Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Hoshana Rabbah. Pertinent halakhot can be found throughout the volume. The siddur was attractively printed in a small format on vellum, although there are also copies on paper. Several initial words are within an ornamental woodcut border. Due to its small size, it measures 15 cm., the siddur has, in some instances, been mistakenly misrecorded as a 120 or a 160, although it is in fact an octavo, its collation being 1–318, 3210, 33–448. The volume lacks pagination, headlines, and catchwords. Among the other books printed by the partners, about ten in all, are additional prayer books, that is, a Roman rite mahzor with the commentary of Joseph Treves, and Tefillot Latini, the second Jewish prayer book in Italian, the first being the Fano Siddur of 1506. The Tefillot Latini is set in Hebrew letters and intended for women and men not fluent in Hebrew.

Format 80: [352] leaves.

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Sefer Teshuvot

twbwçt rps hz David ben Hayyim Kohen of Corfu (Maharadakh) 1537, Constantinople—Eliezer ben Gershom Soncino Responsa from R. David Ben Hayyim Kohen of Corfu (Maharadakh, d. 1530). David Ben Hayyim was born on the island of Corfu and was a student of R. Judah Minz in Padua. His primary rabbinic positions were in Corfu and Patras. Leading rabbinic figures, such as Elijah Mizrahi, Moses Alashkar, Jacob ibn Habib, and Joseph Taitazak, corresponded with him. David later settled in Adrianople. David’s Sefer Teshuvot was printed by his son, Hayyim. The title page has the decorative and intricate frame used for several decades in Constantinople, here obviously well worn. The text of the title page relates the miraculous survival of the author’s work. It relates that the book escaped destruction in a fire that the Lord caused to burn in Adrianople. The manuscript was together with other property belonging to David ben Hayyim. All his other possessions were lost in the conflagration, which also destroyed the surrounding area. The book alone was saved. Hayyim ben David remarks that “is it not a sign that it was delivered from the fire,” paraphrasing Amos 4:11 and Zechariah 3:2, “Is not this a brand plucked out of the burning?” He therefore undertook to print his father’s manuscript. The title page is dated “for your God helps you ˚rz[ (297 = 1536/37)” (I Chronicles 12:18). The colophon dates the completion of Sefer Teshuvot to Tuesday, 9 Kislev, in the year, “‘The righteous flourish jrpy (298 = November 22, 1537) like the palm tree’ (Psalms 92:13). May the One who [granted] us the merit to complete this book, in His mercy grant us the merit to begin and to complete many books without number.” The text of both the title page and the book are in rabbinic type, in a single column. Initial words of responsa are in square letters. The responsa in the Sefer Teshuvot were arranged for publication by David ben Hayyim’s son-in-law and student, R. David Vital, author of Keter Torah. Sefer Teshuvot is composed of 33 batim, each subdivided into numerous hedarim. David Ben Hayyim strongly opposed leniencies expressed by R. Benjamin Ze’ev ben Mattathias of Arta (Benyamin Ze’ev) in permitting an agunah (married woman either unable to obtain a divorce or prove the death of her husband) to remarry. He also stated that Marranos who were able to flee but did not do so should be considered as apostates. David Ben Hayyim’s responsa, in contrast to his opponents’, “were accepted as authoritative everywhere, so that they were not removed from the table of other decisors.”

Format 40: 223 leaves.

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Binyamin Ze’ev

baz ˆymynb Benjamin ben Mattathias 1538–39, Venice—Daniel Bomberg Four hundred fifty responsa from R. Benjamin ben Mattathias of Arta (d. c. 1540), known from the title of his responsa as Benjamin Ze’ev. Born to a rabbinic family, Benjamin was a student of R. Solomon ben Samuel ha-Sefardi, Gershon Panzi and Eliakim Segal Ashkenazi. Benjamin subsequently moved to Arta (Epirus), Greece, where he supported himself as a merchant. He also taught there in a yeshivah and later served as Av Bet Din. From Arta, Benjamin went to Larissa (1528), Corfu (1530), and Venice, and later returned to Arta (1538). An independent thinker, a number of his halakhic decisions embroiled him in controversies with contemporary halakhic authorities. Binyamin Ze’ev, written partly in defense of his conclusions, was completed by him, according to the introduction, on Thursday, 6 Nissan, 5294 (March 30, 1534), in fact a Friday that year. The title page, typical of the Bomberg press, brief and without ornamentation, informs that it is entitled Binyamin Ze’ev, was written by Benjamin ben Mattathias, and that work began on Thursday, 11 Tishrei 299 (September 15, 1538). It was completed, according to the colophon, on Thursday, 25 Adar I 299 (February 23, 1539). On the verso of the title page is a preface in which two reasons are given for naming the book Binyamin Ze’ev, that is, it includes the author’s name, and that as the wolf “tears the prey” (Ezekiel 22:25) from all that he finds so too did he take (tear) from all that he found. This is followed by verse with an acrostic of the name Binyamin Ze’ev. Next is an index of the responsa (2a–13a) and then the author’s introduction (13b–16b), where another reason is given for entitling the book Binyamin Ze’ev, namely, its value (172) is equal to bq[, which in turn equals the number of letters in the ten commandments, which includes all the taryag (613) mitzvot. There are acrostics with the names of the author and the book. The responsa follow (17a–573a), verse (573a) from Mattathias, Benjamin’s son, and last a eulogy (574b–575b) from Benjamin for Mattathias, who had predeceased him. The text is in a single column in rabbinic type excepting headings and initial words, which are in square type. The responsa are varied, encompassing a wide variety of subject matter. Two subjects, however, receive particular emphasis, that is, questions dealing with business matters—the responsa provide considerable information as to the economic transactions of Greek Jewry— and with agunah. Many of his decision were criticized by Polish and Italian rabbis, among them R. Meir Katzenellenbogen (Maharam) and Solomon Luria (Maharshal), the former questioning Benjamin’s reliability, the latter accusing him of plagiarism, superfluous hairsplitting, permitting usury and permitting a woman, the wife of Moses Suse, to remarry on the testimony of a single gentile witness. This last issue engendered a dispute that embroiled many contemporary rabbis, including R. David ben Hayyim of Corfu (Maharadakh), Benjamin’s most vociferous opponent. Among those who supported Benjamin are R. Bendit Axelrad and Joseph Taitazak. These disputes notwithstanding, Binyamin Ze’ev is an important collection of responsa. Among those who speak highly of it is R. Moses Isserles (Rema).

Format 40: 575 leaves.

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Piskei Halakhot

twklh yqsp Menahem ben Benjamin Recanati 1538, Bologna—Company of Silk Weavers Halakhic work from the Italian kabbalist R. Menahem ben Benjamin Recanati (late 13th– early 14th centuries). Recanati is better known for his kabbalistic works, Perush al ha-Torah (Venice, 1523), Ta’amei ha-Mitzvot and Perush ha-Tefillot (Constantinople, 1544). Piskei Halakhot is the sole halakhic work known to have been written by him. Little is known about Recanati, although it is reported that he was originally an ignorant person who became, miraculously, wise and understanding. The title page, with a brief text and no ornamentation, notes the kabbalistic background of the author, stating, “Piskei Halakhot from the kabbalist, Rabbenu Menahem of Recanati. . . .” The volume begins with a twelve-page table of contents, followed by 601 concise halakhic decisions, without discussion. For example, Those days that people are accustomed to fast, for example, between the ten days of repentance [between Rosh Ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur] even though they did not accept the fast upon themselves the day before, they may fast, for in such an instance prior acceptance is not necessary. 177. The Halakhah is like Rav Sheshet who says that even to wash before Tishah be-Av and to put aside is forbidden. 186.

This is not an original work, but rather is based on a large number of earlier authorities, primarily German and French decisors, most importantly Eliezer ben Samuel of Metz (c. 1115–c. 1198), author of Sefer Yere’im. Recanati also relies on many other Ba’alei Tosafot, such as R. Eliezer ben Joel ha-Levi of Bonn (Ravyah, 1140–1225) and Rabbenu Tam (c. 1100–1171), the latest being R. Meir ben Baruch of Rothenburg (Maharam, c. 1215–93). Sephardic authorities are quoted, including Alfasi and Maimonides, but to a lesser extent. A number of Recanati’s sources would be unknown if not for their being referenced in Piskei Halakhot. With one exception, references to Rashba are not to R. Solomon ben Abraham Adret (c. 1235–c. 1310), but to R. Simeon ben Abraham. Recanati, who frequently quotes Nachmanides (Ramban) in his Torah commentary, makes no mention of him here. References within a halakhah are made without consideration to their chronological order and much of the material lacks apparent order, suggesting that the work was prepared by Recanati for his personal use, as an outline for a later expanded work, or that this brief work was sufficient for someone who did not wish to devote considerable time to halakhah, but preferred to turn to other studies, such as Kabbalah. Later editions of Piskei Halakhot are censored, missing entire entries, primarily those with material pertaining to non-Jews. The title page of the 1820 edition of Piskei Halakhot, printed in Poland/Russia, gives the date and place of publication as Bologna. Most likely this unexpurgated edition was backdated to avoid problems with the censor.

Format 40: [12] 62 leaves.

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Torah Or

rwa hrwt rps Joseph ben David ibn Yahya 1538, Bologna—Company of Silk Weavers Ethical and philosophical work on eschatology by R. Joseph ben David ibn Yahya (1494–1539). Joseph’s parents, his mother pregnant and disguised in men’s clothing, fled Lisbon for Italy. In Pisa, his mother, surrounded by profligate French soldiers, leapt from a high tower, miraculously surviving, before giving birth to Joseph in Florence. His eponymous grandfather escaped Portugal and Castile, only to be imprisoned and tortured in Ferrara for propagandizing Marranos, receiving wounds from which, after his release, he died. Joseph’s father, David ben Joseph, scion of the renowned Yahya family, served as Rav of the Portuguese community in Naples for twenty-two years, until, with the annexation of southern Italy by Spain, in 1495, the Jewish community there ceased to exist. Referring to these events, Joseph writes that even before seeing this world God had performed great wonders for him. Joseph studied under R. Judah Minz in Padua and was Rosh Yeshivah in Imola, Italy. He wrote, according to R. Gedaliah ben Joseph ibn Yahya (Shalshelet ha-Kabbalah), one of his three sons, twenty-five works, only two extant today. Joseph, always frail, resulting from his mother’s experiences, died at an early age. Ten years after his death, Joseph’s body was sent to Safed by his sons for burial, in accordance with Joseph’s wishes. R. Joseph Caro occupied himself with Joseph’s burial (Shalshelet ha-Kabbalah). The text of the title page states that in the book will be explained the final bliss of the soul, Eden, Gehinnom, the World to Come, and many other matters, divided into seventyeight chapters. The following page has the heading, “‘[And you shall make] a menorah of pure gold’ (Exodus 25:31): in praise of the book Torah Or.” Beneath it, in the shape of a menorah, are words of praise. Joseph’s introduction follows. He begins with a recounting of his progenitors, and includes a detailed recounting of his families’ adventures and travail. The volume concludes with a page of verse in praise of the book, and the colophon. In Torah Or Joseph takes Maimonides to task for his philosophical speculations, particularly that immortality can be obtained only by the philosophically educated. Joseph objects to this elitist view, which excludes much of the community, including women and children, no matter how assiduously and piously they fulfill precepts. Rather, “all Israel has a share in the world to come,” and will share in the rewards, such as the advent of the Messiah and resurrection. He emphasizes Israel’s choseness, they are the crown of mankind, each Jewish soul being immortal, taken from beneath the throne of Glory. Joseph’s other published work is Perush Hamesh Megillot, with Psalms, Job, Daniel, Ezra, and Chronicles (Bologna, 1538). Among the known works no longer extant are Derekh Hayyim, on the Torah in Heaven, composed of talmudic sayings; and Ner Mitzvah, on the mystical meanings of the precepts, both continuations of Torah Or, and both burned in Padua in 1554, caught up in the widespread burning of the Talmud that year.

Format 40: 36 leaves.

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Biblia hebraice 1539–44, Paris—Robert Estienne Hebrew Bible, twenty-four parts in two volumes, printed by Robert Estienne (Stephanus, 1503–1559). Beginning with Henri (1460–1520), the Estienne’s were the greatest printing family in France, and among the greatest in Europe in the sixteenth century. Henri, who founded the press in Paris with Wolfgang Hopyl at the beginning of the century, printed more than a hundred titles, mainly Latin but also Greek. He was succeed upon his death by his associate (foreman), Simon de Colines, who married Henri’s widow and adopted Henri’s son, Robert. Robert, in 1526, took over the print-shop, at the Rue St. Jean-deBeauvois at the sign of the Olive, and it is to him, together with his son Henri II, that the high repute of the Estienne name is to be credited. On June 24, 1539, Robert was appointed Royal Printer and Bookseller in Hebrew and Latin by Francis I of France. Robert commissioned Jehan Arnoul to cut new Hebrew type and, in November 22, 1539, produced an Alphabetum Hebraicum, as an advertisement for his press and in preparation for his quarto Hebrew Bible. Each Bible book has a separate title page in Hebrew (square and rabbinic type) and Latin, with Estienne’s device. Text is in large square letters, marginalia (references) in rabbinic type. Printing, which began in 1539, was not in the order of the Hebrew Bible, and took five years to complete. The text is based on, but often departs from, Bomberg’s second Biblia Rabbinica. The commentary of R. David Kimhi (Radak) accompanies the Twelve “Minor” Prophets, which has a separate title page in addition to that for each of the twelve books. That title page states that it has been edited by François Vatable, royal professor of Hebrew literature at the University of Paris. The entire work, which measures 24 × 15.8 cm., is noteworthy for the beauty of the typography and the excellence of the press-work. Robert Estienne’s device on most of the title pages in this bible is an olive tree with a man standing to the right. Between them is the phrase, “Noli altum sapere” (Be not high minded; Romans 11:20). Towards the bottom of the page are wç[ ym[, the Hebrew initial letters of the verse, “My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (Psalms 121:2). This device is one of at least ten employed by Robert, seven with the olive tree, and more than twenty belonging to the family. Estienne had produced Bibles earlier, including a beautiful folio illustrated Greek and Hebrew Bible with Latin interpretations. In 1544–46 he printed a sextodecimo (160) Biblia hebraice (11 × 72 mm.) utilizing a smaller Hebrew type, considered one of the most impressive examples of Hebrew printing of the French Renaissance. Estienne’s Bibles, mostly Greek and Latin, scholarly and critical editions, aroused the opposition of theologians at the Sorbonne, and, with the succession of Henry II in 1547, after the death of Francis I, Estienne’s position became untenable. In 1550, he relocated to Geneva, publicly accepting Protestantism, printing there until his death in 1569. The Paris press was operated by Robert II, who remained a Catholic.

Format 40.

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1539, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Solomon ben Abraham ibn Adret (Rashba), Bologna Courtesy of the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad Ohel Yosef Yitzhak

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She’elot u’Teshuvot

twbwçtw twlaç Solomon ben Abraham ibn Adret (Rashba) 1539, Bologna—Company of Silk Weavers One thousand, two hundred fifty-five responsa from R. Solomon ben Abraham ibn Adret (Rashba, c. 1235–c. 1310), one of the preeminent halakhists and talmudic authorities in medieval Spain. Rabbi of Barcelona for forty years, Adret received inquiries from halakhic authorities and decisors in France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and even Erez Israel; the majority, however, are concerned with local issues in Aragon. He reputedly wrote as many as 7,000 responsa, of which more than 3,000 have been published. This edition of Adret’s responsa, known as Part I (the other parts were printed later), encompasses all aspects of Jewish law and life. There are responses to queries on communal issues, use of the ban, converts, informers, marital laws (including polygamy), performance of precepts, education, financial and property matters, taxation, and relations with the secular authorities. A number of the responsa are discourses on non-halakhic subjects. The first sixteen leaves, with their own separate title page, are an index of the entire contents by subject matter. After the responsa is a second listing (201b–216b), this in the order in which the responsa appear in the volume. This list is preceded by an epilogue (201a) from the printers, which begins with praise of their work and of the importance of the volume’s subject matter, continues with an apology for errors, noting that their manuscripts “‘came up briers and thorns’ (Isaiah 5:6), ‘and nettles had covered it over’” (Proverbs 24:31), but the editors endeavored to correct them, but without making major modifications. More than one collection of manuscripts was utilized, edited by different individuals, accounting for the large number of duplicate responsa. The colophon dates the volume, “[There is none like the God of Jeshurun,] who rides upon the heaven in your help ˚rz[b (299 = 1539), [and in his excellency on the sky]” (Deuteronomy 33:26). This is the fourth printing of Adret’s responsa. The first edition (c. Rome, 1469), among the first printed Hebrew books, contains 420 responsa. The second printing (Constantinople, 1516) has 119 responsa, and a supplement, also published that year by Moses ben Samuel Facilino, has seven responsa on aggadah (included in this edition). In 1519, 285 responsa, almost all by Adret, but mistakenly attributed to the Ramban, were published in Venice. R. Joseph Caro, in the introduction to his Beit Yosef, notes that they are in fact the responsa of Adret, but, since they have been printed and distributed and are now known as the Ramban’s, that is how he refers to them. The next edition (Venice, 1545) is a reprint of the Bologna edition. Adret’s responsa have influenced later decisors and halakhic codes and are still considered authoritative today. Three centuries after Adret’s death, R. Samuel de Medina (Maharashdam) writes that according to his teacher, R. Joseph Taitazak, Adret is to be relied upon in civil matters, even if all other authorities disagree with him. These responsa are a window into Jewish life in medieval Spain and have been utilized as the basic source for works on that subject.

Format 20: [16], [1]–167, 167–216 [217] leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (1516) and Venice (1519) and reprinted in Venice (1545).

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Shevilei Tohu

wht ylybç Gerard Veltwyck 1539, Venice—Daniel Bomberg A bitterly hostile anti-Semitic work by the apostate and German-Hebraist, Gerard Veltwyck (d. 1555). Shevilei Tohu, the title page, with its Latin content notwithstanding, is entirely in Hebrew. The first part of the text is in verse, the second half of the book in prose. Veltwyck first attacks Jewish learning, with particular emphasis on the Talmud. In the second part he attempts to use Talmudic and Midrashic sources, often twisting the meaning and taking statements out of context, to prove his adopted religion. Shevilei Tohu is the sole anti-Semitic work printed by Bomberg during his long career as a printer of Hebrew books. Some have seen in the publication of this work, together with Bomberg’s employ of apostates by his press, the conversion to Christianity of several Hebrew scholars engaged by him, and Veltwyck’s praise of Bomberg, proof that Bomberg’s printing purpose was missionary, that is, the conversion of Jews. However, in his defense, it has been noted that a similar accusation, referring to the De arcanis catholicae veritatis, could also be made against Gershom Soncino. It would be more correct to see, in the publication of Shevilei Tohu, an effort by Bomberg to prove to the authorities that he was publishing a wide spectrum of books, rather than concentrating solely on Hebrew titles. Furthermore, the charges of missionary intent must be measured against Bomberg’s practice of employing Jewish workers and the praise of Bomberg by Jewish contemporaries. The Hebrew works published by Bomberg strengthened Judaism, making available, in large number and variety and at reasonable prices, high quality editions of Judaism’s most basic and important texts. In 1548, when an effort was made to expurgate Hebrew books in Venice, Bomberg, unlike others, objected and refused to submit his books for censorship. Moreover, Bomberg is reputed to have assisted in the surreptitious transmission of property by Marranos via the famed Mendes Bank, which, after being transferred to Venice, was reassigned to their proper owners. Bomberg highly regarded by his Jewish colleagues, was assumed by many to be Jewish, so that the contemporary Jewish historian, Joseph ha-Kohen, felt it necessary to write, “. . . he brought forth from darkness unto light many books in the holy tongue. Constantly there went in and out of his house many learned men and he never withdrew his hand from giving unto all in accordance with their demands and to the extent of the means with which God had endowed him. The said Daniel was born a Christian; neither in his parents nor in his forebears was there a drop of Jewish blood.” Conrad Pellicanus translated Gerard Veltwyck’s Shevilei Tohu into Latin, preserved in manuscript in Zurich.

Format 80: 64 leaves.

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Arba’ah Turim

μyrwf h[bra Jacob ben Asher 1540, Augsburg—Hayyim ben David Shahor Halakhic compendium of R. Jacob ben Asher. This edition is noteworthy for the addition of references by R. Abraham ben Avigdor (d. 1542), known as Abraham of Prague, having served as rabbi of Prague for twenty years. Among his many students was Abraham Jaffe, father of R. Mordecai Jaffe (Levush, c. 1535–1612), who, according to the latter, quotes his father as describing Abraham of Prague as one of the great rabbis of his generation. When a dispute arose between the Jewish communities of Bohemia in 1534, Abraham, together with the shtadlan Joseph Joselmann of Rosheim (c. 1478–1554), enacted 23 takkanot to end the strife. Abraham wrote Anna Elohei Avraham when the Jews were expelled from Prague in 1541, reprinted in many selihot for erev Rosh Ha-Shanah. Abraham of Prague wrote a supercommentary on Rashi, never printed, but extensively quoted in the Devek Tov of Simeon Ossenburg, and in Minhat Yehudah by Judah Leib ben Obadiah Eilenburg; a commentary on the mahzor, printed in Prague (1549–50) and Lublin (1567); mahzorim; and responsa quoted by Moses Isserles (Rema) and Joel Sirkes (Bah, 1561–1640). His most important work, however, are his glosses on the Arba’ah Turim. The title page of this edition is plain. Folio 7, however, where the text begins, has an ornate woodcut border by Hans Holbein. The bottom frame depicts the creation; on the sides are representations of David and Solomon with scrolls in their hands that together state, “The way of life μyyj jrwa leads upward for the wise lykçml hl[ml” (Proverbs 15:24); and on the top to the left and right, respectively, are Moses with the tablets and men looking towards them. This frame appears in other books, for example, Kurtze auslegung der Episteln (Augsburg, 1543), printed by Antonius Corvinus. In this latter instance the Hebrew words are not present. The volume concludes with a letter sent by Joseph ben Yakar to his brother-in-law, Jacob ben Baruch, a student of Abraham; and a poem by Elijah Levita, who had worked as a proof reader. In the letter Joseph remarks that he regrets not listening to Jacob’s advice to print Abraham’s detailed glosses. Instead, he only printed the source references and explanations of difficult words, and those not completely. Material that he intended to add at the end was not printed. As Joseph ben Yakar wrote, all that was printed of Abraham of Prague’s glosses in the Augsburg edition of the Tur are the source references and explanations of difficult words. However, the Prague Tur, also printed in 1540, is accompanied by the complete annotations of Abraham of Prague. The importance of this commentary, rare and little known, can be appreciated by the fact that the Turim were printed, including this and the two other editions printed in 1540, at least twenty times, eight of those editions being complete, in the sixty-five years since the appearance of the Piove di Sacco edition (completed 28 Tammuz, 5235, July 3, 1475), printed by Meshullam Cusi. Nevertheless, the popularity of the Turim notwithstanding, no comprehensive commentary had been published on that work until that of Abraham of Prague.

Format 20: 84, 70, 44, 112 [2] leaves. Printed to 1540 in whole or in part in Fano and in Fez (1516), Salonika (1520), Venice (1522), Cracow (1538–39), Constantinople (1540) and Prague (1540).

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Arba’ah Turim

μyrwf h[bra Jacob ben Asher 1540, Constantinople—Eliezer ben Gershom Soncino Halakhic compendium of R. Jacob ben Asher (c. 1270–1340). This edition, one of three printed in 1540, is the fourth (fifth?) printing of that work by a Soncino, the first being the c. 1490 edition of Solomon ben Moses Soncino, followed by the Tur Orah Hayyim by the “Bnei Soncino,” still in the incunabular period, followed by one and possibly two Fano editions from Gershom Soncino, that is, the Tur O. H. (c. 1507) and the Arba’ah Turim (1516). This edition is similar to the 1516 edition, with the addition of references and diagrams. The text of the title page, set in a frame from the Decachordum, states: Arba’ah Turim of Rabbi Jacob ben ha-Rav Rabbi Asher l”z with source references for all the laws by tractate, chapter, and folio for the Babylonian Talmud, the Jerusalem Talmud, Pesikta, Sifra, and Sifrei, printed for the sixth time by the least of the printers, Eliezer ben Gershom Soncino l”z. Constantinople, in the domain of our lord, the king, Sultan Suleiman [may his majesty be exalted] Amen.

On the verso of the title page is Jacob ben Asher’s introduction, followed by a listing of the contents; the introduction of the editor, Jehiel ben Abraham Reuben Ashkenazi, who prepared the source references; verses in praise of the work from Solomon ben Mazzal Tov; and then the text of Orah Hayyim. Yoreh De’ah, which follows, lacks a title page, beginning with the Tur’s introduction, which starts with a representation of the Tetragrammaton in an earlier Sephardic form, three yodin with an L shaped line. In Even ha-Ezer the first word is in ornamental letters; Hoshen Mishpat begins with a typical Soncino decorative frame about the initial word, in ornamental letters with, at the sides, copies of the rabbits employed earlier by the Soncinos in many of their books. The volume is unpaginated. There are, as stated on the title page, source references, printed in the margins, and diagrams are printed with the text for such topics as Eruvin and Sukkah. There are also full-page tables for calendar calculations. The colophon states: All the work, the work of Heaven, completed, refined and purified sevenfold, Friday, 17 Elul, in the year, “it shall be accepted hxry (5300 = August 30, 1540) for an offering made by fire” (Leviticus 22:27). [May the] Lord Who has enabled me to print this book with an iron pen and lead grant me the merit to print other holy works without end, and particularly the Pentateuch that it is our intent to begin presently. . . .

The date in the colophon, hxry may, in the absence of any specification, be read as gpl, that is, the full era, 1540, or qpl, that is the abbreviated era, 1545. However, as 17 Elul came out on a Friday in 1540, but not in 1545, the completion of the book was on the former date. Parenthetically, the Pentateuch referred to in the colophon was completed in c. 1544/45.

Format 20: 96, 83, 52, 126 leaves. Printed to 1540 in whole or in part, previously in Fano and in Fez (1516), Salonika (1520), Venice (1522), Cracow, (1538–39), and reprinted in Augsburg and Prague (1540).

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Tur Orah Hayyim

μyyj jrwa rwf Jacob ben Asher 1540, Prague—Gershom ben Solomon Kohen Tur Orah Hayyim of R. Jacob ben Asher (c. 1270–1340). This edition includes the annotations of R. Abraham ben Avigdor (d. 1542), known as Abraham of Prague. Here, however, the complete glosses were printed, in contrast to the Augsburg Turim of 1540, which has only the source references and explanations of difficult words. Although the Augsburg Tur is the better known and more common of the two editions, this printing with Abraham of Prague’s complete glosses was also well-known to his contemporaries. R. Moses Isserles (Rema) had this edition before him when preparing his Darkhei Moshe on the Arba’ah Turim, as did several other commentators, for references to Abraham of Prague are for material not found in the Augsburg Tur. Abraham of Prague brought his completed work to press two years before his death, and was personally involved with its publication, serving as the editor. He writes in the colophon that if, after all his efforts, one should find errors, mistakes, or omissions he should not wonder on their occurrence, for the craft of printing hqyqjh is impossible without them. In any case, this work is more exact than anything written with a quill, new or old, or printed previously. Therefore the purchaser should rejoice in his acquisition. . . .

The text of the title page is set in a decorative woodcut frame with Moses holding the tablets with the ten commandments on the top. On a banner held by a winged figure on the left pillar is a Magen David. Nevertheless, the overall composition of the frame is suggestive of its original use elsewhere by a non-Jewish printer. The fonts employed here are Vaybertaytsh, a type family used primarily, although not exclusively, for Yiddish books. The colophon concludes by naming the printers, Gershom ha-Kohen and his sons Mordecai, Solomon, and Moses, who note their diligence in the work, which was concluded Wednesday, the 22nd of Elul, [5]300 (September 4, 1540), that is, five days after the completion of the Constantinople Arba’ah Turim. The fact that the Tur, a medieval work, was printed so often, in its entirety or in part, three times in 1540 alone, that is, in Augsburg and Constantinople as well as in Prague, in addition to an edition of the Tur Orah Hayyim and Yoreh De’ah printed in Cracow in 1538–39 by the Halicz brothers, testifies to the importance and popularity of the Arba’ah Turim, a comprehensive and detailed halakhic work.

Format 20: 90, 92–139, [1], 140–48 leaves. Printed to 1540 in whole or in part in Fano and in Fez (1516), Salonika (1520), Venice (1522), Cracow, (1538–39), Constantinople (1540) and Augsburg (1540).

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Avkat Rokhel

lkwr tqba rps Machir ben Isaac Sar Hasid 1540, Augsburg—Hayyim ben David Shahor Eschatological work on the principles of faith attributed to R. Machir ben Isaac Sar Hasid, a student of R. Judah ben Asher, son of the Rosh, and a contemporary of R. Menahem ibn Zerah (Zeidah la-Derekh). The text of the title page is set within a decorative frame with nineteen cherubim and a number of animals. The title page states that it is Sefer Avkat Rokhel Printed by the printers named at the end of the volume. Edited with great care, with all our ability, “the good hand of our [Lord] upon us” (ref. Ezra 8:18). And it was completed, here Augsburg, the great city, with the help of the Lord and His salvation. In the year, “[Rejoice, O you nations, with his people; for he will avenge the blood of his servants,] and will render vengeance to his adversaries, and will make expiation rpk (300 = 1540) for the land of his people” (Deuteronomy 32:43).

The names of the printers, Hayyim ben David, Joseph ben Yakar, and Isaac ben Hayyim, the statement on the title page notwithstanding, are not, however, given at the end of the volume. Avkat Rokhel is a book in three parts, each further subdivided into additional parts. This edition begins with a brief introduction which informs that the work was named Avkat Rokhel (the perfumer’s powders, Song of Songs (3:6) for, as the perfumer’s powders strengthen the soul, so too when one reads this book will he fear and cause his soul to be pure and free from all sin and transgression, thus meriting the good. This is followed by a table of contents outlining the book’s subject matter and the contents of each part. The text of the book is in a single column set in small square letters, except for headings and intial words, which are set in in a much larger square font. The volume concludes with a page of verse. The first part addresses the struggle against one’s evil urge prior to redemption and the birth pangs and advent of the Messiah, and an explanation of the pertinent midrashim; the second part discusses the rewards and punishments of the soul after the resurrection, the nature of the world to come according to Judaism, in contrast to the views of nonJews, and resurrection; and the third part addresses the laws stated by the sages of the Talmud as halakhah le-Moshe mi-Sinai, the formation of man and the 248 limbs in a person, the statement of the sages concerning three partners in that process (God, man, and woman), and some gematriot. There are more than twenty-five printed editions of Avkat Rokhel (see, for example, 1566–67, Venice, pp. 568–69). It was translated into Latin by A. Hulsius and printed in his Theologia Judaica (Breda, 1653), and into Yiddish by Naphtali Pappenheim (Amsterdam, 1647). The Rimini edition, upon which this edition is based, is among the last works printed by Gershom Soncino in Italy. Avkat Rokhel comprises part II of Ha-Nefesh haHakhamah (Basle, 1608), by the famed kabbalist Moses ben Shem Tov de Leon (1240–1305).

Format 80: 18 leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (1516) and Rimini (1526) and reprinted in Venice (1566–67).

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1540-41, Kimha de-Avishuna on the Roman Rite Mahzor, Johanan ben Joseph Treves, Bologna Courtesy of Kestenbaum & Company

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Kimha de-Avishuna on the Roman Rite Mahzor

hmwr q”q ghnmk rwzjm Johanan ben Joseph Treves 1540–41, Bologna—Menahem, Jehiel, and Aryeh Mahzor for the entire year according to the Roman rite with the commentary Kimha deAvishuna by R. Johanan ben Joseph Treves (c. 1490–1557). Treves, a member of the renowned family of that name, learned in the yeshivah of R. Moses Navarro in Ferrara, later becoming a member of that city’s bet din. Although a scholar of considerable attainment, Treves chose to serve various wealthy patrons as their “private rabbi” and tutor to their children for many years rather than hold in an official position. He also worked as an editor for Hebrew presses in Bologna and Venice. In both capacities, as a “private rabbi” and as an editor, Treves functioned as did many other rabbis of the period. At a later date, however, he took the position of Rav in Padua. A humble man, Treves’ name does not appear in the mahzor, although it soon became widely known that he was the author of Kimha de-Avishuna. The mahzor is in two volumes, measuring 28 cm. The title page of the first volume has an ornate frame with two cherubim at the top and winged lions at the bottom. The text is surrounded by the verses, “This is the gate of the Lord, into which the righteous shall enter” (Psalms 118:20), “[It is a good thing] to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to your name, O most high. To declare your lovingkindness in the morning, and your faithfulness every night” (Psalms 92:2–3). The title page is followed by verse in praise of the mahzor (2a) and two introductions (2b–3b) in two columns, the inner to the mahzor in square letters, the outer to Kimha de-Avishuna in rabbinic type. The title page of the second volume, with the same frame, has the verses “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise” (Psalms 100:4), “Seek the Lord, and his strength; seek his face continually” (Psalms 105:4 and I Chronicles 16:11), and “O bless our God, you peoples, and let the voice of his praise be heard” (Psalms 66:8). Its contents begin with the month of Tishrei. The mahzor is comprehensive. In addition to daily, Shabbat and festival prayers there are halakhot, the Haggadah, Megillot, Azharot, and Pirkei Avot with the commentaries of Maimonides and Obadiah Sforno, the first printing of the latter commentary, and Torah readings. Among the features of the Roman rite are Birkat Kohanim (priestly blessings) as part of the regular services and the inclusion of the prayer Ribbono [Shel] Olamim as part of the daily morning prayers (only recited during Birkat Kohanim on festivals in other rites). Within the text initial phrases are in decorative borders. Treves explains piyyutim, words and phrases, and where necessary amends the text, employing a wide variety of sources. In the introduction Treves states that he will provide the peshat. Nevertheless, Kimha de-Avishuna is a kabbalistic commentary. Kimha de-Avishuna, although never reprinted, is a highly regarded work. An attempt to republish it in Mantua in 1775 or 1776 was not successful. Treves also wrote on the laws of shehitah u-vedikah in the Mordekhai (Venice, 1550) and commentaries on piyyutim.

Format 20: [189; 197] leaves.

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c. 1541, Amadis de Gaula, Jacob ben Mosé di Algaba, Constantinople Courtesy of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

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Amadis de Gaula

alwag yd çydama Jacob ben Mosé di Algaba c. 1541, Constantinople—Eliezer ben Gershom Soncino Amadis de Gaula (the loving knight), a romance of chivalry and love. Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo (Garci Ordóñez), perhaps a converso, was the redactor of the popular story, dating from the early fourteenth or late thirteenth centuries, and first printed in 1508. Amadis was reprinted numerous times afterwards, not only in Spanish, but also in most western European languages. The Hebrew translation, possibly the first translation into another language from Spanish, was done by a physician, Jacob ben Mosé di Algaba. The book, Arthurian in spirit, is a romance about Amadis’s love for the daughter of the king. It is interwoven with details of Amadis’s birth, and the incredible feats of arm by this most handsome, honorable, and brave of knights, who is never defeated. It is a story of secret love, heartbreak and perseverance under ordeal. The title page states that Amadis de Gaula is a book made up of great stories and wonders about wars, mighty deeds of men of renown, matters of love, and the accounts of great kingdoms. The printer identifies himself and the translator, writing: “I am the humblest of printers, Eliezer, son of Gershom, may his memory be a blessing, and I have striven to have this work translated from the vernacular into our Holy Tongue; the person who correctly translated it was the learned doctor, Jacob ben Mosé di Algaba.” On the verso Algaba writes that books are read for one of three reasons, for wisdom, honor, or relaxation. When a person is weary of the troubles of the world and has some leisure he seeks stories and tales (adventures), which are of no immediate purpose or benefit. In Amadis greater diversion, and benefit, can be found than in chronicles such as Ben Gurion ( Josippon). If the reader is perceptive, he will learn a great deal about the ways of the world, about guile, and how to deal with men. At the end of the book is the statement that the first book is completed, no more appears. Montalvo, who professed to have corrected and amended the text, enlarged the story, which grew to 12 books in the 1546 Spanish edition, and 24 books in the 1595 German edition. The Hebrew edition, as indicated by the colophon, is a condensed version of book one only. The story does not deviate from the original. Nevertheless, material clearly Christian in nature has been revised, and the queen is now remodeled after Esther. However, sensual passages are retained. A popular genre, Amadis’s appeal to Jewish audiences was enhanced as it contains parallels to several biblical stories, so that as late as 1652 Jewish women were cautioned against reading it on the Sabbath. Amadis is the first secular book to have been printed in Constantinople; another similar Hebrew work was not printed there until the mid-nineteenth century.

Format 40: 82 leaves.

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Buovo d’Antona (Bove-Bukh)

(˚wb abb) anwfnad abb Elijah ben Asher ha-Levi Ashkenazi Levita (Bahur) 1541, Isny—Paulus Fagius Yiddish adaptation of a popular romance by R. Elijah ben Asher ha-Levi Ashkenazi Levita (Bahur, 1468–1549). The original story is the Anglo-French romance, Sir Bevis of Hampton, translated into Italian as Buovo d’Antona. Although later known as the Bove-Bukh, here the title page entitles it Buovo d’Antona. The text is in a single column set in Vaybertaytsh, that is, the type family normally used for Yiddish books. Buovo d’Antona is comprised of 5,262 lines, with one Slavic and seventy to seventy-five Hebrew words common in Yiddish. There are about sixty to seventy common Italian words, reflecting the influence of the environment, noted in a glossary, Velshe Verter, at the end of the book. Buovo d’Antona is in 650 strophes set in ottava rima, a meter called raym in akht-gezets in Yiddish, in which the eight (iambic) lines of each stanza are set in a system of three rhymes, in a schema of ab ab, abcc. Buovo d’Antona is a chivalric romance. In the story, Herzog Guidon marries late, to the beautiful princess Brandonia. They have a son named Beauvais (Bove). Brandonia, hating both her older husband and their child, takes up with a former lover, Herzog Dodon. The latter, at her instigation, murders Guidon and marries Brandonia. She makes several attempts to also kill Beauvais, but he escapes, eventually being sold as a stable boy for the palace of the king of Flanders. There, Drusina, the beautiful daughter of the king, falls in love with the handsome Beauvais, who becomes a valiant knight with an enchanted horse and a magic sword. The king opposes the match, but after a number of adventures all obstacles are overcome. Beauvais and Drusina wed, Dodon is killed, and Brandonia sent to a cloister. Levita adds Jewish features to the story and personal information about his life, and concludes with a wish for the coming of the Messiah and the redemption of Israel. In the prologue Levita writes that, having published eight or nine books for men he is, in response to the requests of women ignorant of the biblical tongue, publishing his works in their spoken language, “so that they may pleasantly pass the time with them and read them on the Sabbath and festivals.” He writes in the colophon, “And may God who has given us the merit to print Bove, also help us to print Der schönen Glück and other such works.” Ironically, Levita was engaged not long after by Cornelius Adelkind to translate Psalms (Venice, 1545) into Yiddish so that, as Adelkind writes in the colophon, “pious young women and men . . . who would like to spend their time on Sabbath or Festivals reading appropriate matters and not Titrich of Bern or the Schoene Glueck [may do so].” No copy of this, the first edition of the Bove-Bukh, was known to be extant until 1931, when a copy was discovered in the Zentral-Bibliotek, Zurich, by Dr. Max Weinreich. A reputed earlier Pesaro imprint is certainly an error, for in the introduction Levita notes that he had written it thirty-four years ago (1507) and is now bringing it to print. The immense popularity of the Bove-Bukh can be seen from the fact that the name of the work (Bove) became Bobe-Mayse, a synonym for a fantastic or grandmother’s tale.

Format 40: 112 leaves.

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Meturgeman

ˆmgrwtm rps Elijah ben Asher ha-Levi Ashkenazi Levita (Bahur) 1541, Isny—Paulus Fagius Lexicon of Aramaic terms by the grammarian, translator, and poet, R. Elijah ben Asher ha-Levi Ashkenazi Levita (Bahur, 1468–1549). Meturgeman, one of several dictionaries compiled by Bahur, is a compilation of Aramaic words from translations of the Bible into that language. In his introduction, Elijah begins by justifying his endeavor with a quote from Bereshit Rabbah, “R. Samuel bar Nahamani says the Aramaic language should not be held lightly in your eyes, for we find throughout the Bible that the Holy One, blessed be He, gave it honor . . . for it is closer to Hebrew than all the other languages. The scholar R. [Abraham ibn Ezra] wrote that it [Aramaic] is Hebrew that has deteriorated.” Elijah recounts when this likely occurred, based on the fact that the original language was Hebrew, and that it is called Aramaic from Aram, the last son of Shem, who outlived his siblings. He reviews the various translations of the Bible into Aramaic, placing them in historical context. Elijah responds to inquiries as to the possibility of constructing a grammar from these Aramaic translations, stating that it was a difficult undertaking, due to the linguistic variances between them, including diverse letters and punctuation, resulting from the absence of vowels. Having determined to undertake the task, he entitled the book Meturgeman (Interpreter), because it interprets Hebrew into Aramaic and Aramaic into Hebrew. Meturgeman is a thorough dictionary of the Aramaic translations of the Bible and the Aramaic found in the Bible, the first such work since the Arukh of Nathan ben Jehiel (c. 1035–c. 1110). Elijah’s objective was to accomplish for Aramaic what Kimhi had done with his Shorashim for Hebrew. Roots of words and their development are shown. Nouns and adjectives derived from verbs are shown under the root. Furthermore, variant Aramaic expressions for Hebrew terms are noted, with accompanying explanations. A number of roots are also given in German, but to a lesser extent than in Tishbi (Isny, 1541, below pp. 260–61). Marginalia provide references for biblical quotations. Elijah prepared Meturgeman in Rome, 1526 to 1531, where his endeavors were facilitated by his residence at the home of Cardinal Egidio de Viterbo, enabling Elijah to make use of the Cardinal’s manuscripts of Aramaic Targums. The volume concludes with two poems in praise of the book from R. Aaron ben Abraham. The text is printed with Ashkenaz fonts. At the end is Fagius’s device, a tree (fagus) planted by a river, with frogs, and to the left, a stork on one foot eating a frog, all within a frame. On the sides are the Hebrew letters b and p, for Paulus Fagius. On the bottom is the phrase, in Hebrew, from the Christian Bible, “Every good tree gives forth good fruit” (Matthew). In Fagius’s imprints with accompanying Latin text the equivalent Latin phrase is added, “Omnis arbor bona, profert fructum bonum.” There is also an edition of Meturgeman with a Latin preface and an introductory letter from Paulus Fagius. Chronologically, Meturgeman was published after Tishbi. Meturgeman is an important Hebrew grammatical work, and no less a personage than R. Joseph Teomim (Peri Megadim) recommended its study.

Format: 20 [4], 164, [2], leaves. Reprinted in Cologne (1560).

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Tehillim with commentary of R. David Kimhi

yjmq dwd ybr çwrp μ[ μylyht rps David Kimhi (Radak) 1541, Isny—Paulus Fagius Commentary on Psalms from R. David ben Joseph Kimhi (Radak, c. 1160–c.1235). The title page, with three acorns for ornamentation below the text, states, Sefer Tehillim with the commentary of Rabbi David Kimhi printed here, in the city of Isny, with a document called, in Latin, privilege, written and sealed by our lord, the Kaiser [may his majesty be exalted], that no one should print it for a period of ten years from today, Wednesday, 22 Kislev, in the year 302 (December 21, 1541).

Radak’s introduction follows. He begins, David ben Joseph ben Kimhi the Sephardi said: Our sages of blessed memory said that David, King of Israel, wrote his book by the hand of ten elders who . . . said the Psalms written in their name. And according to them, Adam, the first man, created erev Shabbat, stated “a Psalm, a song for the Sabbath Day” (Psalm 92). . . . As Moses divided the Torah into five books, so did David divide Psalms into five books. They said that ten forms of praise are expressed in this book: nitzuah, niggun, shir, zimrah, haskel, tehillah, tefillah, berakhah, and hodah’ah. And they said that this book was said with the Holy Spirit, therefore it was included in the Ketuvim (Hagiographa) rather than the Neviim (Prophets).

Kimhi then proceeds to explain the difference between Holy Spirit and prophecy, the different types of and reasons for Psalms. He notes that where no author is given for a Psalm the author was David. The introduction concludes with a definition of forms of praise, “nitzuah and niggun refer to the future world; maskil, to an interpreter; le-david mizmor means that the Holy Spirit was on him and afterwards he wrote a shir (song); whereas mizmor le-david means that he sang a song and afterwards the Holy Spirit was upon him.” This, Kimhi writes, is further developed in the fourth Psalm. The commentary, which is generally lengthy, is according to the peshat (literal meaning), based on the explanations of Psalms expressed in rabbinic literature. In a number of instances, where Psalms have been interpreted by Christians in support of their religion, Kimhi provides refutations. The text is accompanied by marginal references. The Psalms are set in square Ashkenazic type, the commentary in rabbinic type. Reportedly, the text is followed by two pages, “These are the responsa of the Radak to non-Jews on some of the Psalms,” that is, a further refutation of Christian interpretations of Psalms. These pages are missing from most copies. A popular work, Radak’s commentary on Psalms was printed twice in the incunabular period and reprinted by the printer of this edition, Paulus Fagius, with a Latin translation, three years later in Konstanz (Constance).

Format 20: 108, [2] leaves. Printed previously in Salonika (1522) and reprinted in Constance (1544) and Cremona (1561).

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Ha-Tishbi

ybçth rps Elijah ben Asher ha-Levi Ashkenazi Levita (Bahur) 1541, Isny—Paulus Fagius Dictionary of talmudic and midrashic Hebrew terms by the philologist, translator, and poet, R. Elijah ben Asher ha-Levi Ashkenazi Levita (Bahur, 1468–1549). Tishbi is the first of several lexicons by Elijah printed in Isny by Paulus Fagius. The name of the work is from verses in I and II Kings, where the Prophet Elijah is referred to as Elijah the Tishbite. Tishbi, as were several of Elijah’s works, was printed in two editions; one entirely in Hebrew, the other in Hebrew/Latin with a Latin title page and introductions. In this, the latter edition, there are two title pages, the first entitled, Opusculum Recens Hebraicum a Doctissimo Hebreo Eliia Levita Germano Grammatico elaboratum, cum titulum fecit ybçt idest, Thisbites . . ., followed by several pages of Latin introductory matter, and, on page 12, the second, Hebrew title page. Both title pages inform that the book contains roots, not previously explained, equal to the numerical value of Tishbi (712). These are rabbinic terms, from the Talmud, Midrashim, Bereshit Rabbah, and Yelammedenu (Tanhuma). After the preliminary matter are Latin verses in praise of the book, two Hebrew introductions from Elijah, and a page noting the completion of the preliminary matter. The text follows, made up of facing pages of Hebrew and Latin text, the former set in an Ashkenaz font. The initial text letter only is historiated. Paulus Fagius provided the Latin translation. Pagination is by page number rather than folio. The text is followed by errata and Fagius’ device, here with both the accompanying Hebrew phrase and its equivalent in Latin, and the colophon, in Hebrew, giving the Hebrew and Christian dates, the latter in explicit Christological terms. The Hebrew edition (100 folios) is from the same setting, but differently imposed. Although the title page states that the terms addressed are those not previously explained, a number of roots are to be found in the works of R. David Kimhi (Radak) and in the Arukh of Nathan ben Jehiel. In addition to the derivation of words, as noted on the Latin title page, in Hebrew, Chaldaicæ (Aramaic), Arabic, Greek and Latin, Elijah also provides explanations of words in Yiddish and German. Not only are derivations given, but examples of usage are provided from the Bible, Targums, Talmud, and post-Talmudic literature. In additional to its grammatical content, Tishbi provides the Hebrew pronunciation of terms according to German and Italian Jewry. Biblical references are given in both languages in the margins. One of the terms explained by Elijah in the text is “Jesus,” in a manner not pleasing to later censors. Most copies of this edition have had the sheet with this definition torn out, so that it is exceedingly rare. In the next, Basle, edition the Hebrew and Latin columns with the offending material are generally excised. The Basle Tishbi is not a reprint but rather the remaining sheets from this edition with a new title page, which makes no mention of Fagius. The colophon remains, giving the place of printing as Isny and the date 1541. Tishbi, as was the case with several of Elijah’s works, was especially appreciated by Christian Hebraists, who refer to it in glowing terms.

Format 40: [24], 275 (269–271 misnumbered), [4] pages. Reprinted in Basle (1557).

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Babylonian Talmud

ylbb dwmlt 1543–49, Venice—Press of Daniel Bomberg The last edition of the Talmud printed by the press of Daniel Bomberg. Cornelius Adelkind may have been managing the press at this time, Bomberg not having returned to Venice from a trip to Antwerp. It has been suggested that Bomberg, a Calvinist, remained in Antwerp due to the restrictive atmosphere in Venice resulting from the Counter-Reformation. This Talmud has three distinguishing characteristics from the earlier Bomberg editions. Avraham Rosenthal identifies them, noting that signatures have a dot above the letter “i” for the leaf number within the quire, for example, 2 iii, but not in the quire number. The dot is not found in any Bomberg imprint prior to 1544, with the exception of the Latin edition of Mikneh Avram (1523), the only book printed at the Bomberg press in Latin letters. Second, when Cornelius Adelkind’s name appears, on the title page or in the colophon, it is, in contrast to previous editions, his non-Hebraic name that appears. The last feature is forged, or backdated title pages. It is estimated that as many as twenty tractates are misdated. The text, from the final Bomberg Talmud, varies in some particulars from the edition printed in the year on the title page, and Adelkind’s name is in the nonHebraic format. The first tractate printed from this Talmud is Yevamot, dated 1543. The next correctly dated tractates are dated from 1547, leading bibliographers to initially believe that Yevamot was misdated. However, the tractate lacks the “i” signature, confirming its date of printing. In the interim, between 1543 and 1547, twenty-one tractates, five printed in 1543–44 without dots, sixteen printed from 1543 to 1547 after the “i” signature was employed, were issued with pseudo-dates, after which the press correctly dated the remaining tractates. Me’ilah, a transition tractate, has a pseudo-date on the title page and, in the colophon, the date 1547. Most likely, in 1543, Adelkind, after printing Yevamot, became concerned about objections to, and possible prohibitions against the printing of the Talmud by reactionaries in the Catholic Church, whose influence was increasing in the wake of the Church’s struggle against the Reformation. To circumvent their opposition, tractates were backdated and sold as stock from earlier editions remaining in the warehouse. However, when Marco Antonio Giustiniani, a Venetian nobleman, began to openly print the Talmud in 1546 without opposition, Adelkind again printed the authentic date on the title-pages. Tractates Eruvin and Keritot have a cross-reference between the text and Tosafot. Corresponding small square letters are in the margins by the first words of Tosafot in the text and Tosafot. To further assist the reader, a small circle is placed above the first word in the text appearing in Tosafot. This cross-reference, instituted by Adelkind, was limited to two tractates to evaluate public response. That it was not printed in subsequent editions may be attributed to the fact that the last Bomberg Talmud was not as influential as the earlier Bomberg and the Giustiniani Talmuds, and to the destruction of so many of its volumes when the Talmud was burned shortly after its printing.

Format 20: Printed previously by Bomberg (1519/20–23 and 1526–39, recorded by some as two editions).

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Sefer ha-Massa’ot

alydwfm ˆymynb ‘r tw[sm Benjamin ben Jonah of Tudela 1543, Constantinople—Eliezer ben Gershom Soncino Sefer ha-Massa’ot (Book of Travels), the most famous of all Jewish travel accounts, records the travels of R. Benjamin ben Jonah of Tudela, Navarre (second half, 12th century). Benjamin visited three continents, Europe, Asia, and Africa, encompassing the Mediterranean littoral, the middle east and central Europe, recording what he saw in his diary. Although Benjamin is referred to as Rabbi and was certainly an educated Jew, based on the information provided and style of the diary, it appears more likely that he was a merchant than a scholar. Nevertheless, his keen eye and curiosity has left us with one of the most valuable records of numerous Jewish communities in the Middle Ages. Benjamin’s purpose in undertaking this journey was most likely to visit places holy to Jews and to see how world Jewry lived in different places. Benjamin left Toledo between 1160 and 1165, returning to Spain in 1173. His itinerary included Provence, Italy, Greece, Syria, Turkey, Erez Israel, Mesopotamia, Persia, India, Egypt, and Sicily. He provides information about France, Germany, Russia, and parts of India, Persia, Ceylon, and China, places that he did not reach but about which he collected data. Although world Jewry is his primary concern, his interests encompass engaging facets of the peoples and places he visited, including geography, history, politics, wars, and customs of various peoples. Not only does Benjamin note the conditions of the Jews, name their leaders and scholars, but also often gives demographic information. He is visiting Erez Israel after the desolation of the Crusades, so that he records the desolation of the Jewish communities there, in contrast to Mesopotamia where they flourish, for example, in Okbara, where, headed by R. Chanan, Jabin, and Ishmael, the population is about 10,000. Synagogues are described, as are sects, sometimes schismatic, such as Samaritans and Karaites. The lives, customs, events and personalities of Jews in the locations he visited are described in considerably more detail than those in which his data is not first hand. Certain cities are addressed in great detail, among them Rome, Constantinople, Damascus, Alexandria, and, most importantly, Erez Israel. Among the varied subject matter are Roman palaces and their builders, the medical university at Salerno, the raids of the Wallachians upon Greek settlements, Syrian cultivation of the Mastic tree, from which a medicinal resin is derived, and the Syrian sect of Assassins. The title page of this edition, which varies in many particulars from the Ferrara edition, states that it was published in “the twenty-second year of the reign of Sultan Suleiman,” and below that gives the date as five thousand three hundred and three from the creation of the world (= 1543). Benjamin’s descriptions of various places are corroborated by contemporary sources, and later historians, such as Gibbon, considered him a reliable source. Although incredible accounts he has heard are recorded, his critical reporting makes the diary an important and fascinating record of medieval Jewish life. Sefer ha-Massa’ot has been translated into several languages, among them Yiddish, Latin (1575), Dutch, German, English and Russian.

Format 160: 32 leaves. Reprinted in Ferrara (1556), Antwerp (1575), and Freiburg (1583).

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Sefer Me’ah She’arim

μyr[ç ham rps Isaac ben Elijah Sheni 1543, Salonika—Eliezer ben Gershom Soncino A kabbalistic commentary on one hundred of the six hundred thirteen commandments. R. Isaac ben Elijah Sheni (Shani, first half sixteenth century), the author, was a rabbi in Constantinople. He is also known to have edited R. Menahem Recanati’s Ta’amei ha-Mitzvot (Constantinople, 1544). Sheni begins, in a beautiful introduction, by stating that a person’s purpose is to achieve true completeness, to be bound to God, for “the soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord your God” (I Samuel 25:29), to be accomplished only through Torah, thus achieving true knowledge, the wisdom of Kabbalah. This is intimated by King Solomon in the Song of Songs, “By night on my bed,” alluding to the soul laying in the body, akin to night, seeking knowledge, “I sought him whom my soul loves,” and as complete knowledge cannot be attained through peshat (literal meaning), “I sought him, but I found him not,” I said, “I will rise now, and go around in the city,” alluding to the written Torah, “in the markets and in the broad streets,” Mishnah and Talmud, “I seek him whom my soul loves,” with all this, “I sought him, but I found him not. The watchmen that go around in the city found me,” alluding to the talmudic scholars who guard the Torah (Song of Songs 3:1–3). Sheni continues at some length, concluding that it is important to attribute reasons for the mitzvot, to arouse a desire to fulfill them. He discusses those commandments applicable today; fifty-five positive and forty-five negative commandments, for which he derives a numerical value equal to the name HaShem. Within the book, each mitzvah begins with a statement of the commandment, a concise description of how it is to be fulfilled, an explanation of the peshat, followed by a deeper or kabbalistic interpretation. Books on reasons for the mitzvot, including works on one hundred commandments, are not uncommon. The identity of Sheni as the author of Me’ah She’arim has been questioned, it being suggested that he is identical to Isaac ibn Farhi, accused of literary plagiarism for a work on the reasons for mitzvot in the 16th century. This accusation, repeated in several works, was found to be completely baseless when a unique manuscript of the alleged source work, by an earlier Isaac ibn Farhi, was discovered. It did not compare in style, content, or the division of positive and negative commandments to Sheni’s Me’ah She’arim. The name of the printer is not given on the title page. However, as the letters are clearly Soncino fonts, as is the ornamental frame on the title page, this book is generally attributed to their press. Furthermore, Recanati’s Ta’amei ha-Mitzvot was also printed by Eliezer Soncino.

Format 80: 58 leaves.

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268

Melokhim Bukh

˚arpç rçfyywf ˆya μyklm rps çd Moses Esrim ve-Arbeh 1543, Augsburg—Paulus Aemilius Yiddish poetical rendition of the book of Kings often attributed to R. Moses (Esrim veArbeh) Ashkenazi (see below, Shmuel Bukh, pp. 280–81). Moses’ accreditation with either authoring or transcribing the Melokhim Bukh is due to its similarity to the Shmuel Bukh, more reliably attributed to him. Nevertheless, sufficient differences exist between the two works so that many scholars believe they do not share a common author. It is clear, however, that the author, even if not this Moses, was an Ashkenazi Jew. The title page has a border made up of a four-part frame, the top with a representation of a king, the left and right sides respectively with Adam and Eve, the latter with the snake and two small children. At the bottom are two cherubim. The florets below the text are the same as those employed in Isny, and among the watermarks in the paper is a “K,” also found in Isny imprints. The title page states that it is “The book Melokhim (Kings) in Taytsher sprach, beautiful and clear and very entertaining to read. Printed in the imperial city of Augsburg in the year 303.” The colophon dates the completion of the work to Friday, 14 Av, 303 ( July 25, 1543), which was a Sunday in 1543. Below the Hebrew colophon is a another in Latin, which states, “Augustae Vindelicorum/per Paulum Aemilium, Anno/Domini M. D. XLIII,” followed by a decorative strip. The printer is not named on the title page and is given in the Latin colophon as Paulus Aemilus. Most likely the printer was Hayyim Shahor. The text of the book is in a single column, set in Vaybertaytsh, made up of 2,262 strophes of four lines each (9,048 verses). On the title page of the Shmuel Bukh the publisher states that both are one work; they have been seen by many as two parts of one long poem. Both begin with emotive praise to the Creator (three strophes) and were written by Spielmänner (minstrels), to be recited publicly, evident in many verses. Nevertheless, the Melokhim Bukh is neither as well done nor as poetic as the Shmuel Bukh. The Melokhim Bukh is the older of the two works, possibly written as early as the fourteenth century, and was not written as a sequel to the Shmuel Bukh. The format of the Melokhim Bukh is that of the heroic epic, stylistically modeled after comparable German sagas, such as the Nibelungenlied. The subject matter is the events in I and II Kings, imaginatively and colorfully enhanced by material from the Talmud and Midrashim, all expressed with a deep piety. Intended as a complete history, it begins with the Exodus to David (nine strophes), and then the contents of Kings, and as a sequel, the history of the Jews to the end of the second commonwealth (thirty strophes). An example of the text is, You fed them forty years with the heavenly bread Until Moses our teacher had to lie down and die. Then your servant Joshua led them into the Holy Land; He conquered it by force, through your powerful hand.

The Melokhim Bukh was reprinted in 1582 and again in Prague (1607). It is the model for later translations and rhymed paraphrases, such as Jacob Segal’s Kehillat Ya’akov (Feurth, 1692).

Format 40: [123] leaves. Reprinted in Cracow (1582).

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Minhat Yehudah Sone ha-Nashim

[μ]yçnh anwç hdwhy tjnm Judah ben Isaac ibn Shabbetai c. 1543, Constantinople—Eliezer ben Gershom Soncino Parody about women by R. Judah ben Isaac ibn Shabbetai (12th–13th cent.). Ibn Shabbetai, born in either Toledo or Burgos, Spain, was by profession a physician. His life was unsettled, wandering from place to place. Minhat Yehudah, one of three satires known to have been written by Shabbetai, is dedicated to R. Abraham Alfakhar, Shabbetai’s patron. The misogynist title, Minhat Yehudah Sone ha-Nashim (the Gift of Judah, the Women-Hater), is not supported by the text, which is as much directed against the woman hater as against women. Full of parodies, Minhat Yehudah has been explained as in fact being a warning against the extremes of misogynism and too-hasty marriage. The book, with biblical and talmudic phrases, is written as a maqama, that is, a narrative in rhymed prose, mixed with metrical poems. The text, in square vocalized letters, begins, Take this book, which recounts the story of a man, whose soul was caught in the snares of a woman. In it I will relate his sorrows and his struggles, and I will make his tribulations a by-word, so that men shall not take to the side paths but keep to the middle road of life. I will gather men of moral character, and lift up my voice in the assembly and say: “Men, go in a straight line, for all climbing ends in going downward.” So as not to fall into their counsels I have written this as a testimony.

The protagonist, Zerah, promises his father, Tahkemoni, wise but disappointed in marriage, that he will never marry. Zerah, with three friends who concur with this, crusades against marriage, so alarming women that they plan his downfall. Cozbi (falsehood), wife of Sheker (lies), with the aid of her husband, finds a beautiful woman whom they induce to flatter and cause Zerah to fall in love with her. The plot is successful and Zerah, smitten, proposes marriage and a ketubbah is written. Just before the wedding, however, the beautiful woman disappears to be replaced at the ceremony by a hideous, ill-tempered, and garrulous hag whom Zerah marries. When he discovers his mistake in the morning, too late to rectify the situation, the hag reviles him and then sends him for food and drink. Zerah’s friends console him, much as did Job’s companions, recommending divorce. However, the women bring the matter before the king, testifying to Zerah’s past behavior and the consequences if he is permitted to divorce. At the end it is made clear that it is a fiction. Several dates have been suggested for Minhat Yehudah, ranging from 1208 to 1225. The earlier date seems likely, as a satire in rebuttal, Ezrat Nashim (the Help of Women), by an Isaac, is dated 1210. Furthermore, Shabbetai made revisions, first writing Minhat Yehudah in 1208 at the age of twenty (1188), revising it twenty years later (1208) at forty, and again in 1225. There is a second rejoinder, Ohev Nashim (the Women-Lover), written in 1298 by Jedaiah ha-Penini (see reference above, p. 97). Minhat Yehudah is one of the works included in the famed Rothschild Miscellany (382r–393r). Shabbetai also wrote Milhemet haHokhmah ve-ha-Osher (Constantinople, c. 1543; see Cracow, c. 1546, discussed at pp. 310–11), a humorous dialogue over the merits of wisdom and wealth. The third satire, Divrei haAlah ve-ha-Niddui (The Words of the Curse and the Ban) is a response to five prominent men of Saragossa, named in the manuscript, who had destroyed another of Shabbetai’s works. Shabbetai is harsh in his accusations and depictions of his enemies. Format 80: [24] leaves.

271

1544, Halikhot Olam - Mevo ha-Talmud, Yeshu’ah ha-Levi - Samuel ha-Nagid, Venice Courtesy of the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad Ohel Yosef Yitzhak

272

Halikhot Olam—Mevo ha-Talmud

dwmlth awbm—μlw[ twkylh Yeshu’ah ben Joseph ha-Levi—Samuel ha-Nagid 1544, Venice—Giovanni dei Farri Two works on talmudic methodology. The first, Halikhot Olam, is by the talmudist R. Yeshu’ah ben Joseph ha-Levi (15th century), the second, Mevo ha-Talmud, by R. Samuel ha-Nagid (993–1055), vizier of Granada, scholar, and poet. The volume begins with an opening statement on the verso of the title page, followed by Yeshu’ah’s introduction, a page of verse, and, from 3a, the text of Halikhot Olam, concluding on 35b. The following page begins Mevo ha-Talmud, which ends on 37a. Next (37b) is the epilogue of Judah Bulat (c. 1475–c. 1540), a dayyan in Constantinople, who published the corrected Constantinople (1510) edition together with Mevo ha-Talmud. The colophon states that the work was completed “erev hag ha-Sukkot, in the year, 305,” that is, 14 Tishrei (Wednesday, October 11, 1544). The work was performed by Cornelius Adelkind, the editor, and Judah ben Isaac ha-Levi [Ashkenazi, Loeb Kulpa of Frankfurt] and Kulpa’s partner Jehiel ben Jekuthiel ha-Kohen [Rapa]. In the introduction to Halikhot Olam, Yeshu’ah, a resident of Tlemcen, Algeria, relates that he was raised and lived among the sages of that city until 1467, when, due to the fierce persecution of the Jews, he was forced to flee to Castile, settling in Toledo, finding a gracious sponsor in Don Vidal ben Lavi. It was at Don Vidal’s request that Yeshu’ah wrote Halikhot Olam. Yeshu’ah remarks on both the inadequacy of earlier works and his own lack of qualifications to write such a book. Halikhot Olam, first printed in Leiria, Portugal (c. 1490), is divided into five she’arim (portals), which are further subdivided into chapters. The she’arim are on the composition and arrangement of the Mishnah; talmudic terminology; methodology; the thirteen hermeneutic rules; and the rules for determing the halakhah. In writing Halikhot Olam Yeshu’ah made considerable use of Samson ben Isaac of Chinon’s Sefer Keritut. Halikhot Olam, however, is considered an improvement on the earlier work, as it is better organized, more thorough, and written in a clearer and simpler style, making it more accessible to students. It has, in turn, been the basis of later works, most notably the Kelalei ha-Gemara of R. Joseph Caro. It was also the subject of a commentary, Yavin Shemu’ah (Venice, 1639), by Solomon ben Abraham Algazi (c. 1610–c. 1683), and has been translated into Latin (Clavis Talmudica) by Constantin L’Empereur (Leiden, 1634) and reprinted by H. J. van Bashuysen, together with related works (Hanover, 1714). Samuel ha-Nagid, although from a prominent family and of Davidic descent, at one time operated a spice shop in Malaga. He rose to become vizier in Granada, even commanding Muslim armies. He supported yeshivot, wrote poetry, and a digest of talmudic laws, Hilkheta Gavrata, influential in its time but since mostly lost, excepting fragments published in Jerusalem in 1962. Mevo ha-Talmud is a systematic description of talmudic logic and terminology. It is printed with most editions of the Talmud, generally after tractate Berakhot.

Format 40: 37, [1] leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (1510) and reprinted in Sabbioneta (1567), Mantua (1593), and Salonika (1598).

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Ikkarim

μyrq[ rps Joseph Albo 1544, Venice—Giovanni dei Farri Philosophic work on the principles of Judaism by R. Joseph Albo (c. 1380–c. 1444, see above, pp. 146–47). Albo, a philosopher and preacher served as rabbi of Daroca, which he represented in the disputation at Tortosa (1413–14). He was a student of Hasdai Crescas (Or HaShem, d. 1412), from whom he derived most of his philosophic principles. The disputation was initiated and presided over by the anti-Pope Benedict XIII. The 69 sessions took 20 months, making it the longest such encounter. The Church was represented by the apostate Joshua Lorki (Geronimo [Hieronymus] de Santa Fe). The Jewish representatives, who might respond to but not initiate questions, were intimidated. One participant, Astruc ha-Levi, protested the inherent injustice of the conditions of the dispute, which, under the conditions, could not and did not go well and, together with the physical threats to Jewish life in Spain, resulted in a weakening of faith. Albo, described as “one of the youngest and most intrepid spokesman for the defense,” wrote Sefer haIkkarim to restore confidence in Judaism and to combat apostasy by refuting the dogmas of Christianity. (Two contemporaries, Solomon Alami, Iggeret Musar, Constantinople, [1510], and Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov, Sefer ha-Emunot, Ferrara, 1556, also wrote for this purpose.) Albo believes that a person is obligated to investigate the principles of his faith, that being the only means of strengthening and fortifying religion. Ikkarim is drawn from the works of Maimonides, Crescas, and Simeon Duran (Rashbaz), and reflects the influence of the Islamic philosopher Averroes. It is comprised of four ma’amarim, each subdivided into chapters. In the first and longest part Albo reduces the principles of Judaism to three, without which Judaism is inconceivable, namely: 1) belief in God; 2) reward and punishment; and 3) revelation. These principles have eight derivative principles. Deriving from 1), are: a) unity of God; b) incorporeality; c) independence from time; and d) perfection. Deriving from 2) are: e) God’s knowledge; f ) prophecy; and g) the authenticity of God’s messengers (biblical). Deriving from 3), revelation, is h) Divine providence. Albo deduces a further six corollaries from the principles, which, if not believed, would define one as a heretic and cause him to lose his portion in the world to come: 1) creation ex nihilo; 2) the superiority of Moses’ prophecy; 3) the validity and immutability of the Torah of Moses; 4) attaining human perfection by fulfilling just one of the commandments of the Torah; 5) resurrection; and 6) the coming of the Messiah. The necessity of these dogmas is demonstrated by creation ex nihilo, for while it is not obligatory as a principle, it must be understood, so that the sovereignty of God over creation not be diminished. Albo does not recognize the validity of extra-biblical religions, and unconditionally maintains the exclusive character of biblical revelation. This is one of the first books printed by the brothers dei Farri, with the asssistance of Cornelius Adelkind. Ikkarim has been translated into Latin, German, and English. It has been the subject of commentaries (Ohel Ya’akov, Freiburg, 1584, and Ez Shatul, Venice, 1618) and refutations.

Format 40: 171 [1] leaves. Printed previously in Fano (1506), Salonika and Venice (1521), Rimini (1522), and reprinted in Lublin (1597).

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Josippon

ˆwpyswy 1544, Venice—Giovanni dei Farri Historical chronicle from creation to the destruction of the Second Temple attributed to Joseph ben Gurion ha-Kohen ( Josippon). Josippon is often erroneously identified with the historical works of Flavius Josephus (c. 38–c. 100). Josephus, a member of an aristocratic priestly family, was entrusted by the Sanhedrin with the defense of the Galilee in the rebellion against the Romans that began in 66 C.E. After the fall of the Galilee, Josephus found favor with the Romans, and, at the behest of Vespasian, wrote his history, The Jewish War. Written in Greek, Josephus states in the introduction that he has also written a vernacular (Aramaic) edition for the Jews; it is no longer extant. Unlike the Wars, which extols the Romans, his The Jewish Antiquities presents the greatness of the Jews to the Romans. In his autobiography, the Life, Josephus, despised by the Jews, defends his conduct in the Galilee, and in Against Apion, defends the Jews against the attacks of Greek anti-Semites. Josippon (pseudo-Josephus), considered by many to be the Hebrew version written by Josephus for the Jews, has been attributed to Joseph ben Gurion, a tenth-century resident of southern Italy. Whether this Joseph was the author or not, internal evidence dates Josippon to the middle of that century, with one manuscript being dated 953. Furthermore, a primary source of the author, who did reside in southern Italy, then part of the Greekspeaking Byzantine Empire, was a Latin manuscript with only sixteen of the Antiquities’ twenty books, and the Hegesippus, a Latin adaptation of the Jewish War, suggesting that the author was not literate in Greek. He was, however, knowledgeable in Jewish literature, as evidenced by his Hebrew style and use of older material. Josippon is divided into six books, subdivided into 97 chapters. It is based upon the works of Josephus, primarily the Wars and Antiquities, and to a lesser extent Against Apion, excluding the Life. Joseph does, however, occasionaly insert material from other sources, including oral traditions. There is also much legendary and non-historical matter in Josippon. The colophon informs that the work was done by “the master printer, who is known everywhere as Cornelius Adelkind, and by the partners whose hearts moved them to enter into this mitzvah, they are, Judah ben Isaac ha-Levi Ashkenazi [of Frankfort] and Jehiel ben Jekuthiel ha-Kohen [Rapa] . . . and it was completed on erev Pesah, 304 (Monday, April 17, 1544).” Ashkenazi, known as Loeb Kulpa, worked as a corrector for Daniel Bomberg and, together with Jehiel ha-Kohen, would be associates of Giustiniani. Josippon was the primary source of information for medieval Jews of the Second Temple period and is widely quoted, for example, by Rav Saadiah Gaon, Rashi, and the Arukh. It quickly became popular, and was frequently copied and emulated, with the consequence that many errors crept into the work. The much shorter Mantua inucunable edition ([1474]) was published by Abraham Conat, who made every effort to acquire good manuscripts. The second, less-accurate Constantinople (1510) printing, brought to press by Tam ibn Hiyya ben David, is the basis of this and subsequent editions. However, this edition includes interpolations from the Mantua edition.

Format 40: 195 leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (1510) and Basle (1541) and reprinted in Zurich (1546), Basle (1559), and Cracow (1589).

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278

Menorat ha-Ma’or

rwamh trwnm rps Isaac Aboab 1544, Venice—Giovanni dei Farri Popular ethical work based on aggadah by R. Isaac Aboab (late 14th century). Almost nothing is known about Aboab, known as Aboab I to distinguish him from the later sage R. Isaac Aboab (Aboab II, 15th century), to whom this work has also at times been attributed. It is believed, but this is not certain, that his father’s name was Abraham and that he was a resident of Spain, beginning to write and deliver sermons at a late age. The title page notes that the Menorah in the Tabernacle had seven branches, “[And you shall make for it seven lamps; and they shall light its lamps], that they may give light opposite it” (Exodus 25:37), that is, a central stem and three branches on each side, so this work is comprised of three parts, the table of the showbread; the menorah for the light; and the ark of the Testimony, “and because this work enlightens all who desire light, to separate between darkness and light, it is entitled Menorat ha-Ma’or (the Lamp of Illumination, Exodus 35:12 and Numbers 4:9). . . .” The colophon, by Cornelius Adelkind, notes that among this edition’s virtues are marginal references to the Bomberg Talmud, and that the completion of the work was on 24 Tammuz, 304 (Tuesday, July 25, 1544). The title page is followed by Aboab’s introduction (2a–4a), contents (4b–8b), and from 9a the text, which is divided into seven nerot (lamps), each ner with its own introduction, and subdivided into many kelalim or chapters. This arrangement is based on “Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it” (Psalms 34:15), a threefold division of avoiding evil; doing good; and pursuing peace. These principles branch out to the nerot, which are: 1) avoiding the negative qualities of jealousy, desire, and honor; 2) transgressions resulting from speech; 3) observance of mitzvot; 4) talmud Torah; 5) repentance; 6) the pursuit and love of peace; and 7) humility. As Aboab notes in the introduction, Menorat ha-Ma’or is based on talmudic aggadah from the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds and Midrashim. Hidden and abstruse matters are left for those best able to deal with them. Furthermore, the aggadah, which leads to spiritual improvement, is neglected by many for halakhah, although both are of equal importance. Among Aboab’s sources for Menorat ha-Ma’or is another work of the same name by R. Israel Al-Nakawa. A resident of Toledo, Al-Nakawa was murdered in the massacres of Jews in 1391. His book, well known in manuscript, was utilized by others, for example, R. Elijah de Vidas (Reshit Hokhmah, see below, pp. 694–95), and to a large extent by Aboab, so much so that H. G. Enelow writes, “a comparison of the two texts must convince one that Aboab’s work is an imitation of Al-Nakawa and an adaptation of much of its material.” Others, however, note that while Aboab did indeed borrow much from AlNakawa, significant differences exist between the two works. Al-Nakawa’s work was first published in 1929–32 (New York) while Aboab’s Menorat-ha-Ma’or has been frequently reprinted and translated into several languages. Aboab also wrote Aron ha-Edut, a code arranged according to the Ten Commandments, and Lehem ha-Panim, on prayers, the latter only extant in a single manuscript.

Format 20: 132 leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (1515) and reprinted in Mantua (1563), Venice (1594 and 1598–1602).

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1544, Shmuel Bukh, Moses Esrim ve-Arbeh, Augsburg Courtesy of Dr. Moshe N. Rosenfeld

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Shmuel Bukh

lawmç rps Moses Esrim ve-Arbeh 1544, Augsburg—Paulus Aemilius Yiddish poetical rendition of the books of Samuel often attributed to R. Moses (Esrim veArbeh) Ashkenazi. Moses’ appellation, Esrim ve-Arbeh, derives from either his birthplace, Vierundzwanzig Hoefe (24 courts) in Wuerttemberg, or from his extensive knowledge of the 24 books of the Bible. He is sometimes identified with the emissary of the Jewish community of Jerusalem who became embroiled in a dispute with R. Moses Capsali in Constantinople. Moses’ identification as author is based on the colophon of the Paris manuscript of the Shmuel Bukh, which states, “Moses Esrim ve-Arbeh is my name, I made this book with my hand,” but he may only have been the copyist. The ornate title page is made up of figurines above and about pillars. The text states that “Shmuel is the first part of the book Sefer Melokhim, for it is all related. Before you had the book Melokhim and now I have printed Shmuel also as one writing,” and concludes that it was printed in Augsburg in 304 (1544). The text of the book is in a single column, set in Vaybertaytsh, and written in eight-line strophe. Here, too, as with the Melokhim Bukh, it is likely the printer was Hayyim Shahor. Although the Shmuel Bukh purports to be a poetic paraphrase of the Books of Samuel, it is largely a hero-epic based on Midrashim stylistically modeled after German epic poems, such as the Nibelungenlied. The colophon states, “all Jews know the melody of the Shmuel Bukh,” suggesting that it was already a familiar work, written prior to the sixteenth century. Works modeled after it often proclaim, “made according to the melody (be-niggun) of the Shmuel Bukh,” indicating that it was meant to be sung. Although much like the Melokhim Bukh (Augsburg, 1543, pp. 268–69), with the same verse-meter, the two are independent, written at different times by different hands. The Shmuel Bukh is not only considered the superior of the two, but the best example of this type of Yiddish literature. The text concentrates on King David and has therefore been called Daviada, vividly recalling his life and deeds. The biblical order of events is not always followed, being restructured for effect, and the story of David is completed by including material from the beginning of Kings. Events briefly recounted in the Bible are here greatly expanded while others receive converse treatment. For example, the story of Hannah and the birth of Samuel, two chapters in the Bible, are here detailed in forty-nine strophes. An example of the text is where the childless Hannah is mocked by Peninah, Here her rival mocked and said: You should tell me, Hannah, my dear rival, what you have brought for your boys— The big and the little one. Let me understand this! You should also show your children’s gifts. Do you see how my children carry their gifts? You know of no joy to express. When you die, you will be brought completely to an end. Your name will be forgotten and remembered never more.

Format 40: [102] leaves. Reprinted in Cracow (1578 and 1593) and in Latin in Ingolstadt (1562).

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Bibliotheca universalis Conrad Gesner 1545–55, Zurich A pioneer bibliographical work, and the first to include a list of Hebrew printed books. The Bibliotheca universalis was written by Conrad Gesner (1516–65), a Swiss naturalist, physician, and professor of humanities and natural sciences, renowned for his systematic compilations of information on animals and plants. Gesner, professor of Greek at the Lausanne Academy at the age of 21, later lecturer in Aristotelian physics at the Collegium Carolinum, and, from 1554, city physician in Zurich, published as many as 70 works, either written or edited by him. His first book was a Greek-Latin dictionary (1537), and later books address such varied subjects as mountain climbing (Mt. Pilatus) and the virtues of milk. His multi-volume illustrated Historiae animalium is an important contribution to the field of zoology and botany. Gesner is known as the father of bibliography. The Bibliotheca universalis is an attempt to record all known Latin, Greek, and Hebrew writers. It records about 1,800 authors, alphabetically, their books, with descriptions of their content and evaluations as to their merit. Although the number of entries for Hebrew authors is not large, we find, for example, a long entry on 1b for Abramus de Balmes, and, on the following page, 2a, brief entries for Abraham Aben Ezdra, Rabbi Abraham filius Leui, Rabbi Abraham, and Rabbi Abraham Prizol. There are entries on 15b for Rabbi Aha and Rabbi Aheron, and, on 514a, several entries for variations on the name Moses. The entry for Moses begins by directing the reader to variations in spelling, such as Mose, Moyes, Moshe aand Mosche. One of the entries for Maimonides states Moses Cordubensis scripsit desensu legis Iudæorum, in librù què uocàt Talmud. Raph. Volater. Rabbi Moses Commentarii Hebraici in duobus uoluminibus, excusi Venetiis Eiusdem liber præceptorom, & aius dubiorum, etc.

A second volume, Pandectarum sive Partitionum universalium libri XXI, appeared three years later. The entries, previously alphabetical, are rearranged under 21 subject headings. It is here that Gesner writes (41b), “Descripta sunt haec ex catalogo Danieelis Bombergi (si bene memini) Venetiani typographi & bibliopulae,” that is, a sales catalogue from Daniel Bomberg. The catalogue was printed prior to 1542. This is the first known Hebrew book publisher’s catalogue, and our knowledge of it comes from the Bibliotheca universalis. It enumerates 75 Hebrew titles with prices, published and distributed by Daniel Bomberg. Other publishers’ books, from as distant as Constantinople, are included. The first five entries are Machazorim, priced at three to nine libris, followed by two entries for “Sidurim de beracha . . . Italici characteris,” at 1 lib. solidis 10 and “Sidurim e Germania,” at libra 1. solidis 11. The following volumes are in no particular order. A Babylonian Talmud is priced at ducatis 22. The distribution of Bomberg’s catalogues must have widespread, for his books, including the Babylonian Talmud, were ordered by an Oxford dealer, a recipient of the catalogues, which he showed to his clients. The Bibliotheca universalis was reprinted twice in an enlarged and revised form under the title, Bibliotheca instituta et collecta, primum a Conrado Gesnero.

Format 20: Reprinted in 1574 and 1583 with additions.

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Mekhilta of R. Ishmael

atlykmh çrdm 1545, Venice—Daniel Bomberg Midrash on Exodus. Mekhilta of R. Ishmael is one of the oldest Midrashim, being a tannaitic Midrash, that is, it represents the teachings of the sages from the period of the Mishnah. Final compilation, however, dates to the time of the amoraim (talmudic sages). Mekhilta is not mentioned in the Talmud, that name first appearing at the time of the geonim. Mekhilta is ascribed to the school of the second century tanna, R. Ishmael. Mekhilta and Sifrei on Numbers, the other halakhic Midrash attributed to his school, contain numerous statements in R. Ishmael’s name or that of his students, as well as employing the hermeneutical rules set forth by him. This is in contrast to the other halakhic Midrashim, Sifra, on Leviticus, and Sifrei, on Deuteronomy, which are ascribed to the school of R. Akiva. These latter works more often name sages from that school and employ a different terminology. The text of Mekhilta begins at Exodus 12:1 and continues as a running line commentary through 23:19, concluding with Exodus 31:12–17 and 35:1–3, which concern the Sabbath. However, as it is a continuous commentary on those portions addressed, considerable aggaddah is included in this halakhic Midrash. The title page, with the architectural frame employed by the Bomberg press at this time, names R. Jonathon Treves as proof-reader, and the colophon Cornelius Adelkind as master printer, “in the month of Av in the year 5305 ( July/August 1545) at the press of Daniel Bomberg.” The initial text word is in a decorative frame. Textual variances exist between this and the previous 1515 Constantinople edition (20: 45f.) printed by Astruc de Toulon. Sifra (20: 59f.) and Sifrei (20: 64f.) were also published by the Bomberg press at this time, the former begun, according to the title page, in 305 (1545) and completed in Tishrei 306 (September/October 1545); the latter begun in the year, “Rejoice [in the Lord,] O you righteous wnnr (306 = 1545); [for praise befits the upright]” (Psalms 33:1) and completed on Monday, 18 Kislev, “He creates rwxy (306 = December 3, 1545) all creation.” The proof-reader of these works was also Treves and the master printer at the Bomberg press was again Adelkind. The order of publication is stated in the colophon to Sifrei, that is, Mekhilta, Sifra, and Sifrei, where the rarity of the last two works is noted, their memory almost forgotten from the land, if not for Dr. Jacob Mantin, the sponsor of their publication. Sifra and Sifrei share the architectural frame used with the Mekhilta. The proof-reader, Johanan ben Joseph Treves (c. 1490–1557), was a member of the renowned family of that name, which traces its ancestry to Rashi. A talmudic scholar of repute, he served as a rabbi and teacher in several cities; wrote responsa, and was among those Italian rabbis who worked for a printing press, believing it to be a religious occupation, a natural employment for a scholar, whose main occupation was religious studies, but whose livelihood had to be derived elsewhere. Consistent with that concept, Treves is referred to on the title page of Sifrei as “Jonathon Treves, whose main occupation is Torah.” Prior to working for the Bomberg press (1545–46) he had been employed at the Hebrew press in Bologna (1537–41). Treves is the author of Kimha de-Avishuna (Bologna, 1540; pp. 250–51), a commentary on the Roman rite prayer book largely based on Midrashim.

Format 20: 37 leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (1515).

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Midrash Rabbot

twbr çrdm 1545, Venice—Marco Antonio Giustiniani Midrash Rabbah on the Torah and five Megillot. This is the second printing of the portion on the Pentateuch and the first on the Megillot. It is of particular interest for the light it sheds on printing in Venice at this time, for an almost physically identical edition exists, printed the same year, also in Venice, by the Bomberg press. The title page of the Torah portion of this edition, with the Giustiniani device, states: Midrash Rabbot on Hamishah Homshei Torah written by Rabbah bar Nahamani in the year four thousand and sixty of the creation (299/300) in the third generation of the amoraim. He was the head of the yeshivah [in Pumbedita] for twenty-two years and he previously wrote the Babylonian Talmud, as is written in the Sefer ha-Kabbalah of ha-Rabad.

The title page further states that it was printed in Venice at the press of Marco Antonio Giustiniani. The editor was R. Elijah ha-Levi Ashkenazi Levita (Bahur). There is an introduction and, at the end, verse in praise of the volume from him. The colophon notes that the work was done by Cornelius Adelkind. There are textual variations from the previous Constantinople edition, and errors in the pagination. For example, the last part on the Megillot says 84 but should say 90. Initial words of books are enclosed in large decorative frames. Another, almost identical printing of Midrash Rabbot exists, dated the same year, except that the title page names the printer as Daniel Bomberg. The two editions are typographically alike, with the same fonts and page layout, line-for-line identical, except for, in addition to the title pages, the decorative frames about the initial letters of books, and in the quires with those frames, slight variances in some lines. The text of both editions was certainly printed at the same press. A number of reasons have been suggested to explain this edition of the Midrash Rabbot with its variant title pages and only minor typographical differences. Menahem Schmelzer, noting the likeness except for the slight variances, writes that these “two enigmatic editions” reflect the “rather chaotic conditions of Hebrew printing in Venice in the 1540’s.” Yaakov Spiegel suggests that Giustiniani sold a portion of his output to the Bomberg press, which substituted title pages with its name. If this is what occured they would also have had to reprint the quires with the pages containing the decorative frames, thus explaining the minor typographical differences. The Giustiniani press is normally seen as a rival to that of Bomberg. However, this volume suggests that there may well have been instances of cooperation between the printinghouses. Furthermore, Cornelius Adelkind, master printer for Bomberg, worked briefly for Giustiniani during a hiatus in the activity of the Bomberg press, returned there when it resumed operations, and, when it closed, again worked for Giustiniani, so that he would have been a ready and convenient liaison between the two Hebrew printing-houses.

Format 20: 201; 201–208; 90 [says 84]. 16 leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (1512); Printed in Venice (1545, Bomberg; 1566), Cracow (1587), Venice (1597) and Salonika (1594).

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Nahalat Avot

twba tljn Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel 1545, Venice—Marco Antonio Giustiniani Commentary on Pirkei Avot by Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel (1437–1508). Printed with Nahalat Avot is the commentary of Maimonides. Abrabanel wrote Nahalat Avot in response to a request from his youngest son, Samuel, then a student in Salonika. The verso of the title page has verse in praise of the work by Abrabanel’s son, Judah, followed by the introductions in two columns, the inner that of Abrabanel, the outer that of Maimonides. The text is in square letters, with the two commentaries about it in rabbinic type, in the same positions as the introductions. The work, performed by Giustiniani’s associates, the partners R. Judah ben Isaac ha-Levi Ashkenazi (Loeb Kulpa) of Frankfurt and Jehiel ben Jekuthiel ha-Kohen Rapa, was completed 5 Av 305 (Tuesday, July 24th, 1545). The press also printed Abrabanel’s Zevah Pesah and Rosh Amanah at this time. The text of Pirkei Avot utilized by Abrabanel, as evidenced from his commentary, varies somewhat from the standard text of that work. Abrabanel follows the same format in Nahalat Avot as in his other commentaries, beginning each Mishnah with a series of questions, the subject of, and answered in, the ensuing discussion. Here, too, Abrabanel is lengthy and digresses, compensated for by interpretations that are innovative, courageous, and profound. In the introduction, Abrabanel bemoans the condition of Sephardic Jewry, observed in Corfu, noting their spiritual deterioration, ignoring eternal values to pursue, like slaves, transitory temporal gain, a greater misfortune than all their other sufferings. In Zevah Pesah, completed in Naples, Abrabanel gives a more positive picture of Sephardic Jewry’s spiritual state. On the title page is Giustiniani’s device, a representation of the Temple, with the Hebrew words çdqmh tyb (Bet ha-Mikdash, The Holy House) on the structure, and a banner furled over it stating, “The glory of this latter House shall be greater [than that of the former,] says the Lord of hosts” (Haggai 2:9). The intent of the verse, unfulfilled, is that Giustiniani’s press would overshadow that of his great rival, Daniel Bomberg. Nevertheless, the high quality of Giustiniani’s publications, particularly his edition of the Talmud, was sufficient to secure his reputation as a printer and make his name and ensign sufficiently attractive to other printers to want to emulate him. This device does not appear on Ramban’s Perush ha-Torah, completed 19 Adar (March 13, 1545), and Abrabanel’s Rosh Amanah, completed 7 Nissan (March 30, 1545), Giustiniani’s first books. However, beginning with Zevah Pesah, completed 24 Sivan ( June 14, 1545) and Nahalat Avot, his later titles, excepting Ohel Mo’ed (1548), Solomon of Urbino’s dictionary of synonyms, and a Pentateuch (1551), have the Temple representation on the title page or at the back of the volume. Another version of this device, used with larger books, is surrounded on three sides by the complete verse from Haggai, “The glory of this latter House shall be greater than that of the former, says the Lord of hosts; and in this place I will give peace, says the Lord of hosts.” On the fourth side, to the right, is, “. . . in the Sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established” (Exodus 15:17).

Format 40: 216 leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (1505) and reprinted in Venice (1567).

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Rosh Amanah

hnma çar rps Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel 1545, Venice—Marco Antonio Giustiniani On the principles of faith by Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel (1437–1508). Abrabanel writes, at the end of Rosh Amanah (Constantinople, 1505 edition), that he completed the work “in Naples at the end of Marheshvan, in the year, ‘The voice of rejoicing hnr (255 = November, 1494) and salvation’” (Psalms 118:15), that is, two years after the expulsion from Spain. Rosh Amanah is the second book printed by Giustiniani. The title page is devoid of ornamentation, lacking even the famed Giustiniani device, the representation of the Temple, which was yet not utilized by the press. The title is a play on “[look from the] peak of Amanah (rosh Amanah)” (Song of Songs 4:8), to mean the principles of faith. The colophon dates the completion of the work to Friday, 7 Nissan 5305 (March 30, 1545). On the verso of the title page are verses from Judah Abrabanel, the author’s son. Abrabanel’s introduction follows, in which he explains that his purpose in writing the book was twofold, to clarify the confusion resulting from the many lists on the principles of faith and to defend Maimonides from his critics, most importantly R. Hasdai Crescas (Or HaShem), and Joseph Albo (Ikkarim). Stylistically, Rosh Amanah follows the same format as Abrabanel’s other works, that is, he poses a series of questions which he then resolves. There are twenty-four chapters. In the first twenty-two Abrabanel enumerates twentyeight objections to Maimonides’ thirteen principles of faith, twenty taken from Crescas and Albo. Abrabanel subsequently resolves these objections, defending Maimonides from his critics, although he too, in chapter twenty-three, rejects Maimonides’ formulation of a dogma for Judaism. Rosh Amanah begins with a discussion of the thirteen principles, followed (ch. 2–5) with Crescas and Albo’s objections; then nine necessary propositions for the ensuing discussion (6–11); the refutation of the objections (12–21); criticism of Crescas and Albo’s formulation (22); Abrabanel’s contention that Judaism has no dogmas (23); and, lastly, a discussion of the Mishnah in Sanhedrin (90a), “All Israel has a share in the world to come,” which might seem to posit a dogma for Judaism. Despite Abrabanel’s contention that Judaism has no dogmas, he writes (ch. 22) that if he were to “choose principles to posit for the divine Torah I would lay down one only, the creation of the world. It is the root and foundation . . . and includes the creation at the beginning, the narratives about the Patriarchs, and the miracles and wonders which cannot be believed without belief in creation.” He repeats this position in other works, such as Shamayim Hadashim and Mifalot Elokim. Rosh Amanah has been published at least nine times to the present, excluding a questionable 1547 Sabbioneta edition, and translated into Latin by Guilielmus Vorstius (Liber de capite fidei, Amsterdam, 1638 and 1684), French by B. Mossé (Les principes de la foi, Avignon, 1884), and English twice, that is, the first five chapters by Isaac Mayer Wise (The Book on the Cardinal Points of Religion), serialized in The Israelite (Cincinnati, 1862), and more recently in its entirety by M. Kellner (Principles of Faith, Rutherford, 1982).

Format 40: 34 leaves. Published previously in Constantinople (1505) and reprinted in Cremona (1557).

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1545-46, She’elot u’Teshuvot Rabbenu Nissim, Nissim ben Reuben Gerondi (Ran), Rome Courtesy of the Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University

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She’elot u’Teshuvot Rabbenu Nissim

ydnwryg μysn ‘r twbwçtw twlaç Nissim ben Reuben Gerondi (Ran) 1545–46, Rome—Antonio Blado Responsa from R. Nissim ben Reuben Gerondi (Rabbenu Nissim, Ran, 1310–c. 1375). Rabbenu Nissim, a physician, served, unofficially, as rabbi and dayyan in Barcelona. As head of the yeshivah, Rabbenu Nissim counted among his students R. Isaac ben Sheshet Perfet, Hasdai Crescas, Joseph Habiba, and Abraham Tamakh. He was, together with other rabbinic leaders, incarcerated for a time because of charges, first brought by a thief under torture, that Christian sacred articles had been sold to Jews. Although an independent thinker and willing to disagree with earlier commentators, Rabbenu Nissim is, in rendering decisions, generally conservative. Among the leading halahkists of his time, Rabbenu Nissim is today best known for his commentary on the halakhot of Isaac Alfasi and novellae on a number of Talmudic tractates. Because of his repute as a halakhic decisor, Rabbenu Nissim received inquiries from throughout the Mediterranean littoral, including Erez Israel. He is credited with about 1,000 responsa in manuscript, of which seventy-seven are printed here, from a unique manuscript. The title page informs that it was printed with great care by the partners Isaac ben Immanuel de Lattes, Benjamin ben Joseph d’Arignano and Maestro Antonio Blado at the latter’s press. The beginning of the work was on 10 Elul, 305 (Tuesday, August 28, 1545). The colophon repeats the partners’ names, noting the assistance of Solomon ben Isaac of Lisbon, and giving a completion date of 10 Shevat in the year “Rejoice wnnr (= 306) [in the Lord,] O you righteous” (Psalms 33:1) (Wednesday, January 23, 1546). The pagination is unusual for a Hebrew book of the period, in that it is by pages rather than by leaves. Although not large in number, the responsa included here nevertheless cover a spectrum of halakhic issues, such as learning, liturgy, Shabbat, festivals, business law, vows, charity, marital law, and custom. The responsa end on page 173, followed by 17 leaves, or 33 unmarked pages of the references. On the last pages is a listing of the halakhic subject matter addressed in the book. In one instance (no. 2), where the reply to a query was lacking, the editor, Lattes, provided the response, and in two other cases (nos. 49 and 72) supplied the query. The number of responsa (77) is not exact, for several responsa address more than one topic, while others have been divided unnecessarily. The Cremona edition (1557) is based on this rather than the Constantinople edition. The index was copied although the order of the texts in the two editions varies. The She’elot u’Teshuvot Rabbenu Nissim was printed at the press of Maestro Antonio Blado, a distinguished printer and official printer to the Papal court from 1516 to 1567. Blado had previously printed a Hebrew book, namely the Song of Songs, with Latin translation, in 1524. At this time his Jewish partners were Isaac ben Immanuel de Lattes, son and grandson of papal physicians, and Benjamin ben Joseph d’Arignano, known for his large library of manuscripts. Their chief printers were Samuel Sarfati and Solomon ben Isaac of Lisbon.

Format 40: 173, 33 pages. Reprinted in Constantinople (1548) and Cremona (1557).

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Avodat ha-Levi

ywlh tdwb[ Solomon ben Eliezer ha-Levi 1546, Venice—Marco Antonio Giustiniani Reference work on the taryag (613) commandments by the Turkish talmudist, R. Solomon ben Eliezer ha-Levi (15th–16th century). He was the brother of the kabbalist Abraham ben Eliezer ha-Levi (ha-Zaken), who quotes Solomon in his Ma’amar ha-Yihud. Avodat ha-Levi’s purpose is stated on the title page, and the texts referenced are specified. The title page, which has the Giustiniani device, states: Avodat ha-Levi And it is Moreh Zedek (teacher of righteousness) of the precepts according to ha-Rav, Rabbenu Moses bar Maimon [Maimonides] l”xz and in it are mentioned all the places in which the precepts are mentioned. The six Orders of Mishnayot, Sifra, Sifre, Mekhilta, also the Mishneh Torah, whichever book, and the halakhot from the book, the chapter, and the Sefer ha-Mitzvot, whichever paragraph of the positive mitzvot or the negative mitzvot, or the Sefer Mitzvot Katan (Semak), entitled Amudei Golah, whichever paragraph, and in the Sefer ha-Turim, whichever book of the Tur, and whichever paragraph from the Tur, Sefer Adam ve-Havvah u-Mesharim . . ., Kol Bo . . ., ha-Roke’ah . . ., ha-Agur . . ., ha-Rif . . ., according to the order of the parshiot (Torah readings). . . . In the year 306 in the month of Kislev (November/December, 1545)

The title page is followed by a brief introduction, and, on the same page, begins an enumeration of the precepts. The text is organized by parashiot; each of which begins with a listing of the number of commandments in that parashah, followed by the commandments. For example, Parashat Hukat There are three positive commandments in it 393 To make a red heifer in the prescribed manner for “a water of sprinkling” (Numbers 19:9), to purify with it the ritually impure. Parah, first chapter; Tohorot hilkhot Parah Adumah, chapter 1; Semag positive precept 232. 394 A corpse defiles all who touch or overshadow it, as it says, “when a man dies in a tent” (Numbers 19:14). Ohalot, first chapter; Tohorot hilkhot Tumat Met, chapter 1; Semag positive precept 231. 395 The water of sprinkling defiles the person in a state of ritual purity who touches them. . . .

The text is followed by an epilogue from the author, several lines of verse, and a colophon that informs that it was completed on Friday, 6 Shevat 5306 ( January 18, 1546). This edition of Avodat ha-Levi is based on the earlier Constantinople printing.

Format 40: 28 leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (c. 1515–20) and reprinted in Lublin (c. 1560).

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296

Be’er Mayim Hayyim

μyyj μym rab Hayyim ben Jacob Obadiah de Busal 1546, Salonika Kabbalistic work on various subjects by the talmudist and kabbalist R. Hayyim ben Jacob Obadiah de Busal (d. prior to 1567). Born in Spain, Busal, a student of R. Elijah Mizrahi and Isaac Amarillo, served from 1530 as rabbi of the Catalan community in Salonika. He was a co-signee on several ordinances for the Salonika community with such personages as R. Joseph Caro, Joseph Taitazak, Samuel de Medina and other rabbinic leaders. Busal engaged in a controversy over his rabbinic authority and perogatives with communal leaders who wished to remove him, several of whom, failing in their attempt to do so, resigned from the community. Among his prominent supporters was R. Moses Almosnino. Parenthetically, Busal was one of several rabbis who had to deal with this problem. Busal also engaged in a dispute with Taitazak. Busal composed Be’er Mayim Hayyim in four parts, of which only two parts have been printed. The title page of the first part states that printing began on Rosh Hodesh Sivan, in the year “Rejoice wnnr (306) in the Lord, O you righteous” (Psalms 33:1) (Sunday, May 12, 1546). The name of the printer is not given. Busal writes in the introduction to the book that the work is in four parts, entitled, respectively, “Ez Hayyim, Mekor Hayyim, Derekh Hayyim, and Orah Hayyim.” The first part addresses bodily sustenance, that is, eating, drinking, the blessing netilat yadayim (over washing hands), ha-mozi (the blessing before meals), other matters relating to the meal, Birkat ha-Mazon (grace after meals), and the cos shel Berakhah (cup of blessing). The second part is on Keri’at Shema at nighttime (recitation of Shema), its accompanying blessings, their explanations, both literal and mystical. The third part deals with a person’s responsibility to complete the weekly Torah readings with the community, the text twice and the targum once, and the last part is on a person’s conduct. As noted above, the last two parts were never printed. At the end of Ez Hayyim is an introduction to that part, followed by the title page of Mekor Hayyim, which restates the contents noted in the introduction to the book. That part is accompanied by a number of charts. In the first part of Be’er Mayim Hayyim Busal mentions other works that he wrote, among them Sefer ha-Pesakim, a collection of his responsa that was held by R. Hayyim Benveniste; Sefer ha-Dinim, on the order of Zera’im and thirteen additional tractates; Derekh Ez Hayyim, a kabbalistic work; and Nishmat Hayyim on the essence of the soul. Many of his responsa have been lost. Others, however, are to be found in the works of contemporary decisors, for example, R. Isaac Adarbi (Divrei Rivot), Samuel Kalai (Mishpetei Shemu’el ), and Samuel de Medina (Maharashdam). The last mentions Busal in eleven of his responsa.

Format 120: 121 leaves.

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Behinat Olam

μlw[ tnyjb Jedaiah ha-Penini ben Abraham Bedersi 1546, Venice—Cornelius Adelkind A poetical and philosophical work on the vanity of worldly things by R. Jedaiah ben Abraham Bedersi (ha-Penini, c. 1270–1340). Behinat Olam, the most famous of Jedaiah’s works, is also known as Shamayim la-Rom from its initial words, “The sky for height μymç μwrl, and the earth for depth” (Proverbs 25:3). It was written after the expulsion of the Jews from France in 1306, referred to in the book. Behinat Olam discusses the uncertainties of fortune and the correct path to be followed. Utilizing rich imagery, Behinat Olam is a mixture of philosophy and enthusiastic religion, combined with doleful asceticism. It begins with a description of the character of man, particularly those who are wise, noting their capabilities and many accomplishments. Nevertheless, the sage is not exempt from the vicissitudes of life, “for the sword of death stabs both the philosopher and the boor,” and death makes man equivalent to the animals. Man’s superiority is his immortality, to be strived for throughout his life. All else is vain and futile, this world a dark cave, a dumping place for refuse. The vanity of temporal pleasures and possessions are described; this world is a tempestuous sea, and time but a bridge over the abyss connecting that which preceded existence with eternity. There is a discussion of the soul, its heavenly origin, tribulations and struggles in its earthly sojourn in the body. The soul accompanies man beyond the grave, but man, enraptured by the insidious charms of this world, does not attempt to improve the best part of himself, and his years roll away in pursuit of illusions. The last part of Behinat Olam is devoted to pointing out what constitutes the correct path, the manner in which one should live, and that happiness can only be found in observance of the Law. The Torah is a flame originating in a heavenly spark, whereas man is the torch enkindled by the flame; the body being the wick, the soul the pure oil. Jedaiah does not advocate study alone, however, for man must live a full life, participating in the enjoyments of life, but in moderation. Behinat Olam concludes with two paragraphs, both beginning, “The end of the matter” (Ecclesiastes 12:13), the first of which states: Turn my heart, to the left or the right, but believe in all that the last of the geonim, our great master and teacher, Moses, the son of the great rabbenu Maimon, believed. There is none comparable to him among all the sages of Israel since the completion of the Talmud. Of this I can be sure, enriched by wisdom and Torah, you will fear the Lord your God.

Behinat Olam was printed together with Solomon ibn Gabirol’s Mivhar Peninim, which precedes it, and other works that follow it. It has, however, its own title page, followed, on the verso, by a brief introductory paragraph. This is followed by the text, beginning on 42a. There are more than eighty editions of Behinat Olam, including two incunabular editions (Mantua [1474], and Soncino, 1485), commentaries, and translations into English, French, Latin, German, and Yiddish, as well as a Behinat Olam Kizzur, entitled Kor le-Zahav, by Samuel Zeruf (Offenbach, 1716).

Format 40: [1], leaves 42–56. Printed previously in Constantinople ([1520]) and reprinted in Ferrara (1551), Mantua (1556), Riva di Trento (1559), Salonika ([1560]), Cracow 1591, Lublin ([1597]), and Prague (1598).

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Even Bohan

ˆjb ˆba Kalonymus ben Kalonymus 1546, Venice—Cornelius Adelkind A satire on the moral failings of his age by R. Kalonymus ben Kalonymus ben Meir haNasi (Maestro Calo, c. 1286–c. 1328). Kalonymus was born in Arles (Provence) to the illustrious Kalonymus family, and studied rabbinics and philosophy in nearby Salon under R. Abba Mari ben Eligdor (Sen Astruc de Noves) and Moses ben Solomon of Beaucaire. He is reputed to have also studied medicine, but is not known to have been a practicing physician. Kalonymus’ fluency in a large number of languages resulted in his becoming associated with Robert of Anjou (Robert the Wise, 1278–1343), King of Naples from 1309 to 1343, who sent him on a mission to Rome. Kalonymus remained there for some time, associating with such Jewish litterai as Immanuel of Rome. When Kalonymus’ family in Arles recalled him from Rome, Immanuel wrote a letter expressing the regret of the Jews or Rome at Kalonymous’ departure. Although written as a rhymed satire, Even Bohan is actually a didactic work, designed to provide moral instruction through the employ of wit. The framework employed is a dialogue between the author and his soul. Kalonymus begins by reproaching his heart for pursuing good food, wine, and women. He next expresses regret that he was born a man rather than a woman, for the latter has a relatively easy life compared to the many male obligations, with a parody on the morning prayer. “O, that You would refashion me a lass. Were I blessed with fortune rare, I would be a lady free from care. But alas, it is of no avail, My bitter fortune to bewail. Since my lot in heaven was willed, To change it no one is so skilled. Thus my burden I’ll bear with grace, Until I have run my race. And conforming with our belief, To thank the Lord in joy or grief, I offer thanks in speech faint and worn; ‘Praised are You, O Lord, that I was no woman born.’” Parables and illustrations are followed by serious critical passages. Perfunctory observance of holidays is described, food scrupulously prepared but less weight given to the importance of these days; conduct during the ten days of repentance when new wine becomes available; the ostentatious display of wealth, assumed learning, talmudic and secular. “I know them well, these hypocrites with glazed eyes, who . . . constantly pray to God, but in secret do the most shameful deeds. They hang their doors with mezzuzot, and the thresholds of their houses are filled with blood and sin.” Even Bohan was printed together with Mivhar Peninim (f. 1–40) and Behinat Olam (f. 41–56). It has its own title page, without any ornamentation, and gives the printer as Cornelius Adelkind. It has been suggested, however, based on the fonts, that it was printed at the press of Daniel Bomberg. This edition is based on the Naples edition (1489) and was the basis of the next, Cremona edition. The colophon informs that the work was completed on Purim 306 (Tuesday, February 26, 1546). Kalonymus is credited with translating more than thirty Arabic scientific and philosophic treatises into Latin, so that he was called the prince of translators. Among his original works are Massekhet Purim (Pesaro 1513), and Iggeret Musar and Iggeret ha-Hitnazzelut ha-Katan, these last two first published in the twentieth century.

Format 40: 57–84 leaves. Reprinted in Cremona (1558).

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Harkavah/Pirkei Eliyahu

whyla yqrp/hbkrh rps Elijah ben Asher ha-Levi Ashkenazi Levita (Bahur) 1546, Venice—Daniel Bomberg Two grammatical works from R. Elijah ben Asher ha-Levi Ashkenazi Levita (Bahur, 1468–1549). Levita, a grammarian, lexicographer, translator, and poet was born in Neustadt, Germany, but at an early age emigrated to Italy. He taught Hebrew in Padua, Venice, and Rome, among his most prominent students being Sebastian Muenster and Cardinal Egidius da Viterbo. Levita resided in the home of the latter for thirteen years from 1514 to 1527. In Padua Levita taught from and composed notes to R. Moses Kimhi’s Mahalakh Shevilei ha-Da’at, first printed with the name of Levita’s secretary but without Levita’s name. Levita’s grammatical works were especially appreciated by Christian Hebraists and several were translated into Latin. The title page of Harkavah, which has no ornamentation, informs that it was written in Rome, “in the year, me-ha-Harkavah hbkrhhm (277 = 1517),” and that it was printed by Cornelius Adelkind for Daniel Bomberg. The work begins with an introduction (2a–4b), followed by the text (5a–44a), and the colophon (44b), which states that it was completed in the year rda a πk. That is 1 Adar, 306 (Wednesday, February 13, 1546), the day and month being included in the calculation of the year. The text is in square vocalized letters. Harkavah is a lexigraphic work, in which, as Levita stated, he wrote “on the grammar of the foreign and compound words as I did not address them in [ha-Bahur (Rome, 1518)]. I toiled, found, and collected from all the places in which they are scattered in the twentyfour books (of the Bible) and arranged them in alphabetical order.” This work explains the composition and derivation of the foreign and compound words in the Bible, which are listed alphabetically. Harkavah, written after and as a companion to Levita’s ha-Bahur, was printed first. Printed with Harkavah is Pirkei Eliyahu, which continues the foliation of the previous work. It has an introduction (45b–46a), contents (46b), text (47a–67a), and colophon (84a), which states that, “ˆsynl a”h πk (26 Nissan = Monday April 8, 1546), in this month it was begun and completed.” The text is in rabbinic letters except for headings and initial words. Pirkei Eliyahu is a philological work. Written partly in verse, it is a series of essays on Hebrew letters and vowels, phonetics, particles, genders of nouns, and prosody. It is, as Levita states in the introduction, a supplement to and completion of his grammatical work, ha-Bahur. Both Harkavah and Pirkei Eliyahu are revised and enlarged from their previous printings. Levita wrote a number of other works on the Hebrew language, among them Masoret ha-Masoret (Venice, 1538), where, in the introduction, he defends himself against criticism for teaching Torah to non-Jews, and several secular works in Yiddish.

Format 80: Harkavah/Pirkei Eliyahu 83, [1] leaves. Harkavah printed previously in Rome (1518) and Basle (1525, 1536). Pirkei Eliyahu printed previously in Pesaro (1520), Basle (1527, 1529?).

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Hebraica Biblia Mikdash HaShem

[braw μyrç[ ‘h çdqm Sebastian Muenster 1546, Basle—Michael Isengrin and Henricus Petri Translation of the Hebrew Bible, with the original text, into classical Latin with glosses by the Christian-Hebraist Sebastian Muenster. The first Protestant translation of the Hebrew Bible, and not based on the Vulgate, it is considered an important achievement in the history of translation, as well as in the Christian rediscovery of the original Hebrew text of the Bible. The title page of the first of the work’s two volumes has Hebrew and Latin text but no ornamentation. The Hebrew text states that it is Mikdash HaShem of the twenty-four holy books with a translation into Latin and brief commentary on difficult verses. Below it is a more detailed Latin paragraph. Hebrew and Latin introductions and a Latin index follow, all unfoliated. The text, which is on the Torah and prophets through II Kings, is in two columns, the Hebrew in the inner, the Latin in the outer column. Muenster’s annotations are at the end of chapters. Initial Latin words are set with historiated letters. The Hebrew text is based on the first Biblia Rabbinica (1516–17, pp. 94–95) published by Daniel Bomberg and edited by Felix Pratensis. The title of the second volume, Ozar Yaisha, covering the remaining books of the Bible, is set within an ornamental border. Initially published in 1534–35 with Hebrew text, Latin translation, and annotations in a folio format, it was reissued the following year as a quarto with the Hebrew text only. In this edition the translation is unchanged but the annotations are enlarged and improved, and a greater number of Jewish sources are cited. The translation and glosses are largely based, as acknowledged in the introduction, on the works of Hebrew Bible commentators, among them R. Abraham ibn Ezra, David Kimhi (Radak), Moses ben Nahman (Ramban), Rashi, the Targumim, and Elijah Levita (Bahur), the latter whom Muenster knew personally. Most of Muenster’s comments are grammatical. Muenster provides a systematic defense of the use of Jewish sources, both by him and other Christian-Hebraists, from criticism in both Catholic and Protestant circles, writing: Many places in Scriptures are, indeed, obscure and perplexing so that they cannot be easily understood without the Hebrew tradition—however smart people today may growl. . . . If this were true, that the Jews could not interpret Scriptures in the days of Rashi and before his days, from whom, I ask, did Jerome learn the interpretation of the Law and the Prophets? Not from the Jews? . . . This one thing I know; There are many points in the commentaries of Jerome, which he asserts to have learned from the Jews, and which I have also found in R. Saloman.

His non-dogmatic approach and defense of Jewish learning notwithstanding, this is unquestionably a Christian work, as can be seen from the first page of the introduction. The Torah portion with Megillot and Muenster’s annotations, but not his name, was reprinted by the Giustiniani press in 1551, the omission due to it being a Protestant work reprinted in a Catholic country. The Muenster Bible strongly influenced Tyndall and the development of the English King James Bible.

Format 20: [37], 743; 744–1601 leaves. Printed previously in Basle (1534–35) and reprinted (Torah portion) in Venice (1551).

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Iggeret ha-Kodesh

çdqh trga rps Moses ben Nahman (Ramban) 1546, Rome—Antonio Blado Kabbalistic letter on marital relations traditionally attributed to R. Moses ben Nahman (Nahmanides, Ramban, 1194–1270) but now believed by many to have been written by R. Joseph ben Abraham Gikatilla (1248–c. 1325). Iggeret ha-Kodesh begins with a brief preface which states the purpose of the work: My brother, whose soul is as mine, zealous to examine the ways from which you will know the fear of the Lord. . . . You have requested from me to instruct you in the way in which a man may attend to his needs, so that it will be entirely for the sake of heaven, concerning the union [sexual consummation] of man and wife, thereby meriting sons, learned of the Law, fit to accept the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven. . . . I will arrange my comments for you in six chapters, like the branches of a menorah.

The book is comprised of six chapters, the first introductory, that is, 1) Know and Understand; followed by 2) On the essence of [sexual] union [ joining]; 3) the time of union; 4) the diet appropriate for union; 5) the intent [mind set] of union; and 6) the quality of this union. The author’s approach contrasts with that of Maimonides’ Aristotelian ascetic position, here defending the spirituality of sexual relations, writing, “Know that the union of a man with his wife is divided into two parts. One form of [sexual] union is holy and pure. . . . One should not think that [sexual] union is shameful or ugly, God forbid. This union is called ‘knowing,’ for good reason, for as it says, ‘And Elkanah knew his wife Hannah’” (I Samuel 1:19). The text has an exoteric skeleton, which is the framework for the book’s esoteric contents, thereby enabling the writer to transmit kabbalistic concepts that otherwise would not be put into writing. The reader who fathoms these secrets will proceed according to the true light, towards the pure menorah, saved from the darkness which causes the blind (ignorant) to stumble. Indeed, the terms known (h[ydy) and union (rwbj) are synonyms. Man metaphysically is wisdom (hmkjh) and woman understanding (hnwbth), which join together in pure union (rwhfh rwbjh). Iggeret ha-Kodesh is then a kabbalistic marriage manual, describing how to achieve a harmonic relation while simultaneously discussing the influence of human actions on the interrelations of the world. This notwithstanding, the book is primarily ethical, instructing on the proper relations between a man and his wife. The title page is simple, attributing the work to Nahmanides, and noting that it was printed by the partners, Isaac ben Immanuel de Lattes and Benjamin ben Joseph d’Arignano at the press of Maestro Antonio Blado. Iggeret ha-Kodesh has been frequently reprinted, and translated into Yiddish, Latin, French, and English. Moreover, it has been included either in part or in its entirety in other works, such as Menorat ha-Ma’or of R. Israel Al-Nakawa, Menorat ha-Ma’or of Isaac Aboab, Reshit Hokhmah of Elijah de Vidas, and the Shevilei Emunah of Meir Aldabi.

Format 80: 16 leaves. Reprinted in Basle (1580), Cracow (1594), and Salonika (1595).

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Marpe Lashon/Darkhei No’am

μ[n ykrd/ˆwçl aprm Moses ben Shem Tov ibn Habib 1546, Venice—Daniel Bomberg Two works, the first a summary of the rules of grammar for the Hebrew language, the second on poetry, by R. Moses ben Shem Tov ibn Habib (d. before 1505). Habib, a grammarian, poet, translator, and philosopher, was born in Lisbon but left Portugal well before the expulsion of the Jews. He went first to North Africa, and then to southern Italy, residing in such locations as Naples, Bitonto, and Otranto. His grammatical work, Marpe Lashon, was written in Bitonto in 1486. The title page, which has no ornamentation, states: Preferable to great riches is a wholesome tongue (marpe lashon), and rather than silver or gold are ways of pleasantness (darkhei no’am) (adaptation of Proverbs 22:1 with 15:4 and 3:17). Two valuable works, preferable to fine gold and rubies. Formed and prepared with amazing brevity, [by the] sage, the virtuous, for “a name and a praise” (Zephaniah 3:20), R. Moses ibn Habib. Printed at the press of Daniel Bomberg in the year “Rejoice wnnr (306 = 1546) in the Lord, O you righteous” (Psalms 33:1).

This text is identical with that of the previous Constantinople edition (40 8f.). Marpe Lashon, as the title page states, is a brief summary of the rules of grammar. It reflects the influence of R. Profiat Duran (Efodi) who sought to base Hebrew grammar upon logic. Prior to writing Marpe Lashon, and completed in December, 1484, Habib wrote a larger grammatical work, entitled Perah Shoshan (flowers of lilies, I Kings 7:26), which he refers to in Darkhei No’am and is extant in manuscript. Perah Shoshan is quoted by R. Abraham de Balmes in his Mikneh Avram (Venice, 1523). Written in the same year and place and printed with Marpe Lashon is Darkhei No’am, on the rules of poetry. There is no title page, the beginning of the book simply being noted in large bold letters at the top of the page. The text of both books is in a single column in square vocalized letters, and lacks both pagination and signatures. The volume concludes with the ruse of the ibn Ezra at sea (25b–26a) and that the printer was Cornelius Adelkind. Darkhei No’am is dedicated to Dr. Joseph ha-Levi. Written in a clear and lucid style, Habib employs the principles of Aristotle’s Poetics. He disapproves of secular poetry and attempts to demonstrate that rhyme and meter were facets of Hebrew poetry in biblical times. As a proof Habib notes that when in Valencia he saw a tombstone, at the top of a hill, on which was chiseled the inscription, “Lift up a lamentation, in a bitter voice, for the great general, whom God has taken.” Unable to read the remainder, which was rubbed out, Habib was able to discern that it concluded with “the words of Amaziah,” that is, the biblical king of Judah. Habib also wrote, at the behest of a student, Azariah ben Joseph, a commentary on the Behinat Olam of Jedaiah ha-Penini Bedersi, printed with the Constantinople ([1520]) and Ferrara (1552) editions of that work. He translated works on medicine and refers to a work entitled Kiryat Arba’ah, pertaining to the number four, of uncertain subject and no longer extant.

Format 80: 26 leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (c. 1510–14).

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Milhemet ha-Hokhmah ve-ha-Osher

rçw[hw hmkjh tmjlm Judah ben Isaac ibn Shabbetai c. 1546, Cracow Humorous dialogue by R. Judah ben Isaac ibn Shabbetai over the merits of wisdom and wealth. It is written, as with his other works, as a maqama, that is, a narrative in rhymed prose, mixed with metrical poems The title page, with an architectural frame, states: This book is entitled the “great king” (Psalms 48:3), and its subject matter “is more to be desired than gold, even fine gold” (Psalms 19:11), arranged in a manner (line) that is true and right, in the war of Wisdom and Wealth. “To show the people and princes” (Esther 1:11), and to all passersby, “which shall prosper, this or that, or whether they both alike shall be good” (Ecclesiastes 11:6). Here q”q Cracow

The text is in a single column, in alternating square and rabbinic letters, arranged as a dialogue between twin brothers over the merits of wisdom and wealth. It is humorous, with numerous puns, and didactic, attempting to direct man to the correct way of life and conduct. The brothers, named Peleg and Yaktan, represent, respectively, the pursuit of wealth and wisdom. Their father, as a last bequest, divides his wealth equally between his sons, excepting a precious crown with magical powers of assuaging pain, whose possession is not designated. Peleg and Yaktan dispute over the crown, the former contending that it is wealth, more so than wisdom or even religion that is of greatest importance, while the latter argues that it is wisdom that prevails and therefore he should have the crown. In their arguments both brothers quote, often in a humorous fashion, from biblical and talmudic sources and Jewish history in support of their position. They bring their case to trial before R. Todros ben Judah Abulafia of Toledo. Peleg presents supporting documents from Jeroboam ben Nebat and Elisha ben Avuyah, and Yaktan from Joseph and Solomon. The court decision is that both wisdom and wealth are pillars of society and necessary for a happy life and one must not be followed to the exclusion of the other, expressed as a pesak din (legal decision). Printed previously in Constantinople, that edition of Milhemet ha-Hokhmah ve-ha-Osher reputedly has verse at the end not present here. The title page of that edition is identical to this Cracow printing, except for an added line referring to verse not present here. The Constantinople printing, although rare, is certainly more common than this edition, which, in the catalogues of major collections, is recorded only by Steinschneider and Cowley in their catalogues of the Bodleian Library. Although undated, both Steinschneider and Cowley date it to 1543. That date seems improbable, as the previous Cracow printers, the Halicz brothers, had ceased printing books of interest to the Jewish community by 1540, and the next Cracow press, that of Isaac Prostitz, did not open until 1569.

Format 80: 6 leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (c. 1543).

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Mishnayot Seder Tohorot with commentaries of Maimonides and Samson ben Abraham of Sens

twrhf rdsm twynçm 1546, Venice—Marco Antonio Giustiniani Mishnayot Order Tohorot on ritual purity and impurity with the commentaries of R. Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides, Rambam, 1135–1204) and R. Samson ben Abraham of Sens (Rash, c. 1150–c. 1230). Maimonides needs no introduction. Samson, among the foremost of the Ba’alei Tosafot, was a grandson of R. Samson ben Joseph of Falaise and studied under R. Jacob Tam (Rabbenu Tam), Hayyim ha-Kohen, and Isaac ben Samuel of Dampierre (Ri ha-Zaken), the last his primary teacher. The Tosafot printed with many tractates in the Talmud, known as the Tosafot Sens, were arranged by Samson. During the Maimonidean controversy, Samson commented on R. Meir ha-Levi Abulafia’s criticism of Maimonides for the French rabbis. Although critical of many of Maimonides’ statements, Samson expressed considerable respect for him. Samson died in Erez Israel. The title page has the Giustiniani printer’s mark, that is, the representation of the Temple. The text simply states the contents and commentaries. Maimonides’ introduction follows, then the text, in the center of the page in square letters, beginning on 4a. Maimonides’ commentary is in the inner margin, Samson’s in the outer margin. This volume, printed in conjunction with the Giustiniani Talmud, is part of a complete Mishnayot. All of the volumes have Maimonides’ commentary, but only Orders Zera’im (excluding Berakhot) and Tohorot (excluding Niddah) have Samson’s commentary. The colophon begins, “these are the words of the first editor, whose name in Israel was Jacob ben Hayyim (ibn Adonijah) who edited Seder Tohorot . . .”, referring to the prior edition with Samson’s commentary, and, by “whose name in Israel was,” to that editor’s apostasy. Maimonides’ commentary, written in Arabic, was begun when he was twenty-three years old. It is comprehensive, encompassing all six orders of Mishnayot. Extensive introductions are provided to each Order. The introduction to Tohorot is particularly thorough due to the complexity of the subject matter. Maimonides summarizes the rules and categories found in the Talmud, beraitot, and toseftot. Although his primary purpose is to explain the Mishnah for the layman according to the Talmud, without that work’s involved discussions and difficult language, his clarification of complex passages makes it useful both for the scholar and as an introduction to the Talmud. Maimonides’ commentary is systematic in approach and includes halakhic conclusions and philosophic insights. His stated purpose notwithstanding, he also arrives at independent interpretations. Samson’s commentary on Zera’im was first printed in 1522, together with that of Maimonides, as part of the first Bomberg Talmud. However, the commentary on Tohorot was printed apart from that Talmud in 1523. Samson’s commentary is built upon the work of his predecessors, such as R. Isaac ben Melchizedek of Siponto (c. 1090–1160), while his explanation of terms is based on the Arukh. Samson utilizes the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds, as well as Tosefta, Sifra, Sifrei, and Sifrei Zuta, raising and answering difficulties, based on the insights of the Ba’alei Tosafot, such as Rabbenu Tam and Ri. Samson’s commentary is a basic work utilized by all later commentators.

Format 20: 103 leaves.

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Naftulei Elohim Niftalti (Simanim al Hiddushei Bahya)

(yyjbh yçwdyj l[ μynms) ytltpn μydla yltpn Naphtali Hertz Treves 1546, Heddernheim—Hayyim ben David Shahor/Joseph ben Yakar An index and supercommentary on the Be’ur al ha-Torah of R. Bahya ben Asher (Rabbenu Bahya, 13th century) by R. Naphtali Hertz ben Eliezer Treves (Drifzan, sixteenth century). Treves was a scion of the distinguished family of that name, which produced a continuous line of scholars from the Middle Ages, taking its name from the city of Troyes, France, the birthplace of Rashi. Naphtali Treves was a student of R. Elijah Belin and Nathan Zak and served as hazzan (cantor) in Frankfort on the Main. As a kabbalist his mastery of kabbalistic literature and high reputation were such that he was known as the “the great kabbalist.” He was also well regarded for his considerable halakhic scholarship, a small work of his on gittin (bills of divorce) earning him much praise. Treves is also reported to have engaged in polemics with Christian scholars and to have commented on the pronunciation of German. He was the author of two important kabbalistic works, Malah ha-Arez De’ah, a kabbalistic prayer book with commentary, printed by his sons (Thiengen, 1560), and this work, Naftulei Elohim. The title is taken from “And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled (Naftulei Elohim Niftalti ) with my sister, and I have prevailed; and she called his name Naphtali” (Genesis 30:8). The title page is simple, merely stating that it is “Simanim (index) of the novellae of Bahya followed by a fine elucidation of it newly printed in the year 306 (1546) q”pl here q”q Heddernheim.” The verso of the title page has a preface from the printers, followed by the simanim, that is, the index by parashah, a brief preface from Treves, and then the commentary. Treves’ purpose was not to present novel interpretations for, as he writes in the preface, “With great wrestlings have I wrestled and have been joined. I also prevailed to ‘refrain before all those who stood’ (Genesis 45:1) to comment on the Torah and to hearken to them, for my Rock, the Almighty, prepared ears for me. Two ears and one mouth, to precede hearing and receiving from their mouths and writings before I speak.” Treves wrote this brief commentary due to the forgetfulness prevalent in his times. The text is generally succinct, in a number of instances one or two lines only. A number of entries employ atbash, a system of letter substitution. Naftulei Elohim was published, according to the colophon, by Hayyim ben David [Shahor (Schwarz)], Joseph ben Yakar, and Isaac ben Hayyim Shalit. We have met the peripatetic Hayyim Shahor and his family earlier, in Augsburg. He left that city in about 1543 for Ichenhausen, Bavaria (1544–45), where he printed a Yiddish prayer book, and then, in 1546, came to Heddernheim, where he printed two books, this work and, in the same year, a Selihot. The Ferrara edition (40, 39, [1]f.) has no title page, beginning with Treves’ preface. It has the commentary but not the simanim. Abraham ibn Usque’s mark appears only on the final page.

Format 20: 9 (should say 10), 27 leaves. Reprinted in Ferrara (1556) and Cracow (1593).

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Otiyyot de-Rabbi Akiva

abyq[ ybrd twytwa 1546, Venice—Cornelius Adelkind for Marco Antonio Giustiniani A kabbalistic exposition on the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, ascribed to the tanna Rabbi Akiva ben Joseph (c. 50–135). This small work, also known as Alef Bet de-R. Akiva and Haggadah de-R. Akiva, exists in several versions; different renderings are printed together in more recent collections of Midrashim. This and other contemporary editions are, given the book’s small size and references to it as a large work, only a portion of the complete midrash. In the Cracow edition (1579), a much larger book, the title page states that, based on a manuscript, considerable material not to be found in the Venice edition is being printed, together with source references for verses. The title page of this edition states that it is the “Letters of Rabbi Akiva l”xz” and that “each and every letter is explained according to the secret knowledge and novellae of the true Kabbalah. . . .” The title page is dated “in the year 306 q”pl in the month of Shevat ( January/February, 1546).” It is followed by a table of the letters and their contents. Otiyyot de-R. Akiva gives mystical interpretations for the Hebrew letters, offering varying meanings for each letter, including eschatological values. For example, in the contents the subject matter of s samekh is given as “the righteous, pious, Jerusalem, the Tabernacle made by Moses and the Torah.” In the text six interpretations (Mikdash is added) are given for s, the third is “samekh represents Jerusalem, for close to ˚wms and surrounding bybs it are mountains representative of the patriarchs. The hills about it are representative of the matriarchs, as it states ‘As the mountains are around Jerusalem[, so the Lord surrounds his people from this time forth and for evermore]’” (Psalms 125:2). Samekh also stands for the Holy One, blessed be He; Israel; the Tabernacle Moses and Israel made in the desert; the Temple in Jerusalem; and the Torah. It is estimated that Otiyyot de-R. Akiva is actually an eighth- or ninth-century work, the earliest known mention of it being in the time of Rav Saadiah Gaon (882–942). Well known in the middle ages, Otiyyot de-R. Akiva was highly regarded and frequently referred to by a large number of Rishonim (early sages). Among them is Isaac ben Moses of Vienna (c. 1180–c. 1250), who writes in the introduction to his halakhic masterpiece, Or Zaru’a, that he so named his work because the final letters of the verse “Light is sown (Or Zaru’a) for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart” (Psalms 97:11) spell Akiva, and that, by applying atbash, a hermeneutical rule for the substitution of letters, to the same verse, it was revealed to him that the name Akiva can be spelled with a he rather than an alef. The introduction to Or Zaru’a also includes an explanation of the hidden meaning of Hebrew letters, written in the style of the Alef Bet de-R. Akiva, written at the behest of his teacher, Eleazar ben Judah of Worms (Roke’ah, c. 1165–c. 1230).

Format 40: 12 leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (c. 1516) and reprinted in Cracow (1579 and [1600]).

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318

She’iltot

twtlyaç Rav Ahai of Shabha 1546, Venice—Daniel Bomberg One hundred seventy halakhic homilies, plus unnumbered derashot on holidays, arranged according to the weekly Torah readings by Rav Ahai of Shabha (680–752). Ahai, a student of R. Samuel Rosh Kallah, was a preeminent talmudist. Nevertheless, upon the death of the Gaon of Pumbedita in about 748, the Exilarch Solomon ben Hasdai (733–c. 759), a recognized scholar who supported the Babylonian yeshivot, appointed his brother-in-law, Natronai Kahana ben Emunah of Baghdad, a student of Ahai, to fill the vacancy as Gaon. In response to this slight, Ahai left Babylonia for Erez Israel. Ahai was followed by a number of Babylonian Jews, resulting in a large number of Jews in Erez Israel who followed Babylonian customs and rituals. R. Abraham ibn Daud (Rabad I) describes Ahai, in his Sefer ha-Kabbalah: After R. Samuel bar Mari there was a great scholar, R. Ahai of Shabha, who composed his She’iltot on all the commandments specified in the Torah. This book, which has survived to this day, was examined and scrutinized by all who came after him; we have heard that to this day not a single error has been detected in it. Nevertheless this R. Ahai was not appointed gaon because of the hostility of the exilarch of his generation toward him. . . .

She’iltot is the first book written in the two hundred and fifty years after the completion of the Talmud for which the name of its author is known. Neither a Midrash nor a typical code, She’iltot is comprised of halakhic discourses based on talmudic sources arranged according to the weekly Torah readings, directed towards a popular audience. She’iltot’s primary sources are the Babylonian Talmud, and Palestinian sources such as the Tosefta and halakhic midrashim. It is also noteworthy in that it contains material predating the Talmud. Almost all the weekly portions are represented, although the homilies are not evenly distributed. The presentation, in its classic form, is formulaic, each discourse in four parts: an introduction of the subject commandment, generally biblical but occasionally rabbinic; a question, beginning “you must learn,” with suggested alternatives and concise arguments; the homily, beginning with praise of God for giving Israel the Torah and references from the Talmud; and the concluding section, which starts, “and as for the question I set before you,” with the conclusion, which is often brief. However, in its printed form, some of this material is omitted. Ingenuity is displayed in relating precepts to non-halakhic readings. For example, Isaac’s wedding is used to discuss marital laws; the story of Joseph for the legal ramifications of dreams; and the famine in Egypt to attack hoarding. It is generally accepted that She’iltot was composed in Erez Israel, although there are arguments for a Babylonian provenance. Questions have also been raised as to whether authorship is unitary and contemporaneous, or if Ahai collected and reworked sermons delivered by others. She’iltot was an important source for the Halakhot Gedolot and other geonic works. Despite the fact that it is written in Aramaic, limiting its audience, it was a popular work in the Middle Ages, attested to by the large number of extant manuscripts and the existence of a number of commentaries.

Format 20: 62 leaves.

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Shibbolei ha-Leket

fqlh ylbç Zedekiah (ha-Rofei) ben Abraham 1546, Venice—Daniel Bomberg Halakhic compendium by the Italian sage R. Zedekiah ben Abraham (c. 1230–c. 1300) of the Anav family. Zedekiah was a student of R. Judah ben Benjamin, Meir ben Moses, Avigdor Katz, Jacob of Wuerzburg, and, perhaps, Meir ben Baruch of Rothenburg. Although little is known of his life it is clear from Shibbolei ha-Leket that, at least when he wrote that work, he was a resident of Rome and that he was alive when the Talmud was burned in Paris in 1242. Also, based on the appellation ha-rofei, he was a physician. His brothers, Benjamin (Massa Gei Hizzayon, see below, pp. 512–13) and Moses, were both liturgical poets, the former also a physician. Shibbolei ha-Leket (Gleaned Ears) is a detailed compilation from earlier halakhic works and responsa covering prayers, holidays and the Jewish year. Zedekiah references a large number of early sources, quotes often from the Jerusalem as well as the Babylonian Talmud, notes divergent positions, and discusses various customs and laws, without offering his own opinion. The title page, which does not mention Zedekiah, states, “Who is the man who desires life, [and loves many days, that he may see good?]” (Psalms 34:13), for a sign, for the appointed times of the days and years, . . . “I beg you, let (me) glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves” (Ruth 2:7), in this book, full of the interpretations of the geonim and decisors. . . .

This edition is much abridged, the more familiar Shibbolei ha-Leket ha-Shalem, based on a manuscript, not having been printed until 1886. Unlike the complete version, divided into 13 arugot (rows, sections) and 372 shibbolim (ears), this edition is divided into 12 sections and 121 subsections. Among the omitted material is the recounting of the burning of the Talmud, with the accompanying she’elat halom (for a response via a dream), as to the appropriate time to fast; the commentary on the Haggadah; and the numerous references to his brothers. Many of the sections end, “etc.” In 1988 a second part of Shibbolei ha-Leket, previously unpublished, covering dietary laws, interest, and vows, was published from a manuscript. The volume is competed by a brief colophon which does not name the editor, followed by a table of contents; the tale describing the encounter of the amora, R. Joshua ben Levi, and the angel of death, in which R. Joshua, assured of his place in the Garden of Eden, is given a tour of the Garden, which is described, and gets the angel of death’s sword (Ketubbot 77b); concluding with a single brief responsa from R. Solomon ben Abraham Adret (Rashba, 1235–c. 1310) concerning an individual who wished to be relieved from a vow to cease gambling, so that he would not violate both his vow and the prohibition against gambling. The response was negative. Shibbolei ha-Leket was sufficiently popular that it was abridged as, or a major source for, Tanya Rabbati, by Jehiel ben Jekuthiel ben Benjamin, perhaps a grandson of Zedekiah’s brother (see below, pp. 564–65).

Format 20: 58 leaves.

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Teshuvot ha-Rav

brh twbwçt Isaac ben Sheshet Perfet (Ribash) 1546–47, Constantinople—Eliezer Soncino Five hundred eighteen responsa from R. Isaac ben Sheshet Perfet (Ribash, 1326–1408). A student of R. Perez ha-Kohen, Hasdai Crescas, and Nissim Gerondi (Ran), Perfet was among the greatest Sephardic talmudists of his time. His life, however, was one of tragedy. Four close relatives were lost to plague in 1375, and two sons were burned at the stake in Majorca. In 1370, he, together with other rabbinic authorities, was incarcerated for months on a spurious charge. When released, Perfet, who had supported himself as a merchant, became rabbi in Saragossa. Attempting to initiate reforms, Perfet found himself embroiled in communal strife. Perfet decided to relocate, but, upon the entreaties of the community, remained in Saragossa until 1385, when he became rabbi of Valencia. In 1391, Perfet fled Spain for North Africa after the outbreak of anti-Jewish riots. In Algiers, rabbis jealous of Perfet’s authority opposed his decisions, such as a ban on those Jews who would not permit forty-five refugees from Spain to land. However, with the intercession of R. Saul Astruc ha-Kohen, Perfet was appointed dayyan by the king of Tlemcen, an appointment initially opposed by R. Simeon Duran (Rashbatz). In a responsum indicative of his personal pain, pacific personality, and unswerving fealty to halakhah and justice, Perfet writes, “Considering what R. Duran has done to me, I should desire his humiliation rather than his vindication, yet I shall not falsify any law . . . for his decision is correct.” The two eventually reconciled. The responsa in Teshuvot ha-Rav are varied, addressing such issues as the use of raisin wine; limited ordination in France; the status of Marranos, for example, whether an agunah married in a church may remarry (she may), the validity of witnesses who abjured their religion under duress, and the validity of divorces where Christian names were used due to the involvement of the Spanish government; and Algerian custom regarding pecuniary rights related to matrimonial law. This, the last book published by Eliezer Soncino, begins with twenty-one folios of multiple indexes, first by their order in the text (11 leaves), followed by a subject listing (8 leaves), and then of discourses at the end of the volume. The title page follows (22a), with the decorative frame designed for the Decachordum and versified praise for the book from Samuel ha-Levi [Hachim]. The colophon, also from Samuel, praises the book, Soncino, and the workers, Moses ben Eliezer Parnas ha-Rofei and Jehiel Ashkenazi; relates that work began on 4 Iyyar 5306 [g”pl] (April 16, 1546) and was completed at the end of Elul 5307 [g”pl] (September 25, 1547); and has verse in praise of the book. Teshuvot ha-Rav was sold weekly by kuntresim (segments) and distributed on the Sabbath in the synagogues, arousing the opposition of R. Isaac ibn Lev and a defense from Samuel ha-Levi Hachim, both writing responsa on this issue. Selling books in this manner had been done previously, for example, Toledot Adam ve-Havvah (1516) and Toledot Yizhak (1518), in the latter case the author himself dividing the sections for distribution. The practice of selling books by kuntresim in Constantinople was not discontinued, for several large works were afterwards sold in this fashion.

Format 20: 303 leaves. Reprinted in Riva di Trento (1559).

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Torah with Persian and Arabic Targum

ysrp ybr[ μwgrt μ[ hrwt 1546, Constantinople—Eliezer ben Gershom Soncino The first Soncino polyglot Bible. The Pentateuch, in Hebrew, Aramaic, Persian, and Arabic, is accompanied by the commentary of Rashi. The laudatory text of the title page was written by Solomon ben Mazzal Tov. The Hebrew text, and Targum Onkelos (Aramaic) as well, begins with an initial woodcut ornamental letter. All of the languages are set in square letters, and with vowel points, but for Rashi, which is in a rabbinic script. Excepting the initial words of Rashi’s commentary, in square letters, the Hebrew text is set with a font significantly larger than that of the other texts. All of the languages are set in Hebrew letters. The Hebrew text is placed in the center of the page, the Arabic translation runs the length of the upper margin, the Persian is to the right of the Hebrew, the Aramaic to the left, and Rashi is situated below the text. The Arabic translation is by Rav Saadiah Gaon (882–942), renowned and influential leader of Babylonian Jewry, head of the yeshivah of Pumbedita, and author of Sefer haEmunot ve-ha-De’ot. Saadiah reputedly translated the entire Bible into Arabic, using Arabic letters, for Jews, and non-Jews as well, unfamiliar with Hebrew letters. His translation is in a clear and readable style. The Judeo-Persian translation is by Jacob ben Joseph Tavus (16th century), a Jewish scholar from Persia, of whom little is known, except that he apparently was a teacher at the Jewish academy established in Constantinople by Moses Hamon (1490–1576), physician to Sultan Suleiman. Tavus’s translation was transliterated into Persian characters by Thomas Hyde, and thus published in the London polyglot Bible of Bishop Brian Walton (London, 1655–57). Copies of the polyglot were printed on Parchment. The following year, 1547, Eliezer Soncino issued another polyglot, Torah with Targum in Spanish and Greek in Hebrew letters. On the title page of that edition he states that he printed these polyglot Bibles because it is incumbent upon every Jew to complete the weekly Torah readings, the text twice and Targum once. These editions, apart from their intrinsic value and craftsmanship, are indicative of Soncino’s business sense and values, for through them he was able to reach a wide market for his books while simultaneously spreading Torah.

Format 20: 287 leaves.

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Babylonian Talmud

ylbb dwmlt 1546–1551, Venice—Marco Antonio Giustiniani The third edition of the Babylonian Talmud printed in Venice. This Talmud, a particularly fine edition, is characterized by the inclusion of indices that have become part of the standard talmudic page, reprinted in all subsequent editions to this day. Cornelius Adelkind, master printer for Giustiniani, was involved in the production of this Talmud. The editor was Joshua Boaz ben Simon Baruch, whose family came from Spanish Catalonia. He is responsible for the innovations that distinguish this Talmud. The text is based on the first Bomberg Talmud. This can be determined from the presence of textual errors in that Talmud, repeated here, that do not appear in manuscript or other early editions. What differentiates this Talmud is the introduction by Boaz of three indices, which appear on each page. The title page informs us that we have added to the previous editions references for [Biblical] quotes, references for Talmudic sources, references for tosafot and references for Maimonides, R. Moses from Coucy, and R. Jacob Ba’al ha-Turim. We have also indicated every law mentioned in the Talmud and added, after every tractate, Kizzur Piskei ha-Rosh, and indicated the laws in the commentary of Rabbenu Asher.

These references are Ein Mishpat, which supplies the location of a topic in the text in standard halakhic sources, that is, Maimonides’ Yad ha-Hazakah (Mishneh Torah), Sefer Mitzvot Gadol, and the Arba’ah Turim, while its counterpart, Ner Mitzvah, numbers (in Hebrew letters) the halakhic decisions listed in the text. Ein Mishpat is located parallel to the subject in the text along the outer margin of the page, while Ner Mitzvah is located next to the subject in the margin between the text and tosafot. These indices are distinct here. However, in the eighteenth century (the Amsterdam and Frankfort on Main edition of the Talmud), Ein Mishpat and Ner Mitzvah were expanded and combined into one index. The second reference, Torah Or, gives the source, by Biblical work and chapter, for Biblical quotes in the text. It is located between the text and Rashi, next to the line that it references. However, the title of this index, Torah Or, did not appear until the 1578 Basle edition of the Talmud. The third reference, Mesorat ha-Talmud (now called Mesorat ha-Shas), references comparable passages elsewhere in the Talmud and is located along the inner border of the page. These works, which are of considerable value to Talmudic scholars as well as to students, testify to Boaz’s knowledge of Talmud, halakhic sources, and the Bible. The Giustiniani Talmud was so highly regarded that the printers of later editions wrote on the title pages of their editions, “as printed in Venice by Giustiniani,” although, more often than not, their model was actually the Basle or Cracow edition.

Format 20.

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Zahut be-Dikduk/Moznei Leshon ha-Kodesh

çdqh ˆwçl ynzam rps/qwdqdb twjx rps Abraham ibn Ezra 1546, Venice—Daniel Bomberg Two grammatical books by R. Abraham ibn Ezra, included in Dikdukim, a collection of four grammatical works. Among ibn Ezra’s many scholarly and literary accomplishments are his grammatical works, written during his extensive travels. When he came to Italy, ibn Ezra found that Italian Jewry was not fully conversant with Hebrew grammar, motivating him to write these works. Dikdukim, a small format book, measuring 14 cm., has a title page that informs that it is comprised of four grammatical works, that is, Mahalakh Shevilei ha-Da’at by R. Moses Kimhi; Petah Devarai (53a–132) by R. David ben Judah Messer Leon, here “attributed to one of the earlier sages of Sepharad”; Zahut be-Dikduk (133a–194b); and Moznei Leshon haKodesh (Moznayim, 195a–236b). Each book has its own title page (the first two works have been described above, respectively, 1519 [pp. 122–23] and 1515 [pp. 78–79]). The title pages of Zahut and Moznayim are identical, except for the titles of the works, stating that they were written by the scholar and sage Abraham ben Meir ha-Sefardi, and the addition of “in the city of Rome” to Moznayim, referring to the fact that ibn Ezra wrote Moznayim in Rome, where he resided in about 1140. Zahut was written in Mantua (1145). The printer was Cornelius Adelkind, and the editor R. Benjamin ben Judah of Rome, who provides an introduction. Both books have verse from ibn Ezra on the verso of the title page. Their text is in square letters in a single column. After Mahalakh is verse by R. Elijah Levita (Bahur), who was also an editor. Zahut, chronologically the later of the two books, is an intensive review of the field of Hebrew grammar. There are entries for each of the vowels and another section on the letters (sha’ar ha-ottiyot), and also chapters on prosody (versification) and metre. Moznayim, ibn Ezra’s first work in the field of Hebrew philology, has as its primary subject the definition of grammatical terminology, with a discussion of the parts of Hebrew speech. It is more than a dictionary, however, for it also provides a concise Hebrew grammar, thus serving as an introduction to the subject. The work of earlier grammarians is discussed. Ibn Ezra’s grammatical books are the first systematic works on the subject in Hebrew. In these works he transmits, in an original style, the works done in Arabic by his predecessors to a larger community not fluent in that language. Ibn Ezra’s other grammatical works include Safah Berurah (Constantinople, 1530) on grammatical problems and the letters of the Hebrew alphabet; Sefat Yeter (Pressburg, 1838), primarily a defense of Rav Saadiah Gaon against Dunash ben Labrat, but also including some of ibn Ezra’s own grammatical work; and Yesod ha-Dikduk on the elements of grammar (in manuscript). In his other books, for example, the Bible commentaries, there is also considerable grammatical comment. Ibn Ezra translated, also while in Rome, three of Judah ben David Hayyuj’s (10th cent.) grammatical works into Hebrew from the Arabic, three of which were printed in Dikduk (Frankfort a. Main, 1600).

Format 80: [4], 51, 53–236 leaves.

329

330

Kol Bo

wb lk Anonymous 1547, Venice—Marco Antonio Giustiniani Halakhic digest or ritual and civil laws for the entire year. The author is anonymous. The author’s intent, as suggested by the title, Kol Bo (everything is in it), was to include halakhic material encompassing all aspects of Jewish life, such as customs, prayers, holidays, fast days, dietary laws, and, to a lesser extent, business matters. Kol Bo is composed of 148 sections, beginning with a person’s obligation to say me’ah berakhot (one hundred blessings) daily, continues with the laws of prayer, Shabbat, festivals, Rosh Ha-Shanah, milah, marriage, divorce, monetary matters, halizah (release from levirate marriage), charity, niddah, oaths, hallah, yein nesekh (libation wine) kilayim, Issur ve-Hetter (dietary laws and forbidden foods), laws of mourning, and the takkanot of R. Gershom. It includes a commentary to the Haggadah and, as appendices, responsa from the geonim and laws of herem (excommunication) of Ramban. The author provides explanations for laws and customs. Kol Bo is neither an original work nor a work that determines the halakha. Rather it is a compilation from earlier sources, often presenting varying positions. Among the primary sources for the Kol Bo are Perez ben Elijah of Corbeil, who may have been his teacher; Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah, together with the hasagot of Abraham ben David of Posquières (Rabad, 1125–98); Isaac ben Joseph of Corbeil (Sefer Mitzvot Katan); Simeon ben Zemah Duran (Tashbez); and Baruch ben Isaac of Worms (Sefer ha-Terumah). Kol Bo also quotes from other works, many not otherwise known until recently. A number of suggestions have been made as to the author’s identity, based on the fact that the Kol Bo is, in many ways, comparable to the Orhot Hayyim of Aaron ben Jacob haKohen of Lunel. Identical language in the two works caused R. Joseph Caro to suggest that Kol Bo is an abridgement of that work, an opinion shared by Hayyim Joseph David Azulai (Hida). Isaac Benjacob thought it was an earlier working of the Orhot Hayyim. A number of other rishonim have also been suggested as the author. The first printed edition of this popular work, without date or place of publication, is attributed to the press at Naples in 1490.

Format 20: 4, 198 leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (1520) and Rimini (1525) and reprinted in Venice (1567 and 1573).

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Meshal ha-Kadmoni

ynwmdqh lçm Isaac ben Solomon ibn Abi Sahula c. 1547, Venice—Meir ben Jacob Parenzo Illustrated collection of moral fables and animal stories by R. Isaac ben Solomon ibn Abi Sahula (b. 1244). Little is known about ibn Sahula, except that he was a scholar and poet, born in Guadalajara (Castile), a student under the kabbalist R. Moses of Burgos, and wandered about for much of his life. It is surmised, from the many references to the nature of diseases and their cures, that he was a physician. Ibn Sahula had concentrated on secular poetry until, at the age of thirty-seven in about 1281, his outlook changed and he began to write Meshal ha-Kadmoni. The title page has the printer’s mark of Meir Parenzo, a seven branched, three-legged menorah; on the left is “This is the menorah that illuminates ryamh”; on the right, “ben Ya’acov, a man of Parenzo”; and below, “his name, ‘The Lord gives light ryam to the eyes of both’” (Proverbs 29:13). It is followed by a page of verse and introductions to the book and to the first part (2a–4a), in rhymed prose interspersed with verse. Ibn Sahula writes that his material is original but based on the Talmud and Midrashim, and that in style he has followed the example of the prophets who presented moral lessons in allegorical form. He also writes to show that Hebrew, now neglected for Arabic fables, is as suitable and fine a vehicle for conveying moral lessons as Arabic. Nevertheless, the dialogue in Meshal ha-Kadmoni is written in the Arabic maqama style, that is, rhymed prose and verse. The stories show both kabbalistic and Indian influence. The text (4a–64b) is divided into five she’arim (portals), each inculcating a different moral value. The she’arim are intelligence and wisdom, to teach the simple guile; repentance; good counsel; humility; and awe and fear of God. The text is comprised of seventy-nine parables, the author and an adversary debating the value of moral virtues, the author arguing that it is moral conduct that leads to happiness, both sides employing parables and animal fables to support their positions. It is the animals who speak, discoursing on scientific and philosophic issues, making use of biblical verses and talmudic passages. The deer, knowledgeable in Talmud, lectures on matters of science; the rooster, a biblical scholar, on the four humours and medicine; the dog on psychology; the ram on positive and negative judgement; and the gazelle on astronomy. Meshal ha-Kadmoni is replete with puns, parody, and tales within tales. Each fable is accompanied by a woodcut illustration with a caption. There are eighty illustrations but the actual number of woodcuts is lower as several are employed more than once. There is at least one woodcut to a page and, in a few instances, two to a page. They are like those in contemporary editions of Aesop’s fables, depicting animals, and less often people, engaged in various activities, including their discussions. A small number in the last part are astronomical diagrams. The illustrations were prepared by three different hands. The text, in a single column in square type called Picard, was cut by a French engraver, Jean Arnoul. First printed in Brescia (c. 1491), Meshal ha-Kadmoni has been reprinted several times and translated into Yiddish. It has also influenced other works and been borrowed from by, for example, the Kuhbukh (Verona, 1595; pp. 842–43).

Format 40: 64 leaves.

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334

Perush al ha-Torah

hrwth l[ çwryp Levi ben Gershom (Ralbag) 1547, Venice—Cornelius Adelkind for Daniel Bomberg Commentary on the Pentateuch by R. Levi ben Gershom (Ralbag, Gersonides, 1288–1344), biblical exegete, talmudist, philosopher, physician, scientist, astronomer, and mathematician. What little is known about Ralbag’s personal life is extracted from his books. He was born in Bagnol in Provence to a family of talmudic scholars, evidenced from the numerous interpretations and comments brought in the name of his father and grandfather. Ralbag’s interests were varied, reflected in the diverse subject matter of his writings. While many of his books found favor, others, particularly Sefer Milhamot HaShem (The Book of the Wars of the Lord, Riva di Trento, 1560, see below, pp. 514–15), his most important philosophical work, aroused considerable controversy. Much of his work was translated into Latin, where he is known as Maestro Leon de Bagnols or Leo Hebraeus. Ralbag’s most significant and lasting work over time, however, has proven to be his Torah commentary. It was written after Milhamot HaShem, which he often references. Within a parashah the commentary is divided into portions in an unusual manner, each entry being in three distinct parts: bi’ur ha-milot: a brief explanation of terms from a grammatical and lexigraphic perspective. Words and short phrases are explained in relationship to the Torah reading. Bi’ur ha-parashah (divrei ha-sippur): an expanded and more lengthy commentary on the subject. to’elet: a summary of the concepts and ethical values, each as a separate entry, to be derived from that portion of the sedrah, summarizing the main points in the bi’ur ha-parashah.

Although Ralbag addresses the literal meaning of the text, his commentary is primarily philosophical and rationalistic. Ibn Ezra and Maimonides are his most important sources, the former for exegetic material, the latter for his philosophic ideas, although he follows neither slavishly. Also mentioned, but to a lesser extent, is R. Saadiah Gaon. Ralbag also attempts to give reasons for mitzvot. Although influential, it was first printed as early as c. 1475 in Mantua, Ralbag’s commentary, because of his rational explanation of miracles, engendered significant opposition. The title page of this edition is plain but the initial words of each book share the ornate border used in contemporary works of this press. The volume concludes with a brief colophon by Adelkind. Ralbag wrote biblical commentaries on Daniel (Rome, 1469), Job (Ferrara, 1477), Proverbs (Leiria, 1492), Five Megillot (Riva di Trento, 1560), Earlier Prophets (Leiria, 1494), Nehemiah, and Chronicles, included in Rabbinic Bibles. The to’alot to his Torah commentary were also published as To’aliyyot Ralbag (Riva di Trento, 1560, see pp. 520–21). Among his non-biblical works are treatises on Aristotle; supercommentaries on Averroes; Sefer Ma’aseh Hoshev on mathematics; on Euclid (geometry); on trigonometry, in which he rediscovered the sine theorem; and a Purim parody (Megillat Setarim, Venice, 1552). He is credited with Sha’arei Zedek on the thirteen hermeneutical rules of R. Ishmael and on the aggadot of Bava Batra, attributions that have been questioned. In his Torah commentary (Deut. 17–18), he refers to his commentary on tractate Berakhot, a work no longer extant.

Format 20: 248 leaves. Printed previously in Pesaro (1514).

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Sefer Mitzvot Gadol (Semag)

lwdgh twxm rps Moses ben Jacob of Coucy 1547, Venice—Daniel Bomberg Authoritative halakhic work built on an enumeration of the taryag (613) mitzvot. The tosafist R. Moses ben Jacob of Coucy (13th century), a student of the renowned R. Judah Sir Leon (1166–1224), was an itinerant preacher who, beginning in 1235/36, traveled through Spain and Provence, admonishing Jews on their lax observance of mitzvot, such as tefillin, mezuzah, and zizit, their relationships with non-Jewish women, and calling for greater Torah study. An eloquent speaker, Moses of Coucy influenced many thousands to adopt a more observant lifestyle. He was also one of the disputants with Nicholas Donin in Paris in 1240 in defense of the Talmud. Moses of Coucy’s major work is Sefer Mitzvot Gadol (Semag). In the introduction he writes that when he traveled about reproving the exiles of Israel, he was frequently requested to write a book with all the precepts and their proofs. He feared to do so, however, feeling unqualified, for “Surely I am more stupid than any man, and do not have the understanding of a man” (Proverbs 30:2), until, at the beginning of the sixth millennium, he had a dream in which he was told to “‘arise, make’ (Exodus 32:1) a Sefer Torah in two parts.” In positive precept three Moses notes that he was strengthened in his task in 1235, in Spain, for both Jews and non-Jews had dreams and celestial visions, and were therefore gracious to him. Sefer Mitzvot Gadol, the resulting code, is organized in two sections. The first contains the 365 negative and the second the 248 positive commandments. It also encompasses rabbinic enactments. The arrangement of the mitzvot reflects the considerable influence of Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah. However, the presentation here, in contrast to that work, includes detailed discussions and contrasting rabbinic positions. The presentation of the precepts includes considerable moral and ethical content. Biblical, talmudic, midrashic, geonic, and later sources, the latter including Alfasi, Rashi, Maimonides and tosafot, are cited. This edition is accompanied by the novellae of R. Elijah Mizrahi (c. 1450–1526), printed previously as Tosefot ha-Smag (Constantinople, 1521), and of R. Isaac Stein (d. 1495). Semag was originally known simply as Sefer ha-Mitzvot. However, when the Amudei Golah of Isaac ben Joseph of Corbeil, an abridgement of Moses of Coucy’s work, became popularly known as Sefer Mitzvot Katan (Semak), the Sefer ha-Mitzvot, to contrast the two works, became known as Sefer Mitzvot Gadol. Moses of Coucy’s Sefer ha-Mitzvot was a primary Ashkenaz halakhic work, studied in all yeshivot, prior to the acceptance of the Shulhan Arukh, and is one of the sources referenced in Ein Mishpat, the index of halakhic sources in the Shulhan Arukh. This is the fourth edition of the Semag, it having been published twice in the fifteenth century (Rome, c. 1468, and Soncino, 1489). Moses of Coucy also wrote a Torah commentary, frequently quoted in Judah ben Eliezer’s Minhat Yehudah, and tosafot to talmudic treatises, the best known being Tosafot Yeshanim to Yoma (Amsterdam, 1714–17).

Format 20: 250, [2], 251–316 leaves. Printed previously in Venice (1522).

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338

Sha’ar ha-Shamayim

μymçh r[ç rps Gershon ben Solomon of Arles 1547, Venice, Meir ben Jacob Parenzo A concise encyclopedia on natural history, astronomy, and theology by R. Gershon ben Solomon of Arles in Provence (13th century). Little is known about Gershon. Arles sur Rhone was a center of Jewish learning allowing him access to numerous manuscripts. Sha’ar ha-Shamayim, based on the sources referenced by Gershon, was written between 1242 and 1275. The title page has Parenzo’s device, a seven-branched, three-legged menorah. The text states: He opens his mouth with wisdom (ref. Proverbs 31:26). He spoke of birds and beasts (ref. I Kings 5:13), “and all creeping things that creep upon the earth” (Ezekiel 38:20) and all that has in it a soul: and on the mountains and the clouds and the heavens: on the earth, winds, fire, and water: on snow, hail, and clouds: He spoke of wood and stones: on all variety of trees and plants.

Gershon states his purpose in the introduction, writing: “[And] I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom [concerning all things that are done under heaven]” (Ecclesiastes 1:13) that which is above. “I said, I will be wise; but it was far from me” (Ecclesiastes 7:23). It is hidden from before my eyes and vanished (from them). But a few books of the wise philosophers were in my hands, translated from their language into ours (Hebrew). I glanced into them and read these long and scattered treatises . . . which I have condensed into one volume. I have also heard much from the mouths of our sages and of those of the nations, and written them in the appropriate place. Because this wisdom, deeper and wider than the sea, treating of weighty and important matters, is hidden from the eyes of most of our sages.

Gershon continues, noting that the book is divided into three parts: part one on the wisdom of nature, from the four elements to man, the highest being of creation; part two deals with astronomy, most taken from al-Ferjani, a little from the Almagest; and part three, “with the wisdom of God, which carefully follows . . . the light of the exile, R. Moses ben Maimon . . . the entire text follows what he wrote, for I feared lest I err and mislead.” The three parts are further divided into thirteen treatises: 1) on the elements and weather; 2) the inanimate world; 3) plants; 4) dumb animals; 5) birds; 6) insects; 7) fishes; 8) the nature and development of man; 9) human anatomy; 10) on sleep and wakefulness; 11) the soul; 12) the conjunction of the separate intellect with man; 13) and astronomy. Many of these treatises are further subdivided into gates (she’arim). The first part comprises by far the majority of the book. Gershon employs many foreign terms, primarily Latin and Arabic, due to the lack of Hebrew equivalents. Sha’ar haShamayim is more concise than most medieval encyclopedias, for Gershon’s intent was for it to be a popular rather than a lengthy speculative work. In that he succeeded, for Sha’ar ha-Shamayim was, for many centuries, a widely circulated, and perhaps the most important source on natural science for Hebrew readers. This edition, albeit incomplete, is the basis for subsequent editions.

Format 40: 64 leaves.

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Sha’arei Dura

arwd yr[ç Isaac ben Meir of Dueren 1547, Venice—Meir ben Jacob Parenzo Halakhic work on issur ve-hetter (laws of forbidden food) by R. Isaac ben Meir of Dueren (late 13th century). The name Dueren derives from the German town of that name and the title, Sha’arei Dura, refers to it, that is, the Gates of Dura (Hebrew pronunciation of Dueren). Sha’arei Dura, as noted on the title page, is also known as Issur ve-Hetter. Sha’arei Dura covers the subject of forbidden foods and the kashering process in considerable detail, concluding with the laws of niddah, that is, menstruant women. Dueren’s sources are primarily Ashkenazic, with the most recent sage quoted being R. Asher ben Jehiel (Rosh); Sephardic decisors are mentioned infrequently. It is an authoritative work on issur ve-hetter, and leading halakhic authorities, such as R. Israel Isserlein, Solomon Luria, Elijah Loans, Nathan Spiro, and Moses Isserles, wrote glosses on it. Sha’arei Dura is a basic source for later works on the subject of kashrut (dietary laws), as reflected in the Shulhan Arukh. The volume begins, on the verso of the title page, with prefatory remarks from the editor, who notes that he has obtained from a student of the “Me’or ha-Golah (Light of the Exile), R. [Shalom] Shakhna (d. 1558), annotations in his handwriting,” and that he has added glosses from R. Israel Ashkenazi, called Isserlein. He writes further that he has included source references and at the end a table of contents. All these additions can be found in the volume. The text of Sha’arei Dura, accompanied by these marginalia, concludes on 47a, and from there to 50a are a compilation of materials on the subject matter from various sources. On 50a begins the rules of issur ve-hetter from R. Abraham Katz. The work concludes on 64a with versified praise from Elijah Levita (Bahur) and the colophon, which gives the date of completion as, “Wednesday, which is day of the ‘dedication of the altar’ [2nd of Tevet] in the year j”ç (308 = December 24, 1547) q”pl.” Several of the other editions of this work are of interest. The first printing of Sha’arei Dura was by the brothers, Samuel, Asher, and Elyakim Halicz (Cracow, c. 1534), infamous due to their apostasy. The Constantinople edition (1553) was printed by Samuel bar Hayyim Halicz, who returned to Judaism, and was “completed on 24 Shevat, ‘return hbwç (313 = Wednesday, February 18, 1553) to me; for I have redeemed you’” (Isaiah 44:22). The Constantinople Sha’arei Dura was printed from a manuscript and varies considerably from the Venetian editions. The next edition of Sha’arei Dura, printed by the apostate Vittorio Eliano, grandson of Elijah Levita (Venice, 1556), begins with an introduction by R. [Abraham] Menahem ben Jacob ha-Kohen Rapa mi-Porto (Rapaport) and concludes with verses of praise from R. Samuel ben Elkanan Jacob. It is, however, otherwise a lineby-line copy of the 1547 edition, excepting minor variations. The Lublin 1574 edition (see below, pp. 634–35) has the glosses of R. Nathan Nata ben Simeon Spiro (Mevo Sha’arim) and R. Israel Isserlein (Terumat ha-Deshen), while the Basle edition (Konrad Waldkirch, 1599) begins with a long introduction from the copyist, Elijah Luntz, includes the glosses of R. Solomon Luria, and concludes with a grotesque mask endpiece.

Format 40: 64 leaves. Printed previously in Cracow (1534), and reprinted in Constantinople (1553), Venice (1564), Lublin (1574), and in Basle and Lublin (1599).

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Halakhot Gedolot

twlwdg twklh Simeon Kayyara 1548, Venice—Marco Antonio Giustiniani Systematic halakhic compendium from the time of the geonim based on and in the order of the Talmud. The author is believed to be R. Simeon Kayyara (second half ninth century). Kayyara arayq apparently refers to his trade as a wax dealer haryq. Kayyara, from Basra in Babylonia, although a scholar of considerable accomplishments, did not acquire the appellation gaon. Halakhot Gedolot is an important and frequently referenced work in the transmission of halakhah from talmudic times to the present. It was written in Sura, or an area under its influence such as Basra, for many of the customs it records are those of Sura. Furthermore, later geonim from Sura thought highly of Halakhot Gedolot, in contrast to the geonim of Pumbedita, who were less complimentary. Halakhot Gedolot assembles material from such diverse sources as Mishnayot, Tosefta, Sifra, Sifre, Midrashim, the Babylonian, and to a lesser extent, the Jerusalem Talmuds, responsa and contemporary works. The subject matter deals with practical halakhot in a comprehensive manner, adding some additional material on sacrifices and priestly obligations. Kayyara wrote in opposition to the Karaites, who questioned the oral law. He begins Halakhot Gedolot with an introduction, the first in a rabbinic work, with praise of the Torah and its students and concludes with an enumeration of the 613 mitzvot in the Torah. Kayyara includes rabbinic ordinances such as reading Megillat Esther and Hanukkah. The text, arranged in the order of the Talmud, does not follow this enumeration. Although generally praised and followed by some rishonim (early sages), for example, R. Saadia Gaon and Nachmanides (Ramban), albeit with modifications, Kayyara’s accounting was criticized by Maimonides (Rambam), who did not include rabbinic ordinances in his enumeration of the mitzvot. Kayyara presents, in the language of the Talmud, conclusions as to the halakhah. Halakhot follow the Babylonian Talmud, as noted above, in the order of that Talmud. However, the talmudic order is not strictly adhered to, for related material is combined rather than presented as it appears in the Talmud. For example, combined with Berakhot, which deals with prayers and blessings, is material from Pesahim, on kiddush and havdalah for Shabbat. There are two recensions of Halakhot Gedolot. This edition is based on the original text, utilized by rishonim in France and Germany, as opposed to the second version, used by Sephardic sages, which contains material from a later period. It has been generally accepted that Halakhot Gedolot was built upon earlier works, such as R. Ahai of Shabha’s She’iltot and the Halakhot Pesukot ascribed to R. Yehudai Gaon (eighth century). It has been alternatively suggested that Halakhot Gedolot antedated Halakhot Pesukot, but that the two are related, or that Halakhot Pesukot, as is She’iltot, is a completely independent work. Halakhot Gedolot, among the most important works from the geonic period, has had considerable influence, and is frequently quoted in halakhic works to the present.

Format 20: [4], 144 leaves.

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Hovot ha-Levavot

twbblh tbwj rps Bahya ben Joseph ibn Paquda 1548, Venice—Daniel Bomberg Ethical and philosophical classic on man’s obligations to God. R. Bahya (Bahye) ben Joseph ibn Paquda (late 11th century), a resident of Saragossa in Muslim Spain, was a dayyan and paytan (liturgical poet), but little else is known about him. He is remembered today for Hovot ha-Levavot (Duties of the Heart), written in Arabic as Kitab al-Hidaya ila Faraid al-Qulub and translated into Hebrew in 1161 by Judah ibn Tibbon. Bahya’s reasons for writing Hovot ha-Levavot are stated in the introduction, where, after dividing a person’s duties into those of the body and of the heart, he observes that the latter, “confirmation of our faith in the contents of the Torah by logical demonstrations,” is not the subject of a specific work. This department of knowledge, the science of the Duties of the Heart, had, I saw, been entirely neglected. No work had been composed, systematically setting forth its principles and divisions. I was so greatly surprised that I said to myself, Possibly this class of duties is not positively enjoined by the Torah, but is only an ethical obligation, the aim of which is to teach us the right and proper way. Possibly it belongs to the class of supererogatory practices that are optional, for which we will not be called to account nor be punished if we disregard them. And therefore our predecessors omitted to treat of it in a special work. A careful examination, however, by the light of Reason, Scripture and Tradition, of the question whether the Duties of the Heart are obligatory or not, convinced me that they indeed form the foundation of all the Precepts, and that if there is any shortcoming in their observance, no external duties whatever can be fulfilled.

Hovot ha-Levavot, based upon Reason, Scriptures, and Tradition (rabbinic teachings), is divided into ten gates, namely, 1) the Unity of God; 2) Creation, and God’s goodness to his creatures; 3) the Service of God; 4) Faith, that is, trust in God; 5) Devotion; 6) Humility; 7) Repentance; 8) Spiritual Accounting; 9) Abstinence; 10) and Love of God. Each gate is subdivided into chapters. It concludes with ten strophes (verses) reiterating the gates comprising the book. Hovot ha-Levavot reflects the prevailing neo-Platonic philosophy of the time, making use of concepts from the Kalam, the Arabic mystical movement, as well as earlier Jewish philosophic works. Nevertheless, Hovot ha-Levavot is an ethical and devotional rather than a philosophic and theoretical work, the latter utilized solely to provide an intellectual and scientific basis for the former. Hovot ha-Levavot is quintessentially Jewish, reflecting Bahya’s mastery of the corpus of Jewish literature. The date is given in the colophon, where we are also informed that the book was printed by Cornelius Adelkind. Among the most popular of Jewish ethical works, Hovot ha-Levavot has been frequently reprinted since the first incunabular edition (Naples, 1489). In addition to ibn Tibbon’s translation there is a partial translation into Hebrew by R. Joseph Kimhi (c. 1105–c. 1170), and translations of Hovot ha-Levavot into Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Yiddish. A Kizzur Hovot ha-Levavot (Fano, 1505) has also gone through many editions.

Format 40: 88 leaves. Reprinted in Constantinople (1550), Mantua (1559), Salonika (1569), and Cracow (1593).

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Kaftor va-Ferah

jrpw rtpk rps Estori ben Moses ha-Parhi c. 1548, Venice—Meir ben Jacob Parenzo On the land of Israel, its holiness, topography, geography and applicable halakhot, by R. Estori (ben Moses) ha-Parhi (Farhi, c. 1280–c. 1355). Estori was born to a family from Florenza, Andalusia, Spain, either in that city or in Provence in southern France, for he refers to himself as being from Tours, France. He learned Torah from his father, Moses, R. Asher ben Jehiel (Rosh), R. Jacob ben Makhir, and several other sages of renown. In addition to his rabbinic studies Estori learned secular subjects and mastered several languages. When Philip IV expelled the Jews from France in 1306 Estori returned to Provence, then Spain and then, via Cairo, went to Erez Israel, where he settled in Beth-Shean (Beisan), supporting himself as a physician. He did not stay in Jerusalem because of the anti-Maimonidean sentiment in that city. Estori traveled throughout Israel studying the land, returning to Beth-Shean to write Kaftor va-Ferah, completed in 1322. The title page has the pressmark of Meir Parenzo, a seven-branched, three-legged menorah. The text states that the manuscript was found in the collection of R. Isaac Kohen Sholal, Nagid of Egypt. The title Kaftor va-Ferah refers to the “bulbs and flower” (Exodus 25:33 and 37:19) in the menorah in the Tabernacle, and to Estori’s place of birth (Florenza) and to his family name, Parhi. The title page does not mention Estori’s name. However, Estori’s introduction (2a–2b) begins, “Thus says the Hebrew servant, Ish Tori (a man of Tours).” The title page is followed by the contents (3a–4b) and the text from 5a. The book concludes with an epilogue from Meir ben Jacob. The text is in a single column in square letters. Foliation is in error. The editor was R. Moses Kohen ben Zechariah Kohen of Corfu. Kaftor va-Ferah is made up of sixty chapters. Estori’s primary concern is the halakhot to be observed in Erez Israel, which necessitated determining the boundaries of the land. The first chapter deals with terumot, ma’aserot, and hallah. Subsequent chapters deal with tevel and demai, the different levels of holiness applicable to the land, possession of land by a non-Jew, the geography of the different regions and cities and the applicable halakhot; the difference between Erez Israel and other lands pertaining to fruit, sowing, terumah, Orlah, sefirat ha-Omer, and kilayim. Estori’s studies resulted in the collection of much additional material which make this such a rich and fascinating work. Chapter six, devoted to Jerusalem, discusses the Temple area in detail, as well as Hebron. Estori also turns his attention to such matters as coins and measurements from the time of Bible and Talmud, their contemporary equivalents, and flora in the land of Israel, often noting their Arabic names. The Jewish communities in Erez Israel are described as are those of Moslems, Christians, Samaritans, and Karaites, with observations as to their practices. Estori wrote several other works, no longer extant and known only from references to them in Kaftor va-Ferah. Among them are Battei ha-Nefesh, an ethical work; Sha’ar ha-Shamayim, talmudic novellae; Shoshannat ha-Melekh on sciences remarked on in the Talmud; and translations of medical works from Latin into Hebrew, such as Armengaud’s De Remediis.

Format 40: 182 leaves.

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Mikhlol Yofi

ypwy llkm rps Solomon ibn Melekh 1548–49, Constantinople—Moses ben Eliezer Parnas Biblical commentary by R. Solomon ibn Melekh (16th cent.). The commentary is grammatical in content, covering the entire Bible. The title page has the frames from the Decachordum Christianum, which Moses Parnas acquired from Eliezer Soncino. The text states that the book is by the sage Solomon ibn Melekh f”s (Sephardi Tohor) with the verses and words on which that sage commented according to the order of the twenty-four books (Bible) from “In the beginning” (Genesis 1:1) to “the Lord his God be with him, and let him go up!” (II Chronicles 36:23), that is, the end of Chronicles, with punctuation and accents as necessary and with references to verses and comparable words, according to the order of the parshiot as sectioned by the sage, R. Mordecai Nathan, author of the book Me’ir Nativ, called Concordance in loaz (foreign languages). . . .

The title page also informs that the book was printed at the press of Moses ben Eliezer Parnas, the doctor, beginning on 3 Tishrei, in the year, “I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree hfç (5309 = Wednesday, September 15, 1548), and the myrtle, and the oil tree” (Isaiah 41:19). The book was completed, according to the colophon, on “Thursday, 5 Elul, in the year ‘I will plant . . . the shittah hfç (5309 = September 8, 1549),’ at the press of Moses of the house of Parnas [”n [may his soul be in paradise] by Hayyim ben Jacob Ashkenazi.” From this it is clear that Parnas died between September 15, 1548 and September 8, 1549. On the verso of the title page is ibn Melekh’s introduction. The text is in two columns in square letters with marginal references. At the end of the book are verses from Solomon ben Mazzal Tov and R. Abraham ben Ephraim ibn Sangi in praise of the book. Ibn Melekh explains his primary purpose in the introduction, that is, when one reads in the Torah, Prophets, or Hagiographa (Writings), in Hebrew or in loaz, he should immediately understand the simple meaning in accordance with the grammar. Secondly, ibn Melekh will comment on the rules of grammar and on words that are exceptions to the rules, on the use of letters and words that are deficient (lacking) or have additional letters, or are changed, on the yrq (Masoretic reading) and the written forms, and on disagreements in the works of grammarians. He also remarks that there is nothing in the book that is from his heart, but all is from rishonim (early sages), particularly the Radak (David Kimhi), based on the edition of the Mikhlol published by Gershom Soncino. Mikhlol Yofi is not a large book. Nevertheless, as can be seen from the beginning and completion dates, it took almost a complete year to print. In addition to possible delays caused by the death of Parnas, a more compelling reason as to why it took so long to complete, and it is the sole title printed in 1549 in Constantinople, is that, “in printing this book, in this difficult year, even the mighty weep over their expenses . . . and I found a philanthropist in the Sephardic community x”y [may their Rock watch over them] who advanced me most of the money necessary for printing, for otherwise it would have been impossible to complete the book this year.” Mikhlol Yofi was reprinted in Amsterdam (1660 and 1684) and in Vienna (1818). A reported 1567 Salonika edition is questionable.

Format 20: 192 leaves.

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Mishnayot with commentary of Obadiah Bertinoro

hrwnfrbm hydbw[ çwryp μ[ twynçm Obadiah ben Abraham Yare of Bertinoro 1548–49, Venice—Meir ben Jacob Parenzo for Carlo Quirino Mishnayot with commentary on the entire Mishnah by R. Obadiah ben Abraham Yare of Bertinoro (c. 1450–c. 1516). Bertinoro, the family name is derived from the town of that name in northern Italy, was a student of R. Joseph Colon (Maharik), who addresses Bertinoro in one responsum and mentions him in another (nos. 23 and 70). Bertinoro left Italy for Erez Israel in 1485, stopping at several communities, some for a number of months, before reaching Jerusalem on March 25, 1488. He delivered Sabbath sermons in these locations, so that he was often asked to remain, but refused due to his desire to reach Jerusalem. From 1488 to 1490 Bertinoro wrote three detailed letters to his family describing his trip and the Jewish communities, and the Karaites as well, that he encountered. In Jerusalem, Bertinoro became the spiritual head of the Jewish community, uniting its divided factions, preaching every other week in Hebrew, and teaching Talmud. He raised money for the indigent from Italy and, after the expulsion from Spain, headed the refugees in Jerusalem from that land too. In his concern for all aspects of communal services Bertinoro dug a grave on one occasion because the community had not designated any one to perform that function. Bertinoro’s reputation is based on his commentary on Mishnayot. He summarizes the work of his predecessors, that is, Maimonides’ commentary on Mishnayot, Rashi on the Talmud, as well as R. Samson of Sens and R. Asher ben Jehiel (Rosh), and elucidates the Mishnah in the context of the Babylonian Talmud, explaining difficult terms in that work. Bertinoro also states the halakhah when divergent opinions are expressed in a Mishnah. The commentary is a running line commentary rather than lengthy discourses, and is written in a clear and succinct style. The last three orders were printed in 1549. Kodashim, the fifth order in Mishnayot, printed before Tohorot, concludes with an epilogue from Moses ben Zechariah from Corfu in praise of the commentary, and a colophon and page of verse from Meir Parenzo. In the colophon Parenzo apologizes, as he has done in the previous volumes, for any errors, due to difficulties with the manuscript. The text of this edition, the first with Bertinoro’s commentary, is primarily based on the Venetian Mishnayot of 1546–47. The title pages of all the volumes have the device of Carlo Quirino, at whose press Meir Parenzo printed the Mishnayot, excepting the first volume with Parenzo’s mark, a seven-branched menorah. Quirino’s device is a field divided into two, the lower part blank, the upper with three stars upon a renaissance shield. Although Parenzo printed other books at Quirino’s press this is the only work with Quirino’s name and ensign on the title page. Bertinoro commentary has proven to be one of the most popular on Mishnayot, reprinted with almost all subsequent editions of the Mishnah. It has been the subject of annotations, most prominently by R. Yom Tov Lipmann Heller, and translated into several languages, including Latin by Guilielmus Surenhusius (Amsterdam, 1698–1703). Bertinoro’s letters on his travels have been published several times and translated into English. He was the author of a supercommentary on Rashi, Amar Nekeh (Pisa, 1810), and annotations to the novellae of Colon, this still in manuscript.

Format 40: 73; 87; 66; 85, [1]; 97, [1]; 126 leaves.

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352

Ohel Mo’ed

d[wm lha Solomon ben Abraham of Urbino 1548, Venice—Marco Antonio Giustiniani Dictionary of synonyms by R. Solomon ben Abraham Ben Solomon of Urbino (late 15thearly 16th cent.). Solomon was a member of the d’Urbino family, which originated in the Italian city of that name. Ohel Mo’ed, one of the first Hebrew dictionaries of synonyms, was compiled about 1480. It reflects the growing interest in and development of Hebrew lexicography in the Renaissance. The title page has no ornamentation, lacking even the Giustiniani device, present on or in almost all of the press’s books beginning with its third title, Zevah Pesah (1545). Perhaps the device was omitted because of a lack of space due to the amount of text on the title page, and was not printed elsewhere in the book as was done with a number of other titles. The title page states that the book is entitled Ohel Mo’ed (Tent of Meeting), to be a meeting place d[w tyb for equivalent words. There is an introduction by Urbino, in which he states that no one occupies themselves with this task. He then describes how he has organized this work. Ohel Mo’ed concludes with a long epilogue by Urbino, followed by a listing of all the entries. The text is in square unvocalized letters, with the biblical examples cited being vocalized. The epilogue and the index are in rabbinic letters. In the outer margins of the text are sources of the biblical references; in the inner the synonyms, all the marginalia in rabbinic (Rashi) letters. Each initial Hebrew letter is in a centered decorative frame, followed by the entries, numbered within the letters. The letter shin has the largest number of synonyms, seventy-four, followed by ayin (53), alef (51), het (45), and nun (43). In contrast, vav is the least numerous, with one only, followed by tet (7), he (9), zayin (12), tov (15), daled (18), and lamed (24). Each entry begins with the word for which synonyms are provided, examples of its usage, the synonyms and examples of their usage: Conceive hrh Conception ˆwyrh can be said in three ways. Conception, “the Lord gave her conception ˆwyrh” (Ruth 4:13); “but you shall conceive tyrhw and give birth to a son” ( Judges 13:3). And seed [rz, “then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed [rz h[rznw” (Numbers 5:28), its meaning is conception. And, “If a woman conceives [yrzt” (Leviticus 12:2), to become pregnant. And, to breed (be pregnant) rb[, “Their bull breeds rb[ without fail” ( Job 21:10). In the language of [the rabbis] l”z a pregnant trbw[m cow (Bava Kamma 93b, 95a), that is, hrh.

Ohel Mo’ed was reprinted in Vienna in 1881 with notes by R. Wolf Heidenheim and Judah Leib Dukes. A commentary entitled Yetad ha-Ohel by R. Isaac Berachiah Canton remains in manuscript.

Format 40: [2], 118 leaves.

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354

Selihot—Ashkenaz Rite

twjyls 1548, Venice—Cornelius Adelkind Penitential prayers according to the Ashkenaz rite. The Ashkenaz rite Selihot, first published in Piove di Sacco (1475, 20 182f.) by Meshullam Cusi, is one of the earliest printed Hebrew books. The title page of this edition has no ornamentation and simply states that it is, Selihot for the entire year according to the Ashkenaz rite, arranged day by day with the addition of an explanation of difficult words. Printed by Cornelius Adelkind in the month of Elul in the year 308 qpl (August/September 1538) here Venice

The text is in vocalized square letters. Some, but not all initial words are in a decorative border. As stated on the title page, there are explanations of difficult terms, given in the margins, as well as scattered notes in Yiddish. Selihot begins, “O Lord, righteousness belongs to you, but shame of face to us” (Daniel 9:7), here described as verses recited prior to the recital of selihot. This is followed by the selihot said daily prior to Rosh Ha-Shanah by day, that is numbered day one, day two, etc., selihot said during the Aseret Yemei Teshuvah (ten days of penitence between Rosh Ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur), and yozerot ( piyyutim, liturgical prayers) to be said on the morning of Yom Kippur, and at mussaf, minhah, and neilah that day. There are selihot for Ta’anit Sheni and Hamishi (Monday and Thursday), Asarah be-Tevet, Ta’anit Esther, and Shivah Asar be-Tammuz. There are also piyyutim to be said at a berit milah. Selihot according to the Ashkenaz Rite was followed in southern Germany and Moravia, and afterwards in France and Holland. Printed three times in the incunabular period, this edition is based on the Selihot published in Augsburg (1536, 20 117, [2]f.) by Hayyim Shahor. That edition does not have a title page, the first page is blank, but begins with the first text page (2a) in a decorative border. However, those selihot said in the land of Ashkenaz (Germany) have been omitted and in their place are other selihot.

Format 40: 131 [2] leaves. Printed previously in Augsburg (1536, 20) and Heddernheim (1546) and reprinted in Venice (1557).

355

1549, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Jacob ben Judah Weil, Venice Courtesy of the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad Ohel Yosef Yitzhak

356

She’elot u’Teshuvot

twbwçtw twlaç Jacob ben Judah Weil 1549, Venice—Cornelius Adelkind One hundred ninety-three responsa from R. Jacob ben Judah Weil (d. c. 1456). Weil’s surname is taken from the town in which he was born, of the same name. A student of R. Jacob Moellin (Maharil), he served as rabbi in Nuremberg, Augsburg, Bamberg, and from 1444, Erfurt. Moellin, who ordained Weil, authorized him to serve as rabbi (or establish a yeshivah) in Nuremberg, but Weil initially abstained in order to not offend R. Zalman Katz who had preceded him in this capacity. At a later date Weil did officiate in both capacities there, apparently harmoniously with Katz. Weil was widely recognized as a leading halakhic authority, particularly after the death of Moellin, so that queries were submitted to him from respected scholars, for example, R. Israel Isserlein (Terumat ha-Deshen), and from distant locations. Although not opposed to pilpul as a method of study, his responsa are, as he writes, based solely on self-evident proofs, logic, and a clear understanding of halakhah. In most instances Weil’s responsa are concise and to the point. Although the subject matter is varied, a large number address communal affairs and different minhagim (customs). There are responsa on marital relations, halitzah (levirate marriage), and a case where a son-in-law, Reuben, claims that he was promised support from his mother-in-law, Leah, by the shadkhan (marriage broker), and that now Leah will not pay. Weil rules in favor of Leah, for shadkhanim are well known for their exaggerations. In more than one responsa, rabbis who assume their positions entitled them to special privileges are castigated, for, according to Weil, no contemporary rabbis are so qualified. Moreover, none are deserving of being designated a talmudic scholar in the sense that that term is understood in the Talmud. Weil writes that he has never served as a judge against anyone against their will, and refrains from acting as a judge. A famous case involves R. Israel Bruna and a R. Amshel, in which Bruna moved to Regensburg and opened a yeshivah, to which Amshel protested. This case eventually elicited opinions from a number of rabbinic authorities. Although similar to Weil’s’s situation visà-vis Zalman Katz, Weil here rules in favor of Bruna, writing that as the congregation had not formally selected either, and both have to pay taxes like any householder, the rights of neither takes precedence over the other. Furthermore, even though Amshel was in Regensburg prior to Bruna, his rights are not greater, as the congregation had not accepted him as their leader. The responsa conclude with Seder halitzah (188), Pidyon ha-Ben (189), ha-Get (190), and the laws of Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Pesah (191–93). Also included is Weil’s Hilkhot Shehitah u-Vedikah (86a–88b), on the slaughtering of animals and inspecting the carcasses, and, as an appendix, Hiddushei Aguddah, a much-abridged version of R. Alexander Suslin ha-Kohen’s Sefer ha-Aguddah (see below, pp. 614–15). Weil’s Hilkhot Shehitah u-Vedikah, reprinted separately more than seventy times, is the subject of commentaries. Additional responsa can be found in the works of Weil’s students and contemporaries.

Format 40: 115 leaves.

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358

Beit Yosef on Tur Orah Hayyim

πswy tyb çwryp μ[ μyyj jrwa rwf Joseph ben Ephraim Caro 1550, Venice—Marco Antonio Giustiniani First edition of R. Joseph ben Ephraim Caro’s (1488–1575) commentary on the Tur of Jacob ben Asher (c. 1270–1340). Caro began work on the Beit Yosef in Adrianople in 1522, completing it twenty years later in Safed. The need the Beit Yosef addresses is explained in the introduction. As the days passed and we were poured from one utensil into another and went into exile, and many troubles came upon us, until, due to our iniquities, the prophecy was fulfilled “and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish” (Isaiah 29:14) and the Torah and her students are powerless, for the Torah is now not as two laws but rather like many without number, because of the many works explaining its laws and ordinances.

This proliferation of codes has led to confusion. Abbreviated codes, such as the Semak and Agur, are rejected, for in truth no law can thus be known properly. Caro’s intent is to write a detailed comprehensive work encompassing all applicable laws, from their source in the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds through the codifiers to the present, without exception, explaining and resolving conflicting interpretations. Rather than duplicate what has already been done, he will build upon an accepted and popular code. Caro writes that he first considered the Rambam (Mishneh Torah), but decided against it because it is too concise, and omits sources and alternative positions. He chose the Arba’ah Turim for it includes the views of many codifiers and alternate positions. All laws and opinions brought by the Tur, as well as their sources, will be explained, and those omitted will be added. Matters that are not clear, especially in the Mishneh Torah, will be clarified. The purpose of this encyclopedic review of Jewish law is so that “there should be but one Torah and one law.” Caro writes that it would be presumptive of him to determine the halakhah between the conflicting opinions of his predecessors, the great earlier decisors. He will therefore, whenever possible, follow the opinion of the three amudim (pillars), R. Isaac Alfasi (Rif, 1013–1103), Maimonides (Rambam, 1135–1204), and R. Asher ben Jehiel (Rosh, c. 1250–1327), following the majority when they are not in agreement. This methodology, here and in the Shulhan Arukh, was criticized for not making sufficient use of Ashkenaz authorities and custom, a need subsequently addressed by R. Moses Isserles (Rema, 1525 or 1530–1572). That Caro succeeded in his objectives can be seen from the fact that R. Joseph ibn Lev (Maharival, 1505–80), forbade use of the Beit Yosef by his students, for where proper study of the Tur previously required talmudic scholarship, they could now rely on the Beit Yosef. However, when ibn Lev forgot a source and located it in the Beit Yosef he realized its great value and permitted its use. The Beit Yosef, a majestic accomplishment, is an independent work, rather than merely a commentary on the Tur. Caro considered the Beit Yosef his magnum opus. Nevertheless, he realized that it was too detailed for the larger public, and therefore wrote a digest, the Shulhan Arukh, today, ironically, the normative halakhic work (see below, pp. 554–55, 674–75, 818–19). Beit Yosef on Yoreh De’ah, Even ha-Ezer, and Hoshen Mishpat were published in Venice (1551), and Sabbioneta (1553 and 1559), respectively.

Format 20: 24, 494 [1] leaves. O. H. reprinted in Venice (1564 and 1566).

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360

Mishneh Torah

hrwt hnçm Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides, Rambam) 1550, Venice—Alvise Bragadin Halakhic code of R. Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides, Rambam, 1135–1204). This edition is based on the Venice Mishneh Torah printed by Daniel Bomberg in 1524, with the same basic foliation and glosses, that is, those of R. Abraham ben David of Posquières (Ravad), Migdal Oz of Shem Tov ben Abraham ibn Gaon, Maggid Mishneh of Yom Tov of Tolosa, and Haggahot Maimoniyyot of Meir ha-Kohen of Rothenburg. In addition, added here for the first time are the annotations of R. Meir ben Isaac Katzenellenbogen (Maharam, 1473–1565) of Padua. The title page has the three Bragadin crowns. At the top of the page is the verse, “Therefore with joy shall you draw water from the wells of salvation” (Isaiah 12:3), the word “from the wells yny[mm” modified to read “from Maimoni ynwmyymm.” About the four sides of the text are the verses, “And in all that mighty hand (Yad ha-Hazakah), and in all the great and awesome deeds which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel” (Deuteronomy 34:12), and, “And Moses (emphasis added) alone shall come near the Lord; but they shall not come near; nor shall the people go up with him” (Exodus 24:2). The title page notes the additions to this edition, namely Maimonides’ Sefer ha-Mitzvot, and Moses ben Nahman’s (Ramban) critical comments, and, as marginalia, the annotations of R. Meir of Padua. The title page is followed by introductory remarks from Maharam. The second volume concludes with a statement from the printer, Alvise Bragadin, harshly responding to the criticism leveled against his edition in the rival Giustiniani edition. This refers to the edition of the Mishneh Torah published in 1550–51 by the press of Marco Antonio Giustiniani (20 [1], 2–26 (should say 46), [5], 10–389, [5]; [1], 394–767, [7]). That edition notes on the title page that the annotations of Maharam are printed at the end of the work, an unauthorized usage. On the verso is Cornelius Adelkind’s long introduction, disparaging the Bragadin edition and Maharam’s glosses. Maharam had initially approached Giustiniani about publishing his annotations but, as the two could not come to agreement, Maharam turned to Bragadin. Shortly after the Bragadin Mishneh Torah appeared, Giustiniani, issued a cheaper edition of that work. Faced with financial loss, Maharam wrote to R. Moses Isserles (Rema), the preeminent Ashkenaz halakhic authority, seeking relief from Giustiniani’s competition. In his response, Rema forbade acquiring the Giustiniani edition, placing purchasers in herem (excommunication). Giustiniani, in turn now faced with a considerable loss, appealed to Pope Julius III for relief. Both sides were represented by apostates. Their charges, supported by the Dominicans, soon deteriorated into an attack against the Talmud. The final result, according to most authorities, was the burning of the Talmud and the censorship of Hebrew books (see below, pp. 384–85). It is Meir Benayahu’s opinion, however, that the rival Mishneh Torah editions were not the cause of the appeals to the pope, three years having elapsed from the time of their printing to the issuance of the papal decree, but rather Giustiniani’s purpose was to forestall a proposed printing of the Talmud by Bragadin.

Format 20: [2], 3–41, [2] 3–389; [1], 394–767, [2]. Printed previously in Constantinople (1509), Venice (1524), simultaneously in Venice (1550) and reprinted in Venice (1574).

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362

Tikkun Middot ha-Nefesh

çpnh twdm ˆwqt rps Solomon ben Judah ibn Gabirol 1550, Constantinople—Moses ben Eliezer Parnas Ethical work by the renowned poet and philosopher, R. Solomon ben Judah ibn Gabirol (c. 1020–c. 1057). Born in Malaga, his great skill as a poet was already recognized when ibn Gabirol was young, and it is for his poetry that he is most widely remembered today. Considered by many the leading religious poet of medieval Spain, many of his piyyutim have been incorporated into the liturgy, including the Azharot, which has been the subject of several commentaries. Ibn Gabirol’s secular poems are mostly about love or his own misfortunes. Ibn Gabirol’s most important philosophical book, Mekor Hayyim (fountain of Life), was written in Arabic, as were many of his other works. Mekor Hayyim was translated into Latin as Fons Vitae, and as such it exerted a considerable influence on scholastic philosophy, the author being known as Avicebron. Neoplatonic in outlook, and with few biblical and rabbinic citations, its Jewish authorship was forgotten until, in the 1840’s, Solomon Munk discovered a manuscript of extracts made by R. Shem Tov ibn Falaquera in the Bibliotheque Nationale of Paris. Two ethical works are attributed to ibn Gabirol, Mivhar Peninim (Soncino, 1484), this of questionable attribution, and Tikkun Middot ha-Nefesh. The title page of Tikkun Middot ha-Nefesh has an architectural frame. The text informs the reader that the volume is comprised of two works, the first being the Hovot ha-Levavot of R. Bahya ben Joseph ibn Paquda, the second Tikkun Middot ha-Nefesh. Work on the volume began on Sunday, 15 Tammuz, in the year, “That I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth çy” ( July 9, 1550) (Proverbs 8:21). The colophon informs that it was completed erev Rosh Ha-Shanah, “[let all who are around him] bring presents yç (September 10, 1551) to him who is to be feared” (Psalms 76:12). It was printed at the press of Moses ben Eliezer Parnas by Isaac ben Hayyim Hazon, whose introduction (1b–2a) begins the volume. It has been suggested that Isaac Hazon was the sponsor of the book, or, alternatively, had succeeded Moses Parnas as the proprietor of the press. Tikkun Middot haNefesh, by far the smaller of the two works (91b–102b), does not have a separate title page. Tikkun Middot ha-Nefesh (The Improvement of the Moral Qualities) was translated into Hebrew from the Arabic by R. Judah ibn Tibbon (1167); the original Arabic manuscript is still extant. A popular exposition of ibn Gabirol’s views, it has fared better, from a Jewish perspective, than the more metaphysical Mekor Hayyim. Unlike that work, Tikkun Middot has numerous biblical citations and omits Platonic philosophy. It was written in Saragossa in 1045, at the request of friends who wanted a work that addressed the qualities of man and how they might be improved. Tikkun Middot ha-Nefesh is unusual, for virtues and vices are explained in relationship to the senses and in it ibn Gabirol attempts to establish the principles of ethics intellectually apart from religious doctrine. Essentially, the qualities of the soul are made manifest through the senses. There are twenty moral qualities, four per physical sense, that is, two virtues and two vices, which in turn are constituted of the four humors of the human body. For example, under sight is pride, meekness, modesty, and impudence; under hearing, love, hate, mercy, and cruelty. Tikkun Middot ha-Nefesh has been reprinted several times and there is an English translation.

Format 40: 91–102 leaves. Reprinted in Riva di Trento (1562).

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364

Kiryat Sefer

rps tyrq Moses ben Joseph di Trani (Mabit) 1551, Venice—Alvise Bragadin Clarification of the sources in Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah by R. Moses ben Joseph di Trani (ha-Mabit, 1500–1580). Trani, one of the sages of Safed, was the scion of a family from Spain that first settled in Italy and, in 1497, relocated to Salonika where Moses di Trani was born. After the death of his father, when Trani was relatively young, he went to Adrianople to live with and learn by his uncle, Aaron, a scholar of considerable repute. Trani also learned in the yeshivah of R. Joseph Fasi and, after going to Safed at the age of eighteen, studied under R. Jacob Berab, becoming one of the four scholars to receive ordination from him. In 1525, Trani became a member of Berab’s bet din, remaining a member of the Safed rabbinic court for fifty-four years, and, after the death of R. Joseph Caro, served as the head of the Safed community. As a prominent decisor and halakhic authority Trani communicated with leading rabbis and engaged in several halakhic debates with Caro. The title page has the Bragadin pressmark, three crowns. The text states that “it is a book of great value, to provide the source for each and every halakhah [in Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah], whether of biblical origin, or derived from the thirteen hermeneutic principals, if a halakhah le-Moshe mi-Sinai (a law given to Moses at Sinai), or a rabbinic decree or enactment.” On the verso of the title page is a preface from R. Elia Menahem ben Abba Mari Halpin followed by verses in praise of the book by R. Eleazer ben Abraham Solomon haKohen. The verses are in two columns, with acrostics of Trani and Eleazer’s names. Next is an index (2a–6b) of the contents (aleh ha-mitzvot, precepts), in the order of the Mishneh Torah, and then the author’s introduction (7a–10a). The text, beginning on 10b with Hilkhot Yesodei ha-Torah and concluding on 253a, is in two columns in rabbinic type, except for headings and chapter numbers, which are in square letters. There are additional verses on 253b and the book concludes with three leaves of additional material (errata) omitted from the book. In the introduction Trani states his purpose, to examine the branches and development of the law, to determine their source, in order to fulfil “[therefore have] I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed” (Isaiah 50:7). The book is entitled Kiryat Sefer, for reading in it will be like reading in a Sefer Torah. The reader will find in it the law (din) and the verse from which it is derived. Trani is explicit that he will not engage in the philosophic or scientific matter found in the Mishneh Torah. The book, with eight chapters, explains Trani’s intent, style, and methodology. Kiryat Sefer is not a commentary on the Mishneh Torah, but an independent book built upon the structure of that work. In contrast to Maimonides, he combines positive and negative precepts by subject and at times differs with Maimonides or says a matter requires further consideration. Kiryat Sefer is an important and valuable, if underutilized, work on the source and development of the precepts. Trani also wrote Iggeret Derekh ha-Shem (Venice, 1553), an ethical work; Beit Elohim (Venice, 1576), a commentary on Perek Shirah; and responsa (Venice, 1629–30).

Format 20: 253, [3] leaves.

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366

Ma’yenei ha-Yeshu’ah

h[wçyh yny[m Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel 1551, Ferrara—Samuel ibn Askara Zarefati Commentary on the book of Daniel by Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel (1437–1508). Ma’yenei Yeshu’ah (Wells of Salvation) is the first part of Abrabanel’s trilology on the immenince of the Messiah, the others books being Mashmi’a ha-Yeshu’ah (Announcing Salvation, Salonika, 1526) and Yeshu’ot Meshiho (the Salvation of His Anointed, Tarnopol, 1813), all three being referred to by him as Migdal Yeshu’ot (Tower of Salvation). Abrabanel wrote Mashmi’a Yeshu’ah in Monopoli (Apulia), so engrossed in his work that when King Ferrante II was reinstalled in Naples Abrabanel would not leave, completing the book in January, 1497. The title page of Ma’yenei ha-Yeshu’ah has an ornate frame with figurines. About the four sides of the text are the verses, “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall you draw water from the wells of salvation (Ma’yenei ha-Yeshu’ah)” (Isaiah 12:2–3). The title page is dated, 15 Shevat, “[and because he is strong in power] not one çya (Thursday, February 1, 1551) is missing” (Isaiah 40:26). There is an introduction (2a–4b) from R. Baruch Uzziel ben Baruch Forti (Hazketto, d. 1571), the sponsor, who edited the book and here provides a biography of the Abrabanel. Forti expresses his gratitude to Abrabanel’s sons, Joseph and Samuel, for the information they provided. There are two sets of verses in praise of the book and its author. Ma’yenei ha-Yeshu’ah concludes with a list of the seventy temarim (palm trees) into which he subdivided the book. Because he entitled this work Ma’yenei ha-Yeshu’ah, wells of salvation, he then, based on the verse, “and in Elim were twelve fountains of water, and seventy palm trees; and they camped there” (Numbers 33:9), divided the book into twelve chapters, which he called wells, and subdivided them into seventy temarim. Abrabanel’s objective in writing Ma’yenei ha-Yeshu’ah was to console the Jewish refugees from Spain, as he writes, “And I cleansed the house of Israel from the plague of defeatism and moved the people from the valley of despair to the gates of hope.” In Ma’yenei ha-Yeshu’ah Abrabanel addresses, at considerable length, Christian messianic claims based on apocalyptic dreams, such as that of the image seen by the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezar (Daniel 2:31–35), and that of the four great beasts that came up from the sea (7:2–14). Abrabanel refutes and points out difficulties with the Christian interpretation of these and other dreams. In addition to refuting Chrisitian theology, Abrabanel forecasts the most likely date of redemption, which he dates to 1532/33, to a large extent based on astrological calculations, noting, in his discussion of significant events in Jewish history, that the Exodus from Egypt and other events took place under the zodiacal sign of Pisces. He writes, I know for sure that the Messiah has already been born, since this increased persecution and oppresion are signs that we have entered the period of the “birth pangs” of the Messiah, prior to his ultimate appearance, which is sure to be soon, in the year which I calculated as 1532.

Format 40: 141 [1] leaves.

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368

Mirkevet ha-Mishneh

hnçmh tbkrm Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel 1551, Sabbioneta—Tobias Foa Commentary on Deuteronomy by Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel (1437–1508). Abrabanel began this work when still in Lisbon, unlike the remainder of his commentary on the Torah, which was written much later. Its completion was postponed, however, due to his responsibilities at the Portuguese court. The incomplete manuscript of Mirkevet ha-Mishneh was lost when Abrabanel was forced to flee Portugal in 1483. However, on his peregrinations Abrabanel came to the island of Corfu in 1493, where he serendipitously (miraculously) found a copy of the manuscript. Leaving aside other work he turned to completing this commentary, but after the departure of French troops from Naples, Abrabanel went to Monopoli (Apulia), where Mirkevet ha-Mishneh was finally completed in the first part of 1496 The title page, dated 5311 Rosh Hodesh Sivan (Wednesday, May 16, 1551), is comprised of an architectural border with standing representations of the mythological Minerva and Mars. This border was first employed by Francesco Minizio Calvo in Rome in 1523 and as late as 1540 in Milan. This is its earliest appearance in a Hebrew book. It would be often reused and copied, appearing on the title pages of books printed as far apart as Salonika and Cracow. The verso of the title page has a long preface by R. Joseph ben Jacob Ashkenazi [Shalit], one of the partners at the press. There is an introduction by Shalit on the verso of the title page, and another on 172b, before the indexes, and again on the final page. There is also an afterword from Azariah ben Moses [de Rossi] min ha-Adummim (Me’or Einayim, below, pp. 624–25). The indexes and references were prepared by Shalit. On the final unfoliated leaf are two devices, on the right that of Foa, a palm tree with a lion rampant on each side and affixed to the tree a Magen David, about it the verse, “The righteous flourish like the palm tree” (Psalms 92:13), all within a circle, and to the sides the letters f and p for Tobias Foa. On the left is Shalit’s device, a peacock standing on three rocks, facing left, with a fish in its beak within a cartouche. The letters ç y b y about this device stand for Joseph ben Jacob Shalit. It is reported that exemplars exist with Foa’s mark only. Mirkevet ha-Mishneh is stylistically similar to Abrabanel’s Perush ha-Torah (Venice, 1579, pp. 692–93), that is, a detailed, analytical and comprehensive exposition in response to problems preceding their analysis. Here, more than in his other biblical commentaries, Abrabanel explains, in a methodical fashion, his political and constitutional views. He is also critical of Christianity, more so than in any other Hebrew work published previously in Italy, with the result that Mirkevet ha-Mishneh, the first book printed at the Hebrew press in Sabbioneta, together with similar works, was responsible for the eventual closing of the press. Format 20: 145 [1] leaves.

369

1551, Moreh Nevukhim, Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides, Rambam), Venice Courtesy of the Dorot Jewish Division, New York Public Library

370

Moreh Nevukhim

μykwbn hrwm Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides, Rambam) 1551, Venice—Alvise Bragadin Moreh Nevukhim (Guide for the Perplexed ), Maimonides’ philosophical masterpiece. The Moreh is an exposition of Aristotelian philosophy, viewed in its relationship to Jewish theology. The Moreh is dedicated to R. Joseph ben Judah ibn Aknin, a student whom Maimonides addresses in the introduction, writing: The object of this treatise is to enlighten a religious man who has been trained to believe in the truth of our holy Law, who conscientiously fulfils his moral and religious duties, and at the same time has been successful in his philosophical studies. Human reason has attracted him to abide within its sphere; and he finds it difficult to accept as correct the teachings based on the literal interpretation of the Law. . . . Hence he is lost in perplexity and anxiety. . . . The work has also a second objective in view. It seeks to explain certain obscure figures which occur in the Prophets, and are not distinctly characterized as being figures. Ignorant and superficial readers take them in a literal, not figurative sense. Even well-informed persons are bewildered if they understand these passages in their literal sense, but they are entirely relieved of their perplexity when we explain the figure, or merely suggest that the terms are figurative. For this reason I have called this book the Guide for the Perplexed.

Maimonides’ purpose is to resolve the contradictions between Torah and philosophy; explain the use of anthropomorphic terms and their spiritual meaning; prove the existence of God; explain the function and types of prophecy, and the relationship between God’s omniscience and man’s free will. Written in Arabic as Dalat al-Ha’rin about 1200, the Moreh was first literally translated into Hebrew by Samuel ben Judah ibn Tibbon (c. 1160–c. 1230), with advice from Maimonides, and soon after, in a freer style, by the poet Judah ben Solomon al-Harizi (1170–1235). This edition is accompanied by the commentaries of R. Shem Tov ben Joseph ibn Shem Tov and Efodi (the Hebrew acronym of R. Isaac ben Moses “Profiat” Duran). It also includes a lexicon of difficult words. The Moreh Nevukhim became one of the most controversial Jewish books in the Middle Ages, not only because of its rationalistic outlook, but also due to the prominence of its author. In southern France, Jewish anti-Maimonists, led by R. Solomon ben Abraham of Montpellier, first placed the book in herem (prohibition) and then, in 1232, appealed to the Inquisition for assistance in enforcing the ban. In that year, after a house-to-house search, the friars burned the Moreh Nevukhim, the first recorded instance of an official burning of Jewish books. The Moreh Nevukhim is one of eight undated books credited to a Hebrew press in Rome c. 1469–70. Reprinted twice in the sixteenth century, it was not republished until 1742, when Israel ben Abraham, authorized by R. David ben Naphtali Hirsch Fraenkel (c. 1707–62), rabbi of Dessau and author of Korban ha-Edah on the Jerusalem Talmud, printed it in Jessnitz. A Latin translation attributed to Jacob Mantino and corrected and edited by Augistinus Justinanus, was printed in Paris in 1520.

Format 20: [12], 185, [1] leaves. Reprinted in Sabbioneta (1553).

371

372

Ayyelet Ahavim

μybha tlya Solomon ben Moses ha-Levi Alkabez 1552, Venice—Daniel ben Cornelius Adelkind Commentary on Shir ha-Shirim (Song of Songs) by the noted kabbalist R. Solomon ben Moses ha-Levi Alkabez (c. 1505–1584). It is believed that Alkabez was born in Salonika, where he studied under R. Joseph Taitazak. In 1529, Alkabez was in Adrianople, where he began Ayyelet Ahavim, having already completed several other works. He was in contact with and may have studied there with R. Joseph Caro. By 1535, Alkabez had emigrated to Erez Israel, settling in Safed. A charismatic speaker, many came to hear him preach. Alkabez is the author of the hymn, Lekhah Dodi, sung by Jewish communities throughout the world to greet the Sabbath (in prayer books from 1584), and introduced the practice of going into the fields to greet the Sabbath. He, together with Caro, began the custom of staying awake to study Torah (Tikkun Leil Shavu’ot) on the night of Shavu’ot after the encounter with the maggid. Alkabez was a grandson of R. Solomon ben Moses ha-Levi ibn Alkabez, one of the first, if not the first, Hebrew printers in Spain. The title of Ayyelet Ahavim on Song of Songs is from, “Let her be like the loving hind [and pleasant roe]” (Proverbs 5:19). The title page has an architectural frame. At the top is the verse, “[Naphtali] is a hind let loose; he gives goodly words” (Genesis 49:21), and at the bottom, “How sweet are your words to my taste! Sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalms 119:103). The title page is simply dated 312 (1552) and the colophon 12 Heshvan, in the year “and his fruit wyrp (296) was sweet to my taste” (Song of Songs 2:3). The year 296 (1536) is incorrect. It, and the verse from which it is taken, are the date Ayyelet Ahavim was completed, and can be found in Alkabez’s introduction. That introduction is followed by the text of Song of Songs, accompanied by the commentary, the former in square letters, the latter, in a single column, in rabbinic type. There is an epilogue from Alkabez, followed by an index of verses. Ayyelet Ahavim is written as a popular work for layman. Alkabez disdains overly rationalistic explanations, relying on traditional sources such as the Talmud, midrashim, and Zohar. Sections begin with apparent difficulties, resolved in the ensuing exposition. In addition, Alkabez defines his philosophy, that perfection lies not in seeking and knowing God but in loving Him. Only through the Torah, the divine word, the dazzling ray of God’s light, is man able to rise to celestial heights. He describes the truly pious person, in whose heart is inscribed the commandments of the Torah, and, no matter what misfortunes he encounters, never loses courage. By three things is the genuinely religious man recognized: he rules over his desires, all of his thought is to aid his neighbor and lead him to the supreme level of perfection, and he is most modest in his thoughts, deeds, and speech.

Alkabez was a prolific writer. Among his other printed works are Shoresh Yishai (Constantinople, 1561) on Megillat Ruth; and Manot ha-Levi (Venice, 1585, see below, pp. 728–29) on Megillat Esther. His commentaries on the Torah and prophets, prayers, and a number of other strictly kabbalistic works remain unpublished.

Format 40: 64, [2] leaves.

373

374

Havakbuk/Massekhet Purim

qwbqbh rps 1552, Venice—Daniel ben Cornelius Adelkind One of three Purim parodies, the others being Massekhet Purim and Megillat Setarim, printed together. The last two works were written, respectively, by R. Kalonymus ben Kalonymus (c. 1286–c. 1328) and Levi ben Gershom (Ralbag, Gersonides, 1288–1344). Sefer Havakbuk ha-Navi is an anonymous work, although it has been suggested that it too was written by Ralbag. Since Megillat Setarim makes use of some of the material in Sefer Havakbuk the former must have been written relatively early in the fourteenth century. The title page has a floral border. Its text states Megillat Setarim, Massekhet Purim, printed by Daniel ben Cornelius Adelkind in the month of Adar, in the year, 312, here Venice. The colophon to the volume dates the completion to 13 Adar I in the year 312 (February 18, 1552). On the verso of the title page is Solomon ibn Gabirol’s humorous verse, KiKhelot Yeini. It is followed by Megillat Setarim, Massekhet Purim, and Sefer Havakbuk ha-Navi, this last with a separate title page and often bound separately. With six leaves only, it is the smallest part of the volume. The book is unpaginated and the text of the first two works unvoweled. In contrast, Sefer Havakbuk has vowels and accents. Missing from this edition is the conclusion of Massekhet Purim, “. . . it was written in fun, to amuse people on Purim. . . .” Sefer Havakbuk ha-Navi (concerning Massekhet Purim and Megillat Setarim, see above, 1513, pp. 50–51) closely imitates the language of the prophets and is a parody of the biblical book of Habakkuk, the very title being a play on the name of the prophet Habakkuk and on bakbuk (bottle), the combination resulting in “he embraced the bottle.” All names in the parody, whether individual or place names, are also from the Bible, modified in some way to imply wine. Besides the prophet Havakbuk, two other prominent personalities are Karmi (vineyard) and Beeri (well), rivals for the throne and representative of intemperance and abstinence, each endeavoring to influence the Jewish people to his perspective. Bakbuk is the prophet sent to turn the people towards Karmi, or against abstinence. Sefer Havakbuk concludes, “Never again has there arisen in the house of Karmi a prophet like Havakbuk as evidenced by the signs and wonders that he performed in the sight of Israel” (cf. Deuteronomy 34:10–12). As with this verse, much of the Sefer Havakbuk is forced and not that humorous; it is not comparable to Massekhet Purim and Megillat Setarim. It has been suggested that Sefer Havakbuk was printed a month earlier than Massekhet Purim, and some copies were simply bound together. Support is found in the fact that the former has vowels and accents, the latter has neither. Sefer Havakbuk is dated Adar I, Massekhet Purim is dated Adar, suggestive of Adar II. The signatures also start anew in Sefer Havakbuk. However, the Pesaro edition follows the same pattern with vowels and accents. Furthermore, the title page of Sefer Havakbuk, lacking almost all of the information one would expect there from experienced printers, the colophon notwithstanding, would seem to mitigate against the argument for a separate printing. These parodies have been the subject of rabbinic disapproval, most notably R. Samuel Aboab (1610–94), who in his responsa, Devar Shemu’el (Venice, 1702), harshly condemns a parody of the Talmud and recommends that they be destroyed, accounting for their rarity.

Format 80: 35, 6 leaves. Printed previously in Pesaro ([1509] and 1513).

375

1552, Le-Khal Hefetz, Eliezer Melli, Venice Courtesy of the Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University

376

Le-Khal Hefetz

≈pj lkl Eliezer Melli 1552, Venice—Daniel ben Cornelius Adelkind An outline of forms and documents. The editor, R. Eliezer Melli, a rabbi in Venice, was a bibliographer and linguist. The text of the title page, with verses, and their source, in the upper and lower portions of the pillared architectural frame in which it is set, states: Because to every purpose there is time and judgment. Ecclesiastes 8 Le-Khal Hefetz And it is a collection of documents used by the children of Israel according to the law of Moses and halakhah. Printed by Daniel ben Cornelius Adelkind in the month of Nissan in the year 312 (1552) q”pl here Venice But I will tell you that which is inscribed in the book of truth. Daniel 10

On the verso of the title page Melli dedicates the book to Judah ben Don Samuel Abrabanel and his mother Signora Benvineda. Le-Khal Hefetz was prepared for the Abrabanel family, who, with their widespread business dealings, required Melli’s assistance in preparing promissory notes. Le-Khal Hefetz is a collection of thirty-eight documents to be used for various occasions. The first two documents deal with shiduchim (matchmaking), followed by deeds for a variety of business and personal transactions, among them engagement, marriage contract, renting and selling of houses, partnerships with and without witnesses, loans, transactions, deposits, authorization, arbitration, refusal of marriage by a minor, bill of divorce, halitzah, levirate marriage contract, gifts, gift of a dying person, and guardianship. A number of these documents are reprinted in R. Judah Zarko of Rhodes’ Yefeh Nof (Venice, c. 1572, see below, pp. 618–19). Daniel Adelkind, the printer, was the son of the renowned printer, Israel Cornelius Adelkind. Named after Daniel Bomberg, this Daniel worked for several presses in Venice and at least thirteen books from 1549 to 1552 bear his name as the printer or publisher, or both. Much of the publishing done by Daniel Adelkind appears to have been at the instigation and with the assistance of his father, whom he frequently mentions in the colophons of his books, although Cornelius is not mentioned in Le-Khal Hefetz. Cornelius, it seems, wished to enter his son into the printing trade, but was not completely successful in this endeavor for the books with Daniel’s name are uniformly small works. Furthermore, many of these books are vanity works, that is, the cost of publication was borne by the author.

Format 40: 16 leaves.

377

378

Ma’aseh Yehudit

tydwhy hç[m 1552–53, Constantinople—Samuel ben Hayyim Halicz Popular homiletic chronicle, part of the Apocrypha or Sefarim Hizonim, recounting events that occurred during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Assyria in Ninveh. At war with Arphaxad, king of Media, Nebuchadnezzar sent to all the surrounding people, as far as Egypt, for troops. After defeating Arphaxad, Nebuchadnezzar sent Holofernes, his general, with a large army, to chastise the people of Judea who had not responded to his request. The Jews, hearing of Holofernes’s approach, resist at Bethulia in the valley of Esdraelon before Jerusalem. The siege of Bethulia becomes desperate and the city is close to surrender when Judith, a young and beautiful widow, goes to Holofernes’s camp, charms him, and, when he becomes drunk at a banquet, takes Holofernes’s sword, beheads him and escapes to Bethulia. With Holofernes dead, his troops panic and flee. The book concludes with the High Priest coming from Jerusalem to greet Judith. Ma’aseh Yehudit (The Book of Judith) was originally written in Hebrew, translated in an abridged form into Aramaic, and then into Greek and Latin. It exists today in several recensions; the original Hebrew and Aramaic texts are no longer extant and the current versions are translated from the Greek and Latin. It is believed that the book was written during the time of Persian rule, although it later became associated with the Hasmoneans. The title page has no ornamentation, simply stating at the top, Ma’aseh Yehudit, and at the bottom, “Printed in Constantinople, the capital, in the domain of our lord Sultan Suleiman, may his majesty be exalted. By the young printer Samuel ben Hayyim Halicz [may he be remembered for life everlasting] Ashkenazi.” On the verso of the title page is a preface from the translator and then, from 1a, the text in a single column in square letters. The preface states: Thus says the translator, Moses Mildanado. I found Ma’aseh Yehudit written in Latin in the possession of a non-Jew. I thought to translate it into Hebrew to make known the righteousness of the Lord, the wondrous kindness He has done for us in a besieged and distressed city. Even though I found in it some textual variations from the Midrash mentioned by Rashi and the Ran in the chapter Bameh Madlikin I did not refrain because of this from translating it for I know that this is the way in chronicles and historical works, that not everyone writes in a uniform manner. . . .

The printer, Samuel Halicz, one of three brothers who had operated the first Hebrew printing press in Cracow and apostatized, returned to Judaism in Constantinople. He printing a small number of books only, three for certain, a Bible (1551–52), Ma’aseh Yehudit, and R. Isaac ben Meir of Dueren’s Sha’arei Dura (1553), and perhaps a fourth, R. Jonah Gerondi’s (Rabbenu Yonah) Iggeret Teshuvah (1548), which lacks the name of the printer. In the Bible Samuel makes mention of his return to Judaism, stating in the colophon, “Samuel said do not call me Samuel but Shuvu’el for he returned to his God.” No such reference is made in Ma’aseh Yehudit or Sha’arei Dura, which have neither a preface nor an epilogue from the printer. Samuel’s press closed with his death. His son Hayyim, however, continued in the family profession, working for Joseph Jabez.

Format 240: 18 leaves.

379

1552, Ordenanca delas Oraciones del Cedur, Isaac ben Shem Tov Cavallero, Venice Courtesy of Kestenbaum & Company

380

Ordenanca delas Oraciones del Cedur

μydrpsh ghnmk twlypt rwdys Isaac ben Shem Tov Cavallero 1552, Venice—Alvise Bragadin Bilingual Hebrew-Spanish prayer book for use by Marranos throughout the SpanishPortuguese diaspora. This edition was prepared by R. Isaac ben Shem Tov Cavallero, only one generation removed from pre-expulsion Spain. This prayer book is often mistakenly dated in bibliographic sources to 1583. The text of the title Spanish page, set within an architectural frame states, Ordenanca delas Oraciones del Cedur del mes Ebraico y vulgar espanol. Below it is Hebrew text that informs that it is a new bilingual prayer book and the name of the printer, Alvise Bragadin, followed by additional Spanish text stating, Copilado por el Doctor Ribi Isac Bijo de Don Semtob Cavallero, En Venecia MDLII. There is also a distinct second title page, with Hebrew on the upper half of the page, Spanish below, giving the same information. The Hebrew text is set in square vocalized letters. On the facing is the Spanish translation in Latin Letters. A feature of this prayer book is the inclusion of Kol Berué (let all creatures), a supplicatory hymn, sung by pious Sephardim prior to the beginning of Sabbath and weekday services. This prayer, which proclaims the unity of God, has been attributed by some to Solomon ibn Gabirol and by others to a medieval Italian or Provencal poet. It had great popularity with ex-Marranos. This prayer, together with the Hebrew original, separates the book’s two title pages. It is the opinion of H. P. Salomon that there was no need for a Spanish translation of the Hebrew liturgy in pre-expulsion Spain, the Jews there being fluent in Hebrew. The conversos did not have access to literal Spanish translations of the Hebrew prayer book. It was only with the establishment of synagogues in Italy in which services were conducted for returnees to Judaism that such a need developed. This, and a contemporaneous HebrewSpanish translation of the prayer book, also in 1552, in Ferrara, also with a translation of Kol Berué, are the first such published translations of the prayer book. These two works, both intended for Spanish and Portuguese returnees to Judaism who could not yet easily follow Hebrew services, were prepared independently of each other, Cavallero being unaware of the Ferrara prayer book. An earlier attempt to translate the prayer book into Portuguese was not completed. The Ordenanca delas Oraciones del Cedur was placed upon the Index Librorum Prohibitorum in Madrid (1583).

Format 160: 332 leaves.

381

382

Zikhron Torat Moshe

hçm trwt ˆwrkz Moses ben Joseph Figo 1552–53, Constantinople An index of the sayings of the rabbis of the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds by R. Moses ben Joseph Figo. The title page has a frame made up of components of the Decachordum. The text of the title page begins with several lines of verse and then states that it includes the sayings from the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds, so that a needed phrase can be found with ease in the commentaries available to us, which are, Maimonides’ Moreh Nevukhim, the Ran’s (Nissim Gerondi) Derashot, the Ba’al ha-Akedah (Isaac Arama), Ba’al ha-Ikkarim ( Joseph Albo), and also ha-Rav Derekh Emunah (Abraham Bibago), and Sefer Neveh Shalom (Abraham Shalom). There is a certain benefit to all who look into it and learn, as our sages said in perek caizad me-abrin, “Set up signposts for yourself, etc.” ( Jeremiah 31:20), [that is,] make signs for the Torah (Eruvin 54b). Written by the honorable R. Moses “the son of a brave man of Kabzeel, who had done many acts” (I Chronicles 11:22), the honorable and exalted Joseph Figo.

On the four sides of this text is repeated, four times, “[that it shall be] for a remembrance before the Lord” (Exodus 30:16), except that in the bottom instance the l is missing. The title page is dated, “Sing to the Lord a new çdj (312 = 1552) song” (Isaiah 42:10, Psalms 96:1, 98:1, 149:1). There are two colophons for different sections, the first with a completion date of Friday, 11 Tammuz, 5313 ( July 3, 1553), the second dated Friday, 8 Elul, 5313 (August 28, 1553). On the verso of the title page is Figo’s introduction, which repeats the above paragraph and expands upon the reasons for the work, and then, from 2a, the text, which is in two columns in rabbinic type. The volume lacks foliation. The first part of Zikhron Torat Moshe is on the Babylonian Talmud, ending with the 23rd quire. The text then begins anew for the remainder of the ma’amarim and midrashim in the Jerusalem Talmud. Entries are alphabetical by term and then tractate, accompanied by marginal references for the commentaries noted above. The term ˆba (stone), for example, has five entries, one of which states: SOTAH The stones that Israel took when they crossed the Jordan were of three types. How did they write the Torah on them? And the stones of the Hoshen and Ephod how were the names of the tribes written? Perek Eilu Ne’emarim 35, 36.

The accompanying marginalia references Neveh Shalom ma’amar 6 and Derash 1 perek 1. The name of the printer is not given. However, as Zikhron Torat Moshe was printed with the typographical equipment that Moses Parnas had obtained from the Soncinos, it is likely that the book was printed at the Parnas’s press. Nevertheless, the identity of the printer is not known, Parnas having died in 1549. There are editions of this work in which the title is given as Torat Moshe and Figo’s name does not appear on the title page. Zikhron Torat Moshe was reprinted in Prague (1623).

Format 20: [174] leaves.

383

384

Decree Ordering the Confiscation and Burning of the Talmud 1553, Venice Decree to confiscate and burn the Talmud. This broadside was reputedly issued as the culmination of the dispute over rival editions of Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah published by the Bragadin and Giustiniani presses (see above, Mishneh Torah, 1550, pp. 360–61). It is possible that the true cause was anticipated rival editions of the Talmud by these printers. Bragadin and Giustiniani were represented before Pope Julius III by apostates. The Pope assigned a committee of six cardinals, the Congregation of the Inquisition, led by Cardinal Giovanni Pietro Caraffa, the future Pope Paul IV, an extreme reactionary and a bitter anti-Semite, to investigate. The committee reported in favor of burning the Talmud and the Pope issued a bull ordering the confiscation and burning of the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds. Owners of the Talmud were required to submit them within eight days to be burned. Anyone found afterwards with a copy of the Talmud was subject to two years imprisonment for a first offense and five years for a second offense. Informers were to receive a monetary reward. On Rosh Ha-Shanah (September 19, 1553), representatives of the Inquisition conducted a house-to-house search of the Jewish residences of Rome, collecting copies of the Talmud, which they ceremoniously burned in Campo di Fiori. Letters were sent by the Inquisition, followed by letter from the pope, to the heads of Italian states, and representations by papal nuncios in foreign capitals to enforce the prohibition of the Talmud. In Venice, where this decree was issued, a committee, the Escutori contro la bestemmia, was charged with determining what constituted compendiums, summaries, and books based on the Talmud, which would be consigned to the flames. The burning there took place on the Sabbath, October 21, in the Piazza San Marco. It made, in the words of the nuncio, “a good fire.” The zealous Venetian book burners, led by the apostate Eleazer ben Raphael, wished to burn all Hebrew books, even the Torah scrolls, but they were prevented from doing so. Among the accounts (see below) describing these events are those of R. Judah Lerma in his Lehem Yehudah (Sabbioneta, 1554, pp. 396–97) and Abraham Menahem Rapaport in his Minhah Belulah (Verona, 1594, pp. 828–29). Mattathias Delacrut, in his book, Zikaron, still in manuscript, writes: Our books are lost, the little that we had. If not that our eyes “Indeed, the Almighty y”dç shall be your gold” ( Job 22:25), for from Rome decreed to despoil our books and our glory, trample In Venice they burned more than a thousand complete books of dred copies of the Alfasi, and other books without end, new and

had seen this, in the year the pope and his cardinals and burn them in the fire. the Talmud, and five hunold.

Among the consequences are the rarity of the Giustiniani and last Bomberg Talmud editions, burned before they could be widely distributed, in contrast to the earlier printings, which had been extensively circulated. Study of the Talmud suffered greatly and the Hebrew printing industry went into a period of decline. Writers and editors bemoan their inability to cite the Talmud directly, instead having to rely on secondary sources. Hebrew books printed in Italy were censored, needing a license to be printed. Within the Jewish community, after a conference in Ferrara, rabbinic approbations were required, to insure that books were not offensive to the Church.

Format 10.

385

386

Divrei ha-Yamim le-Malkhei Zarefat u-le-Malkhei Beit Ottoman ha-Togar

rgwth ˆamwfa tyb yklmw tprx yklml μymyh yrbd rps Joseph ben Joshua ha-Kohen 1553, Sabbioneta—Tobias Foa Historical chronicle of the nations by R. Joseph ben Joshua ha-Kohen (1496–1578). The author, descended from a family from Chuete, Spain, came, via Avignon, to Genoa, where Joseph studied medicine, eventually becoming court physician to the doge Andrea Dore. After the expulsion of the Jews from Genoa (1516), Joseph settled in Novi, returning to Genoa when the Jews were forced from that location, and after another expulsion, resided in Voltaggio, where he completed Divrei ha-Yamim le-Malkhei Zarefat u-le-Malkhei Beit Ottoman ha-Togar (History of the Kings of France and of the Ottoman Turks). The title page informs that when “Zerachiah ha-Levi, the son of the author’s sister, saw the splendor of this, and the nectar of its honeycombed words, the Lord lifted his spirit and he began to speak,” concluding with several lines of verse. A brief introduction from Joseph follows, in which he traces his lineage to Sepharad, and writes that it is well known that no scribe (historian) has appeared among the Jews since the time of Josephus ha-Kohen, who wrote of the wars of the land of Judah and Jerusalem. The writing of historical works had ceased among the Jews until Joseph undertook to write their history and their travail among the nations from the time of their exile to the present, their exile from Spain and France. He notes the history of the kings of France and the Ottomans in a book, just as the Egyptians persecuted our forefathers and it was not forgotten, concluding, “Sing to the Lord; for he has done excellent things; this is known in all the earth” (Isaiah 12:5). The text follows, divided into two books, set in a single column in a square font, with dates noted in the margins, concluding with an epigraph from Joseph in which he states that the book was completed at the end of the month of Heshvan in the year “and the things that shall come upon them make haste çjw (314 = Monday, November 16, 1553)” (Deuteronomy 32:35). The name of the printer is given, that is, Cornelius Adelkind. The first book begins, “Adam fathered Seth, and Seth fathered Enosh,” but rapidly moves into a later time, this part chronicling the period from the fall of the Roman empire through the Frankish kingdom founded by Clovis to 1520, with emphasis on the Crusades. France and Turkey, its subject matter, are synonyms for the Christian and Moslem worlds, the two great powers engaged in a historic struggle. Israel, a “persecuted sheep,” is pressed between them, bearing God’s word and awaiting redemption. The second part, beginning in 1520, covers contemporary events for the thirty-year period from 1520 to 1550, addressing the wars in Italy between Francis I of France and the Emperor Charles V, including such occurrences as David Reubeni and Solomon Molcho. Divrei ha-Yamim was reprinted in Amsterdam (1733) and has been translated into Latin, French, and English. A third part, detailing events from 1554–75, was published in Hebrew (1955). Joseph also wrote poetry and translations, but it is for his historical works that he is known, particularly, Emek ha-Bakha (Vienna, 1852) addressing the persecution of the Jews.

Format 80: 328 leaves.

387

388

Hoshanot le-Sukkot

twksl twn[çwh Simeon ben Zemah Duran 1553, Ferrara—Abraham ibn Usque Liturgical work comprised of poetical prayers to be recited on each day of Sukkot and Hoshana Rabbah (seventh and last day of Sukkot) with the commentary of R. Simeon ben Zemah Duran (Rashbaz, 1361–1444). Duran is primarily remembered for his rabbinic scholarship and role as a decisor. However, he also wrote liturgical poetry, kinot, selihot, tehinnot, and, in this instance, a commentary on the Hoshanot. These are poetical piyyutum and supplications recited in the synagogue as a circuit (hakkafah, seven on Hoshana Rabbah) with the arba’ah minim is made about the bimah, recollecting the processions made about the altar in the Temple on those days. This edition of Hoshanot le-Sukkot, according to the Sephardic rite, measures about 16 cm. The title page, has a pillared frame and informs that it is: Hoshanot le-Sukkot with the commentary of R. Simeon ben Zemah known as Duran, the first, who was in the days of R. Isaac bar Sheshet, who wrote responsa spreading Torah in the land of Yishmael in the city of Algiers. And I, the youth, Isaac Alachakim, endeavored to print, [with the help of God] with the addition of an introduction and glosses in places not addressed by the above Rav on Hoshana Rabbah.

The title page is followed by Alachakim’s introduction—he would sponsor additional books here and also in Constantinople—which discusses the hakkafot, followed by the text, made up of the Hoshanot and Duran’s Perush. The text is in a single column in vocalized square letters. The introduction and commentary are in rabbinic type. The colophon dates the completion of the work to Friday, 29 Elul, 313 (September 18, 1553). The printer, Abraham ibn Usque, is mentioned in the colophon but not on the title page. An extract from the Perush was reprinted with the Spanish prayer book (1573). The printer, Abraham ibn Usque, was born Duarte Pinel in Portugal, but, suspected of Judaizing, fled that land in about 1543 for Ferrara, where he returned to Judaism. In 1553, Usque took over the press established by Samuel ibn Askara Zarefati of Pesaro two years earlier. In addition to liturgical works and Bibles, Abraham ibn Usque published philosophical, theological, halakhic, and even popular titles. These include Joseph Jabez’s Or ha-Hayyim, Ma’amar ha-Ahdut and Yesod ha-Emunah; Menahem ibn Zerah’s Zedah la-Derekh (1554); Hasdai Crescas’s Or HaShem, Jonah Ashkenazi’s Issur ve-Hetter, and Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov’s Sefer ha-Emunot (1556). Jacob Fano’s Shiltei ha-Gibborim, published in 1556, with a satire against women, aroused the displeasure of the Church. Church opposition forced the press to close. Usque also published titles in Spanish, most notably the 1553 Ferrara Bible. Hoshanot Le-Sukkot is among Usque’s first Hebrew imprints. Neither his name nor device, the astrolabe with anchor, appear on the title page or elsewhere in the book.

Format 80: 50 leaves.

389

390

Ma’yan Gannim

μyng ˆy[m Samuel ben Elhanan Jacob Archivolti 1553, Venice—Alvise Bragadin A composition book comprised of sample letters by R. Samuel ben Elhanan Jacob Archivolti (c. 1515–1611). Archivolti, a student of R. Meir Katzenellenbogen (Maharam, 1473–1565), served as rabbi, av bet din, and rosh yeshivah in Padua. Among his students was R. Judah Aryeh (Leon) Modena (1571–1648). Prior to settling in Padua in 1568 Archivolti worked as a corrector for the Hebrew presses in Venice. He was deeply attached to the Hebrew language, as reflected by Ma’yan Gannim and several of his other works. Ma’yan Gannim is designed to teach through example the rules of correspondence. The title page has the Bragadin device, that is, three crowns. The title is from, “A fountain of gardens (ma’yan gannim), [a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon]” (Song of Songs 4:15). The text states that there are fifty letters, that is, twenty-five letters with their responses, written by Archivolti. There is a preface and introduction by Archivolti, followed by a table of contents, and, beginning on 7a, the text. Ma’yan Gannim is the first book written by Archivolti, for he describes it as his first fruits, an offering to the Lord. Ma’yan Gannim is divided into five chapters or sections (μyrwnx), each comprised of ten letters. At the beginning of each chapter is a woodcut illustration comprised of three cherubim in a cage, surrounded on all four sides by a verse. For example, 1) “And a river went out from Eden to water the garden; and from there it was divided, and became four rivers” (Genesis 2:10), and 2) “And from there they went to Beer; that is the well of which the Lord spoke to Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water” (Numbers 21:16). The letters are in metrical form, designed by Archivolti as literary models, many with ethical content, for his students. The sections or chapters, each on a different theme, are correspondence between a father and son; between friends; from an older to a younger man; with government officials; and others, including letters of a romantic, and even sensual nature. Such letters, at the very least inappropriate by modern religious standards, are intermingled with those of a sacred nature, reflecting contemporary mores and addressing current issues, including therefore, information of historical and cultural value. Each letter begins with a brief abstract of its contents, followed by the letter. The book begins with a letter on instruction for a son and concludes with a response to a woman who requests to study Talmud, granted specifically because the woman is a “virago,” and so unlike other woman. The text ends on 45a, followed by a page of verse and then errata. Archivolti also wrote Degel Ahavah (Venice, 1551), an ethical work; He’arot le-Sefer he-Arukh (Venice, 1553), textual references for the Arukh of Nathan ben Jehiel; and, his most important title, Arugat ha-Bosem (Venice, 1602) a grammatical work in 32 chapters. Archivolti’s literary works must have been effective for no less a personage than Modena writes, “To him [Archivolti] I owe my literary style, and from him I learned the art of writing poetry.”

Format 160: 45, [1] leaves.

391

1553, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Judah Minz and Meir Katzenellenbogen (Maharam), Venice Courtesy of the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad Ohel Yosef Yitzhak

392

She’elot u’Teshuvot

twbwçt twlaçw μyqsp Judah ben Eliezer Ha-Levi Minz and Meir ben Isaac Katzenellenbogen 1553, Venice—Alvise Bragadin Responsa from R. Judah ben Eliezer ha-Levi Minz (c. 1408–1506) and R. Meir ben Isaac Katzenellenbogen (Maharam, 1473–1565). Minz, among the foremost Italian rabbis of his time, served as rabbi of Padua and Rosh Yeshiva (receiving 100 florins a year as a stipend) for forty-seven years. He was a student of R. Asher (Israel) Enschechin, and his pupils include his son R. Abraham Minz (d. 1525), who succeeded him as head of the yeshivah in Padua, a position he held only briefly, and Abraham’s son-in-law, R. Meir Katzenellenbogen, who in turn succeeded his father-in-law as head of the yeshivah. Judah Minz corresponded with leading rabbis in various lands, among them R. Elijah Mizrahi, who praised Minz in a responsum (56), and supported Minz in a bitter dispute with the philosopher Elijah Delmedigo (1460–95). Almost all of Minz’s writings were destroyed in the sack of Padua, excepting these sixteen responsa discovered by his grandson, Joseph ben Abraham Minz. Meir ben Isaac Katzenellenbogen was a student of the preeminent Polish talmudist, R. Joseph Pollak (d. c. 1530), and afterwards of R. Judah Minz. In addition to his duties in Padua, Katzenellenbogen was also the rabbi of record for Venice. He was the author of glosses to Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah, plagiarized by the Giustiniani printing house, and which, in the ensuing dispute, resulted in the Talmud being burned (see above, p. 361). Katzenellenbogen was consulted by rabbis from other lands and presided over the meeting of Italian rabbis in Ferrara (1554) which enacted takkanot for the Jews of Italy, effecting marital laws, use of non-Jewish courts, usury, the status of rabbis, and Hebrew printing. The last was a prohibition on the publication of Hebrew books without rabbinic approbations, done as a result of the burning of the Talmud and censorship, to make Hebrew books less offensive to the Church. This volume contains ninety responsa from Katzenellenbogen. The order of the book, after the title page, is an introduction by Katzenellenbogen; a listing of the responsa; a page of verse in praise of the book by Moses ben Zechariah of Corfu; the responsa of Judah Minz; Seder Gittin va-Halizah; and the responsa of Meir Katzenellenbogen. In the introduction Katzenellenbogen notes that Minz’s responsa are but a fraction of what he wrote, the rest being destroyed, and that Minz’s grandson searched and found these responsa. Furthermore, Seder Gittin va-Halizah was composed by Judah Minz as time permitted, expanded on by Abraham Minz, and arranged and ordered by Katzenellenbogen. Pagination is in both Hebrew and Arabic numerals. Several of Minz’s responsa address marital issues, including one on a woman who married in Sivan and gave birth in Kislev (slightly more than six months), anusim (forced converts), and on a childless woman whose husband died with the presumption that there was no brother, and after she remarried it was said that there was a brother. Other issues addressed are permitting men to dress as women on Purim, and that Sephardim do not write small and large letters in their Sifrei Torah as do Ashkenazim. Katzenellenbogen’s responsa, as might be expected, deal with a large variety of issues, many of monetary concern, but also address the permissibility of fish brought to a city on either the first or second day of a holiday, a fly found in a pan, and oaths.

Format 40: 134 leaves.

393

394

Hilkhot Rav Alfas

l”xz spla br twklh Isaac ben Jacob Alfasi (Rif ) 1554–55, Sabbioneta—Tobias Foa Halakhic compendium by R. Isaac ben Jacob Alfasi (Rif, 1013–1103). Hilkhot Rav Alfas (Sefer Rav Alfas, Sefer ha-Halakhot, see above, 1509, pp. 30–31) is one of the most significant works in halakhic literature. This edition, published at the press of Tobias Foa, directed by Cornelius Adelkind, and edited by Joshua Boaz, is noteworthy because of the commentaries printed with it. The Sabbioneta edition of Hilkhot Rav Alfas incorporates the innovations made by Boaz in the Giustiniani Talmud (Venice, 1546–51, see above, pp. 326–27) and in the BragadinParenzo Rav Alfas (1552). This edition, as were previous editions from the Bomberg 1521–22 printing, is organized in three volumes, the first made up of Berakhot, Halakhot Ketannot, and Seder Mo’ed; the second, Seder Nashim and tractate Hullin; and the third, Seder Nezikin, and includes the commentaries printed with that and all subsequent editions. Furthermore, the Sefer Ba’al ha-Ma’or of Zerahiah ben Isaac ha-Levi Gerondi (12th cent.), first printed at the end of the 1552 Rav Alfas, is here printed as marginalia with the text. The additions added by Boaz are indices for the Mishneh Torah, Sefer Mitzvot Gadol, and Arba’ah Turim, entitled Ein Mishpat; an enumeration of those entries entitled Ner Mitzvah; references to halakhot in Hilkhot Rav Alfas and the Mordekhai according to the order of the Mishneh Torah, entitled Hikor Dinim; novellae from Boaz together with supplementary halakhot from later decisors on Rav Alfas and the Mordekhai, entitled Shiltei ha-Gibborim. The indices appeared with the Giustiniani Talmud; Shiltei ha-Gibborim on the first two volumes of Sefer Rav Alfas was printed in the 1552 edition. This is the first complete printing and use of the name Shiltei ha-Gibborim. In a lengthy introduction Boaz mentions Sefer ha-Tamim and Sefer ha-Mahaloket, the former to recapitulate halakhot not in dispute, the latter halakhot where differences of opinion exist between decisors, presenting the reasons for their positions. Hikor Dinim and Shiltei ha-Gibborim were preperatory works for these titles, which are no longer extant. Boaz concludes, stating that he has been occupied in this, the work of Heaven, from the age of twenty-three to thirty-six, noting that “He gives power to the faint; and to those who have no might He increases strength” (Isaiah 40:29). Boaz, however, died young, before work on Hilkhot Rav Alfas was completed. Work began, according to the title page, on Rosh Hodesh Adar, “And God Almighty y”dç (314) give you mercy” (Genesis 43:14). This date appears to be in error, for Rosh Hodesh Adar occured on Saturday, February 13, 1554. The last volume has two colophons, one after the text and the second after the index. The first, by Foa, gives the date of completion as Rosh Hodesh Adar, 1556, that is, Wednesday, February 3, 1555, and below it, Foa’s device, a palm tree with a lion rampant on each side and affixed to the tree a Magen David, all set within a cartouche within a square. About the square is the verse, “The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree” (Psalms 92:13). The second colophon, after the index, is by Boaz.

Format 20: I 410, II 402–778, III 398 leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (1509), Venice (1521–22), [Salonika 1522 [1527]], [Fez in 1524], Venice (1552), and reprinted in Riva di Trento (1558), and Cracow (1597–99).

395

396

Lehem Yehudah

hdwhy μjl Judah ben Samuel Lerma Sephardi 1554, Sabbioneta—Cornelius Adelkind at the Press of Tobias Foa Commentary on Pirkei Avot by R. Judah ben Samuel Lerma Sephardi. Little is known about the author, except for the events related to the publication and burning of his book, Lehem Yehudah. The commentary is of a philosophic but traditional nature, based on the writings of R. Joseph Albo, Isaac Abrabanel, and Isaac Arama, as well as Talmudic and Midrashic sources. Nevertheless, Lerma is an original thinker, often expressing his own views. Printed with Lehem Yehudah is a short work, Derush al ha-Neshamah, a treatise on the soul. In the introduction Lerma extols the value of Avot, noting that “He who wishes to be pious must look into Avot” (paraphrasing Berakhot 30a). Lerma promises to resolve difficulties in earlier commentators, who did not fully comprehend the depths of Avot. He calls his commentary Lehem Yehudah because “the bread (lehem) from which I have benefitted is the bread of Torah, for we find the Torah is called bread, as it states, ‘Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mixed’” (Proverbs 9:5). Lerma continues, recounting what befell the first edition of his book: I printed my book [Lehem Yehudah] in Venice at the beginning of “for the Almighty y”dç (314 = 1553) has dealt very bitterly with me” (Ruth 1:20) and the ruler of Rome [the Pope] decreed throughout the kingdoms of Edom and they burned the Talmud and the Aggadot of the Talmud of R. Jacob ben Habib Z”L should be burned. In Venice, in the month of Marheshvan [bitter Heshvan], which is as its name, it was decreed that the Talmud, the Aggadot mentioned above, and Rav Alfasi and Mishnayot should be burned on the Holy Shabbat, and with them they burned all of my books, of which 1,500 copies had been printed. I lost all that was in Venice and not even a single copy remained to me, not even a single leaf from the original for a remembrance. I was forced to rewrite [my book] from memory from the beginning. After I had completed three chapters, I found one copy from the original press in the hands of a non-Jew, who had saved it from the fire. I acquired it from him at a dear price, and when I looked into it, may His name be blessed, I saw that the second [copy] was more complete than the first.

The title page has a floral border. This frame was used earlier by Francesco Minizio Calvo at Rome, although it has also been suggested that rather than Francesco Calvo it was used by Giovanni da Castiglione for Andrea Calvo at Milan. However, if indeed Foa obtained it from Francesco it would be the second decorative border that he employed from Calvo (see above, Mirkevet ha-Mishneh, 1551, pp. 368–69). The title page is dated Menachem [Av], “And God Almighty y”dç (314 = July/August, 1554) bless you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, that you may be a multitude of people” (Genesis 28:3), and the work was completed, according to the colophon, on 27 Heshvan, “And now shall my head be lifted up above my enemies around me; therefore I will offer in His tent sacrifices of joy; I will sing, I will make music to the Lord dwdyl hrmzaw” (315 = Tuesday, November 2, 1554) (Psalms 27:6).

Format 40: 163 [1] leaves. Printed previously in Venice (1553).

397

398

Pardes Rimmonim

μynwmr sdrp rps Shem Tov ibn Shaprut 1554, Sabbioneta—Tobias Foa Commentary on the aggadah in the Talmud by R. Shem Tov bar Isaac ibn Shaprut [of Tortosa]. Ibn Shaprut’s identity is uncertain, apart from his authorship of this work and, perhaps, participation in the famous dispute in Tortosa in 1413–14. It has also been suggested that this ibn Shaprut and the physician and translator R. Shem Tov ibn Shaprut of Tortosa (thirteenth century) are the same person. The title page has the floral border typical of the Sabbioneta quarto books. The text states that it is Sefer Pardes Rimmonim on the aggadah of the Talmud written by Shem Tov ibn Shaprut from the city of Totilla hlyft known in Yehudah and that it was brought to press by R. Solomon Isaac Yerushalmi ibn Menahem called Zekel Ashkenazi. The book is dated, “And God Almighty y”dç (314 = 1554) give you mercy [before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin]” (Genesis 43:14), and was completed, according to the colophon, on Friday, 4 Iyyar, in the year “And God Almighty y”dç (April 16, 1554) say to our exile, enough.” These chronograms allude to the burning of the Talmud in Italy that year. At the very end of the book the master printer is named, Cornelius Adelkind of the house of Levi, followed by Foa’s device, the palm tree with lions rampant. On the verso of the title page is Ashkenazi’s introduction, in which he refers, movingly, to the events that have occurred. This is followed, on 2b, by ibn Shaprut’s introduction. The text explains, often with philosophical and allegorical interpretations, the aggadah in the Talmud. The volume concludes with a long epilogue from Zekel Ashkenazi, who remarks that in these areas, [due to our many iniquities] it is impossible to get the books needed to properly edit the volume, for “The Lord sent a word to Jacob, and it will descend upon Israel” (Isaiah 9:7). “The crown [is fallen] from our head” (Lamentations 5:16) and gone up in a flame of fire to the highest heavens are “the two middle pillars upon which the law [lit., house] stood” ( Judges 16:29) and “a threefold cord is [not quickly] broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12).

R. Joseph Ashkenazi (ha-Tanna of Safed, 1525–1577), a bitter opponent of the study of philosophy, condemned Pardes Rimmonim to the flames and cursed its author in the strongest language for his philosophical interpretations. Shaprut was in good company, however, for Ashkenazi was unsparing in his denunciation of Maimonides’ Moreh Nevukhim, for which the Prague rabbinate threatened him with excommunication if he did not desist.

Format 40: 51, [1].

399

400

Tractate Kiddushin

ˆyçwdq tksm 1554, Sabbioneta—Tobias Foa Tractate dealing with bethrothal and related matrimonial issues. A beautiful and innovative edition of this talmudic treatise. The editor was Joshua Boaz; Cornelius Adelkind, who joined Foa after the Hebrew print-shops in Venice closed, was director of the press. Printing of this Talmud edition began in 1553, the same year that the Talmud was being burned elsewhere in Italy. The title page of Kiddushin begins with the words “Seder Nashim, the seventh tractate,” followed by the name in ornamental block letters. Its text is unusually long, repeating the information stated on the title pages of the Giustiniani Talmud and announcing new features to be found in this edition. The talmudic page in this tractate is similar to its predecessors in that it has the same page format, the pagination established by Bomberg, and the indices added by Boaz to the Giustiniani Talmud. However, it is also dissimilar to previous and subsequent editions of the Talmud, for in addition to the text, Rashi, tosafot, and the indices, it is enhanced by the inclusion of the commentaries of R. Yom Tov ibn Abraham Ishbili (Ritba, c. 1250–1330), and the tosafot of R. Isaiah di Trani, printed along the margin in small letters. Within the text, every reference to the Mishnah is in enlarged, boldfaced letters, a practice restricted in other Talmud editions to the beginning of a new Mishnah or Talmud text. Furthermore, the letters in the Mishnah are accented, a practice also followed in some manuscript editions. The reason is stated on the title page: Our Talmudic sages have said, at the end of Megillah [32b], one who reads without a melody and learns without a tune, concerning him it is written, “Wherefore I also gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances whereby they should not live” (Ezekiel 20:25). Therefore I have put accents in the Mishnayot in order to return the crown to its place, so that we will have righteousness and goodness and life, and so that we may continue to learn Mishnayot as our sages have commanded us.

One tractate only, Kiddushin, is extant, and no other treatises are known from the Foa press. Nevertheless, it has been suggested that other tractates were printed. This belief is based on the existence of the Rosh and other Rishonim for six tractates: Eruvin, Pesahim, Yevamot, Ketubbot, Nedarim, and Gittin. The pagination for these works begins after the text of the tractate is completed, for example, in Pesahim at 128, suggesting that they are all that remain of destroyed Talmudic treatises. However, given the climate in Italy at the time, with the Talmud a condemned and forbidden work, that seems unlikely. Rather, the Rosh was printed with the hope that, if the evil decree was lifted, it might be joined to the tractate. The Sabbioneta Kiddushin has been described Raphael Natan Nuta Rabbinovicz as most becoming and beautiful. If the entire Talmud had been printed, it would have been the glory and most beautiful jewel of Israel. All the editions before and after would not have compared to it. However, “if the Lord will not build a house, in vain did its builders labor on it” (Psalms 127:1).

Format 20.

401

402

Shevet Yehudah

hdwhy fbç rps Solomon ibn Verga 1554, Adrianople—Solomon and Joseph Jabez Chronicle by R. Solomon ibn Verga (second half of 15th–first quarter of 16th century). Shevet Yehudah is actually the work of three generations of the ibn Verga family. The nucleus of the book is the notes of Judah ibn Verga, a resident of Seville in the 1480’s. A mathematician, astronomer, representative of the Jews in court, as well as a kabbalist and miracle worker, Judah is reported to have wondrously saved the Jews in the vicinity of Seville. Forced to flee to Portugal, Judah was arrested and tortured by the Inquisition for the names of Marranos, but remaining steadfast, died without revealing the names sought by his persecutors. Joseph, Solomon’s son, was a rabbi and dayyan in Constantinople, and later in Adrianople, where he settled after the expulsion of the Jews from Spain. He edited, added to, and published his father’s manuscript, translating some supplemental material from Latin. Joseph is the author of She’erit Yosef (Adrianople, 1554) on talmudic precepts. The primary author of Shevet Yehudah, Solomon ibn Verga, was a scholar who combined extensive talmudic and philosophic erudition with a wide knowledge of secular literature. After the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, ibn Verga found refuge in Lisbon, where he lived until, with the remainder of the Jewish community, he was forcibly baptized in 1497. When the conversos were permitted to leave Portugal in 1506, ibn Verga went to Italy, and from there to Turkey. The title, Shevet Yehudah, may be from “The staff shall not depart from Judah” (Genesis 49:10), also suggesting the family name, Verga, which means shevet (staff ). The title page is unadorned, lacking even the Jabez florets. It informs that it is a history of the Jewish people, recounting the travails that have befallen them in their dispersion and that it also includes the order of the korban Pesah. Work began, “in the year y”dç (314 = 1554), may God Almighty y”dç say on our misfortunes, enough. May he stay the plague from us and from his people Israel, Amen,” reflecting the fact that the printers had been forced to relocate to Adrianople from Salonika due to an outbreak of plague. The text is in a single column in square letters. The book is unfoliated. Shevet Yehudah is a collation of polemics, sixty-four persecutions of the Jews beginning with Augustus are recorded, as well as noting different customs. Emphasis is on the travails of Sephardic Jewry, while some others, such as that of the Crusades, are omitted. Much of the material is anecdotal and unrelated. Ibn Verga utilized earlier chronicles, such as Josippon, R. Abraham ibn Daud’s Sefer ha-Kabbalah, and the historical material in the writings of the Abrabanel. Some of his sources are no longer extant, and he likely included material of his own making. In those instances he is reporting historically accurate incidents, but through the prism of his understanding and imagination. A number of debates are recorded, several imaginary but lucidly written dialogues, set at the court of Alfonso, King of Spain, in which the Jews are defended against their enemies. Ibn Verga places great emphasis on ethics, as opposed to false piety. He is introspective and deeply anguished at the unwarranted persecution of his people.

Format 40: 68 leaves. Reprinted in Sabbioneta (1567), Salonika (1570), and Cracow in Yiddish (1591).

403

1554, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Moses ben Isaac ibn Alashkar, Sabbioneta Courtesy of Kestenbaum & Company

404

She’elot u’Teshuvot

twbwçtw twlaç rps Moses ben Isaac ibn Alashkar 1554, Sabbioneta—Tobias Foa One hundred twenty-one responsa from R. Moses ben Isaac ibn Alshakar (Maharam Alashkar, 1466–1542). Alashkar studied under R. Samuel Valensi in Zamora. After the expulsion of the Jews from Spain Alashkar found refuge in Tunis, but only after contending with pirates, who took him prisoner, and almost drowning when his ship foundered. Alashkar remained in Tunis until 1510, when, to avoid the Spanish who had invaded North Africa, he relocated to Patras, Greece. In 1522, Alashkar went to Cairo, Egypt, where he served as a dayyan. In that city he corresponded with many rabbinic authorities, to the extent that Alashkar complains in a letter that his correspondence interferes with the performance of his professional duties. The high regard he was held in notwithstanding, Alashkar became involved in disputes with other decisors, so that he eventually resettled in Jerusalem. Alashkar was fluent in Arabic, translating a number of Maimonides’ responsa that might otherwise not be known from that language into Hebrew, as well as studying several Arabic works by Jewish scholars. He was well versed in Kabbalah, evident from Alashkar’s liturgical poems and citations in Samuel Uceda’s Midrash Shemu’el. The She’elot u’Teshuvot are varied, covering various communal matters. Among the more unusual responsa are whether a woman who was converted during the Inquisition is permitted to marry a Kohen (1); what to do when poskim (decisors) disagree (53); if a man betroths a young girl without her father’s permission (60); if by inference one impugns another’s ancestry (81); and several explaining Maimonides’ position on different issues. Responsa 117 is hassagot (criticisms) of the Sefer ha-Emunot (Ferrara, 1556, see below, pp. 418–19) of R. Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov, which opposes the philosophic approach of Maimonides. Alashkar takes Shem Tov to task and strongly defends Maimonides. Hassagot was reprinted separately in Ferrara (1556), most likely together with ha-Emunot. He also took issue with several other prominent rabbis, living and deceased, most notably R. Jacob Berab, so that the editors moderated several critical statements against that decisor. At the end of the volume are five liturgical poems, followed by Be-Mah Akaddem, on the difficulties he encountered when he left Spain. The title page has the same floral border employed on other Foa imprints, such as Lehem Yehudah. The contents are listed before the responsa, and the colophon informs us that the She’elot u’Teshuvot were completed in the month of Kislev, parshat va-yeishev Yaacov, in the year, “[Yet even now, says the Lord,] turn wbwç (314 = 1554) to me with all your heart, [and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning]” ( Joel 2:12), and that it was printed at Foa’s press by Cornelius Adelkind. On the following page is Foa’s device. Alashkar also wrote a commentary on the Tur O. H., entitled Ge’on Ya’acov, no longer extant; a supercommentary on Rashi on the Torah; and a commentary on Avot, both unpublished.

Format 40: 199 [1] leaves.

405

406

Zeidah la-Derekh

˚rdl hdx rps Menahem ben Aaron ibn Zerah 1554, Ferrara—Abraham ibn Usque A concise code of law, unique in that it is directed towards the wealthier strata of Jewish society. The parents of the author, R. Menahem ben Aaron ibn Zerah (c. 1310–1385), were among the Jews expelled from France in 1306, settling in Estella, Navarre, where Menahem was born. In the introduction to Zeidah la-Derekh, he relates how the population rose against the Jewish community of Estella in 1328, massacring 6,000, among them his parents and four younger brothers. He was left for dead, but a knight, a friend of his father, found him, removed him from among the dead, brought him home and nursed him back to health. After he recovered, Menahem went to Toledo, where he studied under R. Joshua ibn Shuaib and R. Judah ben Asher, grandson of the Rosh. He subsequently went to Alcalá de Henares (in the vicinity of Toledo), where he studied under R. Joseph ben al-Aysh, whom he succeeded as rabbi in 1361. Eight years later a civil war between two aspirants to the throne left Menahem impoverished. The courtier Don Samuel Abrabanel interceded on his behalf and Menahem was appointed rabbi of Toledo and head of the rabbinical academy. Menahem composed Zeidah la-Derekh for the honor and benefit of Don Samuel, whom Menahem praises in the introduction. The book is directed towards the wealthy, who, because of their responsibilities and lifestyle, including social intercourse with non-Jews, are not always rigorous in the performance of mitzvot, nor do they have sufficient times to master a detailed code. His code, therefore, is directed towards the practical. It provides, as its name Zeidah la-Derekh “provision for the way” (Genesis 42:25, 45:21) implies, the traveler’s necessities, not too burdensome to bear. In addition to its halakhic content, Zeidah la-Derekh provides reasons, based on the Rambam, for commandments, philosophical and moral precepts, and medical advice. The title page, with Usque’s device, the astrolabe and anchor, gives a completion date of 8 Adar, “in the shadow of the Almighty y”dç (314 = February 20, 1554) I will take refuge” (ref. Psalms 57:2 and 91:1). Zeidah la-Derekh is divided into five ma’amarim (articles), further divided into kelalim (rules), which are subdivided into 372 perakim (chapters). The ma’amarim are: 1) prayers, blessings, tefillin and zizit; 2) issur ve-hetter (dietary laws); 3) laws of matrimony and divorce; 4) laws pertaining to the Sabbath and festivals; and 5) fast days and the laws of mourning. This last part is completed with a discussion of the coming of the messiah and the resurrection of the dead. In this, the first edition of Zeidah laDerekh, the section on the Amidah includes a discussion of the twelfth benediction, malshinim (slanderers, informers), added to that group of prayers at the beginning of the Common Era. This paragraph, comprising almost an entire leaf, is omitted from later editions of Zeidah la-Derekh and the enumeration of the prayers comprising the Amidah was correspondingly adjusted. In some instances, rather than ink out so many lines, the entire quire was removed. Menahem ben Aaron ibn Zerah, despite his sufferings, expresses great tolerance, noting that a non-Jew who fulfills those commandments that are incumbent upon him, that is, the seven Noahide mitzvot, is better than a Jew who does not observe mitzvot.

Format 40: 297 leaves. Reprinted in Sabbioneta (1567).

407

1555, Issur ve-Hetter, Jonah ben Abraham Gerondi (Rabbenu Yonah), Ferrara Courtesy of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

408

Issur ve-Hetter

rtyhw rwsya rps Jonah ben Abraham Gerondi 1555, Ferrara—Abraham ibn Usque Compendium on the laws of issur ve-hetter (dietary laws and forbidden foods). This work is frequently attributed to R. Jonah ben Abraham Gerondi (Rabbenu Yonah, c. 1200–1263), author of Sha’arei Teshuvah. The title page is typical of Usque’s Ferrara imprints, that is the architectural frame with Usque’s device, the astrolabe and anchor. The author’s name is simply given as the gaon R. Jonah and the volume is dated, “Faithful city hyrq (315 = 1555)” (Isaiah 1:21 and 26). On the verso of the title page are prefatory remarks praising the author and identifying him as Rabbenu Yonah, and approbations from R. Baruch Uziel Hezkito, Abraham of Revigo and his brother Samuel of Revigo. There is an introduction (2a–b) from the editor, Azariah bar Simon, who also added marginalia, and a listing of the contents by the editor. The text, in a single column in rabbinic type, excluding the sha’ar (portal) number and intial words, is divided into sixty sha’arim, each subdivided into numerous sections. For example, the first sha’ar deals with salting and rinsing meat, has twenty two sections, and the third sha’ar, on salting meat in a perforated utensil, has seven sections. Fifty eight of the sha’arim deal with the laws of or related to issur ve-hetter. The last two she’arim are on saving an endangered life on Shabbat and the laws of Yom Kippur in regards to an ill person. It seems that the author intended to write an additional subjects but did not complete his work. The style is concise, in many ways similar to Isaac ben Meir of Dueren’s Sha’arei Dura, but differs in a number of instances in its conclusions and introduces customs not mentioned in the other work. The book concludes with two pages of errata. The identity of the author of Issur ve-Hetter is not known with certainty. The editor attributes the work to Rabbenu Yonah, although he acknowledges that the book contains material from R. Israel Isserlein’s (1390–1460) Terumat ha-Deshen. Furthermore, the book also includes references to the Mordekhai, Tur, Agudah, Maharil, Sha’arei Dura, and others, all later then Rabbenu Yonah. It is now generally accepted that the author of this anonymous work was likely R. Jonah Ashkenazi, a student of Isserlein, rather than Jonah Gerondi. The approbations are given in accordance with a decree enacted the previous year by a rabbinical congress held in Ferrara, to insure that the contents did not give offense to Church authorities, who had only recently burned the Talmud and confiscated and prohibited many other Hebrew titles. The decree states: Printers shall not print any book without the license and approbation of three rabbis ordained by three rabbis, nor without the approbation of the heads of the congregation. . . . The names of the rabbis and the heads of the congregations shall be stated in the preface to the book and without this no Jew shall buy such a book under penalty of 25 scudi; the said 25 scudi gold to go to the charity fund of the domicile of the misdemeanant.

Format 40: [174] leaves.

409

410

Or HaShem

‘h rwa Hasdai Crescas 1555, Ferrara—Abraham ibn Usque Philosophical work on the principles of Judaism, based on, but also critical of Maimonides’ Moreh Nevukhim, by the talmudist and philosopher R. Hasdai ben Abraham ibn Crescas (1340–1410). Crescas was born in Barcelona and named for his grandfather, a talmudist and author of novellae. A student of R. Nissim Gerondi (Ran), both, together with R. Isaac ben Sheshet Perfet (Ribash), were briefly imprisoned in 1367 on false charges of desecrating the Host. During the massacres of Jews in 1391, Crescas’ only son was murdered. Crescas was a leader of the Spanish Jewish community, wielding great influence within and representing it before the court of Aragon, where he was held in high esteem, being accorded the title, familiaris, de casa del senyor rey (member of the royal household). In 1389 Crescas moved to Saragossa, where he served as rabbi. Among Crescas many students are R. Astruc ha-Levi, Mattathias ha-Yizhari, Zerahiah ha-Levi, and most prominently, Joseph Albo (Ikkarim). Crescas’s fame rests on Or HaShem, intended, as he writes in the introduction, to be the second part of a comprehensive work. Or HaShem corresponding to the Moreh Nevukhim, was to be preceded by Ner Elohim, a halakhic opus similar to Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah, except that it would also include sources. Ner Elohim was never completed. The title page of Or HaShem has the architectural frame with Usque’s printer’s mark, the astrolabe and anchor, and is dated, “in the year, ‘the faithful city hyrq (315 = 1555)’” (Isaiah 1:21, 26). The final page also has Usque’s device and the completion date, Tuesday, 10 Elul, in the year, “And the people went about, and gathered it wfç (315 = September 6, 1555), [and ground it in mills]” (Numbers 11:8). The book begins with opening verses referring to the Ramban (Nahmanides) but which should say Rambam (Maimonides), followed by the introduction and the text. The text is divided into four books or ma’amarim, each subdivided into kelalim, further divided into chapters. Or HaShem is an anti-Aristotelian book, critical of that philosophy and its exponents, the greatest being Maimonides. In contrast to Maimonides’ thirteen fundamental principles of faith, Crescas postulates different levels of belief, beginning with the shoresh ha-gadol (the primary root of religion), that is, the existence of God and his incorporeality, with supporting proofs. In the second book Crescas proposes six dogmas of faith: Divine 1) knowledge; 2) providence; 3) power; 4) prophecy; 5) free will; and 6) purpose in the universe, that is, Torah leads to ultimate bliss. The third book discusses secondary dogmas, among them the creation of the world, immortality of the soul, reward and punishment, and the immutability of the Torah. The last book contains thirteen discourses as to whether the world is destructible, the possible existence of other worlds, whether heavenly bodies are living and rational and can control human affairs, amulets, and transmigration. Or HaShem, with its criticism of Aristotelianism, was not a popular work. Nevertheless, it was influential, the concepts in it being more widely spread by Albo, and its doctrine of free will is reputed to have influenced Spinoza. It generated a refutation in defense of Maimonides from R. Simeon Duran (Or ha-Hayyim, no longer extant).

Format 40: 132 leaves.

411

1555, Zafenat Pane’ah, Abraham Menahem ben Jacob Rapa mi-Porto (Rapaport) Ashkenazi Courtesy of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

412

Zafenat Pane’ah

jn[p tnpx Abraham Menahem ben Jacob ha-Kohen Rapa mi-Porto (Rapaport) Ashkenazi 1555 Work on cryptography by R. Abraham Menahem ben Jacob ha-Kohen Rapa mi-Porto (Rapaport, 1520–c. 1594). As a young man, Porto studied secular as well as rabbinic subjects, particularly medicine, his wide scholarship being evident from his works, particularly his Torah commentary based on Midrashim, Minhah Belulah (Verona, 1594, see below, pp. 828–29). From 1584 to 1592 Porto served as rabbi in Verona, also heading a famed yeshiva in that location. Prior to accepting a rabbinic position, from 1563, Porto worked as an editor in Hebrew print-shops, and many of the books he edited have introductions or verse from him. He was among those who prohibited reading the Me’or Einayim (Mantua, 1573–74, see below, pp. 624–25) of Azariah de Rossi, a position retracted when R. David Provencal and Judah Moscato, both rabbis in Mantua, permitted it to be read. The title, Zafenat Pane’ah, is from “And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zafenat-Pane’ah” (Genesis 41:45), which Rashi explains as, “he who reveals hidden things.” The text of the title page, which lacks the date and place of publication, as well as having no ornamentation, states: “See, this is new!” (Ecclesiastes 1:10); “In a leveled way” (ref. Jeremiah 18:15); “that they should do according to every man’s pleasure” (Esther 1:8); to write letters to one’s companion as a sealed book that will not be intelligible to those who see it. Even if alien eyes peruse the writing, in this manner it will be a great marvel, that tens of thousands of men all together should write in this way, that one should not understand the thinking of his companion. Even if “all go to one place” (Ecclesiastes 3:20) and hew from one quarry, something impossible to be heard and from intelligence withheld. . . .

There is a brief introduction where the rules of encryption are discussed, followed by several lines of verse and then the encryption table. On the following pages the subject is discussed further with an example, in which Porto’s name appears as Menahem bar Jacob ha-Kohen mi-Porto, followed by the verse, “If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have found out my riddle” ( Judges 14:18). His name is then spelled out over the verse as an encryption example, bmjbm//wfrwpmlzˆhkhbq[yrbμjnm ytdyj//μtaxmalytlgbμtçrjylwl and after further discussion ytdyj μtaxm al ytlgb μtçrj ylwl which equals çgrx[ nbqjkrj sgbxwm wjabq ≈znd Porto spent two years preparing Zafenat Pane’ah, completed in Venice Tuesday, 15 October, 1555 and dedicated to his uncle, Jacob Mugil. In the absence of the place of publication, locations such as Venice (Steinschneider), Ferrara (Benjacob), and Sabbioneta (Sonne) have been suggested. Eisenstadt believes Abraham Menahem was not the author but rather R. Menahem called Megedolin. However, Porto often gave his name in variant forms, seven having been noted in the books he wrote and edited. Among his other works are responsa, to be found in the writings of contemporary rabbis; and, still in manuscript, commentaries on several books of the Bible and Avot. Format 80: [4] leaves.

413

414

Sefer ha-Zikkaron

ˆwrkzh rps Ishmael ha-Kohen Tanuji 1555, Ferrara—Abraham ibn Usque Halakhic work by R. Ishmael ha-Kohen Tanuji (16th century) of Tunisia and Egypt. The Tanuji family, among the distinguished rabbinic families of Tunis, reputedly derives its name from a kohen who settled in that city from Tangier. Among the family members are R. Samuel ha-Kohen and his son Judah, rabbis in Jerusalem. Tanuji served first as rabbi in Tunis, leaving due to the persecution of the Jews. He resettled in Cairo, becoming Chief Rabbi of that city. A synagogue in Cairo is known by Tanuji’s name because he had been accustomed to pray in it. Sefer ha-Zikkaron is a concise halakhic work providing a précis of the halakhah based on earlier authorities. The contents are in the order of the Talmud, beginning with Berakhot and concluding with Niddah. The volume begins with Tanuji’s introduction, on the verso of the title page, followed by two listings of the contents, one brief, the second detailed. The text, as noted above, is ordered by talmudic tractate, and within a tractate by chapter. There are also marginalia. The style of the work is clear and lucid. Tanuji introduces himself as Ishmael Kohen Tanuji from the land of Tunis. He has called this work Sefer ha-Zikkaron because it brings matters addressed in the Talmud. Tanuji writes that he is providing reasons for halakhot; emphasizing contemporary halakhah, as opposed to those not currently applicable; and, where the Talmud brings a halakhah in several places, he generally notes it only once. He requires all who copy this work to also copy the introduction and listings, and not to add or detract. If the copyist finds an error in a halakhah he should check other authorities, for perhaps he will find a decisor who concurs with the author. However, if it is a definite error, and thus impossible to judge him favorably and consider it a scribal error, then it is Tanuji’s error and should be corrected. Tanuji completed Sefer ha-Zikkaron on 4 Adar Sheni 5303 (Thursday, February 18, 1543). The title page, dated “in the year, ‘the faithful city hyrq (315 = 1555)’” (Isaiah 1:21, 26), has Usque’s device set within an architectural border. The device appears again on the final page of the volume. Usque’s device consists of an astrolabe from which an anchor descends. A banner at the bottom has the inscription, “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope” (Psalms 130:5). On the sides are the initials AV, for Abraham ibn Usque. All of this is set in a double-lined square, which has on the sides the phrase, “But those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31). The colophon dates the completion of the printed volume to Tuesday, 26 Av, 315 (August 23, 1555). The work was done by R. Judah Doron. Approbations written by Tanuji appear in a number of works, indicative of his importance and prestige.

Format 80: 216 leaves.

415

416

Amudei Golah (Semak)

hlwg ydwm[ rps Isaac ben Joseph of Corbeil 1556, Cremona—Vincenzo Conti Concise halakhic compendium by R. Isaac ben Joseph of Corbeil (d. 1280), Amudei Golah is also known as Sefer Mitzvot Katan (Semak). Printed previously in Constantinople (c. 1510, see above, pp. 32–33). This edition is distinguished, as stated on the title page, by marginal cross-references to biblical verses and talmudic sources, although when there are multiple references the marginalia state “in many places in the Talmud.” At the beginning of every mitzvah there are cross-references to “Rambam, Moses of Coucy’s Semag, and Rabbenu Jacob Ba’al ha-Turim.” The title page is made up of a cartouche above a medallion personifying Cremona. In the upper section is the head of a winged horse, with a bare-breasted woman to the right and a man to the left. In the space is the title and a brief description of the contents. Below that is the medallion, comprised of a helmeted woman, an open book in her left hand and below a lion. Her right hand holds a small man bearing a laurel. To the left, a crowned reclining man holding a pitcher of water. About this pressmark is the verse: And “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9). Amudei Golah is one of only three Hebrew books in which this title page, also appearing on Conti’s Latin works, was employed. Its use was discontinued, perhaps due to its motif, and because the space for text is insufficient, as can be seen from the additional text below the frame. The title page dates the beginning of the work to Thursday, 24 Tammuz, in the year “And there is çyw (316 = July 12, 1556) hope for your future” ( Jeremiah 31:16), and the colophon dates its completion to Tuesday, 5 Elul 316 (August 21, 1556). The text is in a single column in rabbinic letters, excepting initial words, which are in square letters. There is a preface from the editor, R. Samuel Boehm, and an index of the precepts. The text is in a single column, accompanied by indices on the outer margin and glosses along the inner margin. The volume concludes with the better part of a page of verse praising it, and a page of errata. The text varies in a number of instances from the Constantinople edition, with both additions to and omissions from that text. Amudei Golah, unlike some of Conti’s later imprints, is well edited, a fact that can be attributed not only to the editor but also to assistance from the yeshiva of R. Joseph Ottolenghi. In addition to being well edited, it was also carefully and thoroughly expurgated by the censor, objectionable terms, and occasionally entire paragraphs, being either substituted or suppressed. Amudei Golah is among the first books printed in Cremona by Vincenzo Conti (d. 1569), who established his press in 1556, two years after the Hebrew presses of Venice had ceased printing (or greatly reduced production) in the wake of the burning of the Talmud. Conti’s main business was the publication of Hebrew books, although he also printed Latin works. Cremona, in the Duchy of Milan, was part of the domain of Phillip II of Spain. Nevertheless, the atmosphere was sufficiently tolerant at the time to permit a Hebrew press to operate there, addressing a need that the other Hebrew presses, in Sabbioneta and Ferrara, were unable to satisfy.

Format 40: [8], 156, [4] leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (c. 1510) and reprinted in Cracow (1596).

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418

Sefer ha-Emunot

twnwmah rps Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov 1556, Ferrara—Abraham ibn Usque Polemic against philosophy by R. Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov (c. 1380–c. 1441). Shem Tov wrote Sefer ha-Emunot, one of three contemporary works, the others are Joseph Albo’s Sefer ha-Ikkarim (Soncino, 1486) and Solomon Alami’s Iggeret Musar (Constantinople, [1510]), in response to a crisis in the life of Spanish Jewry resulting from persecution and the aftermath of the disputation in Tortosa (1413–14). Shem Tov describes his life and times as, “Because of my sins I have seen no light in my life, and ever since my youth I have been reared by the pain of evil and apostasy.” Shem Tov vigorously opposes the rationalistic and speculative philosophies represented by R. Abraham ibn Ezra, Isaac Albalag, Levi ben Gershom (Ralbag, Gersonides), and Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides, Rambam), particularly the latter. Although Shem Tov expresses respect for Maimonides’ talmudic learning, he believes that Maimonides’ Aristotelian views on the soul, immortality, miracles, reasons for the commandments, and prophecy are in conflict with the fundamentals of Judaism. It is Shem Tov’s contention that the cornerstone of Judaism is faith, based on talmudic and kabbalistic knowledge. Philosophy weakens belief in the tenets of Judaism, with the result that when faced with death or apostasy, many elected, unlike previous generations, conversion rather than martyrdom. Sefer ha-Emunot is a kabbalistic work divided into eleven she’arim (portals). Among their contents are: 1) the false knowledge found in the Moreh Nevukhim and Greek philosophers; 2) continuation of “1”; 3) the many miracles done for the patriarchs by changing the order of nature; 4) angels and sefirot; 5) faith in the Torah and sages, belief in spirits and demons; 6) Paradise and Gehinnom; 7) gilgulim (transmigration); 8) conditions of prophecy and the distinction between Moses and other prophets; 9) on astrology; 10) prayer; and 11) on the punishments resulting from a person’s deeds. Each sha’ar is subdivided into chapters in which the themes are richly developed. Shem Tov also discusses the history of Kabbalah and appends a passage from the Zohar to ha-Emunot. The title page states that the work was completed in Tammuz, 316 (= 1556). The colophon, however, dates the completion to Tishrei, 317 (= 1556). Bound with ha-Emunot is the Hassagot of R. Moses Alashkar (see above). It is dated Tishrei, “And it shall come to pass, that before they call warqy (317 = 1556), I will answer; [and while they are yet speaking, I will hear]” (Isaiah 65:24). Most likely the two works were printed together. Hassagot, in defense of Maimonides, is harshly critical of ha-Emunot. The title, last page, and title page of Hassagot all bear Usque’s device, the astrolabe. Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov’s sons, Joseph and Isaac ben Shem Tov, as well as his grandson, Shem Tov ben Joseph, were all philosophers and authors. They differ from their father and grandfather, however, in having a more positive attitude towards Maimonides’ philosophical works. Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov wrote other kabbalistic works, including a commentary on the Haggadah, still in manuscript, and a commentary on Avot, part of which has been published (1962).

Format 40: 116 leaves.

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420

Kevod Elohim

μyqla dwbk Joseph ben Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov 1556, Ferrara—Abraham ibn Usque A defense of philosophy by R. Joseph ben Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov (c. 1400–c. 1460). Joseph held a position in the courts of Kings Juan II (1406–54) and Enrique IV (1454–74) of Castile. His service to the former is unknown, but Joseph was physician and auditor of accounts (Contador Mayor de Cuentas) for the latter. In 1452, the king sent Joseph to Segovia to prevent an outbreak of anti-Semitism at Easter, and in 1455 he was dispatched to Portugal to arrange a royal marriage. By the following year, however, he is reported to have fallen into disfavor and traveled about the country giving discourses on the Sabbath. It is also suggested that although highly regarded by the Christians at court for his secular knowledge, his attainments aroused their enmity, so that he was murdered. Kevod Elohim is Joseph’s most important work. Well versed in Aristotle and Averroes, Joseph believes that philosophy can complement faith. He accepts that Aristotle, in his old age, recanted his heretical views, particularly on the eternity of the universe and individual providence. Aristotle’s belief that otherworldly happiness is attained through reason and understanding were assertions of commentators, for true otherworldly bliss can only be attained through Torah. Although an admirer of Maimonides, he opposes the rationalistic interpretation of Divine commandments. Joseph believes that Jews, possessing revelation, can dispense with Greek philosophy, although its study is of value in improving a person. More importantly, immortality of the soul is achieved through punctilious observance of precepts, rather than intellectual development. Joseph holds that Kabbalah is a higher study than philosophy, but does not accept Simeon bar Yohai’s authorship of the Zohar. Joseph’s father, Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov, author of Sefer ha-Emunot (1556, Ferrara, above, pp. 418–19), was an implacable opponent of philosophy, particularly Maimonides’ Moreh Nevukhim, to which he attributed much of the troubles that had befallen Spanish Jewry. It is noteworthy, then, that Joseph, in Kevod Elohim, a moderate defense of philosophy, agrees with his father on the deleterious results of rationalism, but rejects the dismissal of philosophy, believing that a Jew who understands his faith through philosophic study is superior to one who blindly practices religion. In contrast to Joseph’s moderation, his son, Shem Tov ben Joseph ibn Shem Tov, is an ardent advocate of philosophy, writing a commentary on the Moreh Nevukhim printed with most editions of that work. Only Kevod Elohim and two polemical commentaries of Joseph’s many works have been published, namely, on Profiat Duran’s polemical Al Tehi ka-Avotekha, printed in R. Isaac Akrish’s Iggeret Ogeret (Constantinople, c. 1577, see below, pp. 662–63), and a Hebrew translation and commentary on Hasdai Crescas’s Bittul Ikkarei ha-Nozerim (Frankfort on the Main, 1860). Another polemical work is Da’at Elyon, a refutation of the apostate Abner of Burgos. These last works are an outgrowth of Joseph’s presence in court, which brought him into contact with Christian scholars, with whom he was required to engage in disputations. Well versed in contemporary philosophy and science, Joseph wrote detailed commentaries on several works of Aristotle and Averroes. He also wrote a commentary to Jedaiah Bedersi’s Behinat Olam. A number of Joseph’s works are no longer extant.

Format 40: 62 leaves.

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422

Likkutei Shikhhah u-Fe’ah

hapw hjkç yfwql Abraham ben Judah Elmalik 1556, Ferrara—Abraham ibn Usque Kabbalistic commentary on the aggadah in the Talmud by the kabbalist R. Abraham ben Judah Elmalik. Elmalik belonged to the Elmaleh (Almalik) family of Spain which, after the expulsion, provided rabbis to Jewish communities in Turkey, Morocco, and Italy. In 1551, Abraham settled in Pesaro, Italy. The title page of Likkutei Shikhhah u-Fe’ah, with Usque’s device, the astrolabe and anchor, but no text related to the book, informs that work was completed in the month of Adar, 316 (February/March 1556). Elmalik’s introduction begins on the verso of the title page ([1a–2a]) followed by the text (1a–20b), and R. Joseph ben Hayyim’s treatise on the ten Sefirot and related kabbalistic subjects (21a–35a), an index (35b–36b), and R. Joseph Gikatilla on various kabbalistic subjects (37a–40b), beginning with his reply to a question concerning Bath Sheba being designated for David from the six days of creation, and concluding with the sod of kiddush for Sabbath eve from Joseph ibn Shraga (d. 1508–09). This last was proclaimed a forgery by Abraham ben Eliezer ha-Levi in his Mashreh Kitrin (Constantinople, 1510, above, pp. 36–37). Also included, but unattributed, is the work of the Spanish kabbalist, R. Ezra ben Solomon of Gerona, on selected aggadah. Elmalik begins his introduction, “It is now five years since I left my father’s house and the land of my birth, and I came to the depths of the seas and the heights of the heavens, ‘I sink in deep mire’ (Psalms 69:3),” recounting the hardships encountered by him. The text is in a single column in rabbinic type, except for headings and initial words. Subject matter is organized by Talmudic tractate. Elmalik’s interpretation of the aggadah is kabbalistic. An example of his style from the beginning of the work follows. From what time may Shema be recited in the evening? From the time that the Kohanim enter [their homes] to eat Terumah (Berakhot 2a), that is, from the appearance of the stars. And so it says, “By day the Lord will command his lovingkindness, and in the night his song shall be with me, [a prayer to the God of my life]” (Psalms 42:9). And this is the reason for the appearance of the stars at the beginning of the evening. And the reason for sunrise is to recite Shema in the morning. Therefore, one who wishes to pray for his needs at night should include them in his prayers (shemoneh esreh). I heard a divine voice (bat kol) cooing like a dove and saying . . . (3a) The meaning of a bat kol has already been explained. ... R. Eliezer ben R. Abina says, whomever recites “David’s Psalm of praise (Psalms 145)” three times a day is insured that he will inherit the world to come (4b) because all is there, what was and what will be. And we have already accepted that at the end the nun n will be said at the time of the redemption.

This is the only work known from Elmalik, and the only edition of Likkutei Shikhhah u-Fe’ah.

Format 40: [2], 40 leaves.

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424

Ma’alot ha-Middot

twdmh twl[m rps Jehiel ben Jekuthiel ben Benjamin ha-Rofe Anav 1556, Cremona—Vincenzo Conti Ethical work by R. Jehiel ben Jekuthiel ben Benjamin ha-Rofe Anav (c. 1300). The author, a physician, copyist and paytan (liturgical poet), was a member of the distinguished Anav family. He is also credited with the halakhic digest Tanya Rabbati (see below, pp. 564–65). Among his scribal works is the Leiden Jerusalem Talmud, the sole complete manuscript of that Talmud, copied by Jehiel in 1289. Jehiel was an accomplished scribe, with an attractive script, who worked rapidly—orders Nashim and Nezikin were completed by him in a month and twelve days—but who, as a result, made noticeable errors. Ma’alot ha-Middot is divided into 24 ma’alot (steps) of positive and negative middot (ethical values). The ma’alot are built on about 24,000 scriptural verses and rabbinic citations, from both the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds, a wide range of midrashic sources, several no longer extant, as well works of ethics and philosophy, such as Gabirol’s Mivhar Peninim. The introduction begins with a description of the Lord’s munificence, followed by Jehiel’s purpose in writing Ma’alot ha-Middot: Because I have seen in this generation breaches greater than that which remain unimpaired, the fences of wisdom torn down, and in place of our fathers rises a society of sinners, “There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up. There is a generation who are pure in their own eyes, and yet are not washed from their filthiness. There is a generation, whose teeth are like swords, and their jaw teeth like knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men” (Proverbs 30:13,12, and 14). . . . The majority follow their hearts, unconcerned to correct their souls . . . to conduct themselves with virtuous values (ma’alot middot) appropriate for those of discernment in this world and the world to come. Therefore I, Jehiel ben Jekuthiel ben Benjamin ha-Rofe, have perused the Bible, the words of our sages, as well as philosophers and scholars . . . for the purpose of writing this guide for the conduct of man “all the days of the life of your (his) vanity,” (Ecclesiastes 9:9), so that it will be good for him in this world and in the world to come.

Ma’alot ha-Middot begins and ends with lines of verse, the introductory lines, praising the book, here printed on the title page. While this practice was not uncommon, their placement on the title page, and attributing them to the author is misleading, for they were not written by Jehiel and ascribing them to him was in fact the work of the printer in Cremona. Written in a clear and lucid manner, Ma’alot ha-Middot was a popular work, testified to by the existence of almost 40 manuscript copies. It was printed in less than a month, from 17 Av through 5 Elul, that is, seventeen days. Subsequent editions are based on this printing rather than the variant and incomplete earlier Constantinople edition, entitled Beit Middot. Ma’alot ha-Middot was translated into Ladino twice and R. Jacob Emden incorporated complete chapters into his Migdal Oz (Altona, 1748). Jehiel also wrote a kinah (dirge) on the burning of a synagogue and 21 Torah scrolls in Trastevere, Rome in 1268, and Hilkhot Shehitah, still in manuscript.

Format 40: 83 leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (c. 1511).

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426

Sefer Maharil

l”yrhm rps Jacob ben Moses Moellin (Maharil) 1556, Sabbioneta—Tobias Foa Customs and laws. R. Jacob ben Moses (Maharil, c. 1360–1447) was the leading halakhic authority of his time. Maharil (Morenu ha-Rav Yacov Levi), is also known as Mahari Segal and Mahari Moellin, these various appellations resulting in some confusion as to whether they referred to one or more individuals. Maharil was a student of R. Shalom ben Isaac of Neustadt (Sar Shalom) and the teacher of R. Jacob Weil (Mahariv, d. c. 1455). He was among the first, together with Shalom of Neustadt, to be given the title Morenu, done to prevent abuses in the performance of marriages and divorces by unauthorized individuals. The slaughter of Jews in Austria in 1420 was followed by the Hussite wars, a time of great suffering for the Jews of central Europe. They beseeched Maharil to pray for them. He, in turn, requested that they fast for three days and pray, which they did (September, 1421). At the end of that period the Imperial army dispersed and the very soldiers who had harassed the Jews came to beg food from them. Sefer Maharil (Minhagei Maharil ) was actually composed by his pupil, R. Eleazar ben Jacob (Zalman of St. Goar), from the discourses that he heard from Maharil. Moellin frequently cites and often follows the Sefer Ha-Aguddah of R. Alexander Susslin ha-Kohen (d. 1348). Sefer Maharil is not only a halakhic digest, but also a compendium of the customs of German Jewry. Sefer Maharil begins with the laws pertinent to Nissan, for it “is the month concerning which the Torah writes, ‘This month shall be to you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you’ (Exodus 12:2), therefore I am beginning the explanation of the customs relevant to each of the months of the year with [Nissan].” Discussed are the laws of Pesah, Shavuot, Yom Tov, Shabbat, fast days, Rosh Ha-Shanah, concluding with the laws of Purim. These halakhot are followed by laws pertaining throughout the year, such as prayer, marriage, milah, divorce, dietary laws, ritual slaughter, zizit, tefillin, mezuzah, niddah, and mourning. Interspersed with these halakhot are various customs and laws that do not fit into any of the above categories. In hilkhot Hanukkah we find that much of Maharil’s income came from marital matches that he made, for the land followed his advice. Sefer Maharil is a popular and influential work, much copied and often reprinted. One of the most basic sources of Ashkenaz custom and practice, it is frequently referenced by R. Moses Isserles (Rema) in his glosses to the Shulhan Arukh. Maharil wrote numerous responsa, collected by another student, and first published in Venice in 1549. He is also remembered for his cantorial abilities, composition of synagogal hymns, and advocacy for retaining traditional tunes. Niggunei Maharil, attributed to him, were sung until modern times by the Jewish community of Mainz. The volume, which measures 19 cm., is completed with an index, followed by the device of the printer, Tobias Foa. The Cremona edition, printed two years later, an identical copy of this edition, including the text of the title page, was printed at the expense of the apostate Vittorio Eliano.

Format 40: 116 leaves. Reprinted in Cremona (1558 and 1566) and Lublin (1590).

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428

Ma’amar Haskel

lkçh rmam 1556, Cremona—Vincenzo Conti On the precepts. Ma’amar Haskel has been traditionally attributed to R. Eliezer ben Nathan of Mainz (Raban, c. 1090–c. 1170), one of the foremost rabbinic authorities in Germany in the 12th century and a late contemporary of Rashi. However, the attribution to the great sage, Rabbi Eliezer, is no longer accepted and is considered untenable for the anonymous author of Ma’amar Haskel lived after Nahmanides (1194–1270), whom he closely follows. The title page has the cartouche with the medallion personifying Cremona, described above (Amudei Golah, 1556, pp. 416–17). On the sides of the frame is the verse, “[And] the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9). The text above the medallion states Ma’amar Haskel With Duties of the heart see here the paths and precious words valuable vessels upright and evident as the sun illuminates arranged in order the Ten Commandments

The date of publication is given below as Thursday, 13 Tishrei, 317 (September 27, 1556). On the next folio is a preface, followed by a listing of the contents, the introduction, and then the text, which is in a single column in rabbinic letters. Biblical verses are referenced in the margins. Ma’amar Haskel is divided into ten ma’amarim, based on the Ten Commandments. The taryag mitzvot (613 precepts) are divided between the ma’amarim as is appropriate to the commandment. Precepts are explained according to the peshat, remez, and sod (literal, implied, and mystical meanings). The author’s primary sources are Maimonides, Nahmanides, and R. Isaac of Corbeil (Semag).

Format 40: 52 leaves.

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430

Sha’ar ha-Gemul

lwmgh r[ç Moses ben Nahman (Ramban) 1556, Ferrara—Abraham ibn Usque On the rewards and punishments after death, immortality, and resurrection by R. Moses ben Nahman (Nahmanides, Ramban, 1194–1270). Sha’ar ha-Gemul (The Gate of Reward) is the thirtieth chapter of Torat ha-Adam (Constantinople, 1518, see above, pp. 120–21), Nahmanides’ extensive work on the precepts related to death and mourning. The title page has the frame common to Usque imprints, that is, the architectural border and astrolabe and anchor. The text states, “Sha’ar ha-Gemul/le-ha-Rambam (sic) lxz.” It gives the date of completion of the work as the month of Tammuz, 316 ( June/July, 1556). The colophon dates the completion to Tishrei, 317 (September/October, 1556). Sha’ar ha-Gemul on reward and punishment, immortality of the soul, and the world to come, discusses these topics in the following order: the nature of judgment, reward and punishment, the purpose of suffering, why the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper, and then discusses these themes in light of the book of Job. Nahmanides next addresses Gehinnom and the human soul, Maimonides’ position on these issues, Gan Eden, the world to come, and his conclusion, ending, in contradistinction to Maimonides, “We, however, declare that the people of the resurrection will exist forever, from the time of the resurrection of the dead to the world to come, which is an everlasting world.” The volume concludes with verses (25b) in praise of the work and Nahmanides’ letter to his son Nahman from Jerusalem (26a). The verses are credited to the printer, Abraham ibn Usque, and dated Tishrei, 5317. However, these verses with minor variation by R. Joseph ben Joel [Bibus], appear at the end of the 1518 edition of Torat ha-Adam. In the letter Nahmanides informs his son that he arrived in Jerusalem on 9 Elul, remaining until after Yom Kippur, and now plans to go to Hebron to pray at the graves of the patriarchs. He describes Jerusalem as desolate, this due to destruction by the Tartars, but the land is beautiful. Within the city, which has 2,000 inhabitants, 300 of them Christians, there are but two Jewish residents, brothers who are dyers, joined by a minyan to pray on Shabbat. At Nahmanides’ urging they have found a beautiful vacant house for a synagogue and sent to Hebron for their Sifrei Torah. The book has a number of typographical errors, the most obvious being the accreditation on the title page to Rambam (Maimonides). This was quickly corrected, for the attribution on most copies is to the Ramban (Nahmanides). This is an example of a stop press correction, that is, the error having been discovered the press is stopped, the forme removed and modified, and corrected sheets printed. The sheets with the error are rarely discarded, however, but continue to be used. Since errors can occur on both sides of a leaf, the two sides not necessarily printed in order, it is possible to have sheets with varying errors and corrections. What makes this instance unusual is the nature of the error and its appearance on the title page. Another likely error is the completion date on the title page, which should be the start date. This error was not corrected when the attribution was amended.

Format 40: 26 leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (1518), reprinted with Torat ha-Adam (Venice, 1595).

431

1556, Sefer She’elot u’Teshuvot, Jacob ben Moses Moellin (Maharil), Cremona Courtesy of the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad Ohel Yosef Yitzhak

432

Sefer She’elot u’Teshuvot

twbwçtw twlaç rps Jacob ben Moses Moellin (Maharil) 1556, Cremona—Vincenzo Conti Two hundred and five responsa from R. Jacob ben Moses Moellin (Maharil, c. 1360–1447, see above, p. 427). The she’elot u’teshuvot printed here are only a small part of Maharil’s responsa. At the end of Issur ve-Hetter in the Sefer Maharil, the compiler of that work, R. Eleazar ben Jacob (Zalman of St. Goar), states that Maharil’s responsa were copied by him. He wished to arrange them but the difficulties of the time prevented him from doing so, and the correspondence was subsequently left with Maharil’s sons. The title page has an ornamental frame made up of four parts, enabling the printer to use them in other arrangements, although this is the manner in which the parts are most often employed. The top frame has the face of a man and cherubim; on the sides are suits of armor, shrubs, and musical instruments and, in the center of the left vertical frame, the letters SPQR, reputedly standing for Senatus Populusque Romanus; and on the bottom a two-headed crowned eagle and on the sides cherubim. This frame was used by Conti on his early imprints, appearing on about ten works. The title page dates completion of the work to Friday, 15 Elul, 316 (August 31, 1556). The second leaf, with two verses in praise of the work from an unknown source, is followed by an index of the responsa. R. Eleazar ben Jacob arranged these responsa from a much-copied faulty manuscript. The volume is replete with errors, so much so that the editor of the Hanau edition (1610), Judah Seligman Ulman, writes that he has not previously seen such a poorly printed work, so that, “in truth I believe it could not have been set by a Jew, but rather by a non-Jew, or a deaf-mute, idiot, or child.” The subject matter, as in the Sefer Maharil, deals to a great extent with custom, but also includes much personal material. They also reflect Maharil’s considerable humility and compassion. In response to a query (36) on reciting kaddish when the son is uncertain as to whether his father is alive or not, Maharil, whose own father, an illustrious rabbi, died away from home, the exact date presumably unknown, responds that those with a definite obligation to say kaddish can exempt those whose obligation is in doubt, adding, “and I myself do not say kaddish.” He concludes that the correspondent should not rely on him, but on the prevalent custom, which is of primary importance. In a response (37) to a nephew, R. Jacob Gelnhausen, he describes the strained circumstances during the civil wars. In one of two responses to women, Maharil writes to a woman named Leah (70) that properly he should not respond to her but rather to the judges. Nevertheless, due to his concern for her situation and out of respect for her father he pens a long detailed answer to her query. In several responsa (72, 79) Maharil expresses a lenient attitude towards Jews who, under extreme duress, submitted to baptism but now wish to return to Judaism. The importance that Maharil attributes to responsa is expressed in his initial remarks to a correspondent (no. 72): As for your statement that one should not rely upon responsa, on the contrary, I say, they are practical law and we should learn more from them than from the codifiers who, after all, were not present at the time when the decision was made.

Format 80: [7] 79 leaves. Printed previously in Venice (1549).

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434

Sefer Tashbez

≈bçt rps Samson ben Zadok 1556, Cremona—Vincenzo Conti Halakhic work based on the customs of R. Meir of Rothenburg (Maharam) by his student R. Samson ben Zadok (thirteenth century). When Meir was imprisoned and held for ransom in the tower of Ensisheim he was visited regularly by Samson, who served as his attendant. During this time Samson carefully recorded in Sefer Tashbez Maharam’s teachings, customs, and daily rituals, what he heard and what he observed, from the time Meir rose in the morning until he retired at night, on weekdays, Sabbaths, and festivals. The title page has the Conti device with the helmeted woman, an open book in her left hand and below a lion, in her right hand a small man bearing a laurel. The book is undated. However, this device was used by Conti on only three books, beginning with Amudei Golah (1556, see above, pp. 416–17), and it does not appear on any of Conti’s works after Tishrei 317 (September/October, 1556). The text informs that “Tashbez, composed by a student of our teacher and master . . . Samuel [sic] ben Zadok, he ‘poured water on [his] hands’ (II Kings 3:11), and recorded his customs, decisions, and regulations, in great number, as can be seen from the listing on the verso [of this page].” The following page begins a listing of the 590 entries in this relatively small work. The contents are by subject, with the subheadings noted by number. The book begins with Sabbath night (1–17), Sabbath day (18–98), followed, among its entries, by festivals, Sefer Torah, priestly benedictions, prayer, slumber, talis and tefillin, benedictions, issur ve-hetter (dietary laws), redemption of the first born, hallah, vows, marriage and divorce, monetary laws, and piety. Tashbez concludes with a colophon that states, “God who has granted me the merit to complete this book, Tashbez, grant me the merit to be ‘[of the scribes] who lived in Jabez’ (I Chronicles 2:55), and as, ‘Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens’ (Genesis 49:14). And may He gather the dispersed of Israel, speedily in our day. A[men], A[men], A[men], S[elah], S[elah], S[elah].” There are a small number of glosses, prepared by the tosafist R. Perez ben Elijah of Corbeil, who was also a student of Maharam. Some entries are responsa from Maharam, and some material seems to be additions from copyists. Within the text are biblical and talmudic references, but they appear infrequently, not having been prepared in a systematic manner. Expurgation by the censor of Tashbez was done sloppily, for terms such as meshumad and goi, normally excised, remain, but with a disclaimer near the end that they refer to idol worshipers only. Copies of this edition exist that were printed on colored paper. Tashbez was a popular work among Ashkenazim, much copied, and influential, as can be seen from later codes which often reference it.

Format 80: [6], 55 leaves.

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436

Sefer ha-Tehiyyah ve-Sefer ha-Pedut

twdph rpsw hyyjth rps Saadiah ben Joseph Gaon 1556, Mantua—Joseph ben Jacob Shalit of Padua On resurrection by R. Saadiah ben Joseph Gaon (882–942). Saadiah has been described as the father of medieval Jewish philosophy, the first to provide a systematic philosophical justification of Judaism. He was born in Dilaz, in Faiyum upper Egypt. For reasons that are unclear, the family had to relocate to Jaffa, Erez Israel. Saadiah was already a scholar before leaving Egypt, for he was the author there, at the age of twenty, of a Hebrew rhyming dictionary (Agron). For a time Saadiah was in Babylonia, then Aleppo, Syria, and again in Babylonia, where, at the age of thirty-eight, the exilarch, David ben Zakkai, appointed Saadiah gaon of the yeshivah in Sura. Two years later Saadiah and the exilarch became embroiled in a dispute over a probate case, each deposing the other, due to Saadiah fearlessly rendering judgment without regard to personage. After six years, however, they came to an agreement. In a dispute with the gaon in Erez Israel, R. Aaron Ben Meir, to determine the calendar, Saadiah successfully upheld the authority of the Babylonian rabbinate. Saadiah’s output was prodigious, encompassing dictionaries, grammars, biblical commentaries, a translation of the Bible into Arabic, liturgical and halakhic works, and philosophy, much still in manuscript. He also was a leading polemicist against Karaism and other heresies. Saadiah was knowledgeable in Greek philosophy and well informed in the Mutazilite Kalim philosophy of Islam. His most important work is Emunot ve-De’ot (Beliefs and Opinions). Sefer ha-Tehiyyah ve-Sefer ha-Pedut is in fact only the first part of the title, that is, it is an abridgement of chapter seven of Emunot ve-De’ot, on the resurrection of the dead. The second part, Sefer ha-Pedut ve-ha-Perkun, an abridgement of chapter eight on the redemption of Israel, was printed separately, also in Mantua in 1556 (120: 15f.). Emunot ve-De’ot was written in Arabic and translated into Hebrew by Judah ibn Tibbon. The translation here, and of Sefer ha-Pedut . . . as well, is not that of ibn Tibbon but rather of an anonymous translator. It is a free translation that varies from that of ibn Tibbon. The title page of Sefer ha-Tehiyyah has ornamental letters and is dated Hodesh Iyyar, 316 (April/May, 1556). On the verso of the title page is a preface from the printer R. Joseph ben Jacob [Shalit] of Padua. The initial text word is in a decorative frame, headings and initial words within the text are in square letters, the text in rabbinic letters. The colophon is also from Joseph ben Jacob, followed by his peacock device. Saadiah identifies three periods in the life of the soul after it departs the body, separation until all souls have been born, the Messianic era when most souls and bodies are rejoined, and the final period, eternal bliss for the righteous, eternal suffering for the wicked. Sefer ha-Tehiyyah (ch. VII of Emunot ve-De’ot) is concerned with the second period. Saadiah argues that the resurrection will take place in this world, and that it is a demonstration of God’s justice towards the people of Israel, although the pious of all nations will also have a share. He refutes allegorical interpretations of the resurrection and adduces a number of proofs for it, both logical and scriptural.

Format 120: 12 leaves.

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438

Toledot Adam

μda twdlwt Moses ben Elijah Gallena 1556, Cremona—Vincenzo Conti On chiromancy (palmistry) and phrenology by R. Moses ben Elijah Gallena (15th cent.), a teacher and translator in Crete. The title page of Toledot Adam has the four part frame described above (responsa of R. Jacob Moellin, 1556, pp. 432–33). The text describes the purpose of the book in both prose and verse. Part of the prose states, whether for good or bad, past or future, all truly inscribed, discerned from the lines of the hand, called physiognomy in foreign (not Hebrew) languages, the cognition of the face, and the appearance and characteristics of the other limbs of the body. And on all of this, “the Lord our God the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4), that in His hand is the might and the power to overpower the constellations, and repentance, prayer, and charity removes the evil of the decree. On this our sages have said, “the stars have no power over Israel” (Shabbat 156a, 156b).

Gallena’s name does not appear on the title page. In several other editions, and there are about twenty editions of Toledot Adam, his name is mistakenly given as Elijah ben Moses. The title page is dated, “And there is çyw (316) hope for your future” ( Jeremiah 31:16), concluding with the same information in Latin, that is, CREMONAE//APVD VINCENTUM CONTEM//M. D. LVI. The verso of title page is blank, followed by three unfoliated leaves, [2a–3a] with charts of the hand, [3b] with a table, and [4a–b] an index of the contents, enumerating ninety entries to be found in the text. The text, beginning on 1a, is in a single column, excepting the heading and initial words which are in square letters. Foliation is in both Hebrew and Arabic numerals. The first page begins with an introductory paragraph, which states that among its sources is Aristotle. The first twelve entries are signs of the hair; head; forehead; eyebrows; eyelids; appearance; eyes; nose; ears; mouth, lips, and teeth; shape of the head; voice and breath; and laugh. Among the later entries are such as, (77) to recognize wine mixed with water; (79) to remove the acerbity from wine; (85) to soften copper and iron; and (86) to bleach (whiten) silver. Entries are of various length. Sample entries state: (1) The signs of hair. Soft hair is indicative of a timid heart; hair of might. Hair on the abdomen is indicative of great physical desires. Ample hair on the neck is indicative of might, on the shoulders and neck of foolishness and insistence. Much hair on the chest and stomach is indicative of limited knowledge and love of falsehood. Hair that stands straight up on the head and the entire body of a timid heart. Yellow [hair] is indicative of foolishness and great anger, and the average on the average. (15) The signs of the shoulders and the back. According to Aristotle broad shoulders and back are indicative of a strong heart with light-mindedness. A bent back is indicative of bad character traits. A straight back is a praiseworthy sign. Projecting shoulders are indicative of a wicked heart and wicked thoughts. Slender shoulders are indicative of great intelligence. A head that protrudes greatly from the shoulder indicates foolishness.

Format: [4]; 17 leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (1515).

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440

Hibbur Yafeh me-haYeshu’ah

h[wçyhm hpy rwbyj Nissim ben Jacob Ibn Shahin 1557, Ferrara—Abraham ibn Usque Stories and fables by R. Nissim ben Jacob Ibn Shahin of Kairouan (Rabbenu Nissim, c. 990–1062). Rabbenu Nissim, son of Jacob ibn Nissim, head of the yeshiva in Kairouan, to whom the Iggeret Rav Sherira Gaon was addressed, studied under his father and R. Hananel ben Hushi’el. A talmudic scholar of considerable accomplishment, Nissim corresponded with Rav Hai Gaon and R. Samuel ha-Nagid, serving as the intermediary for the transmission of the teachings of the Babylonian academies to the latter. Nissim is considered among the great leaders of North African Jewry. Both the title page and colophon have Usque’s device and both are dated, Nissan, 317 (1557). Hibbur Yafeh me-haYeshu’ah is a collection of tales drawn from the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds, Midrashim, and Arabic sources, although here all are entirely Jewish in character, about Divine Providence and the reward of the righteous. It was written in response to the loss of a son by a relative named Dunash, perhaps his son or father-inlaw, to console him. Dunash had written that non-Jews (Arabs) have a book to console them at times of adversity, referring to the Faraj literature, and requests a corresponding work for Jews from Nissim. In response, Nissim writes that due to his great respect for his correspondent, who desires words of Torah and seeks a work based on the deeds of our sages and pious rabbis so that he [Dunash] need not seek consolation from external non-Jewish books, he [Nissim] hastens to comply with [Dunash]’s request. Nissim does so even though it is not otherwise worthwhile to compose such books, continuing, I request from the Holy One, Blessed be He, to assist and guide me on the straight and true way, placing the composition of this book ahead of my other undertakings out of respect for your honor, exalted station, and wisdom with me. Furthermore, I trust in the Creator, may His name be blessed, that He will increase my reward and recompense in the hereafter as our rabbis have said, how great is the reward for one who causes the heart of the aggrieved and sorrowful to rejoice and comforts the grieving and aching soul. . . .

This prologue is followed by two stories about R. Baroka and the prophet Elijah (Ta’anit 22a) concerning the saintly deeds of ordinary people and their reward, and concludes with Nissim’s statement of intent to recount tales and anecdotes from the sages about people in distress who found relief and a prayer for assistance from God in his task. Hibbur Yafeh me-haYeshu’ah proved to be popular, much copied, and often reprinted. An earlier version, Ma’asiyyot she-be-Talmud, included as part of a larger work, Likkutim ve-haHibburim (Constantinople, 1519, see above, pp. 126–27), has much of the material in this edition, but in a somewhat different format, and without the introduction and attribution of authorship. Rabbenu Nissim’s other extant work is Mafte’ah Manulei ha-Talmud (Vienna, 1847), originally written in Judeo-Arabic, sources, cross-references, and discourses upon talmudic statements. Megillat Setarim, halakhic notes, aggadah and responsa, well known and often quoted by rishonim, is known from their references only as no copy has been preserved. Fragments of other works have been discovered in genizahs and published.

Format 80: 47 leaves. Reprinted in Venice (1599).

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442

Iggeret Ba’alei Hayyim

μyyj yl[b trga Kalonymus ben Kalonymus 1557, Mantua—Joseph ben Jacob Shalit of Padua Ethical work based on animal tales translated from the late 10th century encyclopedic Arabic work Rasa’il ikhwan as-safa’ wa khillan al-wafa’ (Epistles of the Brethren of Purity and Loyal Friends) by R. Kalonymus ben Kalonymus (c. 1286–c. 1328). The portion from which Iggeret Ba’alei Hayyim is taken appears at the end of the 25th book of a total of 52 volumes (pamphlets) of this eclectic work on philosophy, religion, mathematics, logic, and music, prepared by the Brethren of Purity, a secret Arab confraternity which flourished in Basra, Iraq in the second half of the tenth century. The tales themselves have an Indian origin. The title page has an architectural frame. The text states that it is Iggeret Ba’alei Hayyim. “‘[He] opens [his] mouth with wisdom’ (ref. Proverbs 31:26). Man, animal, wild beast, bird, and every crawling thing, all that is under the sun. . . .” The colophon informs that the translation was finished in the seventy-sixth year of the sixth millennium (1316) and that printing was completed on Rosh Hodesh Iyyar, 317 (Thursday, April 11, 1557), at the press of Messer Venturin Ruffinelli. On the verso of the title page is a preface from the editor, R. Joseph ben Jacob [Shalit] of Padua; followed by Kalonymus’s introduction, where he informs that he translated the book in seven days, and, after his prefatory remarks, addresses the purpose the book; an index of the contents prepared by the editor; and the text, which is divided into five she’arim, further subdivided into chapters. After the colophon is Joseph ben Jacob’s printer’s mark, a peacock standing on three rocks facing left. The book concludes with verse from Ibn Ezra. The text is in a single column in rabbinic letters, excluding headings, which are in square letters. Initial words begin with an ornamental letter. There are no illustrations. The story centers about survivors of a shipwreck, representative of the various nations, who are able to swim to a nearby island of demons (ghosts) ruled by a just king. The men establish rule over local animals who rebel and bring their case to the king. He inquires as to the right of the men to have domain over the animals. In the ensuing discussion the human case is presented by representatives of all the nations who discuss the achievements and contributions of their nations. The Jewish representative, whose importance is here greatly enhanced by Kalonymus, discusses Torah and prayer. Human accomplishments are criticized by various animals, who contrast their industriousness and diligence. The arguments, presented in a clear and lucid style, are varied, covering a wide range of subjects and disciplines. At the end, a philosopher states the purpose of man, to serve God and to achieve a life of holiness and excellence, as realized by ascetics and prophets. This carries the day for man, silencing the animals. Popular in the middle ages, this is the first printed edition. Iggeret Ba’alei Hayyim was not reprinted until 1704 (Frankfort a. M.), but was subsequently frequently reprinted, including in Yiddish and Ladino editions. This is, excluding the 1959 Jerusalem edition, the only edition with ibn Ezra’s verse.

Format 80: [92] leaves.

443

1557, Sefer Keritot, Samson ben Isaac of Chinon, Cremona Courtesy of the Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University

444

Sefer Keritot

twtyrk rps Samson ben Isaac of Chinon 1557, Cremona—Vincenzo Conti Comprehensive work on talmudic methodology by the Tosafist, R. Samson ben Isaac of Chinon, France (c. 1260–c. 1330). Born in Chinon, a resident of Rouen, Samson resettled in Marseille after the expulsion of the Jews from France in 1306. He was a contemporary of R. Perez ha-Kohen, the teacher of R. Nissim ben Reuben Gerondi (Ran), who, as reported, by R. Isaac ben Sheshet, refers to Samson as the greatest rabbinical authority of his time. Samson was also a correspondent of R. Solomon ibn Aderet (Rashba). Sefer Keritot, written at the close of the period of the Ba’alei Tosafot, is a summation of their methodological principles. It is concerned with the hermeneutic (interpretive) rules of Talmud study. The book is divided into five parts, which are further subdivided. They are: a) middot, the Thirteen Rules of R. Ishmael; b) Beit Mikdash, analogy and a fortiori conclusions; c) Netivot Olam, the thirty-two rules of R. Eliezer ben Yose ha-Gelili; d) Yemot Olam, she’arim (portals) on the history of the tannaim (Mishnaic sages) and amoraim (talmudic sages) and the rules for deciding between conflicting positions; and e) Leshon Limmudim, she’arim on additional hermeneutic rules, mishnaic and talmudic methods and terminology, and halakhic decisions. Samson not only provide methodological rules, but also digresses into detailed discussions. Sefer Keritot is considered to be stylistically difficult, occasionally unclear, and within the text there are lacunae. It has been suggested, however, that this is due to the book being based on Samuel’s first draft. The title page is dated, “Monday, in the year, parashat, ‘And Jacob lived bçyw (318 = 16 Kislev = November 18, 1557) [in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan]’” (Genesis 37:1), and the colophon gives a completion date of Wednesday, 2 Shevat, 318 ( January 1, 1558). There is an introduction from the editor, R. Meir ben Moses Heilperin, followed by the text, based on the 1515 Constantinople edition (which is not noted), ending on 58a. Each paragraph is numbered, the enumeration beginning again in each part, and the text is accompanied by glosses. There is a statement from the editor (58b) praising the book and explaining the value of the arrangement of this edition. At the bottom of that page is a list of the parts, followed by a detailed alphabetical listing of the contents (59a–72b), the colophon, a portion of the lower part of the decorative frame from the title page, verse in praise of the work, and, on the final page, the thirteen principles of faith. This is the last Cremona imprint to have such detailed indexes, attributed to editorial changes, among them the cessation of R. J. Ottolenghi’s influence and the addition of Vittorio Eliano to the staff. Sefer Keritot, an important work, has been republished several times and is the basis for later works on talmudic methodology. Samson also wrote tosafot to Eruvin and Avodah Zarah, mentioned in this work but otherwise not known, and Bi’ur ha-Get, on the laws of divorce, still in manuscript. He wrote responsa, noted by decisors.

Format 40: 73 leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (1515).

445

446

Mahzor—Roman Rite

hmwr q”q ghnmk rwzjm 1557–60, Mantua—Meir ben Ephraim of Padua in the house of Messer Venturin Ruffinelli Mahzor for the entire year according to the Roman rite. This comprehensive prayer book is printed in two parts, with continuous pagination throughout. Work began, according to the title page, during Hanukkah, 317 (1557). The first part was completed on Rosh Hodesh Sivan, 320 (Sunday, June 5, 1560). The second part was completed during Hanukkah, in the year, “when I restore ybwçb (320) your captivity” (Zephaniah 3:20). The first part includes daily prayers, yozerot ( piyyutim), and holiday services. Prayers are preceded by pertinent halakhot, particularly detailed for Pesah, which includes instructions for the ritual cleaning of utensils, the preparation of mazzah, and eruv tavshilin (cooking eruv). Also included are the Pesah Haggadah, Song of Songs, Maimonides’ (Rambam) Shemonah Perakim, and Pirkei Avot with the commentaries of Maimonides and Rashi. This part concludes with the prayers for Shavuot, laws of fasting, Tishah be-Av (ninth of Av, commemorating the destruction of the first and second Temples) and Lamentations. Also included are Megillat Antiochus, prayers for the sick and for changing [the ill] person’s name. The second part includes the services for Rosh Ha-Shanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Simhat Torah, the laws of berit milah, and Ta’anit Halom (fast for ill-omened dreams). At the beginning of the sixth chapter of Avot (85b) it is stated that there is no commentary for this chapter from Maimonides and that the commentary found in mahzorim is that which is attributed to Rashi. References for biblical verses are given in the margins. The reader is informed in the colophon that the ta’amei ha-mikra (biblical cantillation, masoretic accents) for reading the Torah and prophets, are included here, something not done in the Soncino mahzor. The text of the title page is set in the architectural arch used on other works by this press. There are a small number of woodcut frames for introductory words of major sections and two miniature woodcuts for mazzah and marror (bitter herbs). Parenthetically, the ornament used for marror was used elsewhere by the printer as a filler, for example, after the colophon of Toledot Yizhak. The representation of the Tetragrammaton is by two yods and a third squiggly line, more often found in incunabula and manuscripts. The more common representation of two yods is also present. In addition to this folio (28 cm.) mahzor, a small-format Roman rite mahzor (532 leaves, 14 cm.) and both Roman and Ashekenaz rite prayer books were printed by this press at this time. In the colophon to the second volume of the small-format mahzor the reader is informed that the delay, over three years, in completing the mahzorim was not due to slothfulness, but rather that the work should be complete, for it was necessary to print other works, several of which are named, of considerable size, including the large mahzor. That work, it is promised, will be completed within two months.

Format 20: 210 leaves.

447

448

Megillat Antiochus

swkwyfna tlgm 1557, Mantua—Meir ben Ephraim of Padua in the house of Messer Venturin Ruffinelli Scroll incorporating portions of the Books of Maccabees, commemorating the victory of the Jews under the leadership of the Maccabees over the Greeks and their hellenizing supporters. The title page has the pillared frame typical of Mantua imprints, and simply informs that it is about the miracles done to our forefathers in the days of Hanukkah at the time of the Second Temple. It is dated 317 (1557). The colophon informs that it was printed for R. Meir ben Ephraim of Padua in the house of Messer Venturin Ruffinelli by Jacob ben Naphtali ha-Kohen of Gazzuolo, and prays that they should have the merit to print more books without end. The text is set in square vocalized letters in a single column. Megillat Antiochus is modeled after the Book of Esther, beginning, “And it came to pass in the days of Antiochus, King of Greece,” going on to describe that king’s power, and the events that occurred. It varies, however, in a number of particulars from similar works celebrating the victory of the Maccabees and the events of Hanukkah. In 1557 this press published a Roman rite mahzor (see above, pp. 446–47), which, for Hanukkah, includes yozrot, Torah readings for the first and last Shabbat of Hanukkah, and haftarot, concluding with Megillat Antiochus (32b–33b). The type for Megillat Antiochus in the mahzor (28 cm.) was removed from the forme without disturbing the type and reprinted as a separate pamphlet (17 cm.), the two being identical (compare the inset from the mahzor and the accompanying page from Megillat Antiochus). Megillat Antiochus is believed to have been written in Aramaic sometime between the mid-eighth to the mid-ninth centuries. A popular work, it was translated into Hebrew and a number of languages. It was first printed separately in Guadalajara (c. 1482), and with a Pentateuch with Rashi and haftarot in Naples (c. 1491). It is more often to be found in mahzorim. In the Middle Ages it was publicly read in Italian synagogues on Shabbat Hanukkah, and R. Isaiah de Trani discusses whether a blessing should be recited before its reading.

Format 80: 6 leaves.

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450

Mishlei Shu’alim

μyl[wç ylçm Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan 1557–58, Mantua—Joseph ben Jacob Shalit of Padua Popular collection of fables. R. Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan (12th–13th century), author, translator, and grammarian, was an individual of many talents. He translated several scientific works into Hebrew, the most important being Adelard of Bath’s book on the natural sciences, Quaestiones Naturales, as Dodi ve-Nekhdi; collected and translated ethical works, such as Sefer ha-Hibbur and Sefer ha-Mazref; abridged Saadiah Gaon’s Emunot ve-De’ot; and Ko’ah Avanim, on the magical powers in stones. Although Berechiah’s literary activity is familiar, little is known of his personal life, but that he lived in Normandy, and perhaps England. It is inferred from the title ha-Nakdan that he punctuated Bibles and copied Masoretic rules, and, from his works, that he was a talmudic scholar. Mishlei Shu’alim (Fox Fables), Berechiah’s best-known work, is a collection of 107 fables, not all fox fables, in which the animals are the protagonists. Animal fables were a popular genre in the Middle Ages, and Berechiah drew on a variety of sources, as well as creating his own fables. Berechiah utilized such works as Bidhapti, the lost Latin translation of Aesop (Phaedrus’ Romulus), and the French compilation of Marie de France, Isopet, which is based on Alfred the Englishman. Berechiah is not, however, merely a translator and compiler. He changes details, substitutes participants, and, as he states in the introduction, although these “parables are current upon the lips of earth’s progeny,” he has “enlarged and augmented them.” Mishlei Shu’alim is written in a clear rhymed prose, with biblical and talmudic references, making them, the original sources notwithstanding, into Jewish parables. References to persons and event, readily identifiable by contemporary readers, are less evident today. The book begins with a preface from the printer, Joseph ben Jacob Shalit of Padua, Berechiah’s introduction, a table of contents prepared by the printer, followed by the fables. The structure of the fables is title, summary, fable, and moral lesson. The book, at 15 cm., is small; the tales are not accompanied by illustrations. The book is completed with Joseph Shalit’s device, a peacock standing on three rocks, facing left, with a fish in its beak. This device was first used in Sabbioneta by Shalit, who was in Mantua from 1556. In the introduction Berechiah bemoans current moral conditions, concluding “I draw parables of beasts and birds to strengthen weak hands, of creeping things that crawl upon the ground; for a similitude of them that walk upon the earth. I shall begin with the lion, ruler over all, great and small, for they changed his honor for shame. When a rich man grows poor his companions make themselves strangers to him.” The fables begin with a statement of purpose, “To impart prudence to the simple, to the young, knowledge and astuteness . . . to satisfy hearts like a garden well-irrigated, with fables of foxes and beasts.” Mishlei Shu’alim has proven to be a popular work, often reprinted, and translated into several languages, among them Yiddish ( Jacob Koppelman, Freiburg, 1583), Latin, and German.

Format 80: 87 [1] leaves. Reprinted in Freiburg (1583).

451

452

Or Einayim

μyny[ rwa Solomon ben Abraham Peniel 1557, Cremona—Vincenzo Conti On the influence of the stars during the six days of creation, the virtues of the children of Israel, and of the patriarchs. Nothing is known of the author, R. Solomon ben Abraham Peniel. The title page has the four-part frame described above (Sefer She’elot u’Teshuvot of R. Jacob Moellin, 1556, pp. 432–33). The text begins: This book Or Einayim μyny[ which all eyes μyny[ can observe in it, “for they shall see eye to eye ˜y[b ˜y[” (Isaiah 52:8) for “its color is as the color ˆy[k wny[ç of bdellium” (Numbers 11:7). The eyes of the reader are on it, “sitting by the crossroads μyny[” (ref. Genesis 38:14) “To open the blind eyes μyny[” (Isaiah 42:7) “Let his eyes wyny[ look right on” (ref. Proverbs 4:25) at the virtues of Israel, and the good hidden for the future. In it are explained many wonderful subjects from our holy Torah, as can be seen from the index at the end of the book. . . . Work was begun on Wednesday, 17 Adar, 317 (February 27, 1557) q”pl. Here, Cremona, by Vincenzo Conti.

Peniel’s introduction begins on 2a. The text, in a single column in rabbinic letters, excepting initial letters which are in square letters, concludes on 30b, followed by an index (31a–32a). Peniel’s name does not appear on the title page but is given in the introduction, where he writes that it is incumbent upon everyone to occupy themselves with Torah according to their ability. And concerning himself, Solomon ben Abraham Peniel, in that I was preoccupied with business matters, I was “foolish and ignorant” (Psalms 73:22), for I did not learn in my youth. But now I have “set my heart to understand” (ref. Daniel 10:12) and turned my face to the Lord to know “the tongue of the learned” (Isaiah 50:4). . . . I have divided it into three parts, “the Lord God will help me” (Isaiah 50:9). The first part: the dominion of the stars called kokhevei lekhet. . . . The second part is on the work of creation (tyçarb [h]ç[mb) to show concerning the creation (hryxyh) that all things in the world are renewed by Him. The third part is on the patriarchs and most of that which is said about them are allusions for their children after them.

The index lists the contents, of which a small sample are: one thread of blue, the trials of Job and his afflictions, the beginning of the flood and on which day it was, the nature of the moon, its dominion and when that is, the Babylonian exile, the Nefilim were in the land, Of every [clean] beast you shall take to you, But his wife looked back from behind him, Miriam was shut out [from the camp] seven days, but the Lord shall be to you an [everlasting] light, A Psalm Song for the Sabbath day. This is followed by a section entitled the reasons for mitzvot, among them Shabbat, Rosh Hodesh, zizit, niddah, and the seven mitzvot benei Noah. This edition is based on the previous Constantinople (c. 1515–20) edition.

Format 80: 32 leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (c. 1515–20).

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454

Pitron Halomot

twmwlj ˆwrtp Rav Hai ben Sherira Gaon 1557, Cairo—Gershom ben Eliezer Soncino Pitron Halomot, on the interpretation of dreams, attributed to Rav Hai ben Sherira Gaon of Pumbedita (939–1038). This is the first book printed in the Middle East. The title page states that it was printed in Cairo, “In the domain of our lord, the king, Sultan Suleiman, Wednesday, 19 Shevat, in the year, ‘[And it shall come to pass,] that before they call warqy (317 = 1557) I yna’w will answer; [and while they are yet speaking, I will hear]’” (Isaiah 65:24). The book is physically small, measuring about 14.5 cm., and printed on paper of poor quality. Several independent versions of Pitron Halomot exist. It has been suggested that this edition is based on the Pitron Halomot (Mefasher Helmin, 1515, see above, pp. 72–73) of Solomon ben Jacob Almoli. Further investigation shows, however, that this is not the case, for it is, in fact, except for some textual variations, similar to the Ferrara (1552) edition, which is based on manuscripts. The printer, Gershom ben Eliezer Soncino, eponymous grandson of Gershom ben Moses Soncino, was the last of that distinguished line to print books. Perhaps, after Eliezer Soncino sold the family press in Constantinople to Moses ben Eliezer Parnas in 1547, this Gershom, no longer connected with the print shop, left to try his luck elsewhere, eventually settling in Egypt. It would seem that the Cairo press was not successful, for only two books are known to have been published there, both small in size and not widely distributed, perhaps not even outside of Egypt. The second work is Refu’ot ha-Talmud, that is, remedies from the Talmud. These books were unknown until fairly recently, when they were discovered in the Cairo geniza. Both titles are unicums, although fragments of Pitron Halomot exist elsewhere. It is possible that other titles may have printed. Refu’ot ha-Talmud was printed on 11 Tevet, in the year, “Restore h”byçh to me the joy of your salvation; [and uphold me with a willing spirit]” (Psalms 51:14). The numerical value of the Hebrew word equals either 5317 (1557) or 322 (1562), depending on whether the final h (heh) is for the full, g”pl, or the abbreviated, q”pl, era. It has been suggested that the second date is the more likely, it being the date of this Gershom Soncino’s death. It has also been suggested that both works were printed in the same year, that is, 1557, or that the date of printing of Pitron Halomot, by utilizing the w (vav) in yna’w, with a value of six, totaling 323, can be dated 1563, a year in which 19 Shevat also came out on a Wednesday. There was no further printing of Hebrew books in Cairo until 1740, when Abraham ben Moses Yatom issued Hok le-Yisrael; followed by yet another hiatus, for 165 years, until 1905, when Hebrew printing resumed.

Format 160: 12 leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (1515), Rome (1547), Ferrara (1552) and reprinted in Venice (1566).

455

1557, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Meir ben Baruch of Rothenburg (Maharam), Cremona Courtesy of the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad Ohel Yosef Yitzhak

456

Sefer She’elot u’Teshuvot

twbwçtw twlaç rps Meir ben Baruch of Rothenburg (Maharam) 1557, Cremona—Vincenzo Conti Three hundred fifteen responsa from R. Meir ben Baruch of Rothenburg (Maharam, c. 1215–93). The Maharam is counted among the greatest and most influential of sages of Ashkenaz Jewry. He is remembered with affection for his exemplary life, scholarly writings, students he influenced, and the manner in which he bore affliction. R. Meir was a student of R. Isaac ben Moses of Vienna (Or Zaru’a) and R. Samuel Menahem, in Wuerzburg, and of R. Judah b. Moses ha-Kohen, in Mainz. He also learned by R. Samuel ben Solomon of Falaise and Jehiel of Paris. The Maharam served as rabbi in a number of communities in Germany, lastly Rothenburg, for forty years, until 1286, by which time he was recognized as the undisputed leader of German Jewry. His influence was widespread, realized through students who became leaders of Ashkenaz Jewry; by their works, such as the Mordekhai, Agudah, Haggahot Maimuniyyot, Sha’arei Dura, and Tashbez; and through Asher ben Jehiel (Rosh), and thereby his son Jacob ben Asher, author of the Turim. R. Meir determined to leave Germany due to the deteriorating condition of Jewry in that land. When he arrived in Lombardy, an apostate, Kneppe, recognized him and informed the Bishop of Basle of Maharam’s presence. The local lord, Count Meinhard of Görz, seized R. Meir and delivered him to Emperor Rudolph I, who imprisoned the Maharam in the tower of Ensisheim, holding him for ransom and demanding an exorbitant sum. It was raised, but Maharam would not permit it to be paid, lest it result in similar seizures for ransom. He remained in prison until his death seven years later, visited regularly by R. Samson ben Zadok, who recorded Maharam’s teaching in his Tashbez (see above, pp. 434–35). Maharam’s body was held for fourteen years, until 1307, when Alexander ben Salomo Wimpfen redeemed it at considerable cost, his sole condition being that he be buried next to the Maharam. The title page has the four-part frame described above (pp. 432–33). Printing began on Tuesday, the 26th of Sivan, 317, and was completed on 28 Heshvan, in the year “[And the Lord said to her,] Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples shall be separated from your bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger” (Genesis 25:23), that is, in about five months, an unusually long time for a book this size. A number of reasons are suggested for the delay, among them setting the listing of the responsa, insufficient funds, and that several books were being set simultaneously. The responsa include the names of those who submitted the inquiry, greetings and remarks. A small number of responsa are from other ba’alei tosafot. The responsa, brief and clearly written, deal with a gamut of issues, including business dealings, real estate, marriage, inheritance, taxation, trustees, and communal matters. The book is completed with an index arranged according to the Mishneh Torah of the Rambam. This edition of Maharam’s responsa is often referred to as ha-Kizzurot (abridged edition), in contrast to the Prague edition, with 1,022 responsa.

Format 40: 108, 15 leaves.

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1557, She’elot Inyan ha-Neshamah, Israel ben Joseph ha-Kohen, Lublin Courtesy of Chaim Reich, Renaissance Hebraica

458

She’elot Inyan ha-Neshamah

hmçnh ˆyn[ tlaç Israel ben Joseph ha-Kohen 1557, Lublin—Hayyim ben Isaac Shahor Philosophical work on the nature of the soul edited by R. Israel ben Joseph ha-Kohen (sixteenth century). Israel was also the editor of the Pentateuch printed by the Lublin press in 1558. The title page of this small work (18 cm.) has no ornamentation. Its brief text states that this splendid work was printed in Lublin ˆylbyl, and gives the date as, in the year, “Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and those who return hybçw to her with righteousness” (Isaiah 1:27). There is an introduction from Israel in which he praises the great value of this work and calls for a blessing upon the unknown author. The text follows in a single column in rabbinic type, excepting headings and initial words, which are in a square Ashkenazic font. She’elot Inyan ha-Neshamah is made up of eighteen questions concerning the soul, presented in the form of a dialogue between a pupil and his teacher. Entries begin as a request for the student’s teacher to instruct him, immediately followed by the response; inquiries are, for example, as to the nature of the soul, how the Godly soul can dwell in this material world, and how the soul can survive the departure from the body. The colophon (not in the copy examined) is dated, Friday, 3 Kislev hybç. This has been understood differently by Steinschneider, who dates it 1566, reading the date as hybçy (327 = Friday, November 25, 1566); Benjacob, who reads it as 323 (Saturday, November 10, 1562); and Friedberg, who, in his History of Hebrew Typography in Poland, agrees to 1562, but in his Bet Eked Sefarim records the date as 317 (Friday, November 16, 1556). Friedberg’s later reading is most likely correct, for not only was that date a Friday, but the same chronogram was used to date the Pentateuch (1558), the heh h representing the millennium and not part of the enumeration of years within the millennium, that is, 5318 (1557). Moreover, another work exists dated with the same chronogram, also completed on 3 Kislev, with the same style of the title page, spelling of Lublin, fonts, and printed by Hayyim ben Isaac, that is, Mazzalot shel Adam al Derekh Heskonah, on astrology, which describes the constellations. She’elot Inyan ha-Neshamah was translated into Yiddish by R. Isaac ben Hayyim (Prague, 1598).

Format 80: 16 leaves.

459

460

Tikkunei Zohar

rhwzh ynwqt Simeon bar Yohai (attributed to) 1557, Mantua—Meir ben Ephraim of Padua and Jacob ben Naphtali ha-Kohen of Gazolo An independent kabbalistic work, distinct from the Zohar. Tikkunei Zohar, attributed like the former work to R. Simeon bar Yohai (second century), is a commentary on Bereshit (Genesis). It was intended to be made up of seventy chapters or tikkunim, in conformity with the seventy aspects of the Torah, each a different explication of the word bereshit (in the beginning) but that number is in fact exceeded, with some of these additions printed at the end of the book. The text digresses extensively from the nominal subject matter, that is the sidrah (weekly Torah reading), addressing topics such as mysteries of the vowel points and accents, halakhic matters, and prayer, not dealt with in the Zohar. Nevertheless, there are pages in the Zohar that are from this work, and in places Tikkunei Zohar imitates the Zohar. In some places it is somewhat of a commentary on the Zohar. The introduction to Tikkunei Zohar is also modeled after that of the Zohar. However, the work to which Tikkunei Zohar is most similar is the kabbalistic Ra’aya Meheimna. The title page is set within the architectural frame common to Mantua imprints of this period and the initial word of each part is in a decorative frame. The text states that it was written by R. Simeon bar Yohai and printed and edited by the God-fearing R. Immanuel ben Jekuthiel of Benevento for the partners Meir ben Ephraim of Padua and Jacob ben Naphtali ha-Kohen of Gazolo. It is dated, “and he sat bçyw (318 = 1557) upon it in truthfulness” (Isaiah 16:5). The colophon dates the completion of the work to Tuesday, 17 Kislev, “And in mercy a throne was established; and he sat bçyw (November 19, 1557) upon it in truthfulness in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and quick to do righteousness” (ibid.). The title page is followed by prefatory remarks, and, beginning on 1a, the introduction. The text is in a single column in rabbinic type. There are two dissimilar manuscript arrangements of Tikkunei Zohar. The other arrangement, printed in Amsterdam by Solomon Proops (1719), is the one followed in later editions. A work of considerable popularity, Tikkunei Zohar has been reprinted with emendations and rearrangements of material, and with commentaries, among them Shalom Buzaglo’s Kisse Melekh (Amsterdam, 1769) and Zevi Shapira’s Be’er la-Hai Ro’i (Munkacs, 1903–21). Tikkunei Zohar has been printed more frequently than the Zohar itself. In all its forms there are more than one hundred editions, including page-for-page reproductions of this printing.

Format 80: [4], 146, [2] leaves.

461

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Toledot Adam ve-Havvah—Sefer Mesharim

μyrçym rps—hwjw μda twdlwt rps Jeroham ben Meshullam 1557, Venice—Alvise Bragadin Two halakhic works from R. Jeroham ben Meshullam of Provence (Rabbenu Jeroham, c. 1290–1350). Jeroham was born in Provence, but with the expulsion of the Jews from France in 1306 wandered until settling in Toledo. He learned briefly by R. Asher ben Jehiel (Rosh) and for a longer period by R. Abraham ben Moses Ismail, a student of R. Solomon ben Abraham Adret (Rashba). Jeroham wrote two works, Sefer Mesharim in 1334, and, in 1340, Toledot Adam ve-Havvah. The former deals with civil law, primarily monetary issues, divided into thirty-two paths (netivot). Sefer Mesharim (uprightness) is not an original work, but rather a compendium of the decisions of earlier authorities. It is organized so that anyone, even if not a scholar, can benefit from the work. Sefer Mesharim begins with a long table of contents, unusual for that period. In the introduction he praises Alfasi and Rambam, but, with the weakening of the heart, and the additions of later sages, it is not easy to find or master the law which is not in one place, for example, the laws of property, where acquisition is in one place and laws of possession in another. Therefore, Jeroham properly arranges each subject, reordering the organization of the Rambam, which is for scholars, following the Rosh. He is the first to include the laws of Shemittah (Sabbatical year) and Prosbul (formula for preserving debt in a Sabbatical year by release to bet din) as monetary matters, in contradistinction to Rambam who classifies them as agricultural laws. In this edition Sefer Mesharim follows Toledot Adam ve-Havvah. In the introduction to Toledot Adam ve-Havvah Jeroham writes that friends, seeing the benefits of Sefer Mesharim, pressed and urged him to prepare a similar work on issur vehetter (dietary laws). He accommodated them, writing Toledot Adam ve-Havvah, remarking that God and Israel know that he did not do this for the honor or to be considered a scholar, for he merely transcribed the words of the sages who preceded him. Toledot Adam ve-Havvah is comprised of twenty-eight paths, in two parts, according to the periods of a person’s life, from birth to death. Adam, the first part, treats the precepts from a person’s birth until marriage, encompassing birth, milah, benedictions, prayer, learning Torah, holidays, vows, kashrut, and contemporary customs, all matters a person should know prior to wedding. Havvah, the second part, deals with the period from marriage until death, covering marital laws, such as betrothal, weddings, divorces, levirate marriage, niddah, and mitzvot applicable to women. Here, too, Jeroham brings the opinions of earlier decisors, particularly Piskei ha-Rosh, and records the customs of Jewry in France, Spain, and Provence. Toledot Adam ve-Havvah and Sefer Mesharim are the only works known from Jeroham ben Meshullam. Although well received when written, they were quickly superseded by the Arba’ah Turim of R. Jacob ben Asher. This edition, as well as subsequent printings, are based on the 1516 Constantinople edition, which was based on a corrupt manuscript. Nevertheless, Toledot Adam ve-Havvah and Sefer Mesharim are highly regarded and referenced by decisors such as R. Joseph Caro and R. Samuel de Medina. It was more than two hundred fifty years until the next printing of Toledot Adam ve-Havvah (Kopyst, 1808).

Format 20: 16, 13–238, 2–104 leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (1516).

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Zori ha-Yagon

ˆwgyh yrx rps Shem Tov ben Joseph ibn Falaquera 1557, Cremona—Vincenzo Conti Consolation for the soul of man by Joseph ibn Falaquera (Palquera, c. 1225–1295), poet, philosopher, and scientist. Apparently born in Spain to one of the aristocratic families of Tudela, Falaquera’s place of residence is not known. It has been suggested that he was a physician, but he not only makes no mention of practicing that profession but his references to it are uncomplimentary. Falaquera seems to have never married, he refers to women and children negatively, and at times lived in poverty, perhaps supporting himself through his poetry, a practice to which he gave much time as a youth, but later gave up as a profession, according to statements in his Ha-Mevakkesh (see below). As a philosopher Falaquera is not original, but, well versed in Arabic and Greek philosophy, has value as a transmitter of ideas. Falaquera’s objective in his books, generally short philosophic treatises, is to instruct qualified but unfamiliar readers in philosophy and science. Zori ha-Yagon (balm for sorrow), one of Falaquera’s lesser known but more moving works, was written to give relief to a person in despair. Replete with quotes from rabbinic literature and philosophical works, it expresses Falaquera’s belief that life must be governed by faith, philosophic reason, and mental well-being. Only with self-discipline and knowledge of truth can a person realize relief. In Zori ha-Yagon Falaquera is much influenced by the Greek physician Galen and the ninth-century Arab philosopher Ya’quab ibn Ishaq al-Kindi, as well as Maimonides and ibn Gabirol. The style of the book is a maqama, an Arabic form of rhymed prose, interspersed with poetry. Zori ha-Yagon was printed in the year Zori Tov (goodly balm) bwf yrx (317 = 1557), in two weeks according to the colophon, for work was begun, with mazzal tov on the 1st of the month of Ziv (Iyyar, Thursday, April 11, 1557), and completed on the 14th (April 27th). The editor was R. Saul ben Simon. The corrector (and expurgator) was the apostate Vittorio Eliano, associated with all the books published by Conti from 1558 through 1559. Saul asks the reader to judge him favorably, for somehow having lost the manuscript of this book, sweet as honey, and searched diligently for it to no avail, he has rewritten the text from memory with his own comments, this making up the better part of the book. Among Falaquera’s printed titles are Battei Hanhagat ha-Guf ha-Bari (in ha-Rofei ha-Ivri 10, 1937, and alone, Tel Aviv, 1950), on the regimen of the healthy body; Iggeret ha-Halom (in JQR, I (1910/11)), on dreams; Iggeret ha-Musar (in Kobez al Jad, I (1936–37)). Iggeret haVikku’ah (Constantinople, c. 1577, see below, pp. 664–65); Sefer ha-Ma’alot (Berlin, 1894), concerning the various degrees of intellectual perfection; Ha-Mevakkesh (Cracow, 1646), a poetical work on one’s choices in life, is among the most popular of Falaquera’s works; Moreh ha-Moreh (Pressburg, 1837), on Maimonides’ Moreh Nevukhim; Sefer ha-Nefesh (Lemberg, 1835), a psychological work; Reshit Hokhmah (Berlin, 1902), an introduction to the study of the sciences. A number of Falaquera’s books remain in manuscript or are known only from his references to them in extant works.

Format 40: 20 leaves.

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Babylonian Talmud

ylbb dwmlt 1558–1567, Salonika—Joseph Jabez A Talmud edition, incomplete, motivated, besides the normal desire of Hebrew printers to print the Talmud, by the burning of the Talmud in Italy. The printer, Joseph Jabez, after his return to Salonika from Adrianople, writes, in the responsa of R. Joseph ibn Lev, that I was zealous for the Lord, the God of Israel, when I saw that they burned the Talmud. I said in my heart now is the time to act for the Lord, for they have made void Your Torah (Psalms 119:126) . . . after I have completed this book I will begin printing the Talmud. . . .

The first tractates (c. 1558–60), rare and little known, differ in size and appearance from the later treatises, and do not adhere to the already standard Venetian pagination. They consist of the talmudic text, Rashi, Tosafot, and indices printed in the margins. Printing likely began with Kiddushin (28 cm., 98f.), for it alone has the initial word of the first chapter arranged in a border, as in the Bomberg edition, and the first four pages differ from the rest of the tractate, indicating that Jabez had not yet settled on the page layout, nor had he determined the exact place for Rashi and Tosafot; segments of Tosafot are not entirely in their place. Ketubbot (134f.), a transitional volume, is next, followed by Bava Mezia (136f.), which states on its title page that two of eight tractates, meaning those frequently learned in yeshivah, have already been printed. The title page of Bava Mezia differs from the later tractates. The letters in the first lines have been printed with tagin (crownlets), it has a long text at the bottom of the page not reprinted with the later editions, and it lacks the characteristic Jabez fleurons that appears in their Salonika and Constantinople imprints. By the time Jabez printed Bava Kama, his fourth tractate, more than two-and-a-half years later, he had come to appreciate the value of the standard pagination and, therefore, arranged his pages accordingly. This necessitated altering his volumes, accomplished by reducing the size of the rabbinic fonts. Added to the next five tractates, again reflecting Venetian influence, are Piskei Tosafot, Maimonides’ commentary on Mishnayot, the Rosh, and Ein ha-Talmud. Shevu’ot was published two years later, followed by Bezah, Hullin, and Avodah Zarah, the last tractate, dated on the title page, the seventeenth of the month of Menahem [Av], in the year 5327 (August 2, 1567). This later group of tractates measures approximately 30 cm. Although Jabez printed in Salonika for five more years, no additional tractates are known from his press in that city. The title pages reference, and the volumes include the additions and modifications in the Giustiniani Talmud. Nevertheless, Jabez’s source was, based on the layout of the text, the Bomberg Talmud. Most likely, Jabez had a Bomberg edition before him, with the Giustiniani indices handwritten on the margin. That Talmud, completed in 1551 and burned in 1554, before it could be widely distributed, was as prestigious as it was rare, whereas the Bomberg editions had been widely circulated for decades. Jabez, and printers elsewhere, unable to acquire a Giustiniani Talmud, utilized the Bomberg text, transcribing the Giustiniani additions from other sources, but claiming that their source was the Giustiniani Talmud.

Format 20.

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Sefer Rav Alfas

spla br rps Isaac ben Jacob Alfasi (Rif ) 1558, Riva di Trento—Joseph Ottolenghi and Cardinal Cristoforo Madruzzo Sefer Rav Alfas (Hilkhot Rav Alfas, Sefer ha-Halakhot of Alfasi, see above, 1509, 1554–55, pp. 30–31, 394–95, respectively). This edition is of particular interest because of the conditions of its printing. After the burning of the Talmud in 1553–54 and the subsequent closing of many Hebrew presses in Italy, the Hebrew book found a brief respite from persecution in the northern Italian Tyrolese community of Riva di Trento. Hilkhot Rav Alfas, a large work, was the first imprint from this new press. The founding of this press can be credited to three individuals, Cardinal Cristoforo Madruzzo (1512–78), Bishop of Trent, who opposed the immoderate condemnation of books at the Council of Trent (1562). R. Joseph ben Nathan Ottolenghi (d. 1570), rosh yeshivah at Cremona, was recruited to help finance and play a role in the press. Ottolenghi was the author of Hiddushei ha-Ran (novellae on Hilkhot Rav Alfas) and Simanei ve-Kizzur Piskei ha-Mordekhai, an index to the Mordekhai (Riva di Trento, 1559). R. Jacob Marcaria, a dayyan on the bet din presided over by Ottolenghi and a physician, also of Cremona, licensed by the Cardinal, was, as the printer, the active member of the associates. He edited and prepared many of the books for publication, as well as writing prefaces for a number of them. The press was located in the house of Antonio Broën. Hilkhot Rav Alfas is believed to be the first work printed in Riva di Trento (see below, Parashiot, c. 1562, pp. 540–41). Its selection, in addition to its inherent popularity, was due to the ban on the Talmud. Called the Rif, this halakhic compendium of the Talmud filled, to some extent, the gap left by the scarcity of that work. It has been suggested that this work was originally prepared for publication in Cremona, but was brought to Riva di Trento due to a dispute between Ottolenghi and Joshua Cantori, both involved with the press at Cremona. Purportedly, the subject of the dispute was whether Hilkhot Rav Alfas was included in the Index’s prohibition of the Talmud, Cantori siding with the censors. This edition is printed in three folio volumes. The title page of each volume bears the Cardinal’s coat-of-arms with cherubim at the sides, a significant statement of the Cardinal’s support and protection of the press at a time when his church was burning and banning Hebrew books. Furthermore, the title page informs us that Sefer Rav Alfas was edited with great care by the gaon R. Joseph Ottolenghi and was printed and financed by him, and that this was done “in the dominion of ” the following in bold letters, “Cardinal Cristoforo Madruzzo.” The title pages of the other volumes are identical, simply adding that they are the second or third part. Ottolenghi, assisted by Marcaria, was the editor. Marcaria’s preface is on the verso of the title page. This edition, printed with the commentaries of Rashi, Rabbenu Nissim (Nissim ben Reuben Gerondi, Ran), and Rabbenu Yonah ( Jonah ben Abraham Gerondi), and the indices prepared by R. Joshua Boaz, is a copy of the Venetian edition of 1521–22. However, the halakhic references follow the Venice edition of 1552 rather than the Ein Mishpat in the Sabbioneta edition. The text of volumes one and three are mispaginated. The first volume includes tractates Berakhot, Seder Mo’ed, and Halakhot Katanot; the second volume, Seder Nashim and tractate Hullin; and the final volume, Seder Nezikin. Format 20: I 288, II 268, III 302 [8] leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (1509), Venice (1521–22), [Salonika 1522 (1527)], [Fez in 1524], Venice (1552), Sabbioneta (1554–55). Reprinted in Cracow (1597–99).

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Birkot Maharam

μ”rhm twkrb Meir ben Baruch of Rothenburg 1558, Riva di Trento—Jacob Marcaria A manual on benedictions for food by R. Meir ben Baruch of Rothenburg (Maharam, see above, She’elot u’Teshuvot, 1557, pp. 456–57). Meir wrote extensively; among his works are compilations of laws for special purposes, such as Hilkhot Shehitah (on the laws of ritual slaughter), Hilkhot Avelut (Semahot, on the laws of mourning), and Piskei Eruvin (on the laws of Eruv). Another of these specialized works is on the laws of benedictions, often cited by Maharam’s students, and likely this book, which may have been part of a larger work. The title page of this small book, it measures about 15 cm., is simple, devoid of any ornamentation and is dated Kislev, 319. The colophon gives the date of completion as Friday, 8 Kislev, 319 (November 28, 1558), indicating that the entire book was set in less than a week. The brief text states that it will enable a person to know when he should make blessings on all manners of food and drink. Similarly, Jacob Marcaria writes in a brief forward, that as Hazal (our sages) said, “Whomever derives benefit from this world without [reciting] a blessing commits meilah (equivalent to the misappropriation of Temple property, a capital offense, Berakhot, 35a). We therefore took it upon ourselves to print this book, small in size. . . .” Birkot Maharam is accompanied by extensive annotations from an unidentified source. The book is completed with the text of several blessings. Birkot Maharam is one of several small-format books, measuring 15 cm., printed by the Riva di Trento press. Others include the Sefer ha-Minhagim of R. Abraham Klausner (1558) and Massa Gei Hizzayon of R. Benjamin ben Abraham Anav (1560).

Format 160: 18 leaves.

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472

Ma’arekhet ha-Elohut with commentary Minhat Yehudah

hdwhy tjnm çwryp twqla tkr[m Perez ben Isaac and Judah Hayyat 1558, Mantua—Meir ben Ephraim of Padua and Jacob ben Naphtali ha-Kohen of Gazolo at the Press of Venturin Ruffinello Kabbalistic work attributed to R. Perez ben Isaac, accompanied by a detailed commentary, Minhat Yehudah, by R. Judah Hayyat (c. 1450–c. 1510), an anonymous commentary, and glosses from the editor, R. Immanuel ben Jekuthiel Benevento. The introduction begins by noting that this Perez is one of the Ba’alei Tosafot, although this is not certain. (The Ferrara edition attributes Ma’arekhet ha-Elohut to R. Perez ben Isaac Gerondi of Barcelona.) Hayyat, one of the leading kabbalists of his time, was a student of R. Samuel ibn Shraga. Among the refugees of Spain and Portugal, Hayyat was stranded in Malaga, where neither he nor his fellow passengers were allowed to disembark because of plague. His wife died of starvation and he was close to death. Allowed to sail for North Africa, Hayyat was imprisoned there for allegedly disparaging Islam. Ransomed by Jews, to whom he gave 200 books in return, Hayyat went to Fez where a famine compelled him to work at a mill for a piece of bread hardly fit for a dog. He finally reached Italy where, at the urging of R. Joseph Jabez and others, Hayyat prepared his commentary on Ma’arekhet haElohut, Minhat Yehudah, today considered a classic kabbalistic work in its own right. The title page has the architectural frame typical of Mantua imprints. It notes that it has Hayyat’s commentary as well as glosses by the editor, Immanuel Benevento. It is dated, “he shall cry, yes, roar jyrxy (318 = 1558)” (Isaiah 42:13). The colophon is dated, Rosh Hodesh Adar II “yes, roar jyrxy” (March 1, 1558). Benevento’s introduction (2a–4a) precedes Hayyat’s, with the text beginning on 4a. The text is in the middle of the page in square letters, encompassed on both sides by the commentaries in rabbinic letters, Hayyat in the inner column, the anonymous commentary in the outer column. Ma’arekhet ha-Elohut is in fifteen chapters. Its importance lies in the detailed treatment it gives the Sefirot, with their names and different functions. The Divine powers of the Sefirot are here likened to the human body and the male and female elements and their unification (zivug) are discussed. Hayyat acceded to the requests that he write Minhat Yehudah because of his high estimate of Ma’arekhet ha-Elohut, which opened the gate to kabbalistic subjects not well addressed elsewhere. He is critical of the anonymous commentary available in Italy, the same one that the editor printed with Minhat Yehudah. Furthermore, the vicissitudes that Hayyat has survived are indicative of the protective powers of the Zohar, which is why he recounts them. Minhat Yehudah is also important in that it further introduces the Zohar to Italian Jewry, where it was not well known at the time. Hayyat, representative of a radical school of Kabbalah, speaks disparagingly of R. Abraham Abulafia, representative of the more moderate branch of Kabbalah prevalent in Italy at the time, and of R. Isaac ibn Latif, who attempts to reconcile Kabbalah and philosophy. Indeed, in two of his letters Hayyat recommends against studying the works of those who attempt such a reconciliation.

Format 40: 4, 28 leaves. Printed previously in Ferrara (1557).

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Sefer ha-Minhagim

μyghnm Abraham Klausner 1558, Riva di Trento—Jacob Marcaria Minhagim is the earliest printed book of Jewish customs. R. Abraham Klausner (d. 1407/8), the author, was a student of R. Moses of Znaim, and, from 1380, rabbi of Vienna, together with R. Meir ben Baruch ha-Levi (d. 1404). R. Aaron of Neustadt (Blumlein) was his brother-in-law. Minhagim records the customs of the Jews of France and Germany for the entire year, encompassing benedictions, prayers and ritual practice. Although based on a number of writers over a period of time, including the geonim, a primary source is the Siddur of Rashi, which details the customs of medieval French Jewry. R. Hayyim Paltiel (d. 1307), a student of R. Eliezer of Touques and, perhaps, the Maharam Rothenburg (Meir ben Baruch), and rabbi of Magdeburg, Germany, compiled the customs of German Jewry, composing a Sefer ha-Minhagim. This work was the basis of Klausner’s Minhagim. Klausner did not, however, simply rework Paltiel’s book, but rather added considerable explanatory marginalia of his own. The title page is simple, without any decoration. On the verso is a brief preface from Jacob Marcaria. Within the book the text is surrounded by glosses, which often exceed the text in length. Customs are given in a straightforward manner, beginning with Selihot (penitential prayers) recited from the conclusion of the Shabbat prior to Rosh Ha-Shanah, through the festivals and fast days to Tishah be-Av (9th of Av). Emphasis is placed on those customs dealing with prayer, Torah readings, and the synagogue. It is a basic work on prayers for Shabbat, festivals, including piyyutim (liturgical poems) included in mahzorim. Among the interesting features is that here, for the first time, the prayer, Av ha-Rahamim, for martyrs, is mandated. Minhagim concludes, on the last page, with a paragraph from the scribe relating that he had “vowed to fast on Mondays, Thursdays, and Mondays for a complete year. It happened, however, that Tishah be-Av, occurred that year on a Tuesday. R. [Yom Tov] Lipmann [Muelhausen] from Neustadt l”z and R. Mendel Klausner l”z permitted me to eat after minhah (afternoon prayers), but only one cooked item, from lentils, without any fat and without anything else.” The colophon notes that it was completed on 2 Kislev 319 (November 22, 1558). Minhagim is an important and influential work, and, because of it, Klausner is known as the father of Minhag Ashkenaz. The book’s inherent value was enhanced by the fact that Klausner’s students included such luminaries as R. Israel Isserlein (Terumat ha-Deshen, Venice, 1519, see above, pp. 136–37), Jacob Moellin (Sefer Maharil, Sabbioneta, 1556, see above, pp. 426–27), and Isaac Tyrnau (Minhagim, Venice, 1566), all of whom drew upon Minhagim for their books, and through them influenced R. Moses Isserles (Rema) in preparing his glosses on the Shulhan Arukh. Klausner also wrote responsa, noted in the responsa of Israel Bruna (c. 1400–1480).

Format 160: 43 [1] leaves.

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Mivhar Peninim

μynynph rjbm rps Solomon ben Judah ibn Gabirol 1558, Cremona, Vincenzo Conti Ethical work attributed to R. Solomon ben Judah ibn Gabirol (c. 1020–c. 1057). Mivhar Peninim (Choice of Pearls), in sixty-four chapters, is a collection of maxims, parables, and proverbs, many taken from Arabic sources. This is the third edition of Mivhar Peninim, it having been first printed in Soncino (1484) and then in Venice (1546) together with several other works with ethical content. The title page here is plain, devoid of ornamentation; the initial word, however, is set in a cartouch. The colophon dates the completion of the work to Monday, the 18th of the month of Adar Sheni, in the year 318 (March 18, 1558). The text is in square letters, the commentary in rabbinic letters. Written in Arabic, Mivhar Peninim was translation into Hebrew by Judah ibn Tibbon. The commentary, culled from rabbinic works, was edited by R. Solomon ben Perez Bonfoi Zarefati for the Soncino edition. Mivhar Peninim is an ethical work that aims, through the use of aphorisms and parables, to inculcate moral teachings and proper conduct. It, and other books of this genre, differ from formal ethical works in that they attempt to impart values in a light and entertaining manner. The book’s chapters, encompassing the full range of human behavior, are arranged by subject, for example, wisdom, love of truth, modesty, humility, love, friendship, keeping secrets, forgiveness, and haste. One chapter is an an ethical will from a father to his son. Following are some examples of the contents. A wise man was asked, “why are you wiser than your friends?” He responded, “Because I spent more on [the midnight] oil than they on wine.” “Who is more important, wise or wealthy men?” The response, “wise men.” “If so, why do we see the wise man at the door of the wealthy and not vice versa?” “Because the wise know the value of wealth but the wealthy do not know the value of wisdom.” There are three kinds of friends. Some are like food, without which you cannot exist; others are like medicine which you need at certain times; and some are like a disease that you never need.

The attribution of Mivhar Peninim to ibn Gabirol is not conclusive, for while extant in many manuscript copies, most do not mention him, nor do the first printed editions, including this one. Ibn Gabirol is referred to, however, as the author in several manuscripts of Shekel ha-Kodesh, a versified version of Mivhar Peninim prepared by R. Joseph Kimhi (c. 1105– c. 1170). Jedaiah ha-Penini Bedersi (c. 1270–1340), whose name ha-Penini means pearl, has also been suggested as the author, but ibn Gabirol is regarded today as the much more likely of the two. Mivhar Peninim is one of a group of fifteen titles printed earlier in Venice and reprinted in Cremona, and copied so closely that not only the text, but also the layout and appearance are like the earlier edition, excepting very minor modifications and the place and date of printing. The volume has a censor’s imprimatur but the text has not been altered. Mivhar Peninim has been translated into several languages, including Latin (Franeker, 1591) and English.

Format 40: 40 leaves. Printed previously in Venice (1546) and reprinted in Franeker (1591).

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Sefer Rav Mordekhai

ykdrm br rps Mordecai ben Hillel ha-Kohen 1558, Riva di Trento—Joseph Ottolenghi Halakhic compendium from R. Mordecai ben Hillel ha-Kohen (c. 1240–1298). Mordecai, a descendant of R. Eliezer ben Joel ha-Levi (Ravyah, Avi ha-Ezri ), and brother-in-law of R. Meir ha-Kohen (Haggahot Maimuniyyot), was among the leading students of R. Meir ben Baruch of Rothenburg (Maharam), from whom he acquired most of his Torah and whom he quotes frequently. Mordecai also studied under R. Isaac ben Moses of Vienna (Or Zaru’a) and Perez ben Elijah of Corbeil. Little is known of Mordecai’s personal life, except that he resided in Goslar, but after a dispute over his right to residence there resettled in Nuremberg. Mordecai, together with his wife Zelda and five children, died a martyr’s death in August, 1298 in the Rindfleisch massacres. Mordecai is today remembered for his major halakhic work, the Mordekhai, which bears his name. The title page is devoid of ornamentation. The brief text begins, “Sefer Rav Mordekhai. And Mordecai went out [from the presence of the king] in royal clothes” (Esther 8:15). It is dated Kislev, 319 (November/December, 1558). On the verso of the title page is a preface from Jacob Marcaria. The text, in a single column in square letters (2a–192a), concludes with tractate Hullin, followed by Hilkhot Katanot (192b), a page with ornamental letters that states only Simanei Mordekhai, and the index (2a–45b). Mordekhai is an encyclopedic code comprised of the laws derived from the Talmud together with the laws and customs applicable in the contemporary Ashkenaz community. Mordekhai, ordered by tractate, supposedly follows the organization of Sefer Rav Alfas (Isaac Alfasi, Rif ), but in practice that is not the case. It is neither a commentary nor gloss on Rav Alfas but an independent work referencing as many as three hundred fifty works, many otherwise unknown. Although Mordecai summarizes his predecessors, from the responsa of the geonim to his time, his most important sources are the Or Zaru’a, of which entire pages are quoted, and the responsa of the Maharam of Rothenburg. Mordekhai is not completely systematic, but the topics addressed are presented in considerable breadth with discussions concluding with the author’s decisions. In addition to textual variations between manuscripts, Mordekhai exists in two considerably different texts, known as the Austrian, reflecting central and southeastern European custom, and the Rhenish, reflecting French, English, and German practice. The latter is the normative version of the Mordekhai. Mordekhai was completed and edited by one of his sons, who apparently survived the massacre, and his pupils, who named the work. It is influential, much cited by later authorities. It follows the text in the first printed talmudic tractate, Berakhot (Soncino, 1483/84), and was joined to a number of other incunabula tractates, and issued with the Sefer Rav Alfas (Constantinople, 1505). It is today printed after the text in most editions of the Talmud. This is the first printing of the Mordekhai, here in its entirety, as a separate work. Mordekhai has been abridged and annotated. Mordecai’s other works include a rhymed work on shehitah u-bedika and verse on vocalization.

Format 20: 192, 45 leaves. Reprinted in Cracow (1598).

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c. 1558, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Joseph ben David ibn Lev, Salonika Courtesy of the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad Ohel Yosef Yitzhak

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She’elot u’Teshuvot

twbwçtw twlaç Joseph ben David ibn Lev c. 1558, Salonika—Joseph ben Isaac Jabez Part I of the responsa of R. Joseph ben David ibn Lev (Maharival, c. 1505–1580). A student of R. Joseph Taitazak, ibn Lev was born in Monastir (Bitolj, Macedonia) to a family of Ashkenaz descent. A great scholar, he is also remembered for his unrelenting defense of the indigent and defenseless, making him enemies among the wealthy. Appointed to the bet din of Monastir at an early age, a dispute forced ibn Lev to relocate to Salonika in 1534. There ibn Lev became involved in a rancorous controversy with R. Solomon ibn Hasson, and afterwards with the tyrannical Baruch of Salonika. Soon after, in 1545, his son David was murdered. Following this, in 1550, ibn Lev removed to Constantinople where he became an instructor in the yeshivah founded by Doña Gracia Nasi. Ibn Lev’s responsa were printed in four parts, from c. 1558 to 1598, in Salonika and in Constantinople (c. 1561, 1573, and 1598; below, pp. 526–27). The first part, which lacks a title page, begins, “This work is from the responses to inquiries submitted to me . . . and I required that they be printed in my lifetime, for I do not know the day of my death and they should remain after me a blessing to benefit the readers.” He offers a second reason for their printing, that is, to make known the many favors and acts of kindness done for him by Doña Gracia and Don Joseph Nasi. Ibn Lev determined that the responsa should not be printed chronologically, as submitted, but rather, to enable the reader to readily find the law he seeks, to collect them and divide them into general subject sections, each further subdivided into ten parts. This volume is in two parts, the first dealing primarily with laws deriving from Order Nashim, such as marriage, divorce, and Nazir; the second part addressing monetary issues. There is a preliminary page which recites: States the printer, son of my lord Isaac . . . I was zealous for the Lord when I saw that they had burned the Talmud. I said in my heart, ‘It is time for you, Lord, to act; for they have made void your Torah’ (Psalms 119:126). . . . [A]fter I have completed this book, which is ninety folios sheets or perhaps more, that is, thirty quires, I will begin printing the Talmud. . . .

The absence of a place and date of printing, together with the enigmatic, “son of my lord Isaac,” has led to confusion as to the place of printing and the printer. Solomon and Joseph ben Isaac Jabez, after printing in Salonika for about five years, left that city for Adrianople after an outbreak of plague. Joseph subsequently returned to Salonika while Solomon continued on to Constantinople, to be joined by Joseph in 1570. Those who believe this volume was printed in Constantinople suggest the printer was Solomon. It has been noted, however, that a responsum in the third volume concludes, “Many years ago I wrote a Rabbinical decision, and it was printed in my first book of responsa that I had printed for me in Salonika” (68). Furthermore, the fonts are reputedly those of Salonika (this is not obvious to me), where, only a few years later, Joseph began printing talmudic tractates; it appears then that Joseph printed these responsa in Salonika. The responsa are followed by an index, with an accompanying introduction, prepared by Solomon ben Isaac from the house of Levi. A number of responsa and novellae, most likely written by ibn Lev, are attributed to his son David, presumably so ascribed to perpetuate David’s memory. Format 20: 163 [11] leaves.

481

482

Toledot Yizhak

qjxy twdlwt Isaac ben Joseph Caro 1558, Mantua—Meir ben Ephraim of Padua and Jacob ben Naphtali ha-Kohen of Gazolo at the Press of Venturin Ruffinello Torah commentary emphasizing the literal meaning, but also including allegorical and kabbalistic interpretations. R. Isaac ben Joseph Caro (mid-fifteenth to after 1518) was born to a distinguished family in Toledo, where he headed a yeshiva. Prior to the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, Caro, together with his yeshiva, relocated to Portugal. Caro recounts in the introduction to Toledot Yizhak what befell him there six years later. In 1497, conversionary decrees were issued against the Jews by the king of Portugal. Caro lost all of his sons, but was able to escape to Constantinople, where he served as a rabbi. We can still hear his anguish when he writes, “And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! For then I would fly away, and be at rest” (Psalms 55:7). “Blessed be the Lord; for he has marvelously shown me his lovingkindness [in a besieged city]” (Ps. 31:22), “And he shall pass through the sea with affliction” (Zechariah 10:11), for “it is beyond the sea” (Deuteronomy 30:13). And I fled to Turkey for a succor. “My iniquities have gone over my head” (Ps. 38:5), all my male sons have gone to the grave, the old and the young, their visage as the sons of kings.

Caro continues, paraphrasing Rashi (Genesis 6:9), that a person’s primary offspring are good deeds, and nothing is better than Torah. He concludes, therefore, to publish his commentary, which is “sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb” (Psalms 19:11). A second reason is to cleave to the Divine presence, for Torah provides completeness in this world and in the world to come, as it says, “for our good always, that He might preserve us alive, as it is at this day” (Deuteronomy 6:24). This edition is the most handsome of the sixteenth-century examples of Toledot Yizhak. It is dated, “and he sat bçyw (318 = 1558) upon it in truthfulness” (Isaiah 16:5). Completion was on Rosh Hodesh Marheshvan f”yç (319 = Thursday, October 23, 1558). The title page erroneously states that Isaac Caro was the grandfather of R. Joseph Caro, an error often repeated. Isaac Caro raised his nephew, Joseph Caro, whose father had died at an early age. The latter often refers to his uncle with great affection and admiration, in terms that may have led to the misunderstanding. Toledot Yizhak is written in a concise but clear style. Five editions of this popular work were issued in the sixteenth century, two, in Mantua and Riva di Trento, in the same year. The first edition, printed in Constantinople by Solomon ben Mazzal Tov, is noteworthy, in that it was issued in segments, that is, the author distributed portions of the book to the buyers weekly. That printing was completed on Wednesday, the 18th of “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine (Elul)” (Song of Songs 6:3), in the year, “Blessed be you of the Lord (1518),” (I Samuel: 23:21 and Psalms 115:15). Isaac Caro’s intention was to resettle in Erez Israel, but whether he did so is not known. His responsa are unpublished, although several are to be found in Joseph Caro’s Avkat Rokhel (Salonika, 1791). He also wrote novellae on Ketubbot, and other works, which remain in manuscript.

Format 20: [1], 81 leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (1518), and reprinted in Riva di Trento (1558), Salonika (1571) and Cracow (1593).

483

484

Zohar

rhwzh rps Simeon bar Yohai (attributed to) 1558–60, Mantua—Meir ben Ephraim of Padua and Jacob ben Naphtali ha-Kohen of Gazolo Classic kabbalistic work of Jewish mysticism, attributed to the tanna R. Simeon bar Yohai (second century). Written in Aramaic and Hebrew, Sefer ha-Zohar al ha-Torah is a comprehensive system of kabbalistic theosophy, encompassing cosmology, the soul, and good and evil. It is an esoteric commentary on the Torah, with homilies, midrashic passages, parables, and numerous discursive passages. It is based on the concept that scriptures possess a concealed stratum, deciphered by Kabbalah, expressing the inner meaning of the Torah, with its “splendor, beauty, and greatness.” The title page has the architectural frame typical of Mantua imprints. The editors were R. Immanuel ben Gabriel Kuropoli and Abraham ben Meshullam Modena. The entire work is in three volumes: on Genesis; on Exodus; and the last, on Leviticus through Deuteronomy. The work is set thirty-two lines to a page, in a single column. The editor was R. Immanuel ben Jekuthiel of Benevento. Several volumes include verse in praise of the work. There are two types of rabbinic letters, with headings and initial words in two sizes of square letters. Eight paper stocks (several countermarked) were used. Benevento used ten manuscripts to prepare the text, selecting the two best; he subsequently acquired another manuscript from Safed with which he finalized the text. There was considerable Jewish opposition to the printing of the Zohar, the opponents including important kabbalists, who felt that its esoteric contents were not for the masses. Those in favor, among them R. Isaac Joshua Lattes of Pesaro, whose permission to print is included in the first volume, and Moses Basola of Pesaro, saw in its printing an opportunity to save the generation from the religious and ethical corruption threatening those not engaged in the study of Kabbalah. Furthermore, it provided an alternative to the study of the Talmud, now banned, and was a tool in the battle against philosophy. That there was a market for such a work is evidenced by the fact that before this edition was completed another publisher, Vincenzo Conti, published a rival edition in Cremona (1559–60, see below, pp. 502–03). It has been suggested that the rival editions were directed to different export markets, that of Mantua to the Levant, of Cremona to northern Europe. Permission to print also came from the Cardinal Archbishop of Mantua and Jacobus Geraldinus (an apostate), Commissarius by appointment of the Pope, who declared it free of matter offensive to the Church. Such approval would be short-lived, however, for the Zohar would soon be included in the index. The Zohar is traditionally attributed to R. Simeon bar Yohai, who wrote it during the thirteen years he hid in a cave, together with his son Eliezer, from the Romans. Among those challenging this accreditation are R. Jacob Emden (Yavez, 1697–1776) in Mitpahat Sefarim (1768), writing that the Zohar contains numerous modern interpolations. More recently, and more aggressively, many modern scholars contend that the Zohar is a later, pseudepigraphic work, the true author being the Spanish kabbalist, R. Moses ben Shem Tov de Leon (c. 1240–1305). Other scholars, however, offer refutations, arguing for the antiquity of the Zohar.

Format 80: 251, 269, 300 leaves. Reprinted in Cremona (1559–60).

485

486

Hizzekuni

ynwqzj Hezekiah ben Manoah 1559, Cremona—Vincenzo Conti Commentary on the Torah by R. Hezekiah ben Manoah of Beziers (13th century). Apart from the fact that Hezekiah is one of the Ba’alei Tosafot of France, almost nothing is known about him. It is implied from the versified introduction that his father, Manoah, had his right hand severed for refusing to convert at a time of persecution, and, in the righteousness of his father, Hezekiah found the strength in his right hand to write the Hizzekuni. The title is either an allusion to Hezekiah’s name, an appeal to his readers to encourage and “support (Hazzekuni )” him, or his intent, that is, dedication to God, in writing this commentary. Hizzekuni is among the first supercommentaries on Rashi, that being Hezekiah’s most important source. The reader is informed in the introduction that twenty earlier commentaries were utilized in preparing this work, but, except for Rashi, they are not identified. The reason for not identifying them being that students evaluate commentators, paying scant attention to those considered lesser scholars, concentrating on those more highly regarded, regardless of the fact that the insights of the former sages also have value. Hezekiah therefore intentionally does not name his commentaries, excepting Rashi. Among the commentaries that can be identified all, excepting R. Abraham ibn Ezra, from whom he borrows excerpts, are French, that being the source of both Hezekiah’s teachers and his students. In explaining the peshat (literal meaning) R. Samuel ben Meir (Rashbam) is used most often, almost one hundred times on Genesis alone, followed by R. Joseph ben Isaac Bekhor Shor, and, according to the style of the tosafot, Perush ha-Tosafot and Da’at Zekanim. Other commentaries cannot be identified because of the manner of Hezekiah’s usage, or they may have perished, no longer being known to us. Use is also made of the Targums and Midrashim, which are noted by name in the introduction. Hezekiah is concerned with the literal meaning of the text. In the commentary he does not simply quote but amplifies or extracts from his sources, never engaging in criticism of his predecessors’ opinions, nor entering into controversy over interpretations. Rather, Hezekiah restricts himself to providing a clear and lucid explanation of the text. Another feature of Hizzekuni is the inclusion of a number of French la’azim. This edition was edited by the apostate “Vittorio Eliano, grandson of the foremost grammarian, Elijah Bahur Ashkenazi Segal.” The colophon gives the date of completion as 18 Sivan, “Make haste hçwj (319 = Wednesday, June 3, 1559) to help me, [O Lord my salvation!]” (Psalms 38:23). This is followed, in Italian, by the license dated May 26, 1559, and signed by the Bishop of Cremona, stating that three revisers delegated by the General Inquisitor have revised the Hizzekuni.

Format 40: 197 [1] leaves.

487

1559, Kol Melekhet Higgayon, Muhammad ibn Rushd (Averroes), Riva de Trento Courtesy of the Dorot Jewish Division, New York Public Library

488

Kol Melekhet Higgayon

ˆwygh tkalm lk Muhammad ibn Rushd (Averroes) 1559, Riva de Trento—Antonio Broën Aristotelian work on logic abridged and translated into Arabic by Averroes (Muhammad ibn Rushd, 1126–1198) and translated into Hebrew by R. Jacob ben Machir ibn Tibbon (c. 1236–1307). Averroes is the influential Moslem scholar and philosopher, who, at the request of Caliph Ibn at-Tufayl, prepared translations, condensations, and commentaries of the Greek philosophers, primarily Aristotle. These commentaries are either long, medium, or short paraphrases (epitome). Averroes’ works took the place of Aristotle and he was read in the late Middle Ages rather than the originals. A contemporary of Maimonides, he is considered the second greatest influence, after Maimonides, on medieval Jewish philosophy. Jacob ben Machir, the translator, was a grandson of R. Samuel ben Judah ibn Tibbon (c. 1120–c. 1190). Born in Marseille, his Provencal name was Don Profiat Tibbon, he was known in Latin as Profateus Judeaus. A multi-talented person, Jacob was a physician, possibly a regent of the medical faculty at Montpellier; an accomplished astronomer, inventing a quadrant (Quadrans Judaicus), described by him in sixteen chapters in Hebrew and extant in Latin versions, quoted by Copernicus, Reinhold, and Clavius; and he prepared astronomical tables, widely used and referenced by Dante in the Divine Comedy. In the controversy over Maimonides, Jacob was a defender of that sage and of science. Jacob translated a number of important Arabic works on science, mathematics, and philosophy into Hebrew, among them Kol Melekhet Higgayon. The title page of Kol Melekhet Higgayon has no ornamentation. The text informs that it is an abridgement by ibn Rushd of Aristotle’s work on logic. The text is in a single column in square letters. The colophon reveals that work was completed on 18 Tevet, 320 (Monday, December 28, 1559). The title page is followed by brief prefatory remarks by R. Jacob Marcaria, which states, “‘to the melody ˆwygh of the lyre,’ (Psalms 92:4), for the logic ˆwygh that is Aristotle’s, I reveal to you.” Kol Melekhet Higgayon is a translation of Averroes’ Epitome, that is, paraphrase of the Organon, Aristotle’s treatises on logic. Other translations of Aristotelian works printed in Riva de Trento at this time are Iggeret ha-Mussar (80, 4f.), translated by R. Judah ben Solomon al-Harizi, and Kizzurei ibn Rushd (80, 47f.), translated by R. Moses ibn Tibbon. Kol Melekhet Higgayon has been reprinted once, in Leipzig in 1842, that edition having a Latin title page.

Format 80: 80 leaves.

489

490

Mehir Yayin

ˆyy ryjm Moses ben Israel Isserles (Rema) 1559, Cremona—Vincenzo Conti A philosophical, allegorical, and kabbalistic commentary on the Book of Esther. The author, R. Moses ben Israel Isserles (Rema, c. 1530–1572), a student of R. Shalom Shachna of Lublin (d. 1558), among the foremost halakhic authorities, is better known for his Haggahot or ha-Mappah, glosses on the Shulhan Arukh. It was the addition of the Mappah to the Shulhan Arukh that made that work acceptable to Ashkenazim and an authoritative halakhic source to this day. Born in Cracow, Rema became, in 1550, at a very early age, a member of the Cracow bet din. A precocious scholar, he was recognized as a leading decisor, receiving inquiries from throughout Europe. He established a yeshiva in Cracow, counting among his students such outstanding personalities as R. Mordecai Jaffe (Levush), Abraham ha-Levi Horowitz (father of Isaiah Horowitz, the author of Shenei Luhot ha-Berit), and Joshua Falk (Me’irat Einayim). Rema’s interests extended to Jewish philosophy and Kabbalah, reflected in several of his books. Among them is Mehir Yayin, Rema’s first published work. He observes that the story told in the Megillah alludes to the human condition and may be understood as an allegory of the life of man. In the introduction Rema informs us that he was forced to leave Cracow for Shidlow because of an outbreak of cholera. He writes that “I was among the exiles from our city in the year 1556 because of the plague [it should not come upon you], and we dwelt in a land that was not ours, in the city of Shidlow, a place without fig trees and vines . . . . we were unable to observe Purim with feasting and joy, to remove sorrow and mourning. I said, I will arise and rejoice in my undertaking, ‘also my wisdom remained with me’ (Ecclesiastes 2:9). ‘The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes’ (Psalms 19:9). I took under my tongue ‘honey and milk’ (Song of Songs 4:11)” and Rema set his goal to explain the Megillah. This is reflected in the title, taken from Isaiah 55:1 “Ho, every one who thirsts, come to the waters, and he who has no money; come, buy, and eat; come, buy wine (Mehir Yayin) and milk without money and without price.” These conditions prompted Rema to write Mehir Yayin. Unable to send to his father the traditional mishlo’ah manot (eatable gifts) for Purim, he wrote Mehir Yayin for his father in its place. The colophon ends with the words, “the work was completed ˆyy rjm Machr Yayin” (spelled defectively), for a numeric value of 318, indicating the date, 1558. Rema also wrote the philosophical Torat ha-Olah (Prague, 1570, see below, pp. 612–13); Torat ha-Hattat (Cracow, 1590, see below, pp. 782–83), on the laws of issur ve-hetter (dietary laws) according to Sha’arei Dura, with additions; Darkhei Moshe, annotations to the Tur and Beit Yosef (Fuerth, 1760); and responsa (Cracow, 1640), as well as glosses on several tractates, halakhic works, and on aggadah, some known only from references in his extant works. Rema’s aggadic work is also quoted by R. Elijah ben Moses Ashkenazi Loanz of Worms (1564–1636) in his Adderet Eliyahu ( Jerusalem, 1998). Loanz helped prepare the Rema’s Darkhei Moshe for publication and received as compensation from the Rema’s brother-in-law a copy of the Rema’s aggadic work.

Format 40: 22 leaves.

491

492

Mekor Hayyim

μyyj rwqm Samuel ibn Seneh Zarza 1559, Mantua—Meir ben Ephraim of Padua and Jacob ben Naphtali ha-Kohen of Gazolo Philosophical commentary on the Torah by R. Samuel ibn Seneh Zarza (Çarça, 14th cent.). A resident of Valencia, the name Zarza may derive from the Spanish town Zarza (thorn bush), seneh in Hebrew. Little is known of Zarza’s life, and the account, appended by Samuel Shalom to the first edition of Sefer ha-Yuhasin (Constantinople, 1566, see below, pp. 584–85), that Zarza was tried, convicted, and burned by a tribunal in Valencia for expressing a belief in the eternity of the earth (denying creatio ex nihilo), based on a charge brought by Isaac Campanton, is today discounted as apocryphal. The title page has the pillared frame typical of Mantua imprints. At the top is the phrase, “For with you is the fountain of life (mekor hayyim); in your light shall we see light” (Psalms 36:10). The text states that it is a commentary on the Torah from the complete sage R. Samuel Zarza, called in the holy language ibn Seneh, who weighed and examined, in order “To understand parable and epigram; the words of the wise, and their riddles” (Proverbs 1:6). It notes that the words of our sages in their discourses are, “like nails firmly fixed” (Ecclesiastes 12:11), naming Abraham ibn Ezra and Rambam (Maimonides), and that light will be shed on that which is cryptic in their work. In addition, the words of the scholars Samuel ibn Tibbon and Shem Tov ibn Falaquera and others are noted. On the verso is a page of verse by Zarza with an acrostic of his name, followed by his introduction. Zarza writes that he brings the midrashim of our sages and their intent, at other times just the literal meaning. In some instances he just quotes the words of Maimonides and Ibn Ezra, in others their intent, and he explains most of the literal meanings of the latter. In the epilogue Zarza explains that he named this book Mekor Hayyim because he reveals in it some of the knowledge of the pillars of the world, Maimonides and Ibn Ezra, and he explains reasons for the commandments. Whomever looks into the book will see that it contains much from the Moreh Nevukhim. This is followed by a letter from the poet and astronomer R. Isaac ibn Alhadib to Zarza mentioning his other works. In several places Zarza refers to the tribulations of the Jews during the long civil war between rival aspirants to the throne, Pedro (Peter the Cruel or the Just) and his halfbrother, Henry of Trastámara (later Henry II). In his discussion of Yom Kippur Zarza calls for repentance, “particularly in this generation. Because of our sins all Israel finds itself in distress, surrounded by lions, whose teeth are spears and arrows and whose tongue is a sharp sword.” In the introduction to his Mikhlal Yofi he states that during this time 10,000 Jews perished in Toledo alone. There are deluxe copies of Mekor Hayyim printed on blue paper. Zarza was highly regarded by his contemporaries. Both the poet Solomon Reubeni and Isaac ibn Alhadib composed verses in his honor. Zarza also wrote a philosophical commentary on aggadot and Midrashim, entitled Mikhlal Yofi, extant in manuscript, and, known only from references in Mekor Hayyim, Tohorat ha-Kodesh, Eze ha-Dat, Zeror ha-Mor, and Magen Avraham.

Format 20: 130 leaves.

493

494

Mishnayot

twynçm 1559–63, Sabbioneta/Mantua—Tobias Foa/Jacob ha-Kohen of Gazzuolo Mishnayot with the commentaries of R. Moses ben Maimon (Rambam) and Obadiah Bertinoro. Begun in Sabbioneta at the press of Tobias Foa, this Mishnayot was completed in Mantua by Jacob ha-Kohen of Gazzuolo at the press of Francesco Filipponi. Foa began to print Order Zera’im in the year “Let the arrogant be ashamed; for they dealt perversely with me without a cause; but I will meditate jyça (319 = 1559) on Your precepts” (Psalms 119:78). The verso of the title page has words of praise from R. David Provenzali. Order Mo’ed, dated Rosh Hodesh Iyyar (April 17/18) in the same year. Seder Mo’ed is the last work printed, and that not completed, by Foa in Sabbioneta, where, from 1551, he had printed about fifty books. The title page of Mo’ed, common to many Sabbioneta imprints, has the pillars with two mythological figures at the base. Both volumes have Foa’s device. The press was closed due to pressure from the Church, not because of the Mishnayot, but reputedly due to anti-Christian remarks in several other titles published here, beginning with Foa’s first book, the Abrabanel’s Merkevat ha-Mishnah, printed in 1551. Foa’s fonts, or the better part of them, went to Mantua where Mo’ed and the remaining orders of the Mishnayot were completed. Members of his staff, such as Jacob ha-Kohen of Gazzuolo and Joseph Shalit, also relocated to Mantua. Although the Orders were printed in sequence, Middot is out of order in Kodashim, completing that Order, and within Tohorot the tractates do not follow the standard arrangement, instead, organized as Mikva’ot (6b–17b); Niddah (17b–30b); Yadayim (30b–34a); Oholot (34b–58a); Nega’im (58a–77b); Parah (77b–92b); Tohorot (93a–107b); Makhshirin (107b–114a); Zavim (114b–121a); Tevul Yom (121a–129a); and Kelim (129b–176). The diagrams accompanying the Rambam and Bertinoro are missing from Zera’im. Kodashim, however is noteworthy for its diagrams, drawings, and measurements of the Temple, including a foldout plan of the Tabernacle. Copies of Tohorot exist that were printed on blue paper. The title page of Tohorot states that work was begun 5 Av, 322 (Tuesday, July 17, 1562) and, according to the colophon, was completed on Rosh Hodesh Elul, 323 (Friday, August 30, 1563). It further states that the work was begun in Sabbioneta, the printing of Mishnayot with commentaries, and was completed by Jacob ben Naphtali ha-Kohen of Gazzuolo, who then stated verses, beginning, “‘Do you see a man who is hasty’ (Proverbs 29:20) in his work, he shall not fear devastation.” This is the last book set by Jacob ha-Kohen, who retired after it was completed.

Format 40: 97 [4]; 104; 82; 116; 122 [1]; 176 leaves.

495

1559, Shevilei Emunah, Meir ben Isaac Aldabi, Riva di Trento Courtesy of the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad Ohel Yosef Yitzhak

496

Shevilei Emunah

hnwma ylybç rps Meir ben Isaac Aldabi 1559, Riva di Trento—Joseph Ottolenghi and Cardinal Cristoforo Madruzzo Philosophical exposition of the principles of Judaism. R. Meir ben Isaac Aldabi (ibn Aldabi Sephardi, c. 1310–after 1360), was a grandson, on his mother’s side, of R. Asher ben Jehiel (Rosh), whom he frequently references. Aldabi was well educated in the scientific, philosophical, and theological ideas of the time, in addition to having received a thorough rabbinic education, supplemented by a deep interest in kabbalistic studies. It is believed that Aldabi left Toledo in 1348 for Jerusalem, where he wrote Shevilei Emunah (Paths of Faith), completing it in 1360. Shevilei Emunah, on the principles of faith, is an ethical work designed to strengthen belief, and defend against the skepticism of philosophy, in an age when “people are lost in darkness.” The book is divided into ten primary netivot (paths, chapters), namely: 1) faith in the Creator, His unity and incorporeality, and a discussion of His names, with kabbalistic examples; 2) the creation of the world, the spheres, climates, and the immutability of God; 3) the forming of man and his partner (Eve), and procreation; 4) human embryology, anatomy and pathology; 5) conduct leading to longevity; 6) the nature of the soul; 7) elevation of the soul through the observance of the Torah and its commandments; 8) belief in the Oral Law and its unbroken transmission from Moses; 9) reward and punishment; and 10) the redemption of Israel and resurrection. The book begins with a preface by Jacob Marcaria, followed by Aldabi’s introduction. Aldabi writes that his work is not original, but rather collected and translated from other works, presented in a popular form. At the conclusion of the introduction, Aldabi writes, “I wrote this explanatory work, as its name reveals, for Meir h”[ is its numerical (gematria) value.” This has proven problematic, for there is no obvious correlation between the title and the author’s name. Furthermore, the meaning of the familiar Hebrew abbreviation, h”[, is not apparent in this context. It has been suggested that Aldabi’s name, as given, is incomplete, a printer’s error. However, Meir ibn Aldabi, ybdla ˆba ryam, has a value of 351. A less common usage of h”[, “with the inclusion,” with gematriot, instructs the reader to add one, for the total phrase, to its numerical value. Here, that results in a total of 352, the value of Shevilei ylybç. The introduction concludes with an acrostic poem that spells out Aldabi’s name. His disclaimers notwithstanding, Aldabi has been accused of plagiarism. Shevilei Emunah is built upon older works, primarily the Sha’ar ha-Shamayim of Gershon ben Solomon of Arles (late 13th century), but also from Joseph ibn Zaddik of Cordova (d. 1149) and Hillel ben Samuel of Verona (c. 1220–c. 1295). Netiv three is taken from the Iggeret ha-Kodesh of Nahmanides (Ramban) as is much of the end, with material from Solomon ben Abraham Adret (Rashba). In Aldabi’s defense it has been noted that he clearly wrote that his work was not original, that not crediting sources was a common practice in the Middle Ages, and that the accusations reflect a modern sensibility. All of this notwithstanding, Shevilei Emunah proved to be a popular work.

Format 40: 130 leaves.

497

1559-61, Teshuvot She’elot, Elijah ben Abraham Mizrahi, Constantinople Courtesy of the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad Ohel Yosef Yitzhak

498

Teshuvot She’elot

twlaç twbwçt Elijah ben Abraham Mizrahi 1559–61, Constantinople—Solomon ben Isaac Jabez One hundred responsa from R. Elijah ben Abraham Mizrahi (c. 1450–1526, see above, pp. 188–89). The title page states that it is the Teshuvot She’elot from the gaon, the master, R. Elia Mizrahi and the rabbis of Sepharad, Zarephat and Ashkenaz found at the time of the rav and some of the halakhot discussed in his yeshivah. Printed with great care by the young Solomon ben Menahem Cabolli at the press of Solomon ben Isaac ha-Darshan. . . .

The beginning of the work is dated to Wednesday, 5 Tishrei, in the year, “when I restore ybwçb (320 = September 16, 1559) your captivity before your eyes, says the Lord” (Zephaniah 3:20). Work was completed, according to the colophon, on Friday, 15 Sivan, in the year, “Sing aloud wnynrh (321 = June 9, 1561)” (Deuteronomy 32:43, Psalms 81:2). On the verso of the title page is the introduction of Cabolli, the text, and at the end, the index. The text is in two columns in rabbinic type. There are a number of errors in the foliation. Mizrahi’s responsa encompass a wide variety of subjects. Among them are many dealing with various aspects of marital relations, some on vows, bans and a myriad of other subjects. In two responsa Mizrahi indicates that he considers his most important work his supercommentary on Rashi. There are a number of considerable interest on social conditions and current events. In one responsum he describes his daily agenda, while in others Mizrahi, a Byzantine (Romanite) Jew, addresses the influx of Sephardic refugees and relations with Karaites. In the former instance Mizrahi writes that he devoted so much time to the needs of the refugees that he neglected his other duties. Mizrahi writes denying a rumor that his son Gershon has converted to Islam. He is particularly hurt when Gershon, forced to flee to the island of Naxos, is again the subject of that libel from the refugees whom Mizrahi has so staunchly supported. Concerning the Karaites, Mizrahi informs that on an occasion when he was not in the city an attempt was made to place a ban on anyone who instructed the Karaites. He opposes the ban and permits instructing Karaites, noting that the sciences may be taught to Christians and Moslems as well as idolaters, and quotes Maimonides that it is permitted to circumcise Karaite children on Shabbat. Karaites may be instructed, even on the Sabbath, with the hope that they will come to repentance. The Adrianople edition (80 4f., 1556) of Mizrahi’s responsa was begun by Solomon and Joseph Jabez, who had taken refuge there to escape the plague in Salonika. Work on the responsa was not completed, only one responsum (no. 16 in this edition, with minor variations) of four leaves being printed. When the plague abated, Solomon continued on to Constantinople while Joseph returned to Salonika. A second volume with thirty-eight responsa from Mizrahi and another one hundred two from R. Elijah ben Hayyim (Maharanah, c. 1530–c. 1610) was printed as Mayim Amukim (Venice, 1647, 20 [2], 160, [2]).

Format 20: 159 leaves. Printed previously in Adrianople (1556).

499

1559,Menahem Ziyyoni, ben Menahem ben Meir Ziyyoni, Cremona 1559, Ziyyoni, Meir Ziyyoni, Cremona ofofthe of the Jewish Theological Seminary Courtesy ofCourtesy the Library theLibrary Jewish Theological Seminary

500

Ziyyoni

ynwyx rps Menahem ben Meir Ziyyoni 1559, Cremona—Vincenzo Conti A kabbalistic commentary on the Torah. R. Menahem ben Meir Ziyyoni (late 14th–early 15th century) reputedly served as rabbi in Cologne, Germany, his name appearing as one of the signatories on a document dated 1382. The Ziyyoni is based on the Zohar, Sefer ha-Bahir, the commentary of Nachmanides (Ramban), and the Keter Shem Tov of R. Abraham of Cologne, as well as including Ziyyoni’s own novellae. Ziyyoni is representative of the Hasidei Ashkenaz, with numerous references to the writings of R. Eliezer ben Judah of Worm’s Sodei Razayya. It is unusual for a work of this time and place in that it also relies heavily on the Sephardic kabbalistic tradition. An interesting first in the book is the mention of Norway, not previously noted in a Hebrew work. The civil authorities had permitted Conti to operate a Hebrew press, and even initially resisted the Dominicans’ efforts to curtail its operations. Their efforts were futile, however, and, in 1559, Spanish soldiers, led by the apostate Dominican, Sixtus of Siena, made a house-to-house search of Jewish homes looking for prohibited books. They broke into the Conti press; among the works seized were 1,000 copies of the Ziyyoni. This was done despite the fact that the book was “edited with great care by Vittorio Eliano, grandson of the great grammarian Elijah Bahur Ashkenazi l”xz,” an apostate and member of a Dominican commission to review Hebrew books, and that it was completed with the imprimatur of the Dominican Inquisitor, Alberius, Vicar of Cremona. With the accession of Cardinal Giovanni Angelo de Medici of Milan as Pope Pius IV— Paul IV died in August, 1559—the reprinting of the Ziyyoni was permitted, a year after it had been burned. In contrast to Lehem Yehuda, a small number of copies of the first printing of Ziyyoni survived the fire. This edition of Ziyyoni is set in in rabbinic (Rashi) letters, unlike the reprint, which is in square letters. The change in fonts is attributable to the destruction of some of Conti’s type in 1559 and his subsequent transfer of part of his remaining typographical equipment elsewhere. This volume includes a table of verses and sayings discussed in the text, not in the reprint. Text omitted in both editions, apparently not mandated by the censor, may have been due to the editor exercising caution. Indeed, in some instances the second edition is the more complete of the two. Ziyyoni also wrote a kabbalistic work on the powers of evil and demonology, entitled Zefunei Ziyyoni, which is partly preserved in manuscript.

Format 40: 116 leaves. Reprinted in Cremona (1560).

501

502

Zohar

rhwzh rps Simeon bar Yohai (attributed to) 1559–60, Cremona—Vincenzo Conti Classic kabbalistic work of Jewish mysticism, attributed to the tanna R. Simeon bar Yohai. The is the second edition of the Zohar (Book of Splendor), the first printing being that of Meir ben Ephraim of Padua and Jacob ben Naphtali ha-Kohen of Gazolo in Mantua (1558–60, see above, pp. 484–85), at which time Vincenzo Conti brought out this rival edition. The title page has a decorative architectural frame with figurines in the bottom squares and cherubim at the top along the sides. Above the arch is the vignette of Akedat Yizhak, surmounted by an eagle, subsequently used in Venice, Padua and Cracow. Initial words of biblical books are set in a border comprised of sections used on the title pages of other, smaller books printed by Conti. The title page notes several enhancements to this edition, such as the inclusion of Midrash Ruth, which were not printed. It is dated, “‘For the Lord will not forsake çfy (319 = 1559) his people [for his great name’s sake]’ (I Samuel 12:22), and it was completed in the year ˚çh (5320 = 1560).” The colophon dates the completion to Friday, Rosh Hodesh Kislev, 5319 (November 21, 1558), certainly an error. The colophon further informs that the correctors were Hayyim ben Samuel ibn Gattino and “Vittorio Eliano, grandson of the foremost grammarian, Elijah Bahur Ashkenazi Segal,” this last an apostate. The title page is followed by the introduction, in which this edition is praised and contrasted to the Mantua edition, which is disparaged. Among the differences, in fact, between the two are that this edition is a folio, printed in a single volume, with the text in two columns in square letters, in contrast to the Mantua edition, which is a three-volume quarto, with the text in a single column in rabbinic letters. Although this is the more more attractive of the two, it is the Mantua edition that is the more highly regarded. Additional features of this edition are that each biblical book has its own double pagination, that is, folios are numbered twice, once by folio and once by column. Six manuscripts were used in preparing the text, different from those used in Mantua, resulting in variances in their arrangements of portions of the text, such as the inclusion here of Sifra de-Zeniuta in Bereshit, normally printed after Terumah. Conditions of Hebrew printing, apart from Eliano’s participation at the press, are much evident. There is an imprimatur from the Inquisition on the title page, the sole Cremona imprint to place it there, as well as a longer permission at the end of the book. The introduction contains an allusion to the fact that type was set on Shabbat; within the text the letters z”[[ (idol worshipers) are added to the words ˆymm[ (peoples) and twmwa (nations). Although begun later than the Mantua edition, this printing, done in haste, was completed earlier. Nevertheless, it was not immediately released for sale, for when more than 10,000 Hebrew books were burned in Cremona, with the complicity of Eliano, the entire edition was seized. It was just barely saved, in contrast to other works, by the apostate Dominican, Sixtus of Siena. It is known as the Zohar Gadol (large Zohar), in contrast to the smaller Mantua edition (Zohar Katan), and is also referred to, because of Eliano’s involvement, as the “Christian edition.” This notwithstanding, the Cremona edition was the preferred of the two editions by eastern European kabbalists. Format 20: 132, 122, 146 leaves. Printed in Mantua (1558–60).

503

THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY HEBREW BOOK

BRILL’S SERIES IN JEWISH STUDIES GENERAL EDITOR

DAVID S. KATZ (Tel Aviv) ADVISORY EDITORS STUART COHEN (Bar-Ilan) ANTHONY T. GRAFTON (Princeton) YOSEF KAPLAN (Jerusalem) FERGUS MILLAR (Oxford)

VOL. 33/2

THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY HEBREW BOOK An Abridged Thesaurus VOLUME TWO BY

MARVIN J. HELLER

BRILL LEIDEN • BOSTON 2004

This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Heller, Marvin J. The sixteenth century Hebrew book : an abridged thesaurus / by Marvin J. Heller. p. cm. — (Brill’s series in Jewish studies ; v. 33) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 90-04-12976-6 1. Hebrew imprints—Publishing—History—16th century. 2. Printing, Hebrew—History—16th century. 3. Judaism—Bibliography. 4. Jewish authors—Biography. I. Title. II. Series. Z228.H4H45 2003 070.5'09'031—dc21 2003050255

ISSN 0926-2261 ISBN 33/1 9004 13308 9 ISBN 33/2 9004 13309 7 ISBN set 9004 12976 6 © Copyright 2004 by Koninklijke Brill nv, Leiden, The Netherlands All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Brill provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910 Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. printed in the netherlands

Contents Texts ..............................................................................................................................

504

Listings Listing of Titles—Chronological .............................................................................. Places of Publication ............................................................................................ English .................................................................................................................. Hebrew .................................................................................................................. Listing of Authors .................................................................................................... Sources ...................................................................................................................... Bibliography .................................................................................................................. Index ..............................................................................................................................

913 923 927 937 945 953 987 999

v

1560, Adam Sikhli, Simeon ben Samuel, Thiengen Courtesy of Kestenbaum & Company

504

Adam Sikhli

ylkç μda Simeon ben Samuel 1560, Thiengen—Eliezer and Joseph ben Naphtali Hertz Treves Kabbalistic and philosophic treatise. The author, R. Simeon ben Samuel, of French or German birth, lived in the fourteenth century. The text of the title page is set within a woodcut architectural frame. The two upper corners have shields, the right shield with a key, the left a double-headed eagle. Simeon added the subtitle, Hadrat Kodesh, because his name, given as wdsy l”z lawmç ˆb ˆw[mç (1012) plus the number of letters in the title (7) equals the phrase Hadrat Kodesh çdwq trdh (= 1019). The intent of the book, as stated on the title page, is to save souls from destruction. Adam Sikhli, subtitled Hadrat Kodesh, is on the Decalogue, thirteen attributes of God (shelosh esrei middot), thirteen articles of faith, and resurrection, with a commentary by the author. The book, written about 1400, is completed with a poetic kabbalistic entreaty, Or Kadmon, which exhorts God to “[further] rescue us from the cruel decrees [following] the four miracles [performed] for us this year [1400].” The miracles are enumerated as Salvation from a decree of death in the Jubilee year Rescue from thousands, all dressed in white Deliverance from the murderous brigades of Geislsler The abdication of the “Shameful King [Wentzel],” who persecuted us for many years.

Adam Sikhli was printed by R. Eliezer and Joseph ben Naphtali Hertz Treves, scions of the Treves family, renowned for producing a continuous line of scholars from the thirteenth century. Their father, R. Naphtali Hertz ben Eliezer (Drifzan), cantor in Frankfort on the Main, kabbalist and scholar, was the author of a commentary on the prayer book, entitled Dikduk Tefillah, printed with the prayer book, Malah ha-Arez De’ah (Thiengen, 1560), and a supercommentary on the commentary of Bahya ben Asher, Naftulei Elohim (Heddernheim, 1546, see above, pp. 314–15). Eliezer ben Naphtali, rabbi in Frankfort for twenty-two years, an adherent of the pseudo-Messiah Asher Lemlein (Lammlin), was a collector of manuscripts and transcribed Solomon Molcho’s manuscripts. Eliezer, together with his brother Joseph, established a Hebrew press in the small town of Thiengen in 1559 to print kabbalistic treatises, but primarily their father’s commentary on Malah ha-Arez De’ah. The printers’ names do not appear on Adam Sikhli or on several of the other books printed in Thiengen. In the absence of another press in this small community, however, it may be assumed that they were responsible for those works as well. David Gans, in Zemah David, notes that Eliezer died in Frankfort in 1563. The press was active for only one year, issuing six books in 1560. Printing in Thiengen had been permitted by the Count of Sulz. However, complaints were brought by the burghers, afraid of damages because of the press, to the Bishop of Constance. He initially, in a vague response, permitted the press to continue to operate. However, when the matter was brought before a meeting of the leaders of the Swiss Confederation in June, 1560, to which Thiengen was subject, they demanded its closure, fearing that the Talmud was to be printed there.

Format 40: 24 leaves. Reprinted in Lublin (1599).

505

506

Dikdukei Rashi

yçr yqwdqd rps 1560, Riva di Trento—Jacob Marcaria Explanation of the grammatical portions of Rashi’s Torah commentary. The title page states, “Sefer Dikdukei Rashi, why ‘teach knowledge’” ( yoreh de’ah, Isaiah 28:9), and that this work is intended to elucidate the difficult places in Rashi’s commentary. The title page is dated 320 (1560). The colophon dates the completion of the work to erev Rosh Ha-Shanah 321, that is, 29 Elul 320 (Friday, September 30, 1560). On the verso of the title page are prefatory remarks from R. Jacob Marcaria. He writes that as it was R. Joseph Ottolenghi’s intent to print a Kizzur Mizrahi, to understand and to teach the intricacies of Rashi’s commentary, “given from one shepherd” (Hagigah 3b, quoting Ecclesiastes 12:11) as those received on Mount Sinai, for his words are perfect, as “nails well planted” (ibid.). It is our intent to fulfill his words with this work, called in Israel Dikdukei Rashi. . . .

The text is in a single column in rabbinic letters, excepting headers and initial words. The text is an explication of the grammatical portions of Rashi’s Torah commentary. Because of Marcaria’s prefatory remarks, Dikdukei Rashi has been mistakenly recorded in some works as a Kizzur Mizrahi, which it certainly is not. That work was not printed in Riva di Trento separately but rather immediately afterwards with the Pentetauch with haftarot published in 1561. It has been suggested that Ottolenghi, while preparing Kizzur Mizrahi for printing and apparently still associated with the Riva press, brought out this work, addressing the same purpose, clarifying difficult passages in Rashi. There has been some speculation as to the author of this anonymous work. Benjacob ascribes Dikdukei Rashi to an early sage, because of the sources quoted in the work, such as R. Judah ben David Hayyuj (c. 945–c. 1000), Jonah ibn Janah (first half of 11th century), and Menahem ibn Saruq (tenth century). There are others who suggest that Marcaria, certainly a scholar of accomplishment, was the author, yet others attributing it to Ottolenghi, a Rosh Yeshivah. R. Elijah Ashkenazi Levita (Bahur) may well have been the author, for, as Slatkine writes, In the library of the [Talmud Torah] in Livorno is a [copy of Dikdukei Rashi] printed in Riva di Trento in 1560. The first page of the book has handwritten annotations as follows. The great grammarian, Elijah Ashkenazi, see the end of ma’amar 3, ikkur 11 of his work ha-Bahur, where he writes, I already plan (know yt[dy) to write another work in which I will explain the grammar in Rashi’s Torah commentary. On the basis of this note Bernheimer, in his catalogue of the manuscripts in the above library, n. 85, suggests that perhaps this work should be attributed to R. Elijah Bahur. . . . Others attribute it to R. Jacob Marcaria.

This the first printing of Dikdukei Rashi. A facsimile edition with introduction was published in 1988.

Format 40: 48 leaves.

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508

Sefer Ebronot

twnrb[ rps 1560, Riva di Trento—Jacob Marcaria Work on the intercalation of the Hebrew calendar. No author’s name appears with the book. The title page, without ornamentation, states that it is Sefer Ebronot, to calculate the periods and appearance of the new moon: for the “lights in the firmament,” (Genesis 1:14) with great brevity. In order that they will teach their children, “and his eyes will be brightened” (I Samuel 14:27) “to know what Israel ought to do” (I Chronicles 12:32). And it will be for a sign for the days and years. And also the festivals of the gentiles and the days the Christians call wrfçyçbw wdnylq.

The title page is dated 321. The colophon dates the completion of the work to Rosh Hodesh Heshvan 321 (Monday, October 31, 1560). On the verso of the title page are prefatory remarks from Marcaria, who begins, “for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations” (Deuteronomy 4:6). Which is the wisdom and understanding that is before all the peoples? Say this, the calculation of the periods and appearance of the new moon. All who know how to calculate etc. and do not do so violate a negative precept. Therefore we have decided to print this book which is known in Israel as Sefer Ebronot. . . .

Ebronot has charts and calculations related to the phases and intercalation of the calendar. Included are Iggul de-R. Nahshon (8b–14a), Lu’ah ha-Zahav (19b–20a) attributed to Rav Saadiah Gaon, Tekufot of Rabbi Isaac ben R. Samuel (20b–21a), and verses of R. Abraham ibn Ezra (22b), and Sefer Re’amim (26b–27a). An example from the last work, which relates the effects of thunder by month, is, “Av, if it thunders a great man will die; if an earthquake there will be famine in several lands.” Although the book does not name the author, it is most often attributed to R. Eliezer ben Jacob Beilen (Belin, Bellin) Ashkenazi. This attribution seems to be in error, however, for Beilin apparently lived in the late 16th-early 17th centuries and emended Ebronot, his enhanced edition being first printed in Lublin, in 1614. It has also been suggested that the printer, R. Jacob Marcaria, may be the author, for, as Bloch reports, “the Ibronot . . . and some fine explanatory notes on the text of the Passover Haggadah are credited to his pen.” However, given the existence of an edition printed more than thirty years earlier (not examined and assumed to be alike), Marcaria, too, would seem unlikely as the author.

Format 40: 27 leaves. Printed previously in Basle (1527).

509

510

Haggadah

jsp lç hdgh 1560, Mantua—Messer Venturin Ruffinelli Profusely illustrated Haggadah for Pesah. Messer Venturin Ruffinelli, a non-Jew, was the printer. However, the individual responsible for this Haggadah was Isaac ben Samuel Basson, the shamash (sexton) in the synagogue of Isaac Porto Kohen in Mantua. The Haggadah is modeled after the 1526 Prague Haggadah. Identical type, except for a small number of pages, is employed, the layout is alike, page-for-page, line-for-line, and point-for-point, excepting that the inverted letters used to complete lines in the Prague edition are here omitted. The preliminary pages (3), the page containing grace after meals, and the last page are different. Also, the illustrations are new and the borders in the Prague Haggadah have been replaced with available woodcuts, making this Haggadah a product of the Italian renaissance. The large type employed in the Prague Haggadah was not readily available in Italy, its usage not being popular there. Therefore, the printer traced the pages from that Haggadah onto woodblocks, and with some modifications, prepared them for engraving. The result is that this Haggadah is the first, and perhaps the only Hebrew woodblock book. The pages have different borders, previously used and then discarded by other Italian printers. These Italianate borders, made up of cherubs playing musical instruments, possibly from a music book, contrast with the angular letters of the Ashkenaz type copied from the Prague Haggadah. New decorative material, more in accord with Italian sensibilities, replaces the illustrations in the Prague Haggadah. For example, the first page has a panel depicting the stages in baking mazzah. The type in this and the following two pages is not the gothic Hebrew employed in the rest of the Haggadah, but rather the semi-cursive Sephardic font typical of Hebrew books printed in Italy. In the depictions of the four sons, the wise son, in motif descended from manuscript haggadot, appears bearded and with a Jewish hat. He is, in fact, with those modifications, a clear copy of Michelangelo’s Jeremiah in a fresco in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. The wicked son is now a mid-century Italian condottiere rather than a German lanzknecht. The simple son is an Italian buffoon. Other scenes are also Italianized, such as, by the verse “Your fathers dwelt of old time beyond the river” ( Joshua 24:2), Abraham is now depicted sitting in a gondola with an oarsman in the prow, in place of Abraham in a rowboat in the Prague Haggadah. The page is especially attractive. While the Gothic Ashkenaz type has been retained, the panels are new, and the depiction of the prophet Elijah blowing a shofar and the Messiah riding on a donkey occupies almost half a page. The title page, and it is the first illustrated Haggadah with a title page, has the twisted columns used with other Mantua imprints. The Haggadah is unpaginated. It was completed, according to the colophon, on Tuesday, 24 Tishrei, in the year, “[And he says, It is a light thing that you should be my servant] to raise up the tribes yfbç (321 = October 24, 1560) of Jacob, [and to restore the preserved of Israel]” (Isaiah 49:6).

Format 20: 38 leaves. Reprinted in Mantua (1568) with the commentary Nimmukei Yosef.

511

512

Massa Gei Hizzayon

ˆwyzj ayg açm rps Benjamin ben Abraham Anav 1560, Riva di Trento—Jacob Marcaria Satire lampooning the arrogance and pride of the wealthy by R. Benjamin ben Abraham Anav (c. 1215–c. 1295). Benjamin, among the sages of Rome, was a scion of the noted Anav family; Zedekiah ha-Rofei (Shibbolei ha-Leket, see above, pp. 320–21) and Moses, a poet, were his brothers. Benjamin was a student of R. Meir ben Moses of Rome (a relative) and R. Isaac of Camerino. A person of many accomplishments, he was a talmudist, halakhist, poet, and educated in astronomy, mathematics, and philology, and fluent in Arabic, Greek, Latin, and Italian. The title of this small book (15 cm.), Massa Gei Hizzayon (The burden of the Valley of Vision), is from Isaiah 22:1. The text of the title page begins, “To the chief Musician, a Shiggayon. ‘Those who trust in their [great] wealth’ (ref. Psalms 49:7) and gold is their hope.” On the verso is Jacob Marcaria’s preface, and, from 2a, the text, written in rhymed prose. The book begins with lines of verse and a brief prologue, in which Benjamin bemoans contemporary conditions, for “they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity” ( Jeremiah 9:4). Love of money predominates, pleasure is primary; the protagonists being accused of idol worship, that is, gold, quoting the saying, “Money purifies the bastard.” Wisdom and good character, in contrast, are held in low esteem and scorned. In the text, Benjamin intersperses puns, epigrams, and biblical and talmudic phrases, often in a manner inconsistent with normal interpretation. Early in the book (6b) the narrator falls into a deep sleep “And the spirit lifted me up” (Ezekiel 3:14, 11:24) and brought him to the Valley of Vision, where he sees visions (comp. Daniel 2:31–36). A man in the likeness of Nebuchadnezzar stands before him, with a head of gold, breast and arms of silver, sides of copper, legs of iron, and feet partly of iron, partly of clay. Repeating the language of Daniel (2:34), as he watched “a stone hewn without hands struck the statue . . .” and crumbled it, the fragments being scattered by the winds. It is explained that this is a similitude for the stratification of human society, from the wealthiest through the poorest, all made equal by death (the stone). Benjamin points out the correct path to be followed, three vices to be avoided (envy, lust, and pride) and three virtues to be followed (frugality, good will, and humility). This is illustrated by a genealogical parable, in which Reason weds Humility, having as offspring Modesty, Morality, Patience, Kindness, Trust, Truth, and Moderation. In contrast, the marriage of Folly and Pride begets Brazenness, Flattery, Impulsiveness, Obsession with wealth, Anger, and Frivolity. These are the source of mankind’s positive and negative qualities. Among Benjamin’s works are his first poetic piece, El Mi Anusa le-Ezra (to whom shall I flee for help), a kinah in response to the apostate Nicholas Donin’s accusations against the Talmud (1239) and another, Ohilah Kirot Libi, written after the Talmud was burned in 1242; glosses on Rashi; Perush Alfabetin, an alphabetic commentary on the Aramaic parts of the Shavuot liturgy; Seder ha-Ibbur, on the intercalation of the calender; Sha’arei Ez Hayyim (Prague, 1598), a versified ethical work; an abridgement of Eliezer of Metz’s Sefer Yere’im; and Sefer Yedidut, a halakhic work no longer extant.

Format 80: 24 leaves.

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Milhamot HaShem

μçh twmjlm Levi ben Gershom (Ralbag) 1560, Riva di Trento—Jacob Marcaria Philosophical work by the biblical exegete, talmudist, and philosopher R. Levi ben Gershom (Ralbag, Gersonides, 1288–1344). Milhamot HaShem (Wars of the Lord), Ralbag’s most important work, and one of the leading Jewish philosophical works of the Middle Ages, was written from about 1317 to 1329. Philosophically, Ralbag is a scholastic and an Aristotelian. Milhamot HaShem was not written as a comprehensive metaphysical work, but rather as an attempt to reconcile the Torah and Aristotle, addressing theological questions Ralbag feels have not previously been adequately treated or solved, particularly by Maimonides in the Moreh Nevukhim. Within these topics, however, Milhamot HaShem offers a detailed if not complete philosophical system, the summation of Ralbag’s religious philosophy. The book is divided into six parts, each on one of the questions that concern Ralbag, which are further subdivided into parts and chapters. Enumerated in the introduction, they are the perfection and immortality of the soul, whether a person who has not achieved perfection can enter the afterlife; knowledge of the future through dreams, divination, or prophecy; Divine omniscience; Divine providence; the movement of the spheres, their intellects, and relationship to God; whether the world is eternal or was created, miracles, and true prophecy. In addition to Aristotle and Maimonides, Ralbag frequently references other philosophers, such as Averroes, Alexander of Aphrodisias, Themistius, Al-Farabi, and Avicenna. Where Aristotelian philosophy is in conflict with the Bible, the Bible is often interpreted in such a manner as to conform to that philosophy. Nevertheless, some Aristotelian concepts are rejected, particularly those concerning the proof of God, which Ralbag finds in the orderly process of the world, and the eternity of the world, Ralbag arguing for creation ex nihilo. The title page, with an ornate border and the coat of arms of Cardinal Madruzzo, is followed by a brief introduction from Jacob Marcaria. There are two colophons: the first that of Ralbag, who informs that he completed the book on 7 Shevat, 89 ( January 16, 1329); the second of the printer, dated 321, during Hanukkah, that is, 1560. Marcaria reputedly omitted the first part of the fifth book of Milhamot HaShem, 136 chapters constituting an independent treatise on astronomy unrelated to the following chapters, intending to publish it later, but which was not done. It does, however, exist in manuscript and is included in the Latin translation made for Pope Clement VI (1342–52). Milhamot HaShem was a controversial work. Among those who took objection to and criticized many of its tenets are R. Hasdai Crescas, Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov, Isaac ben Sheshet Perfet, Don Isaac Abrabanel, and Judah Loew (Maharal). This criticism is noted by Marcaria in the introduction, who writes that many call it Milhamot im HaShem, that is Wars against the Lord, an observation that began with Shem Tov.

Format 20: 75 leaves.

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Pesah le-HaShem

‘hl jsp Hayyim ben Meir ibn Gabbai 1560, Constantinople—Joseph ben Samuel ha-Levi Hachim Commentary on the Haggadah by the kabbalist R. Hayyim ben Meir ibn Gabbai. His father was the noted kabbalist R. Meir ben Ezekiel ibn Gabbai, author of Avodat ha-Kodesh (Marot Elohim, Mantua, 1545), Tola’at Ya’akov (Constantinople, 1560, see below, pp. 522–23), and Derekh Emunah (Constantinople, 1560). The latter two works, as well as Pesah le-HaShem, were brought to press by Shneur Falcon, Hayyim ibn Gabbai’s brother-in-law. The title page has a four-part frame. The bottom of the text states: And this book is called Pesah le-HaShem to be for me a remembrance among the community of the faithful whom will say, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so” (Psalms 107:2). With the support of the sagacious R. Abraham Reyna w”xy [may his Rock and Redeemer watch over him] and many valued individuals, may He remember them for good, for they will find [in it] all their wishes as on an arranged table (shulhan arukh). The beginning of the work was on Wednesday, 8 Kislev, in the year “One generation shall praise jbçy (320 = November 18, 1559) [your works] to another” (Psalms 145:4).

Near the end of this paragraph, after the word shulhan, are two final zadis, the second inverted. At the beginning of the next line is a single inverted final zadi. Falcon’s introduction (1b–2a) begins on the verso of the title page, and is followed by a brief introduction by Hayyim ibn Gabbai (2a), and the text from 2b with Seder Aggadah, which has halahkot and the text of the Haggadah. The text is in a single column in rabbinic letters, except for initial words and the text of the Haggadah, the last also vocalized. The text begins with a discussion of preparing utensils for the Pesah festival from a kabbalistic perspective. Pesah le-HaShem exists in a small number of fragments, primarily of the first quire, in the JNUL, and two copies in the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary, one of the two with variations. It is also reported that ten copies of the same quire are noted in a catalogue of old printed Hebrew books in Bulgaria. In his introduction, Falcon discusses how, now that it is no longer possible to bring animal offerings, prayer has taken their place. Similarly, we were commanded to bring a Passover offering (zevah Pesah) to arouse our hearts to remember that which was done for us in Egypt. Falcon has printed these books by Meir ibn Gabbai on various subjects to address the thirst of the people and answer their questions, and that of Hayyim ibn Gabbai “For Torah and for testimony” (Isaiah 8:20). The printer’s name is given as Joseph Hachim ha-Levi, although it is believed that he is the Joseph ben Samuel ha-Levi Hachim who printed the two books of Meir ibn Gabbai noted above, together the only three titles attributed to his press. Joseph Hachim’s father, Samuel ha-Levi, was an editor at the presses of Eliezer Soncino and Moses Parnas. Samuel mentions the assistance of his son in the works that he helped edit.

Format 40: 4 leaves.

517

1560, Shir ha-Yihud, with commentary of Yom Tov Lipmann Muelhausen, Thiengen Courtesy of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

518

Shir ha-Yihud

dwjyh ryç with commentary of Yom Tov Lipmann Muelhausen 1560, Thiengen—Eliezer and Joseph ben Naphtali Hertz Treves Shir ha-Yihud (Hymn of Divine Unity), an anonymous piyyut (liturgical poem) written in the mid-twelfth century. It is most often attributed to R. Samuel ben Kalonymus he-Hasid (c. 1130–1175), less often to his son, R. Judah ben Samuel he-Hasid (c. 1150–1217), author of the Sefer Hasidim, both among the foremost representatives of the Hasidei Ashkenaz. On occasion it is attributed to yet others. Although there exist several piyyutim entitled Shir ha-Yihud, this is the most well known. Unlike most early manuscript versions of the Shir, which were divided into chapters, later versions, and all printed editions, are divided by the days of the week, one for each day, praising God and his uniqueness, in contrast to the insignificance of man. Lines are divided into rhymed couplets, with four beats to a couplet The fourth day differs from the other days in that it is the only day for which the verses are arranged in alphabetic order; however, the number of lines to a letter are not equal. Shir ha-Yihud is, philosophically, based on the Sefer ha-Emunot ve-ha-De’ot of R. Saadiah Gaon (882–942, see below, pp. 536–37), a fact acknowledged on the title page. It is customary, today, to recite Shir ha-Yihud on Yom Kippur eve, at the end of services. Its more frequent repetition was opposed by a number of rabbinic figures, such as R. Jacob Emden (1697–1776), R. Solomon Luria (1510–1574) and Rabbi Judah Loew (Maharal, 1525–1609). The latter restricted it to Yom Kippur only, a “day set aside for praise of God, when a person is on a higher level, comparable to an angel” (Netiv haAvodah ch. 12, of Netivot Olam). The text of Shir ha-Yihud is accompanied by the commentary of R. Yom Tov Lipmann Muelhausen (14th–15th centuries), dayyan in Prague, a highly respected halakhist and kabbalist. His most famous work is the Sefer ha-Nizzahon, a polemic against Christianity, passed down by hand from generation to generation, until a monk, Theodore Hackspan, seized a copy from the rabbi of Schneittach. Hackspan translated Nizzahon into Latin, added notes in attempt to refute its arguments, and had it printed (Altdorf, 1644). A Jewish edition did not appear until 1701. In a brief introduction to Shir ha-Yihud, Muelhausen writes that he has seen many commentaries on this holy work, but found them to be “straw mixed with grain.” Noting that these are inadequate, not explaining the intent of the author, he asks “help from the Helper, my Rock, the Almighty, and I will write here all that I received, ‘mouth to mouth’ (Numbers 12:8) from those who know the truth.” An additional 1566 copy of Shir ha-Yihud, also printed in Thiengen, is reported but is questionable.

Format 40: 20 leaves.

519

520

To’aliyyot Ralbag

gblrh twyl[wt Levi ben Gershom (Ralbag) 1560, Riva di Trento—Joseph Ottolenghi The To’aliyyot of R. Levi ben Gershom (Ralbag, Gersonides, 1288–1344). Ralbag, a biblical exegete, talmudist, philosopher, physician, scientist, astronomer, and mathematician, was the author of a popular commentary on the Torah and the other books of the Bible. Perush al ha-Torah was first printed in Mantua (c. 1475) and reprinted in Pesaro (1514) and Venice (1547, see above, pp. 334–35) in the sixteenth century. His commentaries on several books of the bible were printed in the fifteenth century, beginning with Daniel (Rome, 1469) and Job (Ferrara, 1477). Ralbag’s Torah and Bible commentaries are comprised of three parts, that is, bi’ur hamilot, brief explanations of terms; bi’ur ha-parashah, a more lengthy commentary; and to’alot, summaries of the concepts and ethical values in the bi’ur. To’aliyyot Ralbag, as the title suggests, are the to’alot only, the summary section of the philosophical and ethical concepts extracted from his larger work. That they are being printed separately is indicative of the high regard in which these ethical maxims were held. To’aliyyot Ralbag is one of three works by Ralbag printed in Riva di Trento in 1560, the others being Milhamot HaShem (see above, pp. 514–15) and his commentary on the Five Megillot. The title page is simple, informing that the work was printed by R. Joseph Ottolenghi in the domain of Cardinal Cristoforo Madruzzo. The verso of the title page has a brief introduction by R. Jacob Marcaria. The text begins on 2a with only a small part of the Ralbag’s introduction to Perush al ha-Torah, that is the first paragraph and his comments on the to’aliyyot, which are that they are the ethical values and precepts in the parashah and the benefits (lessons) to be learned from them. Next are the to’aliyyot. Not every parashah (weekly Torah reading) has to’aliyyot. Where that is the case, the parashah is listed, followed by the statement that there are no to’aliyyot. The to’aliyyot are numbered consecutively, the last in the Torah portion being number 364. The second part of the book contains the to’aliyyot on the Earlier Prophets. Both the pagination and the signatures begin anew. The enumeration of the to’aliyyot also begins again, concluding with number 477 at the end of Kings.

Format 40: 40, 26 leaves.

521

522

Tola’at Ya’akov

bq[y t[lwt Meir ben Ezekiel ibn Gabbai 1560, Constantinople—Joseph ben Samuel ha-Levi Hachim Kabbalistic exposition of prayers by R. Meir ben Ezekiel ibn Gabbai (1480–after 1540). Little is known about Gabbai, who experienced the expulsion from Spain. However, he must have had a life of some hardship, even after resettling in Egypt, for at the end of Tola’at Ya’akov he complains of how hard he has to labor to support himself and his family. On the title page, Shneur (Senior) ben Judah Falcon, Gabbai’s son-in-law, writes that it will “illuminate (me’ir ryam) the prayers for the entire year according to the four ways (of biblical exegesis): peshat (literal), remez (allusion), din (normally derash, homiletical), and sod (mystery), that is, pardes.” Each part of the text is entitled a sod, there being parts for benedictions, prayer, Shabbat and holidays. There are also sections on such subjects as marriage and milah. The volume concludes with a long colophon from Falcon. There are copies with variations, that is, in the sixth quire at the beginning of the page is the word perek, whereas in the other variation it says u’ve-perek. In the former the title page is followed by a page of verse (the verso of the title page is blank) which is not in the second, rarer copy. The page of verse is followed by an introduction (13 folios). Gabbai completed Tola’at Ya’akov in 1507. It was not printed, however, until 1560, being completed, according to the colophon, on Thursday, 25 Adar Rishon, “When Israel was a child r[n (320 = February 12, 1560), then I loved him, [and called my son out of Egypt]” (Hosea 11:1). Tola’at Ya’akov is one of three books brought to press by Shneur Falcon that year, the others being Derekh Emunah, also by Gabbai, and Pesah le-HaShem by Meir Gabbai’s son, Hayyim ibn Gabbai (see above, pp. 516–17). Of this edition, only Tola’at Ya’akov exists in its entirety; all that remains of the latter two works are the preliminary pages of each. Derekh Emunah, however, was reprinted in Padua (1562, see below, pp. 534–35) and Cracow (1577). On the title page of Derekh Emunah Shneur expresses his desire to return to his birthplace, Jerusalem, but in order to fulfill the precept from the Torah to leave a blessing as a remembrance he has undertaken the printing of these three works. Publication was financed by R. Abraham Reyna. In addition to Tola’at Ya’akov and Derekh Emunah (Constantinople, 1560) on the sefirot, Gabbai also wrote Avodat ha-Kodesh (Marot Elohim, Mantua, 1545), a four-part exposition on the Kabbalah, his most popular and important work. The print-shop that published Tola’at Ya’akov, Derekh Emunah, and Pesah le-HaShem belonged to Joseph ben Samuel ha-Levi Hachim. He was active for one year and all that his press issued were these three works. Prior to this Joseph had worked as an editor, and afterwards he worked in the same capacity for Solomon Jabez.

Format 40: 80 leaves. Reprinted in Cracow (1581).

523

524

Sha’arei Orah

hrwa yr[ç rps Joseph ben Abraham Gikatilla 1561, Mantua—Jacob ben Naphtali ha-Kohen of Gazolo Kabbalistic work on the Sefirot by R. Joseph ben Abraham Gikatilla (1248–c. 1325). Born in Medinaceli, Castile, for many years a resident of Segovia, Gikatilla was the foremost student of the noted kabbalist, R. Abraham Abulafia. Gikatilla expounded and, in his early writings, publicized Abulafia’s teachings. At an early age Gikatilla was interested in philosophy, writing a commentary on Maimonides’ Moreh Nevukhim (Venice, 1574, printed in She’elot le-Hakham of Saul ha-Kohen; see below, pp. 636–37). However, he subsequently became opposed to the study of pure philosophy. Intellectually, Gikatilla, although initially much influenced by Abulafia’s “prophetic Kabbalah,” later became an adherent of theosophic (philosophic-mystical) Kabbalah. A person of great piety and credited with miraculous deeds, Gikatilla was known as ba’al ha-nissim (master of miracles). Sha’arei Orah, Gikatilla’s most important book, written prior to 1293, is one of the fundamental works of Kabbalah. R. Isaac Luria (ha-Ari) describes it as “the key to mystical studies.” It defines, explains, and analyzes the ten Sefirot, equating the Ein Sof with the first of the Sefirot, and kabbalistic symbolism and their relation to Scriptural symbols. In doing so, Sha’arei Orah relies heavily on the Zohar, although Gikatilla also often departs, quite originally, from that work. The title page has the architectural pillars typical of Mantua imprints from this period. The text, with rare exceptions, is set in rabbinic letters in one column. The colophon dates completion of the work to 20 Tammuz, 321 (Friday, July 14, 1561). Printed the same year as this Mantua edition is another edition of Sha’arei Orah, in Riva di Trento. That edition (40, 84f.), set in square letters in two columns, is undated. Its publication date is determined, apart from the fact that the Riva press was short-lived, from the colophon, the printer requesting the merit to complete Sha’arei Orah as they have just finished Sha’arei Zedek (1561). There is a Latin edition of Sha’arei Orah, entitled Portae Lucis (Augsburg, 1516), translated by the apostate, Paulus Ricius (Paulus Israelita; d. 1541), an important Christian kabbalist. It has a much-reproduced woodcut of the Sefirot (see insert). A commentary on Sha’arei Orah was written by Mattathias Delacrut (Cracow, 1600). Gikatilla also wrote Ha-Nikkud ve-Sod Hashmal (Venice, 1601), a mystical discussion of vocalization; Perush ha-Haggadah (Venice, 1602); and Ginnat Egoz (Hanau, 1614) on the gematriot of the names of God. This last work was written when Gikatilla was only twenty-four. Sha’arei Zedek (Riva di Trento, 1561) is also on the Sefirot. Other works remain in manuscript. Format 40: 92 leaves. Also printed in Riva di Trento (1561).

525

c. 1561-98, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Joseph ben David ibn Lev, Constantinople Courtesy of the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad Ohel Yosef Yitzhak

526

She’elot u’Teshuvot

twbwçtw twlaç Joseph ben David ibn Lev c. 1561–98, Constantinople—Solomon [and Joseph] ben Isaac Jabez; Joseph Ashkeloni Parts two through four of the responsa of R. Joseph ben David ibn Lev (Maharival, c. 1505–1580). Part one, undated and lacking the place of publication, was most likely printed in Salonika in c. 1558 by Joseph Jabez (see above, pp. 480–481). The remaining parts of Ibn Lev’s responsa were printed in Constantinople from c. 1568 through 1598. Part II also lacks a title page. The first paragraph, however, states that it is the responsa and novellae on tractate Shevu’ot of ibn Lev, printed in Constantinople. Doña Gracia and Joseph Nasi are acknowledged. The paragraph dates the work, “[For he has looked down] jygçh (sic, 5321 = 1561 [gpl]) from the height of his sanctuary” (ref. Psalms 102:20). The printer, not specifically named, was likely Solomon Jabez. The colophon dates the completion of the work to Wednesday, 15 Shevat, in the year “[And God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply,] and replenish the earth, and subdue it hçbk[w] (5322 = January 31, 1562)” (Genesis 1:28). The responsa conclude on 106b with number 88 (eighteen ascribed to his son, David), followed by novellae, concluding on 163b, followed by a blank page and the index. The work was completed by Hayyim ben Samuel Ashkenazi [Halicz]. The third volume, with novellae on tractate Gittin, has a title page. It is dated, “glçh (5333 = 1573) ‘Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving’” (Psalms 95:2). Solomon and Joseph Jabez were the printers. The colophon, after the index, states that fifteen days after printing began ibn Lev became ill and was unable to check the galleys, so that there may be errors. The colophon is followed by verses in praise of the work by Hananiah ibn Yakar. The fourth volume, with novellae on tractates Kiddushin and Avodah Zarah, was printed c. 1597–98 in Kuru-Chesme by Joseph ben Isaac Ashkeloni at the press of Donna Reyna, the widow of Don Joseph Nasi. Ibn Lev’s responsa provide a window into contemporary Jewish life and the turmoil of the times. Among the inquiries posed to ibn Lev is one also submitted to R. Isaac Adarbi (Divrei Rivot) and R. Samuel de Medina (Maharashdam). It concerns the responsibility for property owed by Reuben to Simon confiscated by the Church (for additional details see Adarbi’s response, 1582, p. 715; and De Medina’s, p. 835). Ibn Lev concludes that Reuben has no obligation to Simon. When the money was expropriated it ceased to be under Reuben’s control even if still in his physical possession. Moreover, both Reuben and Simon’s money was confiscated simultaneously. Another issue addressed by ibn Lev is support for the imposition of a boycott against the city of Ancona, Italy after the persecution and hanging of Marranos there. Ibn Lev was a person of considerable standing and repute. Nevertheless, it is reported that when still in Salonika a disgruntled litigant in a dispute struck ibn Lev in public and no one, out of fear, protested. Ibn Lev rent his garment and called upon heaven for reprisal. That night a fire broke out in a neighboring store, destroying 5,000 houses, followed by a plague that took many lives.

Format II: 20: 2–163, 165–72 leaves; III: 20: 120, 133–175, [1], 187–190, [5] leaves; IV: 40: 4, [91] leaves.

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1561, Tractate Derekh Erez and Pirkei ben Azzai, Riva di Trento Courtesy of Kestenbaum & Company

528

Tractate Derekh Erez and Pirkei ben Azzai

yaz[ ˆb yqrpw ≈ra ˚rd tksm 1561, Riva di Trento—Jacob Marcaria One of the minor tractates in the Talmud. (The other minor tractates are Avot de-Rabbi Nathan, Soferim, Semahot, Kallah, Kallah Rabbati, Gerim, Kutim, Avadim, Sefer Torah, Tefillin, Tzitzit, and Mezuzah.) Tractate Derekh Erez deals with good conduct and proper deportment. The ornamental title page encloses a brief text that states, “Tractate Derekh Erez and Pirkei ben Azzai. Printed in Riva di Trento in the year 321 (1561).” The verso of the title page has a preface from Jacob Marcaria, followed by the text, which is unfoliated and set in a single column in square letters. Marcaria begins, “‘Torah study is good with an occupation’ (Avot 2:2), therefore we have chosen to publish tractate Derekh Erez with Pirkei ben Azzai,” and concludes, “Better is a handful with quietness, than both hands full of labor [and striving after wind]” (Ecclesiastes 4:6). The book is comprised of eleven chapters. Tractate Derekh Erez, chapters one and two, deals with the proper comportment of a talmudic scholar, including such qualities as pleasantness in greetings, piety, genuine wisdom, fear of the Lord, adherence to tradition, interaction with other sages, and learning to teach and to practice. The text is made up of brief sayings comparable to Pirkei Avot. Pirkei ben Azzai, chapters three through eleven, begins on [6a]. It too deals with correct behavior for the scholar, but also addresses the conduct of the layman. Here the statements are illustrated by parables, biblical and rabbinic stories. This tractate, together with the other minor tractates, has been customarily published in complete Talmud editions at the end of Order Nezikin from the first Bomberg Talmud to the present. As a result, Tractate Derekh Erez, although popular, is rarely printed as a separate work, the next edition being Beyreuth (1839) with a German translation.

Format 80: [11] leaves.

529

530

Tractate Pesahim

μyjsp tksm 1561, Konska Wola—Meshullam ben Solomon and Eliezer ben Isaac Tractate Pesahim, printed with the Rosh and Piskei Tosafot. Pesahim is the second tractate in the first Lublin Talmud (1559–77), being preceded by Shevu’ot (1559). It was actually printed in Konska Wola, a neighboring village, to which the printers moved the press to escape an epidemic of plague in Lublin. The title page, dated, “Sing aloud wnynrh (321 = 1561) to God our strength; make a joyful noise to the God of Jacob” (Psalms 81:2), states: The pages are marked in accordance with the great edition printed previously in Venice: In order to be able to find the pages in this edition we have marked [the Venetian pagination] in our edition on the side of the pages in large square letters as in the great edition. That is, where an alef is found on the side of the page, there begins daf alef from the great edition, and so with bet etc. Printed by the printers Meshullam b. R. Solomon l”z and Eliezer b. R. Isaac l”z. With the approbations of the “Gaonei Olam” and Roshei Yeshivot of the three countries, Poland, Russia, and Lithuania, who together agreed and who initiated a strong enactment, signed in their hand, that all the yeshivot in the three countries should learn tractate after tractate, as we, with the help of God, print them; in order to spread Torah in Israel and to strengthen and encourage our hands in the work of Heaven.

The pagination of Pesahim and the other Lublin tractates printed at this time vary from the standard “Venetian” pagination. To compensate, as noted on the title page, large letters were placed on those pages in which a page begins in the Venetian edition, along both the top of the page and along the outer margin of the line beginning the standard page. The beginning of amud b is not marked. Although the tractate has one hundred ninety-five leaves (one hundred twenty-one according to the standard pagination), the Venetian pagination is only noted until page one hundred three in Pesahim. These tractates are relatively small, measuring approximately 28 × 18-½ cm. The fonts are of standard size, however, resulting in an attractive edition, and accounting for why the pagination varies from the editio princeps. The title page also notes an enactment of the Va’ad Arba Arazot (Council of the Four Lands), a super-kehilla organization, recognized by the state and representing and uniting the Jewish communities in Poland-Lithuania. The enactment was intended to promote Torah study by requiring all yeshivot to learned the same tractate at the same time. This enabled students to move between yeshivot without interrupting their studies, increased halakhic discourse, and assisted printers by informing them as to market requirements. The Va’ad issued enactments to protect local Hebrew presses from foreign competition and to provide financial support to assist authors in publishing their books, and required local communities to assist in the books’ distribution. This tractate was printed by Meshullam ben Solomon and Eliezer ben Isaac. The latter, possibly a grandson of the pioneer printer and reputed founder of the Lublin press, Hayyim Shahor, would later, with the added surname of Ashkenazi, print in Constantinople and Safed. Pesahim was followed by Gittin (1562), also printed in Konska Wola, and Bezah (1567).

Format 28 cm.: 195 leaves.

531

532

Be’urim

μyrwayb Israel ben Pethahiah Isserlein 1562, Riva di Trento—Jacob Marcaria Supercommentary on Rashi by R. Israel ben Pethahiah Isserlein (Terumat ha-Deshen, 1390–1460; see above, pp. 136–37). The title page has an architectural frame. At the top is the verse, “[Therefore] glorify the Lord in the fires” (Isaiah 24:15). The brief text states that it is Be’urim Principles dsy from the Gaon R. Israel called Rabbi Isserlein. And it is an elucidation of Rashi on Hamishah Homshei Torah. Printed in the domain of Cardinal Cristoforo Madruzzo. In Riva di Trento in the year çbk (322 = 1562).

On the verso of the title page is the “to the reader” from Jacob Marcaria, followed by the text. The initial word is in a frame held by two cherubim. The text (2a–22b) is in two columns in square type. It is followed by the Midrash Demut Kissei Shelomoh ha-Melekh (23b–24a). The colophon dates the completion of the work to Rosh Hodesh Adar in the year çbk (322 = Friday, February 16, 1562). Many fifteenth- and sixteenth-century sages wrote explications to Rashi’s commentary on the Pentateuch. Sefer Be’urim is Isserlin’s contribution to that field. It is based, to some extent, on sermons he delivered to his congregation. Included in Isserlein’s remarks are comments of historical interest and references to his paternal grandfather, R. Hayyim, who lived in Hainberg, Austria, his great grandfather, R. Israel of Krems, Austria, and his teacher, R. Aaron Blumlein. At the end of parashat Ki Tavo Isserlein writes that victorious siege troops who seize a city molest the women and pillage vineyards. They do not, however, quarter themselves in homes as they do not wish to disrupt the lives of the city and its inhabitants but only to engage in plunder. The Midrash Demut Kissei Shelomoh ha-Melekh, on the throne of King Solomon, Ahasuerus, and Nebuchadnezzar, is derived from Targum Sheni on Esther. It was not printed with the earlier editions of the Be’urim. Be’urim was a popular work, this being the third printing in the sixteenth century. It was necessitated by the disappearance of the Be’urim from the market, or as Marcaria writes, because “it is not found except in holes and crannies.”

Format 40: 24 leaves. Printed previously (Venice, 1519 and 1545).

533

534

Derekh Emunah

hnwma ˚rd Meir ben Ezekiel ibn Gabbai 1562, Padua—Lorenzo Pasquato Responses to questions on the ten sefirot. R. Meir Ben Ezekiel ibn Gabbai (1480–c. 1540), among the exiles from Spain, was a prominent kabbalist. Little is known about his life, except that he likely lived in Turkey and may have died in Erez Israel. Derekh Emunah, written in 1539, is an explication of the kabbalistic doctrine of the ten sefirot (divine emanations). Written in response to a query from Joseph ha-Levi, a student, the work is organized in a format of ten questions and answers. It is based on the Sha’ar ha-Sho’el of the famed kabbalist, Azriel of Gerona (early 13th century). The contents of Derekh Emunah are outlined in an introduction, which, except for the first, that the world has an Overseer, all address questions relating to the ten sefirot. The title page has a woodcut architectural frame with, at the bottom, a pensive child holding a branch in his right hand, resting his head on the other, his elbow on a tree stump. It informs that work began on Thursday, 22nd of Kislev, 5323 (November 29, 1562). It was completed on 27 Tevet, 323 (Wednesday, January 2, 1563). The text is in square letters in a single column. Derekh Emunah was edited, corrected, and possibly set by Samuel ben Isaac d”yh [may his blood be avenged]. Boehm, who had worked previously at the press of Vincenzo Conti. In a brief preface, Boehm writes that he came to Padua after the upheavals (in Cremona, that is, the burning of Hebrew books), and, initially, was idle. However, when he saw this book, “honey and milk under his tongue,” (adaptation of Song of Songs 4:11), small in size but great in value, as well as Gabbai’s Avodat ha-Kodesh, he felt that the Lord had granted him merit to edit this work. In the colophon, Boehm writes that as the world is knowledgeable about the craft of printing, it is needless to apologize for the few errors in the book. Several errata are then noted, and the colophon concludes, “May blessings from heaven come upon the head of he who judges me favorably.” The book concludes with the Inquisitor’s license. This is the second printing of Derekh Emunah. Of the first edition only two leaves survive, that is, the title page and introduction from Shneur ben Judah Falcon, the author’s son-in-law, who brought the book to press. Gabbai’s other works are Tola’at Ya’akov (Constantinople, 1560, see above, pp. 522–23) and Avodat ha-Kodesh (Marot Elohim, Venice, 1566–68). Both are kabbalistic works, the former on prayer, the latter, considered Gabbai’s most important work, encompasses kabbalistic doctrine. This is the first venture of Lorenzo Pasquato, an experienced printer of Latin and Italian books, into the Hebrew market. It was followed by Shem Tov ben Shem Tov’s Derashot ha-Torah (Padua, 1567, see below, pp. 588–89). Pasquato did not print additional Hebrew titles.

Format 40: 28 leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (1560) and reprinted in Cracow (1577).

535

536

Emunot ve-De’ot

tw[dhw twnwmah rps Saadiah ben Joseph Gaon 1562, Constantinople—Solomon ben Isaac Jabez Systematic and philosophic exposition of the tenets of Judaism by R. Saadiah ben Joseph Gaon (882–942). Saadiah states his purpose in writing Emunot ve-De’ot in the introduction, that is, he is responding to the moral, spiritual, and intellectual confusion of his age by providing a guide and inspiration to his people. He writes, “I will begin this book . . . with an exposition of the reasons why men, in their search for truth, become involved in errors, and how these errors can be removed . . .; moreover, why some of these errors have such a powerful hold on some people so that they affirm them as the truth, deluding themselves that they know something.” Saadiah firmly believes that philosophy and religion are not in contradiction, but rather are meant to help and supplement each other in finding and propagating truth. Both have a divine source and cannot, therefore, teach anything that is incompatible with the other. The title page of Emunot ve-De’ot is simple, informing that Saadiah wrote it in Arabic [Kitab al-Amanat wa-al-Itiqadat], R. Judah ben Saul ibn Tibbon translated the work, and [ Jabez] is printing it for the public good. The colophon repeats this information in greater detail, stating that it was written by Saadiah in the year 4633 (873) in Arabic and translated into Hebrew by Judah ben Saul ibn Tibbon in 4946 (1186). Printing was completed on Rosh Hodesh Iyyar, “[O let the nations] be glad and sing for joy wnnryw (322 = Monday, April 16, 1562)” (Psalms 67:5). The date given for the composition of Emunot ve-De’ot by Saadiah, 4633 (873), is certainly incorrect, as it predates his birth. The correct date is believed to be 933, a period when Saadiah was in seclusion in Baghdad. The text is in a single column in rabbinic type, excepting headings and initial words, which are in square letters. Saadiah’s introduction follows (2a–10a) and then the text from 10a. In the prologomen, Saadiah addresses doubt and belief, identifying three sources of knowledge: 1) sense-perception; 2) reason or intuitive, such as approval of truth and disapproval of falsehood; and 3) inferential or logically derived knowledge. In addition, for “the Congregation of Believers in the unity of God” there is a fourth source of knowledge, that is, the Bible and tradition. The book is divided into ten ma’amarim (chapters): 1) on creation ex nihilo; 2) the unity of the Creator; 3) commandment and prohibition, that is, the precepts ordained by the creator; 4) obedience and disobedience, which encompasses human happiness; 5) merits and demerits, which encompasses free will; 6) the essence of the soul, death, and what follows it; 7) resurrection of the dead in the present world; 8) on the redemption of Israel; 9) reward and punishment in the future world; and 10) about that which is best for man to do in this world. This last ethical chapter is not a continuation of the previous chapters but an added ethical unit, offering practical advice. Emunot ve-De’ot may have been written and issued by Saadiah in separate monographs, and combined by him later into an organic whole, suggested by references within the work to other parts. Several chapters have been printed independently and the entire work has been translated into a number of languages.

Format 40: 87, [1] leaves.

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538

Me’ir Iyyov

bwya ryam Meir ben Isaac Arama Riva di Trento and Venice, 1562–67—Jacob Marcaria and Giorgio di Cavalli Commentary on Job by R. Meir ben Isaac (Ba’al ha-Akedah) Arama (1460?–c. 1545). Born in Saragossa, Spain, he went into exile with his father in 1492, settling first in Naples and afterwards in Salonika, where he served as rabbi of the Aragonian congregation. As reflected in his works, Meir Arama was a celebrated philosopher and Bible commentator. Me’ir Iyyov, written in 1506, is replete with allegories and moral aphorisms. (The date 1506, in the colophon, for the completion of the writing, misled some bibliographers as to the publication date of the first edition.) Me’ir Iyyov was the last book begun at the Riva di Trento press of Jacob Marcaria. Cardinal Cristoforo Madruzzo, the patron and protector of the press, was succeeded in the cardinalate, at his recommendation, on February 26, 1561, by his nephew, Ludowic Madruzzo. Unlike his uncle, Ludowic was illiberal and could not be expected to support the existence of a Hebrew press. Marcaria’s print-shop ceased to issue Hebrew books, publishing, for a brief period before closing, several works dealing with the Council of Trent. Joseph ben Jacob Shalit, proofreader at the press, took the unfinished sheets of the books in progress to Venice, where they were completed at the press of Giorgio di Cavalli in the year “[O Praise the Lord, all you nations;] praise him whwjbç (327 = 1567), all you peoples” (Psalms 117:1). The first sixty-four pages of Me’ir Iyyov were completed in Riva di Trento; the remaining pages (beginning incorrectly on hs) were printed by Cavalli in Venice. The fonts of the two presses, although similar, are distinct, for both the text and the commentary, and the number of lines to a page vary from forty lines (first part) to thirty-eight lines per page (sixty-five to the end). The first quire, however, consisting of the title page and three following pages, and quire 12, were reprinted by Cavalli. The first quire was reprinted so that Cavalli could place his name and device on the title page, and quire 12, perhaps, because it had been lost or damaged. Several other books begun in Riva di Trento, among them the works of the Abrabanel, which Marcaria had begun to reprint, were also completed in Venice. Meir Arama’s other works are Urim ve-Tummim, a commentary on Isaiah and Jeremiah (Venice, 1603); Me’ir Tehillot, a commentary on Psalms, written in 1512, and printed with the text (Venice, 1590); and a commentary on Shir ha-Shirim, published with Likkutei Shoshannim by Isaac Gershon (Venice, 1602). His commentary on Esther, ascribed to his father, was published with Akedat Yizhak (Venice, 1573), and a commentary on the Torah, referred to in his writings, is unpublished. There are references to responsa by Arama in the works of contemporary rabbis. Urim ve-Tummim and his commentary on Shir ha-Shirim are included in the Amsterdam Bible of 1724.

Format 40: 124 leaves. Printed previously in Salonika (1517).

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540

Parashiot

twyçrp c. 1562, Riva di Trento—Jacob Marcaria Torah readings for Shabbat Minhah, Mondays, Thursdays, and fast days with accompanying haftarot. The title page, which has no ornamentation, states, Parashiot Read at Minhah on Shabbat and on Monday and Thursday. And parashat va-Yehal [Exodus 32:11–14, 34:1–10] with haftarat Dirshu [Isaiah 55:6–56:8]. And [the] parashah read on Rosh Hodesh. And the order of the reading Kohen, Levi, and Yisrael is noted for every parashah as we found in a very old book. Here, Riva.

Parashiot is comprised of the above Torah readings (2a–70b), and completed (71a–72a) with a selection from Tahanun, that is, Shomer Yisrael, followed by El Melekh Yoshev. The Torah reading for Rosh Hodesh is not found in this copy or in later editions, suggesting that it was not printed and this exemplar is complete as is. The text is in square type, with neither headings nor catchwords. It is a small book, measuring slightly more than 9.5 cm. Unlike other Riva di Trento imprints, Parashiot is not dated and does not name the printer. Furthermore, the name of the place is given as “here, Riva hwwyr hp,” a form that does not appear on any other book from this press. Most often the entire name is spelled out. Nevertheless, it is certainly a Riva di Trento imprint. The type is like that in other books printed here and no other Hebrew press was active in Riva di Trento. Joshua Bloch suggests that Parashiot may have been the last book printed in Riva di Trento and out of concern for the consequences Marcaria omitted this information. It may also be one of the titles begun in Riva di Trento but completed elsewhere. Alternatively, it may be one of the first books printed here, for the locale is named in a manner similar to Sefer Rav Alfas hwwyrb (1558, see above, pp. 468–69), believed to be the first book printed in Riva di Trento. This edition of Parashiot exists only as a unicum in the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary. An earlier Sabbioneta edition (1554) is known only from a censor’s list. Parashiot was republished a number of times.

Format 160: 72 pages. Reprinted in Venice (1573 and 1587).

541

542

Sefer Yezirah

hryxy rps 1562, Mantua—Jacob ben Naphtali ha-Kohen of Gazolo Earliest extant kabbalistic text on the creation of the world. Sefer Yezirah exists in longer and shorter versions, both printed here, the former less than 1,600 words in length and in some very early versions a fraction of that. In both versions the text is divided into six chapters of Mishnayot or halakhot made up of brief statements. However, the varying arrangement of the Mishnayot in the two versions alters the relationship and understanding of the concepts presented. It is the shorter version that is most often reprinted and is the subject of most commentaries. Sefer Yezirah (Book of Creation), on cosmology and cosmogony, informs that God created the world with 32 secret paths of wisdom, defined as the ten Sefirot. The Sefirot are the subject of the first chapter, the remaining five chapters dealing with the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, which interconnect into 231 gates and are the foundation of all creation. Sefer Yezirah is attributed to the patriarch Abraham, although some medieval sources ascribe it to R. Akiva. The title page has an architectural frame. The text states that Sefer Yezirah, attributed to Avraham Avinu, is here accompanied by four commentaries, “More to be desired are they than gold, even very fine gold” (Psalms 19:11). The colophon dates completion of the work to Friday, erev Shabbat, Parshat Shekalim, 24 Shevat 322 (Friday, February 9, 1562). There are two introductions, the first (2a–18b) erroneously attributed to R. Abraham ben David of Posquières (Ravad, 1125–97) but written by the Spanish kabbalist R. Joseph ben Shalom Ashkenazi of Barcelona ( Joseph ha-Arokh, 14th cent.), the second (16a–17a sic) by Moses ben Isaac Botarel (14th–15th cent.). The text, arranged as a page of Talmud, begins on 20a, accompanied on the inner margin by the commentary of “Ravad,” on the outer margin that of Botarel, and below, the commentary attributed to Nahmanides (Ramban) but actually from R. Azriel ben Menahem of Gerona (13th cent.). The text concludes with chapter six, Mishnah five on 90b, followed, in two columns from 87a (sic) by the commentaries of Saadiah Gaon, also of questionable attribution, in the inner column, and of R. Eleazar ben Judah of Worms (c. 1165–c. 1230), here in abbreviated form, in the outer column to 101b. Then Sefer Yezirah from 102a to 108b, concluding with the printer’s statement on 108a–b, ends with a list of commentaries on Sefer Yezirah. The text, in square letters, and even more so the commentaries in rabbinic letters, are accompanied by diagrams and charts. The language of Sefer Yezirah is mishnaic, suggesting that it was written as early as the second- or third-century, although there are scholars who suggest a later date. It is mentioned in the Talmud, for example, “Rav Hanina and Rav Oshaiah would sit every erev Shabbat and occupy themselves with the Sefer Yezirah. A calf, one third of its maturity would be created for them and they would eat it” (Sanhedrin 65b). Sefer Yezirah was studied by kabbalists and was the subject of numerous commentaries, the earliest known being that of Shabbetai Donnolo, (913–c. 982). It has been translated into several languages, including English, and the Latin translation of Guillaume Postel (1510–1581) was printed prior to the first Hebrew edition (Paris, 1552). Format 40: 108 (should say 105) leaves.

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544

Midrash Tanhuma

amwjnt rps 1563, Mantua—Meir ben Ephraim of Padua and Ezra ben Isaac of Fano in the house of Messer Venturin Ruffinelli A homiletic Midrash on the Pentateuch. Tanhuma is ascribed to, and named for the fourth century Palestinian amora, Rabbi Tanhuma bar Abba, whose name is associated with the aggadic interpretation of many verses in the Talmud and Midrashim. It is also known as Yelammedenu, many of its discourses beginning Yelammedenu Rabbenu (May our teacher instruct us). The title page, dated Friday, 7 Iyyar 323 (Friday, May 10, 1563), notes that much additional material has been included in this edition, particularly in sidrot in Leviticus and Deuteronomy and that there are also explanations of difficult terms. The title page is followed by an introduction from one of the printers, Ezra ben Isaac of Fano, who, noting the inadequacy of previous editions, reiterates that considerable material has been added to several of the sidrot from two manuscripts for which he has paid dearly. At the end of Exodus the printer again reminds the reader that he has promised to add material. The text is printed in two columns throughout, in square letters. At the beginning of Vayikra, however, where considerable additional material has been added, the new material is in rabbinic letters. In other places, the added material is indicated by an open hand. The arrangement of material is an introductory halakhic proem, followed by exposition of the verses, followed by a conclusion. The text is made up of an admixture of earlier material from at least two works, one of which appears to precede the Babylonian Talmud, and another with later material which references anti-Karaite and geonic literature. The volume concludes with three tables, of dinim (halakhah), legends, and parables, a brief colophon, and the printer’s mark, an erect lion, facing left, holding a ball, all within a cartouche. Since this device only appears in a small number of the Hebrew books issued by the Jewish printers, it has been suggested that it is in fact the insignia of the nonJewish printer, Ruffinelli, in whose print-shop the books were produced. This printing, with its additions, but not the hand indicators, is the basis for later editions of Midrash Tanhuma. Its many additions notwithstanding, some of the material in the previous edition has been omitted. Although Tanhuma is attributed to Tanhuma bar Abba, the later references suggest a possible eighth-century origin for the compiler. Another compilation of Midrashim based on previously unknown manuscripts by the name Tanhuma was published by Solomon Buber in 1885. The discovery of this midrashic collection was not unexpected, as a number of medieval works referred to material in the Tanhuma not found in the printed exemplars. While much of the material is alike in the two works, there is a sufficient amount of new midrashic discourse in this later edition for the suggestion to have been made that there are possibly two separate Midrashim, one entitled Tanhuma, the other Yelammedenu.

Format 20: 106 leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (1522), Venice (1545), Salonika (1578), and Verona (1595).

545

1563, Pirkei Moshe, Moses ben Baruch Almosnino, Salonika Courtesy of the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad Ohel Yosef Yitzhak

546

Pirkei Moshe

hçm yqrp rps Moses ben Baruch Almosnino 1563, Salonika—Joseph ben Isaac Jabez Commentary on Pirkei Avot by R. Moses ben Baruch Almosnino (c. 1515–c. 1580). Almosnino, from a family from Aragon, was elected rabbi of the Neveh Shalom Spanish community in Salonika in 1553 and served there until 1560, when he joined the Livyat Hen congregation, founded by Doña Gracia Nasi. A rabbinic scholar and halakhic authority of repute, Almosnino was also highly regarded for his knowledge of the sciences, particularly astronomy, writing commentaries to translations of several works on those subjects from Arabic and Latin. Almosnino represented the Jews of Salonika in Constantinople on several occasions. In the most significant, in 1565, he was part of a delegation to reconfirm privileges and exemptions granted by the previous Sultan, that charter being lost in the great fire of 1545. Negotiations were not concluded until 1568, but Almosnino succeeded in his sixth session, with the assistance of Don Joseph Nasi, Duke of Naxos, in having Sultan Selim II confirm rights that made the Jewish community a self-governing entity, independent of the city of Salonika, which it remained for several centuries. Almosnino completed writing Pirkei Moshe, according to the introduction to his Tefillah le-Moshe, in Elul, in the year “[If there are yet many years, according to them] he shall give again byçy (322 = 1562) the price of his redemption [out of the money that he was bought for]” (Leviticus 25:51). The title page of Pirkei Moshe informs that printing began, together with Tefillah le-Moshe, in the month of Nissan 5323 (1563). It is followed by Almosnino’s introduction (2a–2b), and then the text, which concludes on 107a. The text of the Mishnah is in square letters, the commentary, which is lengthy, is in small rabbinic letters. Following are a table of the contents by chapter (107b–110a), errata (110a–11b) and, on the last page (111b), errata for Mishnayot found in this volume. There are also infrequent marginalia highlighting verses. Pirkei Moshe was brought to press, as were Almosnino’s other Hebrew works, by his son Simeon. The expense of publication was defrayed by his other sons, Abraham and Absalom. Pirkei Moshe is a highly regarded work, and many bemoaned its unavailability until a recent reprint ( Jerusalem, 1994). Among Almosnino’s other works are Tefillah le-Moshe (Salonika, 1563), on Keri’at Shema al ha-Mittah and the virtue of Torah and its study; Yedei Moshe on the five Megillot (1582); and Me’ammez Ko’ah (1582), twenty-eight sermons and eulogies (see below, pp. 744–45). Still in manuscript are Ner Moshe on the Torah and a commentary on Job. Almosnino’s responsa were never printed as a separate work. Many other decisors, however, such as Samuel de Medina, Hayyim Benveniste, Isaac Adarbi, and Jacob di Boton, included Almosnino’s responsa in their own collections of replies to inquiries. His scientific works include Bet Elohim, a Hebrew translation of the astronomical work Sfera del Mondo of Gioanni de Sacro, and, still in manuscript, Sha’ar ha-Shamayim, a Hebrew translation of Prubach’s Theory of the Stars, and Migdal Oz, a commentary on Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali’s Maqasid al-Falasifa (Kavvanot or De’ot ha-Filosofim). Also published were a number of Almosnino’s works in Spanish and Ladino, among them Extremos y Grandezas de Constantinopla, a historical work with a detailed description of Constantinople, written in Ladino and published in Spanish (Madrid, 1638).

Format 40: 111 leaves.

547

1564, Hanhagat ha-Hayyim, Moses ben Baruch Almosnino, Salonika Courtesy of the Dorot Jewish Division, New York Public Library

548

Hanhagat ha-Hayyim

μyyjh tghnh rps Moses ben Baruch Almosnino 1564, Salonika—Joseph ben Isaac Jabez Homiletic work by R. Moses ben Baruch Almosnino (c. 1515–c. 1580). Hanhagat ha-Hayyim is in Ladino, excepting the introduction, indices, and chapter heads, which are in Hebrew, all in Hebrew letters. Entitled Regimiento dela Vida, in Ladino, it is one of two Ladino works written by Almosnino, the other being Extremos y Grandezas de Constantinopla (Madrid, 1638). The title page is in two parts, the text in the upper part in Hebrew, repeated below in Ladino, informing that it is discourses for the child and the scholar, to set up a tabernacle (tkws) of righteousness, [correct] conduct [for] the son of his beloved companion [Don Joseph Nasi,] to instruct in the way he should go. Furthermore, appended to this work is a monograph, small in size but of great value, written by the author at the request of the noble Don Joseph Nasi, “Whose foundation is in the holy mountains” [Psalms 87:1], on the actuality and essence of dreams.

It further informs that at the end is appended a list of difficult Spanish words translated into Hebrew, and that work began in the month of Elul 5324 (= 1563). The only ornamentation on the title page is the customary Jabez florets. The verso of the title page has an introduction in Hebrew; followed by indices, with marginalia; and then the introduction in Ladino (12a). The text is followed, as stated in the introduction, by a five-page glossary of difficult Spanish words translated into Hebrew and then errata. The text is in rabbinic letters. A number of folios are mispaginated. Almosnino attempts in this work to present profound ethical concepts in clear and simple language. The first part, comprised of fourteen chapters, addresses, as Almosnino explains in the introduction, “in a straightforward manner” ten matters of importance in Torah and Divine service, that is, food and drink, sleep and awakeness, lying down and rising up, going and sitting, speech and silence. The second part, in twenty chapters, addresses the ten middot (ethical values), that is, might and satisfaction, greatness of heart and humility, generosity and magnanimity, mercy and patience, and civility and truthfulness. The third part, with thirteen chapters, is on righteousness and love, wisdom and knowledge, reason and understanding. It also discusses the study of secular works, which to be studied, when, and in what order; and human endeavor in this world. The volume concludes with his appendix on dreams. Among the other topics Almosnino discusses in Hanhogot Hayyim are the origin of good and evil, influence of the stars, Providence, the moral life, education of children, and free will. In addition to reprints in its original form, Hanhagat ha-Hayyim was also reprinted in Latin letters as Libro de la Regimento de la vida in Amsterdam in 1729 by Samuel Mendes de Sola, Joseph Siprut Gabbay, and Jeudah Piza, that edition being dedicated to Aaron David Pinto.

Format 40: 164, 4 leaves.

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550

Index librorum prohibitorum 1564, Venice—Paulus Manutius List of books prohibited by the Catholic Church. First issued in Rome in 1559 by the Roman Office of the Inquisition under the direction of Pope Paul IV (known as the Pauline index), it banned more than 583 authors, although there is some duplication due to the use of pseudonyms. The concept of a list of forbidden books had been adopted earlier at the Fifth Lateran Council in 1515. A bull from Pope Leo X (who permitted the printing of the Talmud by Daniel Bomberg) the following year established Church censorship, requiring all books published to be submitted for examination and to receive an imprimatur, applied to some Hebrew books. Censorship was confirmed by the Council of Trent in 1546, which met in 1545–47, 1552–53, and 1562–63. As the Pauline index was considered unduly harsh, the last Council issued the more refined Tridentine Index in 1564, which, with modifications, was the model for all following indexes. Only the last Council addressed issues of Jewish concern, for the Council of Trent was more concerned with stamping out heresy, that is, Protestantism and non-doctrinaire thought, than with Jewish matters. The title page of this small format edition (14 cm.) of the Index has the woodcut arms of Pope Pius IV, a cartouche with five balls in the center and keys at the side. The title page is followed by a dedication (2a–3b), preface (4a–5a), Regulae indices (5b–9b), and the text. As established in the first edition, the entries in the text are arranged alphabetically, each letter being divided into the following three categories: Auctores quorum libri & scripta omnia prohibentur (All books or writings by an author prohibited); Certorum auctores Libri prohibiti (Specific books by an author prohibited); and Libri prohibiti ab incerti nominis auctorib. compositi or Auctorum incerti nominis libri prohibiti (Prohibited books of uncertain authorship). The entry for Talmud repeats from the Pauline index, “Thalmud Hebræorum, eius’, glossæ, annotationes, interpretationes, expositiones omnés (the Talmud, glosses, annotations, interpretations, and expositions).” However, this prohibition is here somewhat modified by the added stipulation, “sitamen prodierient sine nomine Thalmud, & sine iniuris, & calumnijs in religionem Christianam tolerabuntur (But if they shall be published without the title Talmud, and without calumnies and insults to the Christian religion, they shall be tolerated).” Graetz describes this situation, “Strange, indeed, that the pope should have allowed the thing, and forbidden its name! He was afraid of public opinion, which would have considered the contradiction too great between one pope, who had sought out and burnt the Talmud, and the next, who was allowing it to go untouched.” This permission notwithstanding, the Talmud was not reprinted in Italy, and the Basle Talmud (1578–81), printed in accordance with these strictures and heavily censored, was not favored by Jews. (See below, pp. 676–77.) Among the non-Jewish authors prohibited in this edition of the Index are Paulus Fagius and Sebastianus Munsterus. From 1555 Hebrew books were reviewed, both prior to printing, thus the famous Con licentia de Superiori, and expurgated if already printed. This edition of the Index librorum prohibitorum was printed in several cities in 1564. The 1589 edition of the Index, promulgated by Sixtus V, was expanded to include Jewish books containing anything construed as negative towards the Catholic Church. In total, the Index was issued forty-two times, last appearing in 1948, at that time with 4,000 titles. The Index was suppressed in 1966.

Format 80: 32 leaves.

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552

Ot Emet

tma twa Meir ben Samuel Benveneste 1564, Salonika—Joseph Jabez Glosses and annotations to Midrashic literature and the liturgical Seder Kedusha by R. Meir ben Samuel Benveneste, a resident of Salonika. At the end of the text Benveneste relates that he completed Ot Emet on Thursday, 27 Heshvan [5]325 (November 12, 1564). The title page has the florets typical of Jabez publications. It informs that the beginning of the work was on 8 Tevet [5]325 (Tuesday, December 22, 1564). The text is in a single column in rabbinic type, excluding headings, which are in square letters. The title page is followed by an introduction from the author (1a–3b) and then the text, which includes Mekhilta (4a–10b), Torat Kohanim (Sifra, 11a–13b), Sifrei (13b–24a), Midrash Rabbah (21b–63b), M. Tanhuma (64b–72b), M. Shmu’el (73a–77b), M. Tillim (77a–85b), M. Mishlei (85b–87b), M. Hazita (87b–96b), M. Ruth (96b–100a), M. Esther (100a–103a), M. Eicha (103a–110a), M. Kohelet (110a–116b), Yalkut me-ha-Torah (Bereshit, 116b–124a), Yalkut sha’ar ha-Torah (124b–143a), Kunteres Aharon (143a–144a), Yalkut Nevi’im (144a–163a), Yalkut sha’ar ha-Ketuvim (164b–173a), and Seder Kedusha (173b–181b). Yalkut Nevi’im also includes a section Yalkut Tillim. The volume concludes with errata, renumbered as 2a–b, and words in praise of the work from R. Solomon ben Isaac ha-Levi. In addition to the introduction to the book there are also brief introductory paragraphs to Mekhilta and Midrash Rabbah. In the introduction to Ot Emet, Benveneste, who refers to himself as the corrector, begins by stating that one who does not read the introduction will not know the rules followed and therefore will not understand the annotations. He then gives his reasons for writing the book, that is, he has read midrashim over these many years, and noted mistakes and errors that have fallen into the text over time, as is well known. He has annotated according to his ability, searching every phrase where there is a difficult or questionable reading throughout all midrashim so that he might find that phrase, annotating it in its place. He has recorded those annotations so that whomever wishes may edit his copy of the Midrash to correct the words of our sages which have become distorted over time. The work is entitled Ot Emet (letter of truth) because it instructs as to the correct text. He has appended as a separate section Seder Kedusha to correct errors that have fallen into the printed editions of the prayer book, editing according to the Talmud, poskim, commentators, and other prayer books. Benveneste further informs that although he had originally composed a work in four parts, that is, textual revision, elucidation of difficult texts, indices of parallel texts in obscure passages, and linguistic and material interpretations of questionable sections, he has printed only the first three, the last omitted rather than subject himself to the sharp criticism that apparently was part of the active intellectual milleau in Jewish Constantinople. Ot Emet was reprinted in Prague (1624) and a facsimile edition of this Salonika printing was published in Jerusalem (1970).

Format 40: 182 leaves.

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554

Shulhan Arukh

˚wr[ ˆjlç Joseph ben Ephraim Caro 1564–65, Venice—Meir ben Jacob Parenzo and Alvise Bragadin The single most influential and authoritative halakhic digest. Prepared by R. Joseph ben Ephraim Caro (1488–1575) as an abridgement of his magnum opus, the Beit Yosef (see above, pp. 358–59), as stated on the title pages, for example, “Shulhan Arukh from the Tur Orah Hayyim entitled Beit Yosef . . . this is an abridgement of his great work on the Arba’ah Turim. . . .” The Shulhan Arukh follows the structure of the Turim. Unlike that work, and also differing from Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah, it contains neither involved halakhic, theological or philosophical discussions, nor aggadic or kabbalistic material. Caro’s intention in writing this halakhic summary is expressed in the introduction. He begins by referencing the Beit Yosef, noting that it includes “the laws found in all the poskim (halakhic adjudicators), new as well as old,” and their sources, enumerates a variety of works, and that each law is explained in detail. Caro continues: I saw in my heart that it was good to collect the lilies and sapphires [of the Beit Yosef ] in a brief format, clear and succinct, in order that “the Torah of the Lord will be complete” [Psalms 19:8], fluent in the mouth of every man of Israel, so that whenever a question in halakhah is posed to a [talmudic scholar] he will not stammer, but will “say to wisdom, you are my sister” [Proverbs 7:4]. Just as it is clear to him that his sister is forbidden to him, so shall every law that he shall be asked about as a practical halakhah be clear to him when he will be fluent in this book, that is “built with turrets” [Song of Songs 4:4], a hill that all can turn to, divided into thirty parts, one part to be learned daily, so that he repeats his learning monthly, so that it may be said of him, “Fortunate is he who comes here and his learning is in his hand” [var. tractates]. Furthermore, young students may constantly reflect on it, learning the text by heart, that which they learned as youths will be retained and have practical application and even when elderly not be forgotten. Wise men (maskilim) will shine as the brightness of heaven when they have respite from their travail and the exertions of their hands. . . . I have called this work Shulhan Arukh (prepared table), for in it can be found all manner of delicacies. . . .

Bare of all commentaries, this edition is a small work. The text, divided into sections and subsections, is followed by a ten-page listing of the contents. Yoreh De’ah is completed with a long epilogue from Menahem Porto ha-Kohen Ashkenazi. Because early printers often dropped prefatory material from reprints it became rumored that the Shulhan Arukh was written by Caro’s students. The erudition evidenced in the work, even without the introduction, makes it clear that Caro was indeed the author. The Shulhan Arukh was printed nine times in the sixteenth century without R. Moses Isserles’s (Rema, c. 1530–72) glosses and four times with them (see below, pp. 674–75, 818–19). The Shulhan Arukh’s success may be attributed to a number of factors, not least the reputation and authority of its author. Nevertheless, the work was initially criticized by many leading rabbinic figures. Among their complaints was that the Shulhan Arukh reflected Sephardic and neglected Ashkenaz tradition in halakhah, and its excessive brevity. However, in the end it is the glosses of the Rema and other commentators, which address those complaints, that make the Shulhan Arukh the primary halakhic work that it is. Format 40: 136 [10], 131 [1], 79, 165 [1] leaves. Reprinted in Venice (1567 twice, Gryphio and di Cavalli), Salonika (1567), and Venice (1574, 40 & 160, 1577–78, and 1597–98, 40 & 80).

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Imrei No’am

μ[wn yrma rps Jacob di Illescas 1565, Cremona—Vincenzo Conti Multifaceted Torah commentary by R. Jacob di Illescas (fourteenth century). Little is known about Illescas; it is presumed that he was from a family of Italian origin. There is, however, a town in Castile, near Toledo by that name and perhaps the family came to Italy from Spain. The title page has the architectural frame with two cherubim employed on a number of Conti’s books. The first paragraph of text states that it is an elucidation of the Torah, made up of the peshat (literal meaning) together with difficulties and resolutions that are reasonable. “sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb” [Psalms 19:11], Its “ways are ways of pleasantness (no’am)” [Proverbs 3:17], “Pleasant words (imrei no’am) are like a honeycomb” [Proverbs 16:24]. Printed for the second time with great care and effort, cleared of stones from the snares of the errors in the previous printing. In the month of Heshvan, 326 [October/November, 1565]. . . .

The verso of the title page has a preface from R. Abraham ben Kalonymus Pescarol, who brought the book to press, followed by the text. After the text is the colophon dating the completion of the work to “the tenth [month, Tevet] on the tenth [day], in Cremona in the year 326 (Sunday, December 12, 1565),” which, from the general date on the title page, indicates about a month to a month and a half to set the book. This is followed by the epilogue from the editor, R. David Norlingen, who also complains about the condition of the previous Constantinople edition. The text is set in a single column in square type. Imrei No’am is a kabbalistic commentary comprised of allegorical and grammatical elements, and gematriot, as well as explications of obscure passages in Rashi and ibn Ezra. Among the many rishonim (early sages) quoted are Rashi, Tosafot, Judah he-Hasid, Lekah Tov, and Moses of Coucy (Semag). This is the only printed work of Illescas. It was a popular commentary, published three times in the sixteenth century and included by Moses Frankfurter in his Mikra’ot Gedolot (Amsterdam, 1724–27). The Cracow Imrei No’am (40 50f.), printed by Isaac Prostitz, is a copy of the Cremona edition, pages beginning and ending with the same word, but set in rabbinic letters. It is reported that there are copies of that edition with a woodcut of Akedat Yizhak (the binding of Isaac) at the end of the volume, a printer’s mark prepared by Prostitz toward the end of his life and used by his sons in a small number of works afterwards. Imrei No’am was influential in Poland, where it is much quoted, beginning with R. Nathan Nata Spira’s Imrei Shefer (Cracow/Lublin, 1591–97, below, pp. 786–87), and afterwards in Moses Mat of Przemysl’s Ho’il Moshe (Prague, 1611), Moses Heilperin’s Ahavat Zion (Lublin, 1639), and Issachar Baer Eilenborg’s Zeidah la-Derekh (Prague, 1623), and by Samuel Eliezer Edels (Maharsha) in his Hiddushei Aggadot.

Format 40: 50 leaves. Printed earlier in Constantinople (1540) and reprinted in Cracow (1598).

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Lev Avot

twba bl rps Solomon ben Isaac le-Bet ha-Levi 1565, Salonika—Joseph ben Isaac Jabez Commentary on Pirkei Avot from R. Solomon ben Isaac le-Bet ha-Levi (1532–1600, see below, Divrei Shelomo, 1596, pp. 860–61), a student of R. Joseph ibn Lev and rabbi of several congregations in Salonika. The title page, with the standard Jabez florets, notes that it is printed in Salonika, Solomon’s birthplace, and that work began in Iyyar 5325 (April/May, 1565). The colophon informs that it was completed in Tammuz ( June/July) of that year. Solomon’s introduction begins on the verso of the title page, concluding on 10b. The text follows from 11a to 125a, then indices (125a–127a), the author’s supplication for the speedy arrival of Elijah ha-Tishbi (127a), and verse in praise of the book from Dr. Samuel ben Perachiah haKohen (128b). The text of Avot is in square letters, the commentary in rabbinic letters. In the introduction, Solomon writes that he first completed the work in 1553 at the age of 21 in honor of his engagement, and read portions of it to his bride. Ten years later he revised it, not that old age has set in or due to physical labor but solely due to the toil of Torah. Solomon, conscious of other commentaries on Avot, particularly those of R. Joseph Jabez and Moses Almosnino, written and printed in Salonika, writes, several times I developed interpretations of the Mishnah, but after finding a similar explanation in one of these books, I omitted it . . . for I was well aware that the many points in my commentaries apparently alluded to in those precious books written by others would be found, for mankind shares intellect and knowledge, especially as so many books have been written. Therefore I labored and took great care to develop many explanations, a minimum of three to a Mishnah, in order that knowledgeable readers would find something new in every Mishnah and not have reason to complain.

Of interest is the following statement (39a) as to the content and order of learning to acquire happiness: One must first fill his stomach very assiduously with meat and wine, with knowledge of the entire Torah, Talmud, and commentaries, which, in my opinion, takes most people until the age of thirty. Afterwards, one should engage in the study of the secular sciences in order to know what to reply to heretics, certainly accompanied by the study of logic, mathematics, physics, and metaphysics until forty years old, without abandoning that which he learned earlier, which is the root. . . . Afterwards he should engage in the study of theology so as to know before whom he lives and labors. . . . This will occupy him his entire life, especially since during those years he strives to perfect comprehension of the Kabbalah. . . .

Solomon expresses similar sentiments several times (59a) although he did not personally adhere to this schedule. Other opinions expressed in Lev Avot, and repeated in his other works, deal with prophecy, the Messiah and redemption, as well as the exile of the Jews from Spain.

Format 40: 128 leaves. Reprinted in Salonika (1571).

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1565, Perush Megillat Ahasuerus, Zechariah ben Joshua ibn Saruq, Venice Courtesy of the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad Ohel Yosef Yitzhak

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Perush Megillat Ahasuerus

çwrwçja tlgm çwryp Zechariah ben Joshua ibn Saruq 1565, Venice—Cristophel Zanetti Commentary on Megillat Esther by R. Zechariah ben Joshua ibn Saruq. Ibn Saruq was among the sages of Aragon at the time of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain. A preacher, ibn Saruq left all his possessions, escaping with his family to Algiers, where he was received with great honor. In appreciation of the kindness shown to him ibn Saruq wrote this work, which, as he writes at the end of the Perush, “is what I intended to explain on this Megillah, and it was completed on 10 Nissan in the year, sojourner μ”yrg (253 = Thursday, April 6, 1493).” The title page has a pillared frame and a brief text, which simply states, “w”ç[ y”m[ [‘My help is from the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth’ (Psalms 121:2)]//Perush Megillat// Ahasuerus by the distinguished Rav,//the complete sage, [His Honor, our teacher, Rabbi] Zechariah [//May his soul be bound in the Bond of Life].” On the verso of the title page is a preface from R. Samuel ben Shabbetai of Candia. On 2a are introductory remarks from R. Abraham ben Solomon Allon, who brought the book to press. Following are an index (2a–2b), ibn Saruq’s introduction (3a–7a), and the text (7a–19a), concluding with verse from the author. The colophon dates the completion of the work to Monday, 23 Elul, 5325 (August 30, 1565). The text is in a single column in rabbinic type excepting headings and initial words, which are in square letters. The text of Megillat Esther is not printed with Perush Megillat Ahasuerus. Foliation is given in both Hebrew and Arabic numerals. In his commentary, ibn Saruq quotes from traditional sages and Aristotle in almost equal amounts. The rabbinic authorities he references include R. Levi ben Gershom (Ralbag, Gersonides), Judah ha-Levi, Solomon ibn Gabirol, David Kimhi (Radak), Joseph Albo, Abudarham, Maimonides, Eleazar of Worms, and Josippon. Several of Aristotle’s works are quoted, including the Politics (5 times), for which no Hebrew translation existed, suggesting that ibn Saruq was fluent in Latin. He is sufficiently conversant with philosophy and science as well as rabbinic sources to use them in an integrated manner, often expressing traditional ideas with philosophic language. Ibn Saruq also makes use of Kabbalah, referring on two occasions to kabbalists, and to astrology. In the latter case ibn Saruq explains that Esther invited Haman to the banquet when his constellation was in the ascent, thus causing it to reach its apex, for at that point the wheel turns and of necessity the descent begins. Reference is also made to an otherwise unknown commentary on Esther by a contemporary, R. Samuel Vidas, author of a commentary on Job (Salonika, 1595). Subject headings in the index include: how there are three types of miracles; explanation of Mizmor, “God, to whom vengeance belongs” (Psalms 94:1); explanation of “I have reared and brought up children, etc.” (Isaiah 1:2); the reason one makes a blessing when one sees a companion after 30 days; the intention of the sages on “Look, evil is before you” (Exodus 10:10); a star, etc.; explanation of “And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled” (I Samuel 17:51); explanation of the parasha, and the Lord said to Saul “go and strike Amalek” (I Samuel 15:3). This is the only edition of Perush Megillat Ahasuerus, the only extant work from ibn Saruq.

Format 40: 19 leaves.

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1565, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Levi ben Jacob ibn Habib, Venice Courtesy of the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad Ohel Yosef Yitzhak

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She’elot u’Teshuvot

twbwçtw twlaç Levi ben Jacob ibn Habib 1565, Venice One hundred forty-seven responsa from R. Levi ben Jacob ibn Habib (Ralbah, c. 1483–1545), the son of R. Jacob ibn Habib, author of the Ein Ya’akov. Born in Zamora, Spain, Levi was taken by his father to Portugal at the time of the expulsion, only to be caught in the order of Manuel I mandating the forcible baptizing of Jewish children in 1497. The Habib family escaped a year later, finding refuge in Salonika, where Levi received his Jewish education and later succeeded his father as instructor at Gerush Sefarad, the Spanish-Jewish congregation. By 1513/14 he was in Jerusalem, returning briefly to Salonika, and from 1522/23, excepting an interlude in Damascus and Safed, resided permanently in Jerusalem, where he was the dayyan ha-Memuneh, responsible for the organization of the city’s intellectual and religious life. Ibn Habib’s students include R. Moses Castro and Issachar ibn Susan. Ibn Habib began writing responsa as early as 1504 to 1507. He was so highly regarded that R. Elijah Mizrahi relied on his decisions after merely scanning them. The responsa are varied, including novellae reflecting his standing as a talmudic scholar, for example, on the distance prohibiting benefit from a stone thrown close to an image of Mercury, according to the divergent opinions of Rashi and Tosafot. In another, Ibn Habib discusses gilgulim (transmigration of souls), after noting that he is not highly knowledgeable in Kabbalah. In contrast, ibn Habib had considerable knowledge of astronomy, reflected in the final lengthy responsum, accompanied by graphs and charts. The volume is completed by appendices addressing ordination, Semikhat Zekenim o Kunteres ha-Semikhah, and on Maimonides’ Hilkhot Kiddush ha-Hodesh. The ordination issue refers to the attempt by R. Jacob Berab and his movement to reinstated semikhah (rabbinical ordination), discontinued for almost a millennium. Berab, centered in Safed, did ordain a number of rabbis, including R. Joseph Caro and Moses di Trani. Opposition to Berab’s efforts were led by ibn Habib, who wrote that Berab’s understanding of Maimonides on this issue was faulty, and that even if this was not the case, the conditions required for the reinstitution of semikhah had not been met. Ibn Habib, supported by the rabbis of Jerusalem, ultimately prevailed, but only after a bitter controversy. In this appendix ibn Habib responds to Berab’s allusions to what transpired in Portugal, noting that although coerced he never participated in, or did anything indicating support or approval for his conversion, which was in name only. The first title page has a decorative frame, topped by a vignette of Akedat Yizhak, also used with books printed in Cremona, Padua, and Cracow. A six folio listing of the contents is followed by a second plain title page that states, “She’elot u’Teshuvot of the sage, the complete, the gaon, R. Levi ibn Habib of Jerusalem, the Holy City b”bwt.” Next is the text and then the appendices. The book exists in two forms; it was printed twice, first with annotations made by the proofreader, and the second time with the annotations removed. This affected about a third of the book. The two versions are distinguishable by the numbering of the leaves, in the first instance the number is on the right, the letter on the left, in the second they are reversed. Ibn Habib also wrote derashot, as yet unpublished. Format 20: [6], 206 (210), 217–328 [2] leaves.

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Sefer Tanya

aynt rps Jehiel ben Jekuthiel ben Benjamin ha-Rofei Anav 1565, Cremona—Vincenzo Conti Comprehensive halakhic digest ascribed to R. Jehiel ben Jekuthiel ben Benjamin ha-Rofei, late thirteenth-century scribe, paytan, and author of Ma’alot ha-Middot (Constantinople, c. 1511 as Beit Middot, and Cremona, 1556, see above, pp. 424–25). Little personal information is available about Jehiel, except that he was a scion of the Anav family. The title page notes that it is “‘The rearguard of all the camps’ [Numbers 10:25], assembling all the laws and customs appropriate for every Jewish man in clear and easy language.” A preface follows from Simon ha-Levi, who brought the book to press, then a page of verse, table of contents, and the text. Sefer Tanya is so entitled because it begins with the word tanya (we learn in a baraita). It later became known as Tanya Rabbati, to distinguish it from the much reprinted Tanya of R. Schneur Zalman of Liadi. The authorship of Tanya Rabbati is uncertain. Simon ha-Levi states that the author, “being most humble, not wanting to take the crown of greatness appropriate to him, did not mention his name,” but there are those who say he was R. Jehiel, brother of R. Jacob, Ba’al ha-Turim, “which seems correct, for he mentions himself in this work as ‘I, the scribe Jehiel.’” This attribution, often repeated, is no longer accepted. It is now believed that the author was Jehiel ben Jekuthiel, perhaps a great-nephew of Zedekiah (ha-Rofei) ben Abraham, author of Shibbolei ha-Leket (Venice, 1546, see above, pp. 320–21), to which Tanya has been compared. Tanya differs from Shibbolei ha-Leket in a number of particulars. There are additions, omissions, rearrangement of entries, and abbreviations of supportive material brought by Zedekiah ha-Rofei. Nevertheless, the similarities, including identical language, leave little doubt as to the close relationship of the two works, Tanya being a concise edition of Shibbolei haLeket. The latter work, and Zedekiah ha-Rofei, are frequently referenced in Tanya, suggesting to some that Jehiel’s intent, if it was he, was to conceal the fact that his book was an abridgment of Shibbolei ha-Leket and not an original work. In response, it has been asked why, if Jehiel wished to plagiarize Zedekiah’s work, did he omit his name and frequently reference Shibbolei ha-Leket? Several additional possibilities have been suggested. Zedekiah wrote both versions, omitting his name from the earlier concise work; Jehiel, a copyist, discovered the manuscripts, and, intending to write a popular halakhic digest, rewrote the first, adding material from the second, not realizing they came from the same author. Possibly Jehiel, in fact Zedekiah’s grandfather, wrote Tanya as a halakhic digest for the family, a work later greatly augmented by Zedekiah in Shibbolei ha-Leket. Finally, perhaps the two works are indeed independent, their likeness resulting from the fact that both authors were students of Jehiel’s uncle, Judah ben Benjamin Anav.

Format 40: [6], 136 leaves. Printed previously in Mantua (1514).

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Torat ha-Bayit

tybh trwt tazw Solomon ben Abraham ibn Adret (Rashba) 1565, Cremona—Vincenzo Conti Halakhic compendium on dietary laws by R. Solomon ben Abraham ibn Adret (Rashba, c. 1235–c. 1310). This version of Torat ha-Bayit is known as Torat ha-Bayit ha-Kazer, as it is a concise version of a more detailed Torat ha-Bayit he-Arukh, printed in Venice (1608). This abridgment was also written by Adret, a not unusual practice with many works by rishonim, where a larger tome was followed by an compendium, often prepared by the author. Adret’s purpose here is to make the pertinent halakhah available without the detail and variant positions in the larger work, impractical for the average person; he recognizes the difficulties in extracting the halakhah from the Talmud and rishonim on subjects such as issur ve-hetter, a matter necessary day and night, and on laws pertaining to women, which is why he calls it Torat ha-Bayit (Laws of the House), for there is no house that does not have need of it. The title page is made up of an architectural frame with two putti by the pillars at the bottom and two reclining above. This title page was used by Conti on a small number of other books printed by him in Cremona, that is, Sefer Tanya, Sefer Maharil, and Ru’ah Hen. It is also the title page for Eliezer Ashkenazi’s Yosef Lekah, printed in Cremona by Christopher Draconi (1576). Torat ha-Bayit is dated, the month of Heshvan, 326 (October/ November, 1565). The colophon dates the completion of the work to Hanukkah, 326 (November 28/December 5, 1565), that is, setting and printing the book took a month to a month and a half. The title page is followed, on the verso, by a preface from R. Abraham ben Kalonymous Pescarol, the printer for Conti, who informs that Torat ha-Bayit was sponsored by R. Judah ben Nathan of Cracow. Next are verses (2a) in praise of the book, and Adret’s introduction (2a–b). These are followed by a detailed table of contents. Torat ha-Bayit is divided into seven batim, each subdivided into she’arim. The batim are: 1) kosher slaughtering, by whom, where, when, the knife, and covering the blood; 2) the slaughtered animal, and what defects in the animal or the slaughtering render it nonkosher; 3) salting of meat, fish, priestly portions; 4) other dietary laws, such as admixtures; 5) non-Jewish wine; 6) ablutions in relation to the meal; 7) laws relating to women, such as niddah and mikveh. The book concludes with additional verse from Abraham ben Kalonymous and the colophon. Torat ha-Bayit was subjected to criticism by R. Aaron ha-Levi of Barcelona (Ra’ah, c. 1230–1300) in his Bedek ha-Bayit, to which Adret responded, anonymously, with Mishmeret ha-Bayit, but acknowledged his authorship in one of his responsa. The latter two works are included in the 1608 edition of Torat ha-Bayit. A chapter entitled Sha’ar ha-Mayim, on mikveh, was presumed lost but has since been published (Budapest, 1930). After completing Torat ha-Bayit, both ha-Kazer and he-Arukh, Adret saw that a number of halakhot on issur ve-hetter as well as on Sabbath and festivals had not been addressed. He therefore wrote Avodat ha-Kodesh (Venice, 1602) to meet that need.

Format 40: 72 leaves.

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Avkat Rokhel

lkwr tqba rps Machir ben Isaac Sar Hasid 1566–67, Venice—Giorgio di Cavalli Eschatological work on the principles of faith attributed to R. Machir ben Isaac Sar Hasid, a student of R. Judah ben Asher, son of the Rosh, and a contemporary of Menahem ibn Zerah (Zeidah la-Derekh, concerning the contents of Avkat Rokhel see above, 1540, pp. 248–49). The title page of this edition states that it was printed in 1566 (w”kç, 326) and the colophon that it was completed on 13 Tishrei, z”kç (327 = Sunday, October 6, 1566). However, there are copies that give the date on the title page as 1567 (z”kç). From a comparison of the two exemplars it is clear that they are from the same edition. In 1567 the printer, Cavalli, reprinted the first quire, made up of four leaves, including the title page. In the 1566 printing the title page has small letters and the text is set within a decorative frame. The new title page lacks the frame and the text is in larger letters. On 2a in the first printing the title is given in small letters and in the second the title is in much larger letters. The remainder of the volume, including the colophon, is alike, except for minor changes, so that the 1567 printing is a corrected version of the 1566 edition. Giorgio di Cavalli, the printer, was from an ancient Veronese family, made Venetian patricians for services rendered to the state by Giacomo Cavalli. The Cavalli press was active in Venice for only a short time, from 1565 to 1567, publishing more than twenty titles, beginning with the Tur Even ha-Ezer and concluding with Ashkenaz and Polish rite mahzorim. Cavalli was assisted by the apostate Vittorio Eliano; R. Abraham Ayllon; and Samuel Boehm. Cavalli’s device, the insignia of his family, in three different forms, is an elephant surmounted by a tower with armed men within a cartouche and the motto, “tarde sed tuto,” that is, “slowly but surely.” This is the smallest of the three versions, and the motto here is at the base of the elephant. Among the other works printed by Cavalli are Abudarham, the Torah commentary of R. Bahya ben Asher, Ein Ya’akov, Kol Bo, Me’ir Iyyov, Nahalat Avot, Zeror ha-Mor, Shulhan Arukh, and pamphlets in behalf of Tamari in the TamariVenturozzo get affair (see below, p. 571).

Format 160: 40 leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (1516), Rimini (1526), and Augsburg (1540), and reprinted in Venice (1567).

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1566, Be’ur Zeh Yaza Rishonah, Moses Provencal, and Elleh ha-Devarim, S. Venturozzo, Mantua Courtesy of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

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Be’ur Zeh Yaza Rishonah—Elleh ha-Devarim

μyrbdh hla—hnwçar axy hz rwayb Moses ben Abraham Provencal—Samuel ben Moses Venturozzo 1566, Mantua Two works on the Tamari-Venturozzo affair. A dispute over a get (bill of divorce) that divided the Ashkenazic and Sephardic communities of Italy, and, prior to its resolution, involved a wide spectrum of rabbinic authorities, even beyond Italy, as well as Italian officialdom. In 1560, Samuel (Shmuel ha-Katan) ben Moses Ventura of Perugia, known as Venturozzo was promised (engaged) to Tamar, the daughter of Joseph ben Moses ha-Kohen Tamari, a prominent Venetian physician. Three months after the betrothal a dispute between Venturozzo and Tamari resulted in the former leaving Venice. Venturozzo moved about in Italy, pursued by Tamari, who demanded a bill of divorce for his daughter, as erusin (betrothal), involving the exchange of marital vows, that is, apart from and prior to nissu’in (marriage), had taken place, necessitating a get. After considerable negotiation, Venturozzo returned to Venice and and formally divorced Tamari. This did not, however, conclude the matter. Venturozzo renounced the divorce, claiming that he had been compelled to grant the get; Tamari charged that Venturozzo was mercenary. Furthermore, Tamari claimed that Venturozzo’s charges, after the fact, did not negate the get. Rabbinic and secular authorities were marshaled by both sides, in Venice on behalf of Tamari, the rabbinate in Mantua, and Cosimo I, Duke of Florence, on behalf of Venturozzo, who would later be librarian for the Duke’s Hebrew books. Even the Church, represented by Cardinals and the Inquisition became involved. The dispute occupied the attention of Italian Jewry for seven years. Among the leading supporters of Venturozzo was R. Moses Provencal (1503–1575), rabbi of Mantua, a prominent talmudist, who invalidated the get, an action opposed by many rabbis in Italy, as well as rabbis throughout Italy and Turkey. Provencal wrote to the Venetian rabbinate informing them that Tamar could not remarry until the matter was resolved. The Venetian rabbinate sought and gained the support of the rabbis in the Ashkenaz yeshiva in Mantua, who “banned” Provencal, an action supported by a number of prominent rabbis in Italy and abroad. Nevertheless, much of the Italian rabbinate generally supported Provencal, as did R. Joseph Caro. Polemic tracts and collections of responsa were issued for and by both sides. For example, Hatzaa al Odot ha-Get (Proposal on the matter of the get given by Samuel known as Venturozzo), a sixty-two page collection of responsa from a number of rabbis in support of Tamari, was published at the press of Giorgio di Cavalli (Venice, 1566). The pamphlets noted here, are, in part, a response to that work. The matter became so heated that riots, suppressed by the civil authorities, occurred in Milan. Soon after, however, the public lost interest in the affair and it was quickly forgotten. At the end of the century, Provencal’s grandchildren were unable to sell copies of his pamphlet still in their possession.

Format Be’ur Zeh Yaza Rishonah 40: [11] leaves; Elleh ha-Devarim 40: [46] leaves.

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Ein Yisrael (Ein Ya’akov)

larçy ˆy[ Jacob ben Solomon ibn Habib 1566, Venice—Giorgio di Cavalli Collection of aggadot in the Talmud compiled by R. Jacob ben Solomon ibn Habib (c. 1445–c. 1515). First published in Salonika in 1516 and again in Venice in 1546 as Ein Ya’akov (see above, pp. 92–93) this is the first edition published as Ein Yisrael. Ein Ya’akov was among the titles proscribed and burned together with the Talmud after the pope’s bull of August, 1553, and subsequently placed on the Index librorum prohibitorum. The Council of Trent, which permitted the publication of the Talmud in 1564, and certain other works as well, did so by imposing onerous conditions, primarily concerning the expurgation of passages inimical to Christianity, and the substitution of acceptable terms for objectional ones. Among the other conditions imposed was the prohibition of Hebrew books under their original names. The Talmud, for example, could not be reprinted as such, but could be reissued only if that name were omitted, it now being called shas. Graetz, commenting on this situation, writes, “Strange, indeed, that the pope should have allowed the thing, and forbidden its name! He was afraid of public opinion, which would have considered the contradiction too great between one pope, who had sought out and burnt the Talmud, and the next, who was allowing it to go untouched.” Being a collection of talmudic aggadot, Ein Ya’akov was in the same situation as the Talmud, that is, a prohibited work that could only be republished if censored and under a different name. However, unlike the Talmud, it was soon after republished in Venice, in 1566, much censored, as Ein Yisrael. The change in names is alluded to on the title page, which states, “and he called it by a new name . . .,” and more explicitly at the top of the verso of the title page, where, paraphrasing Genesis 35:10, it states, “Your name shall not be called any more Ein Jacob but Ein Israel shall be your name.” Ein Ya’akov continued to be published under the name Ein Yisrael, and occasionally as Bet Yisrael, the title of the second volume, in places where Hebrew printing was not restricted by the Inquisition. Twenty-three editions were issued under this title in various locations, in order of their first appearance, namely in Venice, Cracow, Salonika, Prostitz, Verona, Amsterdam, Berlin, Frankfort a. M., Feurth, Zolkiew, Korzec, Ostrog, and finally Livorno, in 1854. While many of these imprints may be so named simply because they are copies of earlier editions named Ein Yisrael, those printed in places such as Salonika and even Amsterdam were named Ein Yisrael so that the work might be exported to Italy. Ein Ya’akov remained on the Index librorum prohibitorum until the very end, appearing on the last edition of the Index, issued in 1948.

Format 20: I 6, 194; II 191 [23] leaves. Printed previously in Salonika (1516) and Venice (1546) and reprinted in Cracow (1588, 1591) and Salonika (1593).

573

574

Megillat Sefer

rps tlgm 1566, Cremona—Vincenzo Conti Composition book with one hundred thirteen letters by an anonymous author. The title page has no ornamentation. The text begins, “Found in the possession of a Sephardi. In it are numerous letters.” It continues that the language is clear and brief, the letters varied, not all alike, concluding, “Reprinted by Vincenzo Conti in the month of Tevet,” 326 (December, 1566). On the verso of the title page is the introduction, followed by a listing of the letters [2a–6a]. The text is in a single column in rabbinic type, except for headings, which are in square letters. The book is unfoliated. The Conti edition of Megillat Sefer follows the Venice edition (1552, 80: 44f.) printed by Cornelius Adelkind. The text of the two title pages is identical, except that the Venice edition states, “by the efforts [of the one who] benefits [the public] who brought to press Holy Scriptures, Solomon Alt Shule ben Joshua Alt Shule.” The phrase is repeated here, except for Alt Shule’s name. Megillat Sefer is a collection of form letters to be used by the public. The letters are brief, the subject matter varied. The writer simply need copy the letter, add the name of the recipient, and send the letter. Topics include praising a friend, complaining to a friend for not writing, appreciation for a letter received, congratulations on good news, asking why a request was not fulfilled, seeking advice, requesting a relative in another city to purchase something unavailable in the writer’s city, informing that a request has been fulfilled, relating that the writer or a member of his household has had a son and informing about the berit, returning money or other loan with expressions of gratitude, borrowing or proposing something, and requesting news or information. A number of letters relate to weddings, including several sample invitations, such as the following: 103 “With the voice of joy and praise, a crowd keeping the festival” (Psalms 42:5). To you, the estimable, esteemed, and noble. Upon my knees I make supplication to you, “Let, I pray you, your lovingkindness be for my comfort” (Psalms 119:76), that I may rejoice in the gladness (ref. Psalms 106:5) of your honorable face, if you will come to the home of your servant, you, your wife, children, and pure companions to be for me a “chief and captain” ( Judges 11:11) before “the nobles of the peoples” (Psalms 47:10), here, Venice on [date]. On that day, with the help of God, I will build a palanquin for my son [or daughter]. And you my lord, will be “for us eyes” (Numbers 10:31) before all our brothers, and “we will be glad and rejoice” (Isaiah 25:9, Psalms 118:24, Song of Songs 1:4) together. “I trust in you; let me not be ashamed” (Psalms 25:2), “and do not let me be ashamed of my hope” (Psalms 119:116), and answer me in your righteousness.

The language, by modern standards, is fulsome, excessively flattering. However, it was the style at the time, for Megillat Sefer was a successful work, reprinted several times in the seventeenth century, and the letters reflects well on the writer, indicating that he is well versed and scholarly.

Format 80: 47 leaves. Printed previously in Venice (1552).

575

1566, Midrash ha-Ne’lam, Venice—Simeon bar Yohai (attributed to) Courtesy of the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad Ohel Yosef Yitzhak

576

Midrash ha-Ne’lam

μl[nh çrdm Simeon bar Yohai (attributed to) 1566, Venice—Cristophel Zanetti Zohar on Megillat Ruth. This mystical and allegorical commentary to the book of Ruth, while interpreting the biblical story, sees the events recounted as a metaphor for the passage of the soul and the interaction of the Sefirot. Personalities in the book of Ruth represent particular Sefirot, for example, Naomi represents repentance (Binah), Ruth is the Assembly of Israel (Malkhut), and Boaz is the righteous one (Yesod ), all of which is related to the divine name represented by the Tetragrammaton. The union of Boaz and Ruth represents a reconciliation of Yesod and Malkhut, thereby restoring a divine balance and harmony within the realm of the Sefirot. The title page has an architectural frame, and states: “w”ç[ y”m[ [‘My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth’ (Psalms 121:2)], Midrash ha-Ne’lam, on Megillat Ruth, printed by Cristophel Zanetti . . ., r”ywa g”lw [‘And a redeemer shall come to Zion’ (Isaiah 59:20) Amen. May it be His will].” There is a preface (2a) from R. Abraham ben Solomon Allon of Safed, who brought the book to press, followed by a listing (2a–2b) of the sod of the verses in the Megillah. The text (3a–29b) concludes with a colophon dated Wednesday, hryxyl w”kçh ‘a çdjl μymy by, that is 12 Tishrei 5326 from the creation, which in fact was Friday, September 17, 1565 (parenthetically, 12 Nissan 326 was on Monday, April 11, 1566). The volume concludes with a second list (30a–32b) of the sod that is not internal to the Megillah. Both lists were prepared by Allon. The text is in a single column in rabbinic type, excepting initial words in square letters. Foliation is in Arabic numerals, with a few leaves also having Hebrew foliation. Midrash ha-Ne’lam on Ruth was printed earlier in Thiengen as Tappuhei Zahav (Yesod Shirim, 40, 32ff.). Although the Venice edition has a number of errors, there are far less than in the Thiengen edition, indicating that the printers relied on different manuscripts. Midrash ha-Ne’lam on Ruth is similar in style to Midrash ha-Ne’lam on the Torah and on the Song of Songs. The latter, on Song of Songs, incomplete and consisting of prefatory comments only, was printed with Zohar Hadash. As with the Zohar, Midrash ha-Ne’lam, traditionally attributed to the tanna R. Simeon bar Yohai, has been more recently attributed by some modern scholars to R. Moses de Leon (c. 1240–1305). Midrash ha-Ne’lam was translated into English and into French.

Format 40: 32 leaves. Printed, as Tappuhei Zahav or Yesod Shirim, previously in Thiengen (1560) and reprinted in Cracow (1593).

577

578

Re’umah

hmwar Nahshon bar Zadok/Isaac ben Samuel Onkeneira 1566, Constantinople—Solomon Jabez Work on ritual slaughtering attributed to R. Nahshon bar Zadok, Gaon of Sura (871–79), with the commentary Zafenat Pa’ne’ah by R. Isaac ben Samuel Onkeneira (mid-sixteenth century; see below, Ayumah ka-Nidgaloth, 1577, pp. 654–55). Nahshon Gaon, the son and father of geonim, was highly regarded by his contemporaries. He often explained talmudic aggadah in a manner that varied from his predecessors, and is known for his many responsa and work on the calendar. The title page of Re’umah has no ornamentation, not even the florets characteristic of Jabez imprints. The text states that it is a work of great quality on the laws of shehitah u-bedikah (ritual slaughter and inspection) found in [the library] of Don Joseph Nasi ayyzy [ May he see children and long life. Amen], written by R. Nahshon from the land of Shinar in the country of Iraq in the year, “Behold hnh (60 = 1300), the day of the Lord comes” (Zechariah 14:1). Surely, it is as if it was blocked and sealed μwtw μwts “none went out, and none came in” ( Joshua 6:1). “And Isaac came from the way of the well Laha[iroi]” (Genesis 24:62), he is the complete and preeminent sage Isaac Onkeneira, “and he made him a fine woolen tunic” (Genesis 37:3), a commentary based and founded on . . . the Rambam and his Yad [ha-Hazakah]. . . .

The title page is dated Friday, Rosh Hodesh Tevet, in the year “For he has looked down from the height μwrmm [326 = December 3, 1565] of his sanctuary; [from heaven the Lord looked at the earth]” (Psalms 102:20). There are introductions from Nahshon and Onkeneira, followed by the text. Yaari suggests that the title is from, “Re’umah, she bore also Tebah jbf” (Genesis 22:24), tebah meaning slaughtering. Louis Ginzberg writes that Onkeneira notes that the title comes from hm war, “See Moses [Maimonides],” stating it is “nothing more than an ingenuous conceit.” The book concludes with epilogues from Onkeneira, errata, praise for the work from Don Joseph Nasi and R. Joseph ben Samuel ha-Levi, and verse extolling the book. The book is set in square letters; the text across the page, followed by the two commentaries, generally in two columns, Zafenat Pa’ne’ah in the outer column, and the other, attributed to Nahshon, Hezkat ha-Yad, in the inner column, except where one is sufficiently longer so that it too is then across the page. It is Yaari’s opinion that both introductions were written by Onkeneira; Mehlman believes the entire work was written by Onkeneira. Ginzberg points out that the commentaries, written at the request of Don Joseph Nasi, are at a ratio of ten to one to the text, and that as Ayumah ka-Nidgaloth is dated 1300, the author is, perhaps, a later R. Nahshon, who closely follows Maimonides. Ginzberg concludes that The Halakic value of the little book is slight. . . . The author attempts to condense in thirtyeight brief and tersely expressed paragraphs the important regulations regarding hfyjç and hpyrf. From the point of view of this object, it is not a despicable achievement. An interesting point is the author’s desire to imitate the language and manner of the Mishnah, wherein he succeeded admirably.

Format 40: 30 leaves.

579

1566, Yalkut Shimoni, Simeon of Frankfort, Venice Courtesy of the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad Ohel Yosef Yitzhak

580

Yalkut Shimoni

ynw[mç fwqly Simeon of Frankfort 1566, Venice—Alvise Bragadin Midrashic anthology, most often simply attributed to R. Simeon of Frankfort, but also credited to R. Simeon Kara and to R. Simeon ha-Darshan. Although Simeon cannot be identified with any certainty, he is believed to have been a resident of Frankfort, where he was a preacher, in the thirteenth century, as sages prior to that time do not refer to the Yalkut. Yalkut Shimoni is a great midrashic compilation, perhaps the largest, on the entire Bible, utilizing the entire corpus of early midrashic as well as talmudic and other sources. It is a comprehensive work, arranged by verse, covering all twenty-four books of the Bible. Part I, on the Torah, has 966 paragraphs, and part II, on Prophets and Hagiographa, 1,085 paragraphs, or sections, varying considerably in length, from a few lines to many columns over several pages. Many sources, no longer extant and otherwise unknown, are quoted in the Yalkut. Unfortunately, numerous citations are partial, the reader being referred to the complete entry. Sources given in the margins are not detailed; talmudic tractate names and chapters are noted, without pagination. This is also true for biblical references, and several works are cited by name only. In many instances there are no citations. In the epilogue to Deuteronomy, the editor, Meir Prinz, writes, “‘I have heard [of you] by the hearing of the ear’ ( Job 42:5) Shimoni ynw”[mçh [mç yt[mç, who ‘chose five smooth stones’ (I Samuel 17:40) to explain the five books of the Torah. . . .” Prinz comments on the comprehensiveness of the sources gathered by the author, how he left no corner of the field unturned from the “gemara and midrash.” The editor’s work was considerable, for, as he elaborates, no line is without errors, omissions, additions, and distortions. Correcting these errors was especially difficult, for the source texts are not available, “having been given over to the flames, as is known to all.” He was assisted in his endeavors by Menahem Porto ha-Kohen Ashkenazi. Their difficulties were exacerbated by the use of non-circumcised (non-Jewish) workers, who set type on the Sabbath. A rare state of this Yalkut exists, with “gemara and midrash” appearing as “Talmud and midrash.” This surely was the earlier printing, for Talmud, a prohibited term, must have quickly been replaced by the former reading. The colophon to the second volume ends on a personal note, Prinz mourning the loss of his father, “the light of my eyes has been taken, the crown fallen from my head, for the pious one is sought in the yeshiva above, that is, my lord, my father, the noble, Jacob Prinz.” The Yalkut was first printed in Salonika, on Prophets and Hagiographa by Don Judah Gedalia in 1521, on the Torah by Moses Soncino in 1526. An addendum to part I has not been reprinted. Prinz utilized the Salonika Yalkut in preparing this edition. Nevertheless, significant differences, not all improvements, exist. Isaac Prostitz, the printer of the 1595 Cracow Yalkut, not only based his edition on this printing, but employed it as a copybook, to the extent of including the colophons.

Format 20: 313 [1]; 190 leaves. Printed previously in Salonika (1521, part II, and 1526, part I) and reprinted in Cracow (1595).

581

582

Sefer Yere’im

μyary rps Eliezer ben Samuel of Metz 1566, Venice—Giorgio di Cavalli Halakhic compendium by R. Eliezer ben Samuel of Metz (Eliezer of Metz c. 1115–c. 1198). Eliezer, a student of Rabbenu Tam, Samuel ben Meir (Rashbam), and Hayyim Kohen of Paris, is an important tosafist. His students include R. Eliezer ben Joel ha-Levi and Eleazar ben Judah of Worms (Roke’ah). Little is known of Eliezer’s personal life, except that his daughters died in his lifetime, leaving him feeling alone and solitary. He served as a gabbai tzedekah (responsible for charitable funds) and professionally was a moneylender. Located in Metz, on the border of France and Germany, Eliezer was an intermediary between the Jewish communities of those lands, so that when scholars in the latter land wished to stress a teaching of Rabbenu Tam they said it in Eliezer’s name. Sefer Yere’im was written between 1171 and 1179. It is an enumeration of the taryag (613) mitzvot, according to the Halakhot Gedolot. Eliezer constantly references that work, although he on occasion differs with its conclusions. Sefer Yere’im is the first of several halakhic summaries from the Ba’alei Tosafot, written, as Eliezer writes, to counterbalance the casuistic studies of the Tosafot, who do not sufficiently address the roots of the precepts and how they should be fulfilled. It is Eliezer’s intent to emphasize the study of the commandments, both those applicable as well as those that cannot currently be fulfilled. In addition to its halakhic content Yere’im also includes considerable ethical teachings. The work is divided into twelve amudim (pillars), which are further subdivided. The amudim are: awe; idol worship, festivals (zemanim); dietary laws; agricultural laws (zera’im); marital relations; civil law (dinim); kings; laws of purity; vows; the Temple and its utensils; and sacrifices. The style of Sefer Yere’im is clear and easy to follow. Nevertheless, due to the organization of the subject matter it is not always easy to use as a halakhic work. For example, the prohibition on leaven on Pesah is listed under dietary laws. Sefer Yere’im was completed on Friday, 22nd of Elul, 326 (September 16, 1566). The pagination in the fifth quire is out of order, perhaps because the printer inverted the forme at the time of printing. An important and highly regarded work, Sefer Yere’im was widely distributed in the author’s lifetime, reaching Provence, and is frequently quoted by rishonim (early sages). This edition, and subsequent editions as well until the end of the nineteenth century, is actually an abridgement prepared by Benjamin ben Abraham ha-Rofei Anav (c. 1220– c. 1280). In 1892, a complete edition was published from a manuscript by Abraham Abba Schiff. Entitled Sefer Yere’im ha-Shalem, it is accompanied by the commentary To’afot Re’em. Eliezer also wrote tosafot to a number of tractates, referenced by the Ba’alei Tosafot, as well as responsa, but these are no longer extant.

Format 40: 6, 5–146 leaves.

583

584

Sefer Yuhasin

ˆysjwy rps Abraham ben Samuel Zacuto 1566, Constantinople—Solomon and Joseph Jabez Historical and genealogical chronicle by the astronomer and mathematician, R. Abraham ben Samuel Zacuto (1452–c. 1515). Zacuto was descended from a distinguished family of French Jews, who, after the expulsion of the Jews from France in 1306, settled in Castile. Zacuto’s teachers of rabbinic studies were his father, Samuel, and R. Isaac Aboab II (1433–93). Zacuto studied astronomy and astrology at the University of Salamanca, eventually joining the faculty as an instructor in those subjects. When the Jews were expelled from Spain Zacuto went to Portugal, where he served King John II and afterwards his successor Manuel as Royal Astronomer. In Salamanca, Zacuto wrote Ha-Hibbur ha-Gadol (Almagest, 1473–78), astronomical tables and calculations, translated into Spanish by Joseph Vecinho. These tables were utilized by Vasco di Gama on his expedition to India and by Columbus in his attempt to discover a shorter route to India. The latter, faced with starvation and threatened by Indians, was saved by predicting, from Zacuto’s tables, a lunar eclipse. Terrified that they would be deprived of the light of the moon, as well as of the sun, the Indians became docile and furnished Columbus’s party with food. Sefer Yuhasin was completed in 1504 in Tunis, where Zacuto, who died in Damascus in c. 1515, took refuge after Manuel forced the Jews of Portugal to convert in 1497. The purpose of the book, stated on the title page, is to present the chain of tradition (development of the Oral Law) from the time of Moses to that of the author. Included are questions and answers from Rabbi Sherira Gaon, as well as some “history of the kings of Israel and the nations, and how the Prince, called the Exilarch, judged the people in the courts of Sura and Pumbeditha, and other occurrences which befell our forefathers, dispersed in various books, specifically, ben Gurion. . . .” The title page notes that the book was printed by the great efforts of Dr. Samuel Shalom. His introduction follows the title page. Sefer Yuhasin was written because Zacuto felt that the succession of the tannaim and amoraim was inadequately or too briefly addressed in earlier works, such as those of Maimonides and Abraham Ibn Daud. Zacuto’s purpose is to identify Talmudic personalities and their chronological order for contemporary scholars, and to provide information for Jewish disputants. Divided into five parts, the book first discusses the period from creation to the conclusion of the Great Assembly, and then, in considerable detail, the tannaim and amoraim. The following parts discuss their successors, the savoraim and the geonim, and later Jewish history. However, events in Europe, such as the Crusades and the Black Death, are not addressed. Sefer Yuhasin, considerably more detailed than earlier works, is highly regarded. It reflects Zacuto’s command of talmudic and midrashic sources. However, the publisher, Samuel Shalom, added and deleted material, much of questionable reliability. Copies of this edition exist with typographical variants. Further additions, from R. Moses Isserles (Rema), were added to the Cracow edition. A corrected edition was published by Dr. A. Freimann (Frankfort a. M., 1925).

Format 40: 176 leaves. Reprinted in Cracow (1580).

585

586

Be’ur al ha-Torah

hrwth l[ rwab Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno 1567, Venice—Giovanni Gryphio Commentary on the Torah by R. Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno (c. 1470–c. 1550). This is Sforno’s principal and most important work. It is possible that the first draft of the Be’ur was prepared while Obadiah was still in Rome, where he studied medicine and gave lectures on the Torah. This, the first edition, printed seventeen years after Obadiah’s death, is based on a manuscript in the author’s possession in the last years of his life, and is therefore a final version of the commentary. The manuscript was edited by Obadiah’s brother Hananel, a talmudic scholar. The Be’ur was brought to press by R. Solomon ben Abraham Luzzato. On the title page is the device of the printer, Giovanni Gryphio, a griffin holding a stone in its claws, from which hangs a winged globe. On the sides is the phrase, “Wisdom without good luck accomplishes little.” This is the simplest form of Gryphio’s mark, for on other books it is set within an ornate frame. The device, representing Gryphio’s name, was also used by the Gryphos of Lyon, likely relatives of Giovanni. On the verso of the title page is a preface from Obadiah’s brother, Hananel, followed by Obadiah’s introduction. The text is in two colums in rabbinic type, excepting initial words, which are in square letters, and the opening words of books, which are in ornamental letters. After the text is a brief statement from Luzzato, followed by verse in praise of the work by R. Samuel Archivolti, the first letter of each each line forming an acrostic of his name, a table of the subject matter of the Be’ur by weekly Torah readings, and, to complete the volume, Kavvanot ha-Torah. The table is not a listing of the contents in the normal sense of the word, for it was prepared by Obadiah as an outline of the points he wished to emphasize prior to writing the Be’ur. Written very concisely, they serve as questions for the reader. Kavvanot ha-Torah is, to some extent, a supplement and completion to his Or Ammim (Bologna, 1537, see above, pp. 224–25). The subject matter is the structure of the Torah, reasons for the precepts, emphasizing the Temple and sacrifices, and the deeds of the patriarchs. Sforno writes in a clear and lucid style. He is concerned with the literal meaning of the text, and, although it is known that he was familiar with kabbalistic works, here eschews mystical interpretations. Obadiah address ethical and philosophical issues, and refers to both halakhah and aggadah in the commentary. Moreover, he is not reluctant to suggest innovative and even controversial interpretations. Sources for the Be’ur are the Bible, Babylonian Talmud, Midrashim, and prior commentaries, such as Rashi, Abrabanel, Ba’alei Tosafot, Bekhor Shor, Hizzekuni, ibn Ezra, Moses ben Nahman (Ramban), Samuel ben Meir (Rashbam), Saadiah Gaon, and others. Also printed by Gryphio is Obadiah’s commentary on Song of Songs (1567). Be’ur al ha-Torah, a popular commentary, has been utilized by latter commentators. It has been reprinted several times and is included in every Mikraot Gedolot (Rabbinic Bible).

Format 40: 92 leaves.

587

588

Derashot ha-Torah

hrwth twçrd rps Shem Tov ben Joseph ibn Shem Tov 1567, Padua—Lorenzo Pasquato Homilies on the Torah and repentance by R. Shem Tov ben Joseph ibn Shem Tov (15th century), a grandson of the kabbalist Shem Tov ibn Shem (Sefer ha-Emunot) and son of Joseph ibn Shem Tov (Kevod Elohim). Shem Tov, a resident of Segovia and Almazan, was a student of R. Isaac ben Jacob Canpanton (Gaon of Castile, 1360–1463). Derashot ha-Torah begins with an introduction from Shem Tov. He gives his full name, that is ben Joseph, omitted from the title page. He remarks that these homilies are derashot given publicly: the punishments found in the words of Torah are stern, as stated by the rabbis, “All who [causes himself to] forget something from his learning” (Menahot 99b) is liable to death, as the Torah states, “Only take heed to yourself, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen, [and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life; but teach them to your sons, and to your grandsons]” (Deuteronomy 4:9). However, when one gets older it is impossible, for forgetfulness is the condition of the elderly, and also the troubles of the times casts a person out of his place of study (ˆwy[h tybm) and all the more so for the people of HaShem, pressed by daily troubles. Therefore, it is necessary for all who read to write what they have acquired lest they forget it. For these reasons and in order to escape from an awesome punishment, and it is also appropriate to write matters acquired to benefit the public. . . .

The derashot on the weekly portions conclude on 71a, followed by a number of homilies on repentance, Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. This edition is an exact copy of the 1547 Venice edition, except that this printing is in square letters whereas the Venetian edition is in rabbinic letters. The title page has a decorative frame surmounted by an eagle. In a space at the top of the frame is a vignette of Akedat Yizhak (binding of Isaac), with the verse, “A good name is better than precious ointment” (Ecclesiastes 7:1), below it, and at the sides of the vignette, figurines holding cornucopias. The sides of the frame have several designs with faces and at the bottom of the frame are two squatting figures. This frame was used earlier in Cremona and Venice and afterwards in Cracow, brought there by Samuel Boehm. Derashot ha-Torah was published for Pietro del Portelvecchio. Derashot ha-Torah, printed three times in the sixteenth century, has not been reprinted since. In 1488, four years before the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, Shem Tov wrote a voluminous and important commentary to Maimonides’ Moreh Nevukhim, printed with most editions of that work. His position contrasts with that of his grandfather, for whom he is named, a staunch opponent of philosophy, particularly the Moreh Nevukhim, as expressed in his Sefer ha-Emunot (Ferrara 1556, see above, pp. 418–19). This Shem Tov’s father, Joseph ibn Shem Tov was more moderate than his father, but less fervent than his son in his position on philosophy and the Moreh Nevukhim, as expressed in his Kevod Elohim (Ferrara, 1556, see above, pp. 420–21). Shem Tov ben Joseph ibn Shem Tov wrote additional works on philosophy, addressing the distinction between matter and form, and the cause or purpose of the world, and supercommentaries to several of Averroes’ commentaries on Aristotle.

Format 20: 81 leaves. Printed previously in Salonika (1525), and Venice (1547).

589

590

Sefer ha-Gedarim (Mikhlal Yofi)

(ypwy llkm) μyrdgh rps Menahem ben Abraham Bonafos (Bonafoux Abraham of Perpignan) 1567, Salonika—Solomon and Joseph Jabez Dictionary of Hebrew philosophical expressions in the various sciences by R. Menahem ben Abraham Bonafos, known also as Bonafoux Abraham of Perpignan (14th–15th century). Bonafos, as his name suggests, was a resident of France. Sefer ha-Gedarim (Book of Definitions) is Bonafos’ only published work. The title page has the Jabez florets, its only decorative material, and simply states that it is the Sefer ha-Gedarim by Menahem ben Abraham called Bonafoux Abraham of Perpignan, entitled Mikhlal Yofi. The sovereign, Sultan Selim, is named with appropriate honorifics, the date that work began on the book, 11 Sivan, 5327 (Monday, May 29, 1567), is given. There is an introduction, beginning on the verso of the title page, from Isaac ben Moses ibn Arollo, who brought the book to press. Isaac’s introduction is followed by an introductory paragraph from the author. Bonafos writes that his intent is to gather the definitions (gedarim), expressions (rishamim), and explanations of names found in the works of the sages, particularly the Moreh Nevukhim. He has arranged them according to the alef bet. Bonafos then explains the arrangement to be followed within the letters. He concludes that because this work is free from anything unseemly, he has called it “Mikhlal Yofi, for, ‘Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty mikhlal yofi, God shines forth’” (Psalms 50:2). The text, as Bonafos stated, is arranged according to the Hebrew alphabet. Within each letter entries are defined by up to six she’arim (categories), referring to a concept, namely: 1) conduct, or ethics and politics; 2) logic; 3) metaphysics; 4) physics; 5) mathematics and astronomy; 6) and medicine. Not all entries are explained by all six categories. For example, “tet” has two she’arim only, the first and fourth. Sefer ha-Gedarim is on philosophical, scientific, and medical terms. Bonafos’ intent is to explain the meaning of words, rather than to provide their etymology. Nevertheless, there are instances when he utilizes Arabic and Greek to clarify an explanation. Printed with Sefer ha-Gedarim is Perakim be-Hazlahah on prophecy and the world to come. It is ascribed to Maimonides but likely was not written by him. It too is preceded by an introduction from Isaac ibn Arollo.

Format 40: 50 leaves.

591

592

Or ha-Sekhel

lkçh rwa rps Abraham ben Gedaliah ibn Asher 1567, Venice—Giovanni Gryphio Commentary on Bereshit Rabbah by R. Abraham ben Gedaliah ibn Asher (Aba, 16th century). Born in Safed, Asher was a student of R. Joseph Caro, with whom he corresponded in later years, and an associate of R. Moses Alshekh. Asher is also known as one of the sages of Aram Zoba (Aleppo, Halab). His brother-in-law, R. Shneor ben Judah Falcon, brought Or ha-Sekhel to press. The title page has the Gryphio printer’s mark, that is, a griffin holding a stone in its claws, with accompanying verses (see above, Be’ur al ha-Torah, 1567, pp. 586–87). The text states that it is on the complete Torah and five Megillot, each book with its own title. This volume, on Genesis, is entitled Ma’adanei Melekh. The beginning of the work, according to the title page, was, 14 Tammuz, “Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, you righteous; and shout for joy wnynrhw (327 = July 1, 1567), [all you who are upright in heart]” (Psalms 32:11). It was completed, according to the colophon, on Monday, 15 Kislev, “and your judgments are as the light that goes forth axy rwa[k] (328 = November 27, 1567)” (Hosea 6:5). The corrector was R. Isaac ben Joseph Hazzan. The verso of the title page has Asher’s introduction and a preface from R. Samuel Kasani, followed by the text (2a–192a). The text is in the middle of the page in square letters, with a commentary attributed to Rashi in the inner margin and that of Aba (Abraham ben Asher) in the outer margin, both in rabbinic letters. Biblical references are in the very outer margin. The initial words of most but not all parashiot are in an ornamental frame across the width of the page. Several folios are misnumbered. The text is based on the 1545 Venice edition of Midrash Rabbot (see above, pp. 286–87). Asher’s purpose was to prepare a corrected text of the Midrash through the examination of manuscripts and a comparison of variant readings, which he notes in his commentary, generally referred to as Sefer Aba. In the introduction, Asher writes that he had two manuscripts of Rashi’s commentary with variations. He based the commentary on one of them and inserted those parts that were different from the other, noting the insertions with a a”s. However, the commentary attributed to Rashi was probably not written by him, although, based on this attribution, it has often been credited to Rashi. Asher called the complete work Or ha-Sekhel (the light of wisdom) because it certainly lights the eyes of wisdom of one who looks into it. Each book has an appropriate individual name. This volume is called “Ma’adanei Melekh, for the sayings of our sages who are called kings are dainties for the soul and this book explains them and places the dainties of the king before all who read them, for, ‘The light of the eyes rejoices the heart’ (Proverbs 15:30). I have also chosen this name to be a remembrance from the verse, ‘Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, [and he shall yield royal dainties ma’adanei melekh]’” (Genesis 49:20). This is the only volume from Asher’s commentary that has been printed. The commentary on Exodus is extant in manuscript.

Format 20: 192 leaves.

593

594

Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer

rz[yla ybr yqrp Eliezer ben Hyrcanus 1567, Sabbioneta—Vincenzo Conti Aggadic work attributed to the late first-, early second-century tanna, R. Eliezer ben Hyrcanus. The attribution results from the initial sentence, “The following occurred to R. Eliezer ben Hyrcanus.” Also known as Baraita de-Rabbi Eliezer, it is generally accepted that Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer was composed in Erez Israel in the eighth century. Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer is comprised of fifty-four chapters primarily covering Genesis, Exodus and Numbers. The introductory chapters deal with Eliezer ben Hyrcanus’s youth and thirst for knowledge and going to Jerusalem. Chapters 3–11 are on creation, from the seven things created before the world, including a commentary on the book of Jonah (ch. 10). Chapters 12–20 are on Adam and Eve; and the book then progress from Noah through the journeys of Israel in the wilderness. Chapters 44, 49–50 deal with Amalek and Haman, Esther and Daniel. Among the other subjects addressed are angels, redemption, the world to come, the Divine chariot, the secrets of the calendar, and the reasons for many customs, such as those related to havdalah (end of the Sabbath). The work appears incomplete, for only eight of the ten descents of God to Earth are enumerated, and the discussion of the Amidah (eighteen benedictions) does not go beyond the eighth blessing. It is attributed to the eighth century for it conforms stylistically to a later period; refers to the calendar, which postdates Eliezer; has customs from the geonic period; and alludes to Islam. Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer was printed by Vincenzo Conti, who, at the end of 1566, came to Sabbioneta from Cremona at the invitation of Duke Vespasian Gonzaga. The Duke is credited with supporting publication of Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer. Conti also printed Zeidah laDerekh, Halikhot Olam, Shevet Yehudah, and liturgical works. After one year, however, Conti returned to Cremona, where he printed Latin books until 1569, but no additional Hebrew titles. The device employed on Pirkei and the next two titles is of the mythological Hercules, standing to the left and in his right hand a staff raised to strike Hydra, the many-headed snake. The colophon states that the work was done In Sabbioneta hfynwybs by Vincenzo Conti, an expert at the [printing] craft, in the month of Av, 327 (1567), parashat (Eikev) “[All the commandments which I command you this day shall you take care to do] that you may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land [which the Lord swore to your fathers]” [Deuteronomy 8:1] . . . “for from Sabbioneta hfynwys [sic] shall go forth Torah, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem,” in our day and the days of all Israel, Amen.

Conti’s adaptation of “for from Zion shall go forth Torah” (Isaiah 2:3, Micah 4:2), an adaptation also employed by other printers, is unfortunately marred by a typesetting error in the spelling of Sabbioneta. A much reprinted popular work, there are commentaries on Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer by Abraham Brodye (Vilna, 1838) and David Luria (Warsaw, 1852), as well as translations into other languages, the Latin translation being accompanied by a detailed commentary.

Format 40: 46 leaves. Printed previously in Mantua (1506?), Constantinople (1514) and Venice (1544), and reprinted in Lublin (1598).

595

1568, Haggadah with Nimmukei Yosef, Joseph ben Jacob Shalit of Padua, Mantua Courtesy of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

596

Haggadah with Nimmukei Yosef

jsp lç hdgh Joseph ben Jacob Shalit of Padua 1568, Mantua—The Sons of Filipponi Reprint of the 1560 Passover Haggadah printed in Mantua (above, pp. 510–11) with modifications and the marginalia of R. Joseph ben Jacob Shalit Ashkenazi of Padua entitled Nimmukei Yosef. The title page, new here, is the much-employed frame first used in Sabbioneta, with an arch covered with vines and fruit. At the sides are two pillars, flanked by representations of the pagan deities Mars and Minerva. At the bottom center is the peacock device of Joseph Shalit. One source informs us that it was printed by “a well-known non-Jewish firm which concealed its identity under the name Filipponi,” while elsewhere it is reported that “the printing-press of Francesco Filipponi . . . was also in the clock tower adjoining the building of the commune and next to that of Rufinelli.” The placement of the commentary, Nimmukei Yosef, actually brief and sporadic marginalia, necessitated some rearrangement of the previous layout. It replaces the frames composed of garlands, masks, and putti in the first edition, but which remain on those pages lacking the commentary. For example, on the preliminary page, the large illustration of the baking of matzah remains intact on the bottom of the page, and there are still two woodcuts of cherubim along the top, although one has been replaced with a substitute. However, the inset of the search for leaven has been moved to the right border and the commentary is on the left border, both displacing the original illustrations of cherubim. Illustrations of the sun and moon have been added, as well as a new large initial word rwa. The fonts and their arrangement are also new. This last notwithstanding, the type and body of the Haggadah are a facsimile of the 1560 Mantua Haggadah. This Haggadah shares some features with the Prague Haggadah of 1526 (above, pp. 184–85). Woodcuts are accompanied by captions, given as rhymed couplets, a feature of Ashkenaz manuscript haggadot. In some instances, for example, by the four questions, the earlier edition was framed by a lush Italian border, without illustrations. Here only the types and the top and upper left borders with their vines and cherubs are alike. On the middle left is Nimmukei Yosef, and below it a cut of a king that appeared twice in the 1526 Haggadah. There, however, it was a portrayal of Pharaoh, here it is a representation of the person asking the four questions. The border on the right is also new, depicting occupations associated with the months of the year. In the 1560 edition the wise son was based on Michelangelo’s Jeremiah in a fresco in the Sistine Chapel. Here it is used, according to the caption, as “Portrait of an old man who acquired wisdom, replying to the wise [son] with knowledge and deliberation.” This woodcut is used again as one of the rabbis mentioned in the Haggadah. There are depictions of the zodiac, which do not appear in the first edition, and one woodcut not found in the 1560 edition, that is, a second depiction of the crossing of the Red Sea, appearing on 17b and 28a. The result of attempting to reproduce the 1560 Haggadah with an added commentary and the consequent modifications is that the Haggadah, overall, appears less harmonious than its predecessor.

Format 20: 36 leaves. Printed previously in Mantua (1560) without Nimmukei Yosef.

597

1568, She’erit Yosef, Joseph ben Shem Tov ben Yeshuah Hai, Salonika Courtesy of Kestenbaum & Company

598

She’erit Yosef

πswy tyraç rps Joseph ben Shem Tov ben Yeshuah Hai 1568, Salonika—Joseph ben Isaac Jabez On the intercalation of the calendar by R. Joseph ben Shem Tov ben Yeshuah Hai. The text has the commentary of Daniel ben Perahyah ha-Kohen (d. 1575), and signs for the parshiot from his brother Samuel ben Perahyah ha-Kohen. It is followed by the Orhot Hayyim of R. Eleazer ha-Gadol (Eliezer ben Isaac of Worms, 11th cent.), and printed with it is the Tabulae tabularum coelestium motuum: sive almanach perpetuum of Abraham Zacuto (1452– c. 1515) in Spanish in Hebrew letters. No information is available as to Joseph ben Shem Tov. Daniel ben Perahyah, one of the sages of Salonika, was the scion of a Roman Jewish family that traced its origins to Josephus, as noted at the end of this work. Daniel succeeded his father, a physician, as head of the yeshivah of the Italian community and was also their dayyan. In addition to his Jewish scholarship Daniel was also well versed in secular subjects. All of his books and writings were destroyed in a fire in 1545, excepting the commentary to She’erit Yosef. In addition to his commentary, Daniel included additional material on other subjects and appended the Tabulae tabularum, also with additional material. The Jabez florets are on the title page and several places in the book. The text informs that included are tables as to the appearance of the new moon (molad ), the seasons, the rising of the sun in each constellation, position of the moon, and the times of the day and night also according to the calendars of Ishmael (Arabs) and Edom (Christians). The commentaries mentioned above are noted, as are Zacuto’s work transcribed by Joseph Vicinho in twenty-three chapters with commentary and explanations from the sponsor (Daniel ben Perahyah), and Orhot Hayyim of R. Eliezer ha-Gadol. Work began, according to the title page, on 15 Shevat, 5328 from the creation (Thursday, January 25, 1568). Completion of the first part of the work, after Orhot Hayyim, was Rosh Hodesh Nissan, in the year “Comfort my people, comfort them ym[ wmjn wmjn (328 = Tuesday, April 9, 1568), says your God” (Isaiah 40:1). The last part was completed 27 Nissan, 328 (Sunday, May 5, 1568). The title page is followed by verses in praise of the book from Samuel ben Perahyah, followed by the introduction of Daniel ben Perahyah. The text is unpaginated and in rabbinic letters, excepting headings and initial letters. Also included (89b–90) is the Iggul deR. Nahshon from Rav Nahshon bar Zadok, Gaon of Sura (871–79). Signatures are given in Hebrew letters in the upper left-hand corner of the recto, only the first folio of four being signed. The last signature is dk (24). Zacuto wrote his Almanac (Ha-Hibbur ha-Gadol ) in Hebrew; Joseph Vicinho, his pupil, abridged and translated it into Latin and then Spanish; and the Portuguese Hebrew printer, Abraham d’Ortas, published it (Leiria, 1496). Christopher Columbus, on one of his voyages to the New World, used the Almanac to predict a lunar eclipse, so terrifying the Indians that they became obedient to him, and furnished food to his party. The first edition of She’erit Yosef (15 cm. [53] f.) was printed by Don Judah Gedaliah. It does not include Zacuto’s Almanac. There are variant copies of She’erit Yosef in which the Almanac is not mentioned on the title page or appended to the volume.

Format 80: [94], 30 leaves. Printed previously (Salonika, 1521).

599

600

Biblia Sacra hebraice, chaldaice, graece et latine . . . 1569–72, Christophe Plantin—Antwerp A scientific polyglot Bible in five languages. This Biblia Sacra, known as the Antwerp Polyglot or the Royal Polyglot (Biblia regia), is Plantin’s masterpiece and most important typographical accomplishment. A need for a new and correct polyglot was evident in scholarly circles. Plantin, after displaying specimen sheets at the Frankfort a. M. book fair, received several offers of sponsorship. He refused all, turning instead to Phillip II of Spain, stating he had refused those offers so as not to have to relocate to a city that did not owe allegiance to Phillip. With the assistance of Cardinal Granville, Plantin’s patron; Don Gabriel de Zayas, a secretary of state for foreign affairs to Phillip; and the approval of the Council of the Inquisition, that monarch agreed to sponsor the Biblia regia. They were partly motivated, in spite of some clerical opposition, by the fact that a similar work was being prepared by Joannes Immanuel Tremellius, a Calvinist and apostate Jew. Printed in eight volumes, of which the first five are the text proper, that is, four volumes of the Hebrew Bible; the fifth the Christian Bible; and the concluding volumes are scholarly apparatus, linguistic and historical discourses. The text of the Hebrew Bible is spread over four colums in two pages; the Hebrew in the outer left-hand column, next to it the Vulgate translation, followed, on the adjoining page, by the Latin, and then the Greek Septuagint in the right-hand column. Along the bottom of the first page is the Aramaic paraphrase, on the next page the Latin version. The Hebrew text has been collated with that of the Complutensian Polyglot Bible (Alcalá de Henares, 1514–1517, above, pp. 54–55), from which the layout is taken, and the Rabbinic Bibles of Venice. The Christian Bible has an added language, Syriac. In volume seven the Hebrew text is interlinear with the Latin translation. The Bible is illustrated with a score of engraved plates. The Hebrew matrices, ordered from Guillaume le Bé in Paris, are derived from the Complutensian Polyglot. The smaller Hebrew matrices, for the Aramaic and Syriac, acquired from Cornelius van Bomberghen when his partnership with Plantin was dissolved, were used by Laurent van Everborght and François Guyot to cast the type. Plantin employed skilled correctors, foremost his son-in-law, François Raphelengius. The work was supervised by Benedictus Arias Montanus, Phillip’s private chaplain, fortunately a scholar, sent by the king to Antwerp for that purpose. Twelve hundred sets were printed on paper, 960 on papier grand royal de Troyes (sold 70 fl.; 60 fl. to booksellers); 200 on fin royal de au raisan, de Lyon (sold 80 fl.); 30 on papier impériale à l’aigle (sold 100 fl.); and 10 on grand papier impériale (sold 200 fl.). Six sets were to be printed on vellum, but, to meet the king’s increased requirements, that number was raised to thirteen, requiring an additional 16,232 skins, for which Plantin received only half of his costs. Phillip, financially constrained, did not provide full support, so that Plantin was almost impoverished, and could only print 600 copies initially. Phillip did secure Plantin a license from the Holy See, however, which, over time, more than compensated him for his not inconsiderable difficulties in printing this polyglot Bible.

Format 20: 8 volumes, 3, 522 leaves.

601

602

Hukkat ha-Pesah

jsph tqj Moses ben Hayyim ben Shem Tov Pesante 1569, Salonika—Joseph ben Isaac Jabez Commentary on the Haggadah by R. Moses ben Hayyim ben Shem Tov Pesante (c. 1540– d. 1573). Born in Jerusalem, Pesante lived in Safed, leaving due to financial exigencies, traveling, from 1565 to 1573, in Turkey and the Balkans. In the introduction to Ner Mitzvah (Constantinople, 1567, below, pp. 606–07), his first book, Pesante bemoans his fate, having “seen neither joy nor rest, but rather trouble, sorrow, and sighing, going from city to city, for my iniquities have driven me out of the land of the living, ‘from having a share in the inheritance of the Lord’ (I Samuel 26:19), to provide for my home.” Pesante again expresses his longing for Erez Israel at the end of Yesha Elohim (Constantinople, 1567), writing, that he longs “‘to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple’ (Psalms 27:4), my land and birthplace from which I departed, and I will be ‘at rest in my house, and flourish in my palace’” (Daniel 4:1). Pesante did not have the good fortune to return to Safed, necessity forcing him to continue wandering and selling his books. He was, together with two Jewish merchants, murdered in Greece. The murderers, when apprehended, had cast Pesante’s books into the sea from fear of being implicated by them in their crime. Hukkat ha-Pesah was written by Pesante when only twenty-eight years old and was completed in Gallipoli. The title page has the standard Jabez florets and is dated, “and the work was begun on Thursday, the 27th of the month of Adar, in the year, ‘they shall obtain wgyçy (329 = March 26, 1569) gladness and joy, and sorrow and sadness shall flee away’” (Isaiah 35:10). Adar 27 that year was a Wednesday, so that either the date or the day is incorrect. The colophon gives the date of completion as “Wednesday, 17th of the month of Ziv (Iyyar), in the year, ‘they shall obtain . . .’” (May 14, 1569). The title page describes the contents as including Pesante’s commentary, which makes use, among others, of Rabbenu Yonah, his brother Benjamin Anav, and Isaac [di Trani]. The reference to Rabbenu Yonah is an error, for what is intended is the commentary of Zedekiah ha-Rofei, Shibbolei ha-Leket. Finally, it is noted that there is a brief commentary by R. Solomon Baruch. On the verso of the title page is the approbation of R. Samuel ben Perachiah ha-Kohen Zedek, followed by verses in praise of the book. On (3b) are verses of praise, these from R. Saadiah Lungo. Pesante’s introduction follows, and on 4a begins Pesante’s discussion of the laws and order of the Seder. Next is the text of the Haggadah, in the center of the page in square letters, accompanied by Pesante’s commentary along the inner margin and Solomon Baruch’s commentary along the outer margin, both in rabbinic letters, both lengthy, so that many pages are commentary only. Pesante concludes with additional halakhot pertinent to the conclusion of the Seder, and an index (70b–71b). Pesante employs a large number of early sources, resulting in a rich and detailed commentary. Stylistically he is much influenced by Abudraham and by Abrabanel’s Zevah Pesah. Hukkat ha-Pesah is the first Haggadah known to have been printed in Salonika, and the first in this format with two commentaries. Its intrinsic value notwithstanding, Hukkat ha-Pesah was not republished until 1998.

Format 40: 71 [1] leaves.

603

604

Ma’amar Tehiyyat ha-Metim

μytmh tyjt rmam Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides, Rambam) 1569, Constantinople—Joseph ben Isaac Jabez Treatise on resurrection from R. Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides, Rambam, 1135–1204). In this work Maimonides explains and defends his belief in resurrection. Maimonides wrote this treatise in 1191, in response to criticism that he either denied or did not address the subject of resurrection in his earlier works, this despite the fact that he had indeed mentioned it in several places, such as his Mishneh Torah, commentary on Mishnayot, and Hakdamah le-Ferek Helek, even enumerating “resurrection of the dead” as one of Judaism’s thirteen principles of faith. In those instances, however, he had, as he writes here, emphasized “the belief in the world-to-come rather than resurrection. I explained that we find men are concerned with resurrection only, asking whether the dead will rise naked or garbed, etc. The world to come, however, is completely overlooked. I clearly stated that the resurrection is a fundamental of the Torah of Moses, our master, but not the ultimate goal, which is the world to come.” The question of Maimonides’ position had been previously raised and responded to by him, but not to the complete satisfaction of some of his most devoted adherents, the Jews of Yemen. They wrote to the gaon Samuel ben Ali (d. 1194), head of the Ga’on Ya’akov yeshiva in Baghdad. Samuel differed with Maimonides on several issues of halakhah, was critical of the Moreh Nevukhim, and shared political differences with Maimonides concerning the position of and esteem due the resh galuta (exilarch). Samuel responded to the inquiry from Yemen in a letter, a copy of which was forwarded to Maimonides, accusing him of rejecting the concept of resurrection. (See above, p. 109.) Ma’amar Tehiyyat ha-Metim is Maimonides’ rebuttal, simultaneously clarifying Judaism’s position on the subject. In Ma’amar Tehiyyat ha-Metim Maimonides discusses the correspondence on the subject, addressing and strongly rebuking his opponents. He writes concerning the misrepresentation of his position, “When it is reported that I maintain that resurrection in the Torah is metaphorical, this is a pure lie and invention. My writings are circulated. Read them and point to where I state this.” He refers the reader to his earlier works, particularly the Moreh Nevukhim, where he has already addressed this issue. This is followed by an unequivocal reaffirmation of Maimonides’ belief in resurrection, its relationship to the world to come, and its position in Jewish eschatology, and the nature and purpose of miracles as they relate to resurrection. Furthermore, it is one of his principles of faith. His brevity on the subject may be attributed to the fact that there is not much that can be said on the subject, as it is not a philosophical verity to be arrived at through proofs and propositions but must be accepted as miraculous and as foretold in the Bible. The volume begins with the printer’s introduction, followed by the text as translated by Samuel ibn Tibbon, errata, a page-long epilogue entitled Mikhtav Tehiyyat ha-Metim by the poet R. Judah Zabara, and concludes with a page of verse, also by Zabara.

Format 80: 56 leaves.

605

606

Ner Mitzvah/Yesha Elohim

μyqla [çy/hwxm rn Moses ben Hayyim ben Shem Tov Pesante 1569, Salonika—Joseph ben Isaac Jabez Two works by R. Moses ben Hayyim ben Shem Tov Pesante (c. 1540–d. 1573), Ner Mitzvah, a commentary on the Azharot of R. Solomon ibn Gabirol, and Yesha Elohim, a commentary on the Hoshanot. Separate works, Ner Mitzvah and Yesha Elohim were printed almost simultaneously and are very much alike in appearance. The only ornamentation on the title pages and in the volume is the Jabez florets. The title, Ner Mitzvah, is in a larger font, otherwise the placement and type of the text is the same, except that the title ‘Sultan,’ for the Ottoman ruler, Selim, omitted from Ner Mitzvah, has been added to Yesha Elohim. Ner Mitzvah was begun and concluded, according to the title page and the colophon, respectively, on Sunday, 27 Tevet, fkçh (5329 = January 26, 1569), and Thursday, 21 Adar, in the year “they shall obtain wgyçy (329 = March 20, 1569) joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away” (Isaiah 35:10). Yesha Elohim was begun on Monday, 6 Shevat in the year “they shall obtain wgyçy (329 = February 3, 1569) joy and gladness.” Hukkat ha-Pesah, a third work by Pesante, was begun a week after Ner Mitzvah was completed (see above, pp. 602–03). Both works were printed previously and are now reprinted with additions. On the verso of the title page of Ner Mitzvah are verses, followed by Pesante’s introduction (2a–3b) to the first edition. Next is the introduction of R. Samuel af Na’im (4a), and then Pesante’s introduction (4b–7b) to the second edition, essentially the same as the first. The text (8a–67b) is followed by indices (68a–68b). Pesante’s commentary on the Azharot, printed between the Azharot, are of varying length, some brief, others quite long. Pesante notes in the introduction that the first printing had errors and, for whatever reason, was not edited properly. This edition has been edited with great care and much new material has been added. The title page of Yesha Elohim is followed, on the verso, by a brief preface and verse from Samuel af Na’im, Pesante’s introduction (2a) with, at the bottom of the page, verse by R. Samuel ha-Kohen ben Perachiah and then Pesante’s introduction to the reprint (2b–4b) with comments similar to those in Ner Mitzvah. The text (5a–30b) is made up of the Hoshanot and Pesante’s commentary, placed between the Hoshanot. The commentary also discusses relevant customs and the laws of lulav. There are piyyutim with commentaries for Shimini Hag Atzeret (Tikkun Geshem) and Tikkun Simhat Torah. The book concludes with a third introduction from Pesante. The printer of both works was Joseph Jabez. His brother Solomon printed the previous editions of both titles in Constantinople. Pesante also wrote several books, never published and known from his references to them in the above works, such as Beit Tefillah, a commentary on prayer; a commentary on Pirkei Avot; novellae on tractate Kiddushin; Zera Kodesh on Seder Zera’im of the Jerusalem Talmud; and a collection of homilies.

Format: Ner Mitzvah 40: 68 leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople, 1567 Yesha Elohim 40: 32 leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople in 1567.

607

1569, Perush le-Midrash Hamesh Megillot Rabbah, Naphtali ben Menahem Hertz, Cracow Courtesy of the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad Ohel Yosef Yitzhak

608

Perush le-Midrash Hamesh Megillot Rabbah

hbr twlygm çmj çrdml çwryp Naphtali ben Menahem Hertz 1569, Cracow—Isaac ben Aaron Prostitz Commentary on Midrash Rabbah on the five Megillot. The author, R. Naphtali ben Menahem Hertz (Hertzki, d. 1582), is described on the title page as the head of the mesivta in Lemberg (Levov) in the state of Russia. A person of some prominence in his time, he was highly regarded by contemporary leading rabbis In this brief work Hertz explains both content and difficult terms. The device on the title page, and the last page as well, a deer in a garden set within a laurel, also appears on the title page of Perush le-Midrash ha-Rabbot me-ha-Torah. It is normally accepted as representative of Isaac Prostitz. However, it more likely refers to the author, Naphtali Hertz, alluding to “Naphtali is a hind let loose; he gives goodly words” (Genesis 49:21). This device appears on a later Cracow imprint, R. Meir ben Ezekiel ibn Gabbai’s Avodat haKodesh (1577–78), but in that case it may refer to the individual who brought it to press, Zevi ben Isaac. The volume begins with an introduction by the author, and concludes, on 35a, with several lines of verse from R. David ha-Darshan from Cracow, followed, on 35b, with an epilogue from the editor, Samuel ben Isaac Boehm (d. 1588). Perush le-Midrash was begun on Friday, 15 Av, f”kçh (5329 = August 8, 1569), and completed two weeks later, on 29 Av rxy hwwdj (329 = August 22, 1569). Hertz’s introduction is printed with letters unlike those in the rest of the work and it is possible that the book was begun, or even initially printed elsewhere, perhaps in Lublin. Perush le-Midrash Hamesh Megillot Rabbah was immediately followed by Perush le-Midrash ha-Rabbot me-ha-Torah, Hertz’s commentary on the Torah portion of Midrash Rabbah, begun on Rosh Hodesh Elul (August 24th) of that year. At the beginning of this second book Boehm states that the introduction for this work was printed with Perush le-Midrash Hamesh Megillot, and he, Boehm, not wanting to leave a blank space appends this brief note. It concludes with errata for both works. This is the first book printed by Isaac Prostitz, as well as the first Hebrew book printed in Cracow in about three decades, since the closure of the ill-fated Halicz brothers’ press. Prostitz, born in Prossnitz, Moravia, was sent at an early age to Italy by his father to learn the printing trade, accomplished at the Cavalli and Gryphio presses. When the latter press closed in 1568, Prostitz acquired their typographical equipment, including the letters, ornaments, and frames, and brought them to Cracow, where he was joined by the famous proofreader, Samuel Boehm. Prostitz petitioned King Sigismund II Augustus (1548–72) on October 15, 1567, for the privilege of establishing a Hebrew press, which was granted to him and “his seed after him” to print the Talmud and other Hebrew books for a period of fifty years. Prostitz would, until his death on 14 Kislev, 372 (November 20, 1611), print more than 200 titles The press was continued by Prostitz’s sons, Aaron and Issachar, after his death, and their sons after them. Their last title was Sefer ha-Yashar, in 1628.

Format 40: 35 leaves.

609

610

Ta’amei Mitzvot

twxm ym[f rps Menahem ben Moses ha-Bavli 1570–71, Lublin—Eliezer ben Isaac/Isaac ben Eliezer Shalit Annotations on and explanations of the precepts by R. Menahem ben Moses ha-Bavli (d. 1571). Menahem is one of the sages of Erez Israel in the sixteenth century. That he was highly regarded can be seen from the prominent rabbis who quote or refer to him in their responsa. Little is known about his background, but he is believed to have come from Italy, perhaps from a family originally from Baghdad (although this has been the subject of some contention), serving as a dayyan in Trikkola, Greece, where he signed a responsum (no. 2) dated 28 Shevat 5282 (February 5, 1522), printed in Binyamin Ze’ev (Venice, 1538–39, above, pp. 230–31), going to Erez Israel sometime after that date. By 1537 he was already in Safed, together with his father and brother Reuben, known from a responsum (I no. 43) of R. Moses di Trani (ha-Mabit, Venice, 1629–30). A responsum of Menahem’s on divorce was published in the responsa of R. Joseph Caro (Salonika, 1597, below, pp. 880–81). Menahem engaged in the wool-dyeing business with Reuben, but left Safed, after 1546, to help in the resettlement of Hebron. The title page is simple. As with several other early Lublin imprints, it states that it was printed by the printers noted at the end of the work, given in the colophon as Eliezer ben Isaac and Isaac ben Eliezer Shalit. The title page is dated Tuesday, 14 Tevet lça (331 = December 22, 1570), and the completion date, in the colophon, is Thursday, 22 Shevat lça ( January 28, 1571). There is an introduction from Menahem, where he identifies himself as Menahem ha-Bavli ha-Hevroni. He rejoices on the completion of the 248 positive commandments, equal to the number of limbs yryba, the subject of several word plays. Menahem declines any benefit from the book, the income from it going to Hebron “to repair the breaches and rebuild that which was torn down so that they may have rest from the robbers and plunderers of the night, so that, with the help of God and the merit of the patriarchs [who rest in Hebron] those who study day and night will not be disturbed.” Ta’amei Mitzvot is on the reasons for the commandments, often with kabbalistic overtones. An example of the entries is that for the positive precept to mourn for the dead, where, in the second paragraph on the subject, Menahem writes: “And Jacob b awoke ≈ from his sleep w, and he said r, [Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not]” (Genesis 28:16). The last letters of the words equal rwbx (congregation), and it is written, “Surely the Lord is in this place,” to make known that in the place where there is a congregation there too is the Divine presence and that Scripture considers anyone who assists his companion with a mitzvah as if he performed it himself, for it says, “And Moses took the bones of Joseph [with him]” (Exodus 13:19) but that he assisted.

Ta’amei Mitzvot was a popular work, reprinted several times, and the subject of a commentary by R. Zevi of Rimenov. R. Jacob Horowitz, brother of R. Isaiah Horowitz (Shelah), praises Ta’amei Mitzvot and quotes from it frequently. Menahem wrote a more extensive work on the reasons for the commandments, Ta’amei Mitzvot ha-Arukhot, but it is no longer extant. Ta’amei Mitzvot has been confused by some publishers with the Ta’amei ha-Mitzvot of R. Menahem Recanati. Format 40: [52] leaves.

611

612

Torat ha-Olah

hlw[h trwt Moses ben Israel Isserles (Rema) 1570, Prague—Mordecai ben Gershom Katz Philosophic and scientific work by R. Moses ben Israel Isserles (Rema, c. 1530–1572) in which he explains the symbolism, meaning, and purpose of the Temple, its measurements, and the sacrifices offered there. Written in a homiletic style, it has been described as showing “An affinity for kabbalistic philosophy as it was emerging from the north Italian yeshivot.” Rema, who apparently worked on Torat ha-Olah for eight years, states in the introduction his twofold purpose, to mourn continuously over the destruction of the Temple, and to be conceptually prepared to offer sacrifices. Torat ha-Olah begins with a detailed table of contents, followed by a page of verse in praise of the author (4b), the introduction (5a–6a), and the text, divided into three parts, after the three patriarchs: I on the Temple, its utensils and the altar (6b–33b); II on the sacrifices, incense, and libations and the reasons for them (34a–69b); III specific reasons for the sacrificial offerings, and an explanation of the prayer Baruch She’amar, which refers to creatio ex nihilo (70a–171b), concluding with an epilogue and page of verse by the printer (173a). Each section is preceded by an introduction. The Rema, following Moses Botarel in his commentary to Sefer Yezirah, attempts to justify the study of philosophy and show its consistency with Kabbalah, the differences between these studies being a matter of expression. In the conclusion to one of his responsa (no. 121) Rema writes that Torat ha-Olah includes wondrous matters from the wisdom of Pardes (the last part of which stands for sod, or kabbalistic interpretation). Concepts introduced earlier in Mehir Yayin (Cremona, 1559, above, pp. 490–91), to which Rema alludes in the introduction, are expanded and developed here. Considerable attention is given to astronomy, which, together with cosmological process, is correlated to the measurements of the Temple and the meaning of sacrifices. He follows Maimonides in believing that Aristotle is correct concerning the sublunar world, but in error on creation. Rema’s discussions of philosophy and science engendered attacks from R. Solomon Luria. Rema replies in two responsa (6, 7) defending those disciplines, noting that this issue had been addressed by rishonim, who, while forbidding certain studies, permitted the study of “scholars and their investigations on the essence of reality and its natures. Indeed, it is through this that the greatness of the Creator is made manifest.” Rema wrote an unpublished commentary on George Peurbach’s Theoricae Novae Planetarum, based on Ephraim Mizrahi’s Hebrew translation. The title page has the ornamental frame with the spread hands of the Kohen’s priestly blessing and, at the bottom of the frame, a bearded face accompanied by two cherubs, favored by the Gersonides. At the end of Parts I and II is a reproduction of the device of Venetian printer Marc Antonio Giustiniani, that is, a reproduction of the Temple; at the beginning of the text of the following parts is a decorative frame with two cherubim at the sides. In Torat ha-Olah Rema refers to a work by him on the aggadah in the Talmud. This work has not been published.

Format 20: [6] 173 leaves.

613

614

Sefer ha-Aguddah

hdwgah rps Alexander Suslin ha-Kohen of Frankfort 1571, Cracow—Isaac ben Aaron Prostitz Halakhic compendium by R. Alexander Suslin ha-Kohen of Frankfort. Suslin, one of the leading talmudists of Germany in the first half of the fourteenth century, was a student of R. Isaac of Dueren (Sha’arei Dura, late 13th century), and served as rabbi in Cologne, Worms, and Frankfort. Towards the end of his life he is reported to have settled in Erfurt, his birthplace, where, in the massacres following the Black Death, he reputedly suffered a martyr’s death on March 21, 1349, one of more than one hundred Jews who perished that day. Sefer ha-Aguddah is a halakhic digest organized by talmudic tractates. It is dissimilar from similarly organized works, as here the tractates do not follow the order of the Talmud. Rather, Suslin begins with Nezikin, Niddah, followed by Nashim. The subject matter encompasses Zera’im, Kodashim, and Tohorot, matters generally not applicable today and normally omitted from codes. The purpose of the book, as suggested by its name, is to collect and present halakhot. Most entries are brief, the halakhah being extracted from the Talmud without detailed explanations or elaboration. The talmudic discourse on issues is absent, again in contrast to similar works, such as that of Alfasi, based on the order of the Talmud. Suslin brings the decisions of a large number of early decisors, including, Alfasi, Maharam, Mordecai, Rashbam, Rosh, Rabbenu Tam, Smak, and Tashbetz. He does not hesitate, however, to express disagreement when he differs with their conclusions. Ha-Aguddah was prepared for publication by R. Joseph ben Mordecai Gershon Katz (She’erit Yosef, 1510–1591, below, p. 777), brother-in-law of R. Moses Isserles (Rema). The manuscript he used was imperfect, however, and his attempts to correct the text were not completely successful. Katz’s introduction is followed by a list of the halakhot in the book, and the text is followed by a more detailed listing, concluding with verses of thanksgiving by the printer, Isaac Prostitz. The work is accompanied by Katz’s annotations, written, as he explains in the introduction, because the concise style of ha-Aguddah frequently made it difficult to comprehend. The text, ordered by tractate, is further divided and numbered, permitting, with the indexes, easy reference. Katz notes that the author, in his humility, did not call the book by his name, but rather Katz found it attributed to Suslin in an old manuscript. The title page has the decorative frame topped by a vignette of the Akedah, used previously in Cremona, Venice, and Padua, and reused by Prostitz in Cracow over several decades. Ha-Aguddah is highly regarded and considered authoritative, being quoted and praised by R. Jacob Weil, Jacob ben Moses Moellin (Maharil), Israel Isserlein (Terumat ha-Deshen), and Rema. Nevertheless, Ha-Aguddah was not reprinted, and then in part only, until the late nineteenth century, when J. H. Sonnenfeld published, with notes, tractate Bava Kamma ( Jerusalem, 1874) and Order Nezikin ( Jerusalem, 1899). However, a much-abridged version, Hiddushei Aguddah, prepared by Weil, was published as an appendix to Weil’s responsa (Venice, 1549, see above, pp. 356–57), and republished in that form several times.

Format 20: 4, 250 leaves.

615

616

Seder Olam Zuta

μlw[ rds Gilbert Genebrard—Translator 1572, Paris—Gulielmus Morelius Hebrew and Latin edition of Seder Olam Zuta, translated by the Benedictine Friar, Gilbert Genebrard (1537–1597). Genebrard, born at Riom, in the department of Puy-de-Dôme, France, received his education as a youth in monasteries before attending the College de Navarre in Paris. Receiving a doctorate in theology in 1562, Genebrard was appointed Regius professor of Hebrew at the Collège Royal de France, and, simultaneously, held the position of prior at Saint-Denis de La Chartre in Paris. Considered one of the most learned professors at the university and author of highly regarded exegetical works, he achieved an international reputation. His scholarly dedication is reputedly attested to by the tale that he trained a dog to rouse him if he should nod during his studies. In 1591, Genebrard was appointed Archbishop of Aix. This was, however, a period of turmoil for France, and Genebrard, a zealous supporter of the conservative Holy (Catholic) League, was forced to leave Paris when Henry IV, of Navarre (1589–1610), who abjured Protestantism, reputedly stating, “Paris is worth a Mass” entered in 1592. The following year Genebrard submitted to the king but was, nevertheless, banished by the Provencal Parliament in 1596. Among Genebrard’s scholarly achievements is the translation of a number of Hebrew texts into Latin and the writing of commentaries. Among the more than two dozen works attributed to Genebrard are translations of the last two sections of David ibn Yahya’s Shekel ha-Kodesh (Paris, 1562); Travels of Eldad ha-Dani (1563); a work based on Maimonides’ Moreh Nevukhim (1569); polemic selections from the works of Joseph Albo and David Kimhi (1566); selections from Jacob ibn Habib’s Ein Ya’akov (1578), and Seder Olam Rabbah (1578). This volume, Olam Zuta (see above, 1513, pp. 52–53), is a brief medieval chronicle based on Olam Rabbah. Printed with it is “Chapters from R. Moses ben Maimun on the subject of the king the Messiah,” chapters eleven and twelve from Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah on that subject. The book is in two parts, that is, there is a Hebrew and Latin section, each with its own title page, the former reading from right to left, the latter from left to right. The Hebrew section is dated “the Lord is clothed çbl (332 = 1572) with strength” (Psalms 93:1). The text is unvowelled, except for biblical verses, with references noted in the margins. Pages are not numbered, in contrast to the Latin section, which has pagination. The signatures in the Hebrew section consist of a Hebrew letter (a-w) and Arabic numeral; in the Latin section Latin letters (A–F) are employed. Within that section there are Hebrew and Greek entries. The Hebrew section ends with a page of errata. A decorative bar appears by the headings of sections. This is one of several Hebrew/Latin translations from the press of Gulielmus Morelius (Martin Iuvenis), whose other bilingual editions include R. Hai Gaon’s Musar Haskel (1559). Genebrard’s work, although well regarded, was forgotten, as were those of other sixteenthcentury Christian Hebraists, by a later generation of Christian students of Hebrew literature.

Format 80: [24], 86 leaves.

617

618

Yefeh Nof

πwn hpy rps Judah ben Abraham Zarko c. 1572, Venice—Giovanni di Gara A book of letters, honorifics, deeds, and prayers written and collected by the poet R. Judah ben Abraham Zarko of Rhodes (sixteenth century). The title page of Yefeh Nof (“Fairest of sites,” Psalms 48:3), has a patterned border, and states: “His mouth is most sweet; and he is altogether lovely” (Song of Songs 5:16) Sefer Yefeh Nof Letters sent from an advocate (rhetorician), wise and “greatly exalted” (Psalms 47:10), to great men, . . . all that is necessary for scribal emendation according to the Ran (Nissim Gerondi) and Rashba (Solomon ibn Adret). Also an important and excellent prayer for those who go down to the sea or traverse a wilderness from the Ramban (Moses ben Nahman) according to the Kabbalah with the holy names from when he went to the Holy Land. Also a prayer from ha-Gaon, wonder of the generation, the dayyan, Moses ibn Alashkar with supplications included in the ten Sefirot. Also supplications from the sage, the complete, godly, Isaac Ashkenazi (ha-Ari), a resident of Erez Israel, “the land of beauty” (Daniel 11:16, 41), with songs that he would sing in honor of the Sabbath and the three Sabbath meals according to Simeon bar Yohai. Also the order of malkot followed by the elders of the west and the pious of Erez Israel.

There are prefatory remarks from the printer on the verso of the title page, followed by the text, beginning on 2a with a letter from Zarko to Dr. Joseph Hamon “on the day of his wedding, and on the day of the gladness of his heart” (Song of Songs 3:11), the permission to print the Zohar (Mantua, 1558–60, above, pp. 484–85), and additional letters. Next are a list of honorifics (11b–16a), followed, from 16b, by sample documents for various occasions. Among them are deeds concerning the transfer of assets between communities, for betrothals, ketubbot, deposits, compromise, a get me’un (unwillingness by a minor female), a regular get, halizah, guardianship, various business transactions, sales, abbreviated deeds of sale, retroactive deeds to take effect after death, and deathbed wills. A number of these deeds have been copied from R. Eliezer Melli’s Le-Khal Hefetz (Venice, 1552, above, pp. 376–77) while several others are from R. Moses Almosnino’s Sefer Tikkun Sofrim (Livorno, 1789), that was then extant in manuscript. The section on prayers and Sabbath zemirot detailed on the title page begins on 37a. Included among the Sabbath zemirot is the complete text of Azamer bi-Shevachin, composed by ha-Ari near the time of his death. This zemirah was mistakenly attributed by some to the false messiah Shabbetai Zevi (1626–76) and therefore not recited by them, obviously an error. Yefeh Nof is not dated nor does Zarko’s name appear in it. However, as ha-Ari is referred to with the blessing for the dead (he died 5 Av 332 = July 25, 1572), it is clear that the book was printed after that date. Zarko was also the author of Lehem Yehudah (Constantinople, 1560), an allegory on the soul, the metre of poems, and epigrams.

Format 40: 36 (should say 46) leaves.

619

620

Derashot al ha-Torah

hrwth l[ twçrd rps Joshua ibn Shuaib 1573–75, Cracow—Isaac ben Aaron Prostitz Homilies on the Torah and holidays by R. Joshua ibn Shuaib (early 14th century). Ibn Shuaib, a member of an aristocratic family of Tudela, was a student of R. Solomon ben Abraham Adret (Rashba), whom he frequently references in this work (Beshalach, Vayikra, Pesah I). Among ibn Shuaib’s students is Menahem ibn Zerah (Zeidah la-Derekh, above, pp. 406–07). These discourses, based on sermons delivered by ibn Shuaib, retain the richness and texture of an oral discourse. The Torah discourses, with a small number of exceptions, but not those for holidays, begin with a biblical verse, the first words being the opening words of the initial homily, often interpreted literally, allegorically, and midrashically. Most verses are taken from Proverbs, followed by Psalms, and only one is from the Torah. Derashot al ha-Torah is a kabbalistic and ethical work, reflecting ibn Shuaib’s belief that the Torah is constituted of kabbalistic meaning; followed by hukim, statutes otherwise unknown to man, their reasons understood only by the sages of Israel, these being the most important precepts; and lastly, statutes that can be independently derived, such as honoring one’s parents (derashah on Shavuot). Ibn Shuaib, displaying an encyclopedic knowledge of traditional literature, quotes from a wide variety of sources, the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds, Midrashim, many no longer extant, halakhic and kabbalistic works, and numerous early writers. The derashot are characterized by the extensive use of midrashim; ibn Shuaib’s frequent acceptance of the literal meaning of aggadic material; and the inclusion of more kabbalistic material, organically fitted into Jewish tradition, than by any previous darshan. He also utilizes gematriot, epigrams, and parables. The decorative frame on the title page with the vignette of the Akedah, dated 1573, was used previously in Mantua, Venice, and Padua, and on several Cracow imprints. There is an introduction on the verso of the title page and a colophon from the editor, Samuel Boehm. In the latter he writes that due to difficulties, referring to the disturbances accompanying a period of interregnum, he was forced to suspend work for a year and a half, only completing the Derashot on 14 Menahem Av, 335 (= Thursday, July 31, 1575). This edition differs physically from and is more attractive than the Constantinople (1523) edition. The latter lacks a title page, included in the enumeration of the folios, and ibn Shuaib’s name does not appear in the volume. Here verses are set apart from the text, unlike the earlier printing, which has irregular pagination in the lower left-hand corner of the recto and inconsistent signatures in the upper left-hand corner of the recto. Furthermore, it is clear from a comparison of the two editions that this edition is not based on the Constantinople printing. Ibn Shuaib’s Derashot, one of a number of Sephardic kabbalistic works published at this time by Prostitz, was popular and influential in Poland. Ibn Shuaib also wrote a commentary on Psalms and a supercommentary on kabbalistic aspects of Nahmanides’ (Ramban) Torah commentary, both still in manuscript.

Format 20: 96 leaves. Printed Previously in Constantinople in 1523.

621

622

Derekh Hayyim/Avodat Mikdash

çdqm tdwb[/μyyj ˚rd Menahem ben Judah de Lonzano c. 1573, Constantinople—Solomon and Joseph ben Isaac Jabez Two versified works, the first ethical and halakhic, the second on the Temple service, by R. Menahem Ben Judah de Lonzano (1550–c. 1624). Lonzano, a kabbalist, poet, ethical writer, and masorete, was born in either Italy or Constantinople, settling, with his parents, in Jerusalem at an early age. He was, according to his son-in-law, David Conforte (Kore ha-Dorot), a student of R. Samuel de Medina (Maharashdam). Although remaining a resident of Jerusalem, Lonzano, penurious, found it necessary to make frequent trips to Italy and Turkey, often residing there for periods of time, to support himself. He was a sickly person, and in old age was blind in one eye and paralyzed in both feet. Nevertheless, Lonzano was of indomitable spirit, a relentless pursuer of truth, not fearing to criticize leading contemporaries and even earlier sages, resulting more than once in his having to relocate. Among those Lonzano brusquely reproaches are R. Moses Cordovero (Ramak); Isaac Luria (ha-Ari); Hayyim Vital, against whom he wrote Imrei Emet; and the poet, Israel Najara. In his travels Lonzano saw many manuscripts not previously published, included in his Or Torah. Lonzano was fluent in several languages, among them Arabic and Greek, which is reflected in his works. Derekh Hayyim is the first book composed by Lonzano. The title page of this small book (16 cm.), with the typical Jabez florets, states that it is comprised of 315 verses (batim), full of ethical admonition with explanations. This part of the text, in rabbinic type, is followed, in vocalized square type, with ten lines of verse honoring a benefactor, Solomon Ashkenazi. The title page provides neither the place nor the date of publication. The former, Constantinople, is mentioned within the text (18b), the latter is determined from the beginning of Avodat Mikdash, where the date of composition, 5332 (1572), is given. Lonzano, recognizing the difficulty of his verses, often with kabbalistic content and terminology set to Arabic meter, adds commentary, as stated on the title page. Derekh Hayyim is followed by Sefer Toze’ot Hayyim, a collection of brief aphorisms by Moses Nathan [ben Nathaniel ibn Solomon] (94b–108a), and additional hymns and prayers ( pizmonim u-bakashot) from Lonzano. It is followed by Avodat Mikdash, on the daily and Shabbat Temple service and tractate Tamid with a commentary. On the first page, there is no title page, just a heading in large type, Lonzano writes: in the year 5332, on the night of [Yom] Kippur I saw in a dream and behold they were bringing me a scribe’s inkwell and I was composing this awesome essay of praise to be said before the Lord, may He be blessed, written on paper with ink. And I dreamed a second time and my “heart fainted” (Genesis 45:26) for I did not believe that I would do this and I inquired of those who were with me as to whether this was possible and they said in truth it was. It came to pass that in the morning that I did not remember a single word except for avodah.

Lonzano was a prolific author. His most important work is Shetei Yadot (Venice, 1618), made up of ten works comparable to the ten fingers of the hand. Among them are Or Torah, noted above; Ma’arikh, a talmudic lexicon; Derekh Hayyim; and Avodat Mikdash.

Format 80: 108; 8; [11], 16–22 leaves.

623

624

Me’or Einayim

μyny[ rwam Azariah ben Moses De Rossi 1573–74, Mantua A historical work that was the most controversial Hebrew book of the sixteenth century. Azariah (Bonaiuto) Ben Moses De Rossi (c. 1511–c. 1578) belonged to the prominent Min ha-Adummim family, which traced its ancestry to the Jews brought to Rome from Jerusalem by Titus. Although sickly as a child, Azariah received both a Jewish and secular education, mastering, among the latter, the various branches of science, and gaining proficiency in Hebrew, Latin, Italian, and, to a much lesser extent, Greek. A scholar of considerable accomplishment, he was well versed in Jewish literature, classics, and even the Church fathers. Azariah was, professionally, a practicing physician. Me’or Einayim is unlike contemporary historical works; it is not a narrative history, but rather a series of essays; neither the author nor his book are products of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain; and de Rossi’s writings truly reflect the renaissance spirit rather than a stylistic veneer. Its publication can be attributed to an earthquake that began on November 18, 1571, in Ferrara, destroying his residence, much of the city, but not its ten synagogues, with 200 people perishing in one night. At the age of sixty, Azariah, quiet and retiring, began to write, or to publish earlier findings. Kol Elohim, his first work, describes the earthquake, and addresses classical and scientific reasons for the disaster. A conversation with a Christian resulted in Azariah translating the Greek pseudepigraphical Letter of Aristeas into Hebrew (Hadrat Zekenim), these works comprising the first two parts of Me’or Einayim. Imrei Binah (Words of Wisdom), the third and by far the largest part of Me’or Einayim (85 percent), is comprised of sixty chapters divided into four sections. Attention is directed to Philo, and other Jewish authors who had fallen into disuse, proving that the former utilized the Greek Septuagint rather than the Hebrew Bible. It is suggested that Midrashic literature should not be understood literally and that Jossipon was a medieval compilation based on Josephus with much falsification. Talmudic legends, events at the time of the Second Temple, and the chronology presented in that work are compared to contemporary Jewish, Hellenistic, and Roman literature. Indeed, the source of the controversy surrounding Me’or Einayim is this comparison of talmudic chronology to external works, including more than one hundred by non-Jews. Azariah questions talmudic chronology, finding much talmudic lore to be in need of explication. He is critical of the Jewish calendar, determining it to be of recent origin, and the use of gematria to foretell the coming of the Messiah. Me’or Einayim was published over the objection of prominent Italian rabbis. Led by R. Samuel Judah Katzenellenbogen, they issued a herem (ban), stating, “no person of any congregation . . . may have this composition in their possession, either in whole or in part, or study it, unless each individual shall have first obtained permission in writing from the sages of their city.” R. Judah Loew ben Bezalel of Prague (Maharal, 1525–1609) attacks the Me’or Einayim in his Be’er ha-Golah (Prague, 1598, see below, pp. 888–89), and R. Joseph Caro (1488–1575), author of the Shulhan Arukh (Venice, 1565), prepared a ban proscribing the Me’or Einayim, but died before he could sign it. As a result, the Me’or Einayim was not reprinted until 1794, in Berlin, after the haskala ( Jewish enlightenment) had begun.

Format 40: 194 leaves.

625

626

Pahad Yizhak

qjxy djp Isaac ben Abraham Chajes 1573, Lublin—Eliezer ben Isaac On the aggadot in tractate Gittin dealing with the destruction of the Temple. The author, R. Isaac ben Abraham Chajes (1538–c. 1615), who traced his descent to the sages of Provence, served as rabbi in Prossnitz and, from 1584, in Prague. Chajes was an adherent of the pilpulistic method of Talmud study, resulting in his being sharply criticized by R. Jair Hayyim Bacharach (1638–1702) in his Havvat Ya’ir (Frankfort, 1699). Nevertheless, Chajes was highly regarded by his contemporaries. David Gans, in his Zemah David (Prague, 1592, see below, pp. 800–01) describes Chajes as the great rabbi whose name is known throughout the dispersion of Israel. He raised many students and spread Torah throughout Israel. He wrote Pahad Yizhak, Si’ah Yizhak, Penei Yizhak and a large work Kiryat Arba, in addition to many other works, He came here, to Prague, in 1584, and was head of the yeshiva and rav for three and a half years. . . .

The text of the title page is set in an ornamental arabesque frame first used by Jean de Tournes (1504–64) in Lyon. The frame is here, as in other books where it was subsequently employed by Eliezer, that is, Constantinople and Safed, inverted from the manner in which it was used by de Tournes. Eliezer ben Isaac, the printer, bemoans, in an introduction, the state of Polish Jewry and explains Chajes’s intent in writing this work. We remain, due to our iniquities, in exile, our enemies prevail, and our travails increase. Our hearts and reasoning have weakened. For this reason, and due to a lack of works containing the wisdom of earlier sages, the author has written this book, small in size, but of great value, on the aggadot in chapter ha-Nezikin (ch. 5, Gittin) dealing with the destruction of the Temple. Chajes entitles it Pahad Yizhak (The Fear of Isaac, see Genesis 31:42, 53) because of the words of R. Yochanan (Gittin 55b), “Praiseworthy is the man who always fears (mefahed )” (Proverbs 28:14). This is followed by Chajes’s introduction, eighteen page long. This is the last work printed by Eliezer in Lublin. After printing there for almost two decades, Eliezer had determined to leave Poland for Erez Israel, due to the condition of Polish Jewry and to fulfill the mitzvah of residing in the Holy Land, where he believed he could continue to pursue his craft. It has been suggested, however, that this destination does not become evident until later, and Eliezer may originally have intended only to go to Constantinople, where he and his son, Isaac ben Eliezer, with the added surname Ashkenazi, issued several titles before continuing on to Safed. Chajes also wrote rhymed works with commentary, namely, Si’ah Yizhak (Prague, 1587), a halakhic work on the laws of Passover; Penei Yizhak (Cracow, 1591), in two parts, on Yoreh De’ah; and a Derashah delivered on the first day of Passover (Prague, c. 1584). His son, R. Monish Chajes, appended two poetic elegies to the latter work, one on the destruction of Posen in 1590 by fire, and the other on the death of Monish’s son at the age of eighteen. Other works by Isaac Chajes remain unpublished.

Format 80: 18, [53] leaves.

627

c.1573-1578, Seder Tefillot ha-Shanah Minhag Kehillot Romania, Constantinople Courtesy of the British Library

628

Seder Tefillot ha-Shanah Minhag Kehillot Romania

aynmwr twlyhq ghnml hnçh twlypt rds c. 1573–1578, Constantinople—Jabez brothers and Eliezer ben Isaac Ashkenazi A Mahzor Romania for the entire year according to the Romaniot rite, the order of prayers of the Byzantine (Greek) Jews. This rite contains variant wording from and many piyyutim not said in other rites. Once used throughout the Balkans this ancient liturgy was largely supplanted by the influx of Sephardim in the sixteenth century and is almost unknown today. First printed in Constantinople (c. 1512), this edition is reprinted, as the title page states, according to the Venetian edition (1523) of Daniel Bomberg, sponsored by R. Abraham Yerushalmi of Constantinople. The initiative to have the Romaniot prayer book reissued came from R. Elijah Galmidi, head of the Romaniot community in Constantinople. In two volumes, the first, printed by Solomon and Joseph Jabez, contains weekday, Shabbat, and festival prayers from Hanukkah through Tishah be-Av. Work began “on Thursday, the fourth of the month of Heshvan, in the year ‘Break forth into joy, sing together wnnr wdjy (334 = October 11, 1573), [you ruins of Jerusalem]’” (Isaiah 52:9). The second volume, prayers for Rosh Ha-Shanah through Sukkot, is credited to Eliezer ben Isaac Ashkenazi, although he only did a small part of the work. It begins with an introduction from David ben Elijah Kashti, a Romaniot Jew, who sponsored the prayer book’s publication.

Eliezer, who came to Constantinople from Lublin, began printing in his new location, partners with Kashti, with She’elot u’Teshuvot ha-Geonim (1575), and then took up the Seder Tefillot. Kashti’s reason for changing printers, that is, leaving the Jabez press to complete the prayer book with Eliezer, is detailed in the introduction, printed on the title page. Kashti, with harsh references to Joseph Jabez, explains that he gave the second volume to Eliezer to print due to the prolonged delays in publishing, how his money has been squandered, having heard about changes in paper, then the ink, yet other excuses, and two years have passed and the work is not yet complete. However, before this volume was finished Kashti reconciled with the Jabezes and returned the prayer book to them for completion. In the colophon Kashti retracts his earlier complaints and is now critical of Eliezer. This did not, however, prevent him from again printing with Eliezer (Lev Hakham, Constantinople, 1586). The fonts employed by the two print shops are distinct, so that the portions printed by each printer are easily identifiable, the first forty-two pages being set with type from Lublin, the remaining two-thirds of the volume with the Jabez’ type. The Jabez portion is further distinguishable by the use of the ornamental florets characteristic of the books printed by them in Salonika and Constantinople.

Format 40: I 176 [should say 179]; II 41, [1], 112, [19] leaves.

629

1574-75, Kesef Mishneh on Mishneh Torah, Joseph ben Ephraim Caro, Venice Courtesy of the Library of the Valmadonna Trust

630

Kesef Mishneh on Mishneh Torah

hnçm πsk μ[ hrwt hnçm Joseph ben Ephraim Caro 1574–75, Venice—Alvise Bragadin Mishneh Torah of Maimonides with the commentary Kesef Mishneh by R. Joseph ben Ephraim Caro (1488–1575). Caro’s commentary is comprehensive, but not completely original, for the Maggid Mishneh had preceded him, so that to some extent the Kesef Mishneh is a supplement to that work. Nevertheless, although the Maggid Mishneh is on the entire Mishneh Torah, the only part of that commentary extant when Caro wrote was on six of the Mishneh Torah’s fourteen books, so that the Kesef Mishneh on the remaining eight books is completely original. In addition to the innate value of the Kesef Mishneh, Caro provides Maimonides’ sources and alternate opinions, a lack for which the latter was much criticized. Caro also quotes later sources, that is, decisors who came after Maimonides, although they are not really pertinent to understanding Maimonides. Also printed with this edition are the glosses of R. Abraham ben David of Posquières (Ravad, 1125–97), Migdal Oz of Shem Tov ben Abraham ibn Gaon, Maggid Mishneh of Vidal Yom Tov of Tolosa, and the annotations of Levi ibn Habib. Kesef πsk Mishneh is so entitled, for many long πswk to understand the Mishneh Torah. Caro worked on the Kesef Mishneh at the same time that he was writing his Beit Yosef, so it is not possible to determine which was completed first, for in both Caro quotes from the other work. However, the Shulhan Arukh, later than the Kesef Mishneh and the Beit Yosef, differs from the former, in that in the Kesef Mishneh Caro’s intent is to explain Maimonides, whereas in the Shulhan Arukh he is acting as a decisor and determining normative halakhah. Kesef Mishneh is a standard and basic commentary on the Mishneh Torah and is printed together with all editions of that work. Meir Parenzo was the printer for Bragadin. On the verso of the title page is an introduction from the editor, Hezekiah ben Isaac of Fano, who writes that all mitzvot are credited to the one who completes them, and certainly for the craft of printing where the end testifies on the beginning. This is because Hezekiah completed the task begun by Abraham Menahem Porto ha-Kohen, who edited the first half of the work. There is also a foreword and an afterword from Moses Provencal, who helped bring the Kesef Mishneh to press. Not mentioned is Azariah de Rossi, who in his Me’or Einayim notes that he too aided in the Kesef Mishneh’s publication. In the colophon to the last volume, Hezekiah notes the death of Caro, followed by that of Parenzo. Meir was replaced by his brother Asher, who printed the fourth and final volume, completed Wednesday, 29 Marheshvan, 376 (November 12, 1575). The sole ornamentation on the title page is the three crowns representative of Alvise Bragadin. On the verso, below the introduction, is Meir Parenzo’s device, Venus, standing above a seven-headed dragon, holding an arrow in her right hand pointed toward the dragon. It is set within a double oval border, bearing the phrase, “And the king shall desire your beauty” (Psalms 45:12). This is the only known use of this mark, the meaning of which is indeterminate.

Format 20: [22], 314; [10], 218; [20], 491, [1]; [10], 297, [9] leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (1509), and Venice (1550, Bragadin; 1550, Giustiniani).

631

632

Neveh Shalom

μwlç hwn rps Abraham ben Isaac ben Judah ben Samuel Shalom 1574, Venice—Giovanni di Gara Philosophical work in defense of Maimonides by the physician, philosopher, and translator R. Abraham ben Isaac ben Judah ben Samuel Shalom (d. 1492), one of the sages of Catalonia. Little personal information is available about Shalom, except that he is reputed to have been selected as municipal physician by the Christians of Cervera, this at a time when only conversos could serve the state in such a capacity. Neveh Shalom is Shalom’s only Hebrew work. The title page has an architectural frame. The title, Neveh Shalom, is from, “[And my people shall dwell in a] peaceable habitation” (Isaiah 32:18). The text states that, as is its name, so shall He make peace between the family above [the soul] and the family below [matter]. The title page is dated 5335 and informs that the book was printed with Bomberg letters. The colophon dates the completion of the work to Thursday, 8 Tishrei, 5335 (October 3, 1574). The introduction is on the first folio, followed by a page of verse from R. Meir ben Asher, and Shalom’s introduction. Text (1a–213b) begins with the words “this book is divided//into thirteen ma’amarim” enclosed in a decorative frame. After the text are indexes of the contents and sources. Text is in a single column in rabbinic type, excepting headings, which are in square letters. The ma’amarim are subdivided into chapters. Neveh Shalom is both an apologetic and homiletic as well as a philosophic work. In the introduction, Shalom notes that there are Jews who, influenced by the Greeks (Aristotle), disparage talmudic aggadah. He writes that even the “idle conversation” of the rabbis reflect profound wisdom, and the purpose of his book is to reveal that wisdom, thus enforcing their peace (derived from the title). He will do this with examples from the entire Talmud, although in reality Berakhot is sufficient for his purposes. Shalom’s second purpose is to review prior philosophic positions in conformity with scriptures, evaluating them and informing which he believes to be correct. Shalom discusses in greatest detail the philosophies of R. Levi Gersonides (Ralbag), Hasdai Crescas, and Maimonides, examining the criticism of the former two of Maimonides. His regard for all three is great, but it is Maimonides of whom he writes that his words are “pure, free of the dross of confusion,” and that “Moses [Maimonides] is true and his Torah is true.” Stylistically, Shalom interweaves biblical verses, rabbinic quotes, and philosophic phraseology, and attempts to reconcile opposing positions. Shalom discusses Aristotelian philosophy, known through Averroes. The philosophic portions of the Neveh Shalom are, like the aggadic sections, apologetic, written in defense of Judaism. Although discussed, kabbalistic theory is a very minor part of the book. Although not an original thinker, Shalom presents a thorough view of contemporary philosophic thought. He is not without influence, being quoted by the Maharal of Prague. Two Latin works are known to have been translated into Hebrew by Shalom, Albertus Magnus’s Philosophia Pauperum on the physical sciences, and Marsilius of Inghen’s work on Aristotle’s Organon. The former is extant in manuscript, the latter printed in Likkutei Kadmoniyyot (Vienna, 1860).

Format 40: [4], 213 [should say 215], 15. Printed previously in Constantinople (1539).

633

634

Sha’arei Dura

arwd yr[ç Isaac ben Meir of Dueren 1574, Lublin—Kalonymus ben Mordecai Jaffe Important halakhic work on issur ve-hetter (laws of forbidden food) by R. Isaac ben Meir of Dueren (late 13th century). Concerning Sha’arei Dura and its author, see above, pp. 340–41. This edition is printed with the commentary Mevo Sha’arim of R. Nathan Nata ben Simeon Spira (Shapira) and the glosses of R. Israel Isserlein (Terumat ha-Deshen). The text is in the middle of the page and the glosses are on the margins. The book concludes with an index and list of errata. The title page has a decorative frame in central European but not Jewish style, made up of cherubin in various positions along the sides and top, two scantily clad women at the bottom and turrets between them. This border appears on other title pages, for example, Abraham ben Shabbetai Sheftel Horowitz’s (c. 1550–1615) Hesed Avraham on Maimonides’ Shemonah Perakim (see below, pp. 660–61) and his ethical Berit Avraham (1577). The initial words of the introduction and text are in Italianate woodcut letters. The remaining initial words, however, are simply enlarged and in bold type. At the bottom of the final page of the introduction (3b) is a reproduction of the famed Giustiniani device. The printer, Kalonymus ben Mordecai Jaffe, previously partners with Eliezer ben Isaac [Ashkenazi], acquired most of the latter’s typographical equipment when Eliezer departed for Erez Israel. Kalonymus operated the press until his death in 1603, and his descendants managed the printing house until the last decades of the century. Although only Kalonymus’s name appears on the title page, the names of his sons are noted in the colophon. This edition of Sha’arei Dura is undated. The date of publication is derived from the statement on the title page that it was printed during the reign “of our lord King Henry.” Henry III, Duc d’Anjou (1551–89), third son of Henry II and Catherine de Medici, was presented as a candidate for the vacant throne of Poland in 1572, and elected King in May 1573. He was crowned on February 21, 1574. Three months later, on May 30, 1574, his brother, Charles IX (Duc d’Orleans, 1550–74), King of France from 1560, died and Henry abandoned Poland ( July 18, 1574) to be crowned King of France in Reims (February 13, 1575). The printing of Sha’arei Dura, then, took place during Henry’s brief reign as King of Poland. Considerable information about events in Poland can be found on the title pages of Lublin and Cracow imprints. For example, ha-Aguddah (1571) and the first Lublin tractates mention King Sigismund Augustus. With his death in 1572, the Jagiello dynasty became extinct and Poland entered a period when the nobility elected the monarch. References to the interregnum, aklml aklm ˆyb (between kings), appear on the title pages of Niddah and Avodah Zarah. Yevamot (1574) states “. . . in the beginning of the reign of the king of France, Henry, who ruled in Poland. . . .” Bava Batra (1576) notes the subsequent interregnum, “under the rule of the princes, between kings . . .,” and the election of a new monarch, in 1576, is reflected on the title page of Ta’anit, “. . . under the rule of Stephanus.”

Format 20: 110 leaves. Printed previously in Cracow (1534), Venice (1547), Constantinople (1553), and Venice (1564) and reprinted in Basle and in Lublin (1599).

635

1574, She’elot le-Hakham, Saul ha-Kohen Ashkenazi, Venice Courtesy of the Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University

636

She’elot le-Hakham

μkjhl twlaç Saul ha-Kohen Ashkenazi 1574, Venice—Giovanni di Gara Twelve philosophical queries posed by R. Saul ha-Kohen Ashkenazi (1470–1523) to Don Isaac Abrabanel. Saul, of German (Ashkenaz) descent, was born in Candia, Crete, and died in Constantinople. He was a student of R. Elijah Delmedigo, who influenced him to devote his attention to philosophy. Situated in northern Italy, a center of Aristotelianism centered in the University of Padua, Saul’s inquiries are based on and concerned with Maimonides’ Moreh Nevukhim. She’elot le-Hakham is, then, a philosophic treatise in the form of questions posed to and answered by Abrabanel, together with discourses by other authors. Saul submitted these queries to Abrabanel in March, 1507. Saul introduces himself, noting that he has written other works, studied under del Medigo, and is acquainted with such scholars as R. David ibn Yahya, Eliezer Almanso, and Moses ibn Habib. Saul comments that ibn Habib errs in some of his comments on Aristotle, a position sure to find favor with his correspondent. Saul addresses Abrabanel with the utmost respect, beginning, “O my father, my father, the chariot [of Israel, and its horsemen]” (II Kings 2:12, 13:14). The inquiries address the meaning of concepts and phrases, such as final and ultimate form, the throne and image of God as expressed in the Moreh, and the summum bonum and Aristotle’s definition of it. Abrabanel puts aside his other writings to respond. Already seventy years old, Abrabanel complains of infirmities, failing eyesight and difficulty in writing. His secretary has left for Erez Israel and he responds in an Ashkenaz script, to which he is unaccustomed. Nevertheless, he is pleased that a member of the younger generation is so serious. Abrabanel writes with great warmth. Saul is invited to spend some time, several years, at his villa, so that he may further instruct him in the Moreh. “I would give you drink of the spiced wine of Maimonides’ intellect; teach you as would a father a son.” Abrabanel, perhaps in humor, tells Saul that of all the matters in the first part of the Moreh he has selected the easiest to inquire about. Abrabanel’s responses constitute a sharp attack on the Averroist interpretation of Maimonides and an outline of Abrabanel’s points of agreement and divergence with Maimonides. For example, on the issue of the summum bonum, he writes that Aristotle’s position, accepted by Maimonides and Gersonides, is entirely wrong. Abrabanel informs Saul that he is writing Zedek Olamim, on reward and punishment; Lahakat ha-Nevi’im, which challenges Maimonides’ view of prophecy; and a commentary on the Moreh, in which he intends to interpret every chapter in that work. His response to Saul is, however, Abrabanel’s last literary accomplishment, for he died the following year. The introduction and queries (2a to 11a) are followed by Abrabanel’s replies, in order and numbered to correspond to the inquiries (11a–21b), and a discourse by him on the principles of the Moreh (21b–26a). The second larger part has discourses on the Moreh Nevukhim from R. Moses ben Judah Nagari (2a–18b) and Joseph ibn Gikatilla (19a–31b). This second part has its own pagination and signatures. The colophon is dated Wednesday, 7 Iyyar, 334 (May 8, 1574).

Format 40: 26, 31 leaves.

637

1574-75, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Solomon ben Jehiel Luria (Maharshal), Lublin Courtesy of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

638

She’elot u’Teshuvot

twbwçtw twlaç Solomon ben Jehiel Luria (Maharshal) 1574–75, Lublin—Kalonymus ben Mordecai Jaffe Responsa from R. Solomon ben Jehiel Luria (Maharshal, c. 1510–74). The Maharshal was descended from a distinguished family, tracing his lineage to Rashi. His teachers were his father, R. Jehiel, and his maternal grandfather, R. Isaac Klober of Posen. Luria served as rabbi and head of the yeshiva in Ostrog, leaving after twenty years for Brisk and subsequently becoming a rosh yeshivah in the yeshivah of R. Shalom Shachna. After a dispute with the latter’s son Luria left and, in 1567, founded his own yeshivah. His students include R. Mordecai Jaffe (Levush), Joshua Falk (Derishah u-Perishah), and Hayyim ben Bezalel. Maharshal was known for his intellectual independence. He opposed the study of philosophy, taking Rema to task for it. A brilliant talmudist, he avoided the prevalent pilpul method of learning Talmud and would trace halakhah to its talmudic origin. The topic matter of these responsa, as indicated in the contents, are hilkhot Shabbat; Yom Tov; Pesah; Sukkah; prayer; benedictions; Tefillin and Sefer Torah; Tishah be-Av and other fast days; mourning; Niddah; divorces, betrothals and levirate marriage; and other questions related to marital affairs. The responsa are more varied than the contents suggest, for included are issues such may a girl of unknown paternity marry a kohen (17); rabbinic genealogy (29); concerning a woman who married a drunkard and gambler (69); the priority between circumcising a son and the funeral of a parent occurring on the same day (70); on whether it is permitted to eat with one’s head uncovered (72); and how a scribe should write the inverted letters nun before and after Numbers 10:35–36 (73). The initial word on the title page is formed from woodcut floral letters. There are also two sizes of square fonts used for headings. The text of the book is otherwise set entirely in rabbinic letters. The title page informs that work began on Friday, 19th Av, in the year, “Violence shall no more be heard in your land, wasting dç ˚[y]xrab (334 = August 16, 1574) nor destruction within your borders; but you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise” (Isaiah 60:18). The chronogram refers to the unsettled conditions in Poland (see above, pp. 621, 635, and below, p. 651). Work was completed on Friday, 25 Tevet, [5]335 ( January 7, 1575). The editor was Benjamin Samuel ben Abraham. The verso of the title page has verse in praise of Luria, followed by is a listing of the responsa by subject, followed by the responsa. Among the Maharshal’s other works are Hokhmat Shelomo (Cracow, 1582, below, pp. 712–13), glosses and emendations to the text of the Talmud; Ateret Shelomo (Basle, 1599/1600), on the Sha’arei Dura of Isaac ben Meir Dueren; Ammudei Shelomo (Basle, 1600), on the Semag of Moses of Coucy; Yeri’ot Shelomo (Prague, 1609), on Elijah Mizrahi’s supercommentary to Rashi al ha-Torah; and Yam shel Shelomo, novellae and halakhah, tracing its development from the time of the geonim, based on the Talmud. Only seven of the sixteen tractates originally encompassed by this latter work, perhaps Maharshal’s most important, are extant today. Various tractates were printed over time, beginning with Bava Kamma (Prague, 1618). Luria also wrote a number of smaller works, on liturgy and Kabbalah, such as ha-Zemirot (Lublin, 1596) on Sabbath Zemirot. Not all of Maharshal’s works are preserved.

Format 40: 162 leaves. Reprinted in Lublin (1579).

639

640

Birkat ha-Mazon

ˆwzmh twkrb rds Nathan Nata ben Samson Spira (Shapira) 1575, Lublin—Kalonymus ben Mordecai Jaffe Birkat ha-Mazon (grace after meals) with the commentary of R. Nathan Nata ben Samson Spira (Shapira, d. 1577). Born to a distinguished family, Spira is, according to the Ba’al Shem Tov, one of the three pure families throughout the generations in Israel (the others being Margulies and Horowitz). Spira served as rabbi in Grodno (Horodno) until 1572, when he accepted a position in Posnan. His grandson was Nathan Nata ben Solomon Spira (Megalleh Amukkot, c. 1585–1633). The title page has no ornamentation and states that due to the troubles of the times and the length of the exile the text of birkat ha-mazon has been altered and the reasons for much of it have been forgotten. His intent is to clarify the birkat ha-mazon and explain the pertinent halakhot. Shapira writes in a clear and lucid style so that it can even be easily understood by those of a young age. Nevertheless, his commentary is a multifaceted work of considerable erudition, including allusions, grammatical matter, aggadah, and Kabbalah, as can be seen from the following entries. On the monarchy of the house of David, Your anointed. That we which we read everywhere, the anointed (Messiah) jyçmh with a yod y, would be grammatically correct to say with a vav w (jwçm). Perhaps the reason is what our sages state in chapter Helek (Sanhedrin 98b). What is his (the Messiah’s) name? There are those who say Menahem μjnm is his name, others say Shiloh hlyç, others Yinon ˆwny, others Hanina hnynj, others Metzora arwwyj. Therefore we read jyçm (that is, with a yod ) to include all for Menahem m, Shiloh ç, Yinon y, Hanina j is a notrikon for jyçm. And on the great and holy house, etc. All of this language is based upon verses, for “the great house” refers to Haggai 2:9 “The glory of this latter house shall be greater [than that of the former], etc.,” and “holy” to II Chronicles 7:16 “For now have I chosen and sanctified this house.” Our Father to Isaiah 63:16 “You are our father.” Tend us to Psalms 80:2 “Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel.” And this is the blessing, the good and the beneficent, established to say our Shepherd, the Shepherd of Israel.

The text of the Birkat ha-Mazon is printed together with Spira’s commentary. In this edition the insertions for Purim, Hanukkah, Shabbat, and Rosh Hodesh are omitted. They are inserted, however, in the 1599 Lublin edition. Spira’s commentary was reprinted four times in the sixteenth century—the 1579 edition is set from this edition, again at the beginning of the seventeenth century (Venice, 1603), and several times in the ensuing centuries. It is also referred to in a number of other works on the subject. This edition was reprinted in facsimile in 1992, the 1599 and 1603 editions in 1984 and 2000, respectively, the first and third of these facsimiles for distribution at weddings. Spira was also the author of Mevo Sha’arim (Lublin, c. 1575) on the Sha’arei Dura of Isaac ben Meir of Dueren; a commentary on the mahzor (Cracow, 1585); Imrei Shefer (Cracow/Lublin, 1591–97, see below, pp. 786–87), a supercommentary on Rashi and R. Elijah Mizrahi; Be’urim (Venice, 1593, see below, pp. 804–05), on the same subject, attributed to Spira but denounced by his son as a forgery (see below, pp. 787, 805). Shapira’s commentary on the Tur was printed with a recent edition of that work.

Format 40: [16] leaves. Reprinted in Lublin (1579), Cracow (1583), and Lublin (1599).

641

c. 1575–76, Shelom Esther, Isaac ben Mordecai Gershon Constantinople Courtesy of Dr. Benjamin Ogorik

642

Shelom Esther

rtsa μwlç Isaac ben Mordecai Gershon c. 1575–76, Constantinople—Joseph Jabez Commentary on the book of Esther by R. Isaac ben Mordecai Gershon (d. after 1620), known as Isaac Gershon. Born in Safed and a student of R. Moses Alshekh, Gershon left for Constantinople, where Shelom Esther was published. He continued on to Venice, where, for more than thirty years he worked as a proofreader, primarily of books by scholars from Safed, acting, in effect, as their agent in Venice. In his later years Gershon returned to Safed, where he died. Gershon describes Shelom Esther, on the title page, as being “pleasant to the sight, and good to make one wise (play on Genesis 2:9 and 3:6) on Megillat Esther from the novellae of the French and Castillian scholars, men of significance, all holy,” that is, the book is a compendium based on both Ashkenazic and Sephardic exegesis. The title page, which has the customary Jabez florets, the only ornamentation in the work except for two florets at the end of the volume, is undated. This has led to some controversy as to the date of publication, the suggested dates ranging from 1575 to 1583. There has also been some dispute concerning the identifcation of Gershon, as another editor with a similar name, that is, Isaac ben Gershon Treves, was also active in Venice at about the same time. The original assumption that two editors corrected different works in Venice was subsequently discounted, as being no more than variant forms of Gershon’s name. It is now clear that the original assumption was indeed correct, that there were two different individuals, the author of this work, being Isaac ben Mordecai Gershon. He had come to Venice, from Constantinople, no later than 1576, his name appearing that year in Moses di Trani’s Beit Elohim (1576). Isaac ben Mordecai Gershon was a scholar of considerable attainment. He was a member of the Venice bet din and two of his responsa may be found in the responsa of Joseph Trani (Maharit, 1568–1639, v. I Constantinople, 1588, and v. II Venice, 1645). Other responsa by Gershon remain in manuscript. He also wrote commentaries to other books of the Bible; his commentary on Malachi was published in Likkutei Shoshannim (Venice, 1602). Shelom Esther was reprinted as an appendix to the scholarly journal Asufot in 1999 and in a limited edition in 2001.

Format 120: 32 leaves.

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644

Mekor Barukh

˚wrb rwqm rps Baruch ibn Ya’ish 1576, Constantinople—Eliezer ben Isaac Ashkenazi Commentary on the Song of Songs (Shir ha-Shirim) by R. Baruch ibn Ya’ish, a greatgrandson and namesake of R. Baruch ibn Ya’ish ibn Isaac, the fifteenth century philosopher and translator. The title page states that Mekor Barukh is a commentary on the Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, and Job. However, only the commentary on the Song of Songs was printed. On the verso is a brief introduction, made up of an acrostic spelling Mekor Barukh ibn Ya’ish. Beside it, to the left, is a paragraph by ibn Ya’ish, in which he states that after spending much time in writing this commentary on four books, that is, the Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, and Job, and much money to publish them, he travelled from his home in Damascus to Venice, Salonika, and Constantinople to print this book, forbidding others from publishing it, whether themselves or through the agencies of others, with severe oaths, including that of Joshua bin Nun on Jericho, in his lifetime and afterwards, without his authorization or that of his heirs. This is followed by an opening paragraph to the Song of Songs. Ibn Ya’ish informs us that he will elaborate, in great detail, in his commentary on Job, on the three reasons he wrote this work; insights were revealed to him not seen by previous commentators, and previous commentators erred somewhat in their commentaries, not fully explaining deeper [sod ] meanings. Ibn Ya’ish relates that he was undecided for many years as to whether to publish, until he had a dream, “from Heaven,” that he would be blessed and should publish. He was digging a pit, from which came a well of running water, from which ibn Ya’ish would build a channel that others would draw from. Therefore, he called his book Mekor Barukh. Ibn Ya’ish continues, describing another dream, and again promising to go into greater detail in his commentary on Job. A much longer introduction to his commentaries begins on the next page. It is clear that Ibn Ya’ish wrote on more than the Song of Songs. It is not clear why these other works were not printed with the commentary on the Song of Songs, for, based on the title page, that was certainly the intent. The printer was Eliezer ben Isaac Ashkenazi. This is the third book printed by him in Constantinople. Whether Ashkenazi originally intended to continue on to the Holy Land or not, he now firmly expresses that desire, perhaps indicated by his use of the famed Giustiniani device on the title page, a reproduction of the Temple in Jerusalem. This mark would be again employed by him in Safed. On the title page Ashkenazi verbalizes his desire to continue on to Erez Israel, writing, “Printed by Eliezer ben Isaac, may the righteous be remembered for a blessing, a man from Ashkenaz, who desires the beautiful land, [God willing].” He expresses similar feelings in a brief colophon, describing himself as one “who sits in great pain, may the Lord have mercy on him, on the merit of his fathers.” After completing Mekor Barukh Eliezer and his son Isaac left for Safed, where they founded the first press in the Middle East.

Format 20: 19 leaves.

645

c. 1576, Minhah Hadashah on Pirkei Avot, Jehiel Michael ben Jedidiah Morawczyk, Cracow Courtesy of the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad Ohel Yosef Yitzhak

646

Minhah Hadashah on Pirkei Avot

twba yqrp l[ hçdj hjnm Jehiel Michael ben Jedidiah Morawczyk c. 1576, Cracow—Isaac ben Aaron Prostitz Commentary on Pirkei Avot from R. Jehiel Michael ben Jedidiah, known as Michael Morawczyk (d. 1593). His surname, Morawczyk (qyçfpram Morawtschik, Morawczik), is probably indicative of the family’s origin in Moravia. He is best known for Minhah Hadashah on Pirkei Avot. The title page has the Prostitz frame made up of vine-covered pillars, with the verse “Hear, you children, the instruction of a father” (Proverbs 4:1) at the top. The text states, “Pirkei Avot with commentaries gathered from the tens of the shields of ‘the holy and excellent ones who are in the earth’ (paraphrase of Psalms 16:3), Ravan (Eliezer ben Nathan), Rashi, Rambam, Rabbenu Obadiah Bertinoro, Don Isaac Abrabanel, Pirkei Moshe, Bet Lehem Yehudah, Lev Avot, and also the commentary of two orders of old parchment. . . .” Below is “Minhah Hadashah.” The name of the printer is lacking, but is attributed to the Prostitz press due to the like fonts and paper stocks. The volume is made up of Morawczyk’s introduction (1b–3b), an introduction to Avot (4a–5a), the text (5b–81b), and likkutim (82a–84b). Initial words of chapters 1, 4, 5 and 6 are in a decorative frame. Morawczyk begins his introduction, “One who wishes to be pious should [fulfill the words of [Nezikin. Rava says] the words of Avot” (Bava Kamma 30a). Therefore he has brought a minhah hadashah for the public benefit, with the Zohar, Talmud, Midrash Rabbah ve-Zuta, and Avot de-Rabbi Nathan, to instruct the manner in which one should go, all in a clear language. The paragraph concludes with Morawczyk’s name and, “Thursday, parashat (Vayeitzei ) ‘And, behold, I am with you, and will keep you in all places where you go’” (Genesis 28:15). In the second paragraph Morawczyk asks several questions, among them, “why the [holy city] of Safed is inhabited and is adorned with the crown of Torah and a good name more than the cities of Erez Israel.” In the likkutim he writes that he found in the Zohar that Safed’s greatness can be attributed to the fact that it was the first city destroyed after the death of Joshua and it was called Hormah (ref. Judges 1:17) and they did not leave any of its inhabitants alive and removed all the defilement from it, which is not found for any other city after the death of Joshua, from which he finds an allusion to the rebuilding of Zion. In the epilogue (81b) we are informed that Morawczyk concluded the commentary erev Shavu’ot in Cracow in 336 (5 Sivan = Thursday, May 13, 1576) and therefore entitled the work Minhah Hadashah for the two wave loaves (ref. Leviticus 23:17) brought at that time, Torah she-bi-Khetav and Torah she-be-al Peh, that is, the written Torah and the Oral Torah. Minhah Hadashah, the first Polish edition of Pirkei Avot, was reputedly also printed in Lublin (1576) and reprinted in Cracow (1590), but both of these editions are questionable. Minhah Hadashah was in fact reprinted in Frankfort a. M. (1722) by Johann Koelner. Morawczyk’s other works are Birkat ha-Mazon, Zemirot, and Perushim (Cracow, 1580, 1597); a halakhic monograph, Seder Berakhot (Cracow, 1582); a commentary on the Minhagim of R. Isaac Tyrnau (Cracow, 1660); and the Gezerat Oestreich (Cracow, 1582), a Hebrew translation of the German Wiener Geserah.

Format 40: 84 leaves.

647

648

Mizmor le-Todah

hdwtl rwmzm rps Samuel ben Isaac Aripul 1576, Venice—Giovanni di Gara Commentary on Psalms 112–34 by R. Samuel ben Isaac Aripul (Arepol, c. 1540–c. 1586). Born in Salonika, Aripul, was, as stated on the title page, a member of the Safed community. Although a prominent preacher and rabbinic scholar of repute, few details of his life are available. Mizmor le-Todah begins with words of praise from two rabbinic figures from Salonika and from Isaac Hazon, who brought the book to press, followed by Aripul’s introduction. He informs us that Mizmor le-Todah was written as a “Korban Todah,” thanks offering, upon his recovery from an illness lasting from 1569 to 1571. A second introduction introduces the Shir ha-Maalot (Songs of Ascent, Psalms 120–34). This portion of the book was reprinted in Cracow (1576) as Ne’im Zemirot (see below, pp. 650–51). The commentary which accompanies the text is lengthy. Based on rabbinic and kabbalistic sources, Aripul’s philosophical commentary places emphasis on Divine mercy, the ethical meanings of the subject matter, and the redemption of Israel. For example, he begins his commentary on “In my distress I cried to the Lord, and he answered me” (Psalms 120:1) by writing, “It informs man what is good and what the Lord asks from him, for even if a sword would lay upon his neck he should not despair from mercy. . . .” Aggadat Shemu’el (Venice, 1576), a small thirteen-page pamphlet briefly introducing Aripul’s five books, is today found bound with Mizmor le-Todah. That a rabbinic figure from Salonika, resident in Safed, should have his work printed in Venice is an eloquent testimony to the high regard of Venice imprints. After the burning of the Talmud in Italy, Hebrew book production in Venice dropped from more than 200 titles in 1540–49 to below 100, and then to less than 80 titles in the two following decades. Scholars who had previously sent their works to Venice to be printed subsequently refused to do so, whether out of concern as to how their books would be treated, or as a protest against the book burning and censorship. Nevertheless, after several decades had passed, scholars in Salonika once again chose to have their works printed in Venice because of the high quality of the imprints of that city’s presses. Venice was always preferred by the sages of Safed, notwithstanding the hazards of a long journey by sea, and typesetting and editing by strangers in the absence of the author, all justified by the perceived superiority of Venice’s presses. Aripul was also the author of Zevah Todah (Constantinople, 1572), on Psalm 119, reprinted in Mizmor le-Todah; Sar Shalom (Safed, 1579) on the Song of Songs; and Lev Hakham on Ecclesiastes (Constantinople, 1586). Other works remain in manuscript.

Format 40: 184 leaves.

649

650

Ne’im Zemirot

twrymz μy[n rps Samuel ben Isaac Aripul 1576, Cracow—Isaac ben Aaron Prostitz Commentary on Psalms 120–34, the fifteen Shir ha-Maalot (Songs of Ascent), by R. Samuel ben Isaac Aripul (Arepol, c. 1540–c. 1586). This commentary is part of a significantly larger work, Mizmor le-Todah, on Psalms 112–34, published the same year in its entirety in Venice at the press of Giovanni di Gara (see above, pp. 648–49). Ne’im Zemirot includes the introduction and complete commentary of Aripul to the Shir ha-Maalot. The title page states that it was printed in Cracow, “‘from the farthest north,’ (Ezekiel 38:6), which is under the domain of our lord, the king, the mighty, Stephen [may his majesty be exalted].” Work on Ne’im Zemirot began, according to the title page, on “Sunday, 13 Tammuz, in the year, ‘[Who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, where were venomous serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water;] who brought you water out of the rock r”wxm (336 = June 20, 1576) of flint’ (Deuteronomy 8:15).” This was an unsettled period in Polish history (see above, pp. 621, 635, 639). Following a period of interregnum and the brief rule of Henry of Valois, Stephen Báthory, prince of Transylvania (1571–76) and king of Poland (1575–86), was crowned king on May 1, 1576, but did not totally pacify the country until the end of 1577. Stephen, although somewhat inconsistent, generally followed policies favorable to the Jews. It is to these unsettled times that the verses on the title page refer. The verses from Ezekiel, dealing with the wars of Gog and Magog, and from Deuteronomy, addressing the miraculous survival of the Jewish people under adverse conditions, allude to these events. The troubles besetting Poland idled the Hebrew press of Isaac Prostitz from 1574. Printing resumed in 1576, but only two books were issued by the press that year, Ne’im Zemirot, and an even smaller work, Minhah Hadashah on Pirkei Avot, by R. Jehiel Michael ben Jedidiah (Michael Morawczyk, see above, pp. 646–47).

Format 40: 32 leaves.

651

652

Yosef Lekah

jql πswy Eliezer ben Elijah Ashkenazi 1576, Cremona—Christopher Draconi Commentary on Megillat Esther by R. Eliezer ben Elijah, the physician, Ashkenazi (1513–86). The author, a many faceted individual, was a talmudist, physician, and well-rounded scholar, who served as rabbi in a number of varied communities. Born in the Middle East to German-Jewish parents, Ashkenazi was a student of R. Joseph Taitazak. His first rabbinic position, from 1538–61, was in Fostat, Egypt. Forced to leave Fostat, Ashkenazi went to Famagusta, Cyprus, where he was rabbi for two years, and then to Venice. He left for Prague (1561) after a dispute with the Maharam of Padua, and after traveling as far as the Crimea, returned, via Famagusta, to Venice. Ashkenazi was next rabbi in Cremona, where he published Yosef Lekah. Shortly after he left to be rabbi of Posen, and, from 1584, was in Cracow. Ashkenazi experienced difficulties in Poland, disputing over his right to open a yeshiva in close proximity to an existing yeshiva, so that R. Joseph Solomon Delmedigo (1591–1655) wrote about him, “You have brought a vine from Egypt; you have cast out the nations, and planted it” (Psalms 80:9). Ashkenazi was highly regarded by his contemporaries, corresponding with R. Joseph Caro, Joseph Ha-Kohen (Katz), Moses Isserles (Rema), and Solomon Luria (Maharshal), several mentioning him in their responsa. Ashkenazi’s responsum is included in Hatzaa al Odot ha-Get (Venice, 1566), concerning the Tamari-Venturozzo affair (see above, pp. 570–71). R. Elijah of Pesaro, in Famagusta in 1563, praised Ashkenazi’s scholarship, noting that he was fluent in twelve languages. Yosef Lekah is dedicated to Don Joseph Nasi, Duke of Naxos, whom Ashkenazi, in the introduction, compares to Joseph in Mizraim and Mordecai at the time of Ahasuerus. Ashkenazi, therefore, entitled this work Yosef Lekah. He also discusses the Jews of Turkey and the difficulties they have experienced. The work was completed in w”lç (336 = 1576), equaling “and that these days of Purim μyrwp (336) should not fail from among the Jews” (Esther 9:28). On the title page the date is given as, “Therefore they called these days Purim” (Esther 9:26). Yosef Lekah was printed by Christopher Draconi, previously associated with Conti. Draconi’s Hebrew printer was Solomon ben Jacob Bueno. Two, almost identical, editions of Yosef Lekah exist, both dated 1576. Although an almost exact copy of the original, it is clear, upon close examination, that the book was reset. Slight errors distinguish the two printings, among them the manner in which Bueno’s name is set, correctly in the first, as wnyawb, incorrectly, in the second, as wnywb. The reprinting cannot be attributed to the destruction of the first edition, as it is the more common of the two printings. It has been suggested that Bueno, after printing for Draconi, independently reprinted the book. Although Draconi did not print additional Hebrew titles, he printed other works until 1614. Ashkenazi’s most important work is Ma’aseh HaShem (Venice, 1583, below, pp. 720–21), on the historical occurrences in the Torah, with a commentary on the Passover Haggadah; selihot; and, not extant today, a supercommentary on the Ramban (Nachmanides) and annotations to R. Joseph Caro’s Beit Yosef.

Format 40: 83, 1 leaves.

653

654

Ayumah ka-Nidgaloth

twlgdnk hmwya Isaac ben Samuel Onkeneira 1577, Constantinople—Joseph ben Isaac Jabez A poem with riddles and stories. R. Isaac ben Samuel Onkeneira (mid-sixteenth century), from a Salonika family, was a talmudist, poet, and polemicist. He was employed by Don Joseph Nasi as a meturgemam (translator) and director of his yeshivah and synagogue at the palace in Belvedere. Onkeneira published a number of manuscripts from Nasi’s library, as well as translating and editing the latter’s work, Ben Porat Yosef (see below, pp. 656–57), from Portuguese into Hebrew. The title, Ayumah ka-Nidgaloth, “awesome as an army with banners” (Song of Songs 6:4 and 10), is interpreted in Exodus Rabbah (15:6), Numbers Rabbah (2:5), Song of Songs Rabbah (6:25), and Midrash Tanhuma (Numbers ch. 12) as enthusiastic praise for the children of Israel. It is dated “Wednesday, Rosh Hodesh Iyyar, in the year ‘[And Moses called Bezalel and Aholiab, and every wise hearted man, in whose heart the Lord had put wisdom, every one whose heart stirred him up] to come hbrql (337 = April 28, 1577) to the work [to do it]’” (Exodus 36:2), “[Like the dew of Hermon descending upon the mountains of Zion;] for there the Lord has commanded the blessing, [life for evermore]” (Psalms 133:3). Ayumah ka-Nidgaloth is a versified riddle and tales of the war between letters of the alphabet at the time of creation. The book has much ethical and social content, as can be seen from the following entries which discuss family and charity: A man is tempted to appreciate his pedigree when everyone rushes to marry him. They offer their daughters with a rich dowry to his sons and take his daughters for nothing and rise in his presence. All of which may make him arrogant. . . . He thus dishonors his ancestors who earned his family their reputation. He who shuts his eyes to the poor and does not give charity will eventually be caught by the magistrate, officer and governor of the town, . . . so that if he does not pay his ransom to the Jewish poor he will give it to the authorities.

Among the contents of Ayumah ka-Nidgaloth are fragments of an otherwise unknown Midrash, Mei ha-Shilo’ah. All references to this Midrash are, according to Saul Kook, derived from Ayumah ka-Nidgaloth. Kook not only surmises that Onkeneira wrote Midrash Mei ha-Shilo’ah, perhaps using an earlier unknown work, Pane’ah Raza, but also that Ayumah ka-Nidgaloth is like a work attributed to the ibn Ezra. Onkeneira also wrote a commentary entitled Zafenat Pa’ne’ah to the Sefer Re’umah (Constantinople, 1566, see above, pp. 578–79) attributed to R. Nahshon bar Zadok, Gaon of Sura. In Ayumah ka-Nidgaloth Onkeneira makes frequent reference to his Sefer Anak, a commentary on the Bible and to a work on the Jews of Spain, but neither work is extant. Ayumah ka-Nidgaloth was printed with Ben Porat Yosef, discussed below (p. 657).

Format 40: [4] 36 leaves.

655

656

Ben Porat Yosef

πswy trwp ˆb Don Joseph Nasi 1577, Constantinople—Joseph ben Isaac Jabez Polemic with a Christian against astrology by Don Joseph Nasi (c. 1524–1579), Duke of Naxos. Don Joseph was born João Míguez, in Lisbon, where his family had fled seeking refuge from Spain. Nasi’s father was physician to the king, and his paternal aunt was the remarkable Doña Gracia Nasi (Beatrice de Luna, c. 1510–1569), wife of the financier Francisco Mendes. The family settled in Antwerp in 1537, where Joseph Nasi, after attending the University of Louvain, proved successful in the Mendes family banking house. Nasi was received at the court of the Queen Regent Mary in Brussels, knighted by Charles V, and was a jousting partner of the future Emperor Maximilian. They were forced to leave Antwerp after Doña Gracia Nasi imprudently refused her daughter’s hand in a marriage suggested by Charles and directly proposed by the Queen regent, of Doña Gracia’s beautiful daughter, Donna Reyna, to Don Francisco d’Aragon, an illegitimate scion of the Aragonese royal family, letting it be known that she would rather see her daughter dead. The family’s numerous adventures before arriving in Constantinople are well recorded. En route, Don Joseph provided services to Francis I of France and sought, unsuccessfully, an island refuge from Venice for Marranos. Once in Constantinople, Don Joseph openly returned to Judaism, married Donna Reyna, and became one of the most important figures at the court of the Sublime Porte, Sultan Selim II. He exercised his influence over Ottoman foreign policy, directing it against the enemies of the Jews. However, after the Turkish defeat at Lepanto and the loss of Cyprus, Nasi’s influence waned. He is also remembered for his attempt to foster Jewish settlement in Erez Israel, in Tiberias, rebuilding the walls of that city and encouraging the wool and silk industries. Don Joseph accumulated a substantial library at his palace in Belvedere, supported Jewish scholarship, and was the patron of many Jewish authors. The sole work attributed to him is Ben Porat Yosef. Written in Portuguese, it was translated into Hebrew and arranged, edited and prepared for publication by R. Isaac ben Samuel Onkeneira. The origin of Ben Porat Yosef, entitled from “Joseph is a fruitful bough, [a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall]” (Genesis 49:22), is attributed to a discussion between Don Joseph and Christian scholars on the subject of astrology. The book is a defense of Judaism and a refutation of Christianity in which Don Joseph expresses the opinion that Israel is not under the influence of the stars, and that he is thankful to God for returning him to his people, from nations who accepted that belief. He also comments on the nature of prophecy, noting that it is a moral warning, for forecast tribulations and punishments can be vitiated by repentance. The book has approbations from leading rabbis, including several from Safed. Pagination for the text of Ben Porat Yosef begins at leaf 30, preceded by the title page only. Most likely, it was printed together with Onkeneira’s Ayumah ka-Nidgaloth, which concludes on leaf 28. Although the title page attributes Ben Porat Yosef to Nasi, and the preface by Onkeneira begins, “so says the copyist,” here too it has been suggested that the real author is Onkeneira.

Format 40: [1] 7 leaves numbering beginning at leaf 30.

657

658

Be’ur Sefer Kohelet

tlhq rps rwab Elisha ben Gabriel Gallico 1577, Venice—Giovanni di Gara Discourses and kabbalisitic commentary on Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) by R. Elisha ben Gabriel Gallico (d. 1583). Gallico, one of the sages of Safed in the sixteenth century, was one of R. Joseph Caro’s foremost students and later became a member of his bet din. Gallico’s name appears in Caro’s Avkat Rokhel, and in one instance is a co-signer of a responsum. He was also a co-signer, in conformity with Caro’s instructions, after the latter’s death, of the ban against R. Azariah de Rossi’s Meor Einayim (Mantua, 1573–74, see above, pp. 624–25). Gallico, who became a member of Moses di Trani’s bet din after the death of Caro, was the head of a large yeshivah in Safed, counting among his students R. Samuel Uceda and Joseph Benveniste. The title page of Be’ur Sefer Kohelet has an architectural frame and brief text, which states that it is “Be’ur Sefer Kohelet, by the sage, the complete, the gaon, R. Elisha Gallico, head of the metivtah in Safed. Printed at the press of Giovanni di Gara, Venice.” The title page is undated. However, the colophon has a completion date, Tuesday, 6 Tishrei, 5338 (September 27, 1577). There is a long introduction from Gallico, followed by the commentary. The text of Kohelet is not printed with the Be’ur. The initial text word is set in an ornamental frame and the text is in a single column in rabbinic type. At the end of the book (183b) is the apology of the editor, R. Samuel Archivolti, for any errors, type having been set by nonJews on the Sabbath and festivals. This is followed by a page of verse, also from Archivolti, in praise of the book. Gallico also wrote commentaries on all of the Megillot. Among those published are the commentaries on Esther (Venice, 1583) and the Song of Songs (Venice, 1587). His responsa, no longer extant, are quoted by R. Hayyim Benvenisti (Keneset ha-Gedolah). Although published first, the Be’ur Sefer Kohelet was likely one of the last of the commentaries on the Megillot written by Gallico, for he refers to his other commentaries on the Megillot in the introduction. An exception is the commentary on the Song of Songs, written later, for there Gallico refers to his commentary on Ecclesiastes. Gallico’s date of death is normally given as c. 1583. David Tamar suggests an earlier date, noting that di Trani, in his autobiography (in manuscript), gives Gallico’s date of death as 1578, and based on references to other Safed sages in Gallico’s commentaries.

Format 40: [12], 143, [1] leaves.

659

660

Hesed Avraham

μhrba dsj rps Abraham ben Shabbetai Horowitz 1577, Lublin—Kalonymus ben Mordecai Jaffe Commentary on the Shemonah Perakim, Maimonides’ introduction to Pirkei Avot, by the talmudist R. Abraham ben Shabbetai Horowitz (c. 1540–1615). Born in Prague, where his father, R. Sheftel (Shabbetai), was a dayyan, Horowitz, after studying with his father, went to Cracow to learn by R. Moses Isserles (Rema). There he studied not only Torah but also philosophy. Horowitz subsequently resided in Posen and Lvov, becoming a dayyan of the latter region in 1595. Hesed Avraham, perhaps Horowitz’s first work, was written in the mid-1550s. The title page has the ornate frame comprised of cherubim and scantily clad women used on a number of Lublin imprints (see above, pp. 634–35). The words Sefer and Avraham, but not Hesed, are in ornamental letters. Hesed Avraham is accompanied by the text of the Shemonah Perakim as translated by R. Samuel ibn Tibbon (c. 1160–c. 1230). The text of the book is in two columns, Shemonah Perakim in square letters, Hesed Avraham in rabbinic type. The colophon dates completion of the work to Sunday, 11 Shevat 337 ( January 9, 1577). The volume concludes with an epilogue and then verse from the editor, R. Joseph ben Ephraim called Joseph Magish from Lublin, and the date, “for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim μyrpaw (337 = 1577) is my firstborn” ( Jeremiah 31:8). In the introduction Horowitz explains that he has written it for young men not familiar with the ways of speculation, for most of this work has a philosophical basis, noting the Maimonidean concept that even the text of sacred books must be based on philosophical speculation. Indeed, he writes that “a man cannot achieve the level of rationality except if he forsakes shameful behavior and chooses good deeds, as the philosopher states . . .” and the “first of all the virtues is rationality.” Horowitz’s positive attitude to philosophical pursuits and secular studies aroused the opposition of R. Aaron ben Gershon Land of Prague, an opponent of philosophy and secular studies, who went so far as to declare Maimonides a heretic. Horowitz vigorously opposed Aaron and his son-law R. Joseph Ashkenazi (ha-Tanna of Safed), defending Maimonides. Nevertheless, when older, and a student also of Kabbalah, Horowitz completely revised Hesed Avraham (Cracow, 1602), writing that in his younger years he had “written not according to the truth but according to imagination,” noting that the second version is very different from the first and that the earlier version should be removed, the second is the principal. It is the second revised edition of Hesed Avraham that is today reprinted with all editions of the Talmud, accompanying the Shemonah Perakim. Horowitz also wrote Berit Avraham (Lublin, 1577), an ethical work on repentance, printed with Hesed Avraham; Emek Berakhah (Cracow, 1597) on prayers and benedictions, printed with glosses by his son, R. Isaiah Horowitz (Shelah, c. 1565–1630), and incorporated in his Shenei Luhot ha-Berit; Yesh Nohalin (Prague 1615), an ethical will with notes by his eldest son, Jacob; and a pamphlet (1599) in opposition to Aaron and his son-in law, Joseph.

Format 20: 22 leaves.

661

662

Iggeret Ogeret

trgwa trga Isaac ben Abraham Akrish, Editor c. 1577, Constantinople—Solomon and Joseph ben Isaac Jabez Collection of small treatises, primarily polemical, assembled by R. Isaac Akrish (concerning Akrish see below, 1577, Shloshah Perushim, pp. 672–73). The title page states that “it is a present sent (Genesis 32:19) for a portion to the rav . . . in order to know how to respond to apikorsim (disbelievers), worshipers of graven images.” In the introduction, Akrish notes that in his wanderings he came into contact with people of many religions and faiths with whom he entered into dispute. This small book, it is forty-eight leaves and measures 15 cm., consists of an introduction by Akrish, and eleven treatises. He provides brief introductions to the treatises, which are: 1) Al Tehi ka-Avotekha (leaves 2–23) by R. Isaac ben Moses ha-Levi (Profiat Duran, d. c. 1414). Duran, a philosopher, scholar, polemicist, and physician, was the author of a highly regarded grammatical work, Ma’aseh Efod (Vienna, 1865), which also includes a discussion of the essence of Jewish music. Al Tehi ka-Avotekha is one of two polemic works written by Duran, the other being Kelimat ha-Goyim. Duran reputedly was forced to undergo conversion to Christianity but, leaving Spain for Provence, was able to revert to Judaism. He wrote this work in response to a friend, David Bonet Bonjorn, who chose to remain an apostate. Al Tehi ka-Avotekha is a biting satire on the doctrines of Christianity, so cleverly written that Christians did not initially recognize it as an attack but thought it was praise for their religion. This is the longest piece in Iggeret Ogeret. 2) A letter from the apostate Astruc Rimoch (Francisco de Sant Jordi) to R. Solomon ben Reuben Bonfed and his response (leaves 24–27a). Bonfed, rabbi in Saragossa, was a participant in the disputation in Toledo (1413–14). In his response to Rimoch, Bonfed examines Christian dogma, showing it to be irrational and untenable. 3) An acrostic bakasha from R. Isaac Tarfon (leaves 27b–28a), inquiring of God how long the Jews would remain in distress. 4) A clever epistle in the style of the Talmud from R. Solomon ben Simeon Duran (Rashbash) to R. Nathan Najjar and his response (leaves 28b–30a). The response printed here is incomplete. 5) The prayer of R. Joseph ben Sheshet ibn Latimi, composed in 1308, made up of 1,000 words, each beginning with the letter alef (leaves 30b–32). 6) Iggeret ha-Vikku’ah from R. Shem Tov ibn Falaquera (leaves 33–41). Concerning this work, see below, pp. 664–65. 7) A dirge (leaf 42) on the destruction of the Temple by R. Simeon ben Zemah Duran (Rashbaz, 1361–1444), beginning “pour out tears as the Nile”. 8) An elegy for R. Solomon ben Abraham Adret by R. Joseph ben Solomon ibn Hiyya (leaf 43a). 9) Another elegy (leaf 43b). 10) Ma’aseh Ugah (leaf 44) from R. Jehiel ben Asher, son of the Rosh. The book is completed with a treatise with its own title page (leaves 45–48), which begins, “This valuable Kunteres comes to speak with righteousness on the subject of a person’s accounting with his Maker. . . .”

Format 80: 48 leaves.

663

664

Iggeret ha-Vikku’ah

jwkywh trga Shem Tov ben Joseph ibn Falaquera c. 1577, Constantinople—Solomon and Joseph ben Isaac Jabez A dialogue between an observant Jew and a philosopher by R. Shem Tov ben Joseph ibn Falaquera (Palquera, c. 1225–1295, on Falaquera see above, 1557, Zori ha-Yagon, pp. 464–65). Falaquera wrote Iggeret ha-Vikku’ah, be-Ve’ur ha-Haskamah asher bein ha-Torah ve-haHokhmah (Epistle of the Debate, Explaining the Harmony Between the Torah and Philosophy) at an early age to demonstrate the compatibility of Torah and philosophy, twin sisters, in complete harmony with each other. Indeed, the latter is necessary to fully understand the former. Falaquera begins with a statement of purpose: Shem Tov ben Joseph ibn Falaquera said: The purpose of this treatise, written by way of allegory and figure, is to explain that the study of the true sciences by whomever is worthy of them and whom God in his mercy has favored with an intellect to discover their depths is not prohibited from the point of view of our Law, and that the truth hidden in them does not contradict a word of our belief (as thought by the fools who are void of truth and dissent from this).

The text of Iggeret ha-Vikku’ah is a dialogue in rhymed prose between a hasid (religious Jew, pietist) and a hakham (philosopher, scholar). The former is characterized as moral, having studied traditional Jewish works, as opposed to the hakham, who, in addition to the texts of the hasid, also studies philosophic and scientific works. The hasid claims that philosophers combine heretical and sectarian notions. The hakham responds that philosophy is not infallible, but that one takes that which is true and consistent with religion, discarding that which is not compatible, comparing it to eating a pomegranate and discarding the peel (TB Hagigah 15b). Moreover, an ignorant person can not be a hasid (Avot 2:6). Influenced by Saadiah Gaon (Emunot ve-De’ot), Falaquera writes that what is known through reason is stronger than that which is known from tradition alone. One cannot delve into the depths of Torah without engaging in the study of science. At the conclusion, the hasid, now convinced, requests the hakham to “give me hints about the secrets of these sciences and explain to me the opinions of these philosophers who agree with the opinions of our sages.” The hakham responds that he cannot transgress the words of the sages, “who exhorted us not to reveal what they concealed in riddles,” but that he will open a gate to wisdom for him. If the hasid is in agreement with these opinions, he will come inside the holy temple and be changed into another man (I Samuel 10:6). Finally, the hakham agrees to write a small book for the hasid, divided into three parts: on ethical values; on the sciences; and on philosophy. These works, Falaquera’s later books, condense the finest philosophic and scientific works available, from the great medieval Jewish philosophers and others, such as Alfarabi, Avicenna, and Averroes, the last author of a work similar to Iggeret ha-Vikku’ah. Iggeret ha-Vikku’ah, a small popular treatise, was printed in Iggeret Ogeret (see above, pp. 662–63), a collection of small works, primarily polemical, assembled by R. Isaac Akrish (concerning Akrish see below, 1577, Shloshah Perushim, pp. 672–73). Iggeret ha-Vikku’ah has been translated into Latin and published with French notes (Sefarad XXXIX, 1979), and into English (Cambridge, 1987). Format 80: 33–41 leaves.

665

666

Kohelet Ya’akov

bq[y tlhq Moses ben Mordecai Galante 1577–78, Safed—Eliezer ben Isaac Ashkenazi Kabbalistic-homiletic commentary on Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) by R. Moses ben Mordecai Galante (Maharam Galante, c. 1520–c. 1610). Born in Rome, Galante emigrated to Erez Yisrael to study under R. Joseph Caro; he studied Kabbalah under R. Moses Cordovero. Galante received semicha at the age of twenty-two, and became, after R. Moses di Trani (ha-Mabit, 1500–1580), av bet din in Safed. The title page of Kohelet Ya’akov states, “‘O generation, see’ ( Jeremiah 2:31) ‘Moses commanded us a Torah, the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob bq[y tlhq’ (Deuteronomy 33:4) . . . and it is a desirable commentary on Kohelet.” It continues, that the many contradictions in Kohelet are resolved by Galante with good reasons and proofs. Furthermore, he brings, on each and every verse, the words of the Zohar, which “More to be desired are they than gold, even very fine gold” (Psalms 19:11). In Kohelet Ya’akov Galante expresses his opposition to the study of both philosophy and other secular studies. He discusses redemption, exile, and martyrdom (kiddush ha-Shem). There are also comments of historical value. The text of the title page is set in the ornamental arabesque frame first used by Jean de Tournes (1504–64) in Lyon. After the introduction is a crowned, two-tailed lion, rampant, the symbol of Bohemia, which R. Eliezer ben Isaac Ashkenazi also brought with him and used in several works. Eliezer appears to have done all of the typographical work, there being no mention of typesetters or editors in conjunction with this or Eliezer’s other Safed books. Further evidence can be deduced from the time it took to complete Kohelet Ya’akov, a small book, from the date on the title page, Tuesday, 25 Heshvan (15 November 1577), to the date in the colophon, Wednesday 10th of the month, “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine [Elul (23 August 1578)]” (Song of Songs 6:3), that is, nine-and-a-half months. Kohelet Ya’akov is the second of the three books published by Eliezer Ashkenazi in Safed at this time—the third is Sar Shalom (1579), by R. Samuel Aripul, on Shir ha-Shirim (Song of Songs). This was followed by a hiatus, from 1579 to 1587, in the press’s operations. The reasons for this interruption are not known, although it may have been due to an Arab revolt against the Turkish pasha in 1579. Eliezer’s partner, Abraham ben Isaac, went as an emissary to Yemen, and Eliezer, during this interval, also left Safed, for he printed, in 1586, in Constantinople, Aripul’s Lev Hakham, after which he returned to Safed, printing several more books. Galante also wrote responsa (Venice, 1608); and Mafte’ah ha-Zohar, an index of biblical passages in the Zohar (Venice, 1566). Both are incomplete. A number of Galante’s sermons are included in the commentary of R. Obadiah of Bertinoro on Ruth (Venice, 1585).

Format 40: 103 leaves.

667

668

Lekah Tov

bwf jql Yom Tov ben Moses Zahalon 1577, Safed—Eliezer ben Isaac Ashkenazi A commentary on the book of Esther by R. Yom Tov ben Moses Zahalon (Maharit Zahalon, 1558–1638). The author, born to a Sephardic family in Safed, was a student of R. Moses Bassudia and Joseph Caro, and received semicha (ordination) from R. Jacob Berab II. Highly regarded by his contemporaries, who often requested his opinion on complex halakhic issues, Zahalon was a person of great integrity, not influenced by status. For example, it was his opinion, although he had the utmost respect for Caro, that the Shulhan Arukh was “a work for children and laymen.” Zahalon made several trips as an emissary of the community in Safed to Italy, Holland, Egypt and Constantinople. Lekah Tov was written at an early age, seventeen or eighteen, to send, as stated on the title page, for mishlo’ah manot (Purim gifts), to his father. Also on the title page is the prayer that “the Lord should grant us the merit to print many books, to fulfill [the scriptural statement that] ‘from Zion shall go forth Torah, and the word of the Lord [from Jerusalem]’” (Isaiah 2:3). On the verso of the title page is brief introduction, in which Zahalon refers to the burning of the Talmud in Italy and remarks that, “Great was the cry of the Torah before God and when He remembered the covenant that He made with us at Horeb (Sinai), the Lord roused the heart of the printer Eliezer [so that] honor dwelled in our land. . . .” He encourages others to also print their books at the press in Safed. A second brief introduction from R. Joseph ben Meir follows, and then a longer introduction from the author. Here Zahalon informs that the book was named Lekah Tov because it has a reference to his name and because of the words of earlier sages on “For I give you good doctrine bwf jql, do not forsake my Torah” (Proverbs 4:2). The commentary, which is lengthy, includes both literal and homiletic interpretations. Zahalon does not reference a large number of other works. The volume is completed with a copy of Giustiniani’s device, a reproduction of the Temple in Jerusalem. Ashkenazi had used this mark previously, as mentioned earlier, in Constantinople. Lekah Tov is not only the first book printed in Safed, but the first book printed in Asia, excluding Chinese imprints. R. Eliezer ben Isaac Ashkenazi had printed in Lublin for almost two decades, leaving, with his son, to dwell in the Holy Land—printing also, for a short time on the way, in Constantinople—anticipating that he would print books for a European market eager to purchase books from the land of Israel. Eliezer Ashkenazi became partners with Abraham ben Isaac Ashkenazi, mentioned in the colophon (apparently not a relative), the former supplying the expertise and typographic material, the latter the location and the financing. Zahalon was the author of more than 600 responsa, only partially printed (Venice, 1694); additional volumes of responsa and novellae on Bava Kamma were printed in Jerusalem (1980–81); and an extensive commentary on Avot de-Rabbi Nathan entitled Magen Avot, is still in manuscript.

Format 40: 83 [1] leaves.

669

1577, Olat Shabbat, Joel ibn Shuaib, Venice Courtesy of the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad Ohel Yosef Yitzhak

670

Olat Shabbat

tbç tlw[ rps Joel ibn Shuaib 1577, Venice—Giovanni di Gara Derashot on the Torah by R. Joel ibn Shuaib (15th century). Ibn Shuaib, among the exiles from Spain, had previously served as rabbi in Aragon (Saragossa), where he was born, and Navarre (Tudela). He settled in Salonika, where he was rabbi and preacher for the Aragonese community. Ibn Shuaib was known for both his extensive rabbinic and secular knowledge. The title is from “This is the burnt offering of every Sabbath (olat shabbat)” (Numbers 28:10). The title page has an architectural frame and states that the sermons were delivered weekly on Shabbat and that “the light of his Torah shone in Aragon in the kingdom of Sefarad in the exile of Jerusalem in the year, ‘[And now men see not] the bright awh ryhb (229 = 1469) [light] which is in the clouds’ ( Job 37:21). Printed with Bomberg letters at the press of Giovanni di Gara in the year 5337” (1577). The title page is followed by a long introduction from R. Yom Tov ben Samuel ha-Kohen, who was the editor and brought the book to press, and then an index (3a–8a), with a prefatory paragraph, prepared by the physician Samuel Uziel. The volume concludes with an epilogue from R. Yom Tov ben Samuel and the date that work was completed, Thursday, 18 Menahem [Av] 5337 (August 11, 1577). The text is in two columns in rabbinic letters. Intial words of books are set within an ornate border. The derashot explicate verses within the parashah and related subject matter. Within the text ibn Shuaib comments on Jewish life and communal organization in Saragossa, making note of the hebrot (holy societies) in that community. He is critical of those townspeople who attended the ceremonies in conjunction with a visit of the king, which he describes as a feast with idolatry, “even in these days, when every day brings new sufferings, as is the case today in the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon,” remarking that the only refuge is the Lord. Ibn Shuaib also addresses the issue of the Marranos, of whom he is critical, a censure that is even more pronounced in his Nora Tehillot (Salonika, 1569). Ibn Shuaib’s criticism is credited with moving many Marranos to return to the open observance of Judaism. Nora Tehillot is a detailed and extensive commentary on Psalms in two volumes (40: 210, 4; 211–322, [2]) the first on Psalms 1 to 89, the second on Psalms 90 to 150, in which Midrashim and kabbalistic texts are utilized to explain the text and obscure terms and difficult phrases are made clear. Ibn Shuaib’s other works include Perush Megillat Eikhah (Salonika, 1521) on Lamentations, reprinted with the commentary of R. Abraham Galante as Kol Bokhim (Venice, 1589, see below, pp. 770–71). Other works, such as Doresh Tov on the Pentateuch and Ein Mishpat on Job, have either not been published or are no longer extant. He was, until recently, also credited with a commentary to the Song of Songs, which is now known to have been written by R. Joshua ibn Shuaib (14th century), a kinsman. Format 20: [8] 160 leaves.

671

1577, Shloshah Perushim al Shir ha-Shirim, Isaac ben Abraham Akrish, Editor, Constantinople Courtesy of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

672

Shloshah Perushim al Shir ha-Shirim

μyryçh ryç l[ μyçwryp hçlç Isaac ben Abraham Akrish, Editor 1577, Constantinople—Solomon and Joseph ben Isaac Jabez Three commentaries on the Song of Songs (Shir ha-Shirim) by Rav Saadiah ben Joseph Gaon (882–942), R. Joseph ben Abba Mari Caspi (1279–1340), and a third, anonymous work, “She’ar Yashuv entitled Kodesh ha-Kadashim.” The book was brought to press by R. Isaac ben Abraham ben Judah Akrish. Akrish writes in the introduction that he had been perusing a book with eight commentaries on the Song of Songs. He saw that these pearls were forgotten, the words of King Solomon (author of Shir ha-Shirim) closed and sealed. A sage in Damascus admonished Akrish to print the commentaries. He selected three, for “a threefold cord is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12), and edited them according to his ability. Akrish concludes that if a philanthropist will take it upon himself to print the remaining five commentaries, so that they will not be lost, he will help bring the redemption. The first commentary is that of ibn Caspi, a biblical commentator, grammarian, and philosopher. It is part of his Hazozerot Kesef on Proverbs, Song of Songs, and Ecclesiastes. The second work, She’ar Yashuv entitled Kodesh ha-Kadashim, is ascribed by Akrish to R. Jacob ben David Provencal (15th century). However, based on a manuscript in Trinity College, Cambridge, it seems that She’ar Yishuv is an acronym for “Samuel Armilos Rofei, may Samuel and his sons live and be well.” Rav Saadiah Gaon, noted earlier, translated the entire Bible into Arabic, and wrote a partial biblical commentary (see p. 437). The attribution of this commentary to him, however, is questionable. In the introduction, Akrish gives a biographical accounting of his wanderings. He is of the remnant of the refugees of Spain and Naples. From twice the number that went out of Mizraim, a small fraction only, one from a city, two from a family, escaped to Naples, but there too did not find respite. Akrish, although lame in both legs, wandered most of his life, proceeding to Salonika and then to Egypt (c. 1548), where the head of the Jewish community, R. David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra (Radbaz, 1479–1573), whom Akrish praises, employed him as a tutor for his children and grandchildren. When ibn Abi Zimra went up to Jerusalem, Akrish set out for Constantinople. In Egypt, Akrish had spent his free time and money collecting and copying manuscripts. Stopping in Candia on the way to Constantinople, this library was confiscated by the Venetians in 1554, the year that they burned the Talmud. Apparently he was able to save his library, but in 1569, a conflagration in Constantinople consumed the library. After living for some time in poverty Akrish found patrons, first Esther Kiera and later Don Joseph Nasi. Akrish published a number of important collections of manuscripts, among them the polemical Iggeret Ogeret (c. 1577, see above, pp. 662–63); a collection of manuscripts concerning the Ten Lost Tribes, the Khazars, and the story of Bustanai (c. 1575–78); and this work, three commentaries on the Song of Songs.

Format 40: 12 leaves.

673

674

Shulhan Arukh

˚wr[ ˆjlç Joseph ben Ephraim Caro 1577–78, Venice—Allesandro Gardano All four parts of the Shulhan Arukh by R. Joseph ben Ephraim Caro (1488–1575). First printed in 1564–65 (see above, pp. 554–55) the Shulhan Arukh immediately became a popular and much reprinted work. Its widespread popularity notwithstanding, this succinct halakhic code was subject to considerable criticism in some quarters precisely because of its conciseness and for only reflecting Sephardic halakhic practice, deficiencies addressed by later glosses and commentaries, beginning with R. Moses Isserles’s (Rema) annotations (Cracow, 1570–71) (see below, pp. 818–19). Nevertheless, for some time after the publication of the Rema’s glosses the Shulhan Arukh continued to be printed in Italy without those annotations, today an inseparable part of the complete work. The popularity of the Shulhan Arukh is attested to by the fact that not only were so many editions printed within such a short period of time, but that within four years two pocket editions for travelers were published. The first, printed in 1574 by Alvise Bragadin, was followed by this edition (14 cm.) four years later, a copy of the earlier printing. The title page states: Shulhan Arukh Before the elders with the young in a small volume so that [a person] should be able to carry it in his bosom, to look into it any time and any place, while resting or traveling. Written by r”rwhmk [our teacher the honorable Rav and Rabbi] Joseph Caro ayyzy ben [the honorable Rabbi] Ephraim Caro l”xz. Printed with great care and the addition of an explanation of terms At the press of Messer Allesandro Gardano Here Venice.

All of the title pages, copied from the previous edition and unmodified, refer to Caro with the blessing ayyzy, a blessing for children and a long life, although he had died two years before the publication of this edition. The text is set in rabbinic type, only the headings being in square letters. The volumes conclude with indexes of the contents. In the colophons are dates of completion; for example, Y. D. states that it was finished in the month of Tammuz w”yçh (5316 = 1556 gpl or 321 = 1561 qpl) in Safed, referring to Caro’s completion date, followed by “printing was completed on the first day of Hanukkah, jlçh (25 Kislev 5338 = Thursday, December 15, 1577). The last volume, Hoshen Mishpat, was completed Wednesday, the 21st of Shevat jlçh (February 8, 1578). The device of the printer, a representation of Venus rising, appears on the title page. This is the only Hebrew title printed by Allesandro Gardano.

Format 160: 219 [1]; 167 [1]; 359 [1] leaves. Printed previously in Venice (1564–65, 1567 twice, Gryphio and di Cavalli), Salonika (1567), and Venice (1574, 40 & 160, and reprinted in 1597–98, 40 & 80).

675

676

Babylonian Talmud

ylbb dwmlt 1578–1581, Basle—Ambrosius Froben The most heavily censored edition of the Babylonian Talmud. The impetus to print this edition occurred when the Basle printer Ambrosius Froben traveled to the famous Frankfort on the Main book fair in 1577. He came in contact with German Jews, among them R. Simon Levi Guenzburg (Simon zur Gemze) of Frankfort, who expressed a need for a new edition of the Talmud to fill the void left when the Italian publishers ceased printing the Talmud. Froben, sympathetic, secured approval to print the Talmud from the Basle city council and church authorities in a manner consistent with the Council of Trent’s strictures and obtained a resident permit for a learned Jew to supervise his press. That individual, the Jewish editor, was Israel ben Daniel Zifroni (Sifroni) ha-Ashkenazi, an Italian Jew from Guastalla, near Padua, a printer of repute who had previously worked for Vincenzo Conti in Cremona and Sabbioneta. Zifroni was accompanied by R. Jacob ben Isaac Luzzatto of Safed (Kaftor va-Ferah, below, pp. 700–01), who was the final corrector, and some of his glosses, defending the aggadah, appear with this Talmud. Printing was under the supervision of the Venetian inquisitor, Marco Marino Brixiense (da Brescia). The title pages of tractates without Marino’s name state that they were printed in accordance with the Sacrum concilium Tridentinum (Tridentine index) and that the volume does not contain anything offensive to Christianity. (See above, Index liborum prohibitorum, 1564, Venice, pp. 550–51.) Among the restrictive conditions imposed was that the name Talmud not be used, it being disallowed by the index of forbidden books. Among the acceptable terms were gemara, shas (for Shisha Sidrei [six orders of ] Mishna), and limud. Passages considered offensive were expurgated, while others were modified to make the contents acceptable to the censors. In some instances, marginal comments were appended presenting a Christian position or interpretation of the text. Tractate Avodah Zarah was entirely omitted, its name and subject matter, idolatry, being sufficient to disqualify it. Alterations were not done in a systematic manner, so that entries expurgated or modified in one place were left intact elsewhere. Nevertheless, some criteria were applied consistently. All references to Rome or Edom were understood as euphemisms for the Church, even if the clear intent was the pre-Christian classical period. For example, Berakhot 62b states, “A Roman ymwda thrust Rabbi Eliezer away from a certain spot, when immediately a snake, which had been hiding there, bit the offender mortally. Then the Rabbi called out [citing Isaiah 43:4], ‘Therefore will I give men μda in place of thee.’” “Persian” was substituted for “Roman” (Edomite), rendering the entry meaningless. Anthropomorphic statements, such as Ta’anit 29a, “And God made a noise over them like the crowing of cocks,” and Sanhedrin 56b, “If any one strike an Israelite on the cheek it is as though he had struck the cheek of the Holy One,” were excluded. References which did not reflect well on Church practices were also expurgated or altered. Yevamot 63a was modified from “any man who is not married is not a [whole] man” to “any Jew who is unmarried. . . .” Reputedly, this was done to exclude the pope and members of the priesthood, celibates, from the rule. This Talmud did not find favor with Jews, who looked for alternatives whenever possible.

Format 20.

677

678

Sefer Bere’shit

tyçarb rps 1578, Rome—Vittorio Eliano and Francesco Zanetti Book of Genesis printed by Vittorio Eliano ( Joseph Romano, b. 1528) and Francesco Zanetti. The two printed a small number of titles in Rome between 1578 and 1581, namely an edition of the Five Megillot (1580) and Psalms (1581), in addition to this volume of Genesis. The title page has a decorative border made up of armed men on the sides, a battle scene on the top, and a nautical scene for the bottom segment. The text is accompanied by grammatical marginalia displaying the roots of verbs in the text. The printer, Francesco Zanetti, was a member of the famed Venetian printing family. His associate, Vittorio Eliano, born Joseph Romano, was a maternal grandson of R. Elijah Levita (Bahur) and adopted the surname Eliano to reflect his descent from his esteemed ancestor. When Eliano apostasized, c. 1548, his younger brother, Solomon Romano (1530–89), came to Venice to rebuke him but ended by also abandoning the faith of his fathers. Converted as Giovanni Battista Eliano, he became a Jesuit, and was instrumental in the burning of the Talmud in Rome in 1553. Giovanni spent the later years of his life in the Middle East representing the Church. Vittorio Eliano worked for several printers of Hebrew books as a corrector and censor, for example, Meir ben Jacob Parenzo (Sha’arei Dura, 1547, above, pp. 340–41) in Venice; Vincenzo Conti (1557–59) in Cremona; and Giorgio di Cavalli in Venice (1565–67). He served as a member of the Dominican commission to review Hebrew books which condemned the Talmud in Milan, resulting in the burning of that work in Cremona in 1559. However, he also printed at his own expense such works as the Sefer Maharil (Cremona, 1558), suggesting an ambivalence about his life. Hebrew printing in Rome, on the doorsteps of the Vatican, was not a successful undertaking. There was no Hebrew printing there from the time that the press of Antonio Blado closed in c. 1548 until this venture, excepting one reputed conversionary work printed by the apostate Giulio Morosino (Derekh Emunah, 1563) for the Congregation de Propaganda Fide. The press of Francesco Zanetti and Vittorio Eliano was short-lived and the next Hebrew book to be printed in Rome did not appear until 1618.

Format 80: 115 leaves.

679

1578-79, Gur Aryeh, Judah Loew ben Bezalel (Maharal), Prague Courtesy of the Dorot Jewish Division, New York Public Library

680

Gur Aryeh

hyra rwg Judah Loew ben Bezalel (Maharal) 1578–79, Prague—Mordecai ben Gershom Katz Supercommentary on Rashi al ha-Torah by R. Judah Loew ben Bezalel (Maharal, c. 1525– 1609). Maharal is among the preeminent rabbinic figures of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. An original and profound thinker, his varied interests, in addition to vast rabbinic scholarship, encompassed kabbalistic, scientific, and mathematical studies. Little is known of Maharal’s personal life, as he was reticent to include such material in his works. However, he is the subject of numerous miraculous tales concerning his birth, marriage, and later life. Born in Posen, Maharal served as Landesrabbiner of Moravia in Nikolsburg from 1553 to 1573 prior to moving to Prague to head the Klaus yeshiva. Maharal left Prague in 1583–1584 for Posen, returning in 1588–1589. He again left Prague for Posen in 1592, returning in 1597 to succeed R. Mordecai ben Abraham Jaffe (Levush), as Chief Rabbi. Although Maharal is known as Chief Rabbi of Prague, he was elected to that position late in life, due to opposition to him for his independent positions, among them his disdain for the current educational curriculum and the pilpul method of Talmud study. The title, Gur Aryeh, is from “Judah is a lion’s whelp” (Genesis 49:9), which includes an allusion to Maharal’s name. Although this is his first published work, he refers in it to Gevurot ha-Shem, published later (1581–82, below, pp. 704–05). This occurs in other books too, where reference is made to books published several years later, so that it is clear that he did not publish in the order that he wrote. The title page is dated 338 (1578), the colophon, “‘they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away’ (Isaiah 35:10) Amen” ˆma hjnaw ˆwgy wsnw wgyçy hjmçw ˆwçç (339 = 1579). The title page has a decorative frame and initial book words are in a frame with two cherubim at the sides. The title page states the book’s purpose, to explain Rashi, for it is the first of all commentaries, and to respond to all those that come after him, to clarify his words. His intent was to defend Rashi from the criticism of R. Moses ben Nahman (Ramban) in his Perush ha-Torah (above, pp. 62–63). Apart from being a commentary on Rashi, it contains, as do Maharal’s other works, sharp social criticism of the establishment. He censures communal leadership and the contemporary pedagogical system, the latter resulting in significant reform in the manner of instruction. Many of the concepts introduced here are developed in later works in greater detail. Maharal was a prolific writer. Among his other works are Gevurot ha-Shem, on the Exodus and the Haggadah (Cracow, 1581–82); Derekh Hayyim, on Avot (Cracow, 1589, below, pp. 766–67); Tiferet Yisrael, on the giving of the Torah (Prague, 1593); Netivot Olam, ethical homilies (Prague, 1596); Be’er ha-Golah, on difficult talmudic passages (Prague, 1598, below, pp. 888–89); Nezah Yisrael, on redemption (Prague, 1599); Or Hadash and Ner Mitzvah on, respectively, Megillat Esther and Purim, and Hanukkah (Prague, 1600). There is evidence that Maharal wrote another, more analytical but less-popular commentary on Rashi, but this is no longer extant.

Format 20: 228 leaves.

681

1578-79, Se’ah Solet/Marpe la-Nefesh/Orah Hayyim, Raphael ben Gabriel Norzi, Venice Courtesy of the Dorot Jewish Division, New York Public Library

682

Se’ah Solet/Marpe la-Nefesh/Orah Hayyim

μyyj jrwa/çpnl aprm/tls has Raphael ben Gabriel Norzi 1578–79, Venice—Giovanni di Gara Three ethical works by R. Raphael ben Gabriel Norzi (Norsa, da Norcia, 1520–1583?). Norzi, a member of the distinguished and influential family of that name, served as rabbi in Ferrara and Mantua. Little else is known of Norzi, except that he was the author of these three works. Each book (part) has an individual title page with the same architectural frame but a different verse above the arch. That of Se’ah Solet, the first work, is “a measure of fine flour (se’ah solet) for a shekel” (II Kings 7:1, 16); the text of the title page states, “Se’ah Solet (fine flour), sifted in the sieve of ‘a blameless and upright man, one who fears God, and turns away from evil’ ( Job 1:1, 8; 2:3) R. Raphael of Norzi ben Gabriel. . . .” On the verso of the title page are prefatory remarks from Norzi and verse, followed by the text (2a–14b). The second work is Marpe la-Nefesh (healing of the soul). The verse above the arch is “This is the gate of the Lord” (Psalms 118:20). There is a preface on the verso of the title page and the text begins on 16a, concluding on 40b. The final work is Orah Hayyim. The verse above the arch is “To the wise the way of life (orah hayyim) leads upward” (Proverbs 15:24). The title page states that it is the third part with Se’ah Solet and Marpe la-Nefesh. Here, too, there are prefatory remarks on the verso of the title page, with a Latin paragraph naming the famed censor “Padre Don Marco Marino da Brescia” (Brixiense) and concluding with the con licentia de I Superiori. The foliation of the text (2a–31b) begins afresh. In all three books the text is in a single column in rabbinic type. The volume concludes with a colophon dating the completion of the work to the month of Tevet, “Whom shall I send jlça (339 = December, 1578/January, 1579), and who will go for us?” (Isaiah 6:8). Norzi was motivated to write to serve the religious needs of the public. Although others preceded him, he undertakes this work because most men have neither the time nor the training to master many learned works, and cannot swim in the mighty waters. Norzi will provide a summary of the best thought on religion and conduct for those who wish to improve their understanding in these fields. These works, parts of a unified approach, are Se’ah Solet on the essentials of life; Marpe la-Nefesh on fundamental concepts; and Orah Hayyim on ethics. There is no sharp differentiation between the subject matter of the three parts and themes reappear. Underlying all is the belief that faith is of central importance, as philosophy cannot supply a firm foundation for Jewish spirituality. Norzi makes use of traditional sources, utilizing the Bible, Talmud, Midrashim, Zohar, and the works of philosophers and preachers. He quotes often from Maimonides, R. Isaac Arama (Akedat Yizhak, above, pp. 144–45), and, to a lesser extent, from a large and eclectic number of later Jewish and some non-Jewish sources. As Norzi writes, he may have collected ears of grain from diverse fields, but they were ground in the mill of his own mind into the fine flour of his teaching. The combined works were republished in Amsterdam (1757) and Zhitomir (1759). Se’ah Solet has been republished a number of times without the other parts.

Format 40: 40, 31 leaves. Se’ah Solet and Marpe la-Nefesh were printed previously in Mantua (1561).

683

684

Tahkemoni

ynwmkjt arqnh rps Judah ben Solomon al-Harizi 1578, Constantinople—Solomon and Joseph Jabez Literary work in rhymed prose and verse by the poet and translator R. Judah ben Solomon al-Harizi (c. 1165–c. 1234). Born in Spain to an affluent family that lost its wealth, alHarizi found it necessary to support himself by his writing, depending upon the beneficence of patrons, whom he praises and to whom he dedicates his works. Al-Harizi wandered extensively, from about 1190, first in Provence and then in Egypt, Erez Israel, Syria, and present-day Iraq, returning to Spain in about 1230 via Greece. His first important literary endeavor was the translation into Hebrew of the maqama (Mahbarot Iti’el ) of the Arab poet al-Hariri. His motivation in writing Tahkemoni was to show the excellence of Hebrew, as he writes: And in days of yore the sublime saints were wont to rejoice in the Holy Tongue. But today filthy violent persons among our people have stabbed her with swords. . . . When I saw that Hagar had born lovely sons while Sarai a barren life led. Therefore, I bestirred myself and girded myself with strength that I might make the barren woman to dwell in her house as a joyful mother of children (ref. Psalms 113:9).

The title page, with the Jabez florets, has a brief text, which informs that it was brought to press by Obadiah Sabach ben Menahem ha-Kohen. Following the title page is a list of the fifty she’arim (portals) comprising Tahkemoni, the text, concluding on 76b, verse omitted from f. 28, an epilogue from Obadiah, and two pages with versified prayers from Hananiah ibn Yakar on his deceased son, concluding, in the year “Send hjlç (5338 = 1578) the lad with me” (Genesis 43:8). There are dedications to R. Josiah, of Davidic descent, head of the Jewish community in Damascus, and in the introduction, apparently written later, to R. Samuel ibn Albarkala, of the same city. Tahkemoni (the Wise One, II Samuel 23:8), completed after 1220, is written as a maqama, that is, a combination of rhymed prose and verse. Biblical verses and allusions are juxtaposed with the adventures described in the book’s chapters, each dealing with a different episode or subject. The unity of Tahkemoni is provided by a single narrator, Heman the Ezrahite, who repeatedly encounters the hero, Heber the Kenite. Heber is presented as a scholarly rogue, as well as a physician, preacher, poet, and astrologer. This wide-ranging work contains prayers, fables, ditties, riddles, and satire. It provides descriptions of thirteenthcentury Jewish life, and has debates between a Karaite and rabbinic Jew, Heber and other poets, night and day, and a pen and a sword. Its varied contents include a letter which, when read normally, is full of praise, but from the other direction derogatory; a sermon from a rooster showing why he should not be slaughtered; and a sermon on temperance. Al-Harizi’s other works include Sefer ha-Anak, 257 poems composed in two stanzas with a moral theme, and a translation of the proverbs of Hunain ibn Ishak. His more weighty subjects are, at the behest of R. Jonathan ha-Kohen of Lunel, a translation of the introduction to and at least five tractates of Maimonides’ commentary on order Zera’im. He also prepared Hebrew translations of Maimonides’ Moreh Nevukhim (London-Vienna, 1851–76), which in turn was translated into Latin (Paris, 1520) and Castilian, and Ma’amar Tehiyyat ha-Metim (above, pp. 604–05). Format 40: 76, [2] leaves.

685

1578-79, Tanhumot El, Isaac ben Moses ibn Arroyo, Salonika Courtesy of Kestenbaum & Company

686

Tanhumot El

lq twmwjnt Isaac ben Moses ibn Arroyo 1578–79, Salonika—David ben Abraham Azubib Derashot (sermons) on the weekly Torah readings. R. Isaac ben Moses ibn Arroyo (Arollia, late 16th century), a student of R. Joseph Taitazak, served as a rabbi of the Portuguese community in Salonika. The title page is unadorned. The name of the work, Tanhumot El, is derived from “[Are the] consolations of God [too small for you? Or the word which deals gently with you?]” ( Job 15:11). The title page informs that “the beginning of the work, the work of heaven,” was on Monday, 22 Elul 5338 (September 4, 1578). Tanhumot El was completed in Sivan, 339 (= June/July 1579). Arroyo’s introduction follows the title page, and then the text in two columns in rabbinic type, excepting headers and initrial words, which are in square letters. The book concludes with words of praise for its contents by R. Saadia Lonago, followed by a three-page index. Arroyo informs us, in the introduction, that he entitled his book Tanhumot El, for its words provided him with divine solace from his troubles after the death of his sons, but for one small lad. In the introduction Arroyo writes that I shall not adduce what others say about the meaning of verses and sayings, for their books can be checked and I do not desire to enlarge my work with their words, excepting rare instances. . . . if the reader should find in my book something said previously by others he should not consider me a plagiarist, for I had not seen or heard it previously. In those rare cases where my comments are comparable to those of other commentators close examination will show that in fact they are not the same.

Tanhumot El is comprised of thirty philosophical and ethical sermons by Arroyo. It is the first work published by David ben Abraham Azubib, whose name initially appears as a partner in Toledot Yizhak, the final Jabez Salonika imprint. Azubib, in addition to acquiring Joseph Jabez’s typographical equipment, procured new letters. Nevertheless, the type in Azubib’s books, stylistically similar to the Jabez imprints, have a worn and coarse quality to them. Arroyo was also author of Beit Tefillah (Salonika, 1583), a kabbalistic commentary on the prayer book, and Makhil Kohelet (ibid., 1597), on Ecclesiastes. In addition, his responsa are referred to by R. Isaac Adarbi in his Divrei Rivot (ibid., 1582, below, pp. 714–15).

Format 20: 158 leaves.

687

688

Tractate Rosh Ha-Shanah

hnçh çar tksm 1578, Cracow—Isaac ben Aaron Prostitz A large format, attractive edition of tractate Rosh Ha-Shanah existing as a ten-folio unicum fragment in the library of the Jewish Theological Seminary. Prior to the discovery of this fragment two treatises had been known to have been printed in Cracow at this time, Avodah Zarah, followed by Ketubbot. The title page of Avodah Zarah is undated, suggesting that it was the first treatise printed, followed by Rosh Ha-Shanah, dated the 2nd of Adar I, 338 (Sunday, February 19, 1578), and Ketubbot, which notes that work began on “the 24th of Menahem [Av] in the year 338 (Monday, August 7, 1578),” and the colophon, after Piskei Tosafot, that work “was completed today, Wednesday, Rosh Hodesh Adar, 339 (February 7, 1579)”. The text of the title pages is taken from the Giustiniani Talmud, although, as elsewhere, this Talmud was based on the Bomberg Talmud. In addition to the uniformity of the beginning and endings of all the pages with the Bomberg Talmud, Avodah Zarah has a register at the end of the volume, and lacks Kizzur Piskei ha-Rosh, both features of the Bomberg Talmud. Furthermore, Rosh Ha-Shanah is completed with pages from the Bomberg Talmud, although it is not clear whether that is because no more of the tractate was printed in Cracow or due to another reason peculiar to this particular copy. Various reasons have been given for Prostitz printing these tractates, and perhaps others, at this time. It has been suggested that he did so to compete with the Lublin press, although the fact that a Talmud was completed in that city in 1577 is also seen as an argument against Prostitz undertaking a Talmud edition at that time. Moreover, if Prostitz had printed a Talmud at this time it is likely that he would have noted on the title page of his 1602–05 Talmud that it was his second edition. Another reason, that of Moritz Steinschneider, is that Avodah Zarah was, “[seu castrata, unde et. tract. Aboda Sara plane omissus, Cracoviae vero supplementi instar excusus.],” printed to compensate for its omission from the Basle Talmud (1578–81, see above, pp. 676–77). Even if this is a consideration for Avodah Zarah, it does not explain Prostitz’s first issuing Rosh Ha-Shanah and afterwards Ketubbot. The printing of these tractates resulted in church officials in Cracow complaining to the papal secretary of state in Rome, but no action was apparently taken. They were not aware, or their consternation would have been greater, that Avodah Zarah was among the tractates being printed. These tractates are attractive large folios, with wide margins between the text and Rashi and the text and Tosafot. The title pages of Avodah Zarah and Ketubbot have the tractate name in ornamental letters but no printer’s device. Rosh Ha-Shanah, however, has a device, a shield containing two fish, the upper facing left and the lower facing right, above a printer’s tool used to apply ink to type. This printer’s mark, much used by Prostitz, first appears in a mahzor (1584), and is on the title page of an edition of Bezah, printed in “In ours and his days, [grant] Judah salvation and may Israel dwell in safety [may it be His will.]: in the year ‘and remove Satan ˆfç (359 = 1599) from before and from after us,’” the last part from the prayer book. Bezah was likely printed individually, as were other popular tractates, in relatively small numbers, for use by students and local residents, and was not meant to be part of a complete Talmud edition.

Format 20.

689

690

Ibbur Shanim

μynç rwby[ Issachar ben Mordecai ibn Susan 1579, Venice—Giovanni di Gara On the Hebrew calendar and contemporary customs. R. Issachar ben Mordecai ibn Susan (ibn Shoshan, c. 1510–after 1580), was born in Fez to a family from Toledo that traced its ancestry to the tribe of Benjamin. In about 1527 Susan and his father left the Maghreb (North Africa) for Jerusalem, where he studied under R. Levi ibn Habib (Ralbah; c. 1483– 1545), afterwards settling in Safed, where he continued his studies. However, poverty forced him to leave Safed, to seek a livelihood elsewhere. A mathematician, Susan began to work on the Hebrew calendar, calculating tables for the years 5299–6000 (1539–2240), returning to Safed where he completed his work. In this second period in Safed Susan administered a yeshivah. Susan began work on his Ibbur Shanim in 1539 and completed it in 1545 in Safed. The book is primarily concerned with the rules for and the calculation of dates in the Jewish calendar for Shemittah, holidays, Torah and Haftarah readings and customs related to the Jewish year. In Erez Israel the seven-year Shemittah cycle and the many agricultural laws related to it were a matter of practical importance, unlike in the diaspora where it was only of theoretical interest. Susan was motivated to write his work when traveling in Turkey, where he observed the difficulties that rabbis had calculating dates due to the lack of proper reference works. The unedited manuscript, left with friends in Turkey, was first published as Tikkun Yissakhar (Constantinople, 1564, 40, 94f.) by Solomon Jabez. That title is based on “And of the men of Issachar, who were men who had understanding of the times” (I Chronicles 12:32), which Rashi explains as the special responsibility of the tribe of Issachar to fix the seasons and intercalations. In the introduction to Ibbur Shanim, Susan, erroneously attributing the first printing to Salonika, expresses considerable displeasure at the work’s premature publication, complaining that the text had been mangled and all but one of the diagrams had been omitted. In contrast, Ibbur Shanim, so called because the contents are primarily concerned with the calendar, is much improved, a larger work, with numerous charts and calculations. Susan relates his biography and the customs he has observed in North Africa, Erez Israel, and elsewhere. Of particular interest are those of the Mostarabian Jews (the native Jewish community prior to the arrival of the Spanish exiles). Synagogue practice and various customs related to the Jewish year are described, for example, variant Torah readings, and the giving of many aliyyot when there is a groom or ba’al berit in the synagogue. Susan also provides an informed picture of the Safed community. Susan also translated the Bible and Megillat Antiochus into Arabic, but this work, never published, remains in manuscript. Ibbur Shanim was a popular book on synagogue practice, and is quoted by R. Joseph Caro in the Shulhan Arukh.

Format 40: 136 leaves.

691

692

Perush ha-Torah

hrwth çwryp Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel 1579, Venice—Giovanni di Gara Detailed commentary on the Torah by the statesman and exegete Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel (1437–1508). Abrabanel considered writing his Torah commentary, and began Deuteronomy, at a relatively early age, but put it aside, writing in a letter dated 1472 that when he has peace of mind he will return to this work. However, during a brief interval when Abrabanel did concentrate on his writing it was the Early Prophets that was written, perhaps because they allowed him more latitude in commenting on the vicissitudes of political life and its participants. The commentary on the first four books of the Torah was begun in 1505 after the Later Prophets were completed. Genesis was finished in the first half of 1505, and Exodus on 1 Marheshvan, 266 (Monday, October 9, 1505), the remaining books by 1506 or 1507. Most, if not all of Deuteronomy was written in Portugal. Abrabanel’s Torah commentary comprises his final conclusions on historical, philosophical, and political occurrences addressed in earlier works. He considered it his finest and most important work, writing, “I invested in it all my thought and all my knowledge.” Abrabanel is strongly influenced, in style and content, by his predecessors. In format he follows R. Levi ben Gershom (Ralbag), dividing his commentary by content and beginning each section with introductory questions, which vary in number, sometimes reaching to more than a score. The answers are detailed, sometimes repetitive, and erudite, reflecting the fact that many of his discourses are derived from synagogue homilies. Perush ha-Torah is an exposition of the contents, with little attention given to linguistic interpretations, adequately addressed by his predecessors. Although he too engages in philosophic interpretations, Abrabanel is strongly opposed to philosophical and rational explanations of the text. Much use is made of midrashim, but Abrabanel is critical when they deviate from the literal meaning. His manner is modern and scholarly; sources are noted by name, with points of agreement and disagreement detailed, followed by what Abrabanel believes is the correct explanation. For example, in Hukkat (Numbers 19:1–22:1), in explaining why Moses was not allowed to enter Erez Israel, ten reasons, from Rashi, Rambam, Ramban, ibn Ezra, and the Sefer Ikkarim, are noted, followed by an evaluation and his own thoughts. There is ethical content, and, although not a kabbalist, a mystical element to a number of his interpretations, as well as a historical view seldom found elsewhere. Asher ben Jacob Parenzo, the printer for Giovanni di Gara, contributes a preface, and there are several epilogues, including one from Samuel Archivolti, the editor. Three large crowns and one small crown appear on the title page. The large crowns, the mark of the Bragadin press, appear on several of di Gara’s books, indicative of the close relationship of their presses. The fourth crown, surmounted by the phrase, “crown of a good name,” represents Parenzo, standing for “There are three crowns: but the crown of a good name surpasses them all” (Avot 4:17). This is the first edition of Perush ha-Torah, excepting Mirkevet ha-Mishneh on Deuteronomy (Sabbioneta, 1551, pp. 368–69).

Format 20: 424 [1] leaves.

693

1579, Reshit Hokhmah, Elijah ben Moses de Vidas, Venice Courtesy of the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad Ohel Yosef Yitzhak

694

Reshit Hokhmah

hmkj tyçar rps Elijah ben Moses de Vidas 1579, Venice—Giovanni di Gara Ethical work based on the Zohar by R. Elijah ben Moses de Vidas (16th century), one of the sages of Safed. Almost nothing is known about Vidas’s background, who is believed to have been born in Safed. Vidas was a disciple of R. Moses Cordovero (Ramak), whose kabbalistic approach is evident throughout Reshit Hokhmah, and of Isaac Luria (ha-Ari), although the latter’s influence is much less evident. Nevertheless, Vidas’s description of yihudim (contemplative exercises) derives from Luria, according to Hayyim Vital, Vidas being the only person to receive such instruction who was not a formal student of Luria. In his last years Vidas resettled in Hebron where he served as rabbi. Reshit Hokhmah was completed by Vidas in Safed on 18 Adar 335 (Monday, March 10, 1575) and brought to Venice by R. Moses ben Gabbai with Cordovero’s Pardes Rimmonim. However, only Reshit Hokhmah was printed, and that four years after Vidas sent a second manuscript in 1575. The title page, with an architectural frame, has the verse from which the title is taken, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalms 111:10), at the top of the frame. On the verso is an approbation from R. Abraham Provencal, who remarks that in haste he said the generation is not fit for such a work. There is an epilogue from the editor, Isaac [ben Gershon] Treves, and an index. The book is divided into five she’arim (portals), awe, and love of God, repentance, holiness, and humility, subdivided into chapters. Each sha’ar begins with an introductory chapter or chapters explaining the essence of that virtue, its place in kabbalistic theory, and its significance. The following chapters detail the qualities, dimensions, and parameters of the virtue; the concluding chapters discuss how to achieve the virtue. In the introduction Vidas states that he sees his work as a primer for Pardes Rimmonim and as a unified kabbalistic ethical work. His purpose is to provide an anthology of earlier ethical works to help the reader prepare for more detailed kabbalistic studies. Vidas employs a wide variety of sources. Among them the Zohar, the work of Cordovero, consistently referred to as “my teacher,” Talmud and midrashim, particularly Tanna de-Vei Eliyahu, earlier ethical works, such as Hovot ha-Levavot, Sha’arei Teshuvah, Ma’alot ha-Middot, Orhot Zaddikim, and kabbalistic works, such as Sefer ha-Bahir. Vidas utilizes R. Isaac Aboab’s Menorat ha-Ma’or (see above, pp. 278–79) as well as the earlier but not-as-well-known Menorat ha-Ma’or of R. Israel Al-Nakawa (New York, 1929–32), transcribing, at the end, five complete chapters from that work, which Vidas writes he took from a manuscript, followed by Huppot Eliyahu Rabbah and Or Olam, collections of rabbinic sayings on ethical qualities. The latter, in two parts, consisting of moral sayings beginning with the word le-olam (forever) and gadol (great), has been printed separately (Poryck, 1806). Reshit Hokhmah has been reprinted more than fifty times, and abridged as Reshit Hokhmah Kazar (Venice, 1600) by Jacob Poggetti, and Tappuhei Zahav (Mantua, 1623) by Jehiel Melli. Vidas also wrote Toze’ot Hayyim (Constantinople, c. 1585), seen by many as a condensation of Reshit Hokhmah, but in fact a related but independent work, and Kavanot Hokhmah, still in manuscript.

Format 40: [8], 421, 32 leaves. Reprinted in Cracow and Venice (1593).

695

696

Sefer Hasidim

μydysjh rps Judah ben Samuel he-Hasid 1580, Basle—Ambrosius Froben Ethical, mystical, and halakhic work by R. Judah ben Samuel he-Hasid (the Pious) of Regensburg (c. 1150–1217). R. Judah was a disciple of his father, R. Samuel (ben Kalonymous) he-Hasid (c. 1120–75), an eminent kabbalist and ascetic; portions of Sefer Hasidim are attributed to Samuel he-Hasid. They are among the most renowned members and leaders of the Hasidei Ashkenaz, the influential Jewish pietist movement in medieval Germany. It is reported that when Judah’s mother was pregnant with him she was walking along a path by a bet medrash when a wagon came bearing down upon her, with no place to turn, neither to the right nor to the left. Just as she was about to be crushed by the horses’ hoofs the walls of the bet medrash opened, saving her and her son. It is also told that Samuel he-Hasid witnessed the heavens opening; asked what kind of son he wanted, he replied, one of exemplary piety. Little is known of Judah’s life, except that he was born in Speyer, and settled and died in Regensburg, where he founded a yeshivah. Judah reputedly hosted the prophet Elijah, was able to revive the dead, and performed miracles, particularly saving Jews from oppressors. He practiced an ascetic form of mysticism, fasting two days for Yom Kippur, fasting throughout the week, eating at night only, and often fasted on Shabbat, claiming that the change would cause him pain, detracting from his pleasure in Shabbat. It was said by a contemporary that if he had lived in the times of the prophets he would have been a prophet. The title page dates completion of the work to Kislev, 341 (November, 1580), parashat (Vayeitzei ), “this is no other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven” (Genesis 28:17). The book begins with an introduction, table of contents, followed by, according to the enumeration, 1,172 paragraphs. That number is incorrect, however, as four passages are omitted, and errors exist in the enumeration of others. There are censor’s alterations. Another version of the Sefer Hasidim exists, based on a manuscript (Parma), believed to be earlier and more authoritative, with more than 1,900 passages (Berlin, 1891–94, and Frankfort, 1924). This edition, as do most others, follows the 1538 Bologna edition. Sefer Hasidim, written in the literary language of medieval Ashkenaz Jewry, is foremost an ethical manual, practical rather than theoretical, encompassing all aspects of life, including the minutiae of personal, family, and business matters. Numerous examples are cited, containing considerable information about contemporary Jewish life. Advice is detailed and pragmatic, with the goal of achieving strict adherence to an ethical and pious life. These instructions, often based on kabbalistic teachings, have been influential because of the author’s great piety. Sefer Hasidim is also a mystical work, explaining biblical and talmudic passages. Nevertheless, Judah was opposed to messianic speculation, for someone who does so is engaged in witchcraft and is dealing with demons. Judah wrote a number of other books which are no longer extant. Quotations only exist from Sefer ha-Kavod, perhaps his major work, and little is known from a large commentary on prayers. Several other works, quoted by other writers, are attributed to him and a number of his piyyutim exist, some recited as part of the Shabbat services.

Format 80: [4], 116 leaves. Printed previously in Bologna (1538) and reprinted in Cracow (1581).

697

698

Ir Gibborim

μyrwbyg ry[ Ephraim Solomon ben Aaron of Luntshits 1580, Basle—Ambrosius Froben Sermons by the noted preacher R. Ephraim Solomon ben Aaron of Luntshits (1550–1619). Born in Prague as Ephraim ben Aaron, the name Solomon was added after a serious illness in the early 1600s. Luntshits first learned with his father and afterwards attended the yeshivah of R. Solomon Luria (Maharshal) in Lublin. His first official position, accepted at a late age, after being recommended by the Va’ad Arba Arazot (Council of the Four Lands), was as head of the yeshivah in Lemberg. From 1604 until 1618 Luntshits served as rabbi of Prague. Luntshits was an accomplished speaker from an early age, addressing large crowds in Jaroslaw, Lemberg, and Lublin, the last the site of the meetings of the Va’ad. In his sermons Luntshits assails the moral laxity of society, rabbis and layman alike, incurring, as a result, many enemies. The leaders of the Va’ad, however, were favorably impressed and assisted him in having his books published and in obtaining his post in Lemberg. Luntshits’s sermons, addressing current conditions, provide much information on the life of Polish Jewry. Ir Gibborim, written at an early age in Jaroslaw, is in two parts, the first weekly sermons on the Pentateuch delivered on Shabbat, the second, smaller part, two additional sermons. These begin with a preface, two introductions, followed by two Portals, one dealing with self-conquest, the second with Torah [study], service [of God], and kind deeds (Avot 1:2). These last sermons emphasize repentance and ethical values. Unlike some of his other works, where Luntshits is more of an exegete, he is here a passionate defender of the poor and critic of the wealthy who do not fulfil their material obligations and demonstrate false spirituality, accusing them of wearing a tallis that is not theirs, in order to mislead. The poor do not escape criticism, however, being reproved for their undue dependence upon charity. The title page is dated, “[What shall one then answer the messengers of the nation? That the Lord has founded Zion, and] the poor of his people shall shelter in it yyn[ wsjy wm[” (340 = 1580, Isaiah 14:32). The colophon states that work began on Rosh Hodesh Sivan (Sunday, May, 25, 1580) and that it was completed on erev Shabbat Nahamu (Friday, August 1, 1580). The book concludes with an index and epilogue from Mordecai ben Moses ha-Levi of Prague, who brought Ir Gibborim to press, although it has been suggested that the real author is the editor, Israel Zifroni. Among Luntshits’s other collections of sermons are the popular Olelot Ephraim (Lublin, 1590); Keli Yakar (ibid., 1602), an often reprinted homiletic commentary on the Pentateuch; Siftei Da’at (Prague, 1610), an additional part of the preceding work; Orah le-Hayyim (Lublin, 1595, see below, pp. 850–51), two homilies; Ammudei Shesh (ibid., 1617), additional sermons; and Rivevot Ephraim, another collection of discourses referred to in his other works. Luntshits also authored three Selihot, liturgical poems, to commemorate the defeat of the army of the bishop of Passau on Adar 2 (February 11, 1611), which had entered Prague and caused the Jews considerable suffering.

Format 20: 137 leaves.

699

700

Kaftor va-Ferah (Kavvanot ha-Aggadot)

jrpw rtpk Jacob ben Isaac Luzzatto 1580, Basle—Ambrosius Froben On the aggadah in the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds and Midrashim by R. Jacob ben Isaac Luzzatto of Safed (16th century). Luzzatto was reputedly born in Safed but later resided in Basle, Posen and Cracow. He worked as a corrector in Cracow, where he wrote a preface and index to Solomon Molcho’s Sefer ha-Mefo’ar (1570) and to R. Elijah Vidas’s Toze’ot Hayyim (c. 1600), and for the Basle press of Ambrosius Froben, having accompanied Israel Zifroni to that city from Venice to work on the Basle Talmud (1578–81), some of his glosses appearing with that edition (above, pp. 676–77). Luzzatto also edited and wrote a rhymed preface to Menahem Recanati’s Ta’amei ha-Mitzvot (Basle, 1581). The title page has an ornate decorative border made up of numerous figurines. It gives the full title as “Sefer Kavvanot ha-Aggadot called Kaftor va-Ferah, ‘[In days to come] Jacob shall take root (Yashresh Ya’akov); [Israel shall] blossom and bud, [and fill the face of the world with fruit]’ (Isaiah 27:6). To Israel is the explanation of all the difficult and obscure aggadot. . . .” In addition to its explanation of the Talmud and Midrashim there are also novellae on Zohar. The title Kaftor va-Ferah refers to the “bulbs and flower” (Exodus 25:33 and 37:19) in the menorah in the Tabernacle. The title page is dated “Prosperity hwlç” (341 = 1581), and the colophon dates completion of the work to “Rosh Hodesh Kislev parashat (Toledot), ‘For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land’ (Genesis 26:22), in the year, ‘Peace be within your walls, and prosperity hwlç (Tuesday, November 18, 1580) within your palaces’ (Psalms 122:7).” There is an introduction (3f.) and a table of the contents, followed by the text. At the end is an epilogue from Israel Zifroni, apologizing for any possible errors. The text is in square letters, the commentary in rabbinic type. The book is made up of ma’amarim by subject, and with each ma’amar the text is further divided by tractate in the order of the Talmud. Luzzatto explains many of the aggadot in an allegorical manner, but according to traditional sources, such as Rashi, Ba’alei Tosafot, R. Solomon Adret (Rashba), and R. Nissim, thus defending the aggadah against the attacks of censors, who found in them anti-Christian meanings. The work cites parallel passages in the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds, Midrashim and the Zohar. Kaftor va-Ferah was reprinted in Salonika (40 168f.) as Kehillat Ya’akov by David Azubib. The work is credited to Jacob ha-Ashkenazi le-Bet Luzzatto, and states that although printed only three years ago it has, due to its great value, become unavailable. This edition contains much new material. On the verso of the title page are verses in praise of the book from R. Samuel ben Perachiah ha-Kohen. It is dated on the title page, Wednesday, 25 Tammuz, in the year, “Behold, I will send jlwç (344 = July 4, 1584) you Elijah the prophet” (Malachi 3:23). Completion of the work, according to the colophon, was Friday, in the year and parashat (Toledot), “And God Almighty yqç lq (345 = Dec. 1584) bless you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, that you may be a multitude of people” (Genesis 28:3). Kehillat Ya’akov differs considerably in both form and content from Kaftor va-Ferah. The introduction varies in important details and the first and last parts of the book are reversed.

Format 40: 162 [should say 192]. [12] leaves. Reprinted in Salonika (1584) as Kehillat Ya’akov.

701

702

Perush ha-Milot

twlmh çwryp Mordecai ben Jehiel Luria 1580, Cracow—Isaac ben Aaron Prostitz Explanation of terms in the Targum (Aramaic translation) for the five Megillot, Daniel and Ezra by R. Mordecai ben Jehiel Luria, brother of R. Solomon Luria (Maharshal). The title page has the frame with the vine-covered pillars utilized by Prostitz on many of his books. At the top of the arch is the truncated phrase, “For Mordecai [. . .] found favor [. . .]; he sought the good [. . .]” (Esther 10:3). The text of the title page states: this book, small in size but of great value, written, emended, and compiled by R. Mordecai ben Jehiel Luria to explain each and every word of the Targum of the five Megillot and combined with it incidentally on Daniel and Ezra in order that purchasers should hasten to fulfill, “Buy the truth, and sell it not” (Proverbs 23:23). It has been entitled Perush ha-Milot for in it is explained every word with proofs and corrections of the errors found in printed editions of the Targum. May the Lord give us the merit to have edited for all generations.

Work began according to the title page, on Friday, 19 Shevat, 340 (February 15, 1580), and was completed, according to the colophon, on Thursday, 2 Adar, “good name μç” (340 = February 28, 1580), that is, the book was completed in less than two weeks. The title page is followed by Luria’s introduction (2a) and the text, which is organized as Song of Songs (2b–15a), Ruth (15b–20b), Lamentations (21a–28b), Ecclesiastes (291–35b), Megillat [Esther] (36a–4a), Daniel (41b–43a), and Ezra (43b–44a). The text is in square letters in a single column. Initial words are set in a cartouche. Perush ha-Milot is not only an explanation but also a brief commentary of terms as well. The introduction is in versified prose. Luria states his intent to translate and explain the Targum clearly, neither with undue length nor brevity. He has not wrapped himself in a tallit that is not his, is not expert in books, nor is there “bread [nor] garment” (Isaiah 3:7) with him. His grasp is limited, likening himself to a tailor who shortens garments but does well, to a midget riding on a giant, not tall but strong. Luria refers to R. Elijah Levita (Bahur), the first among grammarians, who has already prepared lexicons, but which are very expensive and are no longer to be found. That on the Megillot has not been printed in many years. Luria goes on to explain what and how he has done in his explanation of terms, concluding that he has done this for the public good and as an act of hesed, for which the public should do hesed with him by purchasing the book.

Format 40: 44 leaves.

703

1581-82, Gevurot ha-Shem, Judah Loew ben Bezalel (Maharal), Cracow Courtesy of the Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University

704

Gevurot ha-Shem

‘h twrwbg rps Judah Loew ben Bezalel (Maharal) 1581–82, Cracow—Isaac ben Aaron Prostitz On the Exodus, the Haggadah, Divine providence, exile and redemption, by R. Judah Loew ben Bezalel (Maharal, c. 1525–1609). The title page has an architectural frame. There is a decorative strip after the introduction, and an ornamental border about the initial word, which utilizes parts of the strip at its sides. About the text, in large letters, is the verse, “Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord? Who can declare all his praise?” (Psalms 106:2), from which the title, Gevurot ha-Shem (mighty acts of the Lord), and the opening line of the text of the book is taken. The title page dates the beginning of the work to Tuesday, 13 Heshvan, 342 (October 20, 1581), and in the Lord “I have trusted; let me not be ashamed, [let not my enemies triumph over me]” (Psalms 25:2). The colophon dates the completion to Wednesday, 6 Adar II, 342 (March 10, 1582). Maharal’s name does not appear on the title page or elsewhere in the volume. The title page is followed by three introductions (2a–7a). Gevurot ha-Shem is Maharal’s second published work, having been preceded by Gur Aryeh (Prague, 1578–79, above, pp. 680–81). Nevertheless, from references in that work to this one, it is assumed that Gevurot ha-Shem was written earlier. That Gevurot ha-Shem was printed in Cracow, anonymously, is attributed, perhaps, to Maharal’s wish to avoid the Bohemian censors; so that the work should be judged on its merits rather than the author’s name; and due to opposition to his ideas, engendered by Maharal’s unwillingness to conform and his outspoken criticism of contemporary Jewish leadership. This latter would seem to be supported by the verse from Psalms after the date. At the end of the last introduction, Maharal writes, based on the verse “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness (gedulah), and the power (gevurah), and the glory (tiferet), and the victory (nezah), and the majesty (hod ); for all that is in heaven and in earth is yours (shamayim vaarez)” (I Chronicles 29:11), that this is one part of six works on: 1) Shabbat (Sefer haGedulah); 2) Pesah (ha-Gevurah); 3) Shavuot (ha-Tiferet); 4) Tishah be-Av (Nezah); 5) Sukkot (ha-Hod ); and 6) Rosh Ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur (Shamayim va-Arez). Only three were printed, Gevurot ha-Shem, Tiferet Yisrael (Prague, 1593), and Nezah Yisrael (Prague, 1599). The others, in manuscript, were either destroyed in a conflagration in Prague in 1689, or, more likely, as no references to them exist in Maharal’s other books, were not written when Maharal undertook his work on talmudic aggadah. The book has seventy-two chapters, fifty-one to sixty-five a commentary on the Haggadah. The volume concludes with kizzur hilkhot Pesah and hilkhot yein nesekh ve-issuro (prohibition on gentile wine). In the text Maharal expresses strong disapproval of rationalistic philosophy, with particular reference to R. Levi ben Gershom (Gersonides, Ralbag), prompting a reaction from R. Eliezer Ashkenazi in Ralbag’s defense in his Ma’aseh HaShem (Venice, 1583, below, pp. 720–21), Maharal responding in Derekh Hayyim (Cracow, 1589, below, pp. 766–67), neither antagonist mentioning the other by name. Maharal also expresses the opinion that a fifth cup of wine should be drunk at the Passover seder.

Format 20: 93 [3] leaves.

705

706

Me’ir Nativ

bytn ryam Mordecai Nathan 1581, Basle—Ambrosius Froben The first Hebrew biblical concordance. R. Mordecai Nathan, a physician in Avignon in the fifteenth century, was also, possibly, a teacher, or correspondent, of the famed R. Joseph ben Solomon Colon (Maharik, c. 1420–1480), who refers to Nathan with great respect. There is some confusion as to the author’s name. It appears on the title page of the first edition (actually on the second of two title pages), and subsequent editions as well, as Mordecai Nathan, and, at the beginning of the introduction, as Isaac [ben Kalonymus] Nathan. It has been suggested that they are two separate individuals, the latter writing the introduction; that the author, seriously ill, changed his name (in accordance with Rosh ha-Shanah 16b); or that it is simply a printer’s error. Mordecai Nathan writes that until he was fifteen his only knowledge of Bible came from his talmudic studies. However, contact with Christians, awareness of their anti-Semitic writings, and being compelled to engage in disputes with them, where he observed the value of the Latin concordance (prepared in the thirteenth century) to his opponents, caused him to write Me’ir Nativ (also called Ya’ir Nativ) as a polemic tool. It took ten years, even with assistance, from 1437 to 1448, to complete the work. Me’ir Nativ is organized alphabetically, with little consideration to the order of verbs and nouns, while other parts of speech, such as prepositions, are omitted entirely. The books of the Bible are in the order of the Vulgate (Latin) rather than the order of the Hebrew Bible, indicative of its purpose in disputations. The corrector (printer), Israel Zifroni, writes that this is an improved edition, with additions and errors in previous printings now corrected. Among the additions noted on the title page is Toledot Aharon, a concordance of biblical citations in the Babylonian Talmud in the order in which they appear in the Bible. Toledot Aharon was not included, however, but was printed separately by Zifroni in Freiburg in 1583–84 (below, pp. 722–23). Also omitted from this edition is Nathan’s introduction. The title page has an elaborate form of Froben’s device, which also appears at the end of the volume. Froben issued two versions of the concordance, one entitled Me’ir Nativ, the second, Ya’ir Nativ. A third edition (Basle or Paris), also entitled Me’ir Nativ, but with a Latin subtitle, Concordantiae bibliorum hebraicae, and intended for a Christian market, was also published at this time. The three editions are, except for the most minor differences, otherwise identical. Mordecai Nathan is also credited with polemic works against Christianity.

Format 20: 400 leaves. Printed previously in Venice (1523 and 1564) and Basle (1556).

707

1581, Orhot Zaddikim, Prague Courtesy of Kestenbaum & Company

708

Orhot Zaddikim

μyqydx twjrwa rps 1581, Prague—Mordecai ben Gershom Katz and Sons Classical ethical work by an anonymous author. In the introduction the author refers to the book as, “This Sefer Middot, written and sealed with the stamp of wisdom.” Nevertheless, beginning with this edition, it is commonly known as Orhot Zaddikim (The Paths of the Righteous). Orhot Zaddikim begins with a list of the twenty-eight she’arim (portals) which make up the book, most contrasting character traits, such as pride, humility, mercy, cruelty, love, hatred, joy, anxiety, concluding with repentance, Torah, and awe of Heaven. The purpose of the work is to instruct man in how to make use of his facilities to do right and achieve good. Man can train his senses, which strengthens or weakens the heart and soul, to achieve positive qualities and avoid negative ones. Orhot Zaddikim makes use of earlier ethical treatises, most importantly R. Bahya ibn Paquda’s Hovot ha-Levavot, Eleazer of Worms’ Sefer ha-Roke’ah, Jehiel ben Jekuthiel Anav’s Ma’alot ha-Middot, and a variety of other Ashkenazic and Sephardic works. It uses proverbs and parables to illustrate its message, based on biblical verses. The theme of Orhot Zaddikim, and its use of verses, can be seen from the introduction, which begins, “The end of the matter, all has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). Solomon, the wisest and greatest of all men, ruler of that which is below and above, . . . concluded his words saying, the end of the matter is to fear God. And so he begins, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; [but fools despise wisdom and instruction]” (Proverbs 1:7), and concludes, “[Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain;] but a woman who fears the Lord shall be praised” (Proverbs 31:30).

The colophon dates the completion of the book to “the month of Tevet, in the year, to fulfill the verse arqm (341 = 1581), ‘And a redeemer shall come to Zion, [and to those in Jacob] who turn from transgression, [says the Lord]’” (Isaiah 59:20). It identifies Mordecai Katz’s sons who assisted him at the press as Bezalel and Solomon Katz. On the final page is a representation of the Temple, that is, the device of the Venetian printer Marc Antonio Giustiniani. Above and below it, in Vaybertaytsh, are the names of Simon bar Reuben and Samuel Drucker, who worked on the book. Shabbetai Bass (Siftei Yeshenim, Amsterdam, 1680), suggested that the author lived prior to the twelfth century, finding references to the work in Maimonides’ commentary on Avot, an opinion shared by R. Jehiel Heilprin (Seder ha-Dorot, Karlsruhe, 1769). Hayyim Medini (1832–1904), however, refutes such an early date for Orhot Zaddikim, noting (Sedei Hemed, Warsaw, 1891–1912) that the works of many early sages after Maimonides are mentioned. A later suggestion is that the author was R. Yom Tov Lipmann Muelhausen. It is generally accepted today, however, that Orhot Zaddikim, the author still unknown, is a fifteenthcentury work, probably written in Germany. Orhot Zaddikim has gone through almost a hundred editions. The first edition, entitled Sefer ha-Middot (Isny, 1542), was a Yiddish translation, lacking the last chapter and several passages.

Format 40: 58 leaves. Printed previously as Sefer ha-Middot (Isny, 1542) and reprinted in Cracow (1582).

709

710

Sha’ar Yehudah

hdwhy r[ç rps Judah ben Eliezer Chelebi Poki 1581, Constantinople—Solomon and Joseph Jabez Karaite work on marriage prohibitions between Karaites and others by Judah ben Eliezer Chelebi Poki (Fuki, 16th cent.). Poki, a nephew of Elijah Bashyazi (Adderet Eliyahu, see above, pp. 204–05), was a Karaite scholar who made a study of their writings, traveling extensively for that purpose. The title page, with the standard Jabez florets, states that it was “written by the sage, Judah Poki l”z, of the congregation Bnei Mikra (Karaites) on the subject of forbidden relationships. Printed in the month of Kislev in the year 5342 (November/December, 1581).” It also informs that it was published by and at the expense of R. Isaac ben Judah Poki, the son of the author, and the efforts of R. Moses Poki ben Eliezer Chelebi. Poki’s introduction is on the verso of the title page, followed (2a–b) by verse from him, then the text, and, at the end, approbations from seven Karaite rabbis, among them Moses Pazi, who was also the editor, and J. Tishbi, who added verse to his approbation. The introduction and approbations are in rabbinic type, the text in square letters in a single column There are copies of Sha’ar Yehudah with minor variations on the title page and in the text. Poki is a strict conservative, advocating a return to restrictive interpretations of marital law liberalized five hundred years earlier by Karaite sages such as Joseph ha-Ro’eh al-Basir (11th century) and Jeshua ben Judah (Abu al-Faraj Furqan ibn Asad, 11th century). This is also in contrast to the liberal positions espoused by Bashyazi in Adderet Eliyahu. An example is Poki’s opposition to their position on rikkuv (restrictive catenary) limitations on marriages, which extend the laws of incest to distant relatives, severely narrowing the number of possible Karaite marriage partners, indicated by the accompanying diagram. Poki refers to a second work by him, Ve-Zot li-Yhudah, on the calculation of the new moon, and there are references to several other works by him, otherwise unknown, by Jedidiah Solomon of Troki.

Format 80: 32, 4, 33–76, 81–82, [1], leaves.

711

712

Hokhmat Shelomo

hmlç tmkj rps Solomon ben Jehiel Luria (Maharshal) 1582, Cracow—Isaac ben Aaron Prostitz Glosses on Talmudic tractates by R. Solomon ben Jehiel Luria (Maharshal, c. 1510–1574, see above, pp. 638–39). Hokhmat Shelomo is a compendium of corrections, emendations, and brief notes on the text of the Talmud. Luria notes that many errors and variant texts exist in printed editions of the Talmud. Early printers did not search out the best or compare manuscripts, compounding the problem with errors of their own making. In the absence of a correct and reliable text it was not only impossible to fully understand the meaning of the Talmud but also to properly determine the halakhah. The decisions of leading decisors, such as R. Joseph Caro, are criticized as incorrect precisely because they relied on inaccurate editions of the Talmud. To rectify the situation, Luria searched for and examined numerous manuscript tractates, comparing passages and evaluating their contents in context, a scrutiny that extends to Rashi and tosafot as well. His emendations, brief, clear, and profound, clarify the meaning of the Talmud; they are, today, albeit in an abridged form, printed with all editions of the Talmud. The title pages states that “Hokhmat Shelomo was printed as a small volume so that anyone can carry it in his bosom,” this despite the fact that the volume, measuring about 20 cm., is comprised of almost 600 leaves, or 1,200 pages. There are approbations from R. Kalman Wermeisa (of Worms, d. 1560) and R. Moses Isserles (Rema) and introductions from the editor, Samuel Boehm, and Luria’s sons, Wolf and Jehiel. There are glosses for nineteen treatises, that is, Berakhot, Shabbat, Eruvin, Pesahim, Sukkah, Bezah, Yevamot, Ketubbot, Gittin, Kiddushin, Sotah, Niddah, Bava Kamma, Bava Mezia, Bava Batra, Sanhedrin, Makkot, Shevu’ot, and Hullin, each with its own pagination. Many entries in Hokhmat Shelomo no longer appear meaningful, and Luria has, as a result, been criticized. That his emendations do not always seem relevant can be attributed to the very fact that they were accepted and incorporated into the talmudic text. Furthermore, although he did review other printings, for example the Soncino Pesaro tractates, the Maharshal primarily utilized the second Bomberg Talmud, whereas current editions of the Talmud are based on the first edition of that work. Many misunderstandings concerning the Maharshal’s annotations can be attributed to textual variations between the two Bomberg Talmud editions. Although the Maharshal had written his annotations many years earlier, as evidenced by the approbation from Kalman Wermeisa (dated 1552), they were not prepared for publication by him, but Hokhmat Shelomo was printed posthumously, brought to press by his sons. Often, where the Maharshal amended or replaced single words, the publishers added the preceding and following words or phrases to clarify his notes, thereby giving the erroneous impression that the entire text of Hokhmat Shelomo was from the Maharshal. Subsequent printers of the Talmud replaced phrases, including errors, believing that the modifications in their entirety were from Luria. Nevertheless, the contribution of the Maharshal to a correct reading of the talmudic text is immeasurable.

Format 40: 595 leaves.

713

1582, She’elot u’Teshuvot Divrei Rivot, Isaac ben Samuel Adarbi, Salonika Courtesy of the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad Ohel Yosef Yitzhak

714

She’elot u’Teshuvot Divrei Rivot

twbyr yrbd arqnh twbwçtw twlaç Isaac ben Samuel Adarbi Salonika, 1582—David ben Abraham Azubib Four hundred and thirty responsa from R. Isaac ben Samuel Adarbi (c. 1510–c. 1584). Adarbi, a student together with R. Samuel de Medina (Maharashdam) of R. Joseph Taitazak, served, from a young age, as rav of the Lisbon (Portuguese) congregation in Salonika and from about 1550 as rabbi of the Congregation Shalom, Salonika. Independent and fearless in his decisions, Adarbi was considered a leading halakhic authority and decisor by contemporaries. He corresponded with de Medina, and the two often consulted together, the latter favorably mentioning Adarbi in his responsa. However, this was not always the case, and there are instances where their disagreements led to controversy, noted by both in their responsa. The title page is dated “Rosh Hodesh Adar Sheni, in the year, ‘O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt hmmwrnw (5342 [gpl] = Friday, March 5, 1582) his name together’” (Psalms 34:4). In the colophon Adarbi states that he named the work Divrei Rivot (“matters of controversy,” Deuteronomy 17:8), for “this is my portion for all my toil,” day and night (Ecclesiastes 2:10). There is an introduction, much like that of Adarbi’s Divrei Shalom, and the book has an index at the end. The contents include, in addition to the varied subject matter of the responsa, novellae, and there is much information of historical value. For example, Adarbi discusses the conditions of the Jews from the Iberian peninsula and their social arrangements. There is a responsum from R. Moses Soncino, perhaps a brother of the dayyan R. Joshua Soncin or a son of the pioneer printer Gershom Soncino. One responsum (80) addresses a business dispute over the restitution of confiscated money and the persecution of Marranos in Ancona, Italy. The inquiry was submitted to Adarbi, R. Joseph ibn Lev (see p. 527), and de Medina (see p. 835). Three individuals were involved; Reuben, who owed money to a non-Jew, who in turn owed money to Simon. The three concurred that Reuben should pay Simon directly and tore up his note. However, the Pope required all monies owed to Simon be paid directly to his representatives, under the penalty of death and confiscation of property. Reuben confessed to the authorities, who informed him that as Simon’s property had been confiscated, when the debt came due it should be paid to them. Subsequently the Church began to persecute the Marranos of Ancona, confiscating all of their property, including that of Reuben and Simon. Both survived the persecution. Simon then demanded payment from Reuben, who claimed that, given the demands of the authorities, he is exempt. Adarbi, although he concurs in general with the others that Reuben need not pay, expresses some reservations, based on the questionable legality of the confiscation by the Pope’s representatives, that is, whether it is valid as a government act or mere robbery, in which case Reuben had to protect Simon’s property. Adarbi cites Maimonides that decrees consistent with past laws are valid but wilful and arbitrary decrees are invalid and need not be accepted. Adarbi also wrote Divrei Shalom (Salonika 1580), sermons and commentaries on the Torah.

Format 20: 227 leaves. Reprinted in Venice (1587).

715

716

Babylonian Talmud

ylbb dwmlt 1583–c. 1593, Constantinople—Joseph and Solomon ben Isaac Jabez Babylonian Talmud, printed in Constantinople by the Jabez brothers. Printing, in the order of the tractates, began with Berakhot on 1st of Adar, in the year, “You, O God, sent a plentiful rain μçg (343 = February 23, 1583, Psalms 68:10), although it has been suggested that some tractates were printed earlier. The verso of Berakhot has a long preface from the printer, at this time Joseph only. It is not known how many tractates were printed—this Talmud was not completed—but among the extant tractates are Berakhot, Mishnayot Seder Zera’im, Shabbat, Eruvin, Pesahim, Yoma, Sukkah, Bezah, Rosh ha-Shanah, Ta’anit, Megillah, Mo’ed Katan, Hagigah, Bava Kamma, Bava Mezia, and Sanhedrin. It is not unlikely that additional tractates were printed. Title pages have the fleurons common to Jabez publications, so that they are almost identical in appearance to the Salonika title pages, including the placement of the components of the floral pattern. Printed with these tractates are the annotations of R. Solomon Luria (Maharshal). The source for this edition, references to and inclusion of the Giustiniani modifications notwithstanding, was the first Bomberg Talmud, evidenced by the layout. In Yoma, for example, tosafot covers the width of the page on its top for ten or twenty lines, as in the first, but not the later Bomberg or Giustiniani editions. The letters are slightly wider than those used by Bomberg, compensated for by printing the beginning of the rows as in the Bomberg edition, without leaving a space between each word and omitting the last letters of many words in every row, indicating that the word is abbreviated with a line. To defray the costs of printing, which entailed substantial expenses for paper and wages, the Talmud was published in sections (pamphlets) for subscribers and distributed weekly on Shabbat. The subscribers, who paid the following week, obligated themselves to acquire all of the sections, that is, the complete edition. The Jabez brothers describe the manner of sale: Every Shabbat we brought [the purchasers] sections of the Talmud, and distributed them . . . the sections were paid for [during the following week], in a manner that will enable, with the help of God, everyone to have a Talmud within a short time, paid for little by little in an easy manner that is not burdensome. . . . We estimate, according to the number of pages in older editions of the Talmud, that the entire sum will be twenty-five florins.

This method was not effective in defraying costs, so that the Jabez brothers were forced to find a sponsor, Don Solomon ibn Ya’ish, who is noted on the title pages of the later tractates as he “who helped in this good deed with his wealth and capital,” enabling them to continue their work. Almost all of the title pages are undated, leaving the dates of this Talmud open to speculation. However, it could not have been prior to 1583, as the Maharshal’s annotations were first printed in 1582, and not after 1593, for in that year Solomon Jabez is mentioned in a blessing for the dead, whereas earlier he is living. Moreover, his son printed a book at the press of Joseph Ashkeloni, which he would not have done if the Jabez press was still active.

Format 20.

717

1583, Hamishah Homshei Torah, Basle Courtesy of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

718

Hamishah Homshei Torah

hrwt yçmwj hçymj 1583, Basle—Thomas Guarin Hamishah Homshei Torah (Pentateuch) with haftarot, the five Megillot in Yiddish (TeutschKhumesh) with commentary by R. Judah Loeb ben Moses Naphtali (Loeb Bresch, 15th–16th century). The primary market for this Humash in Yiddish was women and men not fluent in Hebrew. The sole Hebrew text is on the title page and the colophon. A large handsome volume (32 cm.), the title page is set with a double border of florets and has the printer’s mark of Thomas Guarin. At the top is the verse, “Do not interpretations belong to God?” (Genesis 40:8), and between the rows of florets are the verses, “And I will make your windows of rubies, and your gates of beryl, and all your borders of precious stones. And all of your children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of your children” (Isaiah 54:12–13), “Violence shall no more be heard in your land; wasting nor destruction within your borders; but you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise” (Isaiah 60:18). The colophon is dated, “You, O God, sent a plentiful rain μçg” (343, Psalms 68:10), in the month of Adar (February/March, 1583), parashat (Tezavveh), “And I will dwell among the children of Israel” (Exodus 29:45). The colophon names Israel Zifroni as the Hebrew printer. The volume concludes with a register of the signatures. There is introductary matter [2a–2b], with the blessings and explanations of the haftarot followed by the text, beginning as 1a. Initial words of books are set within a frame made up from the same florets used on the title page. The text is in two columns, the biblical text in larger font than the accompanying commentary. Both are set in Vaybertaytsh, except for initial words in Hebrew, the distinct type family used primarily, although not exclusively, for Yiddish books. The haftarot follow each parasha, with the Megillot at the end of the volume. The commentary, a faithful abridgment of Rashi, was prepared by Bresch. Thomas Guarin, the publisher, had, it seems, previously worked for Froben. He printed this work with the latter’s letters and the assistance of Israel Zifroni. This was the last title printed by Zifroni in Basle, who then went to Freiburg-im-Breisgau, before returning to Italy. This edition was preceded by a translation of the text by Michael Adam of Zurich (Constance, 1544), improved and printed with commentary by Bresch in Cremona (1560), of which this edition is a copy. It was reprinted several times in the seventeenth century. Another Teutsch-Khumesh was prepared by Paulus Aemilius (Augsburg, 1544), which is noted by Bresch.

Format 20: [3] 160 leaves. Printed previously in Cremona (1560).

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720

Ma’aseh HaShem

’h yç[m Eliezer ben Elijah Ashkenazi 1583, Venice—Giovanni di Gara Discourses on the historical portions of the Torah by the talmudist, physician, and multifaceted scholar, R. Eliezer ben Elijah Ashkenazi the physician (1513–1586). Eliezer served as rabbi in communities as far apart as Fostat, Egypt; Famagusta, Cyprus; and Posen and Gniezno, before moving to Cracow, where he died. He is the author of Yosef Lekah on Megillat Esther (Cremona, 1576, see above, pp. 652–53), selihot, and several works no longer extant. His most important book, however, written for his son Elijah, is Ma’aseh HaShem, completed in Gniezno in 1580. The title page describes the composition of the book as explaining the events chronicled in the Torah in four parts. The first part addresses the work of creation until Abraham; Part II describes the events of the patriarchs, concluding with Jacob; Part III encompasses the Exodus through the crossing of the Reed Sea, and the Haggadah is included in this section; Part IV, the final part, describes subsequent events. The book was edited by R. Isaac Treves. The title page is dated, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the [great and terrible] day μwy ab ynpl aybnh hyla (343 = 1583) of the Lord” (ref. Malachi 3:23) that is, 1583. (The same verse, but printed in its entirety, is also used to date the 1584 Cracow edition.) The volume begins with an introduction from Eliezer’s student, R. Baruch ben Simhah Kalman Tarviz, who brought the book to press. The colophon informs that the book was completed on Friday, 25 Tammuz, 5343 ( July 15, 1583). In Ma’aseh HaShem Eliezer, like the Abrabanel, poses questions and resolves them, commenting on the interpretations of his predecessors. Eliezer’s style, however, is rationalistic, reflecting the influence of Maimonides’ Moreh Nevukhim. Eliezer, explicitly recognizing the dangers of rationalistic inquiry, defends such an approach, for those who fear inquiry, rather than serving God, go in darkness, for genuine faith can only be based on knowledge. However, Ma’aseh HaShem also includes kabbalistic explanations, an approach that Eliezer also defends, writing, for example, that our sages have already stated that the entire Torah is comprised of the names of God. Nevertheless, this is not a major component of the work. R. Judah Loew (Maharal) vehemently opposed this equation of rationalistic philosophy and Kabbalah, engaging in a polemic with Eliezer over this approach. Maharal derides those who hold such a belief, specifically mentioning Ma’aseh HaShem in his Derekh Hayyim (below, pp. 766–67). It has been noted, however, that Eliezer’s ideas and those of R. Moses Isserles (Rema) were sufficiently close so that a reader, if Maharal had not mentioned Ma’aseh HaShem by name, might have thought that his reference to “the gentleman from Poland” was to the Rema rather than to Eliezer. Ma’aseh HaShem is an important work, influencing an entire generation of later commentators. It helped introduce Sephardic Torah interpretations into Poland, which subsequently became very popular. In the opinion of R. Joseph Solomon Delmedigo (Novelot Hokhmah, Hanau, 1631), Ma’aseh HaShem is a work that should be read in its entirety.

Format 20: [6], 197 leaves. Reprinted in Cracow (1584).

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1583-84, Toledot Aharon, Aaron of Pesaro, Freiburg-im-Breisgau Courtesy of the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad Ohel Yosef Yitzhak

722

Toledot Aharon

ˆrha tdlwt Aaron of Pesaro 1583–84, Freiburg-im-Breisgau—Israel Zifroni Concordance of biblical passages in the Babylonian Talmud. R. Aaron of Pesaro (d. 1563), a scholarly and wealthy businessman with an interest in books, amassed a substantial library. Aaron’s collection included a manuscript of Don Isaac Abrabanel’s Mirkevet haMishneh, which he had published in Sabbioneta (1551, above, pp. 368–69). The sole work known to have been written by Aaron is Toledot Aharon. Toledot Aharon is a concordance of biblical citations in the Babylonian Talmud, arranged by their order in the Bible. Entries are by verse, tractate name, chapter, and page. Publication of Toledot Aharon was arranged by Aaron’s three sons, who provided the printer, Israel Zifroni, with the manuscript. The title page of the biblical concordance, Me’ir Nativ (Basle, 1581, above, pp. 706–07), printed by Zifroni at the press of Ambrosius Froben, enumerates Toledot Aharon among its contents. It was not, however, printed with Me’ir Nativ. In a paragraph on the title page the reader is cautioned against thinking that Masoret ha-Mikra (by R. Simeon ben Isaac Aschaffenburg), published in Lublin in 1572, is a comparable work. In the colophon, Zifroni, notes that he had thought to print Toledot Aharon at the end of the concordance, a vow he now fulfills. The delay is to be attributed to two unnamed Jews, may they be “confounded and put to shame” (Psalms 35:4), one resident in Prague, the other in Poland. He offers an imprecation, “Render to them a recompense, O Lord, according to the work of their hands,” based on Lamentations 3:64. The two Jews are unnamed. One has been identified as R. Mordecai ben Moses ha-Levi of Prague, apparently in a dispute over R. Ephraim Luntshits’s Ir Gibborim (Basle, 1580, above, pp. 698–99); suggestions as to the second are R. Jacob Luzzatto (Kaftor va-Ferah, Basle, 1580, above, pp. 700–01), and a Jacob Polak, who published several books at the Basle press of Konrad Waldkirch. Zifroni, worked as a printer in Venice prior to coming to Basle to print the Talmud for Ambrosius Froben. He left Basle with Froben after rumors that Froben, a Protestant, had promised the Pope to convert to Catholicism, or because Froben wished to print Catholic titles, making it difficult to continue in that city. They relocated to Freiburg-imBreisgau, in Baden, Germany. A number of other books, in addition to Toledot Aharon, were printed in Freiburg, among them Yiddish translations of R. Jonah Gerondi’s Sefer haYirah and Berechiah ha-Nakdan’s Mishlei Shu’alim (see above, pp. 450–51); Benjamin of Tudela’s Massa’ot (1583, see above, pp. 264–65) and Jacob ben Samuel Bunim Koppelman’s Ohel Ya’akov (below, pp. 724–25), and Koppelman’s translation of the five Megillot into German (1584). The next year, Froben transferred the press to his son Hieronymus and his son-in-law, Jonathan Meir, who did not print any Hebrew titles. Zifroni returned to Venice. Several seventeenth-century editions of Toledot Aharon were printed with references to the Jerusalem Talmud and other works. Current editions of the rabbinic Bible include an abridged version of Toledot Aharon.

Format 20: 40 leaves. Reprinted in Venice (1591–92).

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1584, Ohel Ya’akov, Jacob ben Samuel Bunim Koppelman, Freiburg-im-Breisgau Courtesy of the Dorot Jewish Division, New York Public Library

724

Ohel Ya’akov

bq[y lha Jacob ben Samuel Bunim Koppelman 1584, Freiburg-im-Breisgau Israel Zifroni Commentary on the Ikkarim of R. Joseph Albo by R. Jacob ben Samuel Bunim Koppelman (1555–1594). Born in Freiburg-im-Breisgau, Koppelman learned under R. Mordecai Jaffe and also studied astronomy and mathematics. He relocated to Frankfort on the Main, but was forced to leave that city in 1583 on account of the plague. The title page of Ohel Ya’akov begins with the heading, “How goodly are your tents, O Jacob, [and your tabernacles, O Israel!]” (Numbers 24:5). The brief text states that it is “a commentary and elucidation of the Sefer Ikkarim of Albo. Written by the complete scholar and divine philosopher Jacob bar Samuel called Koppelman from Brisk.” It is followed by the introduction, which begins, “For the Lord has chosen Jacob to himself, and Israel for his own possession” (Psalms 135:4), “The spirit of the Lord spoke by me, and in my tongue was his word wtlm ynwçl l[w (sic)” (II Samuel 23:2). . . . And the people went out “and from there it was divided, and became four rivers” (Genesis 2:10) comparable to the four brothers, one wise, those are the great scholars; second is the wicked, the ignorant who abhor the word of the Lord; third is the simple. . . .

He continues the Passover parable, noting that he examines with the light of a candle, not a torch, reaching into cracks and holes, of wax that does not drip. The commentary is understandable without difficulty, of value to each of the groups represented by the four sons. The advent of the plague in Frankfort is mentioned, Koppelman writing, “I will, ‘fall now into the hand of the Lord; for his mercies are great’ (II Samuel 24:14) and I will write this book, and if I die my name will be on it for a remembrance before the Lord continuously for my intent is the public weal.” Albo’s Ikkarim was selected for its words are upright and “there is no blemish in [it]” (Song of Songs 4:7). This is followed by two commentaries to the introduction in which Koppelman discusses his commentary. Ohel Ya’akov was completed on Erev Pesah (14 Nissan) 343 (April 6, 1583), when Koppelman was twenty-eight. The text, on selected passages of the Ikkarim, is made up of four ma’amarim, subdivided into 105 chapters. It concludes, “Until here did I see [a need] to comment, the remainder requires no commentary.” The commentary is generally brief, with only a few long passages. Use is made of the Moreh Nevukhim; there are rare references to Kabbalah. The text is accompanied by charts and illustrations. Ohel Ya’akov was reprinted in Cracow in 1599. The text of that edition is a copy of this edition, line-for-line exact, reproducing all of the illustrations, omitting the hand pointers only. Koppelman also wrote Omek Halakhah (Cracow, 1593) on various talmudic subjects, among them mathematics, and translated several works into Yiddish, such as the Targum of the Megillot and Targum Sheni to Megillat Esther, and R. Berechiah ha-Nakdan’s Mishlei Shu’alim (see above, pp. 450–51), all printed in Freiburg at this time.

Format: 34 leaves. Reprinted in Cracow (1599).

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726

Kevod Elohim

μyqla dwbk rps Abraham ha-Levi ibn Migash 1585, Constantinople—Solomon and Joseph Jabez Philosophical book on diverse subjects in which the author, R. Abraham ha-Levi ibn Migash, also describes his travels and the customs he has witnessed. Ibn Migash (16th century), descended from R. Joseph ben Meir Migash (1077–1174), was a physician and talmudist, and served as court physician to Sultan Suleiman the Great, even accompanying his army into Syria. He was requested by the Jews of Damascus to settle in that city, which he did, and corresponded with R. Joseph Caro, being mentioned in the latter’s responsa, Avkat Rokhel (n. 27). Ibn Migash’s only published work is Kevod Elohim, which he completed on 11 Nissan 341 (Wednesday, March 25, 1581). The text of the title page, surrounded by a border of floral florets, states: . . . written by the sage, the physician, Abraham ibn Migash ha-Levi and printed in the house of the author with the assistance of his wife, a woman of valor, Esther t”bm [“blessed shall she be above women in the tent” ( Judges 5:24)], whom he instructed prior to his death saying you shall not pass over nor depart from the mitzvah, neither to the right nor to the left without fulfilling his good word which he told her to publish this unknown book, for which he will be mentioned and praised, to be for him “a remainder upon the earth” (II Samuel 14:7), which is “better than sons and daughters” (Isaiah 56:5) for “the main offspring of the righteous are their [mitzvot and good] deeds” (Rashi on Genesis 6:9), “if a righteous person is punished on earth” (Proverbs 11:31) “and the study of Torah is equal to them all” (Peah 1:1, Shabbat 127a, and Kiddushin 39a and 40b), “and eat and live for ever” (Genesis 3:22). This is his name and this is his remembrance for he has no sons. And the words of the sage her husband, the crown of her head, Esther did after his death, “as when she was brought up with him” (Esther 2:20) while he was alive, “She girds her loins with strength, and makes her arms strong” (Proverbs 31:17) to fulfil the command of her lord. . . . The beginning of the work was . . . on 15 Adar I in the year “[ The staff shall not depart from Judah, nor the scepter from between his feet,] until Shiloh hlyç (345 = Thursday, February 14, 1585) come” (Genesis 49:10). . . .

The colophon informs that work was completed on Wednesday, Rosh Hodesh Heshvan 5346 (October 24, 1585). There is a detailed table of contents (2a–13b), verse (14a) in praise of the book from ibn Migash formed from an acrostic of his name, the author’s introduction (14b–17a), and the text, which is in a single column in rabbinic type, excepting headings and chapter numbers. The text is divided into three ma’amarim, subdivided into chapters. The contents enumerates ninety-nine chapters but the last thirteen chapters of the third ma’amar are headings only as ibn Migash did not complete them. Among the varied matters ibn Migash discusses are transmigration, which he strongly disputes, the eternity of the Torah, disputations with Christians, and the effects of the reformation on Christianity, which he believed should cause Protestants, splintered and lacking form, to accept Judaism. Among the customs he witnessed on his travels and described in Kevod Elohim are those of the Kurds and Druze. This is the only work of ibn Migash to be published, although he mentions three other works in Kevod Elohim that he has written.

Format 40: 183 leaves.

727

728

Manot ha-Levi

ywlh twnm rps Solomon ben Moses ha-Levi Alkabez 1585, Venice—Giovanni di Gara Commentary on Megillat Esther by R. Solomon ben Moses ha-Levi Alkabez (c. 1505–1584). In his introduction, Alkabez informs that he has written this commentary for his fatherin-law, Isaac, “priest [Kohen] of the most high God” (Genesis 14:18), and to whose daughter, Shiphrah, Alkabez is betrothed. In addition to mishlo’ah [manot] (eatable gifts) normally sent by young men for Purim he sends this commentary, entitled Manot ha-Levi, in the year frp (289 = 1529). The title page has an architectural frame, with the verse, at the top, “The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and of my cup; [you maintain my lot]” (Psalms 16:5). The text informs that the work was written on the holy ground of Safed, and that at the end of the book are discourses followed by three indices. The title page is dated 5345 (1585). The colophon, however, provides a detailed completion date, Tuesday, 16 Elul, in the year, “Remember the Torah of Moses hçm (345 = September 10, 1585) my servant” (Malachi 3:22). On the verso of the title page are prefatory remarks by the sponsor, R. Mordecai ben Baruch Metevelli (?) of Safed. This is followed by introductions from Alkabez’s sons and then Alkabez’s introduction, in which he notes that Manot ha-Levi, as is the halakhah for mishlo’ah manot, is two portions, one from his predecessors, the second his interpretations. After the text are additional brief discourses, the indices, and an epilogue from the editor, Isaac ben Mordecai Gershon Treves, who states that in the case that errors should be found, he should not be held responsible, as non-Jews worked on the book on Shabbat, a not uncommon complaint of editors of Hebrew books where type was set by gentiles. Alkabez was a kabbalist of renown. Nevertheless, as with his other biblical works (see Ayyelet Ahavim, 1552, above, pp. 372–73) Manot ha-Levi is not a kabbalisitic work but rather a popular work for layman, based on traditional sources. That notwithstanding, Alkabez’s interpretations at times differ from other traditional sources. For example, on the verse, “But the Jews who were at Shushan assembled together on the thirteenth day of the month, and on the fourteenth day; and on the fifteenth day of the same they rested, and made it a day of feasting and gladness” (Esther 9:18), Alkabez explains (f. 208a) that mishlo’ah manot are meant to demonstrate the unity of Jews through an act of friendship, in contradistinction to the charge, “And Haman said to king Ahasuerus, There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of your kingdom” (Esther 3:8), this interpretation in contrast to the concept that the reason for mishlo’ah manot is to enhance the recipient’s meal (as in Terumat ha-Deshen n. 111). There are copies of this edition with variations in Mordecai ben Baruch Metevelli’s introduction, among them praise for Alkabez’s mother, Soltana, and at the end a fragment explaining a discourse from the Zohar on se’udah shelishit of Shabbat parashat Emor heard from Menahem Azariah of Fano, followed by Gershon Treves’s epilogue.

Format 40: [4], 225 [should say 231] leaves.

729

730

Menorat Zahav Tohor

rwhf bhz trwnm Solomon ben Jehiel Luria (Maharshal) c. 1585, Cracow—Jehiel bar Asher ha-Kohen Esoteric (kabbalistic) commentary on Psalm 67, “To the chief Musician for stringed instruments, A Psalm Song,” by R. Solomon ben Jehiel Luria (Maharshal, c. 1510–74). The first page, which is devoid of ornamentation, states that it is Menorat Zahav Tohor, small in quantity but great in quality. After some preliminary words it continues that it is the words of kabbalists copied from a manuscript. The Psalm, together with the menorah, alludes to significant matters and contains great treasures. It was King David who bore this Mizmor, written and drawn on his shield in the form of a menorah, when he went out to war and was victorious, his enemies falling on their faces before him. Our sages, the masters of Kabbalah, stated that whomever sees this Mizmor daily in the shape of a menorah will find grace and good understanding in the eyes of God and man, and if it is on the Aron Kodesh (holy Ark) he will be protected from evil decrees on the community. Furthermore, the kabbalists write that David saw these letters written in letters of gold in the shape of a menorah, and thus it was shown to Moses and so he made the menorah. This page concludes that anyone who recites this psalm after the priestly blessings in the morning during the seven weeks of Sefirah (from Passover to Shavu’ot) will not have any harm befall him throughout the year and will be successful in his endeavors. (Psalm 67 contains 49 words, the number of days between Passover and Shavu’ot.) The Psalm contains seven topics, respective of the seven branches of the menorah. The second page has a representation of the menorah with verses two through seven of Psalm 67—the first verse is the introductory “To the chief Musician . . .”—on its branches. Above it is the verse, “For with you is the fountain of life; in your light shall we see light” (Psalms 36:10). Along the base of the menorah are additional statements as to the importance and esoteric meaning of the menorah. The following pages have prayers to be recited prior to the morning prayers (but after mah tovu) and afterwards. This is followed by a discourse on the meaning and interpretation of the Psalm. The colophon states that it was printed by Jehiel ben Asher ha-Kohen Gaf, called Michael ha-Kohen from Venice. The text, except for titles, headers, and prayers, which are in square letters, is in rabbinic type. Prayers are in a single column, the discourse is in two columns. This edition of Menorat Zahav Tohor is rare and the few extant copies are bound with (and after) Yesod ha-Teshuvah from R. Isaac ben Moses Elis (16th cent.), suggesting that the two works were printed together. Yesod ha-Teshuvah, also a small book (80 14f.), is based on the Sefer ha-Roke’ah of R. Eleazer ben Judah of Worms. An ethical work, it enumerates 68 transgressions (3b–11a) and penitential prayers (13b–14b) to be said daily. Here, too, except for headings which are in square letters, the text is in rabbinic type in two columns. Elis’s name appears in acrostics at the beginning and near the end (14a) of the work. Yesod ha-Teshuvah was printed earlier (Cracow, 1583) and reprinted in Salonika (1588) by David Azubib, and, reworked, as Yoreh Hataim (Venice, 1589).

Format 80: 4 leaves. Printed previously in Prague (1581) and reprinted in Cracow (c. 1591).

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732

Iggeret Orhot Olam

μlw[ twjra trga Abraham ben Mordecai Farissol 1586, Venice—Giovanni di Gara First modern Hebrew work on geography. R. Abraham ben Mordecai Farissol (c. 1452– c. 1525), born in Avignon, settled, together with his family, in Ferrara in about 1472 and spent the better part of his life there and in Mantua. Farissol worked as a skilled scribe, often for the banker Emmanuel Norsa; teacher of literary skills; musician; hazan; and mohel. He, as did many accomplished and educated Jews of the time, frequented the court of Duke Ercole d’Este I in Ferrara, where he had several debates with Christian scholars and, in 1503–04, at the request of the Duke and his wife, represented the Jewish community in a disputation with two Christian monks, one a Franciscan, the other a Dominican. Iggeret Orhot Olam was completed, as Farissol writes in the colophon, on Rosh Hodesh Kislev 285 (Friday, November 7, 1524). He was motivated to write by a fascination with recent discoveries, Iggeret Orhot Olam is the first book to discuss the new world in detail; with the ten lost tribes, and the arrival of David Reuveni in 1523, claiming to be the brother of the ruler of the lost tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half Manasseh in the desert of Habor. Although a chapter is devoted to Reuveni, Farissol is skeptical, as he was two decades earlier of the false messiah Asher Lemlein. Iggeret Orhot Olam is divided into thirty chapters, each dealing with a geographical area or subject. The first chapters are descriptive, the later chapters address the new discoveries. The book encompasses such varied topics as the countries, cities and nations of the earth, cosmology, and history. It speaks of the legendary river Sambatyon, and the lands inhabited by the ten tribes. Farissol describes the receipt, when he was present in the palace of Lorenzo the Magnificent, of a gift of a giraffe and spices from the Sultan of Egypt. He does not record, however, the sequel, that this unusual creature died from overattention. Included are two chapters with directions for travelers by sea from Venice to Constantinople or to Flanders by land or sea. The final chapter speaks of the existence of the Garden of Eden. Biblical support for his study is adduced, for “on Mount Sinai, God crowned us with the perfect Torah—containing all the sciences, logic, theology, law, and political wisdom. It was from here that all the world slaked its thirst.” Farissol’s other works are Magen Avraham (Viku’ah ha-Da’at), a polemic in defense of Judaism based on earlier writings and his own experience, written at the request of d’Este (published in part; Pirhei Shoshannim, a compilation of brief commentaries on the Torah and Ecclesiastes (in manuscript), and on Job printed in the Bomberg Rabbinic Bible (Venice 1516–17, above, pp. 94–95); sermons; annotations to Pirkei Avot; and an index to the Moreh Nevukhim (all in manuscript). Iggeret Orhot Olam has been reprinted several times, including with accompanying Latin translation and annotations by Thomas Hyde (Oxford, 1691 and 1796), and by Blassio Ugolini in vol. VII of his Thesaurus Antiquitatum Sacrarum (1747), a thirty-four volume compendium of Jewish knowledge (1744–69). The 1793 edition, the basis for later nineteenth-century editions, incorporates an article by Naphtali Herz Wessely published in ha-Measef (Berlin, 1790), based on a document from the Jews of Cochin, India.

Format 80: 36 leaves.

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734

Mikra’ei Kodesh

çdq yarqm rps Joseph ben Benjamin Samegah 1586, Venice—Giovanni di Gara A work in two parts on the meanings of the precepts by R. Joseph ben Benjamin Samegah (d. 15 Sivan 389 = June 6, 1629). Samegah, a talmudist and kabbalist, was born in Salonika, where he officiated as rabbi, until, reputedly due to persecution by his community, he was forced to leave. He resettled in Venice, where he also served as rabbi, living to an old age. Samegah is reported to have also been the head of a yeshivah in Padua, accounting among his students R. Hayyim Benveniste and Joseph Solomon Delmedigo. The title page describes the contents, noting that the book is divided into two parts, the first on the commandments to love and have awe of God, in which are explained the roots, essence, parameters, and virtues related to those precepts; the second on the inner meanings and reasons of the commandments pertaining to festivals. The reasons and allusions pertaining to the precepts are explained, in order to bring a person to construct within himself a complete faith, “to plant and to fasten as a tent peg awe and love in the sure place” (ref. Isaiah 22:25). It further informs that the book was printed for Giovanni di Gara by Asher Parenzo, in the year “the Lord is his name wmç (346 = 1586),” appearing in four verses (Exodus 15:3; Jeremiah 33:2; and Amos 5:8 and 9:6). The three crowns of the Bragadin and di Gara presses are the only ornamentation on the title page. There is a preface from Parenzo on the verso of the title page, followed by Samegah’s introduction (2a–6b). The text (1a–109b) follows, then the contents (110a–114b), indices (115a–115b), and the book concludes with errata (116a) and the censor’s approval, “Con licentia di Superiori”. Chapter numbers, both as page headings and at the beginning of each chapter, as well as brief summaries preceding each chapter, are in square letters; the text is in rabbinic letters. Part one, comprising fourteen chapters (1a–46b), covers such topics as the types of awe; the intent of the Creator in making man of matter; the essence of awe and love; reconciliation of apparent contradictions of our sages on these subjects; and awe and love according to our sages in regard to reward; and the counsel of the Torah and the nature of man. The second part (46b–109b), in twenty-one chapters, explains the cycle of the Jewish year, such as the new moon and festivals. Samegah’s other works are Porat Yosef (Venice, 1590), novellae on Alfasi (Rif ) and R. Nissim Gerondi (Ran) on tractates Ketubbot and parts of Hullin and on tosafot for Ketubbot, Bezah, and Zevahim as well as novellae on other tractates; and Perush Derekh Yemin (Venice, 1606), nominally homilies on the four minim taken on Sukkot and on the Sefirot, but in fact an attack on the Yemin HaShem Romemah of R. Menahem Azariah Da Fano, which elicited a response from Delmedigo. In the introduction to Mikra’ei Kodesh Samegah mentions additional works, Binyan Olam, discourses; and Kevod Elohim. Some of his responsa can be found in other works, of particular interest one in Mashbit Milhamot (Venice, 1606), published by Isaac Gershon, on the Rovigo mikveh, a subject of considerable controversy.

Format 40: 6, 116 leaves.

735

1586, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Solomon ben Abraham ha-Kohen, Salonika Courtesy of the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad Ohel Yosef Yitzhak

736

She’elot u’Teshuvot

twbwçtw twlaç Solomon ben Abraham ha-Kohen 1586, Salonika—David ben Abraham Azubib Responsa from R. Solomon ben Abraham ha-Kohen (Maharshak, 1530–1602). The foremost student of R. Joseph Firman (16th century), Solomon ha-Kohen served as rabbi in Salonika. R. Jacob Alfandari (1620–95) writes, at the end of Maggid me-Reshit, that “Joseph Ibn Lev (Maharival, 1505–1580), Samuel ben Moses de Medina (Maharashdam, 1506–1589), and Solomon ha-Kohen are to us like the Rif (Alfasi), Rambam (Maimonides), and Rosh ( Jacob ben Asher) in their time.” The volume, poorly printed, lacks a title page. The date, place of printing, and other information normally found on the title page follow the introductory paragraph on the first page, which lacks ornamentation and titles. In the introductory paragraph Solomon ha-Kohen writes that he decided to print his responsa before he died “because [the written responsa] are replete with annotations and marginalia, within and without, and no one would be able to fully comprehend them.” The date on the first page is given as “Work began . . . on Thursday, 8 Nissan, . . . in the year, ‘the name μçw (346 = 27 March 1586) of my fathers Abraham [and Isaac]’” (Genesis 48:16), and was completed, according to the colophon, on Rosh Hodesh Tevet, “[O magnify the Lord with me], and let us exalt hmmwrnw (347 = 12 December 1586) his name together” (Psalms 34:4). It took about eight and a half months to print the Maharshak’s responsa. There are 197 teshuvot. All but two are from Solomon ha-Kohen; one is from Firman, the other from R. Hayyim Bassan. Among Mahrashak’s responses is one to a query as to how to determine the halakhah when the Rambam, the decisor for Sephardim, and the Rosh are not in agreement. Maharshak responds (no. 134), “One should not rule contrary to the Rosh, and specifically in our place, for the Rosh is the Rav of the Sephardim.” Parenthetically, the identical answer was given to that question by R. Moses ibn Dunan, a student of R. Isaac Aboab II (1433–1493). The responsa are followed by a commentary on Rambam’s laws of gittin (divorce), halakhic novellae, an index, and a paragraph in praise for the book. This is the first part of Solomon ha-Kohen’s responsa. There was no Hebrew press in Salonika from 1588, when David Azubib’s press closed, so that in 1592 Mahrashak sent part II of his She’elot u’Teshuvot to Venice to be printed at the press of Giovanni di Gara. This volume has a twenty-nine-leaf appendix printed in Salonika by the newly established, in 1592, press of Sabbatai Mattathias Bath-Sheba and his sons. In the introduction to this part Solomon ha-Kohen writes that since there is now a Hebrew press in Salonika he sees no reason to continue printing in Venice. Part III of the responsa was printed in 1594, also at the Bath-Sheba press, and a fourth volume was printed in Salonika in 1730. Solomon ha-Kohen’s halakhic novellae were printed, together with those of R. Joseph Ibn Lev, in Wilhermsdorf (1720).

Format 20: 244 leaves.

737

738

Sefer ha-Yashar

rçyh rps Zerahiah ha-Yevani 1586, Cracow—Isaac ben Aaron Prostitz Ethical work attributed to R. Zerahiah ha-Yevani (13th or 14th century). The authorship of Sefer ha-Yashar is uncertain. It has often been attributed to R. Jacob ben Meir Tam (Rabbenu Tam, c. 1100–1171) and also to R. Jonah Gerondi. The former did author a Sefer ha-Yashar (Vienna, 1811), but that is another work, consisting of responsa and novellae, while the style of the latter, who wrote ethical works, differs from this book. A number of manuscripts name Zerahiah as the author, and, while many now accept him as the author, that attribution is not definite. Almost nothing is known about Zerahiah, except that he was a resident of the Byzantine Empire and that he is credited with Sefer ha-Yashar. It is evident from the book that he was familiar with philosophy, although many of his concepts are inconsistent with contemporary philosophical positions. The title page, devoid of ornamentation and without a printer’s device, ascribes the work to “Rabbenu Tam Ba’al ha-Tosafot lxz.” It is followed by the place of printing, name of the monarch, Stephanus, and the date, given simply as the year 346 (1586). Next is a listing of the book’s eighteen chapters. The title page is completed with a second date and the name of the sponsor, “‘[Whoever offers praise glorifies me;] and to him who orders μçw (346 = 1586) his way aright I will show the salvation of God’ (Psalms 50:23), by Abba Abraham bar David l”xz meNeuten.” There is an introduction, in which Zerahiah brings proof for the Torah and its precepts from both reason and from the prophets, and bemoans the pursuit of pleasure, wealth, and honor in his time, rather than religion and morality. Sefer ha-Yashar, with the purpose of directing his soul towards the correct worship of God, piety, and ethical content, is written in an easy style so that it will influence others to right conduct. Sefer ha-Yashar is comprised of material from earlier ethical works, although they are not mentioned in the text by name or directly quoted. The most significant of the prior works, acknowledged in the introduction, is Bahya ibn Paquda’s Hovot ha-Levavot, studied by Zerahiah, but too long and complex for the average reader. It provides, in summary, the essence of several chapters. Another important influence, evident in the text, is Maimonides. The text, divided into eighteen chapters, is printed in square letters in a single column. The chapters address, beginning with the creation of the world, worship, repentance, knowledge of God, the will of God, the world to come, complete repentance, the significance of the righteous, accountability of a person, remembrance of the day of death, and the distinction between the righteous and the wicked. Zerahiah’s primary subjects are the need to imitate God, conditions of proper prayer, both theoretical and practical; correct conduct and obstacles to be overcome to achieve it; and repentance. A popular work, it has been frequently reprinted.

Format 40: 27 [1] leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople ([1515]) and Venice (1544).

739

740

Biblia Sacra-Derekh ha-Kodesh

μybwtkw ,μyaybn ,hrwt

Elias Hutter 1587, Hamburg—Johann Saxo A Bible designed for didactic purpose. The editor, Elias Hutter, was a linguist, professor of Hebrew at Leipzig, and the editor of polyglot Bibles. The Biblia Sacra, entitled Derekh ha-Kodesh (“The Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; and he shall be to them a guide, and fools shall not err in it,” Isaiah 35:8), is distinct; it was designed to assist students in learning Hebrew by highlighting the roots of words. The Hebrew text is set between the solid and hollow (outline) letters; the former being the root or stem of a word, the latter the prefixes and suffixes. In those instances when a root letter does not appear in a word it is printed above it in small letters. The Hutter Hebrew Bible was intended to enable students to read the Bible in the original, which Hutter believed to be of great importance. Three versions of the title page have been identified. It is believed that the Hutter Bible was not a commercial success. Later editions have been identified as being of the same stock reissued with new title pages and preliminary material. The stock was also used in the 1596 polyglot. The Bible was preceded by a Psalms, in 1586, perhaps issued as a prospective volume. Although Hutter had a number of texts available to him, his text is not in complete conformity with any of his predecessors. Hutter would later publish, in 1599, a polyglot (hexaglot) Bible in Hebrew, Aramaic (Chaldaice), Greek, Latin, German (Gothic), and Sclavonice (Italice or Gallice), together with a twelve-language Christian Bible. The Hebrew is printed in the same manner as was done previously.

Format 20: 1527 leaves.

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1587, Mattenot Kehunnah on Midrash Rabbah, Issachar Ber ben Naphtali Katz, Cracow Courtesy of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

742

Mattenot Kehunnah on Midrash Rabbah

hnwhk twntm Issachar Ber ben Naphtali Katz 1587, Cracow—Isaac ben Aaron Prostitz Commentary on the Midrash Rabbah by R. Issachar Ber ben Naphtali Katz (Berman Ashkenazi, 16th century). Issachar was also the author of Mareh Kohen (Cracow, 1589, below, pp. 772–73), an index to the Zohar. The text of the Midrash, based on the Venice 1545 edition, is accompanied by Mattenot Kehunnah, a comprehensive commentary to the collected Midrashim known as Midrash Rabbah. Issachar completed Mattenot Kehunnah in 1584. Issachar, in the introduction, comments that previous editions are replete with mistakes. Issachar writes that, “numerous wbr as Rabbah h”br are the mistakes and errors of copyists, ‘were I to count them, they would outnumber the sand’ (Psalms 139:18), for they are without number, more than a man can correct.” Issachar continues that while he has made every effort to remove errors there are, nevertheless, a number of places where the language is unclear, which he attempts to explicate in the commentary. The text of this edition, on the Pentateuch and Megillot, is emended so that it is more correct than previous editions, and the commentary, Mattenot Kehunnah, includes clarifications of unusual and difficult Hebrew terms into a simpler Hebrew, as well as translations of Aramaic and other foreign terms into Hebrew, obtaining the assistance of people proficient in those languages when necessary. It has been noted, however, that his translator for Arabic was not completely proficient, so that some of those translations are inaccurate. In correcting the text Issachar examined numerous manuscripts of the Midrash, as well as other Midrashim, such as Midrash Tehillim, Midrash Tanhuma, and Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer, both the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds, including three copies, one vowelled, of the latter, Torah commentators, and, perhaps most importantly, the Arukh. Isaac Prostitz, the printer, writes in the epilogue that it was initially proposed to print the text unmodified, with accompanying annotations as to the correct rendition of the Midrash. However, the author of Mattenot Kehunnah objected to publishing a text that was uncorrected and the printer complied with his wishes, so that the errors are as few as is humanly possible. The commentary itself is written in a clear, concise and simple style. Issachar’s purpose is to explain the simple meaning of the Midrash, fitting the commentary to the words of the Midrash. It is, in contrast to later commentaries, such as R. Samuel Jaffe Ashkenazi’s Yefeh To’ar, a relatively brief work, contributing to its popularity and a factor in its inclusion in almost all subsequent editions of the Midrash. The title page notes that it is being printed at a time of interregnum, that is, between kings. There are approbations from a number of rabbinic figures. The text is accompanied by cross-references to verses and there is a separate title page for the Megillot. In the Salonika edition Genesis was completed before Mattenot Kehunnah was obtained, so that commentary appears on the later books only. That volume has the annotations of R. Judah ben Moses Gedaliah (16th cent.).

Format 20: 303; 130 leaves. Reprinted in Salonika (1593).

743

744

Me’ammez Ko’ah

jk ≈mam Moses ben Baruch Almosnino 1587–88, Venice—Giovanni di Gara Twenty-eight sermons and eulogies by R. Moses ben Baruch Almosnino (c. 1515–c. 1580). Me’ammez Ko’ah, the title, is from, “[A wise man is strong; and a man of knowledge] increases strength” (Proverbs 24:5). The title and the last text page have the three crowns representative of the Bragadin and di Gara presses. The title page is simply dated 5348 jmçh (1588). However, the colophon notes that work began on Rosh Hodesh Heshvan in the year, “Who is wealthy, he who is happy jmçh (5348 = Monday, November 2, 1587) with his lot” (Avot 4:1), and was completed on, “The hand dy[b] is on the throne of God” (Exodus 17:16) in the month, “[ That the sons of God saw the daughters of men] that they were pretty tbf (14 Tevet [5348] = Thursday, January 14, 1588)” (Genesis 6:2). On the verso of the title page is a preface from Asher Parenzo, the firm’s Hebrew printer, who remarks that the author, in this small book of great value, Me’ammez Ko’ah (jk = 28) of twenty-eight discourses, “He has declared to his people the power jk of his works” (Psalms 111:6), and that the book was brought to press by Almosnino’s son Simeon. Next (2b) is Simeon’s introduction. He begins by noting his great pain at the loss of his parents and how, with the financial aid of his brothers, he is printing his father’s books. This is followed by Moses Almosnino’s introduction, the text, an index (226a–235a), and then (235b–236) an epilogue from Simeon. In the epilogue Simeon declares his intent to print his father’s other works and remarks that because the non-Jewish staff worked daily, particularly erev Shabbat, when the book could not be checked, there are errors. Last are the concluding words from the printer, and the almost formulaic apology for any possible errors, for, “Who can discern mistakes” (Psalms 19:13). Below is a variation of the printer’s mark of Joseph Shalit, here an ostrich (peacock) standing on three rocks, facing left, with a fish in its beak within a cartouche, above it the verse, “The wings of the ostrich wave proudly” ( Job 39:13) and on the remaining three sides, “My soul is consumed with longing [for your judgments at all times]” (Psalms 119:20). This edition of Me’ammez Ko’ah is the first of Almosnino’s books printed after his death. Each discourse begins with the number of the discourse in large square letters, when and where it was delivered in small rabbinic letters, the subject matter in square letters, and then the discourse in rabbinic letters. The discourses cover a variety of subjects. For example, one was delivered upon Almosnino’s return from Constantinople, when he represented the Jews of Salonika (as noted above, p. 547) before the Sultan, and several are eulogies, among them one for the dayyan R. Joshua Soncin (d. 1569), perhaps, as noted earlier, a son of the famed printer Gershom Soncino. In this book, as in his other titles, Almosnino frequently refers to his other works.

Format 40: 236 leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (1582).

745

746

Or Ne’erav

br[n rwa rps Moses ben Jacob Cordovero (Ramak) 1587, Venice—Giovanni di Gara Introductory work to the study of Kabbalah by R. Moses ben Jacob Cordovero (Ramak, 1522–1570). Or Ne’erav is largely an abridgement of Pardes Rimmonim (Salonika, c. 1584), a systematic exposition of kabbalistic principles (see below, p. 791). It includes additional chapters by Cordovero’s son, Gedaliah, who brought the book to press. The intent of Or Ne’erav is the popularization of the study of Kabbalah. It is also a defense of the esoteric study of Torah against its detractors. The decorative title page has a frame comprised of pillars with a woman at the side above a lion, both facing out. The text describes Or Ne’erav as “‘sweet to the soul, and healthy to the bones’ (Proverbs 16:24), [a remedy] for the strange concepts described [within] of those who distance themselves from the true wisdom.” Reference is made to Or Yakar, Cordovero’s commentary on the Zohar ( Jerusalem, 1965), and concludes, “The sixth part of this work is a praiseworthy and glorious summarization of the introductory material, explained at length by the rav in his youth, in his book Pardes Rimmonim.” On the verso of the title page is the introduction of R. Moses Basola (1480–1560), praising Gedaliah for the publication of this work and his proofreading, noting, “Mistakes are not found with him.” Bassola continues with praise of the book (2a–b), concluding with more verse. This is followed by Gedaliah’s introduction (3a–b), in which it is again noted that Or Ne’erav is an abbreviation of the material in Pardes Rimmonim, with additional prefatory chapters by Moses Cordovero, to make Kabbalah more readily understandable, to instruct in its usefulness, and the need to study it. Moreover, since copies of this work are already in many hands, Gedaliah expresses concern that what happened to the commentary on Rosh Ha-Shanah should not happen to this book (see Perush Avodat Yom ha-Kippurim, 1587, below, pp. 748–49). The final introduction (4a–6a) is from the editor. There is no introduction from Cordovero, suggesting that Or Ne’erav is an unfinished work. The text, which begins on 6b, is divided into seven parts, each subdivided into chapters. They are: 1) rectification of the harm that occurs from the opinions of those who stay distant from this science; 2) the obligation of the enlightened to study theology; 3) the manner and time of study; 4) the superiority of this to other portions of our Holy Torah; 5) the virtues of this science over other portions of our Holy Torah; 6) the necessary preparation for beginners in this science; and 7) a brief explanation of some [Divine] appellations. Or Ne’erav was completed, according to the colophon, on “Wednesday, ‘[God has endowed me] with a good dowry (dbzb = 15th)’ (Genesis 30:20) [in the month of ] merciful father (ba Av), [in the year, may He] ‘often turn away byçhl (347 = August 19, 1587) his anger’ (Psalms 78:38) and ‘cause the palace to stand where it used to be’” (paraphrase of Jeremiah 30:18). It has been reprinted, through 1989, seven times. Nevertheless, although not forgotten or overlooked and the stature of the author notwithstanding, Or Ne’erav did not become a primary introductory work to Kabbalah, perhaps due to the ascendancy of Lurian rather than Cordoveran Kabbalah.

Format 80: 56 leaves.

747

748

Perush Seder Avodat Yom ha-Kippurim

μyrwpkh μwy tdwb[ rds çwryp Moses ben Jacob Cordovero 1587, Venice—Giovanni di Gara Commentary on the Yom Kippur Temple service by R. Moses ben Jacob Cordovero (Ramak, 1522–1570). Cordovero has been described as the greatest theoretician of Jewish mysticism, the first to describe the dialectical process of the Sefirot. He was a student of R. Joseph Caro and Solomon Alkabez, the latter his brother-in-law, who initiated him into the study of Kabbalah. Among his students was R. Isaac Luria (ha-Ari), who testified that a pillar of fire preceded Cordovero’s coffin. The title page of Perush Seder Avodat Yom ha-Kippurim has a patterned frame. At the top is the verse, “Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place” (Leviticus 16:3). The text states that it was printed in a small format (15 cm.) so that it can be placed at the end of the prayer book to be available on the “mighty and awesome day.” It was brought to press by Cordovero’s son, Gedaliah, who wrote a brief preamble, appearing on the verso of the title page. It states: because of the exile, due to our many iniquities, variations exist in the order of prayers. Perhaps whomever sees this work will think it is based on the rite of the Sephardim. I state this to make known to all who see this work that it is constructed about the order of the sacrifices according to the Rambam lz and not on the order of prayers, as one who looks can see.

The text is in seven parts, entitled tikkunim, followed (38b–39a) by sod neshamah yeterah (secret of the additional soul) by R. Menahem Azaria of Fano (1548–1620), concerning the prohibition on wearing tefillin on the intermediate days of festivals; an epilogue by Gedaliah, who informs that he began this work on Wednesday, the 23rd of Tammuz, 5347 ( July 29, 1587), the day that his father died seventeen years ago, and he was left, “as Josiah, ‘when he became king’ (II Kings 22:1), eight years old,” to be raised by his mother. And that righteous woman, my mother supported me, . . . to serve sages continuously and did not move her hand from mine until I was grown. And she was gracious to me and my Maker showed me grace, “[I swear] by the Torah and the teaching” (Isaiah 8:20) that I call it my mother’s Torah. May it be [His] will that I have the merit to serve her with awe and honor for length of day and years of life for her image is for me like that of the Divine presence.

Gratitude is also expressed to R. Solomon Sagis by whom Gedaliah studied. Last (40a) is verse in praise of Moses Cordovero from R. Samuel Archivolti. This is the second printing of this work. The first edition, printed with a Rosh Ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur mahzor (Constantinople, 1576, 40 [130] f.) by the Jabez brothers, was unauthorized and contained many errors. In the introduction to Or Ne’erav (Venice, 1587, above, p. 747), Gedaliah writes that he was concerned for this commentary because of what happened to the commentary on Rosh Ha-Shanah, stolen and printed without permission, “expunged and diminished.” Among Moses Cordovero’s other works are Pardes Rimmonim (Salonika, [1584], see below, p. 791); Tomer Devorah (Venice, 1588, see below, pp. 762–63); Elimah Rabbati (Lvov, 1881); and Or Yakar ( Jerusalem, 1965).

Format 80: 40 leaves.

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750

Shalshelet ha-Kabbalah

hlbqh tlçlç Gedaliah ben Joseph ibn Yahya 1587, Venice—Giovanni de Gara Chronicle of Jewish history from the creation to the time of the author. R. Gedaliah ben Joseph ibn Yahya (1515–1587), a talmudic and renaissance scholar, descended from an illustrious Portuguese-Jewish family, was born in Imola, in the Papal states, to R. Joseph ben David, author of Torah Or (Bologna, 1538, above, pp. 234–35). He learned under R. Jacob Finzi in Ferrara, resided briefly in several cities in Italy, and then, for three years, was in Salonika. He returned to Imola shortly before Pope Pius V first forbade money lending and then, in 1569, banished the Jews from his domains. Ibn Yahya, impoverished, wandered from place to place. An itinerant lecturer, he died in 1587 in Alexandria, Egypt, where he had resided for the last ten years of his life. Shalshelet ha-Kabbalah (Chain of Tradition) was completed on the day of the bar mitzvah of his eldest son, his first born, Joseph, to whom the book is addressed. In the introduction, ibn Yahya instructs his son to learn and adhere to the Torah, emphasizing the value of studying Jewish history. The text, in three parts, is comprised of a history of the Jews to the present; discourses on a variety of subjects, such as the spheres, magic, embryology, the soul, coins and measurements, origin of languages, and arts and crafts; and, in the final part, the history of the nations. The first part, comprising almost two-thirds of the book, is built about the lives of rabbinic sages. It concludes with a brief summary of the book, a discussion of the authorship of the books of the Bible and apocrypha, and on the transmission of the Torah in the time of Moses. Ibn Yahya utilized the work of earlier Jewish historians, oral traditions, non-Jewish sources, midrashim, and added material of little historical value, such as legends, stories and fables. While he cites his sources and approaches some material critically, he is more often non-critical, his stated purpose being to strengthen hearts. He informs in the introduction that he used books, oral accounts, and manuscripts, many of which, he is aware, contain errors and textual variations, in both authors and editions. Shalshelet ha-Kabbalah, with its mixture of history and tales, proved to be a popular, often reprinted work. Although it contains information of historical value, it has also met with much criticism. Joseph Solomon Delmedigo (1591–1655), who wrote that ibn Yahya should be “flogged with iron whips for filling his work with falsehoods and old wives tales” (Matzref le-Hokhmah, Hanau, 1629, p. 7a), called it Shalshelet ha-Shekorim (Chain of Lies). Although many scholars concur with Delmedigo’s evaluation, others feel this overlooks the material of import in the book, as well as missing its considerable charm. Gedaliah ibn Yahya was, by his own account, the author of an additional twenty books, enumerated near the end of the first part of Shalshelet ha-Kabbalah, with brief descriptions and the dates on which they were written. Among them are a commentary on Avot, sermons, a genealogical work on the ibn Yahya family, a lexicon of strange words in the Sephardi mahzor, and several on specific topics in the Torah. None are extant today.

Format 80: 122 leaves. Reprinted in Cracow (1596).

751

752

Twelve (Minor) Prophets

rç[ yrt 1587, Wittenberg—Zachariah Crato The twelve (Minor) Prophets in a small format edition. The title page has an ornate architectural frame, reused in Frankfort on the Oder with the Bible printed there by Johann and Friedrich Hartman in 1595–96 (below, pp. 858–59). The verse, “This is the gate of the Lord, // into which the righteous shall enter” (Psalms 118:20) is divided between the top and the bottom of the frame. The text simply states that it is the Twelve Prophets, and below it in two columns are the names of the twelve books in this volume. The volume concludes with the repetition of Malachi 3:23, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord,” and without a colophon. Unlike some of the earlier Wittenberg imprints, for example the 1566 Psalms, which has Latin text on the title page and a Latin introduction, there is no Latin in this volume. The first initial word, beginning Hosea, is centered in enlarged letters in a decorative border. In other books the initial word is simply set aside in enlarged letters. The text is in a single column in square letters with vowels and accents. Chapter numbers are given in the headings and outer margin, every fifth verse number in the inner margin. It appears that Crato (Craton) printed two Bibles at this time, a quarto format Bible (40, 26 cm.) in 1586–87, in four parts and with the same architectural title page, and an octavo Bible, to which this smaller (19 cm.) volume belongs. The brief title page and absence of a colophon, both in contrast to the larger edition, certainly suggest that this is one part only of a complete Bible. More than twenty Hebrew titles were printed in Wittenberg in the sixteenth century, beginning with the book of Obadiah in 1521, followed by Lamentations and Daniel in 1524, and concluding with the book of Ruth in 1592. The books printed here are almost entirely individual biblical books, excepting the complete bibles and some grammatical works, namely R. David Kimhi’s (Radak) Sefer ha-Shorashim (1568) and Moses Rafael Agilar’s Kizzur Dikduk Leshon ha-Kodesh, with Latin, reputedly reprinted three times, 1525, 1581 and 1588. A small number of additional Hebrew books were printed in the following two centuries. Wittenberg, in Saxony-Anhalt, north-central Germany, on the Elbe River, is famous for the Ninety-five Theses nailed by Martin Luther to the wooden doors of the Castle Church on Oct. 31, 1517, considered the starting date of the Reformation. As did many other cities with universities, a press existed in Wittenberg that, among its other titles, issued Hebrew books for Christian scholars. The printer of these Hebrew books in Wittenberg was, from 1563, Johann Crato, and from about 1581, Zachariah Craton. Hebrew books were not the primary concern of the Cratos, for in 1587 alone, according to the British Library Catalogue listing of titles printed in Wittenberg, four titles were printed that year, one the quarto Bible, the others Latin works. Zachariah Craton later cast the letters for the Frankfort Bible. Format 80.

753

1587, Zemah David, David ben Isaac de’ Pomis, Venice Courtesy of the Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University

754

Zemah David

dwd jmx David ben Isaac de’ Pomis 1587, Venice—Giovanni de Gara A trilingual, Hebrew-Aramaic, Latin, and Italian dictionary. David ben Isaac de’ Pomis (1525–1593), an individual of many accomplishments, traced his ancestry, as he relates on the title page, and in greater detail in the introduction, to the tribe of Judah, the family ha-Tappuhim, one of the four noble families exiled from Jerusalem to Rome by Titus. Born into a wealthy family in Spoleto, Umbria, his father was financially ruined in the recurring wars in Italy in his youth. As a result, de’ Pomis became, after graduating from the University of Perugia (1551), a physician, attending to nobles, among them the Sforza family. In 1555, Pope Paul IV (1555–59) forbade Jewish physicians to treat Christians, but Pius IV (1559–65), after hearing a brilliant Latin oration from de’ Pomis, granted him the right to practice among Christian patients in 1565. Unfortunately, Pius IV died five days later, succeeded by the less-tolerant St. Pius V (1566–72), who rescinded the grant. De’ Pomis, after having moved about Italy for several years, settled in Venice (1569). In addition to practicing medicine, permitted in that city, he wrote several treatises. Zemah David, de’ Pomis’s most important book, is dedicated to Pope Sixtus V (1585–90). In the Hebrew preface, which contains much personal history, de’ Pomis writes that he had an old, worn edition of the Arukh of Nathan ben Jehiel of Rome, who was, according to tradition, of his family. His intent is to explain the roots of words in the Arukh, material in the Tishbi and Meturgeman of Elijah Levita and others (so also on the title page), and to discuss precious stones and pearls. After the Hebrew introduction is de’ Pomis’s device, an apple tree (pomis) with a lion ( Judah) at each side and a star above, all within a cartouche. At the sides are the letters DP. Zemah David, which begins with a sixty-two page index, is not merely a lexicon, for de’ Pomis, in his discussion of biblical and talmudic terms, digresses, or expounds on various scientific and historical subjects. For example, he describes a siphon, and the curiosity with which it was greeted in Venice when first displayed, although it was already mentioned in the Talmud; the biblical forecast (Isaiah 27:1) of the Venetian victory in the battle of Lepanto against the Turks (1571); buffalo eggs; and the river Sambation, which rests on the Sabbath. De’ Pomis wrote other works of import. An annotated translation of Ecclesiastes into Italian (Venice, 1571), dedicated to Cardinal G. Grimani, with an appendix on suffering and its avoidance dedicated to Margaret of Savoy (Venice, 1572); Brevi Discorsi et Eficacissimi Rocordi per Liberare Ogni Citta Oppressa dal Mal Contagiosi (Venice, 1577), a treatise on the plague; and De Medico Hebraeo Enarratio Apologica (Venice, 1588), defending the Jewish physician against charges in a papal bull (1581) by Gregory XIII (1572–85), concluding with a defense of the Talmud. Other works mentioned by de’ Pomis remain in manuscript or are no longer extant.

Format 20: 5, [1], 5–62, 238 leaves.

755

756

Zemirot Yisrael

larçy twrymz Israel ben Moses Najara 1587, Safed—Eliezer ben Isaac Ashkenazi Religious poetry. R. Israel ben Moses Najara (c. 1555–c. 1625), considered by many the outstanding sacred poet of the period, was the son and student of R. Moses Najara, author of Lekah Tov (Constantinople, 1573), rabbi in Damascus, and disciple of R. Isaac Luria (ha-Ari). In his youth, Israel Najara frequented Arab inns and composed poems in fluent Arabic and Turkish. Israel Najara’s oeuvre is primarily sacral, but includes poems in a secular and romantic style. As a result, Najara was strongly criticized by R. Menahem Lonzano and Hayyim Vital. Najara was, however, defended by Isaac Luria. Eventually, Najara became rabbi in Gaza. It was later suggested by Nathan of Gaza, the prophet of the false messiah, Shabbetai Zevi, who made use of Najara’s poetry for his own purposes, that Israel Najara’s soul had been a spark of King David. The title page has four rows of florets for a border about the text and verse (zemirot) outside of it. Zemirot Yisrael is dated “[Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes;] and I shall keep it to the end hnrxaw (5347 = 1587)” (Psalms 119:33). On the verso of the title page is a copy of the Giustiniani printer’s mark, that is, the representation of the Temple with the verse, “The glory of this latter House shall be greater than that of the former, says the Lord of hosts,” (Haggai 2:9). The text is mainly but not always in a single column in square vocalized type. The poetic devices employed by Najara include alliteration, taganis, and refrain. This, the first edition of Zemirot Yisrael, includes one hundred eight piyyutim (poems) set to Arabic and Turkish tunes. Najara defends their use, noting that people sing these tunes with immodest lyrics, and that he is performing a service by replacing them with more appropriate content. Zemirot Yisrael is the first book printed by Eliezer Ashkenazi after his return to Safed from Constantinople in early 1587. It was followed shortly after with Baraita de-Rabbi Eliezer and a small ethical work, Mesaheket ba-Tevel, also by Najara. It has been suggested that the latter title and Zemirot Yisrael are one work, part one, Zemirot Yisrael, being completed on 4 Adar II (March 14), and part two, Mesaheket ba-Tevel, on the twelfth of that month. Najara’s religious poetry includes well known piyyutim, adopted into the prayer-book, such as Yah Ribbon Olam ve-Alemayya, and other works of religious poetry, such as Meimei Yisrael, appended to the third edition of Zemirot Yisrael; Pizmonim (1858); and She’erit Yisrael, still in manuscript. He was also the author of Keli Mahazik Berakhah (Venice, 1620), on blessings, particularly those recited after meals; Shohatei ha-Yeladim (Amsterdam, 1718), simplified laws of ritual slaughter in rhyme; and Pizei Ohev (Kuru-Chesme, 1597), a commentary on Job. He also wrote a Torah commentary, Ma’arekhot Yisrael, and homilies, Mikveh Yisrael, no longer extant.

Format 40: 41 leaves. Reprinted in Venice (1597) and Salonika (1599).

757

758

Devek Tov

bwf qbd Simeon ben Isaac ha-Levi Aschaffenburg 1588, Venice—Giovanni di Gara Supercommentary on Rashi by R. Simeon ben Isaac ha-Levi Aschaffenburg, one of the leaders of the Jewish community in Frankfort a. Main. He takes his surname from the Bavarian community of Aschaffenburg, where he resided, later settling in Jerusalem, where he died. The title page of Devek Tov [A Good Attachment] has the three crowns, here representing the collaboration of the di Gara and Bragadin presses. The title page describes the work as being made up of “comely subtleties, and in a straightforward concise and incomparable manner, literal interpretations, ‘sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb’” (Psalms 19:11). It then notes Aschaffenburg’s intention to go to Erez Israel, stating, “may the Lord ‘send his angel before you’ (Genesis 24:7) and bring him to the place of his desire, Jerusalem, in peace.” It is simply dated 348 (1588). On the verso of the title page is the preface from the printer, Asher Parenzo, then the introduction (2a–4b), kelal gadol on the elucidation of Rashi (5a–7b), and from 8a the text in two columns in rabbinic type, excepting headings and initial words which are in square type. The colophon (131a) is dated Hodesh Av b”wf (17 Av = Wednesday, August 10, [1588]) “and at this time the sage, the author went to Erez Israel, built on high, may the Lord grant him success on his way. Amen.” The colophon is followed by an epilogue from Parenzo. In his introduction Aschaffenburg writes that, “after I have seen that old age has come upon me and I am childless, for my many iniquities have caused that they should be taken from me in the plague, and I said the Leket and the Pe’ah (gleanings and the corners of the field [portions of the harvest for the poor]) due to Shikhhah (forgotten produce, [forgetfulness]) and a goodly attachment (Devek Tov) each in its place and in peace.” Aschaffenburg humbly describes his words as “stolen waters” for he has taken them from others and only presents them here as a yalkut (anthology). Among his important influences are R. Judah Loew ben Bezalel (Maharal) and R. Nathan Shapira of Grodno. The text is accompanied by a small number of diagrams, including a map in parashat Masei, used in R. Elijah Mizrahi’s Perush al Rashi (Venice, 1527, above, pp. 188–89), and reused in the Be’urim attributed to R. Nathan Nata Spira (Venice, 1593, below, pp. 804–05). Aschaffenburg also wrote Masoret ha-Mikra (Lublin, 1572), a folio-size concordance of biblical passages in the Talmud. A little more than a decade after the publication of this work, Toledot Aharon, by R. Aaron of Pesaro (d. 1563), a similar concordance, was published by Israel Zifroni in Freiburg-im-Breisgau (see above, pp. 722–23). On the title page Zifroni cautions prospective buyers against thinking that Masoret ha-Mikra is a comparable work.

Format 40: 131 leaves. Reprinted in Cracow (1590 and 1593).

759

760

Heshek Shelomo

hmlç qçj rps 1588, Venice—Giovanni di Gara Glossary of difficult biblical terms translated into Ladino. The author is anonymous. The title page has an architectural frame. The text states that “it translates every difficult word throughout the Bible from Hebrew into la’az (the vernacular),” and that it was found in the home of R. Gedaliah Cordovero, who brought it to press to benefit the public, and the name of the author is unknown. This is followed by text in Ladino, the name of the press, and “Con licentia di Superiori.” On the verso of the title page is a formulaic note to the reader from R. Israel Zifroni, the printer, describing his efforts, and praising the paper and type, which is new, and stating that any errors are certainly inadvertent and requesting the reader to judge him favorably. The book is named for and dedicated (2a) to R. Solomon di Shirish of Constantinople by Gedaliah, di Shirish having been of considerable assistance to Gedaliah in his travels and Gedaliah, on route to Italy, stopped for some time in Constantinople, staying at di Shirish’s home. Next is verse from R. Jacob Sagri, and then the text. The text, in a single column, is organized according to the books of the Bible and the order of the biblical text. Words are first given in Hebrew in square letters and then in Ladino in rabbinic type. The first part is the largest as the author tries to not repeat terms previously translated. Heshek Shelomo fills a serious need, for while Ladino is well known, the biblical text and language are difficult for many. The Ladino in Heshek Shelomo is an eastern Mediterranean Ladino. The colophon describes the work and provides the start and completion dates: In order to do it in a manner to be pleasing to all, we have seen fit to print it in a manner that joins all three parts, Hamishah Homshei Torah (Pentateuch), the five Megillot, Nevi’im Rishonim (Former Prophets) one part; Nevi’im Ahronim (Later Prophets) the second part; and Ketuvim (Hagiographa) the third part. The beginning of the work was on Wednesday, 14 Iyyar (May 11) and it was completed on Erev Shabbat Kodesh 15 Sivan in the year, “Who is rich? He who is happy jmçh (348 = June 10, 1588) with his lot” (Avot 4:1 and Tamid 32a). Blessed is “He [who] gives power to the faint; and to those who have no might he increases strength” (Isaiah 40:29).

Meyer Kayserling identifies the author of Heshek Shelomo as R. Jacob Lumbroso, an identification accepted by Avraham Yaari. Lumbroso, rabbi and physician in Venice at the beginning of the seventeenth century, published a Bible (Venice, 1639) with translations of difficult words into Ladino. I. Sonne, however, refutes the identification of Lumbroso as the author of Heshek Shelomo, noting that Lumbroso makes no mention of the earlier work, that he would have had to have written Heshek Shelomo at a very early age, and variations in the meanings of terms. Gedaliah Cordovero, a kabbalist and halakhist, came to Venice from Safed in order to print his father, Moses Cordovero’s (Ramak) books. He published, with the assistance of R. Menahem Azariah da Fano, Or Ne’erav (1587, above, pp. 746–47), Perush Seder Avodat Yom ha-Kippurim (1587, above, pp. 748–49), and Tomer Devorah (1588, below, pp. 762–63). Gedaliah also printed two other works, Perush Shir ha-Shirim (Venice, 1587), a commentary on the Song of Songs by the Safed kabbalist R. Elisha ben Gabriel Gallico, and Heshek Shelomo.

Format 40: 43, 45–106 leaves.

761

762

Tomer Devorah

hrwbd rmwt Moses ben Jacob Cordovero 1588, Venice—Giovanni di Gara Kabbalistic ethical and inspirational treatise by R. Moses ben Jacob Cordovero (Ramak, 1522–1570). Tomer Devorah has been described as “devoted to the Kabbalistic significance and application of the doctrine of the Imitation of God.” Tomer Devorah is entitled from “And she sat under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Beth-El in Mount Ephraim; and the people of Israel came up to her for judgment” ( Judges 4:5). The title page has a decorative frame comprised of pillars with a woman at the side above a lion, both facing out (as with Or Ne’erav, 1587, above, pp. 746–47). The colophon dates the completion of the work to Wednesday, 12 Marheshvan, “My meditation of him shall be sweet; I will rejoice jmça (349 = November 2, 1588) in the Lord” (Psalms 104:34). The title page is followed by the introduction, from R. Moses Basola, who writes that he found the manuscript of Tomer Devorah in the library of R. Menahem Azariah (1548–1620), an Italian rabbi and kabbalist, who gave it to Basola “in order to bring merit to Israel through the merit of the multitude which is ascribed to him.” The text is divided into ten chapters describing Divine qualities and how man should strive to emulate them. They are: 1) the Supernal Crown (Keter) and the thirteen attributes of higher mercy which belong to it; 2) the qualities of the crown, such as humility and kindness, eradicating pride from the heart; 3) wisdom (Hokhmah), love and care for all creatures; 4) understanding (Binah) and repentance; 5) mercy (Hesed ), the methods of performing mercy and assisting the Sefirot to function harmoniously; 6) power (Gevurah), utilizing the evil inclination to serve God; 7) beauty (Tiferet), the study of Torah and behavior appropriate to a scholar; 8) Endurance, Majesty and Foundation (Netzach, Hod and Yesod ), support of Torah students and purity of life; 9) Sovereignty (Malkut), sacrifices for Torah and performing marital duties with holiness; 10) Man’s conduct so that he is never separated from the world of the Sefirot. The volume concludes with an epilogue from Basola, who writes: Though it is small in appearance it is first in the praises of Israel. For through [studying] it a man will understand and discern that all of his deeds, whether good or otherwise, God forbid, have an effect in the supernal worlds, as the eye of one who looks can perceive. I have heard from the one whom my soul loves, the sage, [our teacher the honorable R.] Gedaliah, [may his Rock and Redeemer watch over him], son of the author l”xz, that this is one of the seventy palm trees which were planted by his father, [may he be remembered for life everlasting]. May it be the will of our heavenly Father, that it be said of me, Moses was righteous and made the multitude righteous (Avot 5:21). May I compile many books. Amen. May it be His will. So saith the unworthy Moses Basola.

Tomer Devorah is replete with allusions from talmudic and kabbalistic sources, systemizing and vividly presenting abstruse concepts. It has been frequently republished and translated into other languages, among them English.

Format 160: 19 leaves.

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1589, Derash Moshe, Moses ben Isaac of Pizenz, Cracow Courtesy of the Dorot Jewish Division, New York Public Library

764

Derash Moshe

hçm çrd rps Moses ben Isaac of Pizenz 1589, Cracow—Isaac ben Aaron Prostitz On the aggadah by R. Moses ben Isaac of Pizenz, in Moravia. The title page has the pillared frame with the vignette of the Akedah on top. It is dated in the year, Derash Moshe hçm çrd (349 = 1589). The work was completed on Rosh Hodesh Adar 349 (Friday, February 17, 1589). The text states: In it all the aggadah are explained, all the approaches of the Talmud expounded, the Babylonian and the Jerusalem, both entirely fine flour for a new meal offering. Every difficult matter, whether in the simple explanation and commentary, [is addressed, in order] to understand its profundity to its depths; whether to make known and reveal its intents and novellae. . . . . . . “Moses was meritorious and influenced the masses to be meritorious, so the merit of the masses was to his credit” (Avot 5:21). . . .

Moses’ introduction follows (2a–2b); a list of the ma’amarim (3a–6b), 256 in number; verse from the author (6b), concluding with an acronym: I have not departed from your judgments ˚yfpçmm; for you have taught me (Psalms 119:102). [Put the ways of ] falsehood rqç away from me; and grant me your Torah graciously (Psalms 119:29). Behold ˆh, you desire truth in the inward parts; therefore teach me wisdom in the inmost heart (Psalms 51:8).

The text follows, in two columns; the talmudic text in square letters, the commentary in rabbinic type. The ma’amarim vary in length, from a few lines to several columns. Moses writes in the introduction that his intent is to explain the contents stated in the manner of parable and riddle according to the understanding of the sages, matters that are closed and sealed. He is aware that others have preceded him, but none of their works are complete, on all the aggadot, but rather some here, others there, “about a day’s journey this way, and about a day’s that way” (Numbers 11:31). Moses explains both the simple meaning of the aggadah and novellae on it. He (n. 114) is opposed to philosophical interpretations, which he equates to knowing a man by lying with him, for the nations are like a man and Israel is compared to a woman, and elsewhere, although Abraham and later members of the Sanhedrin were knowledgeable in these subjects there is great danger in them and this generation lacks the fortitude to deal with it. Moses explains many aggadot in terms of the body and soul; he refrains, however, except for occasional allusions, from kabbalistic interpretations. Derash Moshe has not been reprinted and, its value notwithstanding, was a forgotten work until selections from it were printed in the Rom edition of the Ein Ya’akov. Moses was also the author of He ha-Yediah (Cracow, 1595), entreaties on the redemption comprised of 2,000 words beginning with the letter alef. There are allusions in Derash Moshe to other works written by Moses but they are no longer extant.

Format 20: 70 (should say 72), [1] leaves.

765

1589, Derekh Hayyim on Avot, Judah Loew ben Bezalel (Maharal), Cracow Courtesy of Kestenbaum & Company

766

Derekh Hayyim on Avot

twba tksm—μyyjh ˚rd Judah Loew ben Bezalel (Maharal) 1589, Cracow—Isaac ben Aaron Prostitz Commentary on Pirkei Avot by R. Judah Loew ben Bezalel (Maharal, c. 1525–1609). Although the subject of ethics is addressed in all of Maharal’s works, every aspect of that subject is dealt with in Derekh Hayyim, which is foremost an ethical work. Maharal’s approach is not overtly systematic, Derekh Hayyim being a commentary on and therefore somewhat bound by the text of Pirkei Avot. In addition, Maharal indulges in numerous excursus. That, and repetitious material, may be attributed to this work being a compendium of sermons delivered over several years during that time of the year when Pirkei Avot is studied on Shabbat. The title page has an architectural frame, with the verse from which the title is taken, “For the commandment is a lamp; and the Torah is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life (Derekh Hayyim)” (Proverbs 6:23) at the top of the frame. The title page is dated, “The staff ‘m fbç (349 = 1589) shall not depart from Judah” (Genesis 49:10). Work was completed on Sunday, parashat Re’eh, “therefore you shall surely rejoice jmç ˚a (349 = 1589)” (Deuteronomy 16:15). The text is in two columns, Pirkei Avot in square letters, Maharal’s commentary, and that of Rashi, also printed here, in rabbinic type. At the end of the book are errata. After Maharal’s introduction are Prostitz’s printer’s mark, the shield containing two fish and printer’s tool, and an ornamental strip. In his approach, Maharal is fully rooted in classical Jewish sources. He emphasizes the connection between the moral and metaphysical realms, that the rules for human action and that action as well effect the cosmic order, for the Torah is the order of both man and of the world. Maharal begins his introduction by stating that man, created and functioning in a physical environment, dwells in darkness. He looks for light to illuminate a path to lead him towards the Divine. Although his intellect can serve as a guiding light, it is limited in ability, unable to clearly discern the path that brings man closer to God. The Torah therefore requires man to differentiate between activities that distance man from God, not accurately determinable by the human intellect, and activities that God desires, an illumination that only the Torah and its commandments can provide. Although a most profound and original thinker, Maharal presents and considers his ideas as traditional statements rooted in rabbinic literature. Maharal was interested in and had considerable influence on Jewish pedagogical practice. This is much evident in Derekh Hayyim. For example, on Avot 6:7, “. . . learning in order to teach, learning in order to practice,” Maharal comments on a Baraita (Sanhedrin 99a–100b), that one who studies Torah without review is comparable to a farmer who sows but does not reap, “nothing is more contemptible, for he leaves his produce to the birds, scorning his seed, and so is one who learns Torah without reviewing his learning.” Similarly, one who forgets his learning is like a woman who gives birth and buries her offspring, “and so is the person who forgets what he has learned . . . which is equivalent to scorning the word of the Lord.” Torah is a Godly creation, comparable to the birth of a child. Therefore, causing its loss, by not reviewing one’s learning, makes one liable with his life.

Format 20: 117. [1] leaves.

767

768

Hasdei HaShem ‘h ydsj Moses Mordecai ben Samuel Margolioth 1589, Cracow—Isaac ben Aaron Prostitz On the Thirteen Attributes of God (Exodus 34:6–7) and Psalm 62:13 by R. Moses Mordecai ben Samuel Margolioth (c. 1540–1616). Margolioth, a talmudist and kabbalist, was born in Posen, where his father served as Av Bet Din. He was a student of R. Solomon Luria (Maharshal), and succeeded R. Joseph Katz (1510–1591) as head of the yeshivah in Cracow, a position that he occupied for more than twenty years. Margolioth was one of the respondents in the dispute over the Rovigo mikveh. The title page has the architectural border with mythological figures. The title, Hasdei HaShem, is followed by the verse, “How excellent is your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men take refuge under the shadow of your wings” (Psalms 36:8), and then, in a smaller font, the versified text, which states, “What is sweeter than honey?” ( Judges 14:18) a honeycomb of delights.//And what is more to be desired than “gold, and a multitude of rubies?” (Proverbs 20:15)://This precious treatise of great worth.//Included in it are twenty-six paths://And within them are explained many ma’amarim.//More than gold and even fine gold to be desired and precious://Many verses are explained.//Like silver refined, purified sevenfold.//Many concealed reasons are revealed.//On the thirteen attributes of mercy.//Two crowns for each and every attribute.//Honor and majesty for each decorated diadem. And the verse//“And to you, O Lord, belongs lovingkindness; for you render to every man according to his work” (Psalms 62:13)//Bearer of all crowns//“on which hang one thousand bucklers, all of them shields of mighty men” (Song of Songs 4:4) The title page is dated, “I will rejoice jmça (349 = 1589).” It is followed by the introduction (2a–3b) and the text. The Ma’amarim are subdivided, as noted above. The purpose of Hasdei HaShem is the lessons learned from the Thirteen Attributes affecting the actions of man. These lessons are obligatory in application, for example, just as God is gracious and compassionate, so too should man be gracious and compassionate (Shabbat 133b). Margolioth writes that just as the body encloses the soul so too does the Torah enclose an inner meaning, concluding that someone who does not occupy himself with the inner Torah in this world does not merit to know the arcanum of the inner Torah in the world to come. Margolioth utilizes the work of earlier writers on the Thirteen Attributes, particularly kabbalists, in explicating those attributes. Nevertheless, all this notwithstanding, his activity as a kabbalist is unclear. Margolioth does not, for example, relate the attributes to the Sefirot nor does he clarify the comments of the quoted kabbalists. Margolioth wrote a selihah for two brothers, Moses and Judah ben Jekuthiel, martyred in Cracow in 1596 (Cracow, 1597), and annotated an edition of Zohar Hadash on Midrash ha-Ne’elam (Cracow, 1603).

Format 40: 56 leaves.

769

770

Kol Bokhim

μykwb lwq rps Joel ibn Shuaib/Abraham ben Mordecai Galante 1589, Venice—Giovanni di Gara Commentaries on Lamentations by R. Joel ibn Shuaib (15th century) and R. Abraham ben Mordecai Galante (d. 1588). Galante, one of the kabbalists of Safed, was from a Sephardic family that had settled in Rome. In his youth he went up to Erez Israel with his brother, R. Moses Galante (Mafte’ah ha-Zohar, Venice, 1566), from whom he initially learned Torah. Abraham Galante afterwards learned Kabbalah from R. Moses Cordovero (Ramak, 1522–1570), becoming one of his foremost disciples. All of Galante’s works reflect Cordovero’s influence and approach to Kabbalah. It is reported that Galante was a person of considerable wealth and built the mausoleum over the graves of R. Simeon ben Yohai and his son Eleazar in Meron. The title page of Kol Bokhim has the three Bragadin crowns with a fourth smaller crown above, with the phrase above it, “[there are three crowns . . . but] the crown of a good name [surpasses them all]” (Avot 4:13). The title of the book is taken from “the voice of those who weep” ( Job 30:31). The text states: “Behold, it is ‘beautiful, . . . truly lovely’ (Song of Songs 1:16) and moving, the voice of ‘lamentation, and bitter weeping’ ( Jeremiah 31:14). According to three men of distinguished name from the mighty of Israel, they are the tanna R. Simeon bar Yohai, ha-Rav Joel ibn Shuaib and the excellent R. Abraham Galante.” It informs that this book was concealed and sealed in the library of R. Menahem Azariah da Fano (1548–1620) and brought to light by R. Isaac Gershon, who brought it to the press of Giovanni di Gara. The title page is dated, “I will rejoice jmça (349 = 1589) in the Lord” (Psalms 104:34). On the verso of the title page is the introduction (2b–6b) of R. Isaac Gershon. The book consists of the Zohar on Megillat Eikhah (Lamentations) (2b–6b); the introductions of Galante and ibn Shuaib (7a–b) in two columns; and then the text, which is in two columns. Lamentations is in square vocalized letters, the commentaries, ibn Shuaib along the inner column, Galante the outer, in a rabbinic font. On 106a–b is a statement from Menahem Azariah; 107a has a note to the reader concerning the index (107a–109a) and the errata (109b). Both commentaries are lengthy. Galante’s is kabbalistic, based on the Zohar, Tikkunei Zohar, and Cordovero’s Or Yakar. On the verse, “We have drunk our water for money; our wood is sold to us” (Lamentations 5:4), Galante writes, “And I found in the words of the maggid who spoke to the great R. Caro. . . .” This is the first citation to R. Caro’s maggid and confirmation that Caro was indeed the author of Maggid Mesharim, which some have questioned. There is a variant title page to Kol Bokhim which has a somewhat different text. Ibn Shuaib’s commentary had been published previously (Salonika, 1521, 80 [40] f.) by Astruc de Toulon. This is the first printing of Galante’s commentary, which is entitled Kinat Setarim. Galante’s most important work is Yare’ah Yakar, a commentary on the Zohar, so entitled to reference Cordovero’s Or Yakar ( Jerusalem, 1965), whose influence it reflects. Yare’ah Yakar was published in an abridged form by Abraham Azulai as Zohorei Hammah (Venice, 1655). Galante also wrote Zekhut Avot, published as part of Beit Avot (Bilgoraj, 1911). Other works remain in manuscript. Format 40: 109 leaves.

771

772

Mareh Kohen

ˆhk harm rps Issachar Ber ben Naphtali Katz 1589, Cracow—Isaac ben Aaron Prostitz Index to the Zohar by R. Issachar Ber ben Naphtali Katz (Berman Ashkenazi, 16th century). Issachar, who was born and died in Sczebrzeszyn, Poland, was a brother of R. Isaac Kohen of Ostrog (Kizzur Mizrahi ) and great-grandfather of R. Abraham ben Eliezer haKohen. A student of R. Moses Isserles (Rema), Issachar is best known for his Mattenot Kehunnah (Cracow, 1587, above, pp. 742–43), a commentary on the Midrash Rabbah. The suggestion that Katz settled in Erez Israel, where he died and was buried, in Hebron, next to R. Elijah de Vidas, is not considered credible. It does seem likely, however, that Katz visited Israel. Mareh Kohen is an index of the subjects and biblical verses in the Zohar, according to the Cremona edition (1559) of that work (see above, pp. 502–03). The text of the title page is within the copy of architectural border first used in Sabbioneta and employed by Prostitz on several of his books. We are informed that work began on Tuesday, on the 27th of the fourth month (Tevet or Tammuz) of the year “I will rejoice jmça” (349 = January 15 or July 11, 1589). The book is divided into seventeen she’arim (portals) according to subject matter as defined by Katz, for example, Torah, tefilla, teshuva, tzedaka, supplemented by references to biblical verses. Mareh Kohen neither purports to be nor provides any commentary on the Zohar. Katz describes himself in the introduction as Issachar ben Naphtali, known as Ber, who lives in Sczebrzeszyn in Russia. He states his purpose in ordering his index, and writes that he has heard that a similar work exists in Italy, which he has made considerable effort to acquire. However, he sees no reason to desist from his work, for the Italian work is only a small portion of what he intends to accomplish, nor is it well ordered. Furthermore, it is based on the Mantua edition, which differs in its pagination considerably from the Cremona edition used in Poland. The reference is to R. Moses Galante’s Mafte’ah ha-Zohar (Venice, 1566), an index of the biblical passages in the Zohar. This work, with a different scope, is incomplete. A partial Latin translation of Mareh Kohen was prepared by Christian Knorr von Rosenroth and included in the second part of his Cabbala Denudata (Sulzbach, 1677).

Format 40: [52].

773

1589, Nefuzot Yehudah, Judah Aryeh ben Joseph Moscato, Venice Courtesy of Kestenbaum & Company

774

Nefuzot Yehudah

hdwhy twxwpn rps Judah Aryeh ben Joseph Moscato 1589, Venice—Asher Parenzo for Giovanni di Gara Fifty-two sermons by R. Judah Aryeh ben Joseph Moscato (c. 1530–c. 1593). Moscato, a poet and philosopher, was born in Osimo, near Anconia, Italy, remaining there until the Jews were expelled by order of the Pope from that district. He found refuge in Mantua with his kinsman, the banker, Samuel ben Joshua Minzi Beretaro, becoming close with the Provencal family and Azariah De Rossi (Me’or Einayim, above, pp. 624–25 (c. 1511–c. 1578)). In 1587 Moscato was appointed Chief Rabbi of Mantua, where he became known as the greatest preacher in that city. A renaissance figure, he mastered several languages, was interested in literature, classics, philosophy and Kabbalah. The sermons comprising Nefuzot Yehudah were primarily delivered on Sabbath afternoons and holidays, to a large audience, including non-Jews; some, however, may have been delivered to small groups on special occasions. Although published in Hebrew, the sermons were given in Italian. Moscato is credited, through these sermons, with introducing a new epoch in Jewish homiletic literature. Although Jewish in content and purpose, they reflect the style and spirit of the Italian renaissance. Moscato attempts to demonstrate that the rules of the classic rhetoricians, such as Aristotle, Cicero, and Quintilian, can be found in biblical rhetoric. These classical figures, as well as Plato, Philo, and later Christian commentators, such as Pico della Mirandola, are quoted next to citations from Scriptures, rabbinic literature, Jewish commentaries, and kabbalistic works. Moscato justifies the use of the former, perhaps motivated by the controversy over the Me’or Einayim, by claiming that they are employed for the sole purpose of strengthening the Jewish faith. The sermons follow the style of Cicero’s outline of an oral discourse: exordium, proposition, analysis, and conclusion. The subject matter is varied, encompassing such subjects as nature displays the orderliness of creation; gratitude and remembering the Exodus; language and discourse based on biblical and midrashic sources; and a tribute to the heads of the Mantuan community at the dedication of a yeshiva. There is a sermon on music, “Harp with a solemn sound.” However, Moscato decries the recitation of prayers to popular tunes with an ignoble and licentious theme. In a sermon on Sukkot he makes an appeal for the indigent and ill. In another, the activities of the yeshivah are described, it being compared to the Temple, a minature Sanctuary in the wilderness. Nefuzot Yehudah begins with a dedication by Moscato to his brother-in-law, Samuel Beretaro; a poem by Beretaro expressing his gratitude; praise for the work from the printer, Asher Parenzo; and an introduction by Moscato. These are followed by a table of contents, detailing the substance of the sermons. The date is given in the colophon to the book as, “in the month and day that the ‘the Jews had joy and gladness, [a feast and a good day]’ [in the] year jmça (349 = 1589).” Moscato’s other works are Kol Yehudah (Venice, 1594), the first published and an influential commentary on the Kuzari; several elegies, among them one for R. Joseph Caro and three for Margherita, Duchess of Savoy; poems; and Tefillat Ta’anit (Mantua c. 1606), a prayer for rain at a time of drought. Additional discourses remain in manuscript and some responsa have been preserved.

Format 40: 14, 279.

775

1589-90, She’elot u’Teshuvot She’erit Yosef, Joseph ben Mordecai Gershon Katz, Cracow Courtesy of the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad Ohel Yosef Yitzhak

776

She’elot u’Teshuvot She’erit Yosef

πswy tyraç twbwçtw twlaç Joseph ben Mordecai Gershon Katz 1589–90, Cracow—Isaac ben Aaron Prostitz Responsa and novellae by R. Joseph ben Mordecai Gershon Katz of Cracow (1510–1591), one of the preeminent scholars of sixteenth-century Polish Jewry. Katz was the brotherin-law of R. Moses Isserles (Rema), his sister being Rema’s second wife, and served as a Rosh Yeshivah in Cracow for more than fifty years. He was a dayyan there together with Rema and R. Moses Landau, and was a leader of the Va’ad Arba Aratzot (Council of the Four Lands). Queries were submitted to him from other lands, such as Italy and Turkey. Among those who turned to him are Isserles, R. Solomon Luria (Maharshal), and R. Meir Katzenellenbogen (Maharam). R. David Gans (Zemah David, I 391) described Katz as having four crowns, that of Torah, priesthood, greatness, and a good name. The title page has an architectural frame and states that it includes novellae on the Mordekhai for selected tractates and on the Tur Hoshen Mishpat. Work on the volume began on Tuesday, 12 Tevet, in the year, “[and he shall give strength to his king], and exalt the horn ˆrq (350 = December 19, 1589) of his anointed” (I Samuel 2:10). The colophon dates the completion of the book to Monday, “Only good bwf (17th)” (Psalms 23:6; 73:1; and Proverbs 11:23) in the eleventh month (Adar), “and exalt the horn ˆrq (February 21, 1590) of his anointed,” which in fact occurred on a Wednesday that year. The author’s introduction is on the verso of the title page. Katz, due to his great humility, did not wish to publish any of his writings, for, as he states, he did not write this for any honor, but did so in response to the urging of the Cracow community, which he had served for forty-nine years. Near the end of the introduction Katz writes that he is old and his sons and grandsons pressed him to publish. The book is entitled She’erit Yosef, based on the verse, “Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph (she’erit Yosef )” (Amos 5:15), that it should be for me for a sign, a remembrance, and a remnant, and perhaps it will fulfill for me, “[And the roof of your mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that goes down sweetly,] causing the sleepers’ lips to murmur” (Song of Songs 7:10). And praise to God, with the help of HaShem I will have a remnant and a goodly remembrance from children and grandchildren for ever.

The introduction is followed by a listing (2a–4a) of the responsa, and then, to 92a, the responsa. After the responsa, with a new enumeration, are the novellae on tractates in the Mordekhai and Hoshen Mishpat. The text is in two columns in rabbinic type, the introduction and headings are in square type, and the initial words of the novellae are in ornamental letters. The listing enumerates seventy-six responsa, but they are preceded by one unnumbered responsum. The responsa cover a wide variety of subjects, such as festivals, marital issues, and inheritance, but are primarily concerned with commercial issues. Katz was generally stringent in his rulings, but also fearless. He also annotated the Sefer haAguddah (Cracow, 1571) of R. Alexander Suslin ha-Kohen (above, pp. 614–15).

Format 40: [1], 92, 32 leaves.

777

778

Levush Malkhut

twklm çwbl Mordecai ben Abraham Jaffe 1590, Lublin—Kalonymus ben Mordecai Jaffe Comprehensive halakhic code by R. Mordecai ben Abraham Jaffe (c. 1535–1612). Jaffe was a student of R. Solomon Luria (Maharshal, c. 1510–74) and Moses Isserles (Rema, c. 1530–1572), and, for Kabbalah, of R. Mattathias ben Solomon Delacrut (16th century). He was also knowledgeable in philosophy, astronomy, and mathematics. Born in Prague, Jaffe returned, after completing his studies in Poland, to that city to found a yeshivah. When the Jews were expelled from Bohemia in 1561 Jaffe went to Venice, remaining there until 1572, when he was elected rabbi of Grodno. From 1588 he was rabbi of Lublin, where he was active in the Va’ad Arba Aratzot (Council of the Four Lands). Jaffe later served as rabbi of Kremenitz, Prague, and from 1599 to his death, of Posen, succeeding R. Judah Loew ben Bezalel (Maharal, 1526–1609) in that position. When R. Joseph Caro’s Beit Yosef appeared, Jaffe expressed disappointment for that encyclopedic work did not address the need for a halakhic digest. Jaffe undertook to prepare a concise work, but interruptions, and the news that Caro was preparing an abridgement, caused Jaffe to discontinue his efforts. When the Shulhan Arukh appeared, Jaffe noted that it was too succinct, lacking explanatory material, like a “dream without interpretation or meaning,” and “a well prepared table of refreshments, but without the salt of reasoning.” Furthermore, he, along with others, felt that the Shulhan Arukh’s Sephardic emphasis made it unsuitable for Ashkenazic Jews. Jaffe again began his own code, when it became known that the Rema was preparing glosses to the Shulhan Arukh. However, when Jaffe saw those glosses (Mappah) he felt that they, too, were excessively concise. The code that Jaffe produced is the Levushim, printed from 1590 to 1604, in Lublin and Cracow. There are ten Levushim, five, the halakhic code, the others, commentaries and sermons. The halakhic Levushim, ha-Tekhelet, ha-Hur, Ateret Zahav, Buz ve-Argamon, and IrShushan, follow the order of the Turim of R. Jacob ben Asher. The title and the names of the parts are from the garments worn by the biblical Mordecai, “And Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal clothes (Levush Malkhut) of blue (ha-Tekhelet) and white (ha-Hur), and with a great crown of gold (Ateret Zahav), and with a garment of fine linen and purple (Buz ve-Argamon); and the city of Shushan (Ir-Shushan) rejoiced and was glad” (Esther 8:15). Levush ha-Tekhelet and ha-Hur, which comprise this volume, are on Orah Hayyim. Included are the Minhagim of R. Isaac Tyrnau. The frame of the first volume’s title page is a copy, in reverse, of one of the frames in the Prague Haggadah of 1526. The Levush reflects halakhah and custom according to the Ashkenaz (German-Polish) authorities. It avoids the lengthy discussions of the Beit Yosef and the terseness of the Shulhan Arukh, presenting laws with their reasons and sources from the Bible through later codes, and, unusual for a halakhic work, including kabbalistic material. The Levush was initially well received and for some time it appeared that it, rather than the Shulhan Arukh, might be the accepted halakhic code. Although that did not occur, it remains an important and influential work.

Format 20: [1], 101, [1], 110 leaves.

779

1590, She’elot u’Teshuvot ha-Geonim, Prague Courtesy of the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad Ohel Yosef Yitzhak

780

She’elot u’Teshuvot ha-Geonim

μynwagh twbwçtw twlaç 1590, Prague—Mordecai ben Gershom ha-Kohen Four hundred responsa from the geonim, heads of the talmudic academies, mainly in Babylonia, in Sura and Pumbedita, in the period after the redaction of the Talmud. The geonim, undisputed halakhic authorities of the time, received many thousands of inquiries from throughout the Jewish world encompassing all aspects of Jewish life and learning. The title page has the ornate Prague frame with Moses holding the tablets of the Law at the top, cherubim on either side of him, and along the sides two bearded figures above additional cherubim, a single Magen David on the right, and at the bottom two lions about the spread hands of the Kohen. On the verso is a preamble from R. Solomon ben Menahem Kabuli, and below that a two-tailed crowned lion, the emblem of Bohemia. Next are the contents by subject, in two columns (6f.), the text, and then verse in praise of the work, and, on the last page, epilogues from R. Menahem Aguzi and the editor, R. Ezekiel Moses ben Jacob. Only the last is original to this printing. The title page notes that this is the second edition of these responsa, the first being the 1575 Constantinople edition. This is a copy of that printing, by Eliezer ben Isaac Ashkenazi, including the two-tailed lion and the verse. The title page of that printing has the arabesque frame of Jean de Tournes, used by Eliezer in several locations. In the second epilogue, unique to this edition, Ezekiel apologizes for any errors, noting that the previous Constantinople edition was replete with errors, many difficult to understand. He has attempted to correct them, inquiring of rabbinic sages whenever possible for that purpose. This edition is also the basis of the following Mantua (1597) edition, but that printing lacks the introductory index and is set differently. This group of geonic responsa was also reprinted in Vilna (1884) but in that edition a number of entries were removed by the censor. The text, in square letters in a single column, is unpaginated. Both queries and responses are concise, often simplifying a complex law in an epigrammatic manner. The names of the submitter, in contrast to later responsa, are omitted. The contents, by subject, are: tefilla and tefillin; Shabbat, Yom Tov and Pesah; the sanctity of the Kohen; first born and milah; honoring parents and proper conduct; laws related to dining; forbidden foods; usury; bans and lashes; gentile wine; oaths; illicit relations; betrothal; divorce and refusal of a minor; ketubbot; levirate marriage and halitzah; charity; judges and witnesses; ethics; injury; theft; deposits; sale; agency and partnership; borrowing and lending; deeds; inheritance and orphans; and mourning. Collections of geonic responsa were not prepared by the geonim, but rather by recipients and scribes, who often modified the original character of the responsa. Simha Assaf notes that in the Constantinople edition and its reprints all of the responsa are fragmentary, no more than ten in the format in which they were written. Furthermore, since the publisher wanted to provide the reader with four hundred responsa, and could not find that number, he completed the total with fifty entries, the last in the book, from the Shulhan Arukh, not yet widely distributed, which he converted to responsa. Since the publication several large collections of geonic responsa, but still representing only a fragment of the total written by the geonim, have been published.

Format 80: 46 leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (1575) and reprinted in Mantua (1597).

781

782

Torat ha-Hattat

tafjh trwt taz Moses ben Israel Isserles (Rema) 1590, Cracow—Isaac ben Aaron Prostitz The laws of Issur ve-Hetter (dietary laws) according to Sha’arei Dura (R. Isaac ben Meir of Dueren, see above, pp. 340–41) with additions according to the customs of Polish and German Jewry, and abbreviated laws of niddah, by R. Moses ben Israel Isserles (Rema, c. 1530–1572). Torat ha-Hattat begins with an introduction by the Rema. He informs that Torat ha-Hattat was written precisely because of the popularity of Sha’arei Dura, which, “due to its brevity, people wish to learn while [standing] on one foot.” Torat ha-Hattat is not, however, merely a clarification of Sha’arei Dura, although arranged according to and following the former work, but its purpose, as Rema writes, is not only to add contemporary customs, to which Rema placed great weight, to that early work, but to teach practical halakhah. Furthermore, many of the laws, particularly in the area of issur ve-hetter, as explained by R. Caro in his Shulhan Arukh, which has become widespread, are not applicable in these lands. The portion of the work on issur ve-hetter is followed by Hilkhot Niddah, which also has an introduction from the Rema. Torat ha-Hattat was written about ten years before the Mapah, Rema’s glosses on the Shulhan Arukh. The frame on the title page is a copy of the border with mythological figures first used in a Hebrew book in Sabbioneta and afterwards elsewhere. The first edition had a decorative frame with cherubim and a trumpet, the second the floral pillars much used by Prostitz. This edition is dated Thursday, 9 Kislev, 351 (December 6, 1590). Five years after the publication of Torat ha-Hattat, R. Hayyim ben Bezalel (c. 1520–1588)— the older brother of R. Judah Loew of Prague (Maharal), a close colleague of the Rema, both having studied by R. Shalom Shakhna of Lublin, and a person of considerable stature in his own right—expressed disapproval of that work, and, to a lesser degree, of Caro’s Shulhan Arukh. His language in the introduction to Vikku’ah Mayim Hayyim (Amsterdam, 1712), a small work (2, 26 leaves), although always referring to the Rema respectfully, is so vehement that later editions omitted the introduction. The Rema entitled his book Torat ha-Hattat tafjh from, “This is the Torah of the sin offering” (Leviticus 6:18). Hayyim writes that it is aptly named, for it causes people to sin afj, comparing it to the serpent of bronze made by Moses (Numbers 21:9) for a good purpose but which later had to be destroyed. Torat ha-Hattat, as with other halakhic digests, is a threat to the proper study of Torah and encourages the unlearned to decide the law for themselves. There is undue reliance on custom, particularly that of Polish as opposed to German Jewry, in place of halakhah, and Rema, on a subject of serious consequence, issur ve-hetter, is too often lenient in his rulings. Hayyim was not the only one to object to Torat ha-Hattat. Among the others was R. Solomon Luria (Maharshal). However, the Rema and Torat ha-Hattat had defenders. More importantly, European Jewry decided in favor of the Rema, for, with his glosses on the Shulhan Arukh, he became the decisor for all Ashkenazim to the present time.

Format 40: 84, 19 leaves. Printed previously in Cracow (1569 and 1577).

783

784

Yefeh Mareh

harm hpy Samuel Jaffe ben Isaac Ashkenazi 1590, Venice—Asher Parenzo for Giovanni di Gara Commentary on the aggadot of the Jerusalem Talmud by R. Samuel Jaffe ben Isaac Ashkenazi (c. 1525–1595). Jaffe’s father, a talmudic scholar and businessman of Ashkenaz origin, resided in Bursa, Turkey. Samuel Jaffe went to Constantinople to marry and to study under R. Isaac ibn Lev, becoming, in 1564, rabbi of the Ashkenaz community of that city, as well as Rosh Yeshiva, instructing in Talmud and halakhah. His public sermons, delivered in his capacity as rabbi, based on aggadot and midrashim, are the source of his midrashic and aggadic works, written because of the lack of satisfactory commentaries. From 1580–84 Jaffe was in Adrianople, apparently due to a libel against him in Constantinople. It was there that he completed, in 1584, the work he is best known for, Yefeh To’ar (Venice-Constantinople, 1597–1648) on Midrash Rabbah (see below, pp. 884–85). Yefeh Mareh preceded Yefeh To’ar to press but was actually written later, being completed, as the colophon states, in the year “and our land wnxra[w] (347 = 1587) shall yield her produce” (Psalms 85:13). In both works Jaffe is concerned, in addition to explaining and interpreting the text, in establishing the correct reading, defining difficult terms, and finding parallels in the Talmud and other midrashim. Although the press of Giovanni di Gara published Yefeh Mareh, the title page also makes mention of Giovanni and Alvise Bragadin and has their device, three crowns, reflecting a period when the two print shops collaborated. The title page dates the beginning of the work to “the month of Elul, in the year, ‘and that my name ymç (350) may be proclaimed throughout all the earth (September, 1590)’” (Exodus 9:16). The editor was Joseph Samego. The verso of the title page has an introduction from Asher Parenzo, followed, at the bottom of the page, by his mark, a mount (hill) standing in the midst of the sea, to the left an eagle, above it a garland, and about it the verse, “Since you were precious [in my sight,] you were honored, [and I have loved you]” (Isaiah 43:4). What Parenzo had in mind in using this device, which does not appear in any other work by di Gara, is not known. This emblem was later used by Abraham Gabbai in Izmir with Rosh Yosef (1659) and in Constantinople with Sedeh Yehoshu’a on the Jerusalem Talmud (1662). Jaffe’s introduction follows. He notes that Yefeh To’ar and Yefeh Mareh are so entitled to reflect his name, acknowledges the assistance of those who enabled him to publish the book, and explains his objectives. The volume ends with an acrostic spelling Samuel Jaffe, an index, and errata. In addition to the above titles, Jaffe’s other works include Yefeh Einayim I (Venice, 1631), sermons and glosses to R. Elijah Mizrahi’s supercommentary on Rashi; Yefeh Anaf (Frankfort on the Oder, 1696), on Ruth, Esther, and Lamentations Rabbah; Yefeh Kol (Izmir, 1739), on Song of Songs Rabbah; Tikkun Soferim (Livorno, 1789), annotations to R. Moses Almosnino’s formulas of deeds; and, still in manuscript, Beit Din Yafeh, Jaffe’s responsa; and Yefeh Nof, on Midrash Shmuel. Although highly valued, Jaffe’s work were late in coming to press because of their size and the concomitant expense in publishing them.

Format 20: 371 [1] leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (1587).

785

786

Imrei Shefer

rpç yrma rps Nathan Nata ben Samson Spira (Shapira) 1591–97, Cracow/Lublin—Kalonymus ben Mordecai Jaffe Supercommentary on Rashi and R. Elijah Mizrahi by R. Nathan Nata ben Samson Spira (Shapira, d. 1577), rabbi in Grodno (Horodno). Imrei Shefer was brought to press by R. Isaac Spira (d. 1623), the son of Nathan Spira. Isaac was Rosh Yeshiva in Kovno, and from there went to Cracow, where he began publication of Imrei Shefer. Before the work was finished Isaac accepted a position in Lublin where Imrei Shefer was completed. The title page, which has an architectural frame, states that it was written by R. Nathan Ashkenazi ben Samson Spira, “‘he gives goodly words (Imrei Shefer)’ (Genesis 49:21) and he gives, ‘seed to the sower, and bread μjlw [rwzl (357 = 1597) to the eater’ (Isaiah 55:10) of Torah qpl.” Printing is credited to Kalonymus ben Mordecai Jaffe in Lublin. There is an introduction from Isaac Spira and then the text in two columns in rabbinic type, excepting headings, which are in square type. Spira does not bring kabbalistic explanations in his commentary. Among the sources quoted is the Imrei No’am of R. Jacob di Illescas, Spira being the first of many contemporary writers to utilize that popular work (above, pp. 556–57). In the introduction Isaac explains the conditions of the printing and that parts of the book printed in Cracow had to be reprinted in Lublin. He informs that the work is entitled Imrei Shefer from the verse, “he gives goodly words” (and the word “he gives ˆtnh” in the Torah is without a vav), implying the name of the author [Nathan ˆtn], and Shefer rpç the family name of the author Spira arypç. Isaac then addresses the existence of an unauthorized and fraudulent edition ascribed to his father, printed in Venice (Be’urim, 1593, see below, pp. 804–05), found and brought out by men who lack the yoke of the kingdom of heaven. A work discovered, who knows the identity of the author, perhaps a boy wrote it and wanted to credit it to an authoritative source ( lwdg ˆlya), [my father my lord]. God forbid that his holy mouth should bring forth words that have no substance, vain, worthless, and empty, a forgery, “[And, behold], it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered it over” (Proverbs 24:31).

Isaac Spira took his complaint to the Va’ad Arba Aratzot (Council of the Four Lands), requesting that they prohibit the distribution of the Be’urim in Poland. The response of the Va’ad is printed at the end of the introduction: It has been declared, by consent of the rabbis, and the [communal] leaders of these lands, that these books shall neither be sold nor introduced into [any Jewish] home in any of these lands. Those who have [already] purchased them shall receive their money back and not keep [such] an evil thing in their home.

A comparison of the two works in Toledot Rashi (Lemberg, 1840) confirms that they are dissimilar.

Format 20: [1], 260 leaves.

787

1591, Matteh Moshe, Moses ben Abraham Mat of Przemysl, Cracow Courtesy of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

788

Matteh Moshe

h”çm h”fm rps Moses ben Abraham Mat of Przemysl 1591, Cracow—Isaac ben Aaron Prostitz Halakhic compendium by R. Moses ben Abraham Mat of Przemysl (c. 1540–c. 1606). Mat, the leading student of R. Solomon Luria (Maharshal), was born in Przemysl, where his father, Abraham d”yh (may God avenge his blood), died a martyr’s death. He served as rabbi in Belz, where he had many students, leaving because of the difficult times to live privately by his father-in-law in Vladimir-Volynski, where Matteh Moshe was completed in 1585. Called back to the rabbinate, Mat served in Przemysl, from 1597 in Lyuboml, and afterwards as rabbi of Opatow and the district of Cracow. The family name, Mat (tm), presumably stands for Marbitzei Torah (spreaders of Torah knowledge) or Machzikei Torah (supporters of the Torah). However, given the meaning of tm, dead, contemporaries preferred to call him Moshe Ish Hai (Moses, a living man, based on II Samuel 23:20). Matteh Moshe is a halakhic work encompassing daily routine, the Jewish year, and occurrences, such as birth, death, and matters between them. It has ethical content and descriptions of customs, to which Moses places great value, providing sources and reasons. Sections are introduced by considerable expository material, including gematriot. These last features, unusual for such a work, add to its interest and value. The halakhic positions and customs expressed in the book follow the teachings of the Maharshal. Matteh Moshe, a highly regarded work, is often quoted by later authorities. The title page is dated, “Happy is the man ç[w]na (351 = 1591) who does this, and the son of man who lays hold on it; [who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil]” (Isaiah 56:2). On the verso are several lines of verse by R. Shabbetai Sofer in praise of the book; then two pages of the author’s introduction, a list of the contents, and, beginning on 14a, the text. Matteh Moshe (the staff of Moses) is so named for four reasons: 1) “with this my staff I crossed the stormy sea of this world . . .”; 2) as the rabbis said, “Happy is he who comes here with his learning in his hand,” that is, everyone has to give an account of themselves. When asked what he has in his hands he will reply a staff, as the staff of Moses; 3) every man must inscribe his name in a book; and 4) the book is divided into three parts, Torah [study], service [of God], and kind deeds (Pirkei Avot 1:2). Service, dealing with prayers, benedictions, and holidays, has, as Mat constructs it, a numerical value of Matteh Moshe. The book concludes sadly, for the colophon states that Moses Mat has called the book after his name for a remembrance and a comfort for the loss of his son. Mat’s other works are Ho’il Moshe (Prague, 1611), made up of Be’er Moshe, a supercommentary on Rashi’s Torah commentary, and Ba’er Heitev, sermons; and Taryag Mitzvot (Cracow, 1581), a versified enumeration of the 613 commandments, written at the age of 22; an index to Ein Ya’akov, printed with the 1587 Cracow edition of that work; and Minhagei Maharshal, printed in R. Jacob Zemah’s Nagid u-Mezavveh (Przemysl, 1870); responsa and correspondence quoted by R. Joel Sirkes (Bah, 1541–1640) and Benjamin Aaron Slonik (c. 1550–c. 1619); and novellae mentioned by him in his books but never published.

Format 40: 213 leaves.

789

790

Pardes Rimmonim

μynwmr sdrp rps Moses ben Jacob Cordovero (Ramak) 1591, Cracow/Nowy Dwor—Isaac ben Aaron Prostitz A comprehensive and systematic exposition of kabbalistic principles by R. Moses ben Jacob Cordovero (Ramak, 1522–1570), considered the greatest theoretician of Jewish mysticism. Pardes Rimmonim is a synthesis between the major lines of Spanish Kabbalah, based on the Zohar, and elements of ecstatic Kabbalah, integrated for the first time in the work of a major Spanish kabbalist. Cordovero completed Pardes Rimmonim when he was only twentyseven. Pardes Rimmonim is based on the Zohar, particularly the Tikkunei Zohar and Ra’aya Meheimna. It is divided into 32 she’arim (portals) and further divided into 270 chapters, with numerous charts and diagrams. Among the subject matter are the Sefirot, divine emanation and names, and the significance of the Hebrew alphabet. The Sefirot are the bridge between God, the First Cause, and the world. Cordovero discusses the dialectical process through which the Sefirot pass in their development, the stages of emanation, which are stages of the divine mind, and the relation of the Ein-Sof to the kelim (vessels) through which it works. There is little mention of Messianism, as Cordovero’s purpose is to structure daily life and behavior in terms of religious and mystical meaning rather than eschatology. The title page has an architectural frame and informs that work was begun in Cracow on, “The Lord said, I will bring them back from Bashan ˜çbm (= 352)” (Psalms 68:23), and completed in Nowy Dwor, near Warsaw. The colophon dates the completion to Monday, 10 Heshvan, ˆçb (October 28, 1591). The title page is followed, on the verso, by an introduction from the editor, R. Isaac ben Meshullam from Poznah, verse, and then Prostitz’s device, a shield containing two fish, the upper facing left and the lower right, above a printer’s tool. This is followed by Cordovero’s introduction (1a) and the contents of the book (1a–4b). The text begins on 5a. The change in location was due to a serious outbreak of plague in Cracow, forcing Prostitz and his family to flee to Nowy Dwor with the press’s typographical equipment. Pardes Rimmonim was completed in that location, the only Hebrew book printed in Nowy Dwor. After several months, when the plague had subsided, Prostitz returned to Cracow. An earlier Salonika edition, printed by David ben Abraham Azubib, is reported in a number of bibliographic sources, but does not appear to be extant. It was unknown to the Cracow printers, for Isaac ben Meshullam indicates that this is the first printing of Pardes Rimmonim. There is also mention of an earlier Venice printing but this is questionable. Pardes Rimmonim was summarized twice, first by R. Menahem Azariah of Fano (Pelah ha-Rimmon, Venice, 1600), then by Cordovero’s disciple, R. Samuel Gallico (Asis Rimmonim, Venice, 1601).

Format 20: [2], 211 leaves. Printed previously in Salonika ([1584]).

791

792

Fuente Clara

hralq yfnyawp c. 1592–1599, Salonika—Bath-Sheba press Anti-Christian polemic in Ladino. The name of the author is unknown. The title page states: This book includes all the verses of our holy Torah and the prophets mentioned by theologians and utilized by notzrim (Christians) in behalf of (lit. to strengthen) their faith. It makes known how they entice without an understanding and by corrupting the verses they use. “For the ways of the Lord are right, and the just walk in them; but the transgressors shall stumble in them” (Hosea 14:10). . . . These transgressors and sinners stumble and cause the children of Israel to fall, and this should be clearly understood.

Fuente Clara (pure fountain) has an introduction (1b–6b), followed by the text, which begins, “know what to answer the apikorus (unbeliever), “Therefore with joy shall you draw water from the wells of salvation” (Isaiah 12:3). The book is completed with an index of biblical verses to be used in polemics with Christians. Fuente Clara is very rare, only two complete and two incomplete copies are known. However, the rarity of this Fuente Clara cannot be attributed to the Church’s attempt to extirpate such works, for it was printed in Salonika, then part of the Ottoman Empire, where such works were neither objectionable nor in danger of destruction from the Inquisition’s agents. Furthermore, it is considered unlikely that a Jew would have been so rash as to bring it into a Christian country. It is assumed, then, that its rarity can be ascribed to usage, that is from many readings, described by Moses Marx as “the most honorable death a book can have.” The title page does not give the place or date of publication. which are surmised from the decorative border and fonts, both used by the Bath-Sheba press in Salonika. This press, active from 1592 to 1605, is credited with about forty titles, most printed in the sixteenth century. The press was operated by Sabbatai Mattathias Bath-Sheba (Basevi) and his two sons, Abraham Joseph (or Joseph Abraham) and Abraham, an Italian-Jewish family from Verona of German origin, recruited by R. Moses de Medina for that purpose. De Medina, the sponsor and patron of the press, was a wealthy scholar and prominent philanthropist. The son of the Maharashdam (R. Samuel ben Moses de Medina, 1506–89), de Medina established and supported the press to print his father’s responsa, support the local Talmud Torah, and print Talmudic treatises. It has been suggested that de Medina’s involvement in the press was more than just that of a philanthropist, but that he was actually the owner.

Format 40: 106 leaves.

793

794

Havazzelet ha-Sharon

ˆwrçh tlxbj Moses ben Hayyim Alshekh 1592, Venice—Giovanni di Gara Commentary on the book of Daniel by R. Moses ben Hayyim Alshekh (c. 1508–c. 1600). Born in Adrianople, Alshekh lived most of his life in Safed and died in Damascus. He was a student, in his birthplace, of R. Joseph Caro, and afterwards in Salonika of R. Joseph Taitazak. After settling in Safed Alshekh established two yeshivot, counting among his students R. Hayyim Vital. He received ordination from Caro, during the brief period that ordination was reinstituted, and served as a dayyan on Caro’s rabbinic court. Although primarily a talmudist and halakhist, Alshekh preached on the Sabbath, delivering sermons based on his biblical exegesis, from which Havazzelet ha-Sharon and his other biblical commentaries are derived. The title page of Havazzelet ha-Sharon is unadorned, lacking even the di Gara frame. The title is from “I am the rose of Sharon, [a lily of the valleys]” (Song of Songs 2:1). The text notes that Havazzelet ha-Sharon was printed previously [Constantinople, 1563] but is no longer to be found, R. Joseph ben Hayyim Saruq saw to it that it was reprinted; the editor was R. Isaac Gershon; and this edition has many improvements over the previous edition. It is dated, Heshvan “[And the Lord shall be king over all the earth;] on that day the Lord shall be one, and his name wmçw (352 = 1592) one” (Zechariah 14:9). The title page is followed by the author’s introduction (2a–3a), the introduction to the book (3a–4a), and then, from 4b, the biblical text and Alshekh’s commentary, the latter concluding on 106a, the biblical text on 108b. There is also an index (109a–110a). At the conclusion of the text is a colophon from the editor, who writes that he should be judged favorably wherever there are errors, for just as it is impossible to have grain without straw, so it is impossible to print without errors. He dates the completion of the work to Kislev 352 (1592). Except where the commentary is very lengthy the text is in two columns, the inner the biblical text in square vocalized letters, the outer column Alshekh’s commentary, in rabbinic type. In the introduction Alshekh compares Daniel to a beautiful garden with tulips and roses, the former at the entrance in the plain, the latter much further in the garden. A man entering the garden bypasses the tulips for the roses; however, they can not be gathered for they are beyond a steep cliff. He is forced to return to the plain and be satisfied with the less precious tulips. Alshekh writes this was his experience in approaching the book of Daniel, assuming the beginning, unlike the end, was straightforward, but the last part was as difficult as ascending a steep cliff, its meaning obscure. He cannot explain all the allegories in Daniel, but must restrict himself to the first portions, picking the tulips, the remainder, known only to God, to be explained with the coming of the Messiah. Havazzelet ha-Sharon, the first of Alshekh’s works to be printed, has been translated into English. Among his other works are Shoshannat ha-Amakim (Venice, 1591) on the Song of Songs, that title coming from the second part of “I am the rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys”; Rav Peninim (Venice, 1592) on Proverbs; Torat Moshe (Belvedere, c. 1593, below, pp. 824–25) on Genesis, the complete work being brought to press by his son Hayyim in 1600; Marot ha-Zove’ot on the Prophets (1603–07); Romemot El on Psalms (1605); as well as other works on books of the Bible; and responsa (Venice, 1605). Format 40: 110 leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (1563).

795

796

Tamim Yahdav

wydjy μymt rps Israel ben Moses 1592–93, Lublin—Kalonymus ben Mordecai Jaffe Kabbalistic commentary on Psalms and Proverbs by the Polish kabbalist R. Israel ben Moses (16th cent.). The title page has a pillared frame, and briefly states that its purpose will be stated on the other side of the title page, and that it was printed in Lublin, in the domain of Sigismund by Kalonymus ben Mordecai Jaffe. The prefatory remarks on the verso of the title page are followed, at the bottom of that page, by the names of seven rabbis who gave approbations to the work. They are R. Mordecai Jaffe ben Moses, Yudah ben Meir, Menoach ben Shemaria called R. Hendel, Simeon ben Bezalel, David ben Jacob, Yoshua ben Alexander, and Mordecai ben Isaac. The following page has verse explaining the purpose of the work, the initial letters forming an acrostic of the author’s name, with each line ending in Israel. The author’s introduction [2b–17b] follows, and then the text in two columns in rabbinic type except for initial words and signatures. Foliation is from 33a to 60a, where the text concludes. There is an index to the introduction [61a–b], and the commentary on Psalms [62a–68a], the commentary on Proverbs according to the Zohar [1a–19a], concluding with four pages of verse [1a–4 b]. The colophon, found after the index for Psalms, dates the completion of the work was to Monday, 20 Adar I “Let Israel rejoice in him who made him wyçw[b larçy jmçy (353 = 22 February, 1593)” (Psalms 149:2). The introduction contains a discourse on the soul. Israel is critical of R. Isaac Arama (Akedat Yizhak, above, pp. 144–45) for opinions inconsistent with the Zohar, due to insufficient or incomplete study of that work. Tamim Yahdav, in contrast, is built upon those entries in the Zohar that relate to Psalms and Proverbs, in the order of the verses in those works. The texts of Psalms and Proverbs are not printed here. Tamim Yahdav was printed in Hrubieszow (1822) with Psalms, and several times afterwards in that manner. The introduction was printed alone, with Latin translation (Paris, 1635).

Format 40: [32], 33–68, [19].

797

798

Tractate Berakhot

twkrb tksm 1592, Salonika—Bath-Sheba/Moses de Medina The recent discovery of an edition of tractate Berakhot, printed in Salonika by the BathSheba/Moses de Medina press in 1592, suggests a response, previously unknown, to the burning of the Talmud in Italy, and an attempt to circumvent the church’s ban on that work. The ornate frame with two mythological figures at the side employed on the title page was used previously by the Sabbioneta press of Tobias Foa, which closed in 1569, and subsequently by several printers in Italy, as well as by Bath-Sheba. It was also copied by printers in other locations, such as Cracow. The title page is dated “In His goodness He renews (ç”djmh = 357) daily, [the work of creation],” from the prayer book. A second date in a brief colophon states “finished and completed, praise to God, Creator of the universe, in the year ‘Thou hast put gladness (hjmçh = 358) in my heart’” (Psalms 4:8). The “heh” h represents the millennium ( g”pl), so that the correct readings are 5352 or 1592, and 5353, 1593. This unicum of Berakhot is printed with Rashi and Tosafot. The volume, which measures 30 cm., does not adhere to the standard (Venetian) pagination, ending on 97b (standard pagination is 64 pages). The text otherwise conforms to current editions, excluding minor variations in the text and Tosafot, clearly attributable to the typesetters. The volume lacks Piskei Tosafot, noted on the title page. The only reference work printed with the volume is Mesorat ha-Shas, which has an unusual placement, that is, in the outer margin, by the Tosafot, whether for the text, Rashi, or Tosafot, and is noted next to the point referenced by a ‘o’. The first text word, ytmyam, is set in a simple frame comprised of arabesque florets. The same frame is also used for the first word of several other chapters. In chapter five the frame is elongated to the length of the page and in chapters seven, eight and nine the first text word is enlarged at the beginning of the line without any frame. The first word of each Tosafot, which is the same as in our Talmud editions, is in large square letters, the remainder of the text in rabbinic letters. Under the guise of securing additional financing for the proposed Talmud edition and raising money from sponsors in Italy, a representative, Abraham Bath-Sheba, went to Italy; he was in Verona in 1594, where he printed Hebrew and Yiddish books. Letters of support were obtained from rabbis, among them R. Judah Aryeh (Leon) Modena, who wrote “A letter to the communities on the printing of the Talmud,” entreating “all who see and hear” to provide support. It has been suggested that this letter was not a fund raiser for a new Salonika Talmud, but rather was addressed to potential subscribers for tractates to be distributed in Italy. Italian Jewry suffered from its lack of tractates. The Basle Talmud was not satisfactory and the substitutes learned did not compensate for the absent treatises. The exports of the Jews of Salonika to Italy included books. It was natural, then, for the Jews of Italy to be supplied, albeit surreptitiously, with the treatises they so sorely needed, from Salonika. It is not unlikely that additional tractates were printed.

Format 20: 97 leaves.

799

800

Zemah David

dwd jmx David ben Solomon Gans 1592, Prague—Solomon ben Mordecai ha-Kohen and Moses ben Joseph Bezalel ha-Kohen Historical chronicle in two parts dealing with Jewish and world history. The author, R. David ben Solomon Gans (1541–1613), studied under R. Reuben Fulda, Eliezer Treves, Moses Isserles (Rema), and Judah Loew (the Maharal), the leading rabbinic authorities of his time. It was the Rema, reputedly, who was responsible for, and encouraged Gans to pursue his interest in mathematics and astronomy in addition to rabbinic learning. Gans maintained cordial relations with Johannes Kepler and Tycho Brahe, translating the Alfonsine Tables into German from Hebrew for the latter, those tables being the calculations of Jewish astronomers in Castile, recorded for Alfonso the Tenth (1232–64). Gans was the author of Nehmad ve-Naim, on astronomy and geography, which remained in manuscript for a hundred and thirty years, until printed by Israel ben Abraham in Jesnitz (1743). An abbreviated version (prospectus) was printed earlier, as Magen David, in Prague (1612). Zurat ha-Arez, a geographical work, is known only from bibliographic sources. The text of the title page, set within a border of ornamental florets, begins, “See, this is new matter. It has [not] been already in the ages before us” (ref. Ecclesiastes 1:10), and then proceeds to describe the contents. It informs that work began on Tuesday, Rosh Hodesh Sivan 352 (May 12, 1592). Zemah David relates, with concise entries, Jewish and world history in chronological order. The first part is a traditional work, based, as we are informed in the introduction, on earlier Jewish historians. It begins with the creation of the world, covers the period of the patriarchs, the kingdoms of Israel, talmudic times, and subsequent Jewish history up to his own time. It provides information as to rabbinic figures and the works they wrote. It is not written for scholars, but rather for layman and pupils. The second part recounts the history of non-Jewish monarchs. In the introduction to the second part, Gans justifies, or apologizes, for writing an account of gentile history, noting that it too contains ethical teachings, enumerating the advantages of learning what he otherwise acknowledges is a profane subject. Gans adduces further support from biblical and halakhic sources, quoting from the Rema on Shulhan Arukh O. H. 397:1, where the reading of historical works is permitted on the Sabbath. Jewish history is included in this section, too, as edicts or acts concerning Jews are also noted. Gans rejects the revisionist approach of Azariah De Rossi in the Me’or Einayim (see above, pp. 624–25), writing that wherever his words contradict those of our great sages, his (Gans’s) words should be “nullified and made extinct.” Zemah David has been an accepted, popular, and frequently republished work. Several later editions have additions, adding events that occurred after the first printing. Zemah David has been translated into Latin (Leyden, 1692), Yiddish (Frankfort, 1698), and, in part, into German (1890).

Format 40: 64, [6], 124 leaves.

801

802

Haggadah Zevah Pesah

jsp jbz rps Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel 1592, Bistrowitz—Kalonymus ben Mordecai Jaffe Fifth printing of this popular commentary on the Passover Haggadah, by Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel (1437–1508). The title page has an architectural border made up of pillars covered with vines. After describing the book the text states, “We began the work today, Tuesday, 10 Elul, in the year, ‘And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stopped’” hrx[n hpgmhw μytmh ˜ybw μyyjh ˆyb dwm[yw (352 = August 18, 1592; paraphrase of Numbers 17:13). The verso of the title page has verses by R. Judah Abrabanel. The chronogram on the title page refers to the condition of the Haggadah’s printing, that is, its location, Bistrowitz’s and the press’s reason for being there. In 1592, Lublin experienced another of its intermittent outbreaks of plague. The printer, Kalonymus ben Mordecai Jaffe, his family, and his staff, all fled to the village of Bistrowitz, on the outskirts of Lublin. They printed one title there, this Haggadah, completed, according to the colophon, on Tuesday, Rosh Hodesh Heshvan (October 7, 1592). Shortly after the plague ceased, the press returned to Lublin, and Kalonymus resumed printing Hebrew titles in that city. This is the sole Hebrew title, and perhaps only work, printed in Bistrowitz. It is also the first Haggadah known to have been printed in eastern Europe. The text of the Haggadah is based on the Constantinople 1505 edition. It follows, therefore, the Sephardic rite despite its having been printed in Poland for Ashkenazim.

Format 40: 60, [4] leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (1505), Venice (1545), Cremona (1557), and Riva di Trento (1561).

803

804

Be’urim

μyrwayb Nathan Nata ben Samson Spira (Shapira) 1593, Venice—Matteo Zanetti Supercommentary on Rashi attributed to R. Nathan Nata ben Samson Spira (Shapira, d. 1577), rabbi in Grodno (Horodno). The title page, which has an architectural frame, states that it is, Be’urim on the Ashel ha-Gadol Rashi. That which was written by ha-Rav, the renowned, the gaon, Nathan from q”q Grodno. On Hamishah Homshei Torah, on which the light of his Torah shines in all the lands of Ashkenaz with some annotations and words “sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb” (Psalms 19:11) according to the true literal meaning, beautiful and clear. And it will be accessible to all those interested in subtleties and theorizing. We have added to it an explanation of the unfamiliar and difficult words in the Targum on the five Megillot until the end with, incidentally, an explanation of the words in Daniel and Ezra by R. Michal of Arpatshuk. In the year, “For you shall go out with joy hjmçb (353=1593), and be led forth with peace” (Isaiah 55:12). Printed for Bernardo Giustiniani by the partners Matteo Zanetti and Comino Presigno Here Venice Con licentia de’ Superiori

Work was completed, according to the colophon, on Thursday, Rosh Hodesh Adar II, 343 (should say 353 = March 5, 1593). The text is in a single column in rabbinic letters, excepting headings, which are in square letters. Initial words of books are set in an ornamental frame. The text is accompanied by two diagrams, at parashiot Shelach and Masei, the latter used previously in R. Elijah Mizrahi’s Perush al Rashi (Venice, 1527, above, pp. 188–89), and in R. Simeon Aschaffenburg’s Devek Tov (Venice, 1588, above, pp. 758–59). The explanation of words from Michal of Arpatshuk does not appear to have been printed with the Be’urim. This edition of Spira’s commentary is controversial, as its attribution to him has been challenged. In the introduction to Imrei Shefer (Cracow/Lublin, 1591–97, see above, pp. 786–98), Spira’s commentary on Rashi, his son Isaac writes that the Be’urim is a forgery, not to be ascribed to his father, but rather was written by an unknown young man who then attributed it to Spira. Isaac Spira’s opinion is confirmed by R. Issachar Baer Eylenburg (1550–1623), who writes in his responsa, Be’er Sheva (Venice, 1614), that it is obvious that the Be’urim were not the work of Spira, but rather of an erring student. It has also been suggested that this is actually the Be’urim of R. Israel Isserlein (Terumat ha-Deshen, 1390–1460), but even a cursory comparison makes clear that the two Be’urim are not alike.

Format 40: 180 leaves.

805

806

Darkhei ha-Gemara

armgh ykrd rps Isaac ben Jacob Campanton 1593, Mantua—Tomaso Ruffinelli On Talmudic methodology by R. Isaac ben Jacob Campanton (1360–1463). Campanton, one of the leading Spanish sages in Castile prior to the exile, was known as the Gaon of Castile. He headed a Yeshiva in Zamora, counting among his students R. Isaac de Leon, Isaac Aboab II, Samuel Valensi, and Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov. Among Campanton’s communal activities was participation in a committee for the apportionment of taxes among the Jews of Castile. The only work known from Campanton is Darkhei ha-Gemara. The title page, which has no decoration, states that its purpose is, to teach the talmidim (pupils) “the path in which they must walk” (Exodus 18:20) in studying and teaching them the holy knowledge of the sages of the gemara and the commentaries. ... [Printed] for the youth, Solomon ben Samuel Norzi with the letters that belonged to the scribe R. Meir and afterwards to his grandson R. Ephraim of Padua. In the year, “[Light is sown for the righteous], and gladness hjmç (353 = 1593) for the upright in heart” (Psalms 97:11). Con Licenza d’Superiori.

On the verso of the title page is the introduction of R. Abraham ben Solomon Allon, followed by the text from 2a in a single column in square letters. Campanton’s purpose is to explain the rules of talmudic study and talmudic methodology and terminology in a systematic, precise, clear, and comprehensible manner. He is regarded in having been successful, as evidenced by the fact that Darkhei ha-Gemara has been a popular work, reprinted several times. This, the third printing of Darkhei ha-Gemara, is based on the previous Venice edition. The two previous editions were published as Darkhei ha-Talmud, but, due to the prohibition on the use of the term Talmud, this edition was printed as Darkhei ha-Gemara. The colophon informs that the book was printed by Moses ben Katriel Weisswasser from Prague at the press of Tomaso Ruffinelli. Some editions further state that the work was done for the brothers Isaac and Solomon ben Samuel Norzi. Two of Campanton’s students, R. Samuel Sirilyo and Samuel Valencia, later amplified their teacher’s work in books of their own on the subject, the former in his Kelalei Shemu’el, published in R. Benjamin Mutal’s Tummat Yesharim (Venice, 1622), the latter in his Kelalei Kal va-Homer (Venice, 1599).

Format 80: 12 leaves. Printed previously in Constantinople (c. 1515) and Venice (1565).

807

c. 1593-95, Gal shel Egozim, Menahem ben Moses Egozi, Belvedere Courtesy of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

808

Gal shel Egozim

μyzwga lç lg Menahem ben Moses Egozi c. 1593–95, Belvedere—Joseph ben Isaac Ashkeloni Derashot on the book of Genesis by R. Menahem ben Moses Egozi (sixteenth century), talmudist, rabbi, preacher, and poet in Constantinople. The title page of Gal shel Egozim, unadorned and with text typical of Belvedere imprints, states, Sefer Gal shel Egozim written by ha-Rav r”rwhmk (our teacher the honorable Rav and Rabbi) Menahem Egozi h”hlz (may he be remembered for life everlasting). . . . Printed in the house of the royal lady, woman of valor, Reyna Nasi b”mt (she shall be blessed above women in the tent; ref. Judges 5:24), widow of the Duke, prince and noble in Israel, Don Joseph Nasi, in his house here Belvedere near the great city of Constantinople, which is in the domain of our lord the king, the great and mighty Sultan, Murad h”ry (may his majesty be exalted). By the young and unworthy Joseph son a”al (of my lord and father) R. Isaac Ashkeloni [”n (may his soul be in paradise).

From the h”hlz after Menahem Egozi’s name it is clear that Gal shel Egozim was published posthumously. The title page is followed by verse by the author in praise of the work ([1b–2a]), introductory remarks ([2b–4a]), and then the text from [4a]. Foliation begins on the following page, but several pages are misfoliated. The text is in two columns in rabbinic type, excepting headings, which are in square letters. The text is accompanied by glosses, placed as inserts to the text. In the introduction Egozi explains the title, writing that in order to speak that which is in his heart he has called this small work Gal shel Egozim, for it is a parable for a pile of stones, For every man who wishes to place a pile of large stones, hewn stones, limestone, scattered and gravel, in its completeness, so I stood and went down to the garden of nuts in Gan Eden, our holy Torah and the words of our rabbis, and gleaned after the gleaners (Ta’anit 6b, Bava Mezia 21b), nuts (egozi ) large and small.

The source of this is “R. Tarfon was like a pile of nuts gal shel egozin ˆyzwga” (Gittin 67a), that is, just as when one takes from a pile of nuts the remainder fall one on top of the other, so R. Tarfon, when a student came with an inquiry, he responded with proofs from Scripture, Midrash, Mishnah, halakhah, and aggadah, all together (Rashi quoting Avot de-Rabbi Nathan ch. 18). This is the sole printing of Gal shel Egozim. Egozi was also the author of Ginnat Egoz, a collection of his correspondence and poetry, extant in manuscript; a responsum in the teshuovot of R. Elijah ibn Hayyim (Constantinople, c. 1603–1617); and verse at the end of She’elot u’Teshuvot ha-Geonim in praise of that work (Constantinople, 1578).

Format 20: 53 (should say 61), [1] leaves.

809

810

Sefer ha-Hayyim

μyyjh rps Hayyim ben Bezalel 1593, Cracow—Isaac ben Aaron Prostitz Ethical work by R. Hayyim ben Bezalel (c. 1520–1588). Hayyim, the older brother of R. Judah Loew of Prague (Maharal), was a student of R. Shalom Shakhna, together with R. Moses Isserles (Rema), and also learned at the yeshiva of R. Solomon Luria (Maharshal). He went to assist in the yeshivah in Worms in 1549, where his uncle, R. Jacob ben Hayyim, was rabbi. About fourteen years later, after the death of his uncle, Hayyim became rabbi in Worms, remaining until he was called to Friedberg, where he officiated until his death. Hayyim wrote Sefer ha-Hayyim in 1578 in Friedberg. In the introduction he recounts that due to a plague in which a household servant died and members of his family became ill, he and his family were confined to their home for two months. Unable to fully concentrate on halakhic studies Hayyim turned to aggadic and ethical works, writing this work, and Iggeret ha-Tiyyul as well. The title pages states that it contains the path a person should follow before he sins, and after he sins; how to conduct himself with his Creator, members of his household, and others, through Torah [study], service [of God], and good deeds (Avot 1:2). The introduction to Sefer ha-Hayyim is followed by a page of verse that begins with an acrostic spelling out the author’s name, then the text and at the end an index. The text is in five books, after the five supplications in Avinu Malkenu, Zekhuyot (Merits), Hayyim Tovim (Good Life), Parnassah ve-Khalkalah (Sustenance and Support), Selihah u-Mehilah (Forgiveness and Pardon), and Ge’ulah ve-Yeshu’ah (Redemption and Salvation). Each book is subdivided into chapters. Hayyim reproves communal heads who conduct themselves haughtily rather than performing their duties for the sake of Heaven, noting that nowhere in the Torah do the letters g and s, which spell sg (crude, ill mannered) appear together, for God hates crudity. He emphasizes the resettlement of Erez Israel, noting that many have despaired of redemption and become comfortable in the land of our enemies, and, rather than heeding our sages’ injunctions, comport themselves as non-Jews in speech and dress. However, those who cherish Erez Israel will not be separated from it even after their deaths. He opposes secular learning, juxtaposing the six orders of Mishnayot to six secular fields. Sefer ha-Hayyim is a popular work and has been often reprinted. Among Hayyim’s other works are Iggeret ha-Tiyyul (Prague, 1605), an alphabetic explication of biblical, talmudic, and midrashic passages; Vikku’ah Mayim Hayyim (Amsterdam, 1712), a critical work on the Torat ha-Hattat of the Rema, whom he takes to task for writing a halakhic code rather than relying on the Talmud (see above, p. 783). Hayyim had also composed such a work, but not for distribution, which he therefore justifies in the introduction. Furthermore, he chastised a student who copied his manuscript; Be’er Mayim Hayyim (Brooklyn-London, 1965–71), a supercommentary on Rashi; and Ez Hayyim, written in 1579, on Hebrew grammar. This work, still in manuscript, not only reflects Hayyim’s interest in the subject, but also the criticism of Christian-Hebraists who fault Jews for neglecting that field of study.

Format 40: 46 [3] leaves.

811

812

Minhagim

μyghnm Isaac Tyrnau/Simon Levi Guenzburg 1593, Venice—Giovanni di Gara Second edition, first with illustrations, of R. Simon Levi ben Judah Guenzburg’s Yiddish translation of R. Yizhak Isaac Tyrnau’s (d. 1439–52) Minhagim. This popular compilation of customs, written in the mid-fifteenth century, records the religious conventions and practices of central European Jewry for the entire year. Although written by Tyrnau for the layman in an easy Hebrew, it did not fully address the layman’s needs, necessitating a Yiddish translation. Guenzburg was involved previously in other Hebrew printing endeavors, most notably the Basle Talmud (1578–81), and later in an unsuccessful attempt to print a Mahzor and Zultot ( piyyutim, liturgical poetry), together with R. Isaac Mazia, in Thannhausen in 1594 (see below, pp. 826–27). The title page has, in the center, a depiction of a winged figure holding a shield with a pitcher in the middle. To the left and right, respectively, is the name Simon Levi/Guenzburg. At the sides is the verse, “[That this is] God, our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide [till death]” (Psalms 48:15). On the verso of the title page is an introduction, in Hebrew, from R. Solomon ben Isaac Selim. It is followed by the versified introduction (2a) that appeared in the 1589 edition, with slight changes. The colophon is made up of verses in Yiddish, also as in the previous edition, and with some modifications. The last eight leaves, not numbered, include a seventy-year calendar and a poem entitled Ein Kaleh Lied. Selim praises Guenzburg for bringing this valuable book to press again, three years after the previous edition. Guenzburg has “removed the stones from the path for all whose soul desires to know the righteous customs followed throughout the dispersion of Judah and Israel, particularly according to the Ashkenaz custom. . . .” The book has, due to its great value, disappeared from the market and Guenzburg has spared no expense to publish this edition. It is Guenzburg’s name, but not that of Tyrnau, which appears in several places, even though, the translation and Guenzburg’s additions notwithstanding, it is clearly Tyrnau’s Minhagim. The text is accompanied by numerous woodcuts, making it the first minhag book to be published with illustrations. These woodcuts depict events in the Jewish life cycle and the celebration of Jewish holidays. Twelve woodcuts are of the Zodiac and twenty-six pertain to Jewish customs. Five of the latter illustrations appear several times in the book. Among the woodcuts are depictions of the search for leaven, baking matzah, building a Sukkah, and lighting Sabbath lights. Guenzburg’s translation was published earlier (Venice, 1589) without the illustrations and, according to some sources, also in Mantua in that year, but that printing is likely a misdating of the Venice edition. The third edition (Venice, 1601) has different and finer illustrations. Nevertheless, it is the illustrations in this edition of Minhagim which have been much reprinted, independently and with siddurim and other books. There are almost fifty editions of Guenzburg’s translation.

Format: 80, [8] leaves. Printed previously in Venice (1589).

813

814

Ru’ah Hen

ˆj jwr rps Judah Ibn Tibbon/Jacob Anatoli (attributed to either) 1593, Prague—Solomon and Moses Katz Introductory work, commentary on and explanation of difficult terms in Maimonides’ Moreh Nevukhim by an anonymous author. Ru’ah Hen has been attributed to the renowned translator, R. Judah ben Saul Ibn Tibbon (c. 1120–c. 1190), and to R. Jacob ben Abba Mari ben Samson Anatoli (13th century), also a translator of note. Ibn Tibbon, known as the “father of translators,” was born in Granada, Spain, but relocated to Lunel in Provence, France, to escape the persecution of the Jews in the former location. He supported himself as a physician, coming into contact with many sages, one of whom, R. Meshullam ben Jacob, requested that ibn Tibbon translate R. Bahya ibn Paquda’s Hovot ha-Levavot into Hebrew. In addition to translating that work from Arabic, ibn Tibbon also translated several others books into Hebrew, among them R. Judah Halevi’s Kuzari, R. Saadiah Gaon’s Emunot ve-De’ot, and R. Solomon ibn Gabirol’s Middot ha-Nefesh and Mivhar Peninim. Only one work can be credited to Ibn Tibbon with surety, an ethical will he wrote for his only son, Samuel, who also became a famous translator. Anatoli, of French origin, son-in-law of R. Samuel ibn Tibbon, primarily translated scientific works from Arabic to Hebrew, among them Ptolemy’s Almagest and Averroes’ works on Aristotle’s Logic, and was the author of a collection of homilies, Malmad ha-Talmidim (Lyck, 1866), in which he expresses effusive praise for Maimonides. The title page of this edition of Ru’ah Hen (“the spirit of grace,” Zechariah 12:10) has a decorative border made up of rows of morresco, wheel, and acorn type-ornaments. The text informs that it has been printed with great care, corrected from all the errors in previous editions. Furthermore, a second commentary has been added for the first was insufficient. The beginning of the work was on Tuesday, 20 Kislev, 354 (December 14, 1593). The author’s introduction follows, with the introduction of the second commentary in the outer margin. After is the text, in the center of the page, with the commentary generally in the outer margin and the second commentary below it. The text is in square letters, the commentaries in rabbinic type. None of the authors are identified. Ru’ah Hen is comprised of eleven chapters and concludes with a be’ur ha-shemot. The text and the first commentary are based on the Cremona edition (1566). This edition was, in turn, the basis of the Lublin printing (1620), page-by-page identical, excepting necessary modifications to the title page and colophon. The first edition (Venice, 1544) was printed by Francesco Brucioli, one of only two books issued by him. A Hebrew-Latin edition was published by Jacob Soter in Cologne (1555), the translation by the apostate Johann Isaac ha-Levi.

Format 80: [22] leaves. Printed previously in Venice (1544, 1549), Cologne (1555), and Cremona (1566).

815

816

She’erit Yosef

πswy tyraç rps Joseph ben Solomon ibn Verga 1593, Mantua—Tomaso Ruffinelli On talmudic methodology by R. Joseph ben Solomon ibn Verga (d. c. 1559). Joseph’s father, Solomon, was the author of Shevet Yehudah (Adrianople, 1554, above, pp. 402–03), which Joseph edited, added to, and published. Joseph came from Lisbon after the expulsion of the Jews, settling first in Constantinople and afterwards in Adrianople, where he served as rabbi and dayyan. He was a student of R. Joseph Fasi and the physician Moses Hamon. The title, She’erit Yosef, appears in the verse, “Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph (she’erit Yosef )” (Amos 5:15). The title page, devoid of ornamentation, states that the book, explains many of the rules yllkm of the Talmud not brought by earlier sages, R. Samson [ben Isaac of Chinon, Sefer Keritot] and Rabbenu Yeshu’ah [ben Joseph ha-Levi] in his Halikhot Olam. And he assembled from that which he found scattered in the Talmud and dispersed in Tosafot and in the principles of the Geonim. May their righteousness stand for ever.

The text of the title page further notes that it has been done so that those who look into it can find what they seek with ease, and remarks on the divisions of the book. The work was done in the name of, that is, sponsored by, Isaac and Solomon, sons of Samuel Norzi. At the bottom of the title page is the permission, Con Licenza d’ Superiori. It is dated, “The Jews had light, and gladness hjmç (353–1593), [and joy, and honor]” (Esther 8:16). The date work was completed, in the colophon, is more explicit, Friday, the 29th day of the month of Adar qpl gnçh. That date, given as qpl, the abbreviated era, would be 358, meaning 1598, three years after the date on the title page. It should state gpl, the complete era, that is, 5353, which was a leap year, Friday the 29th occurring in Adar II (April 2, 1593). The work was done by Moses Elishema ben Israel from Gustallah. The verso of the title page has a preface from the printer, which expands upon the remarks on the title page, and, from 2a–2b, the author’s introduction. The text (2b–39a) is in a single column in square letters. The contents are divided into eight paths (netivot): the Mishnah (hnçmh 2b–13a); the difficulty (ayçwqh 13a–21b); the settlement (≈rtm 22a–26a); the commentary (çwryph 26a–30b); the query and plain explanation (twfçphw ay[bh 30a–32b); the argument (atgwlph 32b–34a); the traditional interpretation (h[wmçh 34a–37a); and the halakhah (hklhh 37a–39a), each subdivided into numerous kelallim. After are omissions (39a–40a), a brief colophon from the author (40a), and an index (40a–44a). The traditional interpretation includes a list of amoraim (talmudic sages 34a–37a). This edition is based on the earlier Adrianople edition (1554, 80 [44]), even the text of the title page and the colophon being alike, except that work began on that edition on Rosh Hodesh Elul, in the year, “And God Almighty yçd (314 = August 9, 1554) give [you] mercy [before the man]” (Genesis 43:14).

Format 40: 44 leaves. Printed previously in Adrianople (1554).

817

1593-94, Shulhan Arukh, Joseph Caro and Moses Isserles, Cracow Courtesy of the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad Ohel Yosef Yitzhak

818

Shulhan Arukh

˚wr[ ˆjlç Joseph ben Ephraim Caro and Moses Ben Israel Isserles 1593–94, Cracow—Isaac ben Aaron Prostitz Shulhan Arukh of R. Joseph Caro (1488–1575) with annotations of R. Moses Ben Israel Isserles (Rema, c. 1530–1572). The Shulhan Arukh, first printed in 1564–65 by Caro, was recognized as an important contribution to halakhah by the leading decisors of the time (see above, pp. 554–55). That work, a digest of his monumental Beit Yosef on the Turim (above, pp. 358–59), had been awaited by leading rabbis, many of whom had deferred writing their own codes in anticipation of the Shulhan Arukh. When it was received, however, a number of halakhic authorities, while recognizing the erudition that had gone into its preparation, expressed dissatisfaction with the completed work for a number of reasons. Among these authorities was the Rema, who had delayed writing his Darkhei Moshe on the Turim of R. Jacob ben Asher because of the Beit Yosef, and subsequently postponed writing a more concise code after hearing that Caro was working on the Shulhan Arukh. However, when that work appeared, Isserles found it to be unsatisfactory for Ashkenaz Jewry. Caro, the decisor for the Sephardim, arrives at halakhic positions by following the majority of three amudim (pillars), namely, R. Isaac Alfasi (Rif, 1013–1103), Maimonides (Rambam, 1135–1204), and R. Asher ben Jehiel (Rosh, c. 1250–1327), deciding an issue in accordance with their opinion, following the majority where they are not in agreement. This is in conflict with the halakhic procedure followed by Ashkenazim. The Rema, the decisor for the Ashkenazim, notes that, in addition to the Rif and the Rambam, European Jewry relies on other authorities, among them the Ba’alei Tosafot, several of whom he names, and Aharonim (later sages). Another important deficiency was the absence of Ashkenaz minhag (custom). Isserles’s intention is to add annotations, or, as he expresses it, to spread a Mappah (tablecloth) over the Shulhan Arukh (prepared table). Rema’s glosses (haggahot) are inserted into the text, and distinguished from it by being set in rabbinic (Rashi) type. In many instances Rema’s remarks are not meant to disagree with the halakhah as expressed by Caro, but rather to amplify or supplement, or to add Ashkenaz custom. Nevertheless, most often they supersede Caro’s conclusions. Where Rema makes no comment he concurs with the halakhah as stated by Caro. The haggahot are presented in a low-keyed and disarming manner, so that the two works form a harmonious unit. The combined work, Caro’s text and Isserles’s glosses printed together, became the primary halakhic code of Jewry to the present. The acceptance of the Shulhan Arukh in this form, in spite of some initial opposition, may be attributed to the prominence and authority of its authors, and the additions, over time, of commentaries to the completed work. This edition is based on the 1583–84 Cracow edition. Caro and Isserles’s introductions are reprinted after each of the title pages (with the same frame as the Sefer ha-Agudah, 1571, above, p. 614) of the four parts of the Shulhan Arukh. Printing began with H. M. followed by E. H., on July 8 and November 1, 1593, respectively, the remaining parts being begun on May 30th of the following year.

Format 20: O. H. 110, Y. D. 114, E. H. 66, H. M. 176 leaves. Printed previously in Cracow (1570–71, 1577–80, and 1583–84).

819

c. 1593-95, Siddur Tefilot he-Hadash, Meir ben Abraham Angel, Belvedere Courtesy of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

820

Siddur Tefilot he-Hadash

çdjh twlpt rwds Meir ben Abraham Angel c. 1593–95, Belvedere—Joseph ben Isaac Ashkeloni Prayer book with the commentary Zivhei Elokim by R. Meir ben Abraham Angel of Belgrade (c. 1564–c. 1647), a renowned preacher and rabbi. Angel was born in Sofia, but relocated, at a young age, with his family to Safed, where he studied under R. Samuel Uceda, Eleazar Ascari, and Hayyim Vital. He later returned to Sofia, where he served as rabbi, and afterwards was rabbi in several other communities, among them Belgrade. Angel traveled through Poland, Greece, and Italy, finally returning to Safed, where he died. The title page, without decorative material, provides basic information about the book and author, and then informs that “when the named author saw the great miracle done in the days of Mattathias ben Johanan, he took it to heart to write mi kamokha for Hanukkah with great care in the style of alpha beta. . . .” There is an introduction from Angel, and then the text, which is in a single column in square vocalized letters accompanied by the commentary, Zivhei Elokim, in rabbinic type. That name is from “The sacrifices of God (Zivhei Elokim) are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Psalms 51:19). Siddur Tefilot he-Hadash includes weekday, Sabbath, Rosh Hodesh, and festival services, as well as prayers for Hanukkah and Purim. Another of Angel’s works, printed at approximately the same time, also by Joseph ben Isaac Ashkeloni for Donna Reyna, is Keshet Nehushah (c. 1593, 40, 16f.). According to the title page, also without ornamentation, it is written with clear language and holy sweetness. It is an ethical work in which the inclination to do wickedness or to transgress is personified, resulting in moral conflict. The book is thus entitled Keshet Nehushah (a bow of bronze), from “He teaches my hands to war; and trains my arms to bend a bow of bronze” (II Samuel 22:35, or similarly Psalms 18:35). The text, verse alternating with rhymed prose, is in a single column comprised of square vocalized letters and rabbinic type. Angel is better known for his sermons, Masoret ha-Berit (Cracow, 1619), 600 homilies based on the Masorah Magna of the Bible, and Masoret ha-Berit ha-Gadol (Mantua, 1622), on 1,650 such readings. The Siddur was printed at the press established by Donna Reyna, the daughter of the famous Doña Gracia and the wife of Don Joseph Nasi, Duke of Naxos (1524–79). After the death of her husband, Donna Reyna occupied herself with charitable works, and supported Jewish learning, making her late husband’s extensive library available to scholars. In 1593, she established a printing press, managed by Joseph ben Isaac Ashkeloni, in her palace at Belvedere, at Ortaköy, in the vicinity of Constantinople, overlooking the Bosphorus.

Format 120: 83 (. . .) leaves.

821

822

Tevat Noach/Arca Noe

jn tbyt Marco Marino Brixiense (of Brescia) 1593, Venice—Giovanni di Gara Hebrew-Latin Thesaurus (Tevat Noach/Arca Noe Thesaurus Linguae Sanctae Novus) by Cardinal Marco Marino (Marini) Brixiense (of Brescia), a Venetian inquisitor and censor. Marino is best remembered for his work as the censor of the expurgated Basle Talmud (1578–81). His was the only censor’s name noted on any of the title pages, although other censors worked on that Talmud, appearing on the title page of seventeen tractates and Seder Zera’im. It was his responsibility to ensure that the edition contained no blasphemies nor anything offensive to Christianity. Marino afterwards joined Cardinal Gillaume Sirleto, Superintendent of the House of Neophytes, the church unit involved in conversionary activities in Rome, at the Council of the Index, where he worked on the Index Expurgatorius, possibly even before the Basle Talmud had been completed. He was the author of two Hebrew books, Gan Eden Hortus Edun. grammatica Linguae Sanctae (Basle, 1580, and Venice, 1585, and perhaps 1593), a grammatical work, and Tevat Noach/Arca Noe, a Hebrew-Latin Thesaurus. Tevat Noach begins with Latin and Hebrew prefaces, followed by a brief statement from Israel Zifroni, the corrector, whom Marino had worked with at the di Gara press prior to going to Basle, and in Basle as well, approbations in Hebrew (3), Greek (2), and Latin (9), and then the text of the work. Among the Hebrew approbations is one from R. Judah Aryeh Modena (Leo Mutinensis), only fifteen at the time. Within the book each letter begins with a verse in Hebrew, an introductory paragraph, and then the vocabulary. Each letter is subdivided by the second letters, for example, bf, gf, etc. Words are given in Hebrew and explained in Latin with several examples and their biblical sources. In the margins are key words from the examples. Letters are completed with a second verse. The title page, dated D. XCIII, is in red and black, with the printer’s device, three crowns. A full-page engraved presentation portrait of the author, reported as being printed with the volume, was not in the copy examined. Printed with Tevat Noach is Leket ha-Kazir, Collectio Messis. Dictionarium Latino Hebraeum ex thesauro decerptum, an index to the former work. Entries in this work are in Latin and Hebrew, organized by the former, with reference to the Hebrew entry in the first part, for example, “Macellum jbf a. 268,” referring to part one (a) of Tevat Noach, page 268.

Format 20: [12] 492, 288 leaves.

823

824

Torat Moshe

hçm trwt rps Moses ben Hayyim Alshekh c. 1593–95, Belvedere—Joseph ben Isaac Ashkeloni Commentary on the book of Genesis by R. Moses Alshekh. This highly regarded work is often referred to as Alshekh ha-Kodesh (Holy Alshekh) as well as Torat Moshe. Although primarily a talmudist and halakhist, Alshekh was also a preacher, preparing sermons every Friday to be delivered on the Sabbath, to, as he notes, large eager audiences. Many who attended the lectures repeated them in their own names, compounding their offense by misunderstanding the contents, prompting Alshekh to publish them. Alshekh observes that, given the length of these sermons, he has somewhat abridged them for publication, but nothing essential has been omitted. The title page, without ornamentation, is typical of the works printed in Belvedere. Alshekh is referred to as “ha-Rav, the distinguished qhbwmh Moses Alshekh.” Copies exist with a variant text, stating, “ha-Rav, the ordained ˚mswmh, Moses Alshekh,” referring to the ordination, reinstituted by R. Jacob Berab (c. 1474–1546), and given to R. Joseph Caro, who in turn ordained the Alshekh. The text is in two columns in rabbinic type, excepting headings, which are in square letters. Torat Moshe is similar in format to the commentaries of Don Isaac Abrabanel (above, pp. 692–93) and R. Isaac Arama (Akedat Yizhak, above, pp. 144–45), in that each section begins with a series of questions, followed by detailed answers. The substance of Alshekh’s responses are homiletic, stressing the moral-ethical aspect of the Torah, and based on talmudic and midrashic sources. Alshekh often offers more than one interpretation of the text, explains the reasons for textual changes in tense from singular to plural, the usage of the phrase rwmal “to say” when there does not appear to be an object, and the connections between adjoining but apparently unrelated passages. Although a kabbalist, and the Zohar is among Alshekh’s sources, Kabbalah is not often employed in explaining the text. Within Torat Moshe is a complete commentary on Avot. Alshekh was a leading members of the Safed community, a member of Caro’s rabbinic court, and a teacher of R. Hayyim Vital. Nevertheless, he was not a member of R. Isaac Luria’s (ha-Ari) kabbalistic circle. It is reported in Toledot ha-Ari that Alshekh, wishing to join that group, approached Luria on several occasions. Luria attempted to dissuade him, but Alshekh persisted. Luria then proposed that when he and his companions went out to the field to greet the Sabbath, if Alshekh could join them he could become a member of the group. At the appointed time Alshekh waited for them at the designated location, but just before their arrival he fell into a deep sleep. Upon their return, Luria woke Alshekh and informed him that his soul was not meant at this time to be part of the kabbalistic group, but rather his forte was peshat. He should not be discouraged for his work would be renowned throughout the world. From that time on Alshekh no longer learned Kabbalah. Alshekh’s son, Hayyim, published the complete Torat Moshe, on the entire Torah, in Venice in 1600. Although a lengthy work, Torat Moshe is frequently reprinted in its complete form. In addition to the many editions of the entire work at least two abridgements have been published.

Format 20: 82, [1] leaves.

825

826

Mahzor—Ashkenaz Rite

μyznkçah ghnmk rwzjm 1594, Thannhausen—Adam Burg Mahzor for the entire year according to the Ashkenaz rite brought to press by R. Isaac Mazia and R. Simeon ben Judah ha-Levi of Guenzburg. The title page has an ornamental border with three fish at the top (the signet of Mazia), at the sides are armed men in armor each with a shield, the right shield engraved with the name R. Isaac Mazia, the left with the name R. Simeon Levi. At the bottom is a laver pouring water on two hands, representative of the [Simeon] Levi. The text states: MAHZOR for the entire year with a brief explanation of terms according to the Ashkenaz custom carefully edited by the complete sage R. Isaac Mazia for R. Simeon Levi of Guenzburg printed in the [holy community] of Thannhausen

In 1594, in Thannhausen, Bavaria, near Augsburg, furtive efforts were made to print Hebrew books. R. Isaac Mazia, whose name, it has been suggested, is an abbreviation for mi-zera Yehudim anusim, that is, he was of Marrano origin, or that he had served as rabbi in several communities in southern Germany, together with R. Simeon ben Judah ha-Levi of Guenzburg, arranged with the Munich printer, Adam Burg, to issue a zultot (supplementary festival prayers) for the period between Passover and Shavu’ot and a mahzor. The zultot (40), with the same frame, informs that it was printed for the partners, whose names are there given in equal size, by Stefan Schurmann and Peter Geisler. When printing the mahzor, the printers, concerned about the Christian response to sensitive passages and accusations of blasphemy, left blanks to be filled in by the purchasers. In July, 1594, the authorities, informed that a Hebrew press in their midst was printing works inimical to Christianity, imprisoned Mazia. Still under arrest in October of that year, Mazia, after prolonged pleading, was granted bail against a high surety and the Jewish oath to the court. He intrepidly requested from the court that he be allowed to complete the mahzor. Guenzburg and the two non-Jewish printers were able to escape. After an examination of the still-incomplete mahzorim by the censor at the University of Ingolstadt the press run of 1,500 copies were destroyed; only five copies are known to be extant today. In August, 1597, Mazia was fined 200 florin and released, while Burg, as late as 1604, was still attempting to have his impounded press returned. All of this occurred despite the fact that the authorities concurred that the mahzorim had been approved for publication by the imperial authorities in Prague. Nevertheless, the printers had neither received nor sought permission from the local authorities in Burgau to print. Moreover, as the books were for export, they gave the impression that printing was done with the permission of those authorities.

Format 20: 228 leaves.

827

828

Minhah Belulah

hlwlb hjnm Abraham Menahem ben Jacob ha-Kohen Rapa mi-Portto (Rapaport) Ashkenazi 1594, Verona—Abraham ben Mattathias Basevi in the house of Francesco dalle Donne Commentary on the Torah, based on Midrashim. The author, R. Abraham Menahem ben Jacob ha-Kohen Rapa mi-Porto (Rapaport, 1520–c. 1594), was an eyewitness to the burning of the Talmud in Venice in 1553 (see above, pp. 360–61, 384–85, 396–97), which tragic event is reported in the Minhah Belulah, on the phrase “. . . a fiery law unto them” (Deuteronomy 33:2). . . . and this also alludes to the great destruction our eyes have witnessed, due to our many iniquities, throughout Italy. The burning of the Oral Law [Talmud] in the year dyç [as in] ‘the hand dy of the Lord was upon us.’ The decree went out from the city of Rome to use [the Talmud volumes] as fuel for the fire. In Venice, woe to the eyes that saw this, on the thirteenth and fourteenth of Marheshvan 1553, a continuous fire which was not extinguished. I fixed these days for myself, for each and every year, for fasting, weeping, and mourning, for this day was as bitter for me as the burning of the House of our God (the Temple).

Perhaps, in response to those events, Minhah Belulah is dated, “Rejoice wjmç (354 = 1594) with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all you who love her; rejoice for joy with her, all you who mourn for her” (Isaiah 66:10). An unusual feature of the book is that the introduction, entitled alef beis, consists of a thousand (elef ) words, each of which includes the letter beis. Porto’s family came to Italy from Lublin; he was born in Porto. The family name, Rapa, stems from the German (Rappe in Middle High German) for raven. Rappoport is a combination of the Rapa, with Porto, done to distinguish this branch of the family from other Rapa branches, a fact alluded to in the introduction to the Minhah Belulah. His escutcheon, printed at the end of Minhah Belulah, consists of a raven, surmounted by two spread hands giving the priestly benediction. At the sides are two scantily clad women. Below, we are informed that the work was written [completed] in Cremona on Wednesday, 24 Shevat, 342 ( January 24, 1582). Abraham Menahem was, at the time, rabbi in Cremona. (This device appears in a reprint of the Minhah Belulah, B’nei Brak, 1989, with the women more modestly covered.) A multi-faceted commentary, Porto draws on numerous sources, from geonim to halakhic works, as well as numerous midrashim, many not otherwise known, and including contemporary works. It touches on a variety of topics, including such subjects as medicine, music, and Kabbalah. The editor, a kinsman, was R. Abraham ben Jehiel Kohen Porto, who apologizes in his colophon for any errors in the book, for “Who can discern mistakes” (Psalms 19:13). He informs us that not only was he careful but that Abraham BathSheba (Basevi) was diligent in reviewing the type setting, “letter by letter.” Nevertheless, the work was done by uncircumcised workers (non-Jews), inexperienced in setting Hebrew letters, and it was not possible to avoid errors. Neither they nor the author, therefore, should be held responsible for any errors, but he requests they be judged favorably. Format 40: [3], 208, [1] leaves.

829

830

Paris un Viene

hn[yww nwa zyrap Elijah ben Asher ha-Levi Ashkenazi Levita (Bahur) 1594, Verona—Abraham ben Mattathias Basevi in the house of Francesco dalle Donne A romance, based on an earlier Italian work, adapted from the vernacular into Yiddish. The Yiddish version, printed posthumously, has generally been attributed to R. Elijah ben Asher ha-Levi Ashkenazi Levita (Bahur, 1469–1549). It has been suggested, however, that it was actually written by one of his students and printed earlier in Sabbioneta, that edition no longer being extant. Paris un Viene is the tale of two lovers, Paris, a poor knight at the court of King Dolfin, and Viene, the king’s daughter. The match is opposed by the king, who selects a more suitable prospect as his future son-in-law. The story, about the vicissitudes of their relationship, concludes when Viene becomes ill as a result of her love for and separation from Paris. The king announces that whomever can cure his daughter can have her hand and succeed to the throne. Paris, who has been wandering, has not only become a physician but has risen to be physician to the Sultan. Dolphin, who has engaged in war with the Sultan, is captured in battle. He is helped to escape by Paris, whom he does not recognize. Eventually, Paris heals Viene and wins her hand. Levita’s adaptation varies from the original in a number of ways. Although the content is borrowed, it has been reworked so that the form and the style is now Jewish. The characters have been given Jewish characteristics, act in a Jewish manner, and use Hebrew expressions. Stylistically, the prose is now in “717 metered strophes, in the ottava rima rhyming scheme that was the accepted form for this genre in Italian literature, but adapted to the linguistic possibilities of Yiddish by iambic meter. Moreover, the Yiddish version adds a division into ten cantos, called teyln, often headed by long, clever digressions on a variety of topics.” Paris un Viene was likely written by Levita after the Bove-Bukh, for it is the more polished of the two works. There are, in addition to the woodcuts on the title page and verso, more than forty woodcut illustrations, as well as other decorative material in the book. The number of scenes is actually fewer, as many woodcuts are reused, ten two times, two three times, and one four times. Verona is distinct, in that it the only press in Italy in which the majority of books printed there, albeit that the total number of works is small, were in Yiddish. Among those books, Paris un Viene alone was printed with rabbinic letters with added diacritic marks, as is the custom with Yiddish, done because the fonts normally used for Yiddish books were as yet unavailable in Verona.

Format 40: 72 leaves.

831

832

Pesak al Agunah

hnwg[ l[ qsp Jacob ben Joseph Pollack 1594, Prague—Solomon ben Mordecai and Moses ben Joseph Bezalel Katz Responsa on agunot from R. Jacob ben Joseph Pollack ha-Levi (c. 1460–1541), among the earliest and most eminent of Polish rabbis. Pollack, a student of R. Jacob Margolis, officiated, from about 1492, together with Margolis’s son Isaac, as rabbi in Prague and a member of the Prague bet din. He left Prague for Poland in about 1495 after a dispute over me’un (see below), establishing, in 1507, a yeshivah in Cracow, the foundation of that city’s later prominence as a center of rabbinic scholarship. Pollack introduced the serious study of Talmud to Poland, developing the hilluk method of pilpul, a particularly sophisticated method of casuistry. Among his students were R. Shalom Shakhna (d. 1588) and Meir Katzenellenbogen (Maharam of Padua). A person of considerable humility, Pollack did not permit his writings to be published so as not to be a halakhic authority for future generations. Nevertheless, he became embroiled in several disputes. The first, in Prague, in 1492, occurred when Sarah, the sister of Pollack’s wife, Esther, was married by her widowed mother to R. David Zehner of Buda while a minor. Prior to her maturity, Sarah, with Pollacks’ consent, voided her marriage through a declaration of me’un (unwillingness), which allows a female minor to verbally negate her marriage. This was in violation of a takkanah of R. Menahem of Merseburg, who had, fifty years earlier, prohibited me’un. Pollack’s action was, with rare exception, opposed by other rabbinic authorities, including R. Jacob Margolis and Judah Minz, and he was excommunicated. In the Finzi-Norsa dispute, involving R. Judah Minz’s son, Abraham, Pollack excommunicated the latter (see above, 1519, Pesakim, pp. 132–33). In 1522, a charge against the court physician, Samuel, for his relations with a married woman, which the king demanded Pollack rescind, resulted in Pollack having to flee Cracow. His movements afterwards, whether he went to Erez Israel or returned to Poland, and where he died, perhaps in Lublin, are the subjects of speculation. The title page has a decorative border comprised of depictions of Adam and Eve on the side panels, while the top and bottom panels have the typical Gersonides’ representations. At the end of the book is their printer’s mark (see introduction). The colophon dates the completion of the work to Sunday, Rosh Hodesh Elul, “Be glad wjmç (354 = August 17, 1594) in the Lord, and rejoice, you righteous; and shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart” (Psalms 32:11). That day was, however, a Wednesday in 1594. The text of the title page begins, “For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a Torah in Israel” (Psalms 78:5). Responsa of the Gaon . . . “weak ˚r, though anointed” (II Samuel 3:39) in the wars of Torah, blessed, young ˚r in years and elderly in wisdom. . . . And he put “his life in his hand” (I Samuel 19:5) while yet alive, to publicize his decision in detail, for a woman, a pitiful agunah whose husband is not one whose eyes “behold the right” (Psalms 17:2). . . .

The text is in a single column in square letters. From 2b–7a is a responsum from R. Judah Loew ben Bezalel (Maharal) on agunot. Pesak al Agunah was reprinted in Frankfort a. M. (1719) without the responsum from the Maharal.

Format 40: 16, [4] leaves.

833

1594-97, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Samuel ben Moses de Medina (Maharashdam), Salonika Courtesy of the Fales Library and Special collections, New York University

834

She’elot u’Teshuvot

twbwçtw twlaç Samuel ben Moses de Medina (Maharashdam) 1594–97, Salonika—Abraham Joseph ben Mattathias Bath-Sheba Responsa of R. Samuel ben Moses de Medina (Maharashdam, 1506–1589), one of the greatest rabbinic sages of Salonika. A scion of a prominent Sephardic family, de Medina was born in Salonika. His father apparently died when de Medina was young—he includes his father’s name in his signature infrequently—and he was raised by his older brother. De Medina experienced a number of other family tragedies, requiring him to support his two widowed daughters and their children, as well as losing his eldest son. A student of R. Levi ibn Habib and Joseph Taitazak, de Medina later served as rabbi and dayyan in a number of communities and as rosh yeshiva. Among his many students are R. Abraham di Boton (Lehem Mishneh on Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah), Joseph ibn Ezra (Azmot Yosef ) and Aaron Abiob (Shemen ha-Mor). De Medina’s greatness in Torah, humility, pursuit of peace, firmness, fearlessness, and nobility are all reflected in his thousands of responsa responding to queries from near and far from the greatest decisors of the time. This edition of de Medina’s She’elot u’Teshuvot was printed posthumously in three volumes by his son R. Moses de Medina. The title pages have the ornate frame with mythological figures employed by the Bath-Sheba press for their folio books. The first volume, with 248 responsa on Orah Hayyim and Yoreh De’ah, is dated Monday, 24 Sivan, “and let your soul delight itself in fatness ˜çdb (354 = June 12, 1594)” (Isaiah 55:2). It has an introduction from Moses de Medina in which he states his intent to reprint the first volumes, which were not done in a satisfactory manner. He has arranged the responsa following the order of the Ba’al ha-Turim, sparing no expense to bring the books to publication and bringing paper and printers from Venice. There is also an index. The second volume, with 244 responsa on Even ha-Ezer, is dated as the first volume. It too begins with a listing of the responsa and has verse in praise of the work from R. Saadiah Longo (Shivrei Luhot). The third volume, with 464 responsa on Hoshen Mishpat, is dated Rosh Hodesh Sivan in the year hnçh (5355 = Sunday, May 9, 1595). The colophon dates completion of the work to Tuesday, 5 Kislev, hbwçmh (358 = November 15, 1597). De Medina’s responsa cover the gamut of Jewish law and are a rich repository on contemporary Jewish life in the middle East. He too, as did R. Isaac Adarbi (1582, see p. 715) and Joseph ibn Lev (1558, see p. 481; 1561–98, see p. 527), addresses the dispute over the restitution of confiscated money and the persecution of Marranos in Ancona, Italy. It is de Medina’s position that Reuben, the defendant, need not pay Simon, whose property had been confiscated, because the former was compelled many days earlier to inform the Pope’s officers about Simon’s money, so that from that time Simon had no claim as the money was already gone. In another responsum he is strongly inclined to forbid bookbinders from using printers’ waste as even printed books have a degree of sanctity and may not be so used. Two volumes of de Medina’s responsa were published during his lifetime by David Azubib as Piskei ha-Rashdam, the first (20, 297f.) with 310 responsa, the second (20, 238f.) with 316 responsa. Neither volume has a title page. Thirty of de Medina’s discourses (Ben Shemu’el, Mantua, 1622) have also been published. His talmudic novellae, however, remain in manuscript. Format 20: 16, 21, 168; 15, [1], 204; 36 [35], 320 leaves. Printed previously in Salonika (1581–82).

835

836

Ayyalah Sheluhah

hjwlç hlya Naphtali Hirsch ben Asher Altschuler c. 1595, Cracow—Isaac ben Aaron Prostitz A synopsis of commentaries on the Prophets and Ketuvim with a translation of difficult terms into Yiddish by R. Naphtali Hirsch ben Asher Altschuler (16th–17th cent.). Altschuler, a talmudic scholar, was a student of R. Bendit Achselrad. A resident of Lublin and Zhitomir, he traveled extensively, and was in Constantinople in 1607. The title of Ayyalah Sheluhah, alluding to his name, is from, “[Naphtali] is a hind let loose; [he gives goodly words]” (Genesis 49:21). The title page of the volume described here, on the Earlier Prophets, has an architectural frame and the text informs that the book is a comprehensive commentary on the Bible, clarifying the words of previous commentators, offering precious pearls. It notes that on the verso are approbations from all the geonei olam and, on that page, are approbations from R. Isaac ben Abraham, Mordecai ben Abraham Jaffe (Levush), Ephraim [Solomon] ben Aaron [of Luntshits], Moses ben Abraham [Mat] (Matteh Moshe), Abraham ben Aaron, Joshua ben Alexander [Falk] (Me’irat Einayim), Meir ben Isaiah, and Abraham ben Joseph Meiseles. Altschuler’s introduction (2a–b) is lengthy. He bemoans the iniquities and profanation of the name of God that he has seen, for in this generation many breach the walls of Torah, so that one only in a city and two to a family fill their stomach with the wisdom of the Torah and the Prophets, the majority rather turning to philosophy and external wisdom. He has written this work based on a large number of earlier commentators, whom he enumerates. This biblical text of this volume, the Earlier Prophets, is in two columns in square vocalized letters, the commentary in a single column in rabbinic type. Chapter numbers are given in the margins; there are no verse numbers in the text or commentary. Initial words of books, excluding II Samuel and II Kings, are in a decorative frame. Prostitz’s fish and printer’s tool device appears at the end of II Samuel. Ayyalah Sheluhah explains the biblical text according to the peshat (literal meaning), his most important sources being Rashi and R. David ben Joseph Kimhi (Radak), but also utilized are a number of contemporary commentators. Verses are also provided with a kabbalistic interpretation. Difficult terms and concepts are translated into Yiddish, making use of R. Asher Anshel of Cracow’s Mirkevet ha-Mishneh (above, pp. 216–17). The date of printing is uncertain. The title page is not dated and the date in the colophon for this volume, Thursday, 6 Nissan, 355 (March 16, 1595), may well be the date that Altschuler completed this part of the work, for it is followed by Altschuler’s supplication that he complete other works. This also the case for the colophon to Job and Daniel, dated 1593–95. However, based on Altschuler’s reference to Ayyalah Sheluhah in the introduction to his Imrei Shefer (Lublin, 1602), it was certainly printed prior to that work. Imrei Shefer is a concordance on terms addressed by preachers and rabbis in their discourses, divided into thirty-two parts, each arranged alphabetically. A responsum of Altschuler is included in the responsa of R. Meir of Lublin (Maharam).

Format 20: 79, 78–121; 142, 52; 50, 24, 27, [15], [5].

837

838

Iggeret Teshuvah

hbwçth trga Jonah ben Abraham Gerondi (Rabbenu Yonah) 1595, Prague—Gershom ben Bezalel Katz Ethical work by R. Jonah ben Abraham Gerondi (Rabbenu Yonah, c. 1200–1263), author of Sha’arei Teshuvah, one of the classical Jewish works on repentance (above, pp. 22–23). In contrast to that work, Iggeret Teshuvah is a considerably smaller, less known, although also valuable ethical work. The title page, devoid of ornamentation, states that the Rosh (R. Asher ben Jehiel), father of Rabbenu Ya’akov Ba’al ha-Turim, required this work to be read every week in which Rosh Hodesh comes out. It then states that this book was found in an old work which a person who fears the word of the Lord divided into seven parts to be read daily. It is dated, “in the month of Heshvan, in the year, ‘[He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever]; his horn wnrq (356 = October/November, 1595) shall be exalted with honor’” (Psalms 112:9). The printer’s name is not given but Gershom ben Bezalel Katz was printing at this time for the Gersonides. The text, in two columns, set in rabbinic type, excluding initial words, begins on the verso of the title page. There is no foliation. Iggeret Teshuvah is divided into three discourses, which are further subdivided for daily reading. For example, the first discourse is for the first three days of the week, the second for the fourth and fifth, the third for the last two days. Each discourse is a précis of halakhot. The first begins as a homily on avodah, discusses tefillin, mezuzot, prayer, responding amen, and in the last entry that one should “accept a teacher upon yourself; acquire a friend for yourself ” (Avot 1:6) and discuss with him constantly about the fear of heaven. The second discourse encompasses such topics as kilayim (mixed seeds), yein nesekh (libation wine), the prohibition of grafting trees and interbreeding animals, and mayim aharonim prior to birkat ha-mazon. The last discourse begins, “Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob” (Exodus 19:3) and appropriately discusses subjects concerning women, such as niddah and tumah, shalom bayyit, concluding “one who honors his father and mother inherits this world and the world to come, as it says, ‘[Honor your father and your mother;] that your days may be long [upon the land which the Lord your God gives you]’” (Exodus 20:12). This edition is based on the previous Cracow edition (40 12f.), except that the Divrei Hasidut printed with that edition is omitted here. Those editions have textual variations from the Constantinople edition (80 [20]f.), which has no title page and was printed in the year, “That then the Lord your God will turn bçw (308 = 1548) your captivity, [and have compassion upon you], and will return and gather you [from all the nations]” (Deuteronomy 30:3), by Hayyim ben Samuel Halicz Ashkenazi. That printing lacks the third discourse concerning women. There is also a unicum variant Constantinople printing from that year.

Format 40: [8] leaves. Printed previously in (Constantinople, 1548) and Cracow (1586).

839

840

Keli Hemdah

hdmj ylk Samuel ben Abraham Laniado 1595, Venice—Giovanni di Gara Homilies on the Pentateuch based on midrashim. The author, R. Samuel ben Abraham Laniado (d. 1605), was born and served as rabbi in Aleppo in the sixteenth century. He is known as ha-Darshan for his work on midrashim and as Ba’al ha-Kelim as most of his works include “Keli ” in the title. The title page has a copy, inexact, of the printer’s mark of Joseph Shalit, that is, an ostrich (peacock) standing on three rocks, facing left, with a fish in its beak within a cartouche. Above it is a single crown. The beginning of the work is dated Thursday, 18 Menahem [Av] in the year, “[and let your soul] delight itself in fatness ˆçdb (356 [should read 355] = July 24, 1595)” (Isaiah 55:2). That date, 18 Av, occurred on a Monday in both 1595 (355) and 1596 (356). There are two colophons, the first from Laniado, stating that Keli Hemdah was completed, presumably the writing, “in the month of Tevet, on the 20th, in the year, ‘Rejoice wjmç (354 = Wednesday, January 12, 1594) with Jerusalem’” (Isaiah 66:10), followed by that of Isaac Gershon, which states, “completed here, Venice, yom tov b”wf (17) Tishrei, 356” (Wednesday, September 20, 1595). The title page is followed, on the verso, by Laniado’s preface to the reader, his introduction (2a–b), and then the text (3a–168b), which is in two columns excepting headings and introductory paragraphs, which are in square letters, concluding with the colophons and indices. In the preface Laniado writes: “The mighty God, the Lord, speaks and summons the earth” (Psalms 50:1) “Declaring the end from the beginning” (Isaiah 46:10). “God created in the beginning” (Genesis 1:1 inverted) “for the sake of the Torah that is called ‘the beginning of His way’ (Proverbs 8:22)” (Rashi on Genesis 1:1). Therefore I have seen fit to call this work Keli Hemdah (a precious vessel, Hosea 13:15, Nahum 2:10, II Chronicles 32:27), to be a vessel to hold all that is desirable from the precious commentaries of the rishonim, “new and old” (Song of Songs 7:14) “More to be desired are they than gold, even very fine gold” (Psalms 19:11) more cherished than rubies and every precious vessel. A second reason is that it is a commentary and elucidation of the Torah which is the precious vessel with which the world was created, more precious than any precious vessel. . . .

Laniado begins each section with an introductory paragraph from a Midrash, which he then elucidates, not only from earlier sources but also with his own exegetical insights. Laniado also wrote Keli Yekar (Venice, 1603) on the Former Prophets; Keli Paz (1657) on Isaiah; and Teru’at Melekh (Ofen, 1863) on Psalms. Other works remain in manuscript, among them his commentary on Lamentations (Keli Golah), a second work on the Pentateuch (Mevakkesh ha-Shem); and a work on the Later Prophets.

Format 20: 270, 6, [1] leaves.

841

842

Kuhbuch

˚wb aywq Abraham ben Mattathias Basevi (?) 1595, Verona—Abraham ben Mattathias Basevi in the house of Francesco dalle Donne Profusely illustrated collection of fables. This Yiddish book was unknown until recently, except for references to it in similar works, such as R. Jacob ben Abraham of Meseritz’s Ma’aseh Buch (Basle, 1602), and the bibliographic work, Siftei Yeshenim (Amsterdam, 1680), where it is described as “an ethical work comprised of parables and allegories about all the beasts and birds. After each fable its moral is made clear in verse in Yiddish. It is comparable to the (book Meshal ha-Kadmoni ).” Eighty-three woodcut scenes accompany the thirty-five fables in the Kuhbukh, a small book (137 × 185 mm.) of sixty-six leaves The woodcuts are often two to a page, each taking up almost a third of the page. The tales are fables with moralistic conclusions. The Kuhbukh, unlike a number of other Yiddish books, is not adapted from an Italian work, but rather primarily from three books, two Hebrew and one German, the Mishlei Shu’alim of Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan (above, p. 451), the Meshal ha-Kadmoni (above, p. 333), and the canon of Aesopian fables, as reflected in Der Edelstein of Ulrich Boner. The text of the title page is encompassed within a frame made up, along the sides, of two women weaving. Atop the frame are two more women engaged in embroidery, and, between them, in the center, a man occupied in some form of activity. This frame was used earlier by the Venetian printer, Nicholaus Zoppino, who was active until 1543. The Kuhbuch is set in Vaybertaytsh, limited amounts of square type appearing on the title page and colophon only. At the end of the book is the printer’s device, a crowned lion and a crowned eagle. On the sides of the emblem are two women with pitchers on their head, and within the frame, in Hebrew letters, is the printer’s name. This mark appears, with a different frame, in other Verona imprints and in works printed in Salonika. It has been suggested, based on references in the text, that there was an earlier, as yet unknown, edition of this work. Further support is found on the title-page, which has two inconsistent dates, one in Yiddish, “tausend un finf hundert un finf un fifzig [1555],” and a second in Arabic numerals (1595), the incorrect Yiddish date possibly having been mistakenly copied from the earlier edition. Authorship of the Kuhbuch is often attributed to Abraham ben Mattathias Bath-Sheba (Basevi in Italian), the editor of the work, although it seems unlikely that he was the author. Abraham Bath-Sheba allegedly came to Italy to raise funds for a Salonika edition of the Talmud (see above, p. 799) and printed a small number of Hebrew books at the Verona press of Francesco dalle Donne, prior to returning to Salonika. In 1605, at the request of Josiah ben Joseph Pinto, Abraham Bath-Sheba attempted, unsuccessfully, to operate a Hebrew press in Damascus. Pinto’s Kesef Nivhar was printed through Leviticus when, due to the author’s displeasure with the typography, work was discontinued. Format 80: 66 leaves.

843

844

Lekah Tov

bwf jql Abraham ben Hananiah dei Galicchi Jagel 1595, Venice—Giovanni di Gara Catechism, or handbook on the principles of the faith, for Jewish youth. R. Abraham ben Hananiah dei Galicchi Jagel (1553–after 1623), born to the Galicchi (Gallico) family, one of the four noble families exiled from Jerusalem to Rome, took the family name Jagel from the liturgy of the afternoon Sabbath services (Abraham would rejoice lgy). Much of what is known about Jagel’s life is from Gei Hizzayon, an autobiographical and ethical work in the style of Dante. He settled in Luzzara, in the vicinity of Mantua in the 1570s, where, after his father’s death, he inherited the latter’s banking business, a venture, by his own admission, for which he was unqualified. Jagel’s difficulties with business associates, particularly Samuel Almagiati, resulted in their arranging his incarceration on several occasions, for carrying a small dagger, dining at night with a Christian, and for slander. In the last and longer imprisonment he composed portions of Gei Hizzayon. Jagel later practiced medicine, but retained close ties with several Jewish bankers, among them Joseph ben Isaac of Fano, to whom Lekah Tov is dedicated. Jagel instructed Fano’s children, when, perhaps, he wrote Lekah Tov. In 1614, together with another banker, Jagel was kidnaped, but was able to pray three times a day with Tefillin and eat permitted foods only (Gei Hizzayon). Lekah Tov, the first catechism by a Jew, is stylistically copied from and conforms to the Catholic catechism of Peter Canisius (1521–97). It summarizes the principles of Judaism, based on Maimonides’ Thirteen Articles of Faith, emphasizing Judaism’s moral and ethical aspects. Jagel also copied passages from Canisius’ catechism, but without violating Jewish dogma and beliefs. The dedication, in Renaissance style, begins, “how a servant may benefit to find favor in the eyes of his lord,” followed by the introduction, in which Jagel defines his purpose as, to make a fence for the Torah and state the principles of Judaism, so that they should be fluent in the mouths of all, as did the prophets. He concludes that it is in truth a lekah tov (good doctrine, Proverbs 4:2) that I give you. The text is in the form of a dialogue between a rabbi and student, emphasizing the proper conduct for attaining happiness in the hereafter. Seven classes each of sin and of virtue are enumerated. The section on love towards one’s neighbor is quoted extensively in the Shelah’s Shenei Luhot ha-Berit. Jagel, identified as Camillo Jagel, a censor of books from 1611, has been accused of apostasy. This identification has, however, been shown to be false. Lekah Tov has been reprinted thirty times, and translated into Latin, German, English, and Yiddish. Western European editions, from 1658 (Amsterdam), were to compensate for insufficient Torah study, and, in Yiddish (Amsterdam, 1675), for difficulty with the Hebrew text. Several editions were published by apostates, who found its style comfortable, and Christian-Hebraists, who wished to learn about Judaism, both utilizing it for missionary purposes. Eastern European editions are associated with precursors of the Haskalah in Russia. Jagel’s other works are Eshet Hail (Venice, 1606), an ode to womanhood and a code of behavior; Beit Ya’ar Levanon, a scientific encyclopedia, mostly unpublished; Be’er Sheva, also an encyclopedic compendium, and works on philosophy, astrology, and halakhah, also unpublished.

Format 160: 18 leaves.

845

1595, Levushei Or Yekarot, Mordecai ben Abraham Jaffe, Lublin Courtesy of the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad Ohel Yosef Yitzhak

846

Levushei Or Yekarot

twrqy rwa yçwbl Mordecai ben Abraham Jaffe 1595, Lublin—Kalonymus ben Mordecai Jaffe Three works by R. Mordecai ben Abraham Jaffe (c. 1535–1612). Jaffe entitled his works Levushim, from “And Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal clothes (Levush Malkhut)” (Esther 8:15). There are ten Levushim. Five parts, discussed above (p. 779), are a halakhic compendium in the order of the Turim of R. Jacob ben Asher. This volume, Levushei Or Yekarot (see Zecharia 14:6), includes an additional three Levushim. They are: Levush Even Yikrat, a supercommentary on the Perush al ha-Torah of the Italian kabbalist R. Menahem ben Benjamin Recanati (late 13th–early 14th centuries). In writing Even Yikrat Jaffe utilized the commentary of his instructor in Kabbalah, R. Mattathias ben Solomon Delacrut, which remains in manuscript. Jaffe acknowledges his debt to Delacrut in the introduction. Levush Eder Yakar on the Jewish calendar according to Maimonides’ Hilkhot Kiddush haHodesh. This work is accompanied by numerous charts. Appended to Eder Yakar is Be’uri Zurat ha-Arez, Jaffe’s commentary on Abraham bar Hiyya’s geographical-astronomical work. Levush Pinnat Yikrat. A commentary on Maimonides’ Guide for the Perplexed. In addition to the volume title page each Levush has an individual title page. The date, in the colophon, “Inaugurate upon us a good year hnç (355 = 1595)” is from the Avinu Malkenu prayers of the ten days of repentance. Much of the material in this volume was written during the time that Jaffe was in Italy, after the expulsion of the Jews from Bohemia in 1561, to his election as rabbi of Grodno in 1572. Levush Or Yikrat is one of the first books printed by Kalonymus ben Mordecai Jaffe, a second cousin of Mordecai Jaffe, after his return to Lublin from the village of Bistrowitz, on the outskirts of the city, where the printer and his staff had fled in 1592 when Lublin experienced another outbreak of plague. When the plague ceased shortly afterwards, the press returned to Lublin, and Jaffe began setting Or Yikrat, one of the first of many important titles printed by Kalonymus during the ensuing decade. The remaining Levushim are Levush Ha-Orah, on Rashi’s commentary on the Torah (Prague, 1603), in which Jaffe expresses disagreement with a number of the interpretations in Gur Aryeh (Prague, 1578–79, above, pp. 680–81) by the Maharal of Prague, and Levush Simhah ve-Sason, sermons for holidays and weddings (still in manuscript). Jaffe also wrote novellea on the Talmud and responsa.

Format 20: [2], 191, 30, 5, 30 leaves.

847

848

Marpe la-Nefesh

çpnl aprm rps Abraham ben Isaac Zahalon 1595, Venice—Giovanni di Gara A kabbalistic ethical work, with emphasis on penitence, based on and accompanied by the teachings of R. Isaac Luria Ashkenazi (ha-Ari, 1534–72), by R. Abraham ben Isaac Zahalon (d. 1595). Zahalon, a scion of a distinguished Sephardic family that was among the exiles from Spain, and a grandson of R. Isaac Caro (Toledot Yizhak), was a talmudist and kabbalist. He was the author of three works, all printed in 1595, among them Marpe la-Nefesh. The title page, with a pillared frame, states, written by the sage, the exalted R. Abraham Zahalon, “son of a valiant man of many achievements” (I Chronicles 11:22), his name is “known in the gates” (Proverbs 31:23), the honorable, the excellent R. Isaac Zahalon. In it will be found balm for the wounds and a cure for all the sicknesses of the soul. For the benefit of the many I have included Tikkunei ha-Nefesh ve-Refuah from the Godly kabbalist R. Isaac Luria Ashkenazi, new novellae not before seen, from the days of [R. Shimon bar Yohai] in the way of dws (hidden knowledge), “for the ways of the Lord are right, and the just walk in them” (Hosea 14:10).

The title page is dated in the year with joy hjmçb (355 = 1595). The completion date, given in the colophon, is “Friday, 13 ‘I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine (Elul)’ (Song of Songs 6:3), parashat (Ki Teizei ) ‘but the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing to you, because the Lord your God loved you’ (Deuteronomy 23:6), in the year, ‘But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God; let them joyfully (hjmçb = August 18, 1595) exult’ (Psalms 68:4).” On the verso of the title page are verses from Zahalon, the initial letters forming an acrostic that says “I am Abraham Zahalon,” and then his introduction (2a–5b). The text follows, set in two columns, the outer, in rabbinic type with the heading, “the words of [Abraham ben Isaac Zahalon] lz,” already deceased when the book was printed, and the inner, in square letters, with the heading, “the words of R. [Isaac Luria Ashkenazi] lz.” This last is Luria’s Tikkunei Teshuvah, or penitence rituals, which comprise the only text on a number of the last pages. Several of the foliation numbers for these pages are in error, some being out of order. In the introduction Zahalon explains the purpose of Marpe la-Nefesh: “‘The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit’ (Psalms 51:19) and so to pave ‘a way which seems right to a man’ (Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25) who comes to be purified I have arranged a pure table and a healing beverage for him to drink, for one ill with a sickness of the soul. And even if he will say, ‘and his life shall be to him for booty’ ( Jeremiah 21:9 and 38:2) ‘and shall cause him to be thoroughly healed’ (Exodus 21:19).” Zahalon also includes some personal information, such as that he had to frequently travel to support himself, and that Marpe la-Nefesh was completed in 1593 in Baghdad. Zahalon’s other books are Yad Haruzim, on the Jewish and Moslem calendars, and Yesha Elohim, a commentary on the Book of Esther compiled from earlier works, both published by the di Gara press.

Format 40: 20, [1] leaves.

849

850

Orah le-Hayyim

μyyjl jrwa rps Ephraim Solomon ben Aaron of Luntshits 1595, Lublin—Kalonymus ben Mordecai Jaffe Two discourses by R. Ephraim Solomon ben Aaron of Luntshits (1550–1619). Although presented as homilies, Orah le-Hayyim is actually an ethical work, representative of a genre popular in sixteenth-century Poland. In addition to, or in place of more systematic expositions, books such as Orah le-Hayyim, rather than traditional musar works, were a major vehicle for ethical instruction. The title page of Orah le-Hayyim has an architectural frame. The beginning of the work is dated to Tuesday, 3rd of Elul, 355 (August 8, 1595). The title page is followed by a versified introduction, a text introduction, and then the discourses. There are two discourses only, both long and multi-parted, one on Rosh Ha-Shanah and Yom ha-Kippurim, dealing with repentance, the other on Pesah, concerned with individual conduct and the relationship between the material and spiritual aspects of a person. The volume concludes [3–4] with Zemer le-se’udot kal ha-yom. For Luntshits, the purpose of ethical literature is to affect a person’s actions and it is an ethicist’s responsibility to select the most effective format for influencing his reader’s conduct. To Luntshits this is the integration of the ethical (musar) and the homiletic format, the latter being but the means, the former being primary. This is set forth in the introduction to the homily on Pesah: If the servant of the Lord will say that with moralistic reproof alone he will be made a mockery, for numerous works of musar lie unused and discarded in corners, as I can witness; [nevertheless] as many people have evidenced a clear desire to read new discourses, I have decided to supply their wishes with words of moral reproof against sin, which may be read in passing. We train children in Torah by giving them sweet foods, so too my ethical teaching will be read by me and contemporaries who are in need of it, but those few righteous individuals of the generation, called by the Lord and for whom the Torah of the Lord is in their hearts, have no need of this.

These views are not unique to Orah le-Hayyim, but rather are expressed in several of Luntshits’s other collections of homilies. He is critical of writers who offer novel and intellectually challenging discourse but whose works are lacking a strong ethical component: you must chastise them with words as hard as sinews, not with farfetched interpretations of talmudic dicta or novel explanations of biblical passages, so that people will praise you saying, how clever he is, knowing what is hidden in the darkness, altering a dictum or verse at will until it is completely transformed: What benefit is there in this?

Another feature of Orah le-Hayyim are the verses at the beginning and the end of the work. Unlike medieval Sephardic and early Ashkenazic sages, poetry was not a principal element of the works of this period. Nevertheless, several contemporary sages did write verse at the beginning or end of their books, or both. In this instance Luntshits did both, although Zemer le-se’udot kal ha-yom has not been included in later reprints of this work.

Format 40: 63, [4] leaves.

851

1595, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Bezalel ben Abraham Ashkenazi, Venice Courtesy of the Fales Library and Special collections, New York University

852

She’elot u’Teshuvot

twbwçtw twlaç Bezalel ben Abraham Ashkenazi 1595, Venice—Matteo Zanetti Responsa from R. Bezalel ben Abraham Ashkenazi (c. 1520–1592). Although born to a distinguished Ashkenazi family, Ashkenazi is considered a Sephardic rabbi, as his life was spent in a Sephardic environment. Born in Erez Israel, in either Jerusalem or in Safed, Ashkenazi went to Egypt when about twenty. He was a student of R. David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra (Radvaz, 1479–1573), whom he succeeded as Chief Rabbi of Egyptian Jewry when Abi Zimra went to Erez Israel in about 1553. Ashkenazi’s students in his yeshiva in Cairo included R. Isaac Luria (ha-Ari), Solomon Adeni, and Abraham Monson. The position of nagid, Jewish community head, a position of authority and responsibility in Arab lands had, after five centuries, degenerated in Egypt. R. Jacob ben Hayyim Talmid (d. c. 1594), then nagid, became embroiled in a dispute with Ashkenazi, who excommunicated him, and then, with the concurrence of the Moslem authorities, abolished the position of nagid, replacing it with a more limited office. The title page has the decorative border used by the Zanettis and, for a printer’s device, three fleurs-de-lis on a shield surmounted by a crown. It references his uncle, R. Isaac Bezalel, rosh yeshivah in Egypt and Jerusalem, and is dated, in the month of Sivan, in the year, “Your neck is like a tower of ivory ˆçh (355 = 1595)” (Song of Songs 7:5). The colophon dates the completion of the work to Friday, 22 Menahem [Av] 355 ( July 28, 1595). The text, in two columns in rabbinic type, is followed by a detailed index of the responsa. The volume is comprised of forty-four responsa, many dealing with conditions and disputes in Erez Israel at the time. A noted decision of Ashkenazi’s concerns a dispute with R. Hayyim Capusi (1540–1631), over a decision by the latter in favor of the defendant. It was later speculated that Capusi, who had become blind, accepted a bribe in the case. Capusi publicly called upon heaven to vindicate his integrity, saying that if guilty he should remain as he was, but if not he should be cured. Capusi recovered his sight, was considered vindicated, and afterwards was known as Ba’al Nes (subject of a miracle). Responsum number three is that of R. David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra against the Karaites. Ashkenazi is best known for his Shitah Mekubbezet (Asefat Zekenim), glosses on much of the Talmud from geonim and rishonim. A considerable part of the material that he copied from old manuscripts would have been lost if not for Ashkenazi’s scholarship. Shitah Mekubbezet began to be published in the eighteenth century. Other writings include Kelalei ha-Talmud, on talmudic methodology, and glosses on Maimonides’ Mishneh Torah.

Format 20: 114 leaves.

853

1595, Sibbuv, Pethahiah ben Jacob of Regensburg, and Midrash Yonah, Prague Courtesy of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

854

Sibbuv and Midrash Yonah

hnwy çrdmw bwbs Pethahiah ben Jacob of Regensburg 1595, Prague—Gershom ben Joseph Bezalel Katz A late twelfth-century medieval travel narrative by R. Pethahiah ben Jacob of Regensburg. Pethahiah, son of the Prague tosafist R. Jacob ha-Lavan and brother of Isaac ben Jacob and Nathan of Ratisbon, traveled from about 1175 to 1185. Pethahiah’s journey encompassed Poland, southern Russia, Crimea, Tartary, Khazaria, Armenia, Kurdistan, Persia, Iraq, Syria, Erez Israel, and Greece. Pethahiah’s notebook, recording sights and events, was fragmentary. This book is based on those notes, but more so on the records of others to whom he recounted his journey, among them R. Judah ben Samuel he-Hasid of Regensburg ( Judah he-Hasid). This is evidenced from the beginning of the book, “These are the travels undertaken by Rabbi Pethahiah . . .” and from the fact that Pethahiah is mentioned in the third person throughout the text. Sibbuv is primarily about that part of Pethahiah’s travels in Babylonia (Iraq) and Erez Israel. His purpose in visiting these lands was to visit and pray at the graves of the righteous. He found a prosperous and flourishing Jewish community in Babylonia, headed by the exilarch and with many yeshivot. In Baghdad, at the yeshiva of R. Samuel, there were “about two thousand disciples at once, and more than five hundred sit round him, and they are all well-informed.” This was not so with the Jewish community in Erez Israel, impoverished and repressed, after the advent of the Crusades. In Jerusalem Pethahiah found but one Jew, “Rabbi Abraham, the dyer, and he pays a heavy tax to the king to be permitted to remain there.” Among the graves that Pethahiah visited was that of the prophet Jonah. Appended to Sibbuv is Midrash Yonah. Written sometime after the end of the eight century, it is largely based on material from the Babylonian Talmud and Pirkei de-R. Eliezer. It is also found in Aramaic in the Zohar, from which the author of the Midrash translated it into Hebrew. The Vilna Gaon (R. Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, ha-Gra, 1720–97) reportedly made use of Midrash Yonah in preparing his commentary on the book of Yonah. The text of the title page is in a pillared frame, there are Moresque designs after the preface and at the end of Sibbuv, and the initial text word is in an ornamental border. In contrast, Midrash Yonah has no title page or ornamentation. However, after the colophon Naphtali ben Moses, called Hirsch, who also wrote the preface to the volume, entreats that he should merit to go three times a year to Zion, the faithful city. This is followed by a representation of the Temple, that is, the device of the Venetian printer, Marc Antonio Giustiniani. Sibbuv has been reprinted almost two dozen times and translated into Latin, French, German, English, and Russian. The Cracow edition of these two works, printed by Isaac ben Aaron Prostitz, is not recorded in bibliographic sources.

Format 80: 10 leaves. Reprinted in Cracow (1599).

855

856

Sod Yesharim

μyrçy dws Leone ( Judah Aryeh) Modena 1595, Venice—Giovanni di Gara Segulot (treasured secrets and cures) and riddles by R. Leone ( Judah Aryeh) Modena (da Modena, 1571–1648). Modena, described as an “infant prodigy and hoary prodigal,” is among the most fascinating Jews of the Renaissance. He was born in Venice, to a distinguished family of French origin settled in Italy from the 14th century, and raised in Ferrara. Well educated in rabbinic and secular subjects, including music and dance, Modena had, by early adolescence, written a rabbinic responsum on prayer, translated Ariosto’s Orlando furioso and prepared a work on gambling (Sur Mera, Venice, 1595). In 1592 Modena moved to Venice where, among the twenty-six occupations listed in his autobiography, are serving in the rabbinate, teaching, writing letters, and preaching regularly. He was a prolific writer on a wide variety of subjects. His first two published books are Sur Mera— its topic notwithstanding, Modena was a compulsive gambler—and Sod Yesharim. The title page of Sod Yesharim has a border made up of florets about the text. The title, Sod Yesharim, is from, “[I will praise the Lord with my whole heart], in the assembly of the upright sod yesharim . . .” (Psalms 111:1), here to be understood as secrets (sod ) of the upright. The text states that it is a “‘treasure of [all] precious vessels’ (Hosea 13:15) and in it are one hundred segulot, ‘hidden riches of secret places’ (Isaiah 45:3), cures, wonders, and awesome matters, ‘the work of the Lord; for it is an awesome thing that’ (Exodus 34:10) He puts strength into nature for the benefit of the human species. . . . And furthermore, fifty delightful riddles. . . .” The book was brought to press by Abraham ben Solomon Haver Tov (Buoncompagno), a proofreader who, together with his father, published most of Modena’s early books. The date of printing is, “with joy hjmçb” (355 = 1595). Modena describes Sod Yesharim in his autobiography (since translated into English and annotated), writing that in it “are several arcane remedies . . . and on the title page my name is alluded to in an acrostic only: y[dwy yawr la ˚lmh ˚rd abw lbh axy,” that is Yehudah Aryeh. Sod Yesharim, as the title page states, contains one hundred segulot for various purposes. Each segulah begins with a header in rabbinic letters followed by a brief text in square letters. Examples are how to grow one’s signet on the pit of a peach; a cure for forgetfulness; how to darken the hair of the head or beard; guess a number or a coin; handle a snake; and stop bed wetting. Examples are, 6 to light a candle that will cause all who see it to slumber Take the root of almonds and the oil of nuts sand make a candle and all who see it will slumber. 13 to make an egg rise in the air Go in the morning before the sun shines and take dew and put it into the egg and fill it. Afterwards close very well and place it in the sun and you will see it rise in the air.

Next are the riddles, then the responses (13b–14a). For examples, 28: Your father is my father, your grandfather my husband, I am your sister and you are my son? 35: What is not found raw and not eaten cooked? 37: What has a neck without a head, abdomen without a body, and legs without thighs? The answers are: 28: the daughters of Lot say to their children; 35: ashes; 37: a flask.

Format 160: 14, [1] leaves. Reprinted in Venice (1599).

857

858

Torah, Nevi’im, Ketuvim (Bible)

μybwtkw ,μyaybn ,hrwt

1595–96, Frankfort on the Oder—Johann and Friedrich Hartman Attractive edition of the Hebrew Bible printed in Frankfort on the Oder. In four parts, of which only the first two were examined, consisting of Torah, Former Prophets (Nevi’im Rishonim), Later Prophets (Nevi’im Aharonim), and Hagiographa (Ketuvim). The title pages have an ornate architectural frame that appeared earlier on the title pages of the Bible printed in Wittenberg (1586–87, above, pp. 752–53). In the first volume, the verse “The words of the Lord are pure words” (Psalms 12:7) appears at the top, and the phrase “Happy are those who keep them” at the bottom. The text states, “Printed with great care at the behest of Johann and Friedrich called Hartman in the year, 355 q”pl (1595), here, Frankfort on the Oder.” The initial word of each book is in enlarged black letters in a decorative frame. The text is in a single column in square letters with vowels and accents. Chapter numbers are given in the headings and outer margin, every fifth verse number in the inner margin. The sum of the verses, open ( petuhot) and closed (setumot) sections, and parashiot are given at the end of each book, except for Deuteronomy, where only the number of verses are given, together with a recapitulation of the verses for each book, and an overall volume total. The title page of the second volume, has the same frame, with the verse “This is the gate of the Lord, // into which the righteous shall enter” (Psalms 118:20) divided between the top and the bottom of the frame. The text merely states the contents, that is, it is Nevi’im Rishonim, and a list of the books included. The initial words of Joshua, I Samuel, and I Kings are set in the same frame as the books in the Torah portion, that of Judges in a much smaller frame. The beginning of II Samuel and II Kings are noted in small letters, the former in a single line between books I and II, the latter in the margin. The page headings of the versos describe II Samuel as book two of Kings, and the following books as books three and four of Kings. The heading of the recto simply notes them as I Samuel, II Samuel, I Kings, etc., with the chapter number. Throughout the volume every fifth verse number is noted in the inner margin. The outer margin has the keri (correct readings) for the text. Haftarot are also noted in the margin. At the end of Joshua, II Samuel and II Kings is a summary of the verses in those books. This is the first work printed in Frankfort on the Oder, discounting an entry by Steinschneider, based on Wolff, of an earlier but uncertain Hebrew Bible (1551). The press in Frankfort on the Oder was established for the benefit of the University in that city. The Wittenberg printer, Zechariah Crato, was employed to cast new Hebrew letters with vowels, with which he began printing for the Hartman brothers in 1595. In addition to this Bible, one and perhaps two other editions were printed at this time in different formats with Latin title pages. Psalms (1597), and, by Eichorn, a Hebrew/Latin edition of Rav Hai Gaon’s Musar Haskel be-Melizah (1597) were also printed. It would be several decades before another Hebrew title would be printed in Frankfort. It was only much later, however, towards the end of the seventeenth and in the eighteenth century that Frankfort on the Oder would become an important Hebrew printing center, even issuing complete editions of the Talmud. Format 40: 131, 112, 120, 128 leaves.

859

860

Divrei Shelomo

hmlç yrbd Solomon ben Isaac le-Bet ha-Levi 1596, Venice—Matteo Zanetti Discourses on the Torah and festivals from R. Solomon ben Isaac le-Bet ha-Levi (1532–1600). The third generation of exiles from Portugal, his father was born in Salonika, as was Solomon, who resided there his entire life, excepting an interval when he served as rabbi of Skoplje (1568–1571). From his youth Solomon was an exceptional student, studying under R. Joseph ibn Lev and private tutors, the latter for secular subjects. Solomon served from 1568–c. 1571 as rabbi in Uskub, Yugoslavia, and, from 1574, as rabbi of several congregations in Salonika, where he was recognized as chief rabbi. A popular speaker, large audiences attended his sermons, the basis of this work. At a later age, in response to the entreaties of his sons, Solomon began to collect and edit his writings, preparing them for publication. The task had not been completed when he died. The title page has an architectural frame. On the top of the frame is the verse, “Open the gates, that the righteous nation which keeps the truth may enter in” (Isaiah 26:2). The title of the volume states, “Part I of the Book Divrei Shelomo.” It is dated, Monday, 12 Kislev, in the year “and let your soul delight itself in fatness ˆçdb (357 = December 3, 1596)” (Isaiah 55:2). The contents, according to the title page, are weekly and festival sermons and the Megillot and Psalms. The title page is followed by Solomon’s introduction, and then the discourses, begining with Leviticus and, continuing in order to Genesis on 69a, completing the Torah cycle, and repeating it several times. The discourses on festivals are within the text as they occur during the year. Homilies begin with the time and place they were delivered, for example, “the night of Yom ha-Kippurim before we began to pray.” The sections on Megillot and Psalms were not printed. Divrei Shelomo contains material on the conditions and attitudes of the Jews in Salonika. Particularly influential is the exile from Spain and Christian attitudes to the Jews there, which outweighs the contemporary environment. It has been described as “the past overshadowing the present, a remarkable testament to the persistence of a strong existential experience and of intensive emotional and intellectual responses to it, even to the third generation after the occurrence.” Indeed, there is a greater concern with Christianity and kiddush Ha-Shem than with any social or religious challenge arising from the fact that they are in the Moslem Ottoman Empire. Another issue is that of prophecy, the Messiah and redemption. Solomon addresses these issues, stressing consolation and hope without dogmatic belief, and while believing in redemption, preaches against hopes for and steps taken to implement immediate redemption, believing that Israel’s redemption will result from their removal of impediments brought on by sin. Solomon also wrote Lev Avot (Salonika, 1565, above, pp. 558–59), Heshek Shelomo (Salonika, 1600) on Isaiah, and Lehem Shelomo (Venice, 1597) on aggadot in the Talmud. His responsa were not printed, although they had been prepared at the time of his death. Solomon also wrote biblical commentaries, talmudic novellae, as well as works on geography, genealogy, and the Levites, much of which is still extant in manuscript.

Format 20: 217, 214–314, 14 leaves.

861

862

Keter Shem Tov

bwf μç rtk rps Shem Tov ben Jacob Melamed 1596, Venice—Matteo Zanetti A commentary on the Torah by R. Shem Tov ben Jacob Melamed. The title page has the decorative frame employed by Zanetti on several of his books with a smaller frame in the center about the text. The title is from “the crown of a good name (Keter Shem Tov) [surpasses them all]” (Avot 4:13). The text states: Sefer Keter Shem Tov As is its name so is his name good and his deeds confirm it of him. It is a commentary on the Torah of HaShem written by the sage, the complete in every book and wisdom. . . . Edited patiently by the exalted and understanding R. Samuel ibn Dysoss. . . . Printed in the year, “that we may rejoice hnnrnw (5356 = 1596) and be glad [all our days]” (Psalms 90:14) from the creation.

The introduction from a student of the author, R. Samuel ben Solomon Segelmassi, follows (2a), then a page of verse from R. Samuel ibn Dysoss, the text (3a–136a), the editor’s apology (136b), indexes (1a–16a), errata (16a), and the colophon (16b), which states that it was completed “on the very day that Moses went up to the firmament (6 Sivan) and the Egyptians drowned in the sea (21 Nissan), in the year, ‘Then he saw it, and declare it hrpsyw’ (5356 = 1596) ( Job 28:27), from the creation.” I do not understand the two apparently contradictory completion dates. The text is in two columns in rabbinic type, excepting headings and initial words. In the introduction R. Samuel ben Solomon writes that one who knows matters in truth and faithfully, “shall come back with shouts of joy” (Psalms 126:6), “to perceive the words of understanding” (Proverbs 1:2) and this is the first intent of every man “who presumes in his heart” (Esther 7:5) to write “goodly words” (Genesis 49:21) in a book to leave after him a blessing. . . . It is a commentary on the holy Torah, “high and lofty” (Isaiah 6:1, 57:15), on each and every parashah. . . .

The introduction continues that it contains derashot according to the literal meaning, casuistic ( pilpul ), and very sharp. In the following paragraph we are informed that not everything that was said on every parashah was printed because of financial restraints. In his apology ibn Dysoss refers to errors made late erev Shabbat by the non-Jewish typesetters that could not be corrected. Melamed was also the author of Ma’amar Mordekhai (Constantinople, 1585), a commentary on Megillat Esther, printed by Joseph Jabez. Melamed is described on the title of this work as a physician.

Format 20: 136, 16 leaves.

863

864

Mevakkesh Ha-Shem/Devar Shemu’el

lawmç rbd/‘h çqbm Samuel ben Jacob Hagiz 1596, Venice—Giovanni di Gara Two works on the Pentateuch by R. Samuel ben Jacob ben Samuel Hagiz (II, d. 1633) rabbi in Fez, Morocco. The Hagiz family, descended from Spanish exiles, produced several rabbis of note, including Samuel’s eponymous grandfather, who signed communal decrees and wrote biblical commentaries, and this Samuel’s son, R. Jacob Hagiz, and grandson, R. Moses Hagiz. Samuel left Fez, going via Tripoli to Italy to publish his books. In Venice Samuel worked as a proofreader for the Zanetti press—one of the titles he worked on is R. Solomon ben Zemah Duran’s Tiferet Yisrael (Venice, c. 1591)—while publishing his own works at the di Gara press. Some time after Samuel’s books were printed he emigrated to Erez Israel, taking up residence in Jerusalem. The title pages of Mevakkesh Ha-Shem and Devar Shemu’el both have an architectural frame. The text of Mevakkesh Ha-Shem states that it is three sermons on each and every parasha. The title page of Devar Shemu’el, with like text, states that it is a commentary on the homilies in Devarim Rabbah. Both books are dated 356 (1596). The two books were likely printed together, but if printed separately are bound together (although given the manner in which books were sold, that is disbound, there is no necessity that if printed separately they be or in all instances were bound as one). The text is in a single column in rabbinic type, excepting headings and initial words, which are in square letters. On the verso of the title page of Mevakkesh Ha-Shem are prefatory remarks from the editor, Israel Zifroni, followed by the author’s introduction (2a–2b), the text (3a–258a), and an index. Zifroni writes that for the purpose of completeness he has put at the end of the book a commentary on all the homilies in Devarim Rabbah and entitled it Devar Shemu’el. However, as we see, it was printed as a separate work. The reason for three sermons on every parasha, as Samuel informs in the introduction, is so that the weekly Torah readings can be expounded on Mondays, Thursdays, and Shabbat. The work is entitled Mevakkesh Ha-Shem for two reasons: first, that the Holy One, Blessed be He, asks from Israel that they occupy themselves with the Torah, as it says, “but you shall meditate on it day and night” ( Joshua 1:8) “for she is your life” (Proverbs 4:13). Also, He prevails when Israel studies and fulfills the Torah, as the sages state, “My children have prevailed over me, my children have prevailed over me” (Bava Mezia 59b), that is, they give Me a victory over the nations who accuse Israel of not studying Torah. Secondly, all who seek the Lord to publicly expound any portion of the parasha will find what they seek without difficulty in it. The introduction concludes with the following acronym: I rejoice at your word, like one who finds great booty (Psalms 119:162) çç O how I love your Torah! It is my meditation all the day (119:97) hm I will also speak of your testimonies before kings, and will not be ashamed (119:46) hrbdaw I will keep your statutes; O do not forsake me utterly (119:8) ta If your Torah had not been my delight, I should have perished in my affliction ylwl (119:92)

Format 40: 258, [8]; 52 leaves.

865

866

Shemen ha-Mor

rwmh ˆmç rps Aaron Abiob 1596, Salonika—Abraham ben Mattathias Bath-Sheba Commentary on the book of Esther by R. Aaron Abiob (c. 1535–c. 1605). Abiob was a student of R. Samuel de Medina (Maharashdam), who mentions Abiob in several responsa, as does R. Solomon ha-Kohen (Maharshak). He served as rabbi in Salonika, Constantinople, and lastly in Usküb, where he was succeeded by his son. The title page has the decorative border used in several of the Bath-Sheba small format imprints. The title is taken from “And when every maid’s turn had come to go in to king Ahasuerus, after she had been twelve months, according to the manner of the women, for so were the days of their purifications accomplished, namely six months with oil of myrrh (shemen ha-mor) and six months with sweet perfumes, and with other ointments for women” (Esther 2:12). The text of the title page states that it is “Shemen ha-Mor, a commentary on Megillat Ahasuerus, small in size but of great value. . . . In it are the interpretations of the commentators, new and old with novellae and explanations from [Abiob] on Megillat Purim.” In addition to mentioning the printer, Abraham ben Mattathias BathSheba, credit is also given to R. Moses ben Samuel de Medina for advancing the money to bring the print-shop to Salonika. The work is dated Friday, 26 Shevat, in the year, “[May] the excellent One jbwçmh (361 = 5356 = January 26, 1596), the Merciful, deliver us from errors, Amen.” The title page does not indicate whether jbwçmh (= 361) is to be read as the full era g”pl (1596), or the abbreviated era q”pl (1601). In this instance it is clear that the correct date is 1596, for in that year 26 Shevat was a Friday, whereas in 1601 it fell on a Monday. On the verso of the title page is a preface from Abiob, followed, on 2b, by the text. The text of the Megillah is in square letters, unvowelled, the commentary in rabbinic type, all in one column. In the preface Abiob writes that for each festival he would deliver homilies on the five Megillot and every Shabbat discourses, which is Korban Aharon, and now that he is older, and at the urging of those close to him who said, “‘What do you mean, O sleeper?’ ( Jonah 1:6) ‘to despise the work of your hands’ ( Job 10:3), who will stand after you?” he brought this work to press. Abiob concludes the introduction by explaining that he has named the work Shemen ha-Mor, for like the oil, “. . . upon the head, that runs down upon the beard, Aaron’s beard” (Psalm 133:2) and has included in a brief manner all the interpretations of the commentators, new and old without excessive length on the subject of the Megillah. I place my supplication before the reader of my commentary that if he find in it any “iniquity and transgression and sin” (Exodus 34:7) he will judge me favorably, “So shall my righteousness answer for me” (Genesis 30:33) and the matter will be in his eyes as oil of myrrh (shemen ha-mor) and aloes. . . .

Abiob wrote several other works, none published. Among them are Korban Aharon, discourses on the Torah, no longer extant, and Beit Aharon, on Psalms, still in manuscript.

Format 80: 88 [10] leaves.

867

868

Ha-Terumot

twmwrth rps Samuel ben Isaac ha-Sardi 1596, Salonika—Abraham ben Mattathias Bath-Sheba Influential halakhic code dealing with monetary matters by R. Samuel ben Isaac ha-Sardi (c. 1190–1255). Sardi, a wealthy resident and philanthropist of Barcelona, was a contemporary, and perhaps student of R. Moses ben Nahman (Ramban) and Nathan ben Meir of Trinquetaille. What is certain is that Sardi submitted numerous inquiries to them, their responses, particularly those of the former, being recorded in and an important basis for Sefer ha-Terumot. Another important influence was the Sefer ha-Ittim of R. Judah ben Barzillai al-Bargeloni (early 12th century). Sefer ha-Terumot is the first comprehensive work solely devoted to the civil and commercial laws of loans and debts. In the section on prosbul (legal device to prevent nullification of debts in Sabbatical years) Sardi informs that he began composing ha-Terumot when he was about thirty, completing it in about five years. Sefer ha-Terumot is divided into seventy gates (she’arim), which are in turn further subdivided. The book is built upon the Talmud, rishonim (early sages), and the responsa of leading decisors, as noted above. Although Sardi makes considerable use and expresses great humility in addressing the work of his sources, he is not hesitant to raise questions or offer his own opinions. Sardi reviews all possible sides of an issue in considerable detail. The title page has an ornamental frame with mythological figures, which is a copy of the border used earlier in Sabbioneta and afterwards in several locations. On the bottom of the page is the device of the Bath-Sheba family, a crowned lion on the left and half a crowned eagle on the right, back to back. This ensign appears, within different frames, in most of their Salonika imprints and in books printed by Abraham in Verona. Work began Friday, 12 Tishrei, in the year, “For the Lord shall comfort [‘His people’ in place of ‘Zion’]; he will comfort all her ruins; and he will make μçyw (= 356) her wilderness like Eden” (Isaiah 51:3), that is, September 15, 1595. Publication was made possible by R. Moses ben Samuel de Medina, son of the Maharashdam, who spent his wealth to establish a press in Salonika. On the verso of the title page are two poems by the author, the introduction, in which he explains the need for this work and states that he is not to be regarded as a decisor. Nevertheless, he is not considered a commentator but a decisor in his own right. The introduction is followed by a detailed listing of the contents and the text. The volume concludes with several lines of verse from the printer. One other work by Sardi, no longer extant, is Sefer Ha-Zikhronot, novellae on tractates of the Talmud and rulings of the geonim dealing with monetary matters. It is known only from references to it by Sardi in the introduction and text. Ha-Terumot was republished several times in the seventeenth century, and with Giddulei Terumah, a commentary by Azariah Figo (Venice, 1643). It was an important source for R. Jacob ben Asher when preparing the Hoshen Mishpat section of his Arba’ah Turim.

Format 20: 116 leaves.

869

870

Asarah Ma’amarot

twrmam hrç[ Menahem Azariah da Fano 1597, Venice—Giovanni di Gara Kabbalistic work by R. Menahem Azariah da Fano (1548–1620). A member of a distinguished and wealthy family, Fano was a philanthropist and published many important works of contemporary scholars, among them R. Joseph Caro’s Kesef Mishneh (Venice, 1574–75, above, pp. 630–31). A scholar in his own right, Fano studied under R. Ishmael Hanina of Valmontone, and became a disciple of R. Moses Cordovero (Ramak), reputedly offering 1,000 ducats to Cordovero’s widow to copy the manuscript of Cordovero’s Or Yakar. Under the influence of R. Israel Sarug, he later also became a student of the teachings of R. Isaac Luria (ha-Ari). Fano’s best known kabbalistic work is Asarah Ma’amarot. The title page has a pillared frame, with the verse, at top, “and it shall . . . stand; for God is with us” (Isaiah 8:10). The text informs that the book was brought to press by Nehemiah Labis and was edited by Isaac Gershom. The title page is dated, in the year, “an overflowing blessing” yd ylb d[ hkrb (357 = 1597) (Malachi 3:10). On the verso of the title page are verse in praise of the book from R. Samuel Archivolti. Below that the reader is informed that this first part includes three essays. Asarah Ma’amarot derives, to a large extent, from discourses delivered by Fano on festivals, particularly on Rosh Ha-Shanah. The three essays printed at this time, out of the ten planned, are Ma’amar Hakor ha-Din, Ma’amar Im Kol Hai, and Ma’amar ha-Middot. The Ma’amarot are divided into ma’amorim, which are further divided into chapters, that is, Hakor ha-Din (2a–47a), five parts with a total of 112 chapters; Im Kol Hai (47a–59b), three parts with 106 chapters; and Ma’amar ha-Middot (59b–68a), one part with thirteen numbered paragraphs. The text is followed by an index (69a–80b). The text is in two columns in rabbinic type, excepting headings and initial words. Ma’amar Hakor ha-Din is concerned with Rosh Ha-Shanah, Yom ha-Kippur, and Divine justice, as stated in the first paragraph, that the judgment of the Lord is true in three worlds, that is, this world, the world of souls with judgment after death, and the world of revival [of souls] with the final judgment. Ma’amar Im Kol Hai addresses issues concerned with Rosh Ha-Shanah, particularly those related to the matriarch Sarah, and Ma’amar ha-Middot is a kabbalisitic exposition on the thirteen attributes of mercy. Fano was a prolific writer. Additional ma’amarot were published in subsequent years, either alone or as part of other works, for example, Ma’amar Olam Katan is included in R. Joseph Delmedigo’s Mazref la-Hokhmah (Basle, 1629) and Ma’amar Hattim (Cracow, 1644) as a stand-alone work. Fano’s many kabbalistic works include Gilgulei Neshamot (Prague, 1688), on transmigration; Kanfei Yonah (Korzec, 1786), on prayer; Pelah ha-Rimmon (Venice, 1600), an abridgement of Cordovero’s Pardes Rimmonim; and Mayyin Ganim (Mantua, 1676), piyyutim. His halakhic works include She’elot u’Teshuvot (Venice, 1600) and Alfasi Zuta ( Jerusalem, 1885), an abridgement of Hilkhot Rav Alfas with glosses. Commentaries have been written on Asarah Ma’amarot, but they remain in manuscript.

Format 80: 80 leaves.

871

872

Em ha-Yeled

dlyh μa Joseph ben Elhanan Heilbronn 1597, Prague An elementary Hebrew grammar by R. Joseph ben Elhanan Heilbronn (sixteenth century). Heilbronn, apparently from an Ashkenaz family resident in Italy, later resettled in Posen. He is considered a German-Jewish scholar. Better known is Heilbronn’s brother, R. Jacob, author of Dinim ve-Seder (Venice, c. 1602), Shoshannat Ya’akov (Venice, 1623), Nahalat Ya’akov (Padua, 1623), and a Yiddish translation of R. Benjamin Slonik of Grodno’s Seder Mitzvot Nashim (Venice, 1616). Em ha-Yeled is among the earliest of children’s grammar books. The title page has no ornamentation, but rather is filled with text. It informs that it is concerned with the grammar of words, for a child of seven, to familiarize him with word structure, the letters comprising word structure, tenses, future and past, singular and plural, male and female. The purpose is so that he will be able to speak the holy tongue (Hebrew) clearly and to write grammatically. The final paragraph notes the support of R. Loew of Prague (R. Judah Loew ben Bezalel, Maharal) and R. Mordecai ben Abraham Jaffe (Levush), who urged him to bring the book to press. At the bottom of the page are the place of printing and the date, 357 (1597). The name of the printer is not given. The title page is followed by approbations from the Maharal and Jaffe, and then the text in a single column. The actual text of the book is in both Yiddish and Hebrew in rabbinic letters, the examples and conjugations are in square vocalized letters. The Maharal writes that is a great mitzvah for a person to accustom his son to learn the holy tongue and its grammar as was done in previous generations. Jaffe praises the author and his work, noting the accomplishments of his students. Em ha-Yeled was reprinted several times in the following centuries, the Prague (1702) edition with an approbation from R. Abraham Broda (d. 1717). Heilbronn was also the author of Me’irat Einayim (Cracow or Prague, c. 1600), an index of the taryag mitzvot according to Maimonides; and Kol ha-Kore (Cracow, c. 1602), brief rules of grammar for schools based on the work of R. Elijah Levita (Bahur).

Format 80: [28] leaves. Reprinted in Cracow as Lu’ah Dikduk (1598).

873

874

Ho’il Moshe/Ba Gad dg ab/hçm lyawh Moses Alfalas 1597, Venice—Daniel Zanetti Two homiletic works from R. Moses Alfalas (c. 1540–16th century). Alfalas, reputed to have been born in Marrakesh, wandered about Turkey reaching Safed and Belgrade and spent many years in Salonika and Italy. He was a preacher, and his books are compilations of the sermons delivered in Tetuan, Salonika, Venice, and elsewhere. In Venice he delivered sermons for the Levantine community and edited several books for the Zanetti press. R. Judah Aryeh (Leone) Modena praises Alfalas in the introduction to his Parashiot Kesef and wrote verse in Alfalas’s honor when the latter’s daughter married. Ho’il Moshe is composed of two parts, Ho’il Moshe and Ba Gad, the former, discourses on the virtues of the Torah, the latter, discourses on milah (circumcision). The title page has an architectural frame with the phrase “This is the gate of the Lord” (Psalms 118:20) at the top. It informs that it was edited by R. Samuel ibn Dysoss and that work began on 1 Nissan in the year “He is Moses hçm awh (357 = Thursday, March 20, 1597) qpl ‘a meal offering to the Lord’” (Leviticus 2:1). The composition of the volume is “a word to the reader” from ibn Dysoss (2a–b), Alfalas’s introduction (3a), and Ho’il Moshe (3b–85b); Ba Gad follows, beginning with an introduction (86a–90b), there is no title page, the text (91a–139b), and concluding with indices for both books by chapter, for verses, discourses, and the language of the commentators. The text is in a single column in rabbinic type except for headings and initial words, which are in square letters. Alfalas explains in the introduction that since he has entitled the book Ho’il Moshe, he begins it with the discourse on the virtues of the Torah, which is the end of the verse, “On this side of the Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses (Ho’il Moshe) to declare this Torah, saying” (Deuteronomy 1:5). The book is divided into thirteen chapters for the thirteen hermeneutical rules with which the Torah is expounded. Examples of the discourses are: 2) the Torah is everlasting, the work of God, no one should be able to say it was given by one that was created, whether from above or below; and 5) the Torah, complete and self-contained, is in two parts, and one who lacks Torah lacks heart, eyes and ears. Alfalas discusses midrashim on the Torah and its relationship to Israel, and explains variations and difficulties in language. The title Ba Gad is from “And Leah said, Fortune has come; and she called his name Gad (Ba Gad, keri )” (Genesis 30:11). In the first introduction Alfalas writes that this mitzvah of milah is equal to the entire Torah, as he will explain. In the second he writes that Ba Gad has seven chapters, equal to the numerical value of Gad dg, Gad is Jacob’s seventh son, and seven represents good fortune. In his preface Ibn Dysoss informs that Alfalas had written much more but that the work of arranging it for press was great and money was limited. Alfalas also wrote Va-Yakhel Moshe (Venice, 1597) with twenty-five discourses. Among the books that Alfalas corrected for the Zanetti press are R. Baruch ibn Baruch’s Kohelet Ya’akov (1598), R. Samuel Uceda’s Midrash Shemu’el and R. Moses Alshekh’s Torat Moshe (1600), and R. Moses Albelda’s Olat Tamid (1601).

Format 40: 139, [8] 139 leaves.

875

876

Iggeret Shemu’el

lawmç trga rps Samuel ben Isaac Uceda 1597, Kuru-Chesme—Joseph ben Isaac Ashkeloni Commentary on Ruth by R. Samuel ben Isaac Uceda (Uzedah). The author, a commentator, preacher, and kabbalist, was born in Safed in the first half of the sixteenth century. The surname Uceda is likely derived from the town of that name in the archbishopric of Toledo. A student of R. Isaac Luria (ha-Ari), Hayyim Vital, and Elisha Gallico, Uceda became a rabbi in Safed, establishing a yeshiva in that city at the age of 40. Among his students were R. Joseph Benveniste and Meir Angel. The title page has a row of florets above the text, which informs that it is by Uceda on Ruth, and that he had at his right to support and bolster him the commentary of Rashi. It was printed at the press and with the letters of the lady [Donna] Reyna. The verso of the title page has an introduction from Uceda, followed by the text. The book of Ruth is in the center of the page in square unvocalized letters, accompanied by the commentaries of Rashi and Uceda in rabbinic script, except for the headings in Uceda’s commentary, which are in square letters. In the introduction Uceda notes his activities in Safed, that he spread Torah, and preached every Shabbat, those lectures culminating in his commentary on Avot, entitled Midrash Shemu’el. Another work, Lehem Dimah, on Lamentations, was so named because it deals with the destruction of the Temple. Uceda next remarks on his commentary on Ruth. In forty years he had not once left Safed, but the financial needs of the yeshiva necessitated his traveling to Constantinople to raise funds. He found succor for the yeshiva in the philanthropist Abraham Algazi. At the time that Iggeret Shemu’el was printed Uceda was in Constantinople. Uceda called the work Iggeret Shemu’el, for just as the prophet Samuel, author of Megillat Ruth, intended that his book be as a letter (iggeret) in the hand of all Israel, so that they should know that David was fit to be king, so it is appropriate that his commentary on Ruth also be called Iggeret Shemu’el. Furthermore, as Uceda remarks, his name is also in this title. Iggeret Shemu’el was printed by Joseph ben Isaac Ashkeloni, at the press established by the widow of Don Joseph Nasi, Donna Reyna, Duchess of Naxos, now relocated to KuruChesme, a suburb along the Bosphorus, east of Constantinople. Uceda, as did Donna Reyna’s other authors, acknowledges her assistance on the title page. Iggeret Shemu’el, and Midrash Shemu’el, which was sufficiently popular to be published three times in this century (Venice, 1579, 1585, Cracow, 1594), are both noteworthy for Uceda’s use of Sephardic sources from his extensive library, among them R. Meir Abulafia, Moses Alashkar, Solomon Alkabez, Isaac Caro, and Samuel ibn Sirilyo. His books are also a valuable source regarding the Safed community and the circle of Isaac Luria. Lehem Dimah was printed in Venice in 1600. Uceda is known to have written commentaries on all five Megillot. However, only the books on Ruth and Lamentations were printed, while his commentary on Esther remains in manuscript.

Format 40: 84 leaves.

877

1597, Proverbia Ben-Sira/Adagiorum Ebraicorum Decuriae, Johannes Clemens Drusius, Franeker Courtesy of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

878

Proverbia Ben-Sira/Adagiorum Ebraicorum Decuriae Johannes Clemens Drusius 1597, Franeker—Aegidius Radaeus Two Hebrew/Latin works, the proverbs of Ben Sira and Hebrew adages, prepared by the Dutch theologian and Bible scholar, Johannes Clemens Drusius (1550–1616). Drusius, professor of oriental languages at several universities, from Oxford to Franeker, was a Hebraist, writing several books on Hebrew grammar, as well as editing Elijah Levita’s HebrewYiddish dictionary, Shemot Devarim, contributing to that work, together with his son Johannes, respectively, Arabic and Greek. The title page of the first part, Proverbia Ben-Sira, entirely in Latin, has a device on the title page, in contrast to the second part, which has little text and no device. The first title page is followed by prefatory remarks from Paulus Fagius, who had prepared a Latin translation of the Alphabet of Ben Sira (Isny, 1542), a dedication to the governors of the city of Sneek (Consvlibvs, Senatvi, et Secretario Verbis Snecæ), introduction (pp. v–viii), and then the text of Proverbia Ben-Sira (pp. 1–35). The title page of Adagiorum Ebraicorum follows, the text of that part (pp. 38–117), errata (p. 117), index to Ben Sira (pp. 118–20), and an index to the Adagiorum (pp. 120–22). The text of Proverbia Ben-Sira is based on the Hebrew alphabet, that is, for each Hebrew letter there is a proverb in Hebrew, Latin translation, and then a brief commentary. A similar format is followed for the Adagiorum Ebraicorum decuriæ, except that instead of letters the adages are numbered, and begin with a Latin phrase, then the Hebrew, including the Hebrew source, and the commentary. The Hebrew text is set in vocalized and unvocalized square letters that the printer, Aegidius Radaeus, may have acquired from a Hebrew bookseller in Germany, Moses ben Jacob ha-Levi of Emden, or a business associate in Heidelberg. Aegidius Radaeus, appointed “Printer to the University and the Government of Friesland (Ordinum Frisiae typographus)” upon the founding of the University of Franeker by William Louis, Count of Nassau, Stadtholder of the northern provinces of the Dutch Republic in 1585, was active from 1586 to his death in 1615. His charge, and that of his successors as well, included printing all kinds of oriental books. By 1742, when the last Hebrew book was issued, fifty-three titles with Hebrew, mostly written by professors of Hebrew at the university, none for Jews, had been issued. Radaeus, who learned his trade from the printer and type founder Hendrick ven der Keere, issued twenty-seven Hebrew books, all but three written by his friend, Drusius. Nine books containing Hebrew, all from Drusius, were printed by Radaeus from 1586 to 1599. They are: Historia Ruth . . ., Book of Ruth, Greek and Latin versions with commentary (1586); Drusii Miscellanea Locutionum sacrarum . . ., an anthology of biblical proverbs and later religious literature (1586); Alphabetum ebraicum . . ., on the Hebrew alphabet and some proverbs (1587); Parallela sacra . . ., on the accordance of the Old and New Testaments (1588); Drusii Proverbiorum classes duae . . ., the Book of Proverbs with Latin translation and notes (1590); Drusii Observationum sacrarum libri XVI . . ., exegesis on the Old Testament (1594); I. Drusii in Sapientiam . . . annotations on the Wisdom of J. Sira (1596); Proverbia BenSira . . . (1597); and I. Drusii Quaestionum ebraicarum libri tres . . . explication of several biblical texts (1599).

Format 40: [viii], 122, [123, 124] pages.

879

1597, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Joseph ben Ephraim Caro, Salonika Courtesy of the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad Ohel Yosef Yitzhak

880

She’elot u’Teshuvot

twbwçtw twlaç Joseph ben Ephraim Caro 1597, Salonika—Abraham Joseph ben Mattathias Bath-Sheba Responsa relating to Even ha-Ezer, that part of the Shulhan Arukh dealing with marital laws, from R. Joseph ben Ephraim Caro (1488–1575). The title page has the decorative frame with mythological figures at the side. At the bottom is the Bath-Sheba device. The text states that it is Dinei Nashim (laws concerning women) part 3, that is, issues relating to Tur Even ha-Ezer. The date on the title page is “the beginning of the year, ‘Let Israel rejoice jmçy (358 = 1597) in him who made him’” (Psalms 149:2), and the completion as, “be-seder va-yehi Ya’akov in the year, ‘[My son, if your heart is wise,] my heart too shall rejoice jmçy’” (Proverbs 23:15). The sponsorship of R. Moses de Medina, who expended money to benefit the public by bringing a press from afar, is acknowledged, as is that of Samuel Caleb, who advanced a hundred goroshosh. On the verso of the title page is the introduction of R. Caro’s son, Judah, followed by the contents, and then the text, in two columns in rabbinic type. The contents lists ninetyeight responsa, by subject, all concerning various aspects of marital relations, beginning with kiddushin (betrothal, nos. 1–17); marriage and ketubbah (18–50); gittin (divorce, 51–73); and concluding with yibbum and halizah (levirate marriage and release, 89–98). The responsa are followed by novellae on related subjects in tractates Kiddushin, Ketubbot, and Gittin, based on lectures delivered by Caro in his yeshivah. Caro’s responsa are not as influential as his other works. Nevertheless, given his prominence as a decisor, leading halakhic authorities throughout the world turned to him for his opinions and rulings. Responsa are included from R. Isaac Caro, the author’s uncle, and from other correspondents, some including dissenting opinions. In accordance with his father’s last requests, Judah Caro prepared these responsa for print and had them published. Nevertheless, Avkat Rokhel, the responsa on the remaining three parts of the Shulhan Arukh, was not published until 1791 (Salonika). The novellae were reprinted in collections of Caro’s novellae.

Format 20: [4], 192 leaves.

881

882

Tractate Ketubbot

twbwtk tksm c. 1597–98, Kuru-Chesme—Joseph ben Isaac Ashkeloni Ketubbot, the second tractate in Seder Nashim, dealing with marriage contracts, one of at least two tractates printed in Kuru-Chesme. The title page of the tractate notes the inclusion of Rabbenu Asher and the annotations of R. Solomon Luria. Although neither were actually printed, their mention is not merely formalistic, for Ashkeloni’s intent was to include these works with the tractate. The reason for their omission is explained in the colophon. Ashkeloni describes how he attempted to finance publication of the tractate by issuing it in segments in return for partial payments, a method used earlier by the Jabez brothers. This was not successful and he was forced to seek other financing. Says the printer, the youth, Joseph ben Isaac Ashkeloni Z”L; From the day that I began to take control of the indomitable press to be of those who benefit the multitude, and in which my soul should be preserved, my spirit and my soul has desired and longed for the good that all desire; that is, to print a few of the tractates that the students generally learn. I began with this tractate to merit those who understand as well as the student. I thought to easily collect considerable sums, from noble-minded individuals, from Shabbat to Shabbat, the amount to print at regular intervals, the expenses of the press. They would be prepared [for this] as they are concerned with the work, with acquiring paper and additional requirements, so that the desire of HaShem will succeed until its completion. The God of my father, the fear of Isaac, was with me . . . and he put in the heart of the noble, distinguished, generous, and honorable R. Eliezer, son of the wise and honorable R. Joseph Ashkenazi [may he be remembered for life everlasting], and in the heart of the wise, noble, openhanded and generous, noble son of the noble, holy, and honored R. Abraham, son of the distinguished Isaac Ashkenazi to fill my hand with the money to acquire paper to complete the work. God should remember them for good. I was unable to print Rabbenu Asher because a handful cannot satisfy a lion and the means were insufficient, and also [the commentary of ] R. Solomon Luria is still not available to me. If HaShem will permit and I have the means, I will . . . print Rabbenu Asher and [the commentary of ] R. Solomon Luria. . . .

Why did Ashkeloni seek alternative financing when the press had a sponsor, Donna Reyna, mentioned as usual on the title page? Perhaps Donna Reyna’s finances were not unlimited, for after the death of her husband, Don Joseph Nasi in 1579, Sultan Murad confiscated most of Don Joseph’s estate, leaving Donna Reyna with only her dowry of 90,000 golden ducats. It had been assumed that Ketubbot was the sole tractate printed in Kuru-Chesme. Ketubbot is described by Ashkeloni as his first tractate, and, unable to print the Rosh, it seemed likely that he did not print any tractates afterwards. The mention of an additional tractate, Pesahim, among the Kuru-Chesme titles in a general bibliographic work, was met with considerable skepticism, until it was noted that a unicum of that tractate had been offered for sale in a catalogue in 1886. With the closing of the Kuru-Chesme press in 1599 Hebrew printing in Constantinople ceased for about forty years.

Format 20.

883

884

Yefeh To’ar

rat hpy Samuel Jaffe ben Isaac Ashkenazi 1597–1606, Venice—Giovanni di Gara Commentary on Bereshit Rabbah (Genesis Rabbah) by R. Samuel Jaffe ben Isaac Ashkenazi (c. 1525–1595). This is the first part of Jaffe’s monumental commentary on Midrash Rabbah. Yefeh Mareh (see above, pp. 784–85), written later but published earlier, is on the aggadot of the Jerusalem Talmud. Yefeh To’ar, a detailed homiletic exposition of the text, is one of the most important commentaries on Midrash Rabbah. In explaining the Midrash, Jaffe makes full use of traditional Jewish sources such as the Talmud and other midrashim, quotes the Zohar, giving at times kabbalistic interpretations of the text, and offers explanations from a manuscript of R. Joseph Taitazak. Jaffe also attempts to establish the correct text, often suggesting textual variations based on his own reasoning, utilizing his extensive knowledge of rabbinic literature. Another source of textual modifications are manuscripts, for he often writes, “so I found in a manuscript.” Jaffe also makes use of R. Meir Benveneste’s Ot Emet (Salonika, 1564, above, pp. 552–53). In addition, foreign terms are explained. Called after his name, Jaffe (Yefeh), the title also reflects the verse, “And Joseph was handsome ( yefeh to’ar) [and good looking ( yefeh mareh)]” (Genesis 39:6). The work is dated on the title page as, “And he shall set açnw (357 = 1597) up a banner [for the nations], and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, [and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth]” (Isaiah 11:12). The colophon dates the completion to “Friday, 20 Elul, wsç (366), parashat (Ki Tavo), ‘[And you shall write upon the stones] all the words of this Torah very plainly’” (Deuteronomy 27:8) (September 22, 1606). Yefeh To’ar begins with a long introduction from Jaffe, who describes how, after toiling in halakhah, people are drawn to aggadah, and prefer, on Shabbat, words of aggadah to halakhah. The door to Midrash Rabbot, the father of Midrashim, is shut, however, because of difficulties with that work. This commentary addresses that need. There is an approbation signed by leading rabbis from Constantinople, then verses from Jaffe’s sons, Joseph and Isaac, who were responsible for the book’s publication. The volume concludes with an epilogue from R. Abraham ben Shabbetai Zelah. A concluding word, Israel, in large letters, alludes to Israel Zifroni, who, although his name does not appear in the book, was responsible for the press work. An index, intended to accompany this volume but on the entire Yefeh To’ar, was not ready in time and was published later at the Zanetti press. Printing, delayed due to financial difficulties until after the author’s death, was made possible by the sponsorship of R. Joseph Pardo (d. 1619). The remaining parts of Jaffe’s commentary, on the other books of Midrash Rabbah, that were printed are: Shemot Rabbah (Venice, 1617, although a questionable 1597 edition is also reported), and Va-Yikra Rabbah (Constantinople, 1648). Yefeh To’ar on Bemidbar and Devarim Rabbah remains unpublished. A popular and much reprinted digest of Yefeh To’ar, however, encompasses the entire Midrash Rabbah. Yefeh Anaf (Frankfort on the Oder, 1696) and Yefeh Kol (Izmir, 1739) are on the Five Megillot.

Format 20: 540 [4] leaves.

885

886

Aleh Toledot Adam . . . Kohelet Ya’akov

bq[y tlhq—μda twdlwt hla Baruch ben Moses ibn Baruch 1598–99, Venice—Daniel Zanetti Multifaceted philosophical commentary on Ecclesiastes by R. Baruch ben Moses ibn Baruch (c. 1540–c. 1607). Ibn Baruch, a talmudist, halakhist, philosopher, and exegete, was born in Salonika to the distinguished Sephardic Baruch family, also known as Bet Ya’akov. His primary teacher was his uncle, R. David Baruch, although his father too was a scholar. Ibn Baruch served as rabbi in Constantinople, but in about 1595 left for Venice, where he joined the bet din of R. Samuel Judah Katzenellenbogen, as well as working as an editor for Hebrew presses in that city. The title page of Aleh Toledot Adam has the frame associated with Zanetti publications. At the bottom of the page is the Con licentia de i Superiori of the censor, and below it a device with the words Daniel ha-Navi (the Prophet Daniel) on the sides. The beginning of the work is dated to the end of Nissan in the year “my redeemed hab ylwag ([3]58 = Wednesday, May 6, 1598) has come” (Isaiah 63:4). Work concluded, according to the colophon, on 25 Nissan, “joy and gladness hjmçw” (359 = Tuesday, April 20, 1599; Isaiah 22:13, 35:10, 51:3, 11, Psalms 51:10). The text of the title page begins: These are the generations of a great man . . . And, behold, he comes and in his hand a “meal offering, mixed” (Lev. 7:10, 14:10, Num. 28:9, 12, 13) with “pure beaten olive oil for the light” (Exodus 27:20, Lev. 24:2), “In the light of the king’s countenance” (Proverbs 16:15), “King Solomon with the crown with which [his mother] crowned him” (Song of Songs 3:11) with “turquoise, a sapphire” (Exodus 28:18, 39:11), “and all kinds of precious stones” (I Chronicles 29:2), Torah, Nevi’im, and Ketuvim, “set in fixtures of gold” (Exodus 28:11, 39:6), the words of the sages and their acuity, gemara, aggadah. . . . Also the explanations of the philosophic sages of the Greeks and Arabs. . . .

The title page further informs that the work is in two parts, entitled Kohelet Ya’akov and Kodesh Yisrael. The text is in the form of a dispute between Kohelet, representing impiety, and ben David, defending faith. The book, divided into shorashim, testifies to ibn Baruch’s talmudic knowledge, he makes extensive and clever and effective use of talmudic and midrashic material, and to his knowledge of scholastic philosophy, particularly of Thomas Aquinas. Among the many topics addressed are creation, the senses and salvation, freedom, providence, revelation, and predestination. The book concludes with an index and, on the final folio, an approbation from the Venetian rabbinate, dated 15 Adar, 359 (Friday, March 12, 1599). When slightly more than two-thirds of the book had been printed ibn Baruch received a request to assist in publishing R. Joseph Taitazak’s Porat Yosef, also on Ecclesiastes. Ibn Baruch stopped work on Aleh Toledot, resuming after Porat Yosef was completed. Only a small number of copies of Aleh Toledot Adam were published, as noted in the approbation, and the price, therefore is high. Ibn Baruch also wrote Viddui Karov le-Malkot (Venice, c. 1599–1600), to be said on the eve of Yom ha-Kippurim prior to the infliction of 39 stripes; Tefilla Kezarah (Venice, 1599); selihot; responsa, primarily found in the responsa of R. Moses di Trani (Mabit). Ibn Baruch mentions that he wrote halakhic novellae on the Talmud and Maimonides, but these are no longer extant.

Format 20: 229, [1], [18].

887

1598, Be’er ha-Golah, Judah Loew ben Bezalel (Maharal), Prague Courtesy of the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

888

Be’er ha-Golah

hlwgh rab Judah Loew ben Bezalel (Maharal) 1598, Prague A polemical defense of rabbinic literature as represented by the Talmud and Midrashim by R. Judah Loew ben Bezalel (Maharal, c. 1525–1609). Be’er ha-Golah is a complement to Tiferet Yisrael (Prague, 1593), which, addressing the giving of the Torah, analyzed issues related to the Written Torah. Here, Maharal addresses issues concerning the Oral Torah and vindicates it. The title page shares the decorative frame used with Maharal’s other books printed in Prague, beginning with Gur Aryeh (Prague, 1578–79, above, pp. 680–81). Along the sides of the text of the title page is the verse, “[And from there they went to Beer;] that is the well of which the Lord spoke to Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water” (Numbers 21:16). Neither the Maharal’s name nor that of the printer, certainly one of the Gersonides, appears on the title page. However, Maharal’s name is alluded to at the conclusion of the introduction, which states, “This work is entitled Be’er ha-Golah (well of exile) for every person of understanding ‘will draw enough water’ (paraphrase Exodus 2:19), and it is divided into seven be’erot, ‘its springs dispersed afar’ (Proverbs 5:16), and praise to [Him] Who rides upon the Heavens (ref. Deuteronomy 33:26), for with His help we found living waters, in ‘Beersheba, which belongs to Judah.’” (I Kings 19:3). The volume is dated, at the bottom of the title page, as, “Let Israel rejoice jmçy (358 = 1598) in him who made him” (Psalms 149:2). The title page is followed by a preface and Maharal’s introduction. The text, in square letters, is in two columns. Be’er ha-Golah is divided into seven parts, each enumerated as a be’er, followed by a description of its contents, each beginning with mayyim (water). In the introduction, Maharal likens his task to that of Jacob, removing the stone from the well when he met Rachel (Genesis 29:10), causing “its waters to rise higher and higher. . . . Every man of understanding will draw from it. . . . May its springs spread their abundance over large areas.” The Talmud is defended against a wide gamut of charges and calumnies of the nations, brought over the ages. Maharal is uncompromising in his defense of talmudic sages, brooking no criticism, and of the aggadah in the Talmud, for whomever tampers with (the aggadah) shall surely be stoned (Exodus 19:13) and whomever misreads them need offer his soul in restitution. Maharal rejects the suggestion that in aggadah the sages’ utterances contain linguistic embellishment. These sages are the repository of profound wisdom, shun all falsehood, comparing those who lie to practitioners of idolatry. In cases that seem improbable Maharal finds deeper meanings, with nothing that might be considered trivial. It is in this vein that the Maharal condemns the Me’or Einayim (Mantua, 1573–74, above, pp. 624–25) of Azariah ben Moses de Rossi, who questioned talmudic chronology and lore after comparing it to the works of non-Jews. In Be’er vi, for example, Maharal writes, “How is he not afraid to speak out against the sages and to speak of them as if they were his colleagues and contemporaries?” After noting the superiority of these early sages, the Maharal exclaims, “And now, in our generation, so inferior and bereft of wisdom, shall someone arise and raise his voice against the holy ones who preceded us by more than a thousand years and say ‘Consider my ways and be wise.’”

Format 20: 46 leaves.

889

890

Minhagim

μyghnm Isaac Tyrnau 1598, Basle—Konrad Waldkirch Popular compilation of customs recording the religious conventions and practices of central European Jewry for the entire year by R. Isaac Tyrnau (b. 1380/85–1439/52). Tyrnau, either born in the Hungarian city of Tirnau (now in Slovakia) or in Vienna, but later residing in Tyrnau, Austria, was a student of R. Abraham Klausner, Shalom ben Isaac of Neustadt (Sar Shalom), and Aaron of Neustadt (Blumlein). Tyrnau later served as rabbi in Pressburg. It is reported that his daughter was kidnaped by a noble who later converted to Judaism. Although a talmudic scholar of considerable accomplishment, Tyrnau did not write scholarly works, but rather a popular, and given the times necessary, book of customs for the average person. The title page of Minhagim, with a frame with figures on the side and heads at the top, states that it is customs of the lands of Ashkenaz, Poland, and central Europe. In the introduction (2a) Tyrnau informs as to his purpose in writing Minhagim, to arrange the customs for the entire year in a manner that will make it easy for everyone to find what they need in clear language for people who are not talmudic scholars. Therefore he is concise in both his proofs and reasons, but has elaborated somewhat and even repeated laws as necessary, for “due to our many iniquities, the number of students and scholars has decreased.” After men of Torah and good deeds perished in the Black Death (1348–50) and the persecution of the Jews in Vienna in 1421, Tyrnau “saw that there were communities in which not even two or three men could be found who are truly knowledgeable in the customs of their community, and all the more so of another city.” He therefore “ordered, picked and gleaned after the gleaners (Ta’anit 6b, Bava Mezia 21b) the conclusions only of the customs, for many times something is written in the [Tur] Orah Hayyim, or the Mordekhai, Or Zaru’a, and Maimoni that is not our practice at all, for example, . . . Avinu Malkenu on Shabbat Yom Kippur.” This edition of Minhagim measures 14 cm. The text (2b–74a) follows the order of the year, beginning with the start of the week, that is, the conclusion of Shabbat, then weekday practice, Rosh Hodesh, festivals, starting with the month of Nissan, and concluding with berit milah, weddings, various other customs, and finally matters dealing with orphans and Kaddish. This volume ends with ethical matter from Orhot Hayyim. The text is in square letters in a single column, accompanied by annotations inserted as paragraphs in rabbinic type. The identity of the author of these annotations is not known with certainty. Although Tyrnau quotes a number of sources, Minhagim is primary based on the work of his teacher, R. Abraham Klausner. Minhagim is highly regarded and frequently quoted by R. Moses Isserles (Rema) in his annotations to the Shulhan Arukh. Its popularity is evidenced by the fact that it has been reprinted more than fifty times in the original and as often in a Yiddish translation by R. Simon Levi Guenzburg (see above, pp. 812–13).

Format 160: 74 leaves. Printed previously in Venice (1566), Lublin (1571, 1581), Venice (1591), Cracow (1591, 1592, and 1598).

891

892

Ner Mitzvah

hwxm rn Samuel ben Joseph Kohen Zedek 1598, Venice—Giovanni di Gara Derashot on the thirteen ikkarim (principles) by R. Samuel ben Joseph ben Samuel Kohen Zedek of Safed. The title page has the di Gara pillared frame. At the top is the verse, “And his brightness is like the light” (Habakkuk 3:4). The text informs that Ner Mitzvah is the first part of the work Minhat Kohen, and that it contains seventeen derashot on the thirteen ikkarim, which it is appropriate for every one called a Jew to believe. The title page is dated 358 (1598); the colophon after the text dates the completion of the work to 14 Nissan in the year, “may the Lord rejoice jmçy (358 = Monday, April 20, 1598) in his works” (Psalms 104:31). A second colophon at the end of the volume is dated, “so that there is neither adversary ˆfç (359 = 1599) [nor evil hindrance]” (I Kings 5:18). At the bottom of the title page is the Con Licentia de’ Sup. Samuel’s introduction (2a–4a) begins in two columns, made up of paragraphs beginning with the letters of the Hebrew alphabet in alphabetic order followed by the text (3b–4a) in a single column. Next is a page of verse from R. Judah Aryeh (Leone) Modena, and, from 5a, the text. The volume concludes with a long afterword from the editor, Isaac Gershon, indexes, errata, and on the final folio two sets of verses in praise of the book from R. Samuel Archivolti. The text is in two columns in square letters. Initial words are set in a frame composed of patterned florets. Within the text the homilies, written in an attractive style, are built upon verses. For example, the first derashah, Yesod ha-Torah ve-Amud ha-Mitzvah, on the foundations of faith, has four verses in a larger bold font on the first page alone, which are the basis of the ensuing discourse. For example: And thus King David concludes “. . . but the arrogant he knows from far away” (Psalms 138:6) for the place of His throne of glory is most high, His dwelling place is high and distant, all this notwithstanding He oversees [all], therefore, “Though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly; . . . (ibid.), not as the opinions of the disbelievers and heretics who are taken with themselves and say there is no Divine providence.

In the introduction to Ner Mitzvah Samuel refers several times to the other parts of Minhat Kohen, that is, Torah Or, Derekh Hayyim, and Tokhahah Mussar. Ner Mitzvah, the first part, is to enlighten on the precepts, for if a person does not contemplate the existence of God and Divine providence, with reward and punishment, and that the Torah is from heaven, how will he come to observe the commandments? Part two of Minhat Kohen, entitled Torah Or, published in 1600, also by the di Gara press, is homilies on Genesis and Exodus (until parashat Bo). Derekh Hayyim and Tokhahah Mussar were apparently never printed.

Format 40: 214 [2] leaves.

893

894

Tanna de-Vei Eliyahu

whyla ybd ant 1598, Venice—Daniel Zanetti Aggadic midrash attributed to Elijah the Prophet as dictated to the third-century amora Anan bar Rav. The date of the redaction of Tanna de-Vei Eliyahu (Seder Eliyahu) has been the subject of considerable speculation. Until recently scholars considered it to be a tenthcentury redaction by Abba Elijah, but, although it is now accepted that it was actually written earlier, the period in which it was written is still a matter of speculation with a wide variance in the dates suggested. Tanna de-Vei Eliyahu (Seder Eliyahu) is actually two works (or parts), Seder Eliyahu Rabbah and Seder Eliyahu Zuta. The Talmud relates (Ketubbot 105b–106a) that Anan disqualified himself from judging a man who had brought him a gift of small fish because it might appear that he had an interest in the outcome. Nevertheless, a miscarriage of justice occurred, so that Elijah discontinued his visits to Anan. The latter then fasted and pleaded for mercy. Elijah returned, but Anan, now fearful, made a box and sat in it while listening to Elijah’s discourses. The Talmud concludes that is the reason there is a Seder Eliyahu Rabbah and Zuta, the former learned prior to the incident, the latter afterwards. Tanna de-Vei Eliyahu varies from other midrashim in that it is not based on a biblical book nor is it an assemblage of homilies, but rather is a harmonious series of ethical discourses designed to emphasize virtues and encourage their development and practice. Seder Eliyahu’s outlook is positive, teaching the joy of life and frowning on excessive asceticism. Love of Torah and its study is repeatedly stressed, the reasons for precepts are addressed and explained, the values epitomized by the patriarchs are detailed, and biblical verses are expounded. All of this is accomplished in a work replete with parables and maxims, written in a clear and poetic Hebrew. The extensive subject matter dealt with in Tanna de-Vei Eliyahu is illustrated by a sample only of the contents listed for the letter g, from the index of a modern edition, among them pride, redemption, mightiness, greatness, kid (sheep), non-Jews, luck, harsh decrees, theft, bill of divorce, gehinnom, lewdness, the solar cycle, exile, kindness, Eden, grapevine, converts, and rain. The text of the title page is set within a typical Zanetti frame and dates the volume as, “Let Mount Zion rejoice jmçy (358 = 1598), [let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of your judgments]” (Psalms 48:12). The verso of that page has a brief introduction from the printer extolling R. Jacob ben Gershom Bak, who would later, in 1605, found the famous Bak press in Prague, for bringing the book to press, and R. Jacob ben Yuzpa, the editor. Eliyahu Rabbah, with thirty-one chapters, begins on 2a, followed, on 52a, by Eliyahu Zuta, with twenty-five chapters. The volume concludes with an epilogue from the editor. This is, excluding a questionable 1550 edition, the first printing of Tanna de-Vei Eliyahu. It has been much reprinted since then and is the subject of several commentaries.

Format 40: 69 leaves.

895

896

Haggadah

jsp lç hdgh 1599, Venice—Giovanni di Gara Multilingual illustrated Haggadah. This Haggadah, one of a series of four published in various formats from 1599 through 1604, is based on the Mantua editions of 1560 and 1568. The series may be considered experimental, in that they represent a transition between the earlier haggadot and the Venetian editions of the early seventeenth centuries, the model for later haggadot. A distinguishing feature of this Haggadah is a trilingual prefatory page, detailing the order of the seder. The languages, all in Hebrew letters, in three parallel columns, are JudeoItalian, Ladino, and Yiddish, the languages spoken in the Venetian ghetto. A fourth spoken language, Portuguese, unlike the others, was neither written in Hebrew letters nor used liturgically. The languages are identified in bold letters at the head of their respective columns; the text of the Ashkenaz (Yiddish) column is versified. The remainder of this Haggadah is in Hebrew. The haggadot printed a decade later, however, would be bilingual, that is, in Hebrew and one of these other languages. This Haggadah, and the others in the series as well, were commissioned by R. Solomon Hayyim and his only son, Abraham Haber Tov. Although printed by Giovanni di Gara, leaf 3 with the blessing for marror displays the three crowns traditionally associated with the Bragadin press. There was, as noted earlier, a period when the two presses collaborated and a number of di Gara imprints from this period display this device. The sides of this page have a morocco border and at the bottom is a woodcut of the seder meal, reproduced from the Mantua editions. A guest is entering the room, and, at the sides, as described in the accompanying caption, is a servant with a bottle, bringing water, and a maid with utensils, cooking. The text has been entirely reset eschewing the Ashkenaz fonts employed in the Mantua haggadot. The Haggadah adheres to its model, using the same woodcuts, although their positioning has changed. New illustrations are also added, although they vary between the four haggadot. Nevertheless, the reproductions are sufficiently faithful so that even marginal detail, including accidental decoration in the ornamental frames, has been replicated. Variations between the haggadot in this series exist, the illustrations not always being identical. For example, the depiction of the seder meal in this Haggadah is different from the rendition in the later haggadot. The text, as in the Mantua edition of 1568 (above, pp. 596–97), is accompanied by the commentary of R. Joseph Shalit of Padua. The text of the Haggadah concludes on 20b with a colophon from Solomon Hayyim and his son. The following two folios, apparently not present in all copies, have the Birkat ha-Mazon (Grace after meals) and a Yiddish rendition of the piyyut Adir Hu, here Almekhtiger Got, in the second person rather than the third person as in the original. The letters on these last pages are those of the Zanetti press, suggesting that they were not printed as part of the Haggadah. The woodcut of the Messiah, much reduced, at the bottom of the last page, crudely copied from the Mantua edition, has been placed within a frame, whereas before it was freestanding.

Format 40: [22] leaves.

897

898

Hiddushim

μyçwdyj Samuel Eliezer ben Judah ha-Levi Edels (Maharsha) 1599, Basle—Konrad Waldkirch Novellae on the Talmud by R. Samuel Eliezer ben Judah ha-Levi Edels (Maharsha, 1555– 1631). The date and place of the Maharsha’s birth are not known with certainty, although 1555 is suggested for the former and Cracow for the latter; his father’s name is known only from Maharsha’s signature. He learned in Posen, marrying there the daughter of R. Moses Ashkenazi Heilpern (Zikhron Moshe). After his marriage Maharsha lived with his in-laws, during which time both he and his students were supported by his mother-in-law, a wealthy women. Maharsha took her name, Edel, as his family name, Edels, a not uncommon occurrence in such circumstances in eastern Europe at that time. With the death of Edels’ mother-in-law in 1605 it became necessary to accept a rabbinic position, which he did, first in Chelm, then in Lublin (1616), succeeding R. Meir ben Gedaliah (Maharam of Lublin), and afterwards in Ostrog (1625), founding in the latter place a yeshivah that attracted many students. The title page of these novellae has a border made up of moresque florets and a moresque pattern design in the lower center of the page. The text describes the contents, stating: Hiddushim on tractates [Yom Tov, i.e., Bezah], and tr. Yevamot and furthermore we have added a section at the end of tr. [Yom Tov], an elucidation of the halakhah of [chapter] Mashilin (Bezah 37b) Im ba hakham le-mizrach eruvo le-mizrach (also Eruvin 36b), and an elucidation of the halakhah of [chapter arvei Pesahim] bekos shel revi’is (Pesahim 109b), and an elucidation of the halakhah of [chapter] ha-omer be-shi’ur bes kor (Kiddushin 60b) copied from an old book in the name of R. [Meir of Rothenburg (Maharam)], and an elucidation of the halakhah of [chapter] lo yahpor be-ilan (Bava Batra 26b–27a) copied from an old book in the name of Rabbenu Baruch of Worms.

On the verso of the title page is a brief statement, “These are the matter that, [with the help of God] have been explicated wçdjtn for us in our group (habura), that came to our hand, from older Tosafot, for the Tosafot that are before us in this tractate have additions and omissions and are often unclear, as you can see, particularly in the later chapters.” Edels, apparently preferring anonymity, does not mention his name here, attributing the novellae to his group, but it is known with surety from later editions. The text is in two columns in rabbinic type, excepting headings, which are in square letters. The novellae on Yevamot, included here, were printed previously as Zikhron Devarim (Prague, 1598, 40 6f.). The analysis of the talmudic text, encompassing both Rashi and Tosafot, is concise, sharp, and profound. Many entries conclude, ‘qwdw or l”qw (carefully scrutinize or it is easy to understand), although in the latter instance that is often not the case, many later talmudists struggling to comprehend his explanations. Edels’ Hiddushei Halakhot and Hiddushei Aggadot, two distinct works, are now combined and printed with almost every Talmud and considered essential in its study. It has been suggested that Edels had to have had Divine inspiration, for it would have otherwise been impossible for a man to have written such a work.

Format 40: 50 leaves.

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900

Leshon ha-Zahav

bhzh ˆwçl Jedaiah ha-Penini ben Abraham Bedersi 1599, Venice—Daniel Zanetti Commentary on Psalms by the poet, philosopher, and physician, R. Jedaiah ben Abraham Bedersi (ha-Penini, c. 1270–1340, see above, Sefer ha-Pardes, pp. 96–97; Behinat Olam, pp. 298–99), with additional works by R. Joseph Taitazak (c. 1465–1487/88–1545, see below, pp. 906–07), and R. Moses ibn Ezra (c. 1055–1135). The title page states that the contents are an explanation of the words of the sages from the Midrash on Psalms from the Godly philosopher Jedaiah ha-Penini and an explanation on some Psalms from Joseph Taitazak, and one [sic] word of admonition from Moses ibn Ezra, in the year “The Jews had light, and gladness hjmçw (359 = 1599), [and joy, and honor]” (Esther 8:16).

The book begins with a brief preface by R. Abraham ben Don Solomon Akra, who brought the book to press, in which he notes that he has already had the merit to bring to press his own work Mehararei Nemeirim (Venice, 1599, below, pp. 902–03). This is followed immediately by Bedersi’s commentary on Midrash Tehillim. This is part of a larger work, much cited in the Middle Ages, on Midrash Rabbah, Tanhuma, Sifre, Pirke de-Rabbi Eliezer, Midrash Tehillim, Ruth and Nehamot. However, only the material in Leshon ha-Zahav was ever printed. The commentary begins with “Happy is the man” (Psalms 1:1) but only covers about 35 Psalms, the last being Psalm 109, which concludes on 16b. The commentary of Taitazak, a kabbalist and Talmudist of note, had been made known previously in R. Meir Arama’s Me’ir Tehillot (Venice, 1590). However, the Psalms commented on here are quiet different. Although printed together the two commentaries have separate pagination and signatures. Taitazak too begins with “Happy is the man,” but comments, here, on slightly less than half the number of the Psalms in the first part of Leshon ha-Zahav. Several of the same Psalms are addressed in both parts. Moses ibn Ezra, a poet and philosopher of renown in Spain, was a close friend of R. Judah Halevi. The “word of admonition” printed here, which begins, “I will bless the Lord, who has given me counsel; my insides also instruct me in the night seasons” (Psalms 16:7), is not a reproof but rather the beginning of a prayer from the ten days of penitence by Judah Halevi. The title page was used by Daniel Zanetti on several of his publications, including Porat Yosef (below, pp. 906–07). Daniel, employed at the press from 1596, inherited it from Matteo Zanetti. His name appears on close to sixty books, many from that early period. Among the works he printed is the translation by Deborah Ascarelli and Samuel ben Moses Castelnuovo and edited by David Della Rocca into Italian in Hebrew letters of R. Moses ben Issac da Rieti’s (1388–c. 1460) epic poem Mikdash Me’at (Venice, 1602–08), the complete Hebrew text of Mikdash Me’at not being published until 1851.

Format 40: 16, 10 leaves.

901

1599, Mehararei Nemeirim, Abraham ben Solomon Akra, Venice Courtesy of the Dorot Jewish Division, New York Public Library

902

Mehararei Nemeirim

μyrmn yrrhm rps Abraham ben Solomon Akra 1599, Venice—Daniel Zanetti On talmudic methodology and novellae, edited by R. Abraham ben Don Solomon Akra. He was born and grew up in Fez, afterwards wandering between many communities. He brought several books to press, among them Mehararei Nemeirim. The title page has an ornamental border and there is a decorative frame about the first words. The title, Mehararei Nemeirim, is from, “from the mountains of the leopards” (Song of Songs 4:8). The text states: All gathered and brought to you. Talmudic methodology from R. Immanuel Sephardi, talmudic methodology from R. David [ben Solomon] ibn Zimra (Radbaz), Samuel Alvalensi, and [Abraham] ibn Musa. And the elucidation of some talmudic topics from the eminent Ramban (R. Moses ben Nahman), R. Meir of Gornes, and some novellae from R. Abraham [ben Moses] di Boton. Here, Venice, in the year, h”jmçw (359 = 1599). At the press of Daniel Zanetti.

The title page is followed by Akra’s introduction (2a–2b), and the first part of the text (14a), which is divided into she’arim and subdivided into chapters. Next is the methodology of R. David [ben Solomon] ibn Zimra (14b–18b). Folio 17 and 18 are misfoliated. Foliation begins again with the methodology of R. Samuel Alvalensi (1a–3b), and ibn Musa (3b–6a). The following quire was missing. Next are novellae on tractates Ketubbot (17a–25a), Bava Kamma (25a–29b), Bava Mezia (29b–41a), and Shevu’ot (41a–56b). The colophon states “from the lion’s den (ref. Nahum 2:12), with the help of the One who dwells above, Con licentia de’ Superiori.” The volume concludes (not in copy examined) with a six-page index. The text is in a single column in rabbinic type, excepting headers and initial words, which are in square type. Not mentioned on the title page among the sages whose novellae are included in the work is R. Jacob Berab. In the introduction Akra writes that he sees great value to this work, both for rabbis and for students, for the students in printing for them the talmudic methodology of the Mehararei Nemeirim (mountains of the leopards), the geonei olam (exalted and learned excellencies). After enumerating the sages utilized, Akra points out the benefit to rabbis, that is, the printing of novellae from tractates, including among the list tractate Hagigah. He quotes the Talmud, that, if “The minds of the earlier sages were like the passage into the entranceway of the Temple [. . .], we are but as the eye of the needle used for repairing tears in a garment” (Eruvin 53a) and all the more those afterwards. Go see what is written in Sanhedrin (68a), “when R. Eliezer became ill R. Akiva and his companions came to visit him [. . .] he said, I learned much Torah and I taught much Torah [but I only skimmed from my teacher’s knowledge as much as a dog laps from the sea . . . and my students only . . .].” On f. 17a (should read 18a) Akra bemoans the fact that, due to the burning of the Talmud, tractates are scarce and he has not been to able to provide correct citations. Akra also published Kelalei Midrash Rabbah (Venice, 1601), in Arzei Levanon, a collection of seven works.

Format 40: 18, 56, 6 leaves.

903

904

Mishpetei Shemu’el

lawmç yfpçm rps Samuel ben Moses Kalai 1599–1600, Venice—Daniel Zanetti One hundred thirty-four responsa from R. Samuel ben Moses Kalai (16th century). Kalai was a student of R. David Kohen of Corfu (Maharadakh), and may have been born on that island. He was the son-in-law of R. Benjamin ibn Mattathias (Binyamin Ze’ev), who was later involved in a serious dispute with David Kohen over the former’s leniencies in permitting an agunah to remarry (see above, pp. 229, 231). Kalai served as rabbi in several communities, among them Arta and, from about 1560, Vidin in Bulgaria, which he left after his prohibition of a cheese was disputed by other rabbis. Kalai later served as rabbi of the Keianah community of Salonika. A widely respected decisor, he received inquiries from different communities, recorded in Mishpetei Shemu’el. The title page is made up of two frames, that is, on the outside an ornate border recently acquired by the press for large format books and, within that border, the architectural frame used on other, smaller Zanetti imprints. The text begins, “‘he shall cry, yes, roar’ (Isaiah 42:13), known to all is the might of ha-Rav, the great, R. Samuel of the house of Kalai and his judgments which he rendered before Israel ‘his people, and the sheep of his pasture’ (Psalms 100:3).” Work began on Mishpetei Shemu’el, according to the title page, on Rosh Hodesh Nissan, “they shall obtain joy and gladness hjmçw (359 = March 27, 1599), [and sorrow and sighing shall flee away]” (Isaiah 35:10). That date, a Saturday in 1599, indicates that the non-Jewish typesetters began work without the presence of the Jewish editors. Work was completed according to the colophon on, “‘In you ˚b shall Israel bless’ (Genesis 48:20) for counting, in the year, ‘[Neither shall your name any more be called Abram], but your name ˚mç shall be Abraham’” (Genesis 17:5), that is 7 Iyyar, 360 (Friday, April 21, 1600), which is the 22nd ˚b day of the Omer. There is a preface from the editor, Abraham ben Shabbetai Zelah, followed by an introduction from Moses ben Mattathias ben Samuel Kalai, the author’s grandson, who brought the book to press. The text is in two columns in rabbinic type, concluding on 178b. There is an index (179–81b), organized according to the order of the Shulhan Arukh, and errata ([182a–83b]), concluding with a colophon from Abraham ben Shabbetai. A small number of decorative pieces are at the beginning and end of the book. The responsa in Mishpetei Shemu’el cover the corpus of the Shulhan Arukh. A number of responsa contain material relevant to or address questions concerning contemporary Jewish life. Kalai discusses, for example, the difficulties encountered by Jews and punishments they suffered from the Turks for aiding the local inhabitants in Corfu resist the Ottoman siege of that island, and that they sent valuable religious objects to Venice for safekeeping. He addresses the question of the wife of a kohen taken captive by the Turks upon whom it is testified that at no time was she secluded with her captors, a nursing woman whose husband apostatized, and the responsibility of one community for another. There are also a number of novellae.

Format 20: 181, [2] leaves.

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906

Porat Yosef

πswy trwp Joseph Taitazak 1599, Venice—Daniel Zanetti Commentary on Ecclesiastes by R. Joseph ben Solomon Taitazak. Born in Spain, the dates of his birth vary from 1465–1487/88 and his death from 1545 to well before that date. Taitazak left Spain at the time of the expulsion with his father and brother, settling in Salonika. A charismatic kabbalist and talmudist of considerable repute, he was the head of a circle of kabbalists in Salonika and was considered one of the leading halakhic authorities of his time. Taitazak disagreed with R. Joseph Caro, who held him in the highest regard, on a number of halakhic issues, those disputes being recorded by the latter in his Beit Yosef. Among Taitazak’s students are Solomon Molcho, Isaac Adarbi, Solomon Alkabez, Isaac Arollia, Eliezer Ashkenazi, and Samuel de Medina (Maharashdam). Taitazak was also knowledgeable in several secular disciplines. Eighteen hours of his day were devoted to learning and instructing students, the remaining six hours only being utilized for lesser matters. A saintly person, Reshit Hokhmah (Sha’ar ha-Kedushah ch. 7) informs that, except for Sabbath and holidays, he never slept in a bed, but rather in a box with his feet on the ground, rising at midnight to mourn the destruction of the Temple. His ascetic practices were unknown until reported by his wife after his death. Taitazak is also known to have learned with a maggid (heavenly teacher). Porat Yosef was printed in the year “joy and gladness h”jmçw (359 = 1599)” (Isaiah 22:13, 35:10, and 51:3). The text is preceded by two introductions, the first from the editor, R. Isaac Gerson, the second from R. Baruch ibn Baruch, who brought the book to press, interrupting work on his own book, Aleh Toledot Adam . . . Kohelet Ya’akov (Venice, 1598–99, above, pp. 886–87) to see to the printing of Porat Yosef. The book concludes with additional remarks from Gerson. Porat Yosef is a philosophical commentary on Ecclesiastes. An unusual feature of this work is Taitazak’s familiarity with medieval works on Aristotle; he quotes Thomas Aquinas by name, referring to him with great respect. Taitazak also wrote Leshon ha-Zahav on Psalms, printed together with the commentary of R. Jedaiah ha-Penini ben Abraham Bedersi (see above, pp. 900–01); Lehem Setarim on Daniel and the Megillot (Venice, 1608); responsa included in the works of his brother, Judah (She’erit Yehudah, Salonika, 1605), R. Joseph Caro (Avkat Rokhel, Salonika, 1791), and other contemporary decisors; fragments on the Pentateuch and Psalms in Adarbi’s Divrei Shalom (Salonika, 1580); and unpublished commentaries on Avot, the Sefer ha-Halakhot of Alfasi, and novellae on talmudic tractates, much of which, unfortunately, has been lost. Taitazak is frequently quoted in the works of his many students.

Format 40: 78 leaves.

907

908

Seder ha-Yom

μwyh rds rps Moses ben Judah ibn Makhir 1599, Venice—Daniel Zanetti Ethical work with considerable kabbalistic content by R. Moses ben Judah ibn Makhir. Little is known about the author except that, from the title page, he was a Rosh yeshiva in Ein Zeitun, a village in the proximity of Safed. His name appears, together with other Safed rabbis, as a co-signer of a halakhic decision of R. Joseph di Trani (Mahrit, 1568–1639). Makhir, intellectually, belongs to the kabbalistic school of Moses Cordovero (Ramak); there is no trace of Lurianic Kabbalah in the book. Seder ha-Yom (order of the day) is a manual outlining the practices to be followed by Jews, daily, on Shabbat, and festivals. It is also an introduction to and guide for the Jewish people in the lifestyle developed in Safed. The introduction informs that one’s purpose in this world is to do the will of the Creator, walking in His ways. One must, therefore, make sure that he does not waste time. The title page has an architectural frame like that used by Messer Venturin Ruffinelli in Mantua. Christophel Zanetti may have acquired it from the Mantua press. The fact that it appears in Mantua imprints after the Zanettis began to use the frame and that it is somewhat finer there suggests that it was recast for the Zanettis. Moreover, the letters at the top of the frame in “This is the gate of the Lord” (Psalms 118:20) are dissimilar. The square letters used in several of the later Zanetti imprints, however, including this book, are those of Mantua. The square type is only employed from the beginning of Seder ha-Yom until folio 100, and rabbinic type from there to the end of the volume. The text of the title page informs that “it is a most comely commentary on the prayers comprised of the four categories of wisdom, designated pardes [ peshat (literal), remez (allusion), din (homiletical), and sod (mystery)]. Written by the man of God, the scholar, the complete, the pious, R. Moses ibn Makhir, head of the mesivta in Ein Zeitun near Safed.” Seder ha-Yom was brought to press by R. Levi Simlai, and Makhir’s son-in-law, R. Solomon ben Nahmias Mor David. The latter, who also published the next edition of Seder ha-Yom (Venice, 1605) at the di Gara press, came to Venice on behalf of the yeshivah of Ein Zeitun. The editor was R. Isaac Gershon. The colophon is dated, b”wfb (on 17) Menahem [Av], in the year “joy and gladness hjmçw (359 = Sunday, August 8, 1599) shall be found in there, [thanksgiving, and the voice of melody]” (Isaiah 51:3). The introduction (2a–b) is followed by the text (3a–100b) in a single column; a commentary on “A five year old begins Scripture” (Avot 5:21) (101a–107b); and an abridged commentary on Ecclesiastes (108a–120a). Seder ha-Yom follows the order of the Shulhan Arukh. However, the additional practices, interpretations to prayers and the kavvanot (intentions) that that it adds are all kabbalistic, as are the sources from which they are drawn. Among these practices are wearing tallit and tefillin at Minhah, going out to greet the Sabbath, studying Torah Shavuot night, and Psalms and devotionals to be said at various times, practices which also appear in other Safed manuals. The Kabbalat Shabbat service includes an alternate version of Lekhah Dodi, that of Cordovero. Seder ha-Yom was successful, together with similar works, in introducing Safed customs to the larger Jewish community, so that many of those customs are now widely practiced.

Format 40: 120 leaves.

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910

Vikku’ah ha-Yayin ve-ha-Mayim

μymhw ˆyyh jwkyw Elijah ben Moses Loanz 1599, Basle—Konrad Waldkirch A poetic dispute between wine and water as to their relative merits by R. Elijah ben Moses Loanz (1564–1636). Loanz, born in Frankfort on the Main, was a descendant of Rashi, grandson of R. Joselmann of Rosheim (paternal) and of R. Johanan Luria (maternal), and a student of R. Akiva Frankfurter, Jacob Guenzberg of Friedberg, Judah Loew of Prague (Maharal), and Menahem Mendel of Cracow. He served as rabbi in Fulda, Hanau, Friedberg, and Worms (from 1630), where he was also a rosh yeshivah. A kabbalist of repute, Loanz, also known as Elijah Ba’al Shem, wrote amulets, is credited with many miracles, and is the subject of legends. Vikku’ah ha-Yayin ve-ha-Mayim was published together with and follows Zemirot ve-Tishbahot of R. Akiva Frankfurter (c. 1520–97), son-in-law of R. Simeon Guenzberg, and author of the weekly prayer book, Tehinnot be-Kol Yom (Basle, 1599). The title page is followed by a preface, and Shabbat zemirot (2a–11a), including original work from Frankfurter and on matters related to Shabbat. The first letters of the words after Shabbat comprise an acrostic of his name. On 11b the text informs that what preceded was from Frankfurter and what follows is from Loanz. Vikku’ah ha-Yayin ve-ha-Mayim begins on 22b. The dispute between wine and water is as to which is preferable and more lovely. Each brings arguments based on biblical verses in praise its virtues and to recount the others deficiencies. Set in alternating Hebrew and Yiddish paragraphs, the former in square vocalized letters, the latter an interpretative paragraph set in Vaybertaytsh to the melody of Dietrich von Berne. An acrostic of Loanz’s name can also be found in the verses. An example of the Hebrew text is, “this is the day that we looked for; we have found it, we have seen it” (Lamentations 2:16) and the righteous sat with the crown. Drinking at the banquet of wine ( yayin ˆyy) and seeing eye to eye (eiyin be-eiyin ˆy[b ˆy[) like the very heaven, as a sapphire stone (ref. Exodus 24:10) and God revealed to them hidden things, His utterances, pure words. Seventy faces to the Torah as the numerical value of wine ( ˆyy = 70).

Vikku’ah ha-Yayin ve-ha-Mayim was reprinted in Amsterdam in 1756, apparently without the zemirot. Loanz was also the author of kabbalistic commentaries, Rinnat Dodim on the Song of Songs (Basle, 1600), written when thirty-five; and Mikhlol Yofi on Ecclesiastes (Amsterdam, 1695); and several commentaries still in manuscript, among them, Ma’gelei Zedek on the Be’ur al ha-Torah of R. Bahya ben Asher; Zafenat Pa’ne’ah on Tikkunei Zohar; Adderet Eliyahu on the Zohar; and an incomplete and lengthy commentary on Genesis Rabbah. He edited R. Solomon Luria’s Ammudei Shelomo (Basle, 1599/1600) on the Semag of R. Moses of Coucy (Basle, 1600), and Ateret Shelomo on the Sha’arei Dura of R. Isaac ben Meir Dueren (Basle, 1600), writing a preface to the latter; and prepared R. Moses Isserles’s (Rema) Darkhei Moshe for publication. A number of his amulets are extant and published in other works.

Format 80: 31 [should say 36] leaves.

911

912

Chronological List of Titles c. 1501, Alphabetum Hebraicum, Aldus Manutius, Venice 1504, Musar Haskel be-Melizah/Orhot Hayyim, Rav Hai Gaon/Asher ben Jehiel (Rosh), Fano 1505, Haggadah Zevah Pesah, Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel, Constantinople 1505, Hamishah Homshei Torah, Constantinople 1505, Ha-Roke’ah, Eleazer ben Judah of Worms, Fano 1505, Selihot—Ashkenaz Rite in Italy, Fano c. 1505, Tractate Pesahim, Constantinople 1506, De rudimentis Hebraicis, Johannes Reuchlin, Pforzheim 1506, Kuzar, Judah Halevi, Fano 1506, Leshon Limmudim, David ben Solomon Ibn Yahya, Constantinople c. 1506, Sha’arei Teshuvah, Jonah ben Abraham Gerondi (Rabbenu Yonah), Fano 1507, Be’ur al ha-Torah, Bahya ben Asher ben Hlava, Pesaro 1507, Decachordum Christianum, Cardinal Marcus Vigerius, Fano c. 1507–20, Des Pfefferkorns Leben 1509, Sefer Rav Alfas, Isaac ben Jacob Alfasi (Rif ), Constantinople c. 1510, Amudei Golah (Semak), Isaac ben Joseph of Corbeil, Constantinople 1510, Calendar, Constantinople 1510, Mashreh Kitrin, Abraham ben Eliezer ha-Levi, Constantinople c. 1510, Sefer ha-Mitzvot, Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides, Rambam), Constantinople 1511–17, Arba’ah ve’Esrim (Bible), Pesaro—Gershom Soncino 1511, Haggadot ha-Talmud, Constantinople 1511, Nevi’im Rishonim with the commentary of Don Isaac Abrabanel, Pesaro 1512, Midrash Rabbah, Constantinople 1512, Midrash Tillim (Tehillim), Constantinople 1513, Massekhet Purim, Kalonymus ben Kalonymus, Pesaro 1513, Seder Olam, Olam Zuta, Megillat Ta’anit, and Sefer ha-Kabbalah, Mantua 1514–17, Complutensian Polyglot Bible, Alcalá de Henares 1514–18, Hamishah Homshei Torah, Prague 1514, Perush ha-Torah, Abraham ibn Ezra, Constantinople 1514, Perush ha-Torah le-R. Ya’akov, Jacob ben Asher, Constantinople 1514, Perush ha-Torah, Moses ben Nahman (Ramban), Pesaro 1514, Shulhan shel Arba, Bahya ben Asher ben Hlava, Mantua 1515, Kad ha-Kemah, Bahya ben Asher ben Hlava, Constantinople 1515, Ketuvim, Psalms, Proverbs, Job and Daniel, Salonika 1515, Kizzur Piskei ha-Rosh, Asher ben Jehiel (Rosh)/Jacob ben Asher (Tur), Constantinople 1515, Mefasher Helmin, Solomon ben Jacob Almoli, Salonika 1515, Midrash Tehillim, Salonika 1515, Nevi’im Ahronim with the commentary of David ben Joseph Kimhi (Radak), Pesaro 1515, Petah Devarai, David ben Judah Messer Leon, Constantinople 1515, Psalterium, Venice—Daniel Bomberg c. 1515, Tractate Eruvin, Pesaro c. 1515, Tractate Sukkah, Pesaro 1515, Zohar ha-Raki’a on the Azharot, Simeon ben Zemah Duran, Constantinople 1516, Arba’ah Turim, Jacob ben Asher, Fano 1516, Divrei ha-Yamim le-Moshe Rabbenu, Constantinople—Samuel ibn Nahmias 1516, Ein Ya’akov, Jacob ben Solomon ibn Habib, Salonika 1516–17, Mikra’ot Gedolot (Biblia Rabbinica), Venice—Daniel Bomberg c. 1516, Sefer ha-Pardes, Jedaiah ha-Penini ben Abraham Bedersi, Constantinople 1516, Psalterium Hebraeum, Graecum, Arabicum, et Chaldaeum, Augustino Giustiniani, Genoa c. 1516, Tractate Rosh Ha-Shanah, Fez—Samuel Nedivot

913

chronological list of titles 1517, Sefer Abudarham, David ben Joseph Abudarham, Fez 1517, Arukh, Nathan ben Jehiel, Pesaro 1517, She’elot Teshuvot le-ha-Rosh, Asher ben Jehiel (Rosh), Constantinople c. 1517, Teshuvot She’elot, Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides, Rambam), Constantinople c. 1517–18, Torah, Nevi’im, Ketuvim (Bible), Venice—Daniel Bomberg c. 1517, Tractate Berakhot, Pesaro—Gershom Soncino 1518, De accentibus et orthographia linguae hebraicae, Johannes Reuchlin, Hagenau 1518, De arcanis catholicae veritatis, Pietro Columna Galatinus, Ortona 1518, Ben ha-Melekh ve-ha-Nazir, Abraham ben Samuel ha-Levi Ibn Hasdai, Constantinople 1518, Torat ha-Adam, Moses ben Nahman (Ramban), Constantinople 1519, Sefer Dikduk (Mahalakh Shevilei ha-Da’at), Moses ben Joseph Kimhi, Ortona 1519, Likkutei ha-Pardes, Solomon ben Isaac (Rashi), Venice 1519, Ha-Likkutim ve-ha-Hibburim, Constantinople—Astruc de Toulon 1519, Sefer ha-Manhig, Abraham ben Nathan ha-Yarhi, Constantinople 1519, Midrash Hamesh Megillot, [Pesaro]—Gershom Soncino 1519, Pesakim, Venice 1519, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Joseph ben Solomon Colon (Maharik), Venice 1519, Terumat ha-Deshen, Israel ben Pethahiah Isserlein, Venice 1519/20–23, Babylonian Talmud, Venice—Daniel Bomberg 1521, Derekh Emunah, Abraham ben Shem Tov Bibago, Constantinople 1521, Torah, Nevi’im, Ketuvim (Bible), Venice—Daniel Bomberg 1522, Akedat Yizhak, Isaac ben Moses Arama, Salonika 1522, Ikkarim, Joseph Albo, Rimini 1522–24, Jerusalem Talmud, Venice—Daniel Bomberg 1522, Perush Rashi al ha-Torah, Solomon ben Isaac (Rashi), Venice 1522, Tractate Nedarim, Venice—Daniel Bomberg 1522–23, Zeror ha-Mor, Abraham ben Jacob Saba, Venice 1523, Hiddushei ha-Ramban Bava Batra, Moses ben Nahman (Ramban), Venice 1523, Hiddushei ha-Rashba Hullin, Solomon ben Abraham ibn Adret (Rashba), Venice 1523, Ha-Hinnukh, Venice c. 1523, Mesorat ha-Talmud, Salonika—Don Judah Gedaliah 1523, Mikneh Avram, Abraham ben Meir de Balmes, Venice 1523, Sefer ha-Terumah, Baruch ben Isaac, Venice 1524–25, Mikra’ot Gedolot (Biblia Rabbinica), Venice—Daniel Bomberg 1524, Mishneh Torah, Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides, Rambam), Venice 1524, Oratio de laudibus trium linguarum, Robert Wakefield, London 1525, Be’ur Perush ha-Ramban, Isaac Aboab (II), Constantinople 1525, Melizat Efer ve-Dinah, Vidal Benveniste, Rimini c. 1525, Perushim le-Rashi (Sefer Canizal ), Abulrabi, Almosnino, Canizal, and Albelda, Constantinople 1526, Agur, Jacob Barukh ben Judah Landau, Rimini 1526–39, Babylonian Talmud, Venice—Daniel Bomberg 1526, Haggadah, Prague—Gershom Kohen 1527, Dictionarium Chaldaicum, Sebastian Muenster, Basle 1527, Perush al Rashi, Elijah ben Abraham Mizrahi, Venice 1527, Tractate Shekalim, Venice—Daniel Bomberg 1528–29, Siddur ha-Tefillot ke-Minhag Kahal ha-Karaim, Venice—Daniel Bomberg 1529, Derashot (Sefer ha-Mefo’ar), Solomon Molcho, Salonika 1529, Sefer ha-Shorashim, David ben Joseph Kimhi (Radak), Venice c. 1530, Haggadah, Constantinople c. 1530, Me’assef le-Khol ha-Mahanot, Solomon ben Jacob Almoli, Constantinople 1530, [Sefer Mikhlol ] Helek ha-Dikduk, David ben Joseph Kimhi (Radak), Constantinople 1531, Adderet Eliyahu, Elijah ben Moses Bashyazi, Constantinople c. 1531, Kelal Kazar, Judah ben Joseph ibn Bulat, Constantinople 1532–34, Mikhlol, David ben Joseph Kimhi (Radak), Constantinople 1533, Ma’amar Hasdei HaShem, Joseph ben Hayyim Jabez, Constantinople 1534, Haggadah, Augsburg—Hayyim ben David Shahor

914

chronological list of titles 1534, Iggerot Shelomim, Augsburg 1534, Mirkevet ha-Mishneh, Asher Anshel of Cracow, Cracow 1535, Mahbarot Immanuel, Immanuel ben Solomon of Rome, Constantinople 1536, Keter Torah, David ben Solomon Vital, Constantinople 1537, Sefer ha-Mefo’ar, Judah ben Abraham Khalaz, Constantinople 1537, Or Ammim, Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno, Bologna 1537, Siddur—Roman Rite, Bologna—Company of Silk Weavers 1537, Sefer Teshuvot, David ben Hayyim Kohen of Corfu (Maharadakh), Constantinople 1538–39, Binyamin Ze’ev, Benjamin ben Mattathias, Venice 1538, Piskei Halakhot, Menahem ben Benjamin Recanati, Bologna 1538, Torah Or, Joseph ben David ibn Yahya, Bologna 1539–44, Biblia hebraice, Paris—Robert Estienne 1539, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Solomon ben Abraham ibn Adret (Rashba), Bologna 1539, Shevilei Tohu, Gerard Veltwyck, Venice 1540, Arba’ah Turim, Jacob ben Asher, Augsburg 1540, Arba’ah Turim, Jacob ben Asher, Constantinople 1540, Tur Orah Hayyim, Jacob ben Asher, Prague 1540, Avkat Rokhel, Machir ben Isaac Sar Hasid, Augsburg 1540–41, Kimha de-Avishuna on the Roman Rite Mahzor, Johanan ben Joseph Treves, Bologna c. 1541, Amadis de Gaula, Jacob ben Mosé di Algaba, Constantinople 1541, Buovo d’Antona (Bove-Bukh), Elijah ben Asher ha-Levi Ashkenazi Levita (Bahur), Isny 1541, Meturgeman, Elijah ben Asher ha-Levi Ashkenazi Levita (Bahur), Isny 1541, Tehillim with commentary of R. David Kimhi (Radak), Isny 1541, Ha-Tishbi, Elijah ben Asher ha-Levi Ashkenazi Levita (Bahur), Isny 1543–49, Babylonian Talmud, Venice—Daniel Bomberg 1543, Sefer ha-Massa’ot, Benjamin of Tudela, Constantinople 1543, Sefer Me’ah She’arim, Isaac ben Elijah Sheni, Salonika 1543, Melokhim Bukh, Moses Esrim ve-Arbeh, Augsburg c. 1543, Minhat Yehudah Sone ha-Nashim, Judah ben Isaac ibn Shabbetai, Constantinople 1544, Halikhot Olam—Mevo ha-Talmud, Yeshu’ah ha-Levi—Samuel ha-Nagid, Venice 1544, Ikkarim, Joseph Albo, Venice 1544, Josippon, Venice 1544, Menorat ha-Ma’or, Isaac Aboab, Venice 1544, Shmuel Bukh, Moses Esrim ve-Arbeh, Augsburg 1545–55, Bibliotheca universalis, Conrad Gesner, Zurich 1545, Mekhilta of R. Ishmael, Venice—Daniel Bomberg 1545, Midrash Rabbot, Venice—Marco Antonio Giustiniani 1545, Nahalat Avot, Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel, Venice 1545, Rosh Amanah, Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel, Venice 1545–46, She’elot u’Teshuvot Rabbenu Nissim, Nissim ben Reuben Gerondi (Ran), Rome 1546, Avodat ha-Levi, Solomon ben Eliezer ha-Levi, Venice 1546, Be’er Mayim Hayyim, Hayyim ben Jacob Obadiah de Busal, Salonika 1546, Behinat Olam, Jedaiah ha-Penini ben Abraham Bedersi, Venice 1546, Even Bohan, Kalonymus ben Kalonymus, Venice 1546, Harkavah/Pirkei Eliyahu, Elijah ben Asher ha-Levi Ashkenazi Levita (Bahur), Venice 1546, Hebraica Biblia Mikdash HaShem, Sebastian Muenster, Basle 1546, Iggeret ha-Kodesh, Moses ben Nahman (Ramban), Rome 1546, Marpe Lashon/Darkhei No’am, Moses ben Shem Tov ibn Habib, Venice c. 1546, Milhemet ha-Hokhmah ve-ha-Osher, Judah ben Isaac ibn Shabbetai, Cracow 1546, Mishnayot Seder Tohorot with commentaries of Maimonides and Samson of Sens, Venice 1546, Naftulei Elohim Niftalti, Naphtali Hertz Treves, Heddernheim 1546, Otiyyot de-Rabbi Akiva, Venice 1546, She’iltot, Rav Ahai of Shabha, Venice. 1546, Shibbolei ha-Leket, Zedekiah (ha-Rofei) ben Abraham, Venice 1546–47, Teshuvot ha-Rav, Isaac ben Sheshet Perfet (Ribash), Constantinople 1546, Torah with Persian and Arabic Targum, Constantinople—Eliezer Soncino

915

chronological list of titles 1546–51, Babylonian Talmud, Venice—Marco Antonio Giustiniani 1546, Zahut be-Dikduk/Moznei Leshon ha-Kodesh, Abraham ibn Ezra, Venice 1547, Kol Bo, Anonymous, Venice c. 1547, Meshal ha-Kadmoni, Isaac ben Solomon ibn Abi Sahula, Venice 1547, Perush al ha-Torah, Levi ben Gershom (Ralbag), Venice 1547, Sefer Mitzvot Gadol (Semag), Moses ben Jacob of Coucy, Venice 1547, Sha’ar ha-Shamayim, Gershon ben Solomon of Arles, Venice 1547, Sha’arei Dura, Isaac ben Meir of Dueren, Venice 1548, Halakhot Gedolot, Simeon Kayyara, Venice 1548, Hovot ha-Levavot, Bahya ben Joseph ibn Paquda, Venice c. 1548, Kaftor va-Ferah, Estori ben Moses ha-Parhi, Venice 1548–49, Mikhlol Yofi, Solomon ibn Melekh, Constantinople 1548–49, Mishnayot with commentary of Obadiah Bertinoro, Venice 1548, Ohel Mo’ed, Solomon ben Abraham of Urbino, Venice 1548, Selihot—Ashkenaz Rite, Venice—Cornelius Adelkind 1549, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Jacob ben Judah Weil, Venice 1550, Beit Yosef on Tur Orah Hayyim, Joseph ben Ephraim Caro, Venice 1550, Mishneh Torah, Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides, Rambam), Venice 1550, Tikkun Middot ha-Nefesh, Solomon ben Judah ibn Gabirol, Constantinople 1551, Kiryat Sefer, Moses ben Joseph di Trani (Mabit), Venice 1551, Ma’yenei ha-Yeshu’ah, Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel, Ferrara 1551, Mirkevet ha-Mishneh, Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel, Sabbioneta 1551, Moreh Nevukhim, Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides, Rambam), Venice 1552, Ayyelet Ahavim, Solomon ben Moses ha-Levi Alkabez, Venice 1552, Havakbuk/Massekhet Purim, Venice 1552, Le-Khal Hefetz, Eliezer Melli, Venice 1552–53, Ma’aseh Yehudit, Constantinople 1552, Ordenanca delas Oraciones del Cedur, Isaac ben Shem Tov Cavallero, Venice 1552–53, Zikhron Torat Moshe, Moses ben Joseph Figo, Constantinople 1553, Decree Ordering the Confiscation and Burning of the Talmud, Venice 1553, Divrei ha-Yamim le-Malkhei Zarefat . . ., Joseph ha-Kohen, Sabbioneta 1553, Hoshanot Le-Sukkot, Simeon ben Zemah Duran, Ferrara 1553, Ma’yan Gannim, Samuel ben Elhanan Jacob Archivolti, Venice 1553, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Judah Minz and Meir Katzenellenbogen (Maharam), Venice 1554–55, Hilkhot Rav Alfas, Isaac ben Jacob Alfasi (Rif ), Sabbioneta 1554, Lehem Yehudah, Judah ben Samuel Lerma, Sabbioneta 1554, Pardes Rimmonim, Shem Tov ibn Shaprut, Sabbioneta 1554, Tractate Kiddushin, Sabbioneta—Tobias Foa 1554, Shevet Yehudah, Solomon ibn Verga, Adrianople 1554, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Moses ben Isaac ibn Alashkar, Sabbioneta 1554, Zeidah la-Derekh, Menahem ben Aaron ibn Zerah, Ferrara 1555, Issur ve-Hetter, Jonah ben Abraham Gerondi, Ferrara 1555, Or HaShem, Hasdai Crescas, Ferrara 1555, Zafenat Pane’ah, Abraham Menahem ben Jacob Rapo mi-Porto (Rapaport) Ashkenazi 1555, Sefer ha-Zikkaron, Ishmael ha-Kohen Tanuji, Ferrara 1556, Amudei Golah (Semak), Isaac ben Joseph of Corbeil, Cremona 1556, Sefer ha-Emunot, Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov, Ferrara 1556, Kevod Elohim, Joseph ben Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov, Ferrara 1556, Likkutei Shikhhah u-Fe’ah, Abraham ben Judah Elmalik, Ferrara 1556, Ma’alot ha-Middot, Jehiel ben Jekuthiel ben Benjamin ha-Rofe Anav, Cremona 1556, Sefer Maharil, Jacob ben Moses Moellin (Maharil), Sabbioneta 1556, Ma’amar Haskel, Cremona 1556, Sha’ar ha-Gemul, Moses ben Nahman (Ramban), Ferrara 1556, Sefer She’elot u’Teshuvot, Jacob ben Moses Moellin (Maharil), Cremona 1556, Sefer Tashbez, Samson ben Zadok, Cremona 1556, Sefer ha-Tehiyyah ve-Sefer ha-Pedut, Saadiah ben Joseph Gaon, Mantua

916

chronological list of titles 1556, Toledot Adam, Moses ben Elijah Gallena, Cremona 1557, Hibbur Yafeh me-haYeshu’ah, Nissim ben Jacob Ibn Shahin, Ferrara 1557, Iggeret Ba’alei Hayyim, Kalonymus ben Kalonymus, Mantua 1557, Sefer Keritot, Samson ben Isaac of Chinon, Cremona 1557–60, Mahzor—Roman Rite, Mantua 1557, Megillat Antiochus, Mantua 1557–58, Mishlei Shu’alim, Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan, Mantua 1557, Or Einayim, Solomon ben Abraham Peniel, Cremona 1557, Pitron Halomot, Rav Hai ben Sherira Gaon, Cairo 1557, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Meir ben Baruch of Rothenburg (Maharam), Cremona 1557, She’elot Inyan ha-Neshamah, Israel ben Joseph ha-Kohen, Lublin 1557, Tikkunei Zohar, Simeon bar Yohai (attributed to), Mantua 1557, Toledot Adam ve-Havvah—Sefer Mesharim, Jeroham ben Meshullam, Venice 1557, Zori ha-Yagon, Shem Tov ben Joseph ibn Falaquera, Cremona 1558–1567, Babylonian Talmud, Salonika—Joseph Jabez 1558, Sefer Rav Alfas, Isaac ben Jacob Alfasi (Rif ), Riva de Trento 1558, Birkot Maharam, Meir ben Baruch of Rothenburg, Riva de Trento 1558, Ma’arekhet ha-Elohut with Minhat Yehudah, Perez ben Isaac and Judah Hayyat, Mantua 1558, Sefer ha-Minhagim, Abraham Klausner, Riva de Trento 1558, Mivhar Peninim, Solomon ben Judah ibn Gabirol, Cremona 1558, Sefer Rav Mordekhai, Mordecai ben Hillel ha-Kohen, Riva di Trento c. 1558, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Joseph ben David ibn Lev, Salonika 1558, Toledot Yizhak, Isaac ben Joseph Caro, Mantua 1558–60, Zohar, Simeon bar Yohai (attributed to), Mantua 1559, Hizzekuni, Hezekiah ben Manoah, Cremona 1559, Kol Melekhet Higgayon, Muhammad ibn Rushd (Averroes), Riva de Trento 1559, Mehir Yayin, Moses ben Israel Isserles (Rema), Cremona 1559, Mekor Hayyim, Samuel ibn Seneh Zarza, Mantua 1559–63, Mishnayot, Sabbioneta/Mantua—Tobias Foa/Jacob ha-Kohen of Gazzuolo 1559, Shevilei Emunah, Meir ben Isaac Aldabi, Riva di Trento 1559–61, Teshuvot She’elot, Elijah ben Abraham Mizrahi, Constantinople 1559, Ziyyoni, Menahem ben Meir Ziyyoni, Cremona 1559–60, Zohar, Simeon bar Yohai (attributed to), Cremona 1560, Adam Sikhli, Simeon ben Samuel, Thiengen 1560, Dikdukei Rashi, Riva de Trento 1560, Ebronot, Riva de Trento 1560, Haggadah, Mantua—Messer Venturin Ruffinelli 1560, Massa Gei Hizzayon, Benjamin ben Abraham Anav, Riva di Trento 1560, Milhamot HaShem, Levi ben Gershom (Ralbag), Riva de Trento 1560, Pesah le-HaShem, Hayyim ben Meir ibn Gabbai, Constantinople 1560, Shir ha-Yihud, with commentary of Yom Tov Lipmann Muelhausen, Thiengen 1560, To’aliyyot Ralbag, Levi ben Gershom (Ralbag), Riva de Trento 1560, Tola’at Ya’akov, Meir ben Ezekiel ibn Gabbai, Constantinople 1561, Sha’arei Orah, Joseph ben Abraham Gikatilla, Mantua 1561–98, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Joseph ben David ibn Lev, Constantinople 1561, Tractate Derekh Erez and Pirkei ben Azzai, Riva di Trento—Jacob Marcaria 1561, Tractate Pesahim, Konska Wola—Meshullam ben Solomon and Eliezer ben Isaac 1562, Be’urim, Israel ben Pethahiah Isserlein, Riva de Trento 1562, Derekh Emunah, Meir ben Ezekiel ibn Gabbai, Padua 1562, Emunot ve-De’ot, Saadiah ben Joseph Gaon, Constantinople 1562–67, Me’ir Iyyov, Meir ben Isaac Arama, Riva de Trento and Venice c. 1562, Parashiot, Riva de Trento 1562, Sefer Yezirah, Mantua—Jacob ben Naphtali ha-Kohen of Gazolo 1563, Midrash Tanhuma, Mantua—Meir ben Ephraim of Padua and Ezra ben Isaac of Fano 1563, Pirkei Moshe, Moses ben Baruch Almosnino, Salonika 1564, Hanhagat ha-Hayyim, Moses ben Baruch Almosnino, Salonika

917

chronological list of titles 1564, Index librorum prohibitorum, Venice 1564, Ot Emet, Meir ben Samuel Benveneste, Salonika 1564–65, Shulhan Arukh, Joseph ben Ephraim Caro, Venice 1565, Imrei No’am, Jacob di Illescas, Cremona 1565, Lev Avot, Solomon ben Isaac le-Bet ha-Levi, Salonika 1565, Perush Megillat Ahasuerus, Zechariah ben Joshua ibn Saruq, Venice 1565, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Levi ben Jacob ibn Habib, Venice 1565, Tanya, Jehiel ben Jekuthiel ben Benjamin ha-Rofe Anav, Cremona 1565, Torat ha-Bayit, Solomon ben Abraham ibn Adret (Rashba), Cremona 1566–67, Avkat Rokhel, Machir ben Isaac Sar Hasid, Venice 1566, Be’ur Zeh Yaza Rishonah, Moses Provencal, and Elleh ha-Devarim, S. Venturozzo, Mantua 1566, Ein Yisrael (Ein Ya’akov), Jacob ben Solomon ibn Habib, Venice 1566, Megillat Sefer, Cremona 1566, Midrash ha-Ne’lam, Simeon bar Yohai (attributed to), Venice 1566, Re’umah, Nahshon bar Zadok/Isaac ben Samuel Onkeneira, Constantinople 1566, Yalkut Shimoni, Simeon of Frankfort, Venice 1566, Sefer Yere’im, Eliezer ben Samuel of Metz, Venice 1566, Sefer Yuhasin, Abraham ben Samuel Zacuto, Constantinople 1567, Be’ur al ha-Torah, Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno, Venice 1567, Derashot ha-Torah, Shem Tov ben Joseph ibn Shem Tov, Padua 1567, Sefer ha-Gedarim (Mikhlal Yofi ), Menahem ben Abraham Bonafos, Salonika 1567, Or ha-Sekhel, Abraham ben Gedaliah ibn Asher, Venice 1567, Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer, Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, Sabbioneta 1568, Haggadah with Nimmukei Yosef, Joseph ben Jacob Shalit of Padua, Mantua 1568, She’erit Yosef, Joseph ben Shem Tov ben Yeshuah Hai, Salonika 1569–72, Biblia Sacra hebraice, chaldaice, graece et latine . . ., Antwerp—Christophe Plantin 1569, Hukkat ha-Pesah, Moses ben Hayyim ben Shem Tov Pesante, Salonika 1569, Ma’amar Tehiyyat ha-Metim, Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides, Rambam), Constantinople 1569, Ner Mitzvah/Yesha Elohim, Moses ben Hayyim ben Shem Tov Pesante, Salonika 1569, Perush le-Midrash Hamesh Megillot Rabbah, Naphtali ben Menahem Hertz, Cracow 1570–71, Ta’amei Mitzvot, Menahem ben Moses ha-Bavli, Lublin 1570, Torat ha-Olah, Moses ben Israel Isserles (Rema), Prague 1571, Sefer ha-Aguddah, Alexander Suslin ha-Kohen of Frankfort, Cracow 1572, Seder Olam Zuta, Gilbert Genebrard, translator, Paris c. 1572, Yefeh Nof, Judah ben Abraham Zarko, Venice 1573–75, Derashot al ha-Torah, Joshua ibn Shuaib, Cracow c. 1573, Derekh Hayyim/Avodat Mikdash, Menahem ben Judah de Lonzano, Constantinople 1573–74, Me’or Einayim, Azariah ben Moses de Rossi, Mantua 1573, Pahad Yizhak, Isaac ben Abraham Chajes, Lublin c. 1573–1578, Seder Tefillot ha-Shanah Minhag Kehillot Romania, Constantinople 1574–75, Kesef Mishneh on Mishneh Torah, Joseph ben Ephraim Caro, Venice 1574, Neveh Shalom, Abraham ben Isaac ben Judah ben Samuel Shalom, Venice 1574, Sha’arei Dura, Isaac ben Meir of Dueren, Lublin 1574, She’elot le-Hakham, Saul ha-Kohen Ashkenazi, Venice 1574–75, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Solomon ben Jehiel Luria (Maharshal), Lublin 1575, Birkat ha-Mazon, Nathan Nata ben Samson Spira (Shapira), Lublin c. 1575–76, Shelom Esther, Isaac ben Mordecai Gershon, Constantinople 1576, Mekor Barukh, Baruch ibn Ya’ish, Constantinople c. 1576, Minhah Hadashah on Pirkei Avot, Jehiel Michael ben Jedidiah Morawczyk, Cracow 1576, Mizmor le-Todah, Samuel ben Isaac Aripul, Venice 1576, Ne’im Zemirot, Samuel ben Isaac Aripul, Cracow 1576, Yosef Lekah, Eliezer ben Elijah Ashkenazi, Cremona 1577, Ayumah ka-Nidgaloth, Isaac ben Samuel Onkeneira, Constantinople 1577, Ben Porat Yosef, Don Joseph Nasi, Constantinople 1577, Be’ur Sefer Kohelet, Elisha ben Gabriel Gallico, Venice 1577, Hesed Avraham, Abraham ben Shabbetai Horowitz, Lublin

918

chronological list of titles c. 1577, Iggeret Ogeret, Isaac ben Abraham Akrish, Editor, Constantinople c. 1577, Iggeret ha-Vikku’ah, Shem Tov ben Joseph ibn Falaquera, Constantinople 1577–78, Kohelet Ya’akov, Moses ben Mordecai Galante, Safed 1577, Lekah Tov, Yom Tov ben Moses Zahalon, Safed 1577, Olat Shabbat, Joel ibn Shuaib, Venice 1577, Shloshah Perushim al Shir ha-Shirim, Isaac ben Abraham Akrish, Editor, Constantinople 1577–78, Shulhan Arukh, Joseph ben Ephraim Caro, Venice 1578–81, Babylonian Talmud, Basle—Ambrosius Froben 1578, Sefer Bere’shit, Rome—Vittorio Eliano and Francessco Zanetti 1578–79, Gur Aryeh, Judah Loew ben Bezalel (Maharal), Prague 1578–79, Se’ah Solet/Marpe la-Nefesh/Orah Hayyim, Raphael ben Gabriel Norzi, Venice 1578, Tahkemoni, Judah ben Solomon al-Harizi, Constantinople 1578–79, Tanhumot El, Isaac ben Moses ibn Arroyo, Salonika 1578, Tractate Rosh Ha-Shanah, Cracow—Isaac ben Aaron Prostitz 1579, Ibbur Shanim, Issachar ben Mordecai ibn Susan, Venice 1579, Perush ha-Torah, Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel, Venice 1579, Reshit Hokhmah, Elijah ben Moses de Vidas, Venice 1580, Sefer Hasidim, Judah ben Samuel he-Hasid, Basle 1580, Ir Gibborim, Ephraim Solomon ben Aaron of Luntshits, Basle 1580, Kaftor va-Ferah (Kavvanot ha-Aggadot), Jacob ben Isaac Luzzatto, Basle 1580, Perush ha-Milot, Mordecai ben Jehiel Luria, Cracow 1581–82, Gevurot ha-Shem, Judah Loew ben Bezalel (Maharal), Cracow 1581, Me’ir Nativ, Mordecai Nathan, Basle 1581, Orhot Zaddikim, Prague 1581, Sha’ar Yehudah, Judah ben Eliezer Chelebi Poki, Constantinople 1582, Hokhmat Shelomo, Solomon ben Jehiel Luria (Maharshal), Cracow 1582, She’elot u’Teshuvot Divrei Rivot, Isaac ben Samuel Adarbi, Salonika 1583–c. 1593, Babylonian Talmud, Constantinople—Joseph and Solomon ben Isaac Jabez 1583, Hamishah Homshei Torah, Basle 1583, Ma’aseh HaShem, Eliezer ben Elijah Ashkenazi, Venice 1583–84, Toledot Aharon, Aaron of Pesaro, Freiburg-im-Breisgau 1584, Ohel Ya’akov, Jacob ben Samuel Bunim Koppelman, Freiburg-im-Breisgau 1585, Kevod Elohim, Abraham ha-Levi ibn Migash, Constantinople 1585, Manot ha-Levi, Solomon ben Moses ha-Levi Alkabez, Venice c. 1585, Menorat Zahav Tohor, Solomon ben Jehiel Luria (Maharshal), Cracow 1586, Iggeret Orhot Olam, Abraham ben Mordecai Farissol, Venice 1586, Mikra’ei Kodesh, Joseph ben Benjamin Samegah, Venice 1586, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Solomon ben Abraham ha-Kohen, Salonika 1586, Sefer ha-Yashar, Zerahiah ha-Yevani, Cracow 1587, Biblia Sacra—Derekh ha-Kodesh, Elias Hutter, Hamburg 1587, Mattenot Kehunnah on Midrash Rabbah, Issachar Ber ben Naphtali Katz, Cracow 1587–88, Me’ammez Ko’ah, Moses ben Baruch Almosnino, Venice 1587, Or Ne’erav, Moses ben Jacob Cordovero (Ramak), Venice 1587, Perush Avodat Yom ha-Kippurim, Moses ben Jacob Cordovero (Ramak), Venice 1587, Shalshelet ha-Kabbalah, Gedaliah ben Joseph ibn Yahya, Venice 1587, Twelve (Minor) Prophets, Wittenberg—Zachariah Crato 1587, Zemah David, David ben Isaac de’ Pomis, Venice 1587, Zemirot Yisrael, Israel ben Moses Najara, Safed 1588, Devek Tov, Simeon ben Isaac ha-Levi Aschaffenburg, Venice 1588, Heshek Shelomo, Venice 1588, Tomer Devorah, Moses ben Jacob Cordovero (Ramak), Venice 1589, Derash Moshe, Moses ben Isaac of Pizenz, Cracow 1589, Derekh Hayyim on Avot, Judah Loew ben Bezalel (Maharal), Cracow 1589, Hasdei HaShem, Moses Mordecai ben Samuel Margolioth, Cracow 1589, Kol Bokhim, Joel ibn Shuaib/Abraham ben Mordecai Galante, Venice 1589, Mareh Kohen, Issachar Ber ben Naphtali Katz, Cracow

919

chronological list of titles 1589, Nefuzot Yehudah, Judah Aryeh ben Joseph Moscato, Venice 1589–90, She’elot u’Teshuvot She’erit Yosef, Joseph ben Mordecai Gershon Katz, Cracow 1590, Levush Malkhut, Mordecai ben Abraham Jaffe, Lublin 1590, She’lot u’Teshuvot ha-Geonim, Prague 1590, Torat ha-Hattat, Moses ben Israel Isserles (Rema), Cracow 1590, Yefeh Mareh, Samuel Jaffe ben Isaac Ashkenazi, Venice 1591–97, Imrei Shefer, Nathan Nata ben Samson Spira (Shapira), Cracow/Lublin 1591, Matteh Moshe, Moses ben Abraham Mat of Przemysl, Cracow 1591, Pardes Rimmonim, Moses ben Jacob Cordovero (Ramak), Cracow/Nowy Dwor c. 1592–1599, Fuente Clara, Salonika 1592, Havazzelet ha-Sharon, Moses ben Hayyim Alshekh, Venice 1592–93, Tamim Yahdav, Israel ben Moses, Lublin 1592, Tractate Berakhot, Salonika—Bath-Sheba/Moses de Medina 1592, Zemah David, David ben Solomon Gans, Prague 1592, Haggadah Zevah Pesah, Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel, Bistrowitz 1593, Be’urim, Nathan Nata ben Samson Spira (Shapira), Venice 1593, Darkhei ha-Gemara, Isaac ben Jacob Campanton, Mantua c. 1593–95, Gal shel Egozim, Menahem ben Moses Egozi, Belvedere 1593, Sefer ha-Hayyim, Hayyim ben Bezalel, Cracow 1593, Minhagim, Isaac Tyrnau/Simon Levi Guenzburg, Venice 1593, Ru’ah Hen, Judah Ibn Tibbon/Jacob Anatoli (attributed to either), Prague 1593, She’erit Yosef, Joseph ben Solomon ibn Verga, Mantua 1593–94, Shulhan Arukh, Joseph Caro and Moses Isserles, Cracow c. 1593–95, Siddur Tefilot he-Hadash, Meir ben Abraham Angel, Belvedere 1593, Tevat Noach/Arca Noe, Marco Marino Brixiense (of Brescia), Venice c. 1593–95, Torat Moshe, Moses ben Hayyim Alshekh, Belvedere 1594, Mahzor—Ashkenaz Rite, Thannhausen—Adam Burg 1594, Minhah Belulah, Abraham Menahem Rapa mi-Porto (Rapaport), Verona 1594, Paris un Viene, Elijah ben Asher ha-Levi Ashkenazi Levita (Bahur), Verona 1594, Pesak al Agunah, Jacob ben Joseph Pollack, Prague 1594–97, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Samuel ben ben Asher Altschuler, Cracow 1595, Iggeret Teshuvah, Jonah ben Abraham Gerondi (Rabbenu Yonah), Prague 1595, Keli Hemdah, Samuel ben Abraham Laniado, Venice 1595, Kuhbuch, Abraham ben Mattathias Basevi (?), Verona 1595, Lekah Tov, Abraham ben Hananiah dei Galicchi Jagel, Venice 1595, Levushei Or Yekarot, Mordecai ben Abraham Jaffe, Lublin 1595, Marpe la-Nefesh, Abraham ben Isaac Zahalon, Venice 1595, Orah le-Hayyim, Ephraim Solomon ben Aaron of Luntshits, Lublin 1595, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Bezalel ben Abraham Ashkenazi, Venice 1595, Sibbuv, Pethahiah ben Jacob of Regensburg, and Midrash Yonah, Prague 1595, Sod Yesharim, Leone ( Judah Aryeh) Modena, Venice 1595–96, Torah, Nevi’im, Ketuvim (Bible), Frankfort on the Oder, Johann and Friedrich Hartman 1596, Divrei Shelomo, Solomon ben Isaac le-Bet ha-Levi, Venice 1596, Keter Shem Tov, Shem Tov ben Jacob Melamed, Venice 1596, Mevakkesh Ha-Shem/Devar Shemu’el, Samuel ben Jacob Hagiz, Venice 1596, Shemen ha-Mor, Aaron Abiob, Salonika 1596, Ha-Terumot, Samuel ben Isaac ha-Sardi, Salonika 1597, Asarah Ma’amarot, Menahem Azariah da Fano, Venice 1597, Em ha-Yeled, Joseph ben Elhanan Heilbronn, Prague 1597, Ho’il Moshe/Ba Gad, Moses Alfalas, Venice 1597, Iggeret Shemu’el, Samuel ben Isaac Uceda, Kuru-Chesme 1597, Proverbia Ben-Sira/Adagiorum Ebraicorum, Johannes Clemens Drusius, Franeker 1597, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Joseph ben Ephraim Caro, Salonika c. 1597–98, Tractate Ketubbot, Kuru-Chesme—Joseph ben Isaac Ashkeloni 1597–1606, Yefeh To’ar, Samuel Jaffe ben Isaac Ashkenazi, Venice 1598–99, Aleh Toledot Adam . . . Kohelet Ya’akov, Baruch ben Moses ibn Baruch, Venice

920

chronological list of titles 1598, Be’er ha-Golah, Judah Loew ben Bezalel (Maharal), Prague 1598, Minhagim, Isaac Tyrnau, Basle 1598, Ner Mitzvah, Samuel ben Joseph Kohen Zedek, Venice 1598, Tanna de-Vei Eliyahu, Venice—Daniel Zanetti 1599, Haggadah, Venice—Giovanni di Gara 1599, Hiddushim, Samuel Eliezer ben Judah ha-Levi Edels (Maharsha), Basle 1599, Leshon ha-Zahav, Jedaiah ha-Penini ben Abraham Bedersi, Venice 1599, Mehararei Nemeirim, Abraham ben Solomon Akra, Venice 1599–1600, Mishpetei Shemu’el, Samuel ben Moses Kalai, Venice 1599, Porat Yosef, Joseph Taitazak, Venice 1599, Seder ha-Yom, Moses ben Judah ibn Makhir, Venice 1599, Vikku’ah ha-Yayin ve-ha-Mayim, Elijah ben Moses Loanz, Basle

921

922

Places of Publication and Titles Listing Adrianople: Shevet Yehudah, 1554 Alcalá de Henares: Complutensian Polyglot Bible, 1514–17 Antwerp: Biblia Sacra hebraice, chaldaice, graece et latine . . ., 1569–72 Augsburg: Arba’ah Turim, 1540: Avkat Rokhel, 1540; Haggadah, 1534; Iggerot Shelomim, 1534; Melokhim Bukh, 1543; Shmuel Bukh, 1544 Basle: Dictionarium Chaldaicum, 1527; Hamishah Homshei Torah, 1583; Hasidim, 1580; Hebraica Biblia Mikdash HaShem, 1546; Hiddushim, 1599; Ir Gibborim, 1580; Kaftor va-Ferah (Kavvanot ha-Aggadot), 1580; Me’ir Nativ, 1581; Minhagim, 1598; Talmud, Babylonian, 1578–81; Vikku’ah ha-Yayin ve-ha-Mayim, 1599 Belvedere: Gal shel Egozim, c. 1593–95; Siddur Tefilot he-Hadash, c. 1593–95; Torat Moshe, c. 1593–95 Bistrowitz: Haggadah Zevah Pesah, 1592 Bologna: Kimha de-Avishuna on the Roman Rite Mahzor, 1540–41; Or Ammim, 1537; Piskei Halakhot, 1538; She’elot u’Teshuvot, Solomon ben Abraham ibn Adret (Rashba), 1539; Siddur—Roman Rite, 1537; Torah Or, 1538 Cairo: Pitron Halomot, 1557 Constantinople: Adderet Eliyahu, 1531; Alfasi, 1509; Amadis de Gaula, c. 1541; Amudei Golah (Semak), c. 1510; Arba’ah Turim, 1540; Ayumah ka-Nidgaloth, 1577; Ben ha-Melekh ve-ha-Nazir, 1518; Ben Porat Yosef, 1577; Be’ur Perush ha-Ramban, 1525; Calendar, 1510; Derekh Emunah, 1521; Derekh Hayyim/Avodat Mikdash, c. 1573; Divrei ha-Yamim le-Moshe Rabbenu, 1516; Emunot ve-De’ot, 1562; Haggadah, c. 1530; Haggadah Zevah Pesah, 1505; [Haggadot ha-Talmud ], 1511; Hamishah Homshei Torah, 1505; Iggeret haVikku’ah, c. 1577; Iggeret Ogeret, c. 1577; Kad ha-Kemah, 1515; Kelal Kazar, c. 1531; Kevod Elohim, 1585; Keter Torah, 1536; Kizzur Piskei ha-Rosh, 1515; Leshon Limmudim, 1506; Ha-Likkutim ve-ha-Hibburim, 1519; Ma’amar Hasdei HaShem, 1533; Ma’amar Tehiyyat ha-Metim, 1569; Ma’aseh Yehudit, 1552–53; Mahbarot Immanuel, 1535; Ha-Manhig, 1519; Mashreh Kitrin, 1510; Ha-Massa’ot, 1543; Me’assef le-Khol ha-Mahanot, c. 1530; Ha-Mefo’ar, 1537; Mekor Barukh, 1576; Midrash Rabbah, 1512; Midrash Tillim (Tehillim), 1512; [Sefer Mikhlol] Helek ha-Dikduk, 1530; Mikhlol, 1532–34; Mikhlol Yofi, 1548–49; Minhat Yehudah Sone haNashim, c. 1543; Sefer ha-Pardes, c. 1516; Perush ha-Torah, Abraham ibn Ezra, 1514; Perush ha-Torah le-R. Ya’akov, Jacob ben Asher, 1514; Perushim le-Rashi (Sefer Canizal ), c. 1525; Pesah le-HaShem, 1560; Petah Devarai, 1515; Re’umah, 1566; Seder Tefillot ha-Shanah Minhag Kehillot Romania, c. 1573–1578; Sefer ha-Mitzvot, c. 1510; Sha’ar Yehudah, 1581; She’elot u’Teshuvot, Joseph ben David ibn Lev, 1561–98; She’elot Teshuvot le-ha-Rosh, 1517; Shelom Esther, Constantinople, c. 1575–76; Shloshah Perushim al Shir ha-Shirim, 1577; Tahkemoni, 1578; Talmud, Babylonian, 1583–c. 1593; Teshuvot, Sefer, 1537; Teshuvot ha-Rav, 1546–47; Teshuvot She’elot (Rambam), c. 1517; Teshuvot She’elot, Elijah ben Abraham Mizrahi, 1559–61; Tikkun Middot ha-Nefesh, 1550; Tola’at Ya’akov, 1560; Torah with Persian and Arabic Targum, 1546; Torat ha-Adam, 1518; Tractate Pesahim, c. 1505; Yuhasin, 1566; Zikhron Torat Moshe, 1552–53; Zohar ha-Raki’a on the Azharot, 1515 Cracow: Ha-Aguddah, 1571; Ayyalah Sheluhah, c. 1595; Derash Moshe, 1589; Derashot al ha-Torah, 1573–75; Derekh Hayyim on Avot, 1589; Gevurot ha-Shem, 1581–82; Hasdei HaShem, 1589; Sefer haHayyim, 1593; Hokhmat Shelomo, 1582; Imrei Shefer, Cracow/Lublin, 1591–97; Mareh Kohen, 1589; Matteh Moshe, 1591; Mattenot Kehunnah on Midrash Rabbah, 1587; Menorat Zahav Tohor, c. 1585; Milhemet haHokhmah ve-ha-Osher, c. 1546; Minhah Hadashah on Pirkei Avot, c. 1576; Mirkevet ha-Mishneh, 1534; Ne’im Zemirot, 1576; Pardes Rimmonim, Cracow/Nowy Dwor, 1591; Perush ha-Milot, 1580; Perush le-Midrash Hamesh Megillot Rabbah, 1569; She’elot u’Teshuvot She’erit Yosef, 1589–90; Shulhan Arukh, 1593–94; Torat ha-Hattat, 1590; Tractate Rosh Ha-Shanah, 1578; Ha-Yashar, 1586 Cremona: Amudei Golah (Semak), 1556; Hizzekuni, 1559; Imrei No’am, 1565; Keritot, 1557; Ma’alot haMiddot, 1556; Ma’amar Haskel, 1556; Megillat Sefer, 1566; Mehir Yayin, 1559; Mivhar Peninim, 1558; Or Einayim, 1557; She’elot u’Teshuvot, Jacob ben Moses Moellin (Maharil), 1556; She’elot u’Teshuvot, Meir ben Baruch of Rothenburg (Maharam), 1557; Tanya, 1565; Tashbez, 1556; Toledot Adam, 1556; Torat ha-Bayit, 1565; Yosef Lekah, 1576; Ziyyoni, 1559; Zohar, 1559–60; Zori ha-Yagon, 1557

923

places of publication and titles listing Fano: Arba’ah Turim, 1516; Decachordum Christianum, 1507; Kuzar, 1506; Musar Haskel be-Melizah/Orhot Hayyim, 1504; Ha-Roke’ah, 1505; Selihot, 1505; Sha’arei Teshuvah, c. 1506 Ferrara: Ha-Emunot, 1556; Hibbur Yafeh me-haYeshu’ah, 1557; Hoshanot Le-Sukkot, 1553; Issur ve-Hetter, 1555; Kevod Elohim, 1556; Likkutei Shikhhah u-Fe’ah, 1556; Ma’yenei ha-Yeshu’ah, 1551; Or HaShem, 1555; Sha’ar ha-Gemul, 1556; Zeidah la-Derekh, 1554; Ha-Zikkaron, 1555 Fez: Abudarham, 1517; Tractate Rosh Ha-Shanah, c. 1516 Franeker: Proverbia Ben-Sira/Adagiorum Ebraicorum, 1597 Frankfort on the Oder: Torah, Nevi’im, Ketuvim (Bible), 1595–96 Freiburg-im-Breisgau: Ohel Ya’akov, 1584; Toledot Aharon, 1583–84 Genoa: Psalterium Hebraeum, Graecum, Arabicum, et Chaldaeum, 1516 Hagenau: De accentibus et orthographia linguae hebraicae, 1518 Hamburg: Biblia Sacra—Derekh ha-Kodesh, 1587 Heddernheim: Naftulei Elohim Niftalti, 1546 Isny: Buovo d’Antona (Bove-Bukh), 1541; Meturgeman, 1541; Tehillim with commentary of R. David Kimhi (Radak), 1541; Ha-Tishbi, 1541 Konska Wola: Tractate Pesahim, 1561 Kuru-Chesme: Iggeret Shemu’el, 1597; Tractate Ketubbot, c. 1597–98 London: Oratio de laudibus trium linguarum, 1524 Lublin: Birkat ha-Mazon, 1575; Hesed Avraham, 1577; Levush Malkhut, 1590, Levushei Or Yekarot, 1595; Orah le-Hayyim, 1595; Pahad Yizhak, 1573; Sha’arei Dura, 1574; She’elot u’Teshuvot, Solomon ben Jehiel Luria (Maharshal), 1574–75; She’elot Inyan ha-Neshamah, 1557; Ta’amei Mitzvot, 1570–71; Tamim Yahdav, 1592–93 Mantua: Be’ur Zeh Yaza Rishonah and Elleh ha-Devarim, 1566; Darkhei ha-Gemara, 1593; Haggadah, 1560; Haggadah with Nimmukei Yosef, 1568; Iggeret Ba’alei Hayyim, 1557; Ma’arekhet ha-Elohut with Minhat Yehudah, 1558; Mahzor—Roman Rite, 1557–60; Megillat Antiochus, 1557; Mekor Hayyim, 1559; Me’or Einayim, 1573–74; Midrash Tanhuma, 1563; Mishlei Shu’alim, 1557–58; Seder Olam, Olam Zuta, Megillat Ta’anit, and Sefer ha-Kabbalah, 1513; Sha’arei Orah, 1561; She’erit Yosef, 1593; Shulhan shel Arba, 1514; Sefer ha-Tehiyyah ve-Sefer ha-Pedut, 1556; Tikkunei Zohar, 1557; Toledot Yizhak, 1558; Yezirah, 1562; Zohar, 1558–60 Ortona: De arcanis catholicae veritatis, 1518; Dikduk (Mahalakh Shevilei ha-Da’at), 1519 Padua: Derashot ha-Torah, 1567; Derekh Emunah, 1562 Paris: Biblia hebraice, 1539–44; Seder Olam Zuta, 1572 Pesaro: Arba’ah ve’Esrim (Bible), 1511–17; Arukh, 1517; Be’ur al ha-Torah, 1507; Massekhet Purim, 1513; Midrash Hamesh Megillot, 1519; Nevi’im Ahronim with the commentary of David ben Joseph Kimhi (Radak), 1515; Nevi’im Rishonim with the commentary of Don Isaac Abrabanel, 1511; Perush ha-Torah, Moses ben Nahman (Ramban), 1514; Tractate Berakhot, c. 1517; Tractate Eruvin, c. 1515; Tractate Sukkah, c. 1515 Pforzheim: De rudimentis Hebraicis, 1506 Prague: Be’er ha-Golah, 1598; Em ha-Yeled, 1597; Gur Aryeh, 1578–79; Haggadah, 1526; Hamishah Homshei Torah, 1514–18; Iggeret Teshuvah, 1595; Orhot Zaddikim, 1581; Pesak al Agunah, 1594; Ru’ah Hen, 1593; She’elot u’Teshuvot ha-Geonim, 1590; Sibbuv and Midrash Yonah, 1595; Torat ha-Olah, 1570; Tur Orah Hayyim, 1540; Zemah David, 1592 Rimini: Agur, 1526; Ikkarim, 1522; Melizat Efer ve-Dinah, 1525 Riva di Trento: Alfasi, 1558; Be’urim, 1562; Birkot Maharam, 1558; Dikdukei Rashi, 1560; Ebronot, 1560; Kol Melekhet Higgayon, 1559; Massa Gei Hizzayon, 1560; Me’ir Iyyov, 1562–67; Milhamot HaShem, 1560; Ha-Minhagim, 1558; Mordekhai, 1558; Parashiot, c. 1562; Shevilei Emunah, 1559; Tractate Derekh Erez and Pirkei ben Azzai, 1561; To’aliyyot Ralbag, 1560 Rome: Bere’shit, 1578; Iggeret ha-Kodesh, 1546; She’elot u’Teshuvot Rabbenu Nissim, 1545–46 Sabbioneta: Divrei ha-Yamim le-Malkhei Zarefat u-le-Malkhei Beit Ottoman ha-Togar, 1553; Hilkhot Rav Alfas, 1554–55; Lehem Yehudah, 1554; Maharil, 1556; Mirkevet ha-Mishneh, 1551; Mishnayot, Sabbioneta/Mantua, 1559–63; Pardes Rimmonim, 1554; Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer, 1567; She’elot u’Teshuvot, Moses ben Isaac ibn Alashkar, 1554; Tractate Kiddushin, 1554 Safed: Kohelet Ya’akov, 1577–78; Lekah Tov, 1577; Zemirot Yisrael, 1587 Salonika: Akedat Yizhak, 1522; Be’er Mayim Hayyim, 1546; Derashot (Sefer ha-Mefo’ar), 1529; Ein Ya’akov, 1516; Fuente Clara, c. 1592–99; Ha-Gedarim (Mikhlal Yofi ), 1567; Hanhagat ha-Hayyim, 1564; Hukkat haPesah, 1569; Ketuvim, Psalms, Proverbs, Job and Daniel, 1515; Lev Avot, 1565; Me’ah She’arim, 1543;

924

places of publication and titles listing Mefasher Helmin, 1515; Mesorat ha-Talmud, c. 1523; Midrash Tehillim, 1515; Ner Mitzvah/Yesha Elohim, 1569; Ot Emet, 1564; Pirkei Moshe, 1563; She’erit Yosef, 1568; She’elot u’Teshuvot, Joseph ben David ibn Lev, c. 1558; She’elot u’Teshuvot, Joseph ben Ephraim Caro, 1597; She’elot u’Teshuvot, Samuel ben Moses de Medina (Maharashdam), 1594–97; She’elot u’Teshuvot, Solomon ben Abraham ha-Kohen, 1586; She’elot u’Teshuvot Divrei Rivot, 1582; Shemen ha-Mor, 1596; Talmud, Babylonian, 1558–1567; Tanhumot El, 1578–79; Ha-Terumot, 1596; Tractate Berakhot, 1592 Thannhausen: Mahzor—Ashkenaz Rite, 1594 Thiengen: Adam Sikhli, 1560; Shir ha-Yihud, 1560 Venice: Aleh Toledot Adam . . . Kohelet Ya’akov, 1598–99; Alphabetum Hebraicum, c. 1501; Asarah Ma’amarot, 1597; Avkat Rokhel, Venice, 1566–67; Avodat ha-Levi, 1546; Ayyelet Ahavim, 1552; Behinat Olam, 1546; Beit Yosef on Tur Orah Hayyim, 1550; Be’ur al ha-Torah, Obadiah Sforno, 1567; Be’ur Sefer Kohelet, 1577; Be’urim, 1593; Binyamin Ze’ev, 1538–39; Decree Ordering the Confiscation and Burning of the Talmud, 1553; Devek Tov, 1588; Divrei Shelomo, 1596; Ein Yisrael (Ein Ya’akov), 1566; Even Bohan, 1546; Haggadah, 1599; Halakhot Gedolot, 1548; Halikhot Olam—Mevo ha-Talmud, 1544; Harkavah/Pirkei Eliyahu, 1546; Havakbuk/Massekhet Purim, 1552; Havazzelet ha-Sharon, 1592; Heshek Shelomo, 1588; Hiddushei haRamban Bava Batra, 1523; Hiddushei ha-Rashba Hullin, 1523; Ha-Hinnukh, 1523; Ho’il Moshe/Ba Gad, 1597; Hovot ha-Levavot, 1548; Ibbur Shanim, 1579; Iggeret Orhot Olam, 1586; Ikkarim, 1544; Index librorum prohibitorum, 1564; Josippon, 1544; Kaftor va-Ferah, c. 1548; Keli Hemdah, 1595; Kesef Mishneh on Mishneh Torah, 1574–75; Keter Shem Tov, 1596; Kiryat Sefer, 1551; Kol Bo, 1547; Kol Bokhim, 1589; Lekah Tov, 1595; Leshon ha-Zahav, 1599; Le-Khal Hefetz, 1552; Likkutei ha-Pardes, 1519; Ma’aseh HaShem, 1583; Manot ha-Levi, 1585; Marpe la-Nefesh, 1595; Marpe Lashon/Darkhei No’am, 1546; Ma’yan Gannim, 1553; Me’ammez Ko’ah, 1587–88; Mehararei Nemeirim, 1599; Mekhilta of R. Ishmael, 1545; Menorat haMa’or, 1544; Meshal ha-Kadmoni, c. 1547; Mevakkesh Ha-Shem/Devar Shemu’el, 1596; Midrash ha-Ne’lam, 1566; Midrash Rabbot, 1545; Mikneh Avram, 1523; Mikra’ei Kodesh, 1586; Mikra’ot Gedolot (Biblia Rabbinica), 1516–17; Mikra’ot Gedolot (Biblia Rabbinica), 1524–25; Minhagim, 1593; Mishnayot Seder Tohorot with commentaries of Maimonides and Samson of Sens, 1546; Mishnayot with commentary of Obadiah Bertinoro, 1548–49; Mishneh Torah, 1524; Mishneh Torah, 1550; Mishpetei Shemu’el, 1599–1600; Mizmor le-Todah, 1576; Moreh Nevukhim, 1551; Nahalat Avot, 1545; Nefuzot Yehudah, 1589; Ner Mitzvah, 1598; Neveh Shalom, 1574; Ohel Mo’ed, 1548; Olat Shabbat, 1577; Or ha-Sekhel, 1567; Or Ne’erav, 1587; Ordenanca delas Oraciones del Cedur, 1552; Otiyyot de-Rabbi Akiva, 1546; Perush al ha-Torah, Levi ben Gershom (Ralbag), 1547; Perush al Rashi, 1527; Perush Avodat Yom ha-Kippurim, 1587; Perush Megillat Ahasuerus, 1565; Perush Rashi al ha-Torah, 1522; Perush ha-Torah, Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel, 1579; Pesakim, 1519; Porat Yosef, 1599; Psalterium, 1515; Reshit Hokhmah, 1579; Rosh Amanah, 1545; Se’ah Solet/Marpe la-Nefesh/Orah Hayyim, 1578–79; Seder ha-Yom, 1599; Sefer Mitzvot Gadol (Semag), 1547; Selihot—Ashkenaz Rite, 1548; Sha’ar ha-Shamayim, 1547; Sha’arei Dura, 1547; Shalshelet ha-Kabbalah, 1587; She’elot leHakham, 1574; She’elot u’Teshuvot, Bezalel ben Abraham Ashkenazi, 1595; She’elot u’Teshuvot, Jacob ben Judah Weil, 1549; She’elot u’Teshuvot, Joseph ben Solomon Colon (Maharik), 1519; She’elot u’Teshuvot, Judah Minz and Meir Katzenellenbogen (Maharam), 1553; She’elot u’Teshuvot, Levi ben Jacob ibn Habib, 1565; She’iltot, Rav Ahai of Shabha, 1546; Shevilei Tohu, 1539; Shibbolei ha-Leket, 1546; Ha-Shorashim, 1529; Shulhan Arukh, 1564–65; Shulhan Arukh, 1577–78; Siddur ha-Tefillot ke-Minhag Kahal ha-Karaim, 1528–29; Sod Yesharim, 1595; Talmud, Babylonian, 1519/20–23; Talmud, Babylonian, 1526–39; Talmud, Babylonian, 1543–49; Talmud, Babylonian, 1546–51; Talmud, Jerusalem, 1522–24; Tanna de-Vei Eliyahu, 1598; Ha-Terumah, 1523; Terumat ha-Deshen, 1519; Tevat Noach/Arca Noe, 1593; Toledot Adam ve-Havvah—Sefer Mesharim, 1557; Tomer Devorah, 1588; Torah, Nevi’im, Ketuvim (Bible), c. 1517–18; Torah, Nevi’im, Ketuvim (Bible), 1521; Tractate Nedarim, 1522; Tractate Shekalim, 1527; Yalkut Shimoni, 1566; Yefeh Mareh, 1590; Yefeh Nof, c. 1572; Yefeh To’ar, 1597–1606; Yere’im, 1566; Zahut be-Dikduk/Moznei Leshon ha-Kodesh, 1546; Zemah David, 1587; Zeror ha-Mor, 1522–23 Verona: Kuhbuch, 1595; Minhah Belulah, 1594; Paris un Viene, 1594 Wittenberg: Twelve (Minor) Prophets, 1587 Zurich: Bibliotheca universalis, 1545–55 Other: Des Pfefferkorns Leben c. 1507–20; Zafenat Pane’ah, 1555

925

926

English Title Listing Abudarham, David ben Joseph Abudarham, Fez, 1517 De accentibus et orthographia linguae hebraicae, Johannes Reuchlin, Hagenau, 1518 Adam Sikhli, Simeon ben Samuel, Thiengen, 1560 Adderet Eliyahu, Elijah ben Moses Bashyazi, Constantinople, 1531 Ha-Aguddah, Alexander Suslin ha-Kohen of Frankfort, Cracow, 1571 Agur, Jacob Barukh ben Judah Landau, Rimini, 1526 Akedat Yizhak, Isaac ben Moses Arama, Salonika, 1522 Aleh Toledot Adam . . . Kohelet Ya’akov, Baruch ben Moses ibn Baruch, Venice, 1598–99 Alfasi (Sefer Rav Alfas), Isaac ben Jacob Alfasi (Rif ), Constantinople, 1509 Alfasi (Hilkhot Rav Alfas), Isaac ben Jacob Alfasi (Rif ), Sabbioneta, 1554–55 Alfasi (Sefer Rav Alfas), Isaac ben Jacob Alfasi (Rif ), Riva di Trento, 1558 Alphabetum Hebraicum, Aldus Manutius, Venice, c. 1501 Amadis de Gaula, Constantinople, c. 1541 Amudei Golah (Semak), Isaac ben Joseph of Corbeil, Constantinople, c. 1510 Amudei Golah (Semak), Isaac ben Joseph of Corbeil, Cremona, 1556 Arba’ah ve’Esrim (Bible), Pesaro, 1511–17 Arba’ah Turim, Jacob ben Asher, Fano, 1516 Arba’ah Turim, Jacob ben Asher, Augsburg, 1540 Arba’ah Turim, Jacob ben Asher, Constantinople, 1540 De arcanis catholicae veritatis, Pietro Columna Galatinus, Ortona, 1518 Arukh, Nathan ben Jehiel, Pesaro, 1517 Asarah Ma’amarot, Menahem Azariah da Fano, Venice, 1597 Avkat Rokhel, Machir ben Isaac Sar Hasid, Augsburg, 1540 Avkat Rokhel, Machir ben Isaac Sar Hasid—Venice, 1566–67 Avodat ha-Levi, Solomon ben Eliezer ha-Levi, Venice, 1546 Ayumah ka-Nidgaloth, Isaac ben Samuel Onkeneira, Constantinople, 1577 Ayyalah Sheluhah, Naphtali Hirsch ben Asher Altschuler, Cracow, c. 1595 Ayyelet Ahavim, Solomon ben Moses ha-Levi Alkabez, Venice, 1552 Be’er ha-Golah, Judah Loew ben Bezalel (Maharal), Prague, 1598 Be’er Mayim Hayyim, Hayyim ben Jacob Obadiah de Busal, Salonika, 1546 Behinat Olam, Jedaiah ha-Penini ben Abraham Bedersi, Venice, 1546 Beit Yosef on Tur Orah Hayyim, Joseph ben Ephraim Caro, Venice, 1550 Ben ha-Melekh ve-ha-Nazir, Abraham ben Samuel ha-Levi Ibn Hasdai, Constantinople, 1518 Ben Porat Yosef, Don Joseph Nasi, Constantinople, 1577 Bere’shit, Rome, 1578 Be’ur al ha-Torah, Bahya ben Asher ben Hlava, Pesaro, 1507 Be’ur al ha-Torah, Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno, Venice, 1567 Be’ur Perush ha-Ramban, Isaac Aboab (II), Constantinople, 1525 Be’ur Sefer Kohelet, Elisha ben Gabriel Gallico, Venice, 1577 Be’ur Zeh Yaza Rishonah, Moses Provencal, and Elleh ha-Devarim, S. Venturozzo, Mantua, 1566 Be’urim, Israel ben Pethahiah Isserlein, Riva di Trento, 1562 Be’urim, Nathan Nata ben Samson Spira (Shapira), Venice, 1593 Biblia hebraice, Paris, Robert Estienne, 1539–44 Biblia Sacra—Derekh ha-Kodesh, Elias Hutter, Hamburg, 1587 Biblia Sacra hebraice, chaldaice, graece et latine . . ., Christophe Plantin, Antwerp, 1569–72 Bibliotheca universalis, Conrad Gesner, Zurich, 1545–55 Binyamin Ze’ev, Benjamin ben Mattathias, Venice, 1538–39 Birkat ha-Mazon, Nathan Nata ben Samson Spira (Shapira), Lublin, 1575 Birkot Maharam, Meir ben Baruch of Rothenburg, Riva di Trento, 1558 Buovo d’Antona (Bove-Bukh), Elijah ben Asher ha-Levi Ashkenazi Levita (Bahur), Isny, 1541

927

english title listing Calendar, Constantinople, 1510 Complutensian Polyglot Bible, Alcalá de Henares, 1514–17 Darkhei ha-Gemara, Isaac ben Jacob Campanton, Mantua, 1593 Decachordum Christianum, Cardinal Marcus Vigerius, Fano, 1507 Decree Ordering the Confiscation and Burning of the Talmud, Venice, 1553 Derash Moshe, Moses ben Isaac of Pizenz, Cracow, 1589 Derashot (Sefer ha-Mefo’ar), Solomon Molcho, Salonika, 1529 Derashot al ha-Torah, Joshua ibn Shuaib, Cracow, 1573–75 Derashot ha-Torah, Shem Tov ben Joseph ibn Shem Tov, Padua, 1567 Derekh Emunah, Abraham ben Shem Tov Bibago, Constantinople, 1521 Derekh Emunah, Meir ben Ezekiel ibn Gabbai, Padua, 1562 Derekh Hayyim on Avot, Judah Loew ben Bezalel (Maharal), Cracow, 1589 Derekh Hayyim/Avodat Mikdash, Menahem ben Judah de Lonzano, Constantinople, c. 1573 Des Pfefferkorns Leben, c. 1507–20 Devek Tov, Simeon ben Isaac ha-Levi Aschaffenburg, Venice, 1588 Dictionarium Chaldaicum, Sebastian Muenster, Basle, 1527 Dikduk (Mahalakh Shevilei ha-Da’at), Moses ben Joseph Kimhi, Ortona, 1519 Dikdukei Rashi, Riva di Trento, 1560 Divrei ha-Yamim le-Malkhei Zarefat . . ., Joseph ha-Kohen, Sabbioneta, 1553 Divrei ha-Yamim le-Moshe Rabbenu, Samuel ibn Nahmias, Constantinople, 1516 Divrei Shelomo, Solomon ben Isaac le-Bet ha-Levi, Venice, 1596 Ebronot, Riva di Trento, 1560 Ein Ya’akov, Jacob ben Solomon ibn Habib, Salonika, 1516 Ein Yisrael (Ein Ya’akov), Jacob ben Solomon ibn Habib, Venice, 1566 Em ha-Yeled, Joseph ben Elhanan Heilbronn, Prague, 1597 Ha-Emunot, Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov, Ferrara, 1556 Emunot ve-De’ot, Saadiah ben Joseph Gaon, Constantinople, 1562 Even Bohan, Kalonymus ben Kalonymus, Venice, 1546 Fuente Clara, Salonika, c. 1592–1599 Gal shel Egozim, Menahem ben Moses Egozi, Belvedere, c. 1593–95 Ha-Gedarim (Mikhlal Yofi ), Menahem ben Abraham Bonafos, Salonika, 1567 Gevurot ha-Shem, Judah Loew ben Bezalel (Maharal), Cracow, 1581–82 Gur Aryeh, Judah Loew ben Bezalel (Maharal), Prague, 1578–79 Haggadah, Gershom Kohen, Prague, 1526 Haggadah, Constantinople, c. 1530 Haggadah, Hayyim ben David Shahor, Augsburg, 1534 Haggadah, Messer Venturin Ruffinelli, Mantua, 1560 Haggadah, Giovani di Gara, Venice, 1599 Haggadah with Nimmukei Yosef, Joseph ben Jacob Shalit of Padua, Mantua, 1568 Haggadah Zevah Pesah, Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel, Constantinople, 1505 Haggadah Zevah Pesah, Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel, Bistrowitz, 1592 [Haggadot ha-Talmud ], Constantinople, 1511 Halakhot Gedolot, Simeon Kayyara, Venice, 1548 Halikhot Olam—Mevo ha-Talmud, Yeshu’ah ha-Levi—Samuel ha-Nagid, Venice, 1544 Hamishah Homshei Torah, Constantinople, 1505 Hamishah Homshei Torah, Prague, 1514–18 Hamishah Homshei Torah, Basle, 1583 Hanhagat ha-Hayyim, Moses ben Baruch Almosnino, Salonika, 1564 Harkavah/Pirkei Eliyahu, Elijah ben Asher ha-Levi Ashkenazi Levita (Bahur), Venice, 1546 Hasdei HaShem, Moses Mordecai ben Samuel Margolioth, Cracow, 1589 Hasidim, Judah ben Samuel he-Hasid, Basle, 1580 Havakbuk/Massekhet Purim, Venice, 1552 Havazzelet ha-Sharon, Moses ben Hayyim Alshekh, Venice, 1592 ha-Hayyim, Sefer, Hayyim ben Bezalel, Cracow, 1593 Hebraica Biblia Mikdash HaShem, Sebastian Muenster, Basle, 1546 Hesed Avraham, Abraham ben Shabbetai Horowitz, Lublin, 1577

928

english title listing Heshek Shelomo, Venice, 1588 Hibbur Yafeh me-haYeshu’ah, Nissim ben Jacob Ibn Shahin, Ferrara, 1557 Hiddushei ha-Ramban Bava Batra, Moses ben Nahman (Ramban), Venice, 1523 Hiddushei ha-Rashba Hullin, Solomon ben Abraham ibn Adret (Rashba), Venice, 1523 Hiddushim, Samuel Eliezer ben Judah ha-Levi Edels (Maharsha), Basle, 1599 Ha-Hinnukh, Venice, 1523 Hizzekuni, Hezekiah ben Manoah, Cremona, 1559 Hokhmat Shelomo, Solomon ben Jehiel Luria (Maharshal), Cracow, 1582 Ho’il Moshe/Ba Gad, Moses Alfalas, Venice, 1597 Hoshanot Le-Sukkot, Simeon ben Zemah Duran, Ferrara, 1553 Hovot ha-Levavot, Bahya ben Joseph ibn Paquda, Venice, 1548 Hukkat ha-Pesah, Moses ben Hayyim ben Shem Tov Pesante, Salonika, 1569 Ibbur Shanim, Issachar ben Mordecai ibn Susan, Venice, 1579 Iggeret Ba’alei Hayyim, Kalonymus ben Kalonymus, Mantua, 1557 Iggeret ha-Kodesh, Moses ben Nahman (Ramban), Rome, 1546 Iggeret ha-Vikku’ah, Shem Tov ben Joseph ibn Falaquera, Constantinople, c. 1577 Iggeret Ogeret, Isaac ben Abraham Akrish, Editor, Constantinople, c. 1577 Iggeret Orhot Olam, Abraham ben Mordecai Farissol, Venice, 1586 Iggeret Shemu’el, Samuel ben Isaac Uceda, Kuru-Chesme, 1597 Iggeret Teshuvah, Jonah ben Abraham Gerondi, Prague, 1595 Iggerot Shelomim, Augsburg, 1534 Ikkarim, Joseph Albo, Rimini, 1522 Ikkarim, Joseph Albo, Venice, 1544 Imrei No’am, Jacob di Illescas, Cremona, 1565 Imrei Shefer, Nathan Nata ben Samson Spira (Shapira), Cracow/Lublin, 1591–97 Index librorum prohibitorum, Venice, 1564 Ir Gibborim, Ephraim Solomon ben Aaron of Luntshits, Basle, 1580 Issur ve-Hetter, Jonah ben Abraham Gerondi, Ferrara, 1555 Josippon, Venice, 1544 Kad ha-Kemah, Bahya ben Asher ben Hlava, Constantinople, 1515 Kaftor va-Ferah, Estori ben Moses ha-Parhi, Venice, c. 1548 Kaftor va-Ferah (Kavvanot ha-Aggadot), Jacob ben Isaac Luzzatto, Basle, 1580 Kelal Kazar, Judah ben Joseph ibn Bulat, Constantinople, c. 1531 Keli Hemdah, Samuel ben Abraham Laniado, Venice, 1595 Keritot, Samson ben Isaac of Chinon, Cremona, 1557 Kesef Mishneh on Mishneh Torah, Joseph ben Ephraim Caro, Venice, 1574–75 Keter Shem Tov, Shem Tov ben Jacob Melamed, Venice, 1596 Keter Torah, David ben Solomon Vital, Constantinople, 1536 Ketuvim, Psalms, Proverbs, Job and Daniel, Salonika, 1515 Kevod Elohim, Abraham ha-Levi ibn Migash, Constantinople, 1585 Kevod Elohim, Joseph ben Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov, Ferrara, 1556 Kimha de-Avishuna on the Roman Rite Mahzor, Johanan ben Joseph Treves, Bologna, 1540–41 Kiryat Sefer, Moses ben Joseph di Trani (Mabit), Venice, 1551 Kizzur Piskei ha-Rosh, Asher ben Jehiel (Rosh)/Jacob ben Asher (Tur), Constantinople, 1515 Kohelet Ya’akov, Moses ben Mordecai Galante, Safed, 1577–78 Kol Bo, Anonymous, Venice, 1547 Kol Bokhim, Joel ibn Shuaib/Abraham ben Mordecai Galante, Venice, 1589 Kol Melekhet Higgayon, Muhammad ibn Rushd (Averroes), Riva de Trento, 1559 Kuhbuch, Abraham ben Mattathias Basevi (?), Verona, 1595 Kuzar, Judah Halevi, Fano, 1506 Lehem Yehudah, Judah ben Samuel Lerma, Sabbioneta, 1554 Lekah Tov, Abraham ben Hananiah dei Galicchi Jagel, Venice 1595 Lekah Tov, Yom Tov ben Moses Zahalon, Safed, 1577 Le-Khal Hefetz, Eliezer Melli, Venice, 1552 Leshon ha-Zahav, Jedaiah ben Abraham Bedersi, Venice, 1599 Leshon Limmudim, David ben Solomon Ibn Yahya, Constantinople, 1506

929

english title listing Lev Avot, Solomon ben Isaac le-Bet ha-Levi, Salonika, 1565 Levush Malkhut, Mordecai ben Abraham Jaffe, Lublin, 1590 Levushei Or Yekarot, Mordecai ben Abraham Jaffe, Lublin, 1595 Likkutei ha-Pardes, Solomon ben Isaac (Rashi), Venice, 1519 Likkutei Shikhhah u-Fe’ah, Abraham ben Judah Elmalik, Ferrara, 1556 Ha-Likkutim ve-ha-Hibburim, Constantinople, Astruc de Toulon, 1519 Ma’alot ha-Middot, Jehiel ben Jekuthiel ben Benjamin ha-Rofe Anav, Cremona, 1556 Ma’amar Hasdei HaShem, Joseph ben Hayyim Jabez, Constantinople, 1533 Ma’amar Haskel, Cremona, 1556 Ma’amar Tehiyyat ha-Metim, Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides, Rambam), Constantinople, 1569 Ma’arekhet ha-Elohut with Minhat Yehudah, Perez ben Isaac and Judah Hayyat, Mantua, 1558 Ma’aseh HaShem, Eliezer ben Elijah Ashkenazi, Venice, 1583 Ma’aseh Yehudit, Constantinople, 1552–53 Maharil, Jacob ben Moses Moellin (Maharil), Sabbioneta, 1556 Mahbarot Immanuel, Immanuel ben Solomon of Rome, Constantinople, 1535 Mahzor—Ashkenaz Rite, Thannhausen, 1594 Mahzor—Roman Rite, Mantua, 1557–60 Ha-Manhig, Abraham ben Nathan ha-Yarhi, Constantinople, 1519 Manot ha-Levi, Solomon ben Moses ha-Levi Alkabez, Venice, 1585 Mareh Kohen, Issachar Ber ben Naphtali Katz, Cracow, 1589 Marpe la-Nefesh, Abraham ben Isaac Zahalon, Venice, 1595 Marpe Lashon/Darkhei No’am, Moses ben Shem Tov ibn Habib, Venice, 1546 Mashreh Kitrin, Abraham ben Eliezer ha-Levi, Constantinople, 1510 Massa Gei Hizzayon, Benjamin ben Abraham Anav, Riva di Trento, 1560 Ha-Massa’ot, Benjamin of Tudela, Constantinople, 1543 Massekhet Purim, Kalonymus ben Kalonymus, Pesaro, 1513 Matteh Moshe, Moses ben Abraham Mat of Przemysl, Cracow, 1591 Mattenot Kehunnah on Midrash Rabbah, Issachar Ber ben Naphtali Katz, Cracow, 1587 Ma’yan Gannim, Samuel ben Elhanan Jacob Archivolti, Venice, 1553 Ma’yenei ha-Yeshu’ah, Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel, Ferrara, 1551 Me’ah She’arim, Isaac ben Elijah Sheni, Salonika, 1543 Me’ammez Ko’ah, Moses ben Baruch Almosnino, Venice, 1587–88 Me’assef le-Khol ha-Mahanot, Solomon ben Jacob Almoli, Constantinople, c. 1530 Mefasher Helmin, Solomon ben Jacob Almoli, Salonika, 1515 Ha-Mefo’ar, Judah ben Abraham Khalaz, Constantinople, 1537 Megillat Antiochus, Mantua, 1557 Megillat Sefer, Cremona, 1566 Mehararei Nemeirim, Abraham ben Solomon Akra, Venice, 1599 Mehir Yayin, Moses ben Israel Isserles (Rema), Cremona, 1559 Me’ir Iyyov, Meir ben Isaac Arama, Riva di Trento and Venice, 1562–67 Me’ir Nativ, Mordecai Nathan, Basle, 1581 Mekhilta of R. Ishmael, Venice, 1545 Mekor Barukh, Baruch ibn Ya’ish, Constantinople, 1576 Mekor Hayyim, Samuel ibn Seneh Zarza, Mantua, 1559 Melizat Efer ve-Dinah, Vidal Benveniste, Rimini, 1525 Melokhim Bukh, Moses Esrim ve-Arbeh, Augsburg, 1543 Menorat ha-Ma’or, Isaac Aboab, Venice, 1544 Menorat Zahav Tohor, Solomon ben Jehiel Luria (Maharshal), Cracow, c. 1585 Me’or Einayim, Azariah ben Moses de Rossi, Mantua, 1573–74 Meshal ha-Kadmoni, Isaac ben Solomon ibn Abi Sahula, Venice, c. 1547 Mesorat ha-Talmud, Salonika—Don Judah Gedaliah, c. 1523 Meturgeman, Elijah ben Asher ha-Levi Ashkenazi Levita (Bahur), Isny, 1541 Mevakkesh Ha-Shem/Devar Shemu’el, Samuel ben Jacob Hagiz, Venice, 1596 Midrash Hamesh Megillot, [Pesaro], 1519 Midrash ha-Ne’lam, Simeon bar Yohai (attributed to,) Venice, 1566, Midrash Rabbah, Constantinople, 1512

930

english title listing Midrash Rabbot, Venice—Marco Antonio Giustiniani, 1545 Midrash Tanhuma, Mantua, 1563 Midrash Tehillim, Salonika, 1515 Midrash Tillim (Tehillim), Constantinople, 1512 [Sefer Mikhlol] Helek ha-Dikduk, David ben Joseph Kimhi (Radak), Constantinople, 1530 Mikhlol, David ben Joseph Kimhi (Radak), Constantinople, 1532–34 Mikhlol Yofi, Solomon ibn Melekh, Constantinople, 1548–49 Mikneh Avram, Abraham ben Meir de Balmes, Venice, 1523 Mikra’ei Kodesh, Joseph ben Benjamin Samegah, Venice, 1586 Mikra’ot Gedolot (Biblia Rabbinica), Venice—Daniel Bomberg, 1516–17 Mikra’ot Gedolot (Biblia Rabbinica), Venice—Daniel Bomberg, 1524–25 Milhemet ha-Hokhmah ve-ha-Osher, Judah ben Isaac ibn Shabbetai, Cracow, c. 1546 Milhamot HaShem, Levi ben Gershom (Ralbag), Riva di Trento, 1560 Ha-Minhagim, Abraham Klausner, Riva di Trento, 1558 Minhagim, Isaac Tyrnau/Simon Levi Guenzburg, Venice, 1593 Minhagim, Isaac Tyrnau, Basle, 1598 Minhah Belulah, Abraham Menahem Rapa mi-Porto (Rapaport), Verona, 1594 Minhah Hadashah on Pirkei Avot, Jehiel Michael ben Jedidiah Morawczyk, Cracow, c. 1576 Minhat Yehudah Sone ha-Nashim, Judah ben Isaac ibn Shabbetai, Constantinople, c. 1543 Mirkevet ha-Mishneh, Asher Anshel of Cracow, Cracow, 1534 Mirkevet ha-Mishneh, Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel, Sabbioneta, 1551 Mishlei Shu’alim, Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan, Mantua, 1557–58 Mishnayot Seder Tohorot with commentaries of Maimonides and Samson of Sens, Venice, 1546 Mishnayot with commentary of Obadiah Bertinoro, Venice, 1548–49 Mishnayot, Tobias Foa/Jacob ha-Kohen of Gazzuolo, Sabbioneta/Mantua, 1559–63 Mishneh Torah, Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides, Rambam), Venice, 1524 Mishneh Torah, Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides, Rambam), Venice, 1550 Mishpetei Shemu’el, Samuel ben Moses Kalai, Venice, 1599–1600 Mivhar Peninim, Solomon ben Judah ibn Gabirol, Cremona, 1558 Mizmor le-Todah, Samuel ben Isaac Aripul, Venice, 1576 Sefer Rav Mordekhai, Mordecai ben Hillel ha-Kohen, Riva di Trento, 1558 Moreh Nevukhim, Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides, Rambam), Venice, 1551 Musar Haskel be-Melizah/Orhot Hayyim, Rav Hai ben Sherira Gaon/Asher ben Jehiel (Rosh), Fano, 1504 Naftulei Elohim Niftalti, Naphtali Hertz Treves, Heddernheim, 1546 Nahalat Avot, Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel, Venice, 1545 Nefuzot Yehudah, Judah Aryeh ben Joseph Moscato, Venice, 1589 Ne’im Zemirot, Samuel ben Isaac Aripul, Cracow, 1576 Ner Mitzvah/Yesha Elohim, Moses ben Hayyim ben Shem Tov Pesante, Salonika, 1569 Ner Mitzvah, Samuel ben Joseph Kohen Zedek, Venice, 1598 Neveh Shalom, Abraham ben Isaac ben Judah ben Samuel Shalom, Venice, 1574 Nevi’im Ahronim with the commentary of David ben Joseph Kimhi (Radak), Pesaro, 1515 Nevi’im Rishonim with the commentary of Don Isaac Abrabanel, Pesaro, 1511 Ohel Mo’ed, Solomon ben Abraham of Urbino, Venice, 1548 Ohel Ya’akov, Jacob ben Samuel Bunim Koppelman, Freiburg-im-Breisgau, 1584 Olat Shabbat, Joel ibn Shuaib, Venice, 1577 Or Ammim, Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno, Bologna, 1537 Or Einayim, Solomon ben Abraham Peniel, Cremona, 1557 Or ha-Sekhel, Abraham ben Gedaliah ibn Asher, Venice, 1567 Or HaShem, Hasdai Crescas, Ferrara, 1555 Or Ne’erav, Moses ben Jacob Cordovero (Ramak), Venice, 1587 Orah le-Hayyim, Ephraim Solomon ben Aaron of Luntshits, Lublin, 1595 Oratio de laudibus trium linguarum, Robert Wakefield, London, 1524 Ordenanca delas Oraciones del Cedur, Isaac ben Shem Tov Cavallero, Venice, 1552 Orhot Zaddikim, Prague, 1581 Ot Emet, Meir ben Samuel ben Benveneste, Salonika, 1564 Otiyyot de-Rabbi Akiva, Venice, 1546

931

english title listing Pahad Yizhak, Isaac ben Abraham Chajes, Lublin, 1573 Parashiot, Riva di Trento, c. 1562 Ha-Pardes, Jedaiah ha-Penini ben Abraham Bedersi, Constantinople, c. 1516 Sefer ha-Pardes Rimmonim, Moses ben Jacob Cordovero (Ramak), Cracow/Nowy Dwor, 1591 Pardes Rimmonim, Shem Tov ibn Shaprut, Sabbioneta, 1554 Paris un Viene, Elijah ben Asher ha-Levi Ashkenazi Levita (Bahur), Verona, 1594 Perush al ha-Torah, Levi ben Gershom (Ralbag), Venice, 1547 Perush al Rashi, Elijah ben Abraham Mizrahi, Venice, 1527 Perush Avodat Yom ha-Kippurim, Moses ben Jacob Cordovero (Ramak), Venice, 1587 Perush ha-Milot, Mordecai ben Jehiel Luria, Cracow, 1580 Perush ha-Torah, Abraham ibn Ezra, Constantinople, 1514 Perush ha-Torah, Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel, Venice, 1579 Perush ha-Torah, Moses ben Nahman (Ramban), Pesaro, 1514 Perush ha-Torah le-R. Ya’akov, Jacob ben Asher, Constantinople, 1514 Perush le-Midrash Hamesh Megillot Rabbah, Naphtali ben Menahem Hertz, Cracow, 1569 Perush Megillat Ahasuerus, Zechariah ben Joshua ibn Saruq, Venice, 1565 Perush Rashi al ha-Torah, Solomon ben Isaac (Rashi), Venice, 1522 Perushim le-Rashi (Sefer Canizal ), Abulrabi, Almosnino, Canizal, and Albelda, Constantinople, c. 1525 Pesah le-HaShem, Hayyim ben Meir ibn Gabbai, Constantinople, 1560 Pesak al Agunah, Jacob ben Joseph Pollack, Prague, 1594 Pesakim, Venice, 1519 Petah Devarai, David ben Judah Messer Leon, Constantinople, 1515 Des Pfefferkorns Leben, c. 1507–20 Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer, Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, Sabbioneta, 1567 Pirkei Moshe, Moses ben Baruch Almosnino, Salonika, 1563 Piskei Halakhot, Menahem ben Benjamin Recanati, Bologna, 1538 Pitron Halomot, Rav Hai Gaon, Cairo, 1557 Porat Yosef, Joseph Taitazak, Venice, 1599 Proverbia Ben-Sira/Adagiorum Ebraicorum, Johannes Clemens Drusius, Franeker, 1597 Psalterium, Daniel Bomberg, Venice, 1515 Psalterium Hebraeum, Graecum, Arabicum, et Chaldaeum, Augustino Giustiniani, Genoa, 1516 De rudimentis Hebraicis, Johannes Reuchlin, Pforzheim, 1506 Reshit Hokhmah, Elijah ben Moses de Vidas, Venice, 1579 Re’umah, Nahshon bar Zadok/Isaac ben Samuel Onkeneira, Constantinople, 1566 Ha-Roke’ah, Eleazer ben Judah of Worms, Fano, 1505 Rosh Amanah, Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel, Venice, 1545 Ru’ah Hen, Judah Ibn Tibbon/Jacob Anatoli (attributed to either), Prague, 1593 Se’ah Solet/Marpe la-Nefesh/Orah Hayyim, Raphael ben Gabriel Norzi, Venice, 1578/79 Seder ha-Yom, Moses ibn Makhir, Venice, 1599 Seder Olam, Olam Zuta, Megillat Ta’anit, and Sefer ha-Kabbalah, Mantua, 1513 Seder Olam Zuta, Paris—Gilbert Genebrard, tr., 1572 Seder Tefillot ha-Shana Minhag Kehillot Romania, Constantinople, c. 1573–1578 Sefer ha-Mitzvot, Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides, Rambam), Constantinople, c. 1510 Sefer Mitzvot Gadol (Semag), Moses ben Jacob of Coucy, Venice, 1547 Selihot—Ashkenaz Rite in Italy, Fano, 1505 Selihot—Ashkenaz Rite, Venice, 1548 Sha’ar ha-Gemul, Moses ben Nahman (Ramban), Ferrara, 1556 Sha’ar ha-Shamayim, Gershon ben Solomon of Arles, Venice, 1547 Sha’ar Yehudah, Judah ben Eliezer Chelebi Poki, Constantinople, 1581 Sha’arei Dura, Isaac ben Meir of Dueren, Venice, 1547 Sha’arei Dura, Isaac ben Meir of Dueren, Lublin, 1574 Sha’arei Orah, Joseph ben Abraham Gikatilla, Mantua, 1561 Sha’arei Teshuvah, Jonah ben Abraham Gerondi, Fano, c. 1506 Shalshelet ha-Kabbalah, Gedaliah ben Joseph ibn Yahya, Venice, 1587 She’erit Yosef, Joseph ben Shem Tov ben Yeshuah Hai, Salonika, 1568 She’erit Yosef, Joseph ben Solomon ibn Verga, Mantua, 1593

932

english title listing She’elot Inyan ha-Neshamah, Israel ben Joseph ha-Kohen, Lublin, 1557 She’elot le-Hakham, Saul ha-Kohen Ashkenazi, Venice, 1574 She’elot u’Teshuvot, Bezalel ben Abraham Ashkenazi, Venice, 1595 She’elot u’Teshuvot, Jacob ben Moses Moellin (Maharil), Cremona, 1556 She’elot u’Teshuvot, Jacob ben Judah Weil, Venice, 1549 She’elot u’Teshuvot, Joseph ben David ibn Lev, Salonika, c. 1558 She’elot u’Teshuvot, Joseph ben David ibn Lev, Constantinople, 1561–98 She’elot u’Teshuvot, Joseph ben Ephraim Caro, Salonika, 1597 She’elot u’Teshuvot, Joseph ben Solomon Colon (Maharik), Venice, 1519 She’elot u’Teshuvot, Judah Minz and Meir Katzenellenbogen (Maharam), Venice, 1553 She’elot u’Teshuvot, Levi ben Jacob ibn Habib, Venice, 1565 She’elot u’Teshuvot, Meir ben Baruch of Rothenburg (Maharam), Cremona, 1557 She’elot u’Teshuvot, Moses ben Isaac ibn Alashkar, Sabbioneta, 1554 She’elot u’Teshuvot, Samuel ben Moses de Medina (Maharashdam), Salonika, 1594–97 She’elot u’Teshuvot, Solomon ben Abraham ibn Adret (Rashba), Bologna, 1539 She’elot u’Teshuvot, Solomon ben Abraham ha-Kohen, Salonika, 1586 She’elot u’Teshuvot, Solomon ben Jehiel Luria (Maharshal), Lublin, 1574–75 She’elot u’Teshuvot Divrei Rivot, Isaac ben Samuel Adarbi, Salonika, 1582 She’elot u’Teshuvot ha-Geonim, Prague, 1590 She’elot Teshuvot le-ha-Rosh, Asher ben Jehiel (Rosh), Constantinople, 1517 She’elot u’Teshuvot Rabbenu Nissim, Nissim ben Reuben Gerondi (Ran), Rome, 1545–46 She’elot u’Teshuvot She’erit Yosef, Joseph ben Mordecai Gershon Katz, Cracow, 1589–90 She’iltot, Rav Ahai of Shabha, Venice, 1546 Shelom Esther, Isaac ben Mordecai Gershon, Constantinople, c. 1575–76 Shemen ha-Mor, Aaron Abiob, Salonika, 1596 Shevet Yehudah, Solomon ibn Verga, Adrianople, 1554 Shevilei Emunah, Meir ben Isaac Aldabi, Riva di Trento, 1559 Shevilei Tohu, Gerard Veltwyck, Venice, 1539 Shibbolei ha-Leket, Zedekiah (ha-Rofei) ben Abraham, Venice, 1546 Shir ha-Yihud, with commentary of Yom Tov Lipmann Muelhausen, Thiengen, 1560 Shloshah Perushim al Shir ha-Shirim, Isaac ben Abraham Akrish, Editor, Constantinople, 1577 Shmuel Bukh, Moses Esrim ve-Arbeh, Augsburg, 1544 Sefer ha-Shorashim, David ben Joseph Kimhi (Radak),Venice, 1529 Shulhan Arukh, Joseph ben Ephraim Caro, Venice, 1564–65 Shulhan Arukh, Joseph ben Ephraim Caro, Venice, 1577–78 Shulhan Arukh, Joseph Caro and Moses Isserles, Cracow, 1593–94 Shulhan shel Arba, Bahya ben Asher ben Hlava, Mantua, 1514 Sibbuv, Pethahiah ben Jacob of Regensburg, and Midrash Yonah, Prague, 1595 Siddur—Roman Rite, Bologna, 1537 Siddur ha-Tefillot ke-Minhag Kahal ha-Karaim, Venice, 1528–29 Siddur Tefilot he-Hadash, Meir ben Abraham Angel, Belvedere, c. 1593–95 Sod Yesharim, Leone ( Judah Aryeh) Modena, Venice, 1595 Ta’amei Mitzvot, Menahem ben Moses ha-Bavli, Lublin, 1570–71 Tahkemoni, Judah ben Solomon al-Harizi, Constantinople, 1578 Talmud, Babylonian, Venice, 1519/20–23 Talmud, Babylonian, Venice, 1526–39 Talmud, Babylonian, Venice, 1543–49 Talmud, Babylonian, Venice, 1546–51 Talmud, Babylonian, Salonika, 1558–1567 Talmud, Babylonian, Basle, 1578–81 Talmud, Babylonian, Constantinople, 1583–c. 1593 Talmud, Jerusalem, Venice, 1522–24 Tamim Yahdav, Israel ben Moses, Lublin, 1592–93 Tanhumot El, Isaac ben Moses ibn Arroyo, Salonika, 1578–79 Tanna de-Vei Eliyahu, Venice, 1598 Tanya, Jehiel ben Jekuthiel ben Benjamin ha-Rofe Anav, Cremona, 1565

933

english title listing Tashbez, Samson ben Zadok, Cremona, 1556 Tehillim with commentary of R. David Kimhi (Radak), Isny, 1541 Ha-Tehiyyah ve-Sefer ha-Pedut, Saadiah ben Joseph Gaon, Mantua, 1556 Ha-Terumah, Baruch ben Isaac, Venice, 1523 Terumat ha-Deshen, Israel ben Pethahiah Isserlein, Venice, 1519 Ha-Terumot, Samuel ben Isaac ha-Sardi, Salonika, 1596 Sefer Teshuvot, David ben Hayyim Kohen of Corfu (Maharadakh), Constantinople, 1537 Teshuvot ha-Rav, Isaac ben Sheshet Perfet (Ribash), Constantinople, 1546–47 Teshuvot She’elot, Elijah ben Abraham Mizrahi, Constantinople, 1559–61 Teshuvot She’elot, Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides, Rambam), Constantinople, c. 1517 Tevat Noach/Arca Noe, Marco Marino Brixiense (of Brescia), Venice, 1593 Tikkun Middot ha-Nefesh, Solomon ben Judah ibn Gabirol, Constantinople, 1550 Tikkunei Zohar, Simeon bar Yohai (attributed to), Mantua, 1557 Ha-Tishbi, Elijah ben Asher ha-Levi Ashkenazi Levita (Bahur), Isny, 1541 To’aliyyot Ralbag, Levi ben Gershom (Ralbag), Riva di Trento, 1560 Tola’at Ya’akov, Meir ben Ezekiel ibn Gabbai, Constantinople, 1560 Toledot Adam, Moses ben Elijah Gallena, Cremona, 1556 Toledot Adam ve-Havvah—Sefer Mesharim, Jeroham ben Meshullam, Venice, 1557 Toledot Aharon, Aaron of Pesaro, Freiburg-im-Breisgau, 1583–84 Toledot Yizhak, Isaac ben Joseph Caro, Mantua, 1558 Tomer Devorah, Moses ben Jacob Cordovero (Ramak), Venice, 1588 Torah, Nevi’im, Ketuvim (Bible), Venice, c. 1517–18 Torah, Nevi’im, Ketuvim (Bible), Venice, 1521 Torah, Nevi’im, Ketuvim (Bible), Frankfort on the Oder, 1595–96 Torah Or, Joseph ben David ibn Yahya, Bologna, 1538 Torah with Persian and Arabic Targum, Eliezer Soncino, Constantinople, 1546 Torat ha-Adam, Moses ben Nahman (Ramban), Constantinople, 1518 Torat ha-Bayit, Solomon ben Abraham ibn Adret (Rashba), Cremona, 1565 Torat ha-Hattat, Moses ben Israel Isserles (Rema), Cracow, 1590 Torat ha-Olah, Moses Ben Israel Isserles (Rema), Prague, 1570 Torat Moshe, Moses ben Hayyim Alshekh, Belvedere, c. 1593–95 Tractate Berakhot, Pesaro, c. 1517 Tractate Berakhot, Salonika, 1592 Tractate Derekh Erez and Pirkei ben Azzai, Riva di Trento, 1561 Tractate Eruvin, Pesaro, c. 1515 Tractate Ketubbot, Kuru-Chesme, c. 1597–98 Tractate Kiddushin, Sabbioneta, 1554 Tractate Nedarim, Venice, 1522 Tractate Pesahim, Constantinople, c. 1505 Tractate Pesahim, Konska Wola, 1561 Tractate Rosh Ha-Shanah, Fez, c. 1516 Tractate Rosh Ha-Shanah, Cracow, 1578 Tractate Shekalim, Venice, 1527 Tractate Sukkah, Pesaro, c. 1515 Tur Orah Hayyim, Jacob ben Asher, Prague, 1540 Twelve (Minor) Prophets, Wittenberg, 1587 Vikku’ah ha-Yayin ve-ha-Mayim, Elijah ben Moses Loanz, Basle, 1599 Yalkut Shimoni, Simeon of Frankfort, Venice, 1566 Ha-Yashar, Zerahiah ha-Yevani, Cracow, 1586 Yefeh Mareh, Samuel Jaffe ben Isaac Ashkenazi, Venice, 1590 Yefeh Nof, Judah ben Abraham Zarko, Venice, c. 1572 Yefeh To’ar, Samuel Jaffe ben Isaac Ashkenazi, Venice, 1597–1606 Yere’im, Eliezer ben Samuel of Metz, Venice, 1566 Yezirah, Mantua, 1562 Yosef Lekah, Eliezer ben Elijah Ashkenazi, Cremona, 1576 Yuhasin, Abraham ben Samuel Zacuto, Constantinople, 1566

934

english title listing Zafenat Pane’ah, Abraham Menahem ben Jacob Rapa mi-Porto (Rapaport) Ashkenazi, 1555 Zahut be-Dikduk/Moznei Leshon ha-Kodesh, Abraham ibn Ezra, Venice, 1546 Zeidah la-Derekh, Menahem ben Aaron ibn Zerah, Ferrara, 1554 Zemah David, David ben Isaac de’ Pomis, Venice, 1587 Zemah David, David ben Solomon Gans, Prague, 1592 Zemirot Yisrael, Israel ben Moses Najara, Safed, 1587 Zeror ha-Mor, Abraham ben Jacob Saba, Venice, 1522–23 Zikhron Torat Moshe, Moses ben Joseph Figo, Constantinople, 1552–53 Ha-Zikkaron, Ishmael ha-Kohen Tanuji, Ferrara, 1555 Ziyyoni, Menahem ben Meir Ziyyoni, Cremona, 1559 Zohar, Simeon bar Yohai (attributed to), Mantua, 1558–60 Zohar, Simeon bar Yohai (attributed to), Cremona, 1559–60 Zohar ha-Raki’a on the Azharot, Simeon ben Zemah Duran, Constantinople, 1515 Zori ha-Yagon, Shem Tov ben Joseph ibn Falaquera, Cremona, 1557

935

936

Hebrew Title Listing 1517, Fez μhrdwba 1546, Venice ˆjb ˆba 1540, Augsburg lkwr tqba 1566/67, Venice lkwr tqba 1571, Cracow hdwgah 1526, Rimini rwgah 1534, Augsburg μymwlç twrga c. 1577, Constantinople twrga trga 1586, Venice μlw[ twjra trga 1557, Mantua μyyj yl[b trga c. 1577, Constantinople jwkywh trga 1546, Rome ˆmjn ˆb hçm—çdqh trga 1595, Prague hbwçth trga 1597, Kuru-Chesme lawmç trga 1560, Thiengen ylkç μda 1531, Constantinople whyla trda 1584, Freiburg-im-Breisgau bq[y lha 1548, Venice d[wm lha 1555, Ferrara ‘h rwa 1567, Venice lkçh rwa 1587, Venice br[n rwa 1557, Cremona μyny[ rwa 1537, Bologna μym[ rwa 1595, Lublin μyyjl jrwa 1581, Prague μyqydx twjrwa 1564, Salonika tma twa 1546, Venice abyq[ ybrd twytwa 1577, Constantinople twlgdnk hmwya c. 1595, Cracow hjwlç hlya 1552, Venice μybha tlya 1555, Ferrara rtyhw rwsya 1598–99, Venice bq[y tlhq . . . μda twdlwt hla c. 1501, Venice tyb πla 1597, Prague dlyh μa c. 1541, Constantinople alwag yd çydama 1556, Ferrara twnwmah 1562, Constantinople tw[dhw twnwmah 1565, Cremona μ[wn yrma 1591–97, Cracow/Lublin rpç yrma 1511–17, Pesaro μyrç[w h[bra 1516, Fano μyrwf h[bra 1540, Augsburg μyrwf h[bra 1540, Constantinople μyrwf h[bra 1515, Pesaro q”dr çwryp μ[ μynwrja μyaybn h[bra 1577, Venice wqylg [çyla—tlhq rps rwab 1567, Venice wnrwps hydbw[—hrwth l[ rwab 1598, Prague hlwgh rab 1546, Salonika μyyj μym rab 1541, Isny (˚wb abb) anwfnad abb 1546, Venice μlw[ tnyjb

937

hebrew title listing 1566, Mantua hnwçar axy hz rwab—μyrbdh hla 1507, Pesaro rça ˆb yyjb—hrwth l[ rwayb 1525, Constantinople (II) bhwba qjxy—hrwthm l”z ˆbmrh çwryp rwayb 1562, Riva di Trento ˆylrsya larçy—μyrwayb 1593, Venice arypç ˆtn—μyrwayb 1518, Constantinople ryznhw ˚lmh ˆb 1577, Constantinople πswy trwp ˆb 1538–39, Venice baz ˆymynb 1578, Rome tyçarb 1575, Lublin ˆwzmh twkrb 1558, Riva di Trento grbnfwrm μ”rhm—μ”rhm twkrb 1581–82, Cracow ‘h twrwbg 1567, Salonika (ypwy llkm) μyrdgh 1578–79, Prague hyra rwg c. 1593–95, Belvedere μyzwga lç lg 1588, Venice bwf qbd 1553, Sabbioneta rgwth ˆamwfa tyb yklmw tprx yklml μymh yrbd 1516, Constantinople h[ wnybr hçm lç μymyh yrbd 1596, Venice hmlç yrbd 1519, Ortona yjmq hçm—(t[dh ylybç ˚lhm) qwdqd rps 1560, Riva di Trento yçr yqwqd 1521, Constantinople ‘gabyb μhrba—hnwma ˚rd 1562, Padua yabg ˆba ryam—hnwma ˚rd c. 1573, Constantinople çdqm tdwb[/μyyj ˚rd 1589, Cracow μyyjh ˚rd 1593, Mantua armgh ykrd 1589, Cracow hçm çrd 1529, Salonika—wklwm hmlç—(rawpmh rps) twçrd 1567, Padua bwf μç ‘ˆ bwf μç—hrwth twçrd 1573–75, Cracow y[wç ‘ˆ [çwhy—hrwth l[ twçrd 1552, Venice qwbqbh 1526, Prague jsp lç hdgh c. 1530, Constantinople jsp lç hdgh 1534, Augsburg jsp lç hdgh 1560, Mantua jsp lç hdgh 1568, Mantua jsp lç hdgh 1599, Venice jsp lç hdgh 1505, Constantinople jsp jbz—jsp lç hdgh 1592, Bistrowitz jsp jbz—jsp lç hdgh 1511, Constantinople dwmlth twdgh 1597, Venice hçm lyawh 1553, Ferrara ˆrwd jmx ˆb ˆw[mç—twksl twn[çwh 1586, Cracow rçyh 1544, Venice dwmlth awbm—μlw[ twkylh 1548, Venice twlwdg twklh 1554–55, Sabbionetta spla br twklh 1564, Salonika μyyj tghnh 1546, Venice whyla yqrp/hbkrh 1599, Basle μymhw ˆyyh jwkyw 1558–60, Mantua rhwzh 1559–60, Cremona rhwzh 1515, Constantinople twrhzah l[ [yqrh rhwz 1555, Ferrara ˆwrkzh 1552–53, Constantinople hçm trwt ˆwrkz 1587, Safed larçy twrymz 1592, Venice ˆwrçh tlxbj

938

hebrew title listing 1548, Venice twbblh tbwj 1559, Cremona ynwqzj 1557, Ferrara h[wçyhm hpy rwbyj 1523, Venice artb abb ˆ”bmrh yçwdyj 1523, Venice ˆylwj a”bçrh yçwdyj 1599, Basle a”çrhm—μyçwdyj 1593, Cracow μyyjh rps 1582, Cracow hmlç tmkj 1505, Constantinople hrwt yçmwj hçymj 1514–18, Prague hrwt yçmwj hçymj 1583, Basle hrwt yçmwj hçymj 1516–17, Venice μybwtkw μyaybn ,hrwt yçmwj hçmj 1524–25, Venice μybwtkw μyaybn ,hrwt yçmwj hçmj 1523, Venice ˚wnjh 1577, Lublin μhrba dsj 1589, Cracow ‘h ydsj 1580, Basle μydsjh 1569, Salonika jsph tqj 1588, Venice hmlç qçj 1540, Prague μyrwf h[bra 1550, Venice πswy tyb çwryp μ[ μyyj jrwa rwf 1570–71, Lublin twxm ym[f 1566, Constantinople ˆysjwy 1544, Venice ˆwpyswy 1576, Cremona jql πswy 1566, Venice ynw[mç fwqly 1590, Venice harm hpy c. 1572, Venice πwn hpy 1597–1606, Venice rat hpy 1562, Mantua hryxy rps 1566, Venice μyary 1585, Constantinople çgym ˆba μhrba—μyqla dwbk 1556, Ferrara bwf μç ˆb πswy—μyqla dwbk 1515, Constantinople rça ˆb yyjb—jmqh dk 1506, Fano rzwkh 1547, Venice wb lk 1559, Riva de Trento ˆwygh tkalm lk 1595, Venice hdmj ylk c. 1531, Constantinople rxq llk c. 1548, Venice, Estori ha-Parhi jrpw rtpk 1580, Basle, Jacob Luzzatto jrpw rtpk 1557, Cremona twtyrk 1515, Salonika μybwtk 1596, Venice bwf μç rtk rps 1536, Constantinople hrwt rtk 1565, Salonika twba bl 1590, Lublin twklm çwbl 1595, Lublin twrqy rwa çwbl 1510, Constantinople jwl 1554, Sabbioneta hdwhy μjl 1519, Constantinople μyrwbjhw μyfwqylh 1552, Venice ≈pj lkl 1519, Venice y”çr—sdrph yfwql 1556, Ferrara hapw hjkç yfwql 1595, Venice lgy μhrba—bwf jql 1577, Safed ˆlhx bwf μwy—bwf jql

939

hebrew title listing 1599, Venice bhzh ˆwçl 1506, Constantinople μydwml ˆwçl 1543, Salonika μyr[ç ham 1573–74, Mantua μyny[ rwam Riva di Trento and Venice, 1562–67 bwya ryam 1581, Basel bytn ryam 1587–88, Venice jk ≈mam 1556, Cremona lkçh rmam 1533, Constantinople ‘h ydsj rmam 1510, Constantinople ˆyrfq arçm rmam 1569, Constantinople μytmh tyjt rmam c. 1530, Constantinople twnjmh lkl πsam 1558, Cremona μynynph rjbm 1596, Venice lawmç rbd/‘h çqbm 1557, Mantua swkwyfna tlgm 1566, Cremona rps tlgm 1566, Venice μl[nh çrdm 1545, Venice atlykmh çrdm 1519, [Pesaro] twlgm çmj çrdm 1512, Constantinople hbr çrdm 1545, Venice twbr çrdm 1515, Salonika μylht çrdm 1512, Constantinople μylt çrdm 1556, Sabbioneta l”yrhm rps 1599, Venice μyrmn yrrhm 1504, Fano μyyj twjrwa/hxylmb lkçh rswm 1551, Venice μykwbn hrwm 1576, Venice hdwtl rwmzm 1535, Constantinople lawnm[ twrbjm 1594, Thannhausen μyznkçakgh ghnmk rwzjm 1540–41, Bologna hmwr q”q ghnmk rwzjm 1557–60, Mantua hmwr q”q ghnmk rwzjm 1559, Cremona ˆyy ryjm 1591, Cracow h”çm h”fm 1530, Constantinople qwdqdh qlj [lwlkm] 1532–34, Constantinople lwlkm rps 1548–49, Constantinople ˚lm ‘ˆ hmlç—ypwy llkm 1560, Riva di Trento μçh twmjlm c. 1546, Cracow rçw[hw hmkjh tmjlm 1525, Rimini hnyd wrp[ txylm 1543, Augsburg ˚arpç rçfwyf ˆya μyklm 1558, Riva di Trento rnzywlq μhrba—μyghnm 1593, Venice anryf/grwbxnyg—μyghnm 1598, Basle anryf qjxy—μyghnm 1519, Constantinople yjryh ˆtn ˆb μhrba—gyhnmh 1544, Venice rwamh trwnm c. 1585, Cracow rwhf bhz trwnm 1585, Venice ywlh twnm 1594, Verona hlwlb hjnm c. 1576, Cracow twba yqrp l[ hçdj hjnm c. 1543, Constantinople [μ]yçnh anwç hdwhy tjnm c. 1523, Salonika dwmlth trwsm c. 1517, Pesaro tkrb tksm 1592, Salonika tkrb tksm 1561, Riva di Trento yaz[ ˆb yqrpw ≈ra ˚rd tksm 1522, Venice μyrdn tksm

940

hebrew title listing c. 1515, Pesaro hkws tksm c. 1515, Pesaro ˆybwry[ tksm 1513, Pesaro μyrwp tksm c. 1505, Constantinople μyjsp tksm 1561, Konska Wola μyjsp tksm 1554, Sabbioneta ˆyçwdq tksm c. 1597–98, Kuru-Chesme twbwtk tksm c. 1516, Fez hnçh çar tksm 1578, Cracow hnçh çar tksm 1527, Venice μylqç tksm 1543, Constantinople alydwfm ˆymnyb ‘r tw[sm 1553, Venice μyng ˆy[m 1551, Ferrara h[wçyh yny[m 1556, Cremona twdmh twl[m 1558, Mantua hdwhy tjnm çwryp twqla tkr[m 1552–53, Constantinople tydwhy hç[m 1583, Venice ‘h yç[m 1537, Constantinople ≈lk hdwhy—rawpmh rps 1515, Salonika ˆymlj rçpm c. 1510, Constantinople twwxmh rps 1547, Venice lwdgh twxm rps 1546, Basle [braw μyrç[ ‘h çdqm 1576, Constantinople ˚wrb rwqm 1559, Mantua μyyj rwqm 1523, Venice μbra hnqm 1586, Venice çdq yarqm rps 1589, Cracow ˆhk harm 1558, Riva di Trento ykdrm 1534, Cracow lyçna rça—hnçm tbkrm 1551, Sabbioneta lanbrba qjxy — hnçmh tbkrm 1595, Venice çpnl aprm 1546, Venice ˆwçl aprm 1560, Riva di Trento ˆwyzj ayg açm c. 1547, Venice ynwmdqh lçm 1557–58, Mantua μyl[wç ylçm 1524, Venice hrwt hnçm 1550, Venice hrwt hnçm 1574–75, Venice hnçm πsk μ[ hrwt hnçm 1559–63, Sabbioneta/Mantua twynçm 1546, Venice twrhf rdsm twynçm 1548–49, Venice hrwnfrbm hydbw[ çwryp μ[ twynçm 1599–1600, Venice lawmç yfpçm 1541, Isny ˆmgrwtm 1587, Cracow hnwhk twntm 1574, Venice μwlç hwn 1545, Venice twba tljn 1576, Cracow twrymz μy[n 1589, Venice hdwhy twxwpn 1546, Heddernheim (yyjbh yçwdyh l[ μynms) ytltpn μydla yltpn 1598, Venice hwxm rn 1569, Salonika μyqla [çy/hwxm rn 1578/79, Venice μyyj jrwa/çpnl aprm/tls has 1595, Prague hnwy çrdmw bwbs 1599, Venice μwyh rds rps 1513, Mantua hlbqh rpsw ,tyn[t tlgm ,afwz μlw[ ,μlw[ rds 1572, Paris μlw[ rds

941

hebrew title listing c. 1573–1578, Constantinople aynmwr twlyhq ghnml hnçh twlypt rds 1595, Venice μyrçy dws c. 1593, Belvedere çdjh twlpt rwds 1537, Bologna hmwr q”q ghnmk rwdys 1528–29, Venice μyarqh lhq ghnmk twlypth rwdys 1552, Venice μydrpsh ghnmk twlypt rwdys 1505, Fano twjyls 1548, Venice twjyls 1546, Venice ywlh tdwb[ 1560, Riva di Trento twnrb[ 1577, Venice tbç tlw[ 1579, Venice μynç rwby[ 1516, Salonika bq[y ˆy[ 1566, Venice larçy ˆy[ 1580, Basle μyrwbyg ry[ c. 1510, Constantinople hlwg ydwm[ 1556, Cremona hlwg ydwm[ 1522, Salonika qjxy tdyq[ 1522, Rimini μyrq[ 1544, Venice μyrq[ 1517, Pesaro layjy ˆb ˆtn—˚wr[h 1527, Basle rfsnym ˆayfsbs—˚wr[ 1597, Venice twrmam hrç[ 1594, Verona hn[yww nwa zyrap c. 1592–99, Salonika hralq yfnyawp 1599, Venice πswy trwp 1573, Lublin qjxy djp 1580, Cracow twlmh çwryp 1514, Constantinople arz[ ˆba μhrba—hrwth çwryp 1579, Venice lanbrba qjxy—hrwth çwryp 1514, Constantinople lz bq[y wnybrl hrwth çwryp 1514, Pesaro ˆmjn ˆb hçm—hrwth çwryp 1569, Cracow hbr twlygm çmj çrdml çwryp 1565, Venice çwrwçja tlgm çwryp 1511, Pesaro lanbrba qjxy—μynwçar μyaybn çwryp 1587, Venice μyrwpkh μwy tdwb[ rds çwryp 1547, Venice (g”blr) μwçrg ˆb ywl—hrwth l[ çwryp 1522, Venice twlgm çmj l[w hrwth l[ yçr çwryp c. 1525, Constantinople ( lzynq rps) lxz yçrl μyçwrp 1560, Constantinople ‘hl jsp 1594, Prague hnwg[ l[ qsp 1538, Bologna yfnqyr μjnm—twklh yqsp 1519, Venice [HEBREW] 1553, Venice ˆgywbnlxq ryam ≈nym hdwhy—twbwçt twlaçw μyqsp c. 1516, Constantinople ynynp hy[dy—sdrph 1554, Sabbioneta fwrpç ˆba bwf μç—μynwmr sdrp 1591, Cracow Nowy Dwor wrybwdrwq hçm—μynwmr sdrp 1527, Venice yjrzm whyla—y”çr l[ çwrp 1563, Salonika hçm yqrp 1567, Sabbioneta rz[yla ybr yqrp c. 1562, Riva di Trento twyçrp 1515, Constantinople yrbd jtp 1557, Cairo twmwlj ˆwrtp 1546, Venice çdqh ˆwçl ynzam rps/qwdqdb twjx 1559, Cremona ynwyx 1557, Cremona ˆwgyh yrx

942

hebrew title listing 1554, Ferrara ˚rdl hdx 1587, Venice symwp dwd—dwd jmx 1592, Prague zng dwd—dwd jmx 1555, jn[p tnpx 1522–23, Venice rwmh rwrx 1577–78, Safed bq[y tlhq 1595, Verona ˚wb aywq 1589, Venice μykwb lwq 1515, Constantinople çarh yqsp rwxyq 1551, Venice rps tyrq 1566, Constantinople hmwar 1545, Venice hnma çar 1579, Venice hmkj tyçar rps 1509, Constantinople spla br 1558, Riva di Trento spla br 1593, Prague ˆj jwr 1505, Fano jqwrh 1546, Venice twtlyaç 1595, Venice yznkça lalxb—twbwçtw twlaç 1590, Prague μynwagh twbwçtw twlaç 1582, Salonika twbyr yrbd arqnh twbwçtw twlaç 1565, Venice bybj ‘ˆ ywl—j”blrh twbwçtw twlaç 1597, Salonika wraq πswy—twbwçtw twlaç 1519, Venice ˆwlwq πswy—twbwçtw twlaç c. 1558, Salonika bl ˆb y”rhm—(a) twbwçtw twlaç 1561–98, Constantinople bl ˆb y”rhm—(d-b) twbwçtw twlaç 1549, Venice lyw y”rhm—twbwçtw twlaç 1556, Cremona l”yrhm twbwçtw twlaç 1554, Sabbioneta rqçala μ”rhm—twbwçtw twlaç 1594–97, Salonika μ”dçrhm twbwçtw twlaç 1586, Salonika ˚”çrhm twbwçtw twlaç 1574–75, Lublin l”çrhm twbwçtw twlaç 1557, Cremona grbnfwrm μ”rhm—twbwçtw twlaç rps 1545–46, Rome ydnwryg μysn ‘r twbwçtw twlaç 1539, Bologna a”bçrh twbwçtw twlaç 1589–90, Cracow πswy tyraç twbwçtw twlaç 1574, Venice μkjhl twlaç 1517, Constantinople çarhl twbwçtw twlaç 1557, Lublin hmçnh ˆyn[ tlaç 1568, Salonika πswy tyraç 1593, Mantua πswy tyraç 1554, Adrianople hdwhy fbç 1559, Riva di Trento hnwma ylybç 1539, Venice wht ylybç 1546, Venice fqlh ylbç 1560, Thiengen dwjyh ryç c. 1575–76, Constantinople rtsa μwlç 1514, Mantua rça ˆb yyjb—[bra ˆjlç 1564–65, Venice ˚wr[ ˆjlç 1577–78, Venice ˚wr[ ˆjlç 1593–94, Cracow ˚wr[ ˆjlç 1577, Constantinople μyryçh ryç μyçwryp hçlç 1587, Venice hlbqh tlçlç 1544, Augsburg lawmç rps 1596, Salonika rwmh ˆmç 1556, Ferrara lwmgh r[ç

943

hebrew title listing 1547, Venice μymçh r[ç 1581, Constantinople hdwhy r[ç rps 1561, Mantua hrwa yr[ç 1547, Venice arwd yr[ç 1574, Lublin arwd yr[ç c. 1506, Fano hbwçth yr[ç 1529, Venice μyçrçh 1516, Genoa ˆçwrp μ[ μymwgrt hçlçw μwgrt μ[ ybr[ ynawwy yrb[ μylyht 1541, Isny yjmq dwd ybr çwrp μ[ μylyht 1556, Cremona μda twdlwt 1557, Venice (μyrçym rps) hwjw μda twdlwt 1583–84, Freiburg-im-Breisgau ˆrha tdlwt 1558, Mantua qjxy twdlwt 1560, Constantinople bq[y t[lwt 1588, Venice hrwbd rmwt 1560, Riva di Trento gblrh twyl[wt 1538, Bologna ayjy ‘ˆ πswy—rwa hrwt c. 1517–18, Venice μybwtkw μyaybn ,hrwt 1521, Venice μybwtkw μyaybn ,hrwt 1587, Hamburg çdqh ˚rd—μybwtkw ,μyaybn ,hrwt 1595–96, Frankfort on the Oder μybwtkw ,μyaybn ,hrwt 1546, Constantinople ysrp ybr[ μwgrt μ[ hrwt 1518, Constantinople μdah trwt 1565, Cremona tybh trwt 1590, Cracow tafjh trwt 1570, Prague hlw[h trwt c. 1593–95, Belvedere hçm trwt rps 1556, Mantua twdph rpsw hyyjth rps 1578, Constantinople ynwmkjt 1593, Venice jn tbyt 1519/20–1523, Venice ylbb dwmlt 1526–1539, Venice ylbb dwmlt 1543–1549, Venice ylbb dwmlt 1546–1551, Venice ylbb dwmlt 1558–1567, Salonika ylbb dwmlt 1578–1581, Basle ylbb dwmlt 1583–c. 1593, Constantinople ylbb dwmlt 1522–24, Venice ymlçwry dwmlt 1592–93, Lublin ydjy μymt 1598, Venice whyla ybd ant 1563, Mantua amwjnt 1578–79, Salonika lq twmwjnt 1565, Cremona aynt 1550, Constantinople çpn twdm ˆwqt 1557, Mantua rhwzh ynwqt 1523, Venice hmwrth 1596, Salonika twmwrth 1519, Venice [HEBREW] 1587, Wittenberg rç[ yrt 1541, Isny ybçth 1556, Cremona ≈bçt 1537, Constantinople ˆhkh μyyj ˆb dwd—twbwçt 1546–47, Constantinople tçç ˆb qjxy—brh twbwçt 1559–61, Constantinople yjrzm whyla—twlaç twbwçt c. 1517, Constantinople (μ”bmr) ˆwmym ˆb hçm—twlaç twbwçt

944

Author Listing Aaron Abiob, Shemen ha-Mor, Salonika, 1596 Aaron Abulrabi, Samuel Almosnino, Jacob Canizal, and Moses Albelda, Perushim le-Rashi (Sefer Canizal ), Constantinople, c. 1525 Aaron of Pesaro, Toledot Aharon, Freiburg-im-Breisgau, 1583–84 Abraham ben Eliezer ha-Levi, Mashreh Kitrin, Constantinople, 1510 Abraham ibn Ezra, Perush ha-Torah, Constantinople, 1514 Zahut be-Dikduk/Moznei Leshon ha-Kodesh, Venice, 1546 Abraham ben Gedaliah ibn Asher, Or ha-Sekhel, Venice, 1567 Abraham ben Hananiah dei Galicchi Jagel, Lekah Tov, Venice, 1595 Abraham ben Isaac ben Judah ben Samuel Shalom, Neveh Shalom, Venice, 1574 Abraham ben Isaac Zahalon, Marpe la-Nefesh, Venice, 1595 Abraham ha-Levi ibn Migash, Kevod Elohim, Constantinople, 1585 Abraham ben Jacob Saba, Zeror ha-Mor, Venice, 1522–23 Abraham ben Judah Elmalik, Likkutei Shikhhah u-Fe’ah, Ferrara, 1556 Abraham Klausner, Ha-Minhagim, Riva di Trento, 1558 Abraham ben Mattathias Basevi (?), Kuhbuch, Verona, 1595 Abraham ben Meir de Balmes, Mikneh Avram, Venice, 1523 Abraham Menahem ben Jacob Rapa mi-Porto (Rapaport), Minhah Belulah, Verona, 1594 Zafenat Pane’ah, 1555 Abraham ben Mordecai Farissol, Iggeret Orhot Olam, Venice, 1586 Abraham ben Nathan ha-Yarhi, Ha-Manhig, Constantinople, 1519 Abraham ben Samuel ha-Levi Ibn Hasdai, Ben ha-Melekh ve-ha-Nazir, Constantinople, 1518 Abraham ben Samuel Zacuto, Sefer Yuhasin, Constantinople, 1566 Abraham ben Shabbetai Horowitz, Hesed Avraham, Lublin, 1577 Abraham ben Shem Tov Bibago, Derekh Emunah, Constantinople, 1521 Abraham ben Solomon Akra, Mehararei Nemeirim, Venice, 1599 Rav Ahai of Shabha, She’iltot, Venice, 1546 Aldus Manutius, Alphabetum Hebraicum, Venice, c. 1501 Alexander Suslin ha-Kohen of Frankfort, Ha-Aguddah, Cracow, 1571 Asher Anshel of Cracow, Mirkevet ha-Mishneh, Cracow, 1534 Asher ben Jehiel (Rosh)/Jacob ben Asher (Tur), Kizzur Piskei ha-Rosh, Constantinople, 1515 Asher ben Jehiel (Rosh), She’elot Teshuvot le-ha-Rosh, Constantinople, 1517 Azariah ben Moses de Rossi, Me’or Einayim, Mantua, 1573–74 Bahya ben Asher ben Hlava, Be’ur al ha-Torah, Pesaro, 1507 Kad ha-Kemah, Constantinople, 1515 Shulhan shel Arba, Mantua, 1514 Bahya ben Joseph ibn Paquda, Hovot ha-Levavot, Venice, 1548 Baruch ben Isaac, Ha-Terumah, Venice, 1523 Baruch ben Moses ibn Baruch, Aleh Toledot Adam . . . Kohelet Ya’akov, Venice, 1598–99 Baruch ibn Ya’ish, Mekor Barukh, Constantinople, 1576 Benjamin ben Abraham Anav, Massa Gei Hizzayon, Riva di Trento, 1560 Benjamin ben Mattathias, Binyamin Ze’ev, Venice, 1538–39 Benjamin of Tudela, Sefer Ha-Massa’ot, Constantinople, 1543 Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan, Mishlei Shu’alim, Mantua, 1557–58 Bezalel ben Abraham Ashkenazi, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Venice, 1595 Conrad Gesner, Bibliotheca universalis, Zurich, 1545–55 David ben Hayyim Kohen of Corfu (Maharadakh), Sefer Teshuvot, Constantinople, 1537 David ben Isaac de’ Pomis, Zemah David, Venice, 1587 David ben Joseph Abudarham, Abudarham, Fez, 1517 David ben Joseph Kimhi (Radak), [Sefer Mikhlol ] Helek ha-Dikduk, Constantinople, 1530

945

author listing Mikhlol, Constantinople, 1532–34 Nevi’im Ahronim with the commentary of David ben Joseph Kimhi (Radak), Pesaro, 1515 Ha-Shorashim, Venice, 1529 Tehillim with commentary of R. David Kimhi (Radak), Isny, 1541 David ben Judah Messer Leon, Petah Devarai, Constantinople, 1515 David ben Solomon Gans, Zemah David, Prague, 1592 David ben Solomon Vital, Keter Torah, Constantinople, 1536 David ben Solomon Ibn Yahya, Leshon Limmudim, Constantinople, 1506 Eleazer ben Judah of Worms, Ha-Roke’ah, Fano, 1505 Elias Hutter, Biblia Sacra—Derekh ha-Kodesh, Hamburg, 1587 Eliezer ben Elijah Ashkenazi, Ma’aseh HaShem, Venice, 1583 Yosef Lekah, Cremona, 1576 Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer, Sabbioneta, 1567 Eliezer Melli, Le-Khal Hefetz, Venice, 1552 Eliezer ben Samuel of Metz, Yere’im, Venice, 1566 Elijah ben Abraham Mizrahi, Perush al Rashi, Venice, 1527 Teshuvot u-She’elot, Constantinople, 1559–61 Elijah ben Asher ha-Levi Ashkenazi Levita (Bahur), Buovo d’Antona (Bove-Bukh), Isny, 1541 Harkavah/Pirkei Eliyahu, Venice, 1546 Meturgeman, Isny, 1541 Paris un Viene, Verona, 1594 Ha-Tishbi, Isny, 1541 Elijah ben Moses Bashyazi, Adderet Eliyahu, Constantinople, 1531 Elijah ben Moses Loanz, Vikku’ah ha-Yayin ve-ha-Mayim, Basle, 1599 Elijah ben Moses de Vidas, Reshit Hokhmah, Venice, 1579 Elisha ben Gabriel Gallico, Be’ur Sefer Kohelet, Venice, 1577 Ephraim Solomon ben Aaron of Luntshits, Ir Gibborim, Basle, 1580 Orah le-Hayyim, Lublin, 1595 Estori ben Moses ha-Parhi, Kaftor va-Ferah, Venice, c. 1548 Gedaliah ben Joseph ibn Yahya, Shalshelet ha-Kabbalah, Venice, 1587 Gerard Veltwyck, Shevilei Tohu, Venice, 1539 Gershon ben Solomon of Arles, Sha’ar ha-Shamayim, Venice, 1547 Gilbert Genebrard, tr., Seder Olam Zuta, Paris, 1572 Rav Hai ben Sherira Gaon/Asher ben Jehiel (Rosh), Musar Haskel be-Melizah/Orhot Hayyim, Fano, 1504 Pitron Halomot, Cairo, 1557 Hasdai Crescas, Or HaShem, Ferrara, 1555 Hayyim ben Bezalel, Sefer ha-Hayyim, Cracow, 1593 Hayyim ben Jacob Obadiah de Busal, Be’er Mayim Hayyim, Salonika, 1546 Hayyim ben Meir ibn Gabbai, Pesah le-HaShem, Constantinople, 1560 Hezekiah ben Manoah, Hizzekuni, Cremona, 1559 Immanuel ben Solomon of Rome, Mahbarot Immanuel, Constantinople, 1535 Isaac Aboab, Menorat ha-Ma’or, Venice, 1544 Isaac Aboab (II), Be’ur Perush ha-Ramban, Constantinople, 1525 Isaac ben Abraham Akrish, Editor, Iggeret Ogeret, Constantinople, c. 1577 Shloshah Perushim al Shir ha-Shirim, Constantinople, 1577 Isaac ben Abraham Chajes, Pahad Yizhak, Lublin, 1573 Isaac ben Elijah Sheni, Me’ah She’arim, Salonika, 1543 Isaac ben Jacob Alfasi (Rif ), Sefer Rav Alfas, Constantinople, 1509 Hilkhot Rav Alfas, Sabbioneta, 1554–55 Sefer Rav Alfas, Riva di Trento, 1558 Isaac ben Jacob Campanton, Darkhei ha-Gemara, Mantua, 1593 Isaac ben Joseph Caro, Toledot Yizhak, Mantua, 1558 Isaac ben Joseph of Corbeil, Amudei Golah (Semak), Constantinople, c. 1510 Amudei Golah (Semak), Cremona, 1556 Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel, Haggadah Zevah Pesah, Constantinople, 1505 Haggadah Zevah Pesah, Bistrowitz, 1592

946

author listing Ma’yenei ha-Yeshu’ah, Ferrara, 1551 Mirkevet ha-Mishneh, Sabbioneta, 1551 Nahalat Avot, Venice, 1545 Nevi’im Rishonim with the commentary of Don Isaac Abrabanel, Pesaro, 1511 Perush ha-Torah, Venice, 1579 Rosh Amanah, Venice, 1545 Isaac ben Meir of Dueren, Sha’arei Dura, Venice, 1547 Sha’arei Dura, Lublin, 1574 Isaac ben Mordecai Gershon, Shelom Esther, Constantinople, c. 1575–76 Isaac ben Moses Arama, Akedat Yizhak, Salonika, 1522 Isaac ben Moses ibn Arroyo, Tanhumot El, Salonika, 1578–79 Isaac ben Samuel Adarbi, She’elot u’Teshuvot Divrei Rivot, Salonika, 1582 Isaac ben Samuel Onkeneira, Ayumah ka-Nidgaloth, Constantinople, 1577 Isaac ben Shem Tov Cavallero, Ordenanca delas Oraciones del Cedur, Venice, 1552 Isaac ben Sheshet Perfet (Ribash), Teshuvot ha-Rav, Constantinople, 1546–47 Isaac ben Solomon ibn Abi Sahula, Meshal ha-Kadmoni, Venice, c. 1547 Isaac Tyrnau, Minhagim, Basle, 1598 Isaac Tyrnau/Simon Levi Guenzburg, Minhagim, Venice, 1593 Israel ben Joseph ha-Kohen, She’elot Inyan ha-Neshamah, Lublin, 1557 Israel ben Moses, Tamim Yahdav, Lublin, 1592–93 Israel ben Moses Najara, Zemirot Yisrael, Safed, 1587 Israel ben Pethahiah Isserlein, Be’urim, Riva di Trento, 1562 Terumat ha-Deshen, Venice, 1519 Ishmael ha-Kohen Tanuji, Ha-Zikkaron, Ferrara, 1555 Issachar Ber ben Naphtali Katz, Mareh Kohen, Cracow, 1589 Mattenot Kehunnah on Midrash Rabbah, Cracow, 1587 Issachar ben Mordecai ibn Susan, Ibbur Shanim, Venice, 1579 Jacob ben Asher, Arba’ah Turim, Fano, 1516 Arba’ah Turim, Augsburg, 1540 Arba’ah Turim, Constantinople, 1540 Perush ha-Torah le-R. Ya’akov, Constantinople, 1514 Tur Orah Hayyim, Prague, 1540 Jacob Barukh ben Judah Landau, Agur, Rimini, 1526 Jacob di Illescas, Imrei No’am, Cremona, 1565 Jacob ben Isaac Luzzatto, Kaftor va-Ferah (Kavvanot ha-Aggadot), Basle, 1580 Jacob ben Joseph Pollack, Pesak al Agunah, Prague, 1594 Jacob ben Judah Weil, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Venice, 1549 Jacob ben Mosé di Algaba, Amadis de Gaula, Constantinople, c. 1541 Jacob ben Moses Moellin (Maharil), Maharil, Sabbioneta, 1556 She’elot u’Teshuvot, Cremona, 1556 Jacob ben Samuel Bunim Koppelman, Ohel Ya’akov, Freiburg-im-Breisgau, 1584 Jacob ben Solomon ibn Habib, Ein Ya’akov, Salonika, 1516 Ein Yisrael (Ein Ya’akov), Venice, 1566 Jedaiah ha-Penini ben Abraham Bedersi, Behinat Olam, Venice, 1546 Leshon ha-Zahav, Venice, 1599 Ha-Pardes, Constantinople, c. 1516 Jehiel ben Jekuthiel ben Benjamin ha-Rofe Anav, Ma’alot ha-Middot, Cremona, 1556 Tanya, Cremona, 1565 Jehiel Michael ben Jedidiah Morawczyk, Minhah Hadashah on Pirkei Avot, Cracow, c. 1576 Jeroham ben Meshullam, Toledot Adam ve-Havvah—Sefer Mesharim, Venice, 1557 Joel ibn Shuaib/Abraham ben Mordecai Galante, Kol Bokhim, Venice, 1589 Joel ibn Shuaib, Olat Shabbat, Venice, 1577 Johanan ben Joseph Treves, Kimha de-Avishuna on the Roman Rite Mahzor, Bologna, 1540–41 Johannes Clemens Drusius, Proverbia Ben-Sira/Adagiorum Ebraicorum, Franeker, 1597 Johannes Reuchlin, De accentibus et orthographia linguae hebraicae, Hagenau, 1518 De rudimentis Hebraicis, Pforzheim, 1506

947

author listing Jonah ben Abraham Gerondi, Iggeret Teshuvah, Prague, 1595 Issur ve-Heter, Ferrara, 1555 Sha’arei Teshuvah, Fano, c. 1506 Joseph Albo, Ikkarim, Rimini, 1522 Ikkarim, Venice, 1544 Joseph ben Abraham Gikatilla, Sha’arei Orah, Mantua, 1561 Joseph ben Benjamin Samegah, Mikra’ei Kodesh, Venice, 1586 Joseph ben David ibn Lev, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Salonika, c. 1558 She’elot u’Teshuvot, Constantinople, 1561–98 Joseph ben David ibn Yahya, Torah Or, Bologna, 1538 Joseph ben Elhanan Heilbronn, Em ha-Yeled, Prague, 1597 Joseph ben Ephraim Caro, Beit Yosef on Tur Orah Hayyim, Venice, 1550 Kesef Mishneh on Mishneh Torah, Venice, 1574–75 She’elot u’Teshuvot, Salonika, 1597 Shulhan Arukh, Venice, 1564–65 Shulhan Arukh, Venice, 1577–78 Joseph Caro and Moses Isserles, Shulhan Arukh, Cracow, 1593–94 Joseph ben Hayyim Jabez, Ma’amar Hasdei HaShem, Constantinople, 1533 Joseph ben Jacob Shalit of Padua, Haggadah with Nimmukei Yosef, Mantua, 1568 Joseph ben Joshua ha-Kohen, Divrei ha-Yamim le-Malkhei Zarefat . . ., Sabbioneta, 1553 Joseph ben Mordecai Gershon Katz, She’elot u’Teshuvot She’erit Yosef, Cracow, 1589–90 Don Joseph Nasi, Ben Porat Yosef, Constantinople, 1577 Joseph ben Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov, Kevod Elohim, Ferrara, 1556 Joseph ben Shem Tov ben Yeshuah Hai, She’erit Yosef, Salonika, 1568 Joseph ben Solomon Colon (Maharik), She’elot u’Teshuvot, Venice, 1519 Joseph ben Solomon ibn Verga, She’erit Yosef, Mantua, 1593 Joseph Taitazak, Porat Yosef, Venice, 1599 Joshua ibn Shuaib, Derashot al ha-Torah, Cracow, 1573–75 Judah ben Abraham Khalaz, Ha-Mefo’ar, Constantinople, 1537 Judah ben Abraham Zarko, Yefeh Nof, Venice, c. 1572 Judah Loew ben Bezalel (Maharal), Gevurot ha-Shem, Cracow, 1581–82 Gur Aryeh, Prague, 1578–79 Be’er ha-Golah, Prague, 1598 Derekh Hayyim on Avot, Cracow, 1589 Judah ben Eliezer Chelebi Poki, Sha’ar Yehudah, Constantinople, 1581 Judah Halevi, Kuzar, Fano, 1506 Judah ben Isaac ibn Shabbetai, Milhemet ha-Hokhmah ve-ha-Osher, Cracow, c. 1546 Minhat Yehudah Sone ha-Nashim, Constantinople, c. 1543 Judah ben Joseph ibn Bulat, Kelal Kazar, Constantinople, c. 1531 Judah Aryeh ben Joseph Moscato, Nefuzot Yehudah, Venice, 1589 Judah Minz and Meir Katzenellenbogen (Maharam), She’elot u’Teshuvot, Venice, 1553 Judah ben Samuel he-Hasid, Hasidim, Basle, 1580 Judah ben Samuel Lerma, Lehem Yehudah, Sabbioneta, 1554 Judah ben Solomon al-Harizi, Tahkemoni, Constantinople, 1578 Judah Ibn Tibbon/Jacob Anatoli (attributed to either), Ru’ah Hen, Prague, 1593 Kalonymus ben Kalonymus, Even Bohan, Venice, 1546 Iggeret Ba’alei Hayyim, Mantua, 1557 Massekhet Purim, Pesaro, 1513 Leone ( Judah Aryeh) Modena, Sod Yesharim, Venice, 1595 Levi ben Gershom (Ralbag), Milhamot HaShem, Riva di Trento, 1560 Perush al ha-Torah, Venice, 1547 To’aliyyot Ralbag, Riva di Trento, 1560 Levi ben Jacob ibn Habib, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Venice, 1565 Machir ben Isaac Sar Hasid, Avkat Rokhel, Augsburg, 1540 Avkat Rokhel, Venice, 1566–67 Marco Marino Brixiense (of Brescia), Tevat Noach/Arca Noe, Venice, 1593

948

author listing Cardinal Marcus Vigerius, Decachordum Christianum, Fano, 1507 Meir ben Abraham Angel, Siddur Tefilot he-Hadash, Belvedere, c. 1593–95 Meir ben Baruch of Rothenburg, Birkot Maharam, Riva di Trento, 1558 She’elot u’Teshuvot, Cremona, 1557 Meir ben Ezekiel ibn Gabbai, Derekh Emunah, Padua, 1562 Tola’at Ya’akov, Constantinople, 1560 Meir ben Isaac Aldabi, Shevilei Emunah, Riva di Trento, 1559 Meir ben Isaac Arama, Me’ir Iyyov, Riva di Trento and Venice, 1562–67 Meir ben Samuel Benveneste, Ot Emet, Salonika, 1564 Menahem ben Aaron ibn Zerah, Zeidah la-Derekh, Ferrara, 1554 Menahem ben Abraham Bonafos, Ha-Gedarim (Mikhlal Yofi ), Salonika, 1567 Menahem Azariah da Fano, Asarah Ma’amarot, Venice, 1597 Menahem ben Benjamin Recanati, Piskei Halakhot, Bologna, 1538 Menahem ben Judah de Lonzano, Derekh Hayyim/Avodat Mikdash, Constantinople, c. 1573 Menahem ben Meir Ziyyoni, Ziyyoni, Cremona, 1559 Menahem ben Moses ha-Bavli, Ta’amei Mitzvot, Lublin, 1570–71 Menahem ben Moses Egozi, Gal shel Egozim, Belvedere, c. 1593–95 Mordecai ben Abraham Jaffe, Levush Malkhut, Lublin, 1590 Levushei Or Yekarot, Lublin, 1595 Mordecai ben Hillel ha-Kohen, Mordekhai, Riva di Trento, 1558 Mordecai ben Jehiel Luria, Perush ha-Milot, Cracow, 1580 Mordecai Nathan, Me’ir Nativ, Basle, 1581 Moses ben Abraham Mat of Przemysl, Matteh Moshe, Cracow, 1591 Moses Alfalas, Ho’il Moshe/Ba Gad, Venice, 1597 Moses ben Baruch Almosnino, Hanhagat ha-Hayyim, Salonika, 1564 Me’ammez Ko’ah, Venice, 1587–88 Pirkei Moshe, Salonika, 1563 Moses ben Elijah Gallena, Toledot Adam, Cremona, 1556 Moses Esrim ve-Arbeh, Melokhim Bukh, Augsburg, 1543 Shmuel Bukh, Augsburg, 1544 Moses ben Hayyim Alshekh, Havazzelet ha-Sharon, Venice, 1592 Torat Moshe, Belvedere, c. 1593–95 Moses ben Hayyim ben Shem Tov Pesante, Hukkat ha-Pesah, Salonika, 1569 Ner Mitzvah/Yesha Elohim, Salonika, 1569 Moses ben Isaac ibn Alashkar, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Sabbioneta, 1554 Moses ben Isaac of Pizenz, Derash Moshe, Cracow, 1589 Moses ben Israel Isserles (Rema), Mehir Yayin, Cremona, 1559 Torat ha-Hattat, Cracow, 1590 Torat ha-Olah, Prague, 1570 Moses ben Jacob Cordovero (Ramak), Or Ne’erav, Venice, 1587 Pardes Rimmonim, Cracow/Nowy Dwor, 1591 Perush Avodat Yom ha-Kippurim, Venice, 1587 Tomer Devorah, Venice, 1588 Moses ben Jacob of Coucy, Sefer Mitzvot Gadol (Semag), Venice, 1547 Moses ben Joseph Figo, Zikhron Torat Moshe, Constantinople, 1552–53 Moses ben Joseph Kimhi, Dikduk (Mahalakh Shevilei ha-Da’at), Ortona, 1519 Moses ben Joseph di Trani (Mabit), Kiryat Sefer, Venice, 1551 Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides, Rambam), Ma’amar Tehiyyat ha-Metim, Constantinople, 1569 Mishneh Torah, Venice, 1524 Mishneh Torah, Venice, 1550 Moreh Nevukhim, Venice, 1551 Sefer ha-Mitzvot, Constantinople, c. 1510 Teshuvot She’elot, Constantinople, c. 1517 Moses ben Maimon and Samson of Sens on Mishnayot Seder Tohorot, Venice, 1546 Moses ben Judah ibn Makhir, Seder ha-Yom, Venice, 1599 Moses ben Mordecai Galante, Kohelet Ya’akov, Safed, 1577–78

949

author listing Moses Mordecai ben Samuel Margolioth, Hasdei HaShem, Cracow, 1589 Moses ben Nahman (Ramban), Hiddushei ha-Ramban Bava Batra, Venice, 1523 Iggeret ha-Kodesh, Rome, 1546 Perush ha-Torah, Pesaro, 1514 Sha’ar ha-Gemul, Ferrara, 1556 Torat ha-Adam, Constantinople, 1518 Moses Provencal, Be’ur Zeh Yaza Rishonah; S. Venturozzo, Elleh ha-Devarim, Mantua, 1566 Moses ben Shem Tov ibn Habib, Marpe Lashon/Darkhei No’am, Venice, 1546 Muhammad ibn Rushd (Averroes), Kol Melekhet Higgayon, Riva de Trento, 1559 Nahshon bar Zadok/Isaac ben Samuel Onkeneira, Re’umah, Constantinople, 1566 Naphtali Hertz Treves, Naftulei Elohim Niftalti, Heddernheim, 1546 Naphtali Hirsch ben Asher Altschuler, Ayyalah Sheluhah, Cracow, c. 1595 Naphtali ben Menahem Hertz, Perush le-Midrash Hamesh Megillot Rabbah, Cracow, 1569 Nathan ben Jehiel, Arukh, Pesaro, 1517 Nathan Nata ben Samson Spira (Shapira), Be’urim, Venice, 1593 Birkat ha-Mazon, Lublin, 1575 Imrei Shefer, Cracow/Lublin, 1591–97 Nissim ben Jacob Ibn Shahin, Hibbur Yafeh me-haYeshu’ah, Ferrara, 1557 Nissim ben Reuben Gerondi (Ran), She’elot u’Teshuvot Rabbenu Nissim, Rome, 1545–46 Obadiah Bertinoro, Mishnayot with commentary of Obadiah Bertinoro, Venice, 1548–49 Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno, Be’ur al ha-Torah, Venice, 1567 Or Ammim, Bologna, 1537 Perez ben Isaac and Judah Hayyat, Ma’arekhet ha-Elohut with Minhat Yehudah, Mantua, 1558 Pethahiah ben Jacob of Regensburg, Sibbuv, with Midrash Yonah, Prague, 1595 Pietro Columna Galatinus, De arcanis catholicae veritatis, Ortona, 1518 Raphael ben Gabriel Norzi, Se’ah Solet/Marpe la-Nefesh/Orah Hayyim, Venice, 1578–79 Robert Wakefield, Oratio de laudibus trium linguarum, London, 1524 Saadiah ben Joseph Gaon, Emunot ve-De’ot, Constantinople, 1562 Sefer ha-Tehiyyah ve-Sefer ha-Pedut, Mantua, 1556 Samson ben Isaac of Chinon, Sefer Keritot, Cremona, 1557 Samson ben Zadok, Tashbez, Cremona, 1556 Samuel ben Abraham Laniado, Keli Hemdah, Venice, 1595 Samuel ben Elhanan Jacob Archivolti, Ma’yan Gannim, Venice, 1553 Samuel Eliezer ben Judah ha-Levi Edels (Maharsha), Hiddushim, Basle, 1599 Samuel ben Isaac Aripul, Mizmor le-Todah, Venice, 1576 Ne’im Zemirot, Cracow, 1576 Samuel ben Isaac ha-Sardi, Ha-Terumot, Salonika, 1596 Samuel ben Isaac Uceda, Iggeret Shemu’el, Kuru-Chesme, 1597 Samuel ben Jacob Hagiz, Mevakkesh Ha-Shem/Devar Shemu’el, Venice, 1596 Samuel Jaffe ben Isaac Ashkenazi, Yefeh Mareh, Venice, 1590 Yefeh To’ar, Venice, 1597–1606 Samuel ben Joseph Kohen Zedek, Ner Mitzvah, Venice, 1598 Samuel ben Moses Kalai, Mishpetei Shemu’el, Venice, 1599–1600 Samuel ben Moses de Medina (Maharashdam), She’elot u’Teshuvot, Salonika, 1594–97 Samuel ibn Seneh Zarza, Mekor Hayyim, Mantua, 1559 Saul ha-Kohen Ashkenazi, She’elot le-Hakham, Venice, 1574 Sebastian Muenster, Dictionarium Chaldaicum, Basle, 1527 Hebraica Biblia Mikdash HaShem, Basle, 1546 Shem Tov ben Jacob Melamed, Keter Shem Tov, Venice, 1596 Shem Tov ben Joseph ibn Falaquera, Zori ha-Yagon, Cremona, 1557 Iggeret ha-Vikku’ah, Constantinople, c. 1577 Shem Tov ben Joseph ibn Shem Tov, Derashot ha-Torah, Padua, 1567 Shem Tov ibn Shaprut, Pardes Rimmonim, Sabbioneta, 1554 Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov, Ha-Emunot, Ferrara, 1556 Simeon of Frankfort, Yalkut Shimoni, Venice, 1566 Simeon ben Isaac ha-Levi Aschaffenburg, Devek Tov, Venice, 1588

950

author listing Simeon Kayyara, Halakhot Gedolot, Venice, 1548 Simeon ben Samuel, Adam Sikhli, Thiengen, 1560 Simeon bar Yohai (attributed to), Midrash ha-Ne’lam, Venice, 1566 Tikkunei Zohar, Mantua, 1557 Zohar, Mantua, 1558–60 Zohar, Cremona, 1559–60 Simeon ben Zemah Duran, Hoshanot Le-Sukkot, Ferrara, 1553 Zohar ha-Raki’a on the Azharot, Constantinople, 1515 Solomon ben Abraham ibn Adret (Rashba), Hiddushei ha-Rashba Hullin, Venice, 1523 She’elot u’Teshuvot, Bologna, 1539 Torat ha-Bayit, Cremona, 1565 Solomon ben Abraham ha-Kohen, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Salonika, 1586 Solomon ben Abraham Peniel, Or Einayim, Cremona, 1557 Solomon ben Abraham of Urbino, Ohel Mo’ed, Venice, 1548 Solomon ben Eliezer ha-Levi, Avodat ha-Levi, Venice, 1546 Solomon ben Isaac (Rashi), Likkutei ha-Pardes, Venice, 1519 Perush Rashi al ha-Torah, Venice, 1522 Solomon ben Isaac le-Bet ha-Levi, Divrei Shelomo, Venice, 1596 Lev Avot, Salonika, 1565 Solomon ben Jacob Almoli, Me’assef le-Khol ha-Mahanot, Constantinople, c. 1530 Mefasher Helmin, Salonika, 1515 Solomon ben Jehiel Luria (Maharshal), Hokhmat Shelomo, Cracow, 1582 Menorat Zahav Tohor, Cracow, c. 1585 She’elot u’Teshuvot, Lublin, 1574–75 Solomon ben Judah ibn Gabirol, Mivhar Peninim, Cremona, 1558 Tikkun Middot ha-Nefesh, Constantinople, 1550 Solomon ibn Melekh, Mikhlol Yofi, Constantinople, 1548–49 Solomon Molcho, Derashot (Sefer ha-Mefo’ar), Salonika, 1529 Solomon ben Moses ha-Levi Alkabez, Ayyelet Ahavim, Venice, 1552 Manot ha-Levi, Venice, 1585 Solomon ibn Verga, Shevet Yehudah, Adrianople, 1554 Vidal Benveniste, Melizat Efer Ve-Dinah, Rimini, 1525 Yeshu’ah ha-Levi—Samuel ha-Nagid, Halikhot Olam—Mevo ha-Talmud, Venice, 1544 Yom Tov Lipmann Muelhausen, commentary on Shir ha-Yihud, Thiengen, 1560 Yom Tov ben Moses Zahalon, Lekah Tov, Safed, 1577 Zechariah ben Joshua ibn Saruq, Perush Megillat Ahasuerus, Venice, 1565 Zedekiah (ha-Rofei) ben Abraham, Shibbolei ha-Leket, Venice, 1546 Zerahiah ha-Yevani, Ha-Yashar, Cracow, 1586

951

952

Sources Although the following notes are extensive, several works mentioned in the bibliography and used throughout the research for this work do not appear here. They are R. Hayyim Yosef David Azulai’s (Hida) Shem ha-Gedolim, Hersh Goldwurm’s The Early Acharonim and The Rishonim, and Hayyim Michael’s Or ha-Hayyim. Also not mentioned are the Encyclopedia Judaica, Jewish Encyclopedia, and the Bibliographical Project of the Jewish National and University Library ( Jerusalem, 1992) [Hebrew]. These invaluable works, generally consulted as part of the initial research for most entries, were used extensively. Continuous mention of them would be unnecessarily repetitious. c. 1501, Alphabetum Hebraicum, Venice—Martin Davies, Aldus Manutius. Printer and Publisher of Renaissance Venice, (London, 1995), pp. 50–55; Alexander Marx, “Notes on the Use of Hebrew Type in NonHebrew Books, 1475–1520,” in Studies in Jewish History and Booklore (New York, 1944), p. 309; and Moses Marx, “Gershom (Hieronymus) Soncino’s Wander-Years in Italy, 1498–1527,” HUCA XI (1936, reprint by Society of Jewish Bibliophiles, n.p., 1969), pp. 23–34. 1504, Musar Haskel be-Melizah/Orhot Hayyim, Fano—A. M. Habermann, Ha-Madpesim B’nei Soncino (Vienna, 1933, reprinted in Studies in the History of Hebrew Printers, Jerusalem, 1978), p. 55 nos. 15, 16; Giacomo Manzoni, Annali tipografici dei Soncino III (Bologna, 1883–86), pp. 57–59 n. 12; and Moses Marx, History and Annals of Hebrew Printing in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries. Microfilm, reel 3 (Hebrew Union College Library, Cincinnati, 1982). 1505, Haggadah Zevah Pesah, Constantinople—B. Netanyahu, Don Isaac Abravanel: Statesman & Philosopher (Philadelphia, 1972), pp. 74–76; Avraham Yaari, Hebrew Printing at Constantinople ( Jerusalem, 1967), pp. 60–61 n. 3 [Hebrew]; and Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi, Haggadah and History (Philadelphia, 1975), n. 5. 1505, Hamishah Homshei Torah, Constantinople—Nigel Allen, “A Typographical Odysssey: The 1505 Constantinople Pentateuch,” in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (Cambridge, 1991), pp. 343–51; Joshua Bloch, “Early Hebrew Printing in Spain and Portugal,” in Hebrew Printing and Bibliography (New York, 1976), pp. 22–25; Abraham M. Habermann, “The Jewish Art of the Printed Book,” in Jewish Art. An Illustrated History, ed. Cecil Roth (New York, 1961), pp. 456–63; Arthur M. Hind, An Introduction to the History of the Woodcut II (1935, reprint New York, 1963), pp. 744–46; and Yaari, Constantinople, pp. 18, 59–60 n. 2. 1505, Sefer ha-Roke’ah, Fano—Manzoni, III pp. 77–82 n. 15; Ephraim Urbach, Ba’alei ha-Tosafot ( Jerusalem, 1980), p. 409 [Hebrew]; and C. Tchernowitz, Toledot ha-Posekim II (New York, 1946), pp. 166–70 [Hebrew]. 1505, Selihot—Ashkenaz Rite in Italy, Fano—Daniel Goldschmidt, Seder ha-Selihot ke-Minhag Polin ( Jerusalem, 1965), p. 7 [Hebrew]. c. 1505, Tractate Pesahim, Constantinople—Isaac Yudlov, Ginzei Yisrael, The Israel Mehlman Collection in the Jewish National and University Library ( Jerusalem, 1984), p. 41 n. 141 [Hebrew]. 1506, De rudimentis Hebraicis, Pforzheim—Charles Berlin and Aaron Katchen, ed., Christian Hebraism. The Study of Jewish Culture by Christian Scholars in Medieval and Early Modern Times (Cambridge, Ma., 1988), p. 37 n. 48; Jerome Friedman, The Most Ancient Testimony. Sixteenth-Century Christian-Hebraica in the Age of Renaissance Nostalgia (Athens, Ohio, 1983), var. cit.; Gordon Laird, “Johannes Reuchlin of Pforzheim,” http://www3.telus.net/dglaird/derudime.htm; Heiko A. Oberman, The Roots of AntiSemitism in the Age of Reformation and Renaissance (Philadelphia, 1984), var. cit.

953

sources 1506, Kuzar, Fano—Dan Cohn-Sherbok, Medieval Jewish Philosophy (Cornwall, 1996), pp. 61–65; Julius Guttman, Philosophies of Judaism (New York, 1964), pp. 136–51; H. Slonimsky, The Kuzari (New York, 1964); and Meyer Waxman, A History of Jewish Literature (1933, reprint Cranbury, 1960), I pp. 333–39. 1506, Leshon Limmudim, Constantinople—Allen, p. 348. 1507, Be’ur al ha-Torah, Bahya ben Asher ben Hlava, Pesaro—Charles B. Chavel, Rabbenu Bahya Be’ur al ha-Torah I ( Jerusalem, 1968), pp. 7–20 [Hebrew]; Avraham Grossman, “Biblical Exegesis in Spain During the 13th–15th Centuries,” in The Sephardi Legacy I, ed. Haim Beinart ( Jerusalem, 1992), pp. 142–43; I. Rivkind, “Variants in Old Books,” in Alexander Marx Jubilee Volume Hebrew Section (New York, 1950), p. 405 [Hebrew]; and Giovanni Bernardo de Rossi, Dictionary of Hebrew Authors (Dizionario Storico degli Autori Ebrei e delle Loro Opere), ed. Marvin J. Heller (Lewiston, 1999), p. 122. 1507, Decachordum Christianum, Fano—David Amram, The Makers of Hebrew Books in Italy (Philadelphia, 1909, reprint London, 1963), pp. 108–09; M. Marx, “Wander-Years,” pp. 42–43; Ruth Mortimer, Harvard College Library Department of Printing and Graphic Arts Catalogue of Books and Manuscripts Part II: Italian 16th Century Books II (Cambridge, Ma., 1974), pp. 742–44 n. 537. c. 1507–20, Des Pfefferkorns Leben—The Catholic Encyclopedia, http://newadvent.org/cathen/11786a.htm; Heinrich Graetz, History of the Jews (Philadelphia, 1956), IV p. 468; Marvin J. Heller, Printing the Talmud: A History of the Earliest Printed Editions of the Talmud (Brooklyn, 1992), pp. 214–15; and Herbert C. Zafren, “Printed Rarities in the Hebrew Union College Library,” SBB V (1961), pp. 141–42. 1507–20 Broadside—Zafren, “Printed Rarities in the Hebrew Union College Library,” SBB V, pp. 141–42. 1509, Sefer Rav Alfas, Constantinople—Nachman Klar, Nahlei Mayyim: Toledot u-Klallei ha-Posekim (Brooklyn, 1996), pp. 65–71 [Hebrew]; Raphael Natan Nuta Rabbinovicz, Ma’amar al Hadpasat ha-Talmud with additions, ed. A. M. Habermann ( Jerusalem, 1952), pp. 256–57 [Hebrew]; Yaari, Constantinople, pp. 61–62 n. 5. Also see Tchernowitz, II pp. 131–66. c. 1510, Amudei Golah (Semak), Constantinople—Tchernowitz, II pp. 93–95; and Urbach, II pp. 571–75. Concerning the publication date see Joseph Hacker, “Constantinople Prints in the 16th Century,” Areshet V ( Jerusalem, 1972), pp. 476 n. 36 [Hebrew]. 1510, Calendar, Constantinople—Isaac Rivkind, “A Previously Unknown Constantinople TwentyYear Calendar From the Year 1510,” Alim I (Vienna, 1935), pp. 16–20 [Hebrew]. 1510, Mashreh Kitrin, Constantinople—Yaari, Constantinople, pp. 66–67 n. 12. On Abraham ben Eliezer ha-Levi see Gershom Scholem, KS I “Kabbalsitic Miscellaneous Notes,” (1924/25), 163f.; II, “The Kabbalist Rabbi Abraham ben Eliezer Halevi,” (1925), pp.101–41, 269–73; VII, “New Research on Rabbi Abraham ben Eliezer Halevi,” (1930/31), pp. 149–51, 440–56; VIII, “The Author of the Forged Sohar Fragment in the Time of Rabbi Abraham Halevi,” (1933), pp. 262–5. c. 1510, Sefer ha-Mitzvot, Constantinople—Charles B. Chavel, The Commandments: Sefer Ha-Mitzvoth of Maimonides in Two Volumes I (London, 1967), pp. vii–xv; Tchernowitz, II pp. 285–91; Isadore Twersky, Introduction to the Code of Maimonides (Mishneh Torah) (New Haven, 1980), pp. 245–53. 1511–17, Arba’ah ve’Esrim (Bible), Pesaro—C. D. Ginsburg, Introduction to the Massoretico-Critical Edition of the Bible (London, 1897, reprint, New York, 1966), pp. 895–897; Habermann, “Ha-Madpesim B’nei Soncino,” Studies, pp. 59, 65 nos. 37 and 62 [Hebrew]; and M. Marx, “Wander-Years,” p. 48. 1511, [Haggadot ha-Talmud ], Constantinople—Hacker, “Constantinople Prints,” p. 475 n. 14; Rabbinovicz, Ma’amar, pp. 257–58; Yaari, Constantinople, pp. 67–68 n. 14; and Yudlov, Ginzei Yisrael, p. 48 n. 191.

954

sources 1511, Nevi’im Rishonim with the commentary of Abrabanel, Pesaro—Grossman, “Biblical Exegesis,” pp. 144–46; Ginsburg, Massoretico-Critical Edition, pp. 880–84; Kestenbaum & Company, Books, Manuscripts and Works of Art (New York, June 6, 2001), p. 41 n. 119. 1512, Midrash Rabbah, Constantinople—Midrash Rabbah Mevo’ar I ( Jerusalem, 1984), intro. n.p.; Hannanel Mack, “The Reworking of a Midrash by Printers in Istanbul,” Pe’amim LII ( Jerusalem, 1992), pp. 37–46 [Hebrew]; and Yaakov Shmuel Spiegel, Amudim be-Toledot ha-Sefer ha-Ivri (RamatGan, 1996), pp. 205–06 [Hebrew]. 1512, Midrash Tillim (Tehillim), Constantinople—William G. Braude, The Midrash on Psalms I (New Haven, 1959), pp. xii–xxxvi; Solomon Buber, Midrash Tehilim ha-Mekhuneh Shoher Tov (Vilna, 1891, reprint New York, 1947), pp. 3–24, 54–110 [Hebrew]; Hacker, “Constantinople Prints,” p. 474 n. 20; L. Rabinowitz, “Does Midrash Tillim Reflect the Triennial Cycle of Psalms,” JQR XXVI:2 (1936), pp. 349–68; Herman L. Strack, Introduction to Talmud and Midrash (Philadelphia, 1931, reprint New York, 1988), pp. 223–24; and Yaari, Constantinople, p. 18, 69 n. 20. 1513, Massekhet Purim, Pesaro—Israel Davidson, Parody in Jewish Literature (New York, 1907, reprint New York, 1966), pp. 19–27, 115–34; Abraham M. Habermann, The Printer Cornelio Adelkind, His Son Daniel and a List of Books Printed by Them ( Jerusalem, 1980), p. 88 nos. 8, 9 [Hebrew]; Abraham M. Habermann, “The Editions and Prints of ‘Massekheth Purim,’” Areshet V ( Jerusalem, 1960), p. 138 n. 1 [Hebrew]; and Waxman, A History of Jewish Literature, II pp. 606–08. 1513, Seder Olam, Olam Zuta, Megillat Ta’anit, and Sefer ha-Kabbalah, Mantua—Concerning conflicts over the dates in Seder Olam see Mitchell First, Jewish History in Conflict: A Study of the Major Discrepancy Between Rabbinic and Conventional Chronology (Northvale, 1997); Gerson D. Cohen, Sefer ha-Qabbalah. The Book of Tradition by Abraham ibn Daud (Philadelphia, 1967); Ch. B. Friedberg, History of Hebrew Typography in Italy, Spain-Portugal and the Turkey, from its beginning and formation about the year 1470 (Tel Aviv, 1956), p. 17 [Hebrew]; on Genebrard see Moritz Steinschneider, Catalogus Liborium Hebraeorum in Bibliotheca Bodleiana (Berlin, 1852–60), cols. 1005–08 n. 5130. 1514–17 Complutensian Polyglot Bible, Alcalá de Henares—David Sandler Berkowitz, In Remembrance of Creation. Evolution of Art and Scholarship in the Medieval and Renaissance Bible (Waltham, 1968), pp. 101–02; Ginsburg, Massoretico-Critical Edition of the Bible, pp. 906–25; Jaroslav Pelikan, The Reformation of the Bible. The Bible of the Reformation, with Valerie R. Hotchkiss and David Price (New Haven, 1996), pp. 109–10. 1514–18, Hamishah Homshei Torah, Prague—Ch. B. Friedberg, History of Hebrew Typography of the following Cities in Central Europe: Altona, Augsberg, Berlin, Cologne, Frankfort M., Frankfort O., Fürth, Hamberg, Hanau, Heddernheim, Homberg, Ichenhausen, Neuwied, Wandsbeck, and Wilhermsdorf. Offenbach, Prague, Sulzbach, Thannhausen from its beginning in the year 1513 (Antwerp, 1935), pp. 2–5 [Hebrew]; and Charles Wengrow, Haggadah and Woodcut. An Introduction to the Passover Haggadah completed by Gershom Cohen in Prague Sunday, 26 Teveth, 5287/December 30, 1526 (New York, 1967), pp. 13–19. 1514, Perush ha-Torah, Abraham ibn Ezra, Constantinople—de Rossi, pp. 4–11; Nahum M. Sarna, “Abraham Ibn Ezra as an Exegete,” in Rabbi Abraham Ibn Ezra: Studies in the Writings of a TwelfthCentury Polymath, ed. Isadore Twersky and Jay M. Harris (Cambridge, 1993), pp. 1–27; Uriel Simon, “The Spanish School of Biblical Interpretation,” in The Sephardi Legacy, I pp. 128–36; Yaari, Constantinople, p. 18 1514, Perush ha-Torah le-R. Ya’akov, Constantinople—Baal Haturim, Avie Gold and Eliyahu Touger, editors and translators (Brooklyn, 1999), pp. xi–xxiii; Grossman, “Biblical Exegesis,” pp. 143–44; and Yaari, Constantinople, pp. 18–20 and 70 n. 25. 1514, Perush ha-Torah, Moses ben Nahman, Pesaro—Charles B. Chavel, Ramban. Commentary on the Torah I (New York, 1971–76), pp. v–xiii; Grossman, “Biblical Exegesis,” pp. 137–42; and Moses Marx, History and Annals of Hebrew Printing . . ., reel 2.

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sources 1514, Shulhan shel Arba, Mantua—Charles B. Chavel, Kitvei Rabbenu Bahya ( Jerusalem, 1970), pp. 455–56 [Hebrew]; and Meijer Marcus Roest, Catalogue der Hebraica und Judaica Rosenthalishen Bibliotek. Bearbetet von M. Roest. With Anhang by Leeser Rosenthal (Amsterdam, 1875, reprint Amsterdam, 1966), II p. 411 n. 2116 [Hebrew]. 1515, Kad ha-Kemah, Constantinople—Charles B. Chavel, Encyclopedia of Torah Thoughts (New York, 1980), pp. ix–x. 1515, Ketuvim, Psalms, Proverbs, Job and Daniel, Salonika—Ginsburg, Massoretico-Critical Edition, pp. 889–95; and Yudlov, Ginzei Yisrael, p. 33 n. 68. 1515, Kizzur Piskei ha-Rosh, Constantinople—Meir Benayahu, Yosef Behiri, Maran Rabbi Joseph Caro ( Jerusalem, 1991), p. 378 [Hebrew]; Abraham Hayyim Freiman, Ha-Rosh. Rabbenu Asher ben Jehiel and his descendants ( Jerusalem, 1986), pp. 77–78, 85–86 [Hebrew]; Klar, pp. 91–101; Stephen M. Passamaneck, “Toward Sunrise in the East 1300–1565” in An Introduction to the History and Sources of Jewish Law (Oxford, 1996), pp. 337–38; and Yaari, Constantinople, p. 73 n. 42. 1515, Mefasher Helmin, Salonika—Yaakov Elman, tr. and ed. Dream Interpretation from Classical Jewish Sources (Hoboken, 1998); A. Grünbaum, “‘twmwlwj ˆwrtp’ History and Sources,” in Areshet IV ( Jerusalem, 1966), pp. 180–201 [Hebrew]; Monford Harris, Studies in Jewish Dream Interpretation (Northvale, 1994), pp. 39–63; Annelies Kuyt, “With One Foot in the Renaissance: Shlomoh Almoli and his Dream Interpretation,” Jewish Studies Quarterly VI (Tübingen, 1999), pp. 205–17; and H. Yallon (ed.), R. Shelomo Almoli Halikhot Sheva ( Jerusalem, 1944), pp. 79–85. 1515, Midrash Tehillim, Salonika—Yitzhak Baer, A History of the Jews in Christian Spain II (Philadelphia, 1961), var. cit.; Braude, pp. xxviii–xxx; Buber, pp. 4–5, 108–10; Strack, pp. 223–24; and Yudlov, Ginzei Yisrael, p. 46 n. 174. 1515, Nevi’im Ahronim with the commentary of David ben Joseph Kimhi (Radak), Pesaro—Ginsburg, Massoretico-Critical Edition, pp. 886–89; and Habermann, “Ha-Madpesim B’nei Soncino,” Studies, p. 46 n. 16. 1515, Petah Devarai, Constantinople—On David Messer Leon, but not specifically on Petah Devarai, see Hava Tirosh-Rothschild, Between Worlds/The Life and Thought of Rabbi David ben Judah Messer Leon (Albany, 1991). 1515, Psalterium, Venice—Amram, pp. 149–55; Joshua Bloch, “Venetian Printers of Hebrew Books,” in Hebrew Printing and Bibliography (New York, 1976), pp. 67–68; A. M. Habermann, The Printer Daniel Bomberg (Safed, 1978), pp. 13–14 [Hebrew]; Kestenbaum & Company, Important Hebrew Books and Manuscripts from the Library of the London Beth Din (New York, November 28, 2000), p. 55 n. 164; and Israel Mehlman, “Daniel Bomberg, the Printer of Venice,” Areshet III ( Jerusalem, 1961), pp. 94–96 [Hebrew]. c. 1515, Tractate Eruvin, Pesaro—Haim Z. Dimitrovsky, S’ridei Bavli: An Historical and Bibliographical Introduction (New York, 1979), pp. 112–17 [Hebrew]; Heller, Earliest Printed Editions, pp. 102–28; and Rabbinovicz, Ma’amar, pp. 20–31. c. 1515, Tractate Sukkah, Pesaro—Lazarus Goldschmidt, Hebrew Incunables, A Bibliographical Essay (Oxford, 1948), p. 84 n. 81; Heller, Earliest Printed Editions, pp. 111–22; and Max Sander, Le Livre a Figures Italien Depuis 1467 jusqu’a 1530 (New York, 1941), III p. 1153, V n. 48. 1515, Zohar ha-Raki’a on the Azharot, Constantinople—Raphael Halperin, Tor ha-Zahav ve-ha-Shemad: Yahadut Sefarad ve-Hakhameha ’ad la-Gerush (Israel, 1992), pp. 293–94 n. 455 [Hebrew]; Mordechai Margalioth, Encyclopedia of Great Men in Israel IV (Tel Aviv, 1986), cols. 1362–66 [Hebrew]; Tchernowitz, II pp. 294–95; and Yaari, Constantinople, p. 19.

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sources 1516, Arba’ah Turim, Fano—S. M. Chones, Toledot ha-Posekim (Warsaw, 1910, reprint Israel, n.d.), pp. 270–73 [Hebrew]; Solomon Zucrow, Sifrut ha-Halakhah (New York, 1932), pp. 141–43 [Hebrew]. See also Klar, pp. 107–16; and Tchernowitz, II pp. 199–220. 1516, Divrei ha-Yamim le-Moshe Rabbenu, Constantinople—Elkan Nathan Adler, Jewish Travellers in the Middle Ages: 19 Firsthand Accounts (London, 1930, reprint New York, 1987), pp. 4–21; J. D. Eisenstein, Ozar Midrashim (1915, reprint Israel, 1969), I pp. 11–15, 181–85; II pp. 356–85 [Hebrew]; and Shlomo Aharon Wertheimer, Battei Midrashot ( Jerusalem, 1985), II pp. 273–75 [Hebrew]. See also Abraham Epstein, “The Book of Eldad ha-Dani,” in Kitvei R. Abraham Epstein I, A. M. Habermann, ed. ( Jerusalem, 1950), pp. 1–211 [Hebrew]. 1516, Ein Ya’akov, Salonika—Margalioth, Great Men, III cols. 862–62; Yudlov, Ginzei Yisrael, pp. 48–49 n. 192; and Israel Zinberg, A History of Jewish Literature V (New York, 1975), translated by Bernard Martin, pp. 26–27. 1516–17, Mikra’ot Gedolot (Biblia Rabbinica), Venice—Meir Benayahu, Copyright, Authorization, and Imprimatur for Hebrew Books Printed in Venice ( Jerusalem, 1971), pp. 18–19 [Hebrew]; Ginsburg, Massoretico-Critical Edition, pp. 925–48; Habermann, Bomberg, pp. 28–30 n. 8; and A. M. Habermann, Title Pages of Hebrew Books (Tel Aviv, 1969), p. xi [Hebrew with English introduction]. c. 1516, Sefer ha-Pardes, Constantinople—Zinberg, III pp. 91–98. 1516, Psalterium Hebraeum, Graecum, Arabicum, et Chaldaeum, Genoa—Amram, pp. 226–29; Berkowitz, pp. 100–01 n. 173; Felix de Marez Oyens, Christie’s Catalogue: Hebrew Printed Books. Duplicates from the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary (New York, May 22, 1986), n. 34; Brad Sabin Hill, Hebraica (Saec. X ad Saec. XVI). Manuscripts and Early Printed Books from the Library of the Valmadonna Trust (Great Britain, 1989), n. 18; and Pelikan, pp. 111–13 n. 1.26. c. 1516, Rosh Ha-Shanah, Fez—Dimitrovsky, pp. 44–45, 68–69; Heller, Earliest Printed Editions, pp. 273–76; Meir Mordecai Marziano, B’nei M’lakhim ( Jerusalem, 1989), pp. 11–14 [Hebrew]; Spiegel, Amudim, pp. 214–15; and Joseph Tedghi, ha-Sefer ve-ha-Defus ha-Ivri be-Fes ( Jerusalem, 1994), pp. 79–81 [Hebrew]. 1517, Sefer Abudarham, Fez—Dimitrovsky, pp. 48, 65–66; Marziano, pp. 11–13, 36; Menachem Mendel Slatkine, Shemot ha-Sefarim ha-Ivriyim I (Neuchatel-Tel Aviv, 1950), pp. 103–04 [Hebrew]; Tedghi, pp. 78–79. 1517, Arukh, Pesaro—Shimeon Brisman, History and Guide to Judaic Dictionaries and Concordances III (Hoboken, 2001), pp. 15–17; A. M. Habermann, “Ha-Madpesim B’nei Soncino,” Studies, pp. 65–66 n. 63; M. Marx, “Wander-Years,” p. 46; and Waxman, I pp. 276–77. 1517, She’elot Teshuvot le-ha-Rosh, Constantinople—Solomon B. Freehof, The Responsa Literature (Philadelphia, 1955), p. 59; Marvin J. Heller, “A Note on Medieval Sephardic Practice at the Seder,” Tradition v. 30 n. 3 (New York, 1996), pp. 44–50; Klar, pp. 100; Tchernowitz, II pp. 157–60; Waxman, II p. 167–68; and Yudlov, Ginzei Yisrael, pp. 117–18 nos. 700–01. c. 1517–18, Torah, Nevi’im, Ketuvim (Bible), Venice—Ginsburg, Massoretico-Critical Edition, pp. 948–52; and Habermann, Bomberg, p. 30 n. 9. c. 1517, Tractate Berakhot, Pesaro—Heller, Earliest Printed Editions of the Talmud, pp. 115, 121ff.; and M. Marx, “Wander-Years,” pp. 67–68.; idem, History and Annals of Hebrew Printing . . ., reel 3; and Avraham Rosenthal, “Daniel Bomberg and his Talmud Editions,” in Gli Ebrei e Venezia (Milan, 1987) pp. 384. 1518, De accentibus et orthographia linguae hebraicae, Hagenau—Friedman, The Most Ancient Testimony, pp. 24–25; and Hill, Valmadonna, n. 21. The English translation of de arte cabalistica is On the Art of the

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sources Kabbalah, tr. by Martin and Sarah Goodman, introductions by G. Lloyd Jones and Moshe Idel (1983, reprint Lincoln, Nebraska and London, 1993). 1518, De arcanis catholicae veritatis, Ortona—The Catholic Encyclopedia, VI (New York, 1909), p. 340; Berlin and Katchen, p. 45 n. 74; Hill, Valmadonna, n. 23; Frank E. Manuel, The Broken Staff. Judaism Through Christian Eyes (Cambridge, Ma., 1992), pp. 19–20; and M. Marx, “Wander-Years,” pp. 48–49. 1518, Ben ha-Melekh ve-ha-Nazir, Constantinople—J. Chotzner, “Abraham Ibn Chasdai, and His Book ‘The Prince and the Dervish’,” in Hebrew Humor and Other Essays (1905, reprint 1979), pp. 117–26; Zinberg, I pp. 189–93; Waxman, II pp. 590–96. 1518, Torat ha-Adam, Constantinople—Charles B. Chavel, Ramban, His Life and Teachings (New York, 1960), pp. 26–29; and Charles B. Chavel, ed., Kitvei Rabbenu Moshe ben Nahman ( Jerusalem, 1964), pp. 9–10 [Hebrew]. 1519, Sefer Dikduk, Ortona—William Chomsky, Hebrew: The Eternal Language (Philadelphia, 1957), p. 130; Semyon Iakerson, Catalogue of Hebrew Incunabula in the Library of the Leningrad Branch of the U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences (Leningrad, 1985), p. 67 n. 50; Margalioth, Great Men, IV col. 1157–58; and Frank Ephraim Talmage, David Kimhi. The Man and his Commentaries (Cambridge, 1975), p. 8. 1519, Ha-Likkutim ve-ha-Hibburim, Constantinople—The Alphabet of Ben Sira: Facsimile of the 1519 Edition from the Valmadonna Trust Library. Verona, 1997, with foreword from Joseph Dan [English] and introductions from Joseph Hacker [English] and A. M. Habermann [Hebrew], pp. 11–37 and 3–18; and Joseph Hacker, “Jews of the Ottoman Empire,” in Jewish Thought in the Seventeenth Century, ed. Isadore Twersky and Bernard Septimus (Cambridge, 1987), pp. 114–16; and Yaari, Constantinople, p. 20, 77 n. 60. On Priesty John/Prester John see Nathan Ausubel, Pictorial History of the Jewish People (New York, 1953), p. 217; Meir Bar-Ilan, “Prester John: Fiction and History,” in History of European Ideas 20, nos. 1–3 ( January, 1995), pp. 291–98 (http://faculty.biu.ac.il/~barilm/presjohn.html); and A. M. Habermann, Introduction [Hebrew] to The Alphabet of Ben Sira, pp. 5–6 and 9. 1519, Sefer ha-Manhig, Constantinople—Yitzhak Raphael, Sefer HaManhig I ( Jerusalem, 1978), pp. 11–85; and Tchernowitz, II pp. 72–75. 1519, Midrash Hamesh Megillot, [Pesaro]—Habermann, “Ha-Madpesim B’nei Soncino,” Studies, pp. 67–68 n. 67; M. Marx, “Wander-Years,” p. 49; and Strack, pp. 218–22. 1519, Pesakim, Venice—Habermann, Bomberg, pp. 30–31 n. 11a; Alexander Marx, Bibliographical Studies and Notes on Rare Books and Manuscripts in the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, ed. Menahem H. Schmelzer (New York, 1977), pp. 36; and Alexander Marx, “A Jewish Cause Célèbre in Sixteenth Century Italy (The Pesakim of 1519),” in Studies in Jewish History and Booklore (New York, 1944), pp. 107–54. 1519, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Joseph Colon, Venice—Robert Bonfil, Rabbis and Jewish Communities in Renaissance Italy (London, 1993), pp. 94–95, 258–61; Freehof, pp. 78–80, 122–24; and Cecil Roth, The Jews in the Renaissance (1959, reprint New York, 1965), pp. 41. Concerning Colon’s disputes with Judah Messer Leon and Moses Capsali see, respectively, H. Rabinowicz, “Rabbi Colon and Messer Leon,” Journal of Jewish Social Studies VI:3 (London, 1955), pp. 166–70; and H. Rabinowicz, “Joseph Colon and Moses Capsali,” Jewish Quarterly Review XLVII:4 (Philadelphia, 1957), pp. 336–44. 1519, Terumat ha-Deshen, Venice—Shlomo Eidelberg, Jewish Life in Austria in the XVth Century as Reflected in the Legal Writings of Rabbi Israel Isserlein and His Contemporaries (Philadelphia, 1962); and Freehof, pp. 74–76. 1519/20–23, Babylonian Talmud, Venice, Daniel Bomberg—Marvin J. Heller, “Designing the Talmud: The Origins of the Printed Talmudic Page,” Tradition v. 29 n. 3 (New York, 1995), pp. 40–51; idem, Earliest Printed Editions, pp. 139–54; and Rabbinovicz, Ma’amar, pp. 35–43.

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sources 1521, Derekh Emunah, Abraham ben Shem Tov Bibago, Constantinople—Baer, II pp. 295–99; Allan Lazaroff, The Theology of Abraham Bibago (University of Alabama, 1981), pp. 2–7; and Waxman, II p. 268. 1521, Torah, Nevi’im, Ketuvim (Bible), Venice—Ginsburg, Massoretico-Critical Edition, pp. 952–56; and Habermann, Bomberg, p. 38 n. 67. 1522, Akedat Yizhak, Salonika—Israel Bettan, Studies in Jewish Preaching (1939, reprint Lanham, 1987), pp. 130–91; Netanyahu, Don Isaac Abravanel, p. 296 n. 92; Chaim Pearl, The Medieval Jewish Mind: the Religious Philosophy of Isaac Arama (London, 1971); and Yudlov, Ginzei Yisrael, pp. 196–97 n. 1220. 1522, Ikkarim, Rimini—Amram, 127–33; Habermann, “Ha-Madpesim B’nei Soncino,” Studies, pp. 70–72 n. 75; M. Marx, “Wander-Years,” pp. 49–54; and Avraham Yaari, Hebrew Printers’ Marks ( Jerusalem, 1943), pp. 5 and 123–24 n. 6 [Hebrew]. 1522–24, Jerusalem Talmud, Venice—Saul Lieberman, “The New Fragments from the Yerushalmi,” in Alexander Marx Jubilee Volume II (New York, 1950), p. 287 [Hebrew]; Saul Lieberman, “Yerushalmi Horayot,” in Sefer ha-Yovel for R. Hanoch Albeck ( Jerusalem, 1963), pp. 283–86 [Hebrew]; and Rabbinovicz, Ma’amar, pp. 203–05. 1522, Tractate Nedarim, Venice—Heller, Earliest Printed Editions, pp. 150–51; Rabbinovicz, Ma’amar, p. 43 n. 16; Steinschneider, CB col. 263 n. 1792. 1522, Zeror ha-Mor, Venice—The account of events described is based on Saba’s introduction to Eshkol ha-Kofer. A slightly different account, based on scattered references in Zeror ha-Mor, is given by Abraham Gross, Iberian Jewry: From Twilight to Dawn. The World of Abraham Saba (Leiden, 1955). 1523, Hiddushei ha-Ramban Bava Batra, Venice—Simha Assaf, M’Koros L’Toldos Hahinukh B’Yisrael (Tel Aviv, 1928), pp. 33–34 [Hebrew]; and Chavel, Ramban, His Life and Teachings, pp. 29–30. 1523, Hiddushei ha-Rashba Massekhet Hullin, Venice—Halperin, pp. 268–69 n. 241. 1523, Ha-Hinnukh, Venice—Charles B. Chavel, Sefer Ha-Hinnukh ( Jerusalem, 1968), pp. 5–12 [Hebrew]; Saul Kook, Iyyunim u-Mehkarim II ( Jerusalem, 1963), pp. 316–20 [Hebrew]; Tchernowitz, II pp. 95–105; and Zucrow, pp. 117–20. 1523, Mikneh Avram, Venice—Amram, pp. 169–72; de Rossi, pp. 43–44; Habermann, Bomberg, pp. 42–44, nos. 75–76; Roth, Renaissance, p. 76; Waxman, II pp. 20–21; and Zinberg, IV pp. 36, 42–43. 1523, Sefer ha-Terumah, Venice—Chones, pp. 115–16; Tchernowitz, II pp. 48–50; and Urbach, I pp. 345–56. 1524–25, Mikra’ot Gedolot (Biblia Rabbinica), Venice—Berkowitz, pp. 97–98 n. 166; C. D. Ginsburg, Jacob ben Chajim ibn Adonijah’s Introduction to the Rabbinic Bible, Hebrew and English; with Explanatory Notes by Christian D. Ginsburg, LL.D. and the Massoreth ha-Massoreth of Elijah Livita . . ., prolegomen by Norman H. Snaith (1867, reprint New York, 1968), pp. 1–35; Ginsburg, Massoretico-Critical Edition, pp. 956–74; Habermann, Bomberg, pp. 51–55 n. 93; and B. Pick, “History of the Printed Editions of the Old Testament, Together with a Description of the Rabbinic and Polyglot Bibles,” Hebraica IX (Chicago, 1892/93), pp. 65–67. 1524, Mishneh Torah, Venice—Israel Jacob Dienstag, “Rambam’s Mishneh Torah. A Bibliography of the editions,” in Studies in Jewish Bibliography History and Literature in Honor of I. Edward Kiev (New York, 1971), pp. 30–35 [Hebrew]; Isadore Twersky, Introduction to the Code of Maimonides (Mishneh Torah) (New Haven, 1980). See also Klar, pp. 72–90 and Tchernowitz, I pp. 193–307. 1524, Oratio de laudibus trium linguarum, London—G. Lloyd Jones, The Discovery of Hebrew in Tudor England: a Third Language (Manchester, 1983), pp. 181–89; G. Lloyd Jones, ed. & tr., On the Three

959

sources Languages [1524] (Binghampton, 1989), pp. 1–35; Ronald B. McKerrow, An Introduction to Bibliography for Literary Students (1927, reprint New Castle, 1994), p. 297; and Cecil Roth, Magna Bibliotheca AngloJudaica (London, 1937), p. 361 n. 2. Concerning a possible later date for the Oratio see Richard Rex, “The Earliest Use of Hebrew in Books Printed in England: Dating Some Works of Richard Pace and Robert Wakefield,” Transactions of the Cambridge Bibliographical Society IX:5 (Cambridge, 1990), pp. 517–26. 1525, Be’ur Perush ha-Ramban, Constantinople—Halperin, p. 311 n. 578; Margolioth, Great Men III col. 895; and Alexander Marx, “Expulsion of the Jews From Spain. Two New Accounts,” in Studies in Jewish History and Booklore (New York, 1944), pp. 88–89. 1525, Melizat Efer ve-Dinah, Rimini—Amram, pp. 133–35; M. Marx, “Wander-Years,” pp. 56–59. c. 1525, Perushim le-Rashi, Sefer Canizal, Constantinople—Hacker, “Constantinople Prints,”p. 480 n. 101; I. Rivkind, “Variants in Old Books,” pp. 409–10 n. 11a; Yaari, Constantinople, p. 86 n. 101; and Yudlov, Ginzei Yisrael, pp. 108–09 n. 633. 1526, Ha-Agur, Rimini—Moses Herschler, Ha-Agur ha-Shalem ( Jerusalem, 1960), pp. 5–14 [Hebrew]. 1526–39, Babylonian Talmud, Daniel Bomberg, Venice—A. Marx, Bibliographical Studies and Notes, p. 85, where it states: “Ein gesprech auff das kurtzt zwuschen einem Christen und Juden, auch einem Wyrthe sampt seinem Haussknecht, den Ecksteinn Christum betreffendt, so noch Goetlicher schrifft abkuenterfeyt ist, wie alhie beygedrueckt figur aussweysset, 1524. . . .”; Heller, Earliest Printed Editions, pp. 155–70; Rabbinovicz, pp. 43–47; and Isaac Ron, “The Talmud Emendations of R. Solomon Luria (Maharshal),” Alei Sefer XV (1988–89), pp. 65–104 [Hebrew]. 1526, Haggadah, Prague—David Altshuler, ed. The Precious Heritage. Judaic Treasures from the Czechoslovak State Collections (New York, 1983), pp. 62, 65; Cecil Roth, “The Illustrated Haggadah,” Areshet III, reprinted in SBB VII (1965), pp. 37–40; Charles Wengrow, Haggadah and Woodcut. An Introduction to the Passover Haggadah completed by Gershom Cohen in Prague Sunday, 26 Teveth, 5287/December 30, 1526 (New York, 1967); Ursula Schubert, Omanut-ha-sefer ha-Yehudit: meha-Renesans ‘ad ha-Rokoko (Tel Aviv, 1994), pp. 33–35 [Hebrew]; Yerushalmi, Haggadah and History, nos. 9–13; and Isaac Yudlov, The Haggadah Thesaurus. Bibliography of Passover Haggadot From the Beginning of Printing until 1960 ( Jerusalem, 1997). p. 2 nos. 7–8 [Hebrew]. 1527, Dictionarium Chaldaicum, Basle—Friedman, The Most Ancient Testimony, pp. 44–48, 214–15; Habermann, Title Pages, pp. 19–20, 125–26 nos. 4–5; Joseph Prijs, Die Basler Hebräischen Drucke (1492–1866) (Olten, 1964), pp. 49–51 n. 26; Frank Rosenthal, “The Rise of Christian Hebraism in the Sixteenth Century,” Historia Judaica II (New York, 1945), pp. 182–91; and Richard S. Westfall,“Sebastian Muenster,” http://es.rice.edu/ES/humsoc/Galileo/Catalog/Files/muenster.html 1527, Tractate Shekalim, Venice—Amram, pp. 182–83 and 209; Bloch, “Venetian Printers,” p. 77; A. M. Habermann, “Further errors caused by an error,” KS XLVIII ( Jerusalem, 1973, reprinted in Massechet Sofrim ve-Sifrut, Jerusalem, 1977), pp. 284–85 [Hebrew]; Avraham Rosenthal, pp. 388 and 410; and Steinschneider, CB col. 269 n. 1867b. 1528–29, Siddur ha-Tefillot ke-Minhag Kahal ha-Karaim, Venice—Philip E. Miller, “Prayer Book Politics: An Attempt to Print the Karaite Siddur in 1866 that was Cancelled,” SSB XVIII (1993), pp. 16, 21 n. 3; Marina Rustow, Sharon Liberman Mintz, and Elka Deutitsch, Scripture and Schism. Samaritan and Karaite Treasures from the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary (New York, 2000), p. 101 n. 46; Nathan Schur, The Karaite Encyclopedia (Frankfurt am Main, 1995), pp. 186–87, 238–39; and Yudlov, Ginzei Yisrael, p. 272 n. 1838. 1529, Derashot (Sefer ha-Mefo’ar), Salonika—Benjamin Solomon Hamberger, False Prophets and their Opponents (B’nei Brak, 1989), pp. 121–32 [Hebrew]; Roth, Renaissance, pp. 23–24; R. J. Zwi Werblowsky, Joseph Karo: Lawyer and Mystic (1962, reprint Philadelphia, 1977), pp. 97–100. Also see Sefer ha-Mefo’ar

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sources ( Jerusalem, 1989), with approbation and introductions and R. J. Zvi Werblowsky, “R. Joseph Caro, Solomon Molcho, Don Joseph Nasi,” in The Sephardi Legacy, II pp. 179–91. 1529, Sefer ha-Shorashim, Venice—Habermann, Bomberg, pp. 66–68 n. 147; Laird, “David Kimhi’s Sefer Miklol and Sefer Hashorashim,” http://www3.telus.net/dglaird/miklol.htm; and Talmage, pp. 54–58. c. 1530, Haggadah, Constantinople—A. M. Habermann, “Who Printed the Illustrated Haggadah [Constantinople 1515?], KS 47 (1971), pp. 159–61, 504 [Hebrew]; Alexander Scheiber, “Notes From the First Printed Illustrated Haggadah,” SBB VII (1965) pp. 26–36; idem, “Who Printed the First Illustrated Haggadah,” KS 57 (1982), pp. 185–86 [Hebrew]; Yerushalmi, Haggadah and History, n. 1; Yaari, Printers’ Marks, p. 123 n. 4; and Yudlov, The Haggadah Thesaurus, p. 2 n. 9. c. 1530, Me’assef le-Khol ha-Mahanot, Constantinople—Kuyt, pp. 206–07; and H. Yallon, “Chapters from R. Solomon Almoli’s Me’assef le-Khol ha-Mahanot,” Areshet II ( Jerusalem, 1960), pp. 96–108 [Hebrew]. 1530, [Sefer Mikhlol ] Helek ha-Dikduk, Constantinople—Chomsky, Hebrew: The Eternal Language, pp. 126–28; William Chomsky, David Kimhi’s Hebrew Grammar (Mikhlol ) (New York, 1952), pp. xx–xxvii; Habermann, “Ha-Madpesim B’nei Soncino,” Studies, p. 77 n. 85; Laird, “David Kimhi’s Sefer Miklol and Sefer Hashorashim”; Talmage, pp. 54–58; and Yaari, Constantinople, p. 87 n. 105. 1531, Adderet Eliyahu, Constantinople—Rustow, et al., p. 101 n. 47; Nathan Schur, History of the Karaites, (Frankfurt am Main, 1992), pp. 76–78; idem, The Karaite Encyclopedia, pp. 19, 20, 44–45. c. 1531, Kelal Kazar, Constantinople—Nahum Rakover, Copyright in Jewish Sources ( Jerusalem, 1991), pp. 271–72 [Hebrew]; Yaari, Constantinople, pp. 87–88 n. 107; and Yallon, “Chapters,” p. 107 n. 6. Also see M. Rabinowitz, Azkarah, Kovez Torani Mada’i le-Nishmat . . . ha-Rav Kook 4, ed. J. L. Fishman ( Jerusalem, 1937), pp. 1–48 [Hebrew]. 1532–34, Mikhlol, Constantinople—Amram, p. 135; Habermann, HaMadpesim B’nei Soncino, pp. 79–82 nos. 2 and 5; M. Marx, “Wander-Years,” pp. 71–71; Oyens, p. 60 n. 55; and Yaari, Constantinople, pp. 90 and 92, nos. 116 and 118. 1533, Ma’amar Hasdei HaShem, Constantinople—Yaari, Constantinople, p. 89 n. 113. 1534, Haggadah, Augsburg—A. M. Habermann, “The Printer Hayyim Shahor, his Son Isaac and Son-in-law Joseph Yakar,” in Studies, p. 116 n. 10 [Hebrew]; Mosche N. Rosenfeld, Der Jüdische Buchdruck in Augsburg in der Ersten Hälfte des 16. Jahrhunderts (London, 1985), pp. 34–35 n. 42, Roth, “The Illustrated Haggadah,” pp. 40; and Yerushalmi, Haggadah and History, nos. 14–17. 1534, Iggerot Shelomim, Augsburg—Habermann, “The Printer Hayyim Shahor,” Studies, pp. 116–17 n. 11; Rosenfeld, Augsburg, pp. 15, 35 n. 43; Steinschneider, CB col. 515 nos. 3370–73. 1534, Mirkevet ha-Mishneh, Asher Anshel of Cracow, Cracow—Brisman, pp. 42–43; Ch. B. Friedberg, History of Hebrew Typography in Poland from the beginning of the year 1534, and its development up to our days . . . Second Edition, Enlarged, improved and revised from the sources (Tel Aviv, 1950), pp. 1–3 [Hebrew]; A. M. Habermann, “The Printers the Sons of Hayyim Halicz,” in Studies, pp. 131–47 [Hebrew]; Meyer S. Lew, The Jews of Poland: Their Political, Economic, Social and Communal Life in the Sixteenth Century as Reflected in the Works of Rabbi Moses Isserles (London, 1944), pp. 105–06; Moshe N. Rosenfeld, “The Origins of Yiddish Printing,” in Origins of the Yiddish Language: Winter Studies in Yiddish I (Oxford, 1987), pp. 111–12, 121 n. 1; Steinschneider, CB cols 4423; Waxman, II pp. 637–38; and Isaac Yudlov, Hebrew Printers’ Marks. Fifty-four Emblems and Marks of Hebrew Printers, Publishers and Authors ( Jerusalem, 2001), pp. 17–18 [Hebrew]. 1535, Mahbarot Immanuel, Constantinople—Chotzner, “Immanuel di Roma. A Thirteenth-Century Hebrew Humorist and a Friend of Dante,” in Hebrew Humor, pp. 82–102; Davidson, pp. 17–19;

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sources A. M. Habermann, Mahbarot Immanuel (Tel Aviv, 1950), pp. 5–10 [Hebrew]; Sabato Morais, Italian Hebrew Literature (New York, 1926), pp. 9–51. Waxman, pp. 65–74; and Zinberg, pp. 201–17. 1536, Keter Torah, Constantinople—Chones, p. 313; David L. Langenberg, Of Many Generations. Judaica and Hebraica from the Taube/Baron Collection (Stanford, 1989), pp. 34–36 n. 18; I. Markon, “Solomon b. Mazal Tob,” in Alexander Marx Jubilee Volume on the Occasion of his Seventieth Birthday Hebrew Section (New York, 1950), pp. 337–38 n. 10; and Tchernowitz, II pp. 291–93. 1537, Sefer ha-Mefo’ar, Constantinople—Mordechai Pachter, “Kabbalistic Ethical Literature in SixteenthCentury Safed,” Binah 3 (Westport, Conn., 1994), p. 174 n. 2; Sefer ha-Musar ( Jerusalem, 1973), with introduction by Abraham Joseph ben Moses Wertheimer. 1537, Or Ammim, Bologna—Zev Gottlieb ed., Be’ur al ha-Torah le Rabbi Obadiah Sforno ( Jerusalem, 1980), pp. 10–23 [Hebrew]; Zinberg, IV pp. 94–95. 1537, Siddur—Roman Rite, Bologna—Amram, pp. 230–34; Friedberg, Italy, pp. 29–30; and S. D. Luzzatto, Mavo le-Mahzor Benei Roma (new edition, with supplement by D. Goldschmidt and a bibliography of the printed mahzor and siddur by J. J. Cohen) (Tel Aviv, 1966), p. 125 n. 47 [Hebrew]; supplement reprinted in D. Goldschmidt, Mehkerei Tefillah u’Piyyut ( Jerusalem, 1978), pp. 153–76 [Hebrew]. 1537, Sefer Teshuvot, David ben Hayyim Kohen of Corfu (Maharadakh), Constantinople—Meir Benayahu, Prolegomenon to the Responsa ‘Benjamin Ze’eb,’ ( Jerusalem, 1989), p. 72 [Hebrew]; Yaari, Constantinople, p. 95 n. 125. 1538–39, Binyamin Ze’ev, Venice—Benayahu, Prolegomenon to the Responsa Binyamin Ze’ev; Moshe CarmillyWeinberger, Censorship and Freedom of Expression in Jewish History (New York, 1977), pp. 155–56; and Jacob ben Abraham Israel Galis, ed., She’elot Teshuvot Binyamin Ze’ev I ( Jerusalem, 1959), pp. 3–4 [Hebrew]. Also see S. Assaf, “Responsa of R. Azriel Dayyena,” KS XV (1938/39), pp. 113–19 [Hebrew]. 1538, Piskei Halakhot, Bologna—Jacob Lipschitz, “Piskei Hilchot Recanati,” Moriah VIII: 6–7 ( Jerusalem, 1979), pp. 2–5 [Hebrew]; and Tchernowitz, II pp. 238–40. 1538, Torah Or, Bologna—Zinberg, IV pp. 56–59. 1539–44, Biblia hebraice, Paris—Berkowitz, p. 98 nos. 167 and 168; Hill, Valmadonna, n. 28; W. Roberts, Printers’ Marks (New York, 1893), pp. 118–23; Fred Schreiber, The Estiennes. An Annotated Catalogue of 300 Highlights of their Various Presses (New York, 1982), pp. 63 n. 57, 79–80 n. 82. 1539, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Solomon ben Abraham ibn Adret (Rashba), Bologna—Baer, I var. cit.; Isidore Epstein, Studies in the Communal Life of the Jews of Spain (New York, 1968); Freehof, pp. 36, 65–67; Shlomo Zalman Havlin, Teshuvot She’elot LehaRashba . . . First Edition, Rome ca. 1470 ( Jerusalem, 1976), pp. 7–35 [Hebrew]. 1539, Shevilei Tohu, Venice—Amram, pp. 183–84; and Israel Mehlman, “Daniel Bomberg, the Printer of Venice,” in Areshet III ( Jerusalem, 1961), pp. 96–98 [Hebrew]. 1540, Arba’ah Turim, Augsburg—Benayahu, Yosef Behiri, pp. 377–78; Aaron Eisenbach “Rabbi Abraham from Prague: Glosses and Commentaries on the Tur Orach Chaim, Laws of Pesach,” Tzfunot VII (B’nei Brak, 1990), pp. 22–26 [Hebrew]; Habermann, Title Pages, pp. 21–22, 126 nos. 6–7; and Israel M. Perles, “Rabbi Abraham from Prague—His Writings and Biography (Complementation),” Tzfunot IX (B’nei Brak, 1991), pp. 84–86 [Hebrew]; Rosenfeld, Augsburg, p. 40 n. 50. 1540, Tur Orah Hayyim, Constantinople—Habermann, “Ha-Madpesim B’nei Soncino,” Studies, p.87 n. 13; Yaari, Constantinople, pp. 96, 98 n. 130; and Yudlov, Ginzei Yisrael, p. 121 n. 729.

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sources 1540, Arba’ah Turim, Prague—Eisenbach, pp. 22–26; and Perles, pp. 84–86. 1540, Avkat Rokhel, Augsburg—de Rossi, p. 122; Habermann, “The Printer Hayyim Shahor,” Studies, p. 121 n. 15; Rosenfeld, Augsburg, pp. 15–16, 38–39 n. 49; and Steinschneider, CB cols. 1637–42 n. 6196. 1540–41, Kimha de-Avishuna on the Roman Rite Mahzor, Bologna—Bonfil, Rabbis and Jewish Communities, pp. 199–201; and Luzzatto, pp. 113–14 n. 7. Concerning the unsuccessful attempt to republish the mahzor with Kimha de-Avishuna see Avraham Yaari, “History of Elieser Solomon D’Italia’s Press at Mantua,” KS XIV (1937), pp. 122–24 [Hebrew]. c. 1541, Amadis de Gaula, Constantinople—Zvi Malachi, The Loving Knight: The Romance Amadis de Gaula and its Hebrew Adaptation (Turkey c. 1541) (Petah-Tikva, 1982); Barton Sholod, “The Fortunes of Amadis among the Spanish Exiles,” Hispania Judaica II (Barcelona, n.d.), pp. 87–100; and Yaari, Constantinople, p. 22. 1541, Buovo d’Antona (Bove-Bukh), Isny—Amram, p. 187; Judah A. Joffe, Elia Bachur’s Poetical Works I (New York, 1949), pp. 3–17; Rosenfeld, “The Origins of Yiddish Printing,” pp. 113–14, 121 n. 5; Waxman II 651–52; and Zinberg, VII pp. 67–76, 88. 1541, Meturgeman, Isny—Laird, “Eli Levita—Interpreter of Kimhi Grammars,” http://www3.telus.net/ dglaird/Levita.htm; Waxman, II p. 20; and Yaari, Printers’ Marks, pp. 9, 128 n. 13. 1541, Tehillim with commentary of R. David Kimhi (Radak), Isny—Ch. B. Friedberg, History of Hebrew Typography of the following Cities in Europe: Amsterdam, Antwerp, Avignon, Basle, Carlsruhe, Cleve, Coethen, Constance, Dessau, Deyhernfurt, Halle, Isny, Jessnitz, Leyden, London, Metz, Strasbourg, Thiengen, Vienna, Zurich. From its beginning in the year 1516 (Antwerp, 1937), pp. 10–11 [Hebrew]; Graetz, IV p. 474; and Gordon Laird, “David Kimhi’s Psalm Commentary,” http://www3.telus.net/dglaird/kiminter.htm 1541, Ha-Tishbi, Isny—Habermann, “The Printer Paulus Fagius,” in Studies, pp. 153–58; Gordon Laird, “The Kimhi Family: The Emergence of Their Writings in the Reformation,” http://www3.telus.net/ dglaird/kim-hom.htm; Waxman, II p. 20; and Zinberg, IV p. 47 n. 85. 1543–49, Babylonian Talmud, Venice, Daniel Bomberg—Habermann, Bomberg, p. 20; Heller, Earliest Printed Editions, pp. 175–80; Rabbinovicz, pp. 53–55; Rivkind, “Variants in Old Books,” pp. 406–13; and Avraham Rosenthal, “Daniel Bomberg,” pp. 391–400. 1543, Sefer ha-Massa’ot, Constantinople—Adler, Jewish Travellers, pp. 38–63; J. D. Eisenstein, Ozar Massa’ot (1926, reprint Tel-Aviv, 1969), pp. 15–45 [Hebrew]; Waxman, I pp. 436–41; and Avraham Yaari, Mas’ot Erez Yisrael: Shel Olim Yehudim mi-Yeme ha-Benayim ve-ad Reshit Yeme Shivat Tsiyon (Tel Aviv, 1946), pp. 31–47 [Hebrew]. 1543, Sefer Me’ah She’arim, Salonika—Habermann, “Ha-Madpesim B’nei Soncino,” Studies, pp. 82–83 n. 1; Roest, II p. 170 n. 895; Steinschneider, CB col. 1155 n. 5426; A. Tauber, Mehkarim Bibliografiyyim, Special Supplement to Kirjath Sefer Vol. IX (1932), pp. 31–32 n. 44 [Hebrew]. 1543, Melokhim Bukh, Augsburg—Rosenfeld, Augsburg, pp. 40–41 nos. 53–54; idem, “The Origins of Yiddish Printing,” p. 122 nos. 11, 12; Waxman, II pp. 632–33; and Zinberg, VII pp. 115–17. A critical facsimile edition was published by L. Fuks, Das Altjiddische Epos Melokm Bk, 2 vols. (Assen, 1965). c. 1543, Minhat Yehudah Sone ha-Nashim, Constantinople—Davidson, pp. 7–15; Waxman, II pp. 585–86, 604–05; Yaari, Constantinople, p. 99 n. 134; and Zinberg, I pp. 178–80. 1544, Halikhot Olam—Mevo ha-Talmud, Venice—Z. H. Chajes, The Student’s Guide Through the Talmud, ed. & tr. Jacob Schachter (New York, 1960), pp. xviii–xix; de Rossi, p. 104.

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sources 1544, Ikkarim, Venice—Baer, II pp. 170–243; Cohn-Sherbok, pp. 167–70; de Rossi, pp. 29–30; Guttman, pp. 280–86; and Isaac Husik, A History of Medieval Jewish Philosophy (1916, reprint New York, 1969), pp. 406–27. 1544, Josippon, Venice—Salo Baron, A Social and Religious History of the Jews VI (Philadelphia, 1958), pp. 189–98; Hayim Hominer, Sefer Josippon ( Jerusalem, 1971), pp. 6–27 [Hebrew]; and Langenberg, p. 52 n. 46. 1544, Menorat ha-Ma’or, Venice—H. G. Enelow, ed., Menorat ha-Ma’or by Israel Al-Nakawa I (New York, 1929), pp. 16–18; Habermann, Adelkind, pp. 18–19 n. 1; Moses Hayyim Katzenellbogen, ed. Menorat ha-Ma’or ( Jerusalem, 1961), pp. 5–9 [Hebrew]; and Waxman, II pp. 282–87. 1544, Shmuel Bukh, Augsburg—Rosenfeld, Augsburg, pp. 17, 41 n. 54; idem, “The Origins of Yiddish Printing,” p. 122 n. 12; Waxman, II pp. 631–33; and Zinberg, VII pp. 107–17. A critical facsimile edition was published by Felix Falk, Das Schmuelbuch des Mosche Esrim Wearba Ein Biblisches Epos aus dem 15. Jahrhundert, 2 vols. (Assen, 1966). 1545–55, Bibliotheca universalis, Zurich—Bomberg’s book catalogue, as printed by Gesner in the Pandects, was reprinted by Aron Freimann in “Daniel Bombergs Bücher-Verzeichnis,” in ZHB 10 (1906), pp. 38–42. Concerning Hebrew book sale catalogues see Marvin J. Heller, “The Hebrew Book-Trade as Reflected in Book Catalogues,” Quaerendo 26:4 (Leiden, 1996), pp. 245–57. On the importation of the Babylonian Talmud into England see Edgar Samuel, “The Provenance of the Westminster Talmud,” Transactions of the Jewish Historical Society of England XXVII (London, 1978–80), pp. 148–50. Also see, Shifra Baruchson-Arbib, “The Prices of Printed Hebrew Books in Cinquecento Italy,” Bibliofilia 97:2 (Florence, 1995), pp. 149–61. 1545, Mekhilta of R. Ishmael, Venice—Bonfil, Rabbis and Jewish Communities, p. 191; Habermann, Bomberg, pp. 79–80 nos. 178–80; Jacob Z. Lauterbach, Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael I (1933, reprint Philadelphia, 1976), pp. xiii–xxvi; and Strack, pp. 206–08. 1545, Midrash Rabbot, Venice—Ch. Albeck, Mavo le-Midrash Bereshit Rabbah III (Berlin, 1936, reprint, Jerusalem, 1965), pp. 129–31 [Hebrew]; Habermann, Bomberg, p. 79 n. 176; Menahem Schmelzer, “Rashi’s Commentary on the Pentateuch and on the Five Scrolls, Venice, Bomberg, 1538,” in Studies in Jewish Bibliography, History, and Literature in Honor of I. Edward Kiev (New York, 1971), pp. 432–33 n. 29; Spiegel, Amudim, p. 211 n. 68. 1545, Nahalat Avot, Venice—Bloch, “Venetian Printers,” p. 79; Abraham Chill, Abrabanel on Pirkei Avot (New York, 1991), pp. 12–13; Marvin J. Heller, “The Cover Design: ‘The Printer’s Mark of Marc Antonio Giustiniani and the Printing Houses that Utilized It’,” Library Quarterly 71:3 (Chicago, July, 2001), pp. 383–85; Netanyahu, Don Isaac Abravanel, pp. 72, 76, 285 n. 41; and Yaari, Printers’ Marks, pp. 129–31 nos. 16–17. 1545, Rosh Amanah, Venice—M. Gaster, “Abravanel’s Literary Work,” in Isaac Abravanel. Six Lectures, ed. J. B. Trend and H. Loewe (Cambridge, 1937), pp. 48–49; and Menachem Marc Kellner, ed. and tr. Principles of Faith (Rosh Amanah) (Rutherford, 1982), pp. 11–50. 1545–46, She’elot u’Teshuvot Rabbenu Nissim, Rome—Baer, II pp. 37–40; Meir Benayahu, Hebrew Printing at Cremona: Its History and Bibliography ( Jerusalem, 1971), pp. 40, 43 [Hebrew]; Friedberg, Italy, pp. 13–14; and Kook, II pp. 321–24. 1546, Be’er Mayim Hayyim, Salonika—Leah Bornstein, ed. Maftehot VI Index to the Responsa of Rabbi Shmuel de Medina (Ramat-Gan, 1979), p. xxiii n. 14 [Hebrew]; Morris S. Goodblatt, Jewish Life in Turkey as Reflected in the Legal Writings of Samuel De Medina (New York, 1952), pp. 14, 226; Margalioth, Great Men, II col. 524; and Yudlov, Ginzei Yisrael, p. 128 n. 770. Concerning Busal’s dispute with his congregation see Meir Benayahu, “Concerning the Jews of Sefarad,” Sinai XIV ( Jerusalem, 1950/51), pp. 186–88.

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sources 1546, Behinat Olam, Venice—de Rossi, Dictionary of Hebrew Authors, p. 152; Waxman, II pp. 588–60; and Zinberg, III pp. 96–98. 1546, Even Bohan, Venice—Davidson, pp. 28–29; A. M. Habermann, Even Bohan (Tel Aviv, 1956), pp. 170–77 [Hebrew]; idem, Daniel Bomberg, p. 81 n. 185; Waxman, II pp. 608–12; and Zinberg, II pp. 224–25. 1546, Harkavah/Pirkei Eliyahu, Venice—Habermann, Bomberg, pp. 83–84 n. 190; Gordon Laird, “Eli Levita,” http:/www3.telus.net/dglaird/Levita.htm; Waxman, II pp. 18–19; and Zinberg, IV pp. 43–49. 1546, Hebraica Biblia Mikdash HaShem, Basle—Friedman, The Most Ancient Testimony, pp. 164–68; Pelikan, pp. 18, 106; Pick, pp. 62–64; and Frank Rosenthal, “The Rise of Christian Hebraism,” pp. 185–88. 1546, Iggeret ha-Kodesh, Rome—Chavel, Kitvei Rabbenu Moshe ben Nahman II, pp. 356–30; Seymour Cohen, The Holy Letter. A Study in Jewish Sexual Morality (1976, reprint Northvale, 1993), pp. 24–59; and Monford Harris, “Marriage as Metaphysics: A Study of the Iggeret Hakodesh,” HUCA XXXIII (1962), pp. 197–220; Also see Karen Guberman, “The Language of Love in Spanish Kabbalah: An Examination of the Iggeret ha-Kodesh,” in Approaches to Judaism in Medieval Times I (Chico, Ca., 1984), David R. Blumenthal, ed., pp. 53–105; and Gershom Scholem, “Did Nahmanides Write the Iggeret ha-Kodesh,” KS XXI (1944–45), pp. 179–86 [Hebrew]. 1546, Marpe Lashon/Darkhei No’am, Venice—Habermann, Bomberg, p. 83 n. 189; Yaari, Constantinople, p. 71 n. 32; and Zinberg, IV pp. 38–39. Concerning the influence of Darkhei No’am see James Kugel, “The Influence of Moses ibn Habib’s Darkhei No’am,” in Jewish Thought in the Seventeenth Century, ed. Isadore Twersky and Bernard Septimus (Cambridge, 1987), pp. 308–25. c. 1546, Milhemet ha-Hokhmah ve-ha-Osher, Cracow—A. E. Cowley, A Concise Catalogue of the Hebrew Printed Books in the Bodleian Library (1929, reprint Oxford, 1979), p. 369; Davidson, pp. 11–15; Steinschneider, CB col. 1370 n. 5769; Waxman, II pp. 585–86; and Yaari, Constantinople, p. 99 n. 133. 1546, Mishnayot Seder Tohorot, Venice—Ch. Albeck, Mavo la-Mishnah ( Jerusalem, 1959), pp. 238–46 [Hebrew]. Also see Mishnah with Commentary of Maimonides I ( Jerusalem, 1963), Joseph ben David Kafah, ed., pp. 5–21 [Hebrew]. 1546, Naftulei Elohim Niftalti, Heddernheim—Habermann, “The Printer Hayyim Shahor,” Studies, pp. 125–26 n. 19; and Marcus Horovitz, The Rabbis of Frankfurt ( Jerusalem, 1972), p. 21 [Hebrew]. 1546, Otiyyot de-Rabbi Akiva, Venice—Eisenstein, Ozar Midrashim, II pp. 407–31; and Wertheimer, II pp. 333–499. 1546, She’iltot, Venice—Simha Assaf, Tekufat ha-Ge’onim ve-Sifrutah., ed. Mordecai Margalioth ( Jerusalem, 1976), pp. 154–64 [Hebrew]; Robert Brody, The Geonim of Babylonia and the Shaping of Medieval Jewish Culture (New Haven, 1998), pp. 202–15; and Gerson D. Cohen, Sefer ha-Qabbalah. The Book of Tradition by Abraham ibn Daud, pp. 47–48. 1546, Shibbolei ha-Leket, Venice—Solomon Buber, ed., Shibbolei ha-Leket ha-Shalem (Israel, 1977), pp. 1–32 [Hebrew]; and Tchernowitz, II pp. 186–91. 1546–47, Teshuvot ha-Rav, Constantinople—I. Epstein, pp. 18–26; Freehof, pp. 68–71, 112–17, 215–17; and Yaari, Constantinople, pp. 103 n. 145. See also Abraham M. Hershman, Rabbi Isaac bar Sheshet Perfet and his Times (New York, 1943). 1546, Torah with Persian and Arabic Targum, Constantinople—Berkowitz, p. 102 n. 176; Walter J. Fischel, “The Bible in Persian Translation,” Harvard Theological Review XLV (Cambridge, 1952), pp. 5–7;

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sources Aron Freimann, “Die hebräeischen Pergamentdrucke,” ZHB XV (1911), p. 56; Hacker, “Constantinople Prints,” pp. 482–83 n. 143–44; Markon, pp. 343–44 n. 13; and Yaari, Constantinople, pp. 102–03 nos. 143–44. Concerning the Greek and Spanish (Ladino) translation see Daniel Goldschmidt, “Judeo-Greek Bible Translations of the 16th Century,” KS XXXIII (1957/58), pp. 131–34 [Hebrew]. 1546–51, Babylonian Talmud, Venice, Marco Antonio Giustiniani—Heller, Earliest Printed Editions, pp. 139–54; and Rabbinovicz, pp. 47–53. Concerning the 1547–49 edition of the Babylonian Talmud, printed in Venice by Daniel Bomberg, see Heller, Earliest Printed Editions, pp. 174–81; Rabbinovicz, pp. 53–55; and Avraham Rosenthal, “Daniel Bomberg,” pp. 375–415. 1546, Zahut be-Dikduk/Moznei Leshon ha-Kodesh, Venice—Habermann, Bomberg, pp. 84–85 n. 191; and Waxman, I p. 176. 1547, Kol Bo, Venice—Isaac Benjacob, Ozar ha-Sefarim (Vilna, 1880), p. 239 n. 118 [Hebrew]; Chones, p. 303; and Tchernowitz, II pp. 251–54. c. 1547, Meshal ha-Kadmoni, Venice—Hill, Valmadonna, n. 32; and Waxman, II pp. 596–97. 1547, Perush al ha-Torah, Levi ben Gershom (Ralbag), Venice—Baruch Braner and Eli Freiman, Rabbinic Pentateuch with Commentary on the Torah by R. Levi ben Gershom I ( Jerusalem, 1993), pp. iii–xiii [Hebrew]; Seymour Feldman, The Wars of the Lord I (Philadelphia, 1984), pp. 11–15; and Waxman, II pp. 40–42. 1547, Sefer Mitzvot Gadol, Venice—Chones, pp. 393–95; Slatkine, Shemot ha-Sefarim, p. 262; Tchernowitz, 87–95; and Urbach, I pp. 465–79. 1547, Sha’ar ha-Shamayim, 1546, Venice—F. S. Bodenheimer, The Gate of Heaven (Shaar ha-Shayim) ( Jerusalem, 1953); and Habermann, “The Printers, the Sons of Jacob Parenzo in Venice,” Areshet I ( Jerusalem, 1959), reprinted in Studies, pp. 168–69, 176 n. 5 [Hebrew]. 1547, Sha’arei Dura, Venice—Tchernowitz, II pp. 240–43. 1548, Halakhot Gedolot, Venice – Assaf, Tekufat ha-Ge’onim, pp. 169–71; Machon Or ha-Mizrach, Halakhot Gedolot ( Jerusalem, 1992), pp. 9–12 [Hebrew]; and Tchernowitz, I pp. 70–78. 1548, Hovot ha-Levavot, Venice—Cohn-Sherbok, pp. 56–59; Guttman, pp. 117–24; Husik, pp. 80–105; Moses Hyamson, tr., Duties of the Heart I (New York, 1970), 9–12; Waxman, I pp. 330–32, 358–60. c. 1548, Kaftor va-Ferah, Estori ben Moses ha-Parhi, Venice—Habermann, “Parenzo,” Studies, pp. 176–77 n. 6; Margalioth, Great Men, I col. 130–38; and Waxman, II pp. 489–91. 1548–49, Mikhlol Yofi, Solomon ibn Melekh, Constantinople—Hacker, “Constantinople Prints,” p. 483 n. 148; and Yaari, Constantinople, pp. 104–06 n. 148. 1548–49, Mishnayot with commentary of Bertinoro, Venice—Yaari, Printers’ Marks, pp. 10 and 128 n. 15; and Yudlov, Ginzei Yisrael, pp. 35–36 n. 104. 1548, Ohel Mo’ed, Venice—Langenberg, p. 58 n. 55; and Yaari, Printers’ Marks, pp. 129–31 nos. 16–17. Concerning a hand-annotated edition see Judaica Jerusalem, Rare Books, Manuscripts, Documents and Jewish Arts ( Jerusalem, June 20, 2000), pp. 168–69 n. 272. 1548, Selihot—Ashkenaz Rite, Venice—Goldschmidt, Seder ha-Selihot, p. 7. 1549, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Jacob Weil, Venice—Freehof, pp. 118–21; Israel Jacob Yuval, Scholars in their Time. The Religious Leadership of German Jewry in the Late Middle Ages ( Jerusalem, 1988), var. cit. [Hebrew].

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sources 1550, Beit Yosef on Tur Orah Hayyim, Venice—Isadore Twersky, “The Shulhan ‘Aruk: Enduring Code of Jewish Law,” in Faith and Reason: Essays in Judaism, ed. Robert Gordis and Ruth B. Waxman (New York, 1973), pp. 141–46; Werblowsky, Joseph Karo, pp. 95–96. Also see Benayahu, Yosef Behiri, pp. 375–91. 1550, Mishneh Torah, Venice—Benayahu, Copyright, pp. 26–27; Dienstag, pp. 32–39; Habermann, Adelkind, pp. 51–60 n. 60; and Heller, Earliest Printed Editions, pp. 218–19. 1550, Tikkun Middot ha-Nefesh, Constantinople—Hacker, “Constantinople Prints,” p. 483 n. 149; Husik, p. 71; and Yaari, Constantinople, p. 106 n. 149. 1551, Kiryat Sefer, Venice—Tchernowitz, II pp. 295–99. 1551, Ma’yenei ha-Yeshu’ah, Ferrara—Gaster, pp. 57–62; and Netanyahu, Don Isaac Abravanel, pp. 77, 209–14, 320 n. 92. 1551, Mirkevet ha-Mishneh, Sabbioneta—Amram, pp. 288–95; Friedberg, Italy, pp. 76–80; Mortimer, I p. 171 n. 121; Netanyahu, Don Isaac Abravanel, var. cit.; Avraham Yaari, “The Printers B’nei Foa,” in Studies in Hebrew Booklore ( Jerusalem, 1958), pp. 346–47, 352–53 [Hebrew]; and idem, Printers’ Marks, pp. 12–13, 132–33 nos. 19–20. 1551, Moreh Nevukhim, Venice—Moses Maimonides, The Guide for the Perplexed (London, 1919) translated by M. Friedländer; Moses Marx, “On the Date of Appearance of the First Printed Hebrew Books,” in Alexander Marx Jubilee Volume (New York, 1950), p. 495. 1552, Ayyelet Ahavim, Venice—Habermann, Adelkind, pp. 87–88 n. 6; Margalioth, Great Men, IV col. 1270–71; and Zinberg, V pp. 51–52. 1552, Havakbuk/Massekhet Purim, Venice—Davidson, pp. 27–28, 115–34; Habermann, Adelkind, p. 88 nos. 8, 9; idem, “Massekheth Purim,” p. 139 n. 3; and Waxman, II pp. 606–08. 1552, Le-Khal Hefetz, Venice—Meir Benayahu, “Sefer ‘Yefeh Nof ’ and the first works of ‘tikkun sofrim’, Asufot VII, ed. Meir Benayahu ( Jerusalem, 1993), pp. 35–36 [Hebrew]; and Habermann, Adelkind, pp. 82, 84–85 n. 3. 1552–53, Ma’aseh Yehudit, Constantinople—Habermann, “The Printers the Sons of Hayyim Halicz,” Studies, pp. 134, 144 n. 22; Abraham Kahana, Ha-Sefarim Hizonim II ( Jerusalem, 1978), pp. 348–53 [Hebrew]; and Yaari, Constantinople, pp. 25, 107–08 n. 153. 1552, Ordenanca delas Oraciones del Cedur, Venice—Kestenbaum and Company, Books, Manuscripts and Works of Art (New York, November 16, 1999), pp. 103–04 n. 429; and Herman P. Saloman, “Was There a Traditional Spanish Translation of Sephardi Prayers Before 1552?” The American Sephardi (New York, 1971), pp. 79–90. 1552–53, Zikhron Torat Moshe, Constantinople—Hacker, “Constantinople Prints,”p. 484 n. 154; I. Rivkind, “Some Detailed Observations on Early Hebrew Printing (Deviations and Variations),” KS IV (1928), p. 277 n. 31 [Hebrew]; S. Van Straalen, Catalogue of Hebrew Books in the British Museum acquired during the years 1868–1892 (London, 1894, reprint Hildesheim, 1977), p. 174; and Yaari, Constantinople, p. 108 n. 154. 1553, Decree Ordering the Confiscation and Burning of the Talmud, Venice—Heller, Earliest Printed Editions, pp. 217–28; and Avraham Yaari, “Burning the Talmud in Italy,” in Studies in Hebrew Booklore ( Jerusalem, 1958), pp. 198–234 [Hebrew]. 1553, Divrei ha-Yamim le-Malkhei Zarefat u-le-Malkhei Beit Ottoman ha-Togar, Sabbioneta—Habermann, Adelkind, pp. 76–77 n. 117; Kestenbaum & Company, Books, Manuscripts and Works of Art (New York,

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sources November 12, 2002), p. 52, n. 155; Waxman, II pp. 474–76; Yaari, “The Printers B’nei Foa,” Studies, p. 357 n. 8; Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi, Zakhor, Jewish History and Memory (Seattle, 1983), pp. 61ff.; and Zinberg, IV pp. 74–79. 1553, Hoshanot Le-Sukkot, Ferrara—Amram, pp. 41–42, 277–87; Friedberg, Italy, pp. 26–28; A. Z. Idelsohn, Jewish Liturgy (1932, reprint New York, 1995), pp. 42, 201. 1553, Ma’yan Gannim, Venice—Robert Bonfil, Jewish Life in Renaissance Italy (Berkeley, 1994), tr. Anthony Oldcorn, pp. 133, 169; Deror Schwartz, “R. Samuel Archivolti, his Life and Writings,” Asufot VII, ed. Meir Benayahu ( Jerusalem, 1993), pp. 82–83 [Hebrew]; and Zinberg, II p. 130. 1553, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Judah Minz and Meir Katzenellenbogen, Venice—Bonfil, Rabbis and Jewish Communities, p. 152 n. 241. 1554–55, Hilkhot Rav Alfas, Sabbioneta—Shimon M. Iakerson, with the participation of Elazar Hurvitz, Ohel Hayyim. A Catalogue of Hebrew Manuscripts of the Manfred and Anne Lehmann Family. Volume Three: Printed Books, Incunabula and Sixteenth Century Books (New York, 1996), pp. 240–41 n. 167 [Hebrew]; Yaari, Hebrew Printers’ Marks, pp. 13, 153 nos. 20–21; Yudlov, Ginzei Yisrael, p. 123 n. 757. 1554, Lehem Yehudah, Sabbioneta—Mortimer, II p. 422 n. 286. 1554, Pardes Rimmonim, Shem Tov ibn Shaprut, Sabbioneta—Benayahu, Copyright, p. 88; Steinschneider, CB cols. 2548–2558 n. 7125; and Yaari, “Burning the Talmud,” Studies, p. 209; and idem, “The Printers B’nei Foa,” Studies, pp. 359–60. 1554, Tractate Kiddushin, Sabbioneta—Heller, Earliest Printed Editions, pp. 193–200; and Rabbinovicz, pp. 55–59. 1554, Shevet Yehudah, Adrianople—Friedberg, Italy, p. 144; Abraham Kahana, Sifrut ha-Historyah haYisre’elit II (1922–23, reprint Jerusalem, 1969), p. 120 [Hebrew]; Israel Mehlman, “The Hebrew Press in Adrianople,” Alei Sefer VI–VII (Ramat Gan, 1979), pp. 102–06 [Hebrew]; Abraham E. Neuman, “The Shebet Yehudah and Sixteenth Century Historiography,” in L. Ginzberg Jubilee Volume (1945), pp. 253–73; and Waxman, II pp. 469–73. 1554, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Moses ibn Alashkar, Sabbioneta—Habermann, Adelkind, p. 77 n. 118; and Yaari, “The Printers B’nei Foa,” Studies, pp. 357–58 n. 10. 1554, Zeidah la-Derekh, Ferrara—Chones, p. 503; Shlomo Eidelberg, “Menachem Ben Aaron Ibn Zerah,” in Medieval Jewish Ashkenazic History. Studies in European Jewry II. Hebrew Essays (Brooklyn, 2000), pp. 204–26 [Hebrew]; Slatkine, Shemot ha-Sefarim, pp. 196–97; Tchernowitz, II pp. 191–98; and Zucrow, pp. 149–51. 1555, Issur ve-Hetter, Ferrara—Amram, pp. 285–86; Chones, pp. 17; and Tchernowitz, II pp. 278–79. 1555, Or HaShem, Ferrara—Cohn-Sherbok, pp. 159–63; Husik, pp. 388–405; and Waxman, II pp. 233–44. Also see Guttman, pp. 254–74. 1555, Zafenat Pane’ah—Benjacob, p. 512 n. 174; Eliakim Carmoly, The Rapoport Family Tree: a Record of its Origin in Fifteenth Century Italy. From the Hebrew by J. Rapoport (Verona, 1975); I. T. Eisenstadt and S. Wiener, Da’at Kedoshim (St. Petersburg, 1897–98), p. 144 [Hebrew]; Steinschneider, CB col. 704 n. 4289; Yaari, “The Printers B’nei Foa,” Studies, p. 362 n. 17. 1555, Sefer ha-Zikkaron, Ferrara—Yaari, Printers’ Marks, pp. 14, 133–34 n. 22. 1556, Amudei Golah (Semak), Cremona—Amram, pp. 290, 306–10; Benayahu, Cremona, pp. 13–24, 26, 38; Mortimer, II p. 742 n. 536; and Isaiah Sonne, “Expurgation of Hebrew Books—the Work of Jewish Scholars,” in Hebrew Printing and Bibliography (New York, 1976), pp. 225–28.

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sources 1556, Sefer ha-Emunot, Ferrara—Baer, II pp. 234–39; and Isaac E. Barzilay, Between Reason and Faith: Anti-Rationalism in Italian Jewish Thought 1250–1650 (The Hague, 1967), pp. 76–77. 1556, Kevod Elohim, Joseph ben Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov, Ferrara—Baer, II pp. 250–51; Guttman, pp. 286–87; and Husik, pp. 429–30. 1556, Likkutei Shikhhah u-Fe’ah, Ferrara—Kestenbaum, (New York, November 12, 2002), p. 44 n. 131; and Isaiah Tishby, Commentary on Talmudic Aggadoth by Rabbi Azriel of Gerona ( Jerusalem, 1982), p. 12 [Hebrew]. 1556, Ma’alot ha-Middot, Cremona—Benayahu, Cremona, pp. 35, 36, and 43; Kook, pp. 268–73; and Shraga Silverstein, The Book of Middoth (New York, 1994), pp. 3–4. 1556, Ma’amar Haskel, Cremona—Benjacob, p. 284 n. 255. 1556, Sefer Maharil, Sabbioneta—Benayahu, Cremona, p. 48; Chones, pp. 383–84; Sidney Steiman, Custom and Survival (New York, 1963), var. cit.; and Tchernowitz, II pp. 257–60. 1556, Sha’ar ha-Gemul, Ferrara—Charles B. Chavel, The Gate of Reward (New York, 1983), pp. v–vii, 129; and Chavel, Ramban, His Life and Teachings, pp. 28, 60–62. 1556, Sefer She’elot u’Teshuvot, Jacob Moellin, Cremona—Benayahu, Cremona, pp. 26, 40, 186–87, 203; Chones, pp. 383–84; Freehof, p. 35; Steiman, var. cit.; and Tchernowitz, II pp. 257–60. 1556, Sefer Tashbez, Cremona—Benayahu, Cremona, pp. 189–90; Sonne, “Expurgation,” p. 33; and Urbach, II p. 561. 1556, Sefer ha-Tehiyyah ve-Sefer ha-Pedut, Mantua—Alexander Altman, “Saadya Gaon: Book of Doctrines and Beliefs,” in Three Jewish Philosophers (Philadelphia, 1961), pp. 11–22, 155–65; and Henry Malter, Saadia Gaon: His Life and Works (Philadelphia, 1921), var. cit. 1556; Toledot Adam, Cremona—Benayahu, Cremona; pp. 43, 185; and Encyclopaedia Judaica: Das Judentum in Geschichte und Gegenwart, Jakob Klatzkin, ed. (Berlin, 1928–34), VII col. 60. 1557, Hibbur Yafeh me-haYeshu’ah, Ferrara—William M. Brinner, An Elegant Composition Concerning Relief After Adversity (New Haven and London, 1977), pp. xv–xxxiii; and Shraga Abramson, “The Hebrew title of R. Nissim Gaon’s Sefer ha-Ma’asiyyot,” KS XLI (1996), pp. 29–32 [Hebrew]. 1557, Iggeret Ba’alei Hayyim, Mantua—J. Chotzner, “Kalonymous ben Kalonymous. A ThirteenthCentury Satirist,” in Hebrew Humor, pp. 113–15; and Waxman, II pp. 600–03. 1557, Sefer Keritot, Cremona—Benayahu, Cremona, pp. 43, 70, 200–01; Sonne, “Expurgation,” pp. 220–21; Urbach, II pp. 584, 720; and Waxman, II pp. 191–92. 1557–60, Mahzor Roman rite, Mantua—Luzzatto, pp. 115–16 nos. 9 and 10. 1557, Megillat Antiochus, Mantua—Eisenstein, Ozar Midrashim, pp. 185–89; and Adolph Jellinek, Bet Ha-Midrash III ( Jerusalem, 1967), pp. xxv, 142–46 [Hebrew]. 1557–58, Mishlei Shu’alim, Mantua—A. M. Habermann (ed.), Mishlei Shu’alim ( Jerusalem), pp. v–ix [Hebrew]; Moses Hadas, Fables of a Jewish Aesop, translated from the Fox Fables of Berachiah ha-Nakdan (New York, 1967), pp. v–xi ; Waxman, II pp. 597–600; Yaari, Printers’ Marks, pp. 12 and 132 n. 19; and Zinberg, I pp. 203–05. See also Haim Schwarzbaum, The Mishle Shu’alim (Fox Fables) of Rabbi Berachiah ha-Nakdan. A Study in Comparative Folklore and Fable Lore (Kiron, 1979), and, for a possible identification with Bendedictus le Puncteur, Cecil Roth, The Jews of Medieval Oxford (Oxford, 1956), pp. 118–19; and Cecil Roth, The Intellectual Activities of Medieval English Jewry (London, 1949), pp. 47–50.

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sources 1557, Or Einayim, Cremona—Benayahu, Cremona, pp. 26, 43, 57. 1557, Pitron Halomot, Cairo—A. E. Cowley, “Ein Soncino-druck aus Kairo 1566,” in Festschrift für Aron Freimann zum 60 Geburtstage (Berlin, 1934), pp. 89–90; Grünbaum, p. 186; Habermann,“HaMadpesim B’nei Soncino,” Studies, pp. 93–94; Diana Rowland-Smith, “The Beginnings of Hebrew Printing in Egypt,” The British Library Journal XV (London, 1989), p. 16; Avraham Yaari, Hebrew Printing in the East ( Jerusalem, 1936), pp. 53 and 57 [Hebrew]; and I. Yudlov, “The Interpretation of Dreams attributed to Rav Hai Gaon,” Alei Sefer VI–VII (Ramat Gan, 1979), pp. 107 and 110 [Hebrew]. Concerning Refu’ot ha-Talmud see A. Freimann, “Typographisches,” ZHB XII:1 (1908), p. 15. 1557, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Meir of Rothenburg, Cremona—Irving A. Agus, Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg (Philadelphia, 1947), I pp. xxv, 3–29, 125–55; and Benayahu, Cremona, pp. 35, 53–54, and 199–200. 1557, She’elot Inyan ha-Neshamah, Lublin—Benjacob, p. 561 n. 172; Friedberg, Poland, pp. 46, 48; idem, Bet Eked Sepharim, shin 180; and Steinschneider, CB col. 642 n. 4057. 1557, Tikkunei Zohar, Mantua—Gershom Scholem, Bibliographia Kabbalistica mit Einem Anhang Bibliographie des Zohar und Seiner Kommentare (Leipzig, 1927), p. 177 n. 1; idem, Kabbalah, ( Jerusalem, 1974), pp. 218–19; idem, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (1941, reprinted New York, 1961), pp. 170–71; and The Wisdom of the Zohar: an anthology of texts/systematically arranged and rendered into Hebrew by Fischel Lachower and Isaiah Tishby; with extensive introductions and explanations by Isaiah Tishby; English translation by David Goldstein (Oxford, New York, 1989), pp. 97–98. 1557, Toledot Adam ve-Havvah—Sefer Mesharim, Venice—Chones, p. 4; and Tchernowitz, II pp. 171–81. 1557, Zori ha-Yagon, Cremona—Benayahu, Cremona, pp. 35, 59, 196–97; Raphael Jospe, Torah and Sophia: The Life and Thought of Shem Tov Ibn Falaquera (Cincinnati, 1998) pp. 1–11, 34–35; and Steven Harvey, Falaquera’s Epistle of the Debate: An Introduction to Jewish Philosophy (Cambridge, 1987), pp. ix–x. 1558–1567, Babylonian Talmud, Salonika—Heller, Earliest Printed Editions, pp. 277–83; Israel Mehlman, “Hebrew Printing in Salonika,” in Genuzot Sefarim ( Jerusalem, 1976), pp. 48–53 [Hebrew]; Rabbinovicz, Ma’amar, pp. 68–70 n. 2; and Yudlov, Ginzei Yisrael, p. 43 nos. 149–50. 1558, Sefer Rav Alfas, Riva di Trento—Amram, pp. 296–302; Joshua Bloch, “Hebrew Printing in Riva di Trento,” in Hebrew Printing and Bibliography (New York, 1976), pp. 93–110; and Sonne, “Expurgation,” pp. 222–23. 1558, Ma’arekhet ha-Elohut with Minhat Yehudah, Mantua—Moses Idel,“The Magical and Neoplatonic Interpretations of the Kabbalah in the Renaissance,” in Essential Papers on Jewish Culture in Renaissance and Baroque Italy, ed. David B. Ruderman (New York and London, 1992), pp. 109–10; and Moses Idel, Messianic Mystics (New Haven, 1998), pp. 136–38; and Kestenbaum, (New York, June 6, 2001), p. 70 n. 234. On the identity of Perez and the anonymous commentator see Gershom Scholem, “Problems of the Book Ma’arekhet ha-Elohut and its Commentaries,” KS XXI (1945), pp. 284–95 [Hebrew]. 1558, Sefer ha-Minhagim, Abraham Klausner, Riva di Trento—J. Freimann, ed., Leket Yosher (1904, reprint Jerusalem, 1964), pp. xviii–xix; Jonah Joseph Disin, ed., Sefer ha-Minhagim le-Rabbenu Abraham Klausner ( Jerusalem, 1978), pp. 9–15 [Hebrew]; Tchernowitz, II pp. 255–57; David Wachtel, “Memorialization Through Ritual and Liturgy in Medieval Ashkenaz,” Masters Thesis, Columbia University (1995). 1558, Mivhar Peninim, Cremona—Benayahu, Cremona, pp. 44, 45, 202; and Waxman, I pp. 459–460. 1558, Sefer Rav Mordekhai, Riva di Trento—Margalioth, Great Men, IV cols. 1065–67; Tchernowitz, II pp. 140–44; and Zucrow, pp. 134–36.

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sources c. 1558, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Joseph ben David ibn Lev, Salonika—Hacker, “Constantinople Prints,” pp. 485–86 n. 162; Israel Mehlman, “Notes and Additions to A. Yaari’s Hebrew Printing at Constantinople,” KS XLIII (1967–68), pp. 577 [Hebrew]; Michael Molcho, “R. Joseph ibn Lev (Maharival),” Sinai XL ( Jerusalem, 1961), pp. 290–98 [Hebrew]; Yaari, Constantinople, pp. 111 n. 162; and Yudlov, Ginzei Yisrael, p. 124 n. 746. 1558, Toledot Yizhak, Mantua—Yaari, Constantinople, p. 77 n. 59. 1558–60, Zohar, Mantua—Amram, pp. 324–27; Robert Bonfil, “Change in the Cultural Patterns of a Jewish Society in Crisis: Italian Jewry at the Close of the Sixteenth Century,” in Essential Papers on Jewish Culture in Renaissance and Baroque Italy, ed. David B. Ruderman (New York, 1992), p. 418; idem, Rabbis and Jewish Communities, pp. 282–83; Rachel Elior, “Messianic Expectations and Spiritualization of Religious Life in the Sixteenth Century,” in Essential Papers . . ., p. 286; Idel, Messianic Mystics, pp. 102–11; Kestenbaum, (New York, November 16, 1999), p. 111 n. 470; Oyens, p. 10 n. 4; Scholem, Bibliographia Kabbalistica, pp. 166–67 n. 1; idem, Major Trends, pp. 156–204; Shlomo Simonsohn, History of the Jews in the Duchy of Mantua ( Jerusalem, 1977), pp. 630–31, 686–87; and Wisdom of the Zohar, p. 98. 1559, Hizzekuni, Cremona—Benayahu, Cremona, pp. 75–77; Hayyim Dov Chavel, Perushei Hizzekuni al ha-Torah ( Jerusalem, 1981), pp. 5–13 [Hebrew]. 1559, Mehir Yayin, Cremona—concerning the sending of books as mishlo’ah manot see M. Wunder, “Books as mishlo’ah manot,” Moriah V-VI ( Jerusalem, 1974), pp. 83–86 [Hebrew]. 1559, Mekor Hayyim, Mantua—Baer, I p. 449 n. 52; de Rossi, p. 165; Halperin, p. 279 n. 326. 1559–63, Mishnayot, Sabbioneta/Mantua—Amram, pp. 290–93; Benayahu, Cremona, pp. 25, 154, 180; Friedberg, Italy, pp. 18, 80; Kestenbaum (New York, November 16, 1999), p. 111 n. 470; Simonsohn, Mantua, p. 682; Yaari, “The Printers B’nei Foa,” Studies, pp. 366–67; and Yudlov, Ginzei Yisrael, p. 36 n. 106. 1559, Shevilei Emunah, Riva di Trento—Bloch, “Riva di Trento,” p. 106; N. Brüll, “Plagiate,” Jahrbücher für Jüdische Geshichte und Literatur II (Frankfort a. M., 1876), pp. 167–68; Kook, p. 324; Waxman, II pp. 318–19; and Zinberg, III pp. 158–62. 1559–61, Teshuvot Sheilot, Elijah ben Abraham Mizrahi, Constantinople—Freehof, pp. 124–29; and Yaari, Constantinople, p. 111 n. 161. 1559, Ziyyoni, Cremona—Amram, pp. 314–15; Benayahu, Cremona, pp. 41, 79ff.; Joseph Dan, The Esoteric Theology of Ashkenazi Hasidism ( Jerusalem, 1968), pp. 259–262 [Hebrew]. 1559–60, Zohar, Cremona—Benayahu, Cremona, var. cit.; Hill, Valmadonna, n. 38; Scholem, Bibliographia Kabbalistica, p. 167 n. 2; Sonne, “Expurgation,” p. 233 n. 101; and Avraham Yaari, “Editors’ Complaints Regarding Printing on the Sabbath by non-Jews,” in Studies in Hebrew Booklore ( Jerusalem, 1958), pp. 170–71 [Hebrew]. 1560, Adam Sikhli, Thiengen—Benjacob, Ozar ha-Sefarim, p. 16 n. 314; Stephen G. Burnett, “The Regulation of Hebrew Printing in Germany 1555–1630,” in Infinite Boundaries: Order, Disorder and Reorder in Early Modern German Culture, ed. M. Reinhart & T. Robisheux, Sixteenth Century Essays and Studies, no. 40 (Kirksville, 1998), pp. 329–30; Friedberg, History of Hebrew Typography in . . . Amsterdam . . . p. 12; David Gans, Zemah David (New York, n. d.), I, yr. 1563 [Hebrew]; Kestenbaum, (New York, November 28, 2000), p. 42 n. 131; and Roest, II p. 9 n. 52. 1560, Dikdukei Rashi, Riva di Trento—Dikdukei Rashi, facsimile edition (Brooklyn, 1988), introduction n. p.; Benjacob, Ozar ha-Sefarim, p. 112 n. 280; Bloch, “Riva di Trento,” pp. 107–08; and Menachem Mendel Slatkine, Ozar ha-Sefarim, Helek Sheni ( Jerusalem, 1965), p. 70 n. 280 [Hebrew].

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sources 1560, Sefer Ebronot, Riva di Trento—Bloch, “Riva di Trento,” p. 99; Samuel Joseph Fuenn, Knesset Yisrael (Warsaw, 1886), pp. 122–23; and Encyclopaedia Judaica: Das Judentum in Geschichte und Gegenwart, IV col. 30–31. 1560, Haggadah, Mantua—Kestenbaum & Company, Books, Manuscripts and Works of Art (New York, November 17, 1998), n. 100; Roth, “The Illustrated Haggadah,” pp. 42–44; Schubert, pp. 35–39; Yerushalmi, Haggadah and History, nos. 22–26; and Yudlov, The Haggadah Thesaurus, p. 3 n. 20. 1560, Massa Gei Hizzayon, Riva di Trento—Massa Gei Hizzayon, facsimile edition ( Jerusalem, 1966), ed. S. U. Nahon, pp. xix–xx [Hebrew with English introduction]; Margalioth, Great Men, I cols. 279–80; Waxman, II pp. 74–75; and Zinberg, II pp. 184–87. 1560, Milhamot HaShem, Riva di Trento—Cohn-Sherbok, pp. 137–41; Guttmann, pp. 236–54; Husik, pp. 328–61; André Neher, Jewish Thought and the Scientific Revolution of the Sixteenth Century. David Gans (1541–1613) and His Times (New York, 1986), pp. 192–93; Waxman, II pp. 225–33. 1560, Pesah le-HaShem, Constantinople—Hacker, “Constantinople Prints,” p. 484 n. 158; I. Rivkind, “Deviations and Variations in Early Hebrew Printing,” KS X (1933–34), p. 492 n. 6; Avraham Yaari, “The Book ‘hl jsp by R. Hayyim ben Meir ibn Gabbai,” KS IX (1932/33), pp. 388–93; idem, Constantinople, pp. 109–110 n. 158; and Yudlov, The Haggadah Thesaurus, p. 4 n. 21. 1560, Shir ha-Yihud, Thiengen—Joseph Dan, ed., Shir Hayihud ( Jerusalem, 1981), pp. xii–ix and 7–26 [Hebrew with English introduction]; and A. M. Habermann, Shir ha-Yihud ve-ha-Kovod ( Jerusalem, 1958), pp. 11–12 [Hebrew]. See also Abraham Berliner, “Shir ha-Yihud,” in Ketavim Nivharim I ( Jerusalem, 1945), pp. 145–70 [Hebrew]. 1560, Tola’at Ya’akov, Constantinople—Yaari, Constantinople, pp. 24–25, 109–10 nos. 157–59; idem, Studies, pp. 13–14. 1561, Sha’arei Orah, Mantua—Scholem, Major Trends, pp. 194–96, 212; and Margalioth, Great Men, III col. 758–59. 1561–98, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Joseph ben David ibn Lev, Constantinople—Freehof, pp. 152–53; Hacker, “Constantinople Prints,” pp. 487–88 n. 173; Yaari, Constantinople, p. 115 n. 173, 117 n. 182, 144 n. 237; Yudlov, Ginzei Yisrael, pp. 124–25 n. 747–50. 1561, Tractate Derekh Erez and Pirkei ben Azzai, Riva di Trento—Michael Higger, The Treatises Derek Erez (New York, 1935), pp. 7–27; and Benjacob, p. 654 n. 608. 1561, Tractate Pesahim, Lublin (Konska Wola)—Heller, Earliest Printed Editions, pp. 331–34; Marvin J. Heller, “From Lublin to Safed. Eliezer ben Isaac Ashkenazi: A Printer’s Journeys,” Jewish Culture and History 4:1 (London, Summer, 2001), pp. 82–84; and Rabbinovicz, pp. 60–61. 1562, Be’urim, Riva di Trento—Eidelberg, Jewish Life in Austria, pp. 40, 54. The Midrash Demut Kisei Shelomoh ha-Melekh is reproduced in Eisenstein, Ozar Midrashim, II pp. 526–27. 1562, Derekh Emunah, Meir ibn Gabbai, Padua—Amram, p. 338; Friedberg, Italy, pp. 83–84; Marvin J. Heller, “‘There were in Padua almost as many Hebrew printers as Hebrew books.’ The Sixteenth Century Hebrew Press in Padua,” Gutenberg-Jahrbuch (Mainz, forthcoming); Hill, Valmadonna, n. 39; and Yaari, Constantinople, p. 109 n. 157. 1562, Emunot ve-De’ot, Constantinople—Altman, “Saadya Gaon,” pp. 11–191; and Malter, pp. 193–260. 1562–67, Me’ir Iyyov, Riva di Trento and Venice—Bloch, “Riva di Trento,” pp. 101–02; I. Sonne, “Notes,” KS VII (1930/31), pp. 168–69 [Hebrew]; and A. Tauber, “Book Reviews,” KS VI (1929/30), reprint Mehkarim Bibliografiyyim ( Jerusalem, 1932), pp. 83–84 [Hebrew].

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sources c. 1562, Parashiot, Riva di Trento—Joshua Bloch, “A Hitherto Unrecorded Hebrew Publication From Riva di Trentro,” JQR XXVI (1935), pp. 129–32; and Shifra Baruchson, Books and Readers. The Reading Interests of Italian Jews at the Close of the Renaissance (Ramat-Gan, 1993), p. 122 [Hebrew]. 1562, Sefer Yezirah, Mantua—Joseph Dan, The Ancient Jewish Mysticism (Tel Aviv, 1993), pp. 198–211; Aryeh Kaplan, Sefer Yetzirah. The Book of Creation (York Beach, Maine, 1990), pp. ix–xxvi; Scholem, Kabbalah, pp. 22–30; idem, Major Trends, var. cit.; and Gershom Scholem, On the Kabbalah and its Symbolism, tr. Ralph Manheim (New York, 1969), pp. 168–69. 1563, Midrash Tanhuma, Mantua—Solomon Buber, ed. Midrash Tanhuma (New York, 1956), pp. 3–7, 160–80 [Hebrew]; Strack, p. 212; Waxman, I pp. 138–39, III pp. 571–72; Yaari, Printers’ Marks, pp. 17 and 135 n. 29. 1563, Pirkei Moshe, Salonika—Ezra Batsri, ed., Pirkei Moshe ( Jerusalem, 1994), pp. 1–3 [Hebrew]; de Rossi, pp. 33–34; Meyer Kayserling, Biblioteca Espanola-Portugueza-Judaica (1890, reprint with Prolegomen by Y. H. Yerushalmi, New York, 1971), pp. 32–33; Isaac Raphael Molcho, “Rabbi Moses Almoshenino,” Sinai V ( Jerusalem, 1942), pp. 200–01 [Hebrew]; Cecil Roth, The House of Nasi, The Duke of Naxos (Philadelphia, 1948), pp. 165–69. 1564, Hanhagat ha-Hayyim, Salonika—Benjacob, Ozar ha-Sefarim, p. 142 n. 440; Kayserling, p. 33; I. R. Molcho, “Rabbi Moses Almoshenino,” pp. 204–205; and Avraham Yaari, Catalogue of JudaeoSpanish Books in the Jewish National and University Library, Jerusalem Supplement to Kirjath Sefer X ( Jerusalem, 1934), p. 29 n. 198 [Hebrew]. 1564, Index librorum prohibitorum, Venice—Graetz, IV p. 589; William Popper, The Censorship of Hebrew Books (1899, reprinted New York, 1968), pp. 40, 52; Sonne, “Expurgation,” pp. 201–02; Index librorum prohibitorum (1559), http://www.aloha.net/~mikesch/ILP-1559.htm; “Censorship and the Index,” http://es.rice.edu/ES/humsoc/Galileo/Student_Work/Trial96/breu/congregation.html; Modern History Sourcebook: Index librorum prohibitorum, 1557–1966 [Index of Prohibited Books], http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/indexlibrorum.html; and Index librorum prohibitorum [Tridentine Index] (1564), http://library.lib.byu.edu/~aldine/51Index.html 1564, Ot Emet, Salonika—Joseph Hacker, “The Intellectual Activity of the Jews of the Ottoman Empire During the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries,” in Jewish Thought in the Seventeenth Century, ed. Isadore Twersky and Bernard Septimus (Cambridge, 1987), p. 110 n. 32. 1564–65, Shulhan Arukh, Venice—Benayahu, Yosef Behiri, pp. 407–523; Reuben Margaliot, “The First Editions of the Shulhan Arukh,” Sinai XXXVII ( Jerusalem, 1956), pp. 25–29 [Hebrew]; Naphtali Ben-Menahem, “The First Editions of the Shulhan Arukh,” in Rabbi Yosef Karo: Iyunim u-Mehkarim beMishnat Maran Ba‘al ha-Shulhan Arukh, ed. Yitzhak Raphael ( Jerusalem, 1969), pp. 101–03 n. 1 [Hebrew]; Twersky, “Shulhan ‘Aruk,” pp. 148–58. 1565, Imrei No’am, Cremona—Benayahu, Cremona, var. cit.; and Jacob Elbaum, Openness and Insularity. Late Sixteenth Century Jewish Literature in Poland and Ashkenaz ( Jerusalem, 1990), p. 89 [Hebrew]. 1565, Lev Avot, Salonika—Hacker, “The Intellectual Activity,” pp. 101, 124–25; and Kestenbaum & Company, From the Library of the London Beth Din. The Third Portion (New York, November 13, 2001), p. 77 n. 208. 1565, Perush Megillat Ahasuerus, Venice,—Asufot XII, pp. 40–42; Margalioth, Great Men, II col. 461; and Barry Dov Walfish, Esther in Medieval Garb. Jewish Interpretations of the Book of Esther in the Middle Ages (Albany, 1993), pp. 49–50, 59–60, 228, 250 n. 116, 262 n. 73. 1565, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Levi ibn Habib, Venice—Avraham David, “The Spanish Exiles in the Holy Land,” in The Sephardi Legacy II, ed, Haim Beinart ( Jerusalem, 1992), pp. 87–88; Rivkind, “Variants,” pp. 419–20. Concerning the appendices see idem, “The Sermons of R. Levi ibn Haviv,” KS LXI (1986/87), pp. 929–32b [Hebrew].

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sources 1565, Tanya, Cremona—Solomon Buber, ed., Tanya Rabbati (Warsaw, reprint, Jerusalem, 1963), pp. 24–31 [Hebrew]; Kook, pp. 270–72; S. K. Mirsky, ed., Shibbolei ha-Leket ha-Shalem (New York, 1966), pp. 40–49 [Hebrew]; and Tchernowitz, II pp. 300–01. 1565, Torat ha-Bayit, Cremona—Benayahu, Cremona, pp. 31–32, 35, 60; and Tchernowitz, II pp. 117–34. 1566/67, Avkat Rokhel, Venice—Amram, p. 349; Bloch, “Venetian Printers,” pp. 83–84; de Rossi, Dictionary of Hebrew Authors, p. 122; Friedberg, Italy, pp. 73–74; Steinschneider, CB cols. 1637–42 n. 6196; Yaari, Printers’ Marks, pp. 21, 136 n. 34; and Isaac Yudlov, “Typographical Changes in Hebrew Books,” Areshet VI ( Jerusalem, 1980), p. 101 n. 5 [Hebrew]. 1566, Be’ur Zeh Yaza Rishonah and Elleh ha-Devarim, Mantua—Bonfil, Jewish Life in Renaissance Italy, p. 211; Ephraim Kupfer, “Further Clarifications Concerning the Scandal of the Tamari-Venturozzo Divorce,” Tarbiz XXXVIII ( Jerusalem, 1968), pp. 54–60 [Hebrew]; Simonsohn, Mantua, pp. 501–04; Shlomo Simonsohn, “The Scandal of the Tamari-Venturozzo Divorce,” Tarbiz XXVIII (1959), pp. 375–92 [Hebrew]; and Yudlov, Ginzei Yisrael, pp. 252–53 nos. 1688–89. Also see Isaac Yudlov, “Bibliographic Notes on the Tamari-Venturozzo Affair,” Alei Sefer II (Ramat Gan, 1976), pp. 105–20 [Hebrew]. 1566, Ein Yisrael (Ein Ya’akov), Venice—Meir Benayahu, The Relation Between Greek and Italian Jewry (Tel Aviv, 1980), pp. 98–100 [Hebrew]; Graetz, IV p. 589; and Slatkine, Shemot ha-Sefarim, p. 265. 1566, Megillat Sefer, Cremona—Benayahu, Cremona, pp. 45–47, 220. 1566, Midrash ha-Ne’lam, Venice—Daniel Abrams, Facsimile edition of Midrash HaNe’elam which is Zohar Ruth ( Jerusalem, 1992), pp. 3–8 [Hebrew]; Asufot XII pp. 43–44 n. 5; Lawrence A. Englander with Herbert W. Basser, ed. & tr., The Mystical Study of Ruth. Midrash HaNe’elam of the Zohar to the Book of Ruth (Atlanta, 1993), pp. xi–xxv; Scholem, Bibliographia Kabbalistica, p. 177 nos. 20–21; and idem, Major Trends, pp. 162, 181–88. Concerning Allon see Asufot XII, pp. 33–34. 1566, Re’umah, Constantinople—Louis Ginzberg, Geonica I (New York, 1909, reprint New York, n.d.), pp. 154–57; Yaari, Constantinople, p. 114 n. 170; and Yudlov, Ginzei Yisrael, p. 128 n. 767. 1566, Yalkut Shimoni, Venice—Habermann, Studies, p. 189. 1566, Sefer Yere’im, Venice—Tchernowitz, II pp. 78–87; Urbach, I pp. 154–64; and Yudlov, Ginzei Yisrael, p. 117 n. 698. 1566, Sefer Yuhasin, Constantinople—Rivkind, “Variants,” pp. 460–61 n. 24; Waxman, II pp. 323, 466–69; Yaari, Constantinople, pp. 113–14 n. 169; and “Abraham ben Samuel Zacuto III,” www.zacuto.com/rabbi.htm 1567, Be’ur al ha-Torah, Venice—Bloch, “Venetian Printers,” p. 84; Gottlieb, pp. 10–28; and Yaari, Printers’ Marks, pp. 19, 135–36 n. 31. 1567, Derashot ha-Torah, Padua—A. M. Habermann, Title Pages, pp. 24–25, 126 nos. 8–9; Halperin, p. 310 n. 577; and Heller, “Padua.” 1567, Or ha-Sekhel, Venice—Albeck, Mavo le-Midrash Bereshit Rabbah III, pp. 132–34. 1567, Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer, Sabbioneta—Benayahu, Cremona, pp. 21–22; Gerald Friedlander, ed., Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer (1916, reprint New York, 1981); Strack, p. 225; and Yaari, Printers’ Marks, pp. 15, 134 n. 26. 1568, Haggadah with Nimmukei Yosef, Mantua—Habsburg, Feldman, Judaica: Books, Manuscripts, Textiles and Works of Art (Geneva, June 19, 1989) n. 51/17; Roth, “The Illustrated Haggadah,” p. 44;

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sources Simonsohn, Mantua, p. 682; Yaari, Printers’ Marks, pp. 12, 132 n. 19; Yerushalmi, Haggadah and History, nos. 28–31; and Yudlov, The Haggadah Thesaurus, p. 4 n. 25. 1568, She’erit Yosef, Joseph ben Shem Tov ben Yeshuah Hai Hai, Salonika—Avraham Yaari, “Sheerit Joseph, Salonica, 1568,” KS XXII:3–4 (1946), pp. 236–39 [Hebrew]; Steinschneider, CB cols. 1527–28 n. 6002 1–2. 1569–72, Biblia Sacra hebraice, chaldaice, graece et latine . . ., Antwerp—Berkowitz, pp. 102–03 n. 177; Colin Clair, Christopher Plantin (London, 1960, reprint 1980), pp. 57–86; and Leon Voet, The Plantin Press (1559–89): A Bibliography of the Works printed and published by Christopher Plantin at Antwerp and Leiden I (Amsterdam, 1980–83), pp. 312–15. 1569, Hukkat ha-Pesah, Salonika—Yaakov Shmuel Spiegel, Hagadah shel Pesah Hukat ha-Pesah (Moses Pesante), ( Jerusalem, 1998), pp. 7–27 [Hebrew]; Abraham Yaari, Sheluhei Erez Yisrael ( Jerusalem, 1951), pp. 236 [Hebrew]; Yerushalmi, Haggadah and History, n. 32; and Yudlov, The Haggadah Thesaurus, p. 4 n. 27. 1569, Ma’amar Tehiyyat ha-Metim, Constantinople—Joshua Finkel, “Maimonides’ Treatise on Resurrection,” Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research (New York, 1939), pp. 61–71; Abraham Halkin and David Hartman, Crisis and Leadership: Epistles of Maimionides (Philadelphia, 1985), pp. 209–92. See also Fred Rosner, Maimonides’ Treatise on Resurrection (New York, 1982); and M. D. Rabinowitz, Iggerot ha-Rambam (Tel-Aviv, 1951), pp. 197–338 [Hebrew]. 1569, Ner Mitzvah/Yesha Elohim, Salonika—Spiegel, Hukkat ha-Pesah, pp. 12–13. 1569, Perush le-Midrash Hamesh Megillot Rabbah, Cracow—Solomon Buber, Anshe Shem (Cracow, 1895), pp. 174–75 [Hebrew]; Friedberg, Poland, pp. 4–6; Yaari, Printers’ Marks, pp. 25, 138, n. 39; and Yudlov, Ginzei Yisrael, pp. 149–50 n. 894. 1570–71, Ta’amei Mitzvot, Lublin—Meir Benayahu, “Whence Came R. Menahem Bavli to Hebron,” KS XXIX (1953), pp. 173–74 [Hebrew]. Concerning the appellation ha-Bavli see also E. Roth, “Menahem Bavli or Romi,” KS XXXI (1956), p. 399, and Meir Benayahu, “Answer to Previous Note,” KS XXXI (1956), pp. 399–400; Elbaum, Openness and Insularity, p. 199 n. 66; Kestenbaum (New York, November 28, 2000), p. 29 n. 95. 1570, Torat ha-Olah, Prague—Elbaum, Openness and Insularity, pp. 286–92, 329–34; Elchanan Reiner, “The Ashkenazi Elite at the Beginning of the Modern Era: Manuscript versus Printed Book,” Polin (London & Portland, 1997), pp. 95–96; and David B. Ruderman, Jewish Thought and Scientific Discovery in Early Modern Europe (New Haven, 1995), pp. 67–76; Asher Siev, Rabbi Moses Isserles (New York, 1972), pp. 139–42 [Hebrew]. 1571, Sefer ha-Aguddah, Cracow—Chones, p. 3; Horovitz, p. 13; Tchernowitz, II pp. 244–46; and Zucrow, pp. 162–64. 1572, Seder Olam Zuta, Paris—The Catholic Encyclopedia, (1909), IV “Gilbert Genebrad,” (http://www. newadvent.org/cathen/06412a.htm); Berlin and Katchen, p. 31 n. 35, p. 46 n. 77; Manuel, p. 52, 104. c. 1572, Yefeh Nof, Venice—Abraham M. Habermann, Giovanni di Gara: Printer, Venice 1564–1610 ( Jerusalem, 1982), ed. Y. Yudlov, p. 9 n. 23 [Hebrew]; and Judaica Jerusalem, Rare Books, Manuscripts, Documents and Jewish Arts ( Jerusalem, March 3, 1993), n. 191. Concerning the relationship of Yefeh Nof to other works see, Benayahu, “Sefer ‘Yefeh Nof ’,” pp. 29–68. 1573–75, Derashot al ha-Torah, Cracow—Elbaum, Openness and Insularity, pp. 199, 247, 312–13 n. 40; Friedberg, Poland, pp. 9–10; Carmi Horowitz, “Darshanim, Derashot and Derashah Literature,” in The Sephardi Legacy II, ed., Haim Beinart ( Jerusalem, 1992), pp. 388–94. See also Carmi Horowitz,

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sources The Jewish Sermon in 14th Century Spain: The Derashot of R. Joshua ibn Shu’eib (Cambridge, 1989). Also see Shraga Abramson, Sefer Derashot al ha-Torah. Facsimile of the Cracow Edition ( Jerusalem, 1969), introduction, pp. 5–51 [Hebrew]. c. 1573, Derekh Hayyim/Avodat Mikdash, Constantinople—Margalioth, Great Men, IV cols. 1041–44; and Yudlov, Ginzei Yisrael, pp. 67–68, 205–06, nos. 308, 1275–76. 1573–74, Me’or Einayim, Mantua—Naomi Vogelman-Goldfeld, “Some Reflections on the Hebrew Printing in Italy During the Sixteenth Century,” in Manoscritti, frammenti e libri ebraici (Rome, 1991), pp. 101–08; Kestenbaum & Company, Important Hebrew Books and Manuscripts from the Library of the London Beth Din. The Second Portion (New York, March 13, 2001), p. 34 n. 103; Roth, Renaissance, pp. 318–29; Lester A. Segal, Historical Consciousness and Religious Tradition in Azariah de’ Rossi’s Me’or Einayim (Philadelphia, 1989); Simonsohn, Mantua, pp. 634–37; Waxman, II pp. 516–22; Yerushalmi, Zakhor, pp. 57–58 and 69–75; and Zinberg, IV pp. 106–14. 1573, Pahad Yizhak, Lublin—Gans, I 1584; Heller, “From Lublin to Safed,” pp. 84–85. c. 1573–1578, Seder Tefillot ha-Shanah Minhag Kehillot Romania, Constantinople—Daniel Goldschmidt, “The Mahzor Romania,” Sefunot VIII ( Jerusalem, 1964), pp. 23, 205–36 [Hebrew with English summary], reprinted in Goldschmidt, Mehkerei Tefillah u’Piyyut, pp. 122–52 [Hebrew]; Hacker, “Constantinople Prints,” p. 490 n. 188; and Yaari, Constantinople, pp. 30–31, 124–26 n. 188. 1574–75, Kesef Mishneh on Mishneh Torah, Venice—Leopold Greenwald, Ha-Rav Yosef Karo u-Zemano (New York, 1954), pp. 181–82 [Hebrew]; Habermann, Studies, pp. 191–93; Tchernowitz, I pp. 302–03; and Yaari, Printers’ Marks, pp. 22, 136 n. 35. 1574, Neveh Shalom, Venice—Baer, II p. 246; Herbert A. Davidson, The Philosophy of Abraham Shalom. A Fifteenth-Century Exposition and Defense of Maimonides (Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1964), pp. 1–16, 102–03; and Habermann, Giovanni di Gara, pp. 15–16 n. 37. 1574, Sha’arei Dura, Lublin—Friedberg, Poland, pp. 50–51; Hill, Valmadonna, n. 44; and Rivkind, “Variants,” p. 422 n. 26. 1574, She’elot le-Hakham, Venice—Netanyahu, Don Isaac Abravanel, pp. 86–87, 290 n. 20; Joseph Sarachek, Don Isaac Abravanel (New York, 1938), pp. 54–58, 147–48. 1574–75, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Solomon Luria, Lublin—Freehof, pp. 129–30, 209–10; and Simon Hurwitz, The Responsa of Solomon Luria Maharshal (New York, 1938). 1575, Birkat ha-Mazon, Lublin—Birkat ha-Mazon, facsimile reproduction (Brooklyn, 2000), with introductions by D. Weber and Eliezer Katzman, pp. 6–23, 1–10 [Hebrew]. c. 1575–76, Shelom Esther, Constantinople—E. Horowitz, “R. Isaac ben Gershon Treves in Venice,” KS XXXIII (1958), pp. 252–57 [Hebrew]; I. Sonne, “Bibliographical Remarks,” KS VII (1930/31), pp. 281–82 [Hebrew]; I. Sonne, “R. Isaac Gershon and his Book Shelom Esther,” KS XXXIV (1958), pp. 135–36 [Hebrew]; David Tamar, “Notes on the Literary History of Palestinian and Italian Scholars,” KS XXXIII (1958), pp. 376–78 [Hebrew]; Yaari, Sheluhei Erez Yisrael, pp. 251 and 844; Isaac Yudlov, “R. Isaac Gershon and R. Isaac Treves,” KS LVIIII (1984), pp. 247–51 [Hebrew]; the reprint is an appendix to Asufot XII ( Jerusalem, 1999), ed. Meir Benayahu, and the limited edition (Queens, 2001) was issued by Dr. B. Ogorik. 1576, Mekor Barukh, Constantinople—Heller, “From Lublin to Safed,” pp. 87–89; Rakover, Copyright, pp. 271, 273–4; and Yaari, Constantinople, pp. 30–31 and 126–27 n. 191. c. 1576, Minhah Hadashah on Pirkei Avot, Cracow—Elbaum, Openness and Insularity, var. cit.; Ch. B. Friedberg, Luhot Zikkaron (1897, reprint Cracow, 1904), p. 28; Oyens, p. 93 n. 84; Steinschneider, CB cols. 1276–77 n. 5658.

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sources 1576, Mizmor le-Todah, Constantinople—Benayahu, Between Greek and Italian Jewry, pp. 98–100; Habermann, Giovanni di Gara, pp. 16–17 nos. 38 and 41; Yeshayahu Vinograd, Thesaurus of the Hebrew Book. Part I Indexes. Books and Authors, Bibles, Prayers and Talmud, Subjects and Printers, Chronology and Languages, Honorees and Institutes ( Jerusalem, 1995), p. 28 [Hebrew]; and Avraham Yaari, “Books Written After their Authors had been Delivered from Misfortune,” in Studies in Hebrew Booklore ( Jerusalem, 1958), p. 101 [Hebrew]. 1576, Ne’im Zemirot, Cracow—Friedberg, Poland, p. 10; and Bernard D. Weinryb, The Jews of Poland (Philadelphia, 1975), p. 125. 1576, Yosef Lekah, Cremona—Amram, p. 319; Benayahu, Cremona, pp. 22–24, 232–34; and Elbaum, Openness and Insularity, p. 47. 1577, Ayumah ka-Nidgaloth, Constantinople—Joseph Hacker, “The Sephardim in the Ottoman Empire,” in The Sephardi Legacy II, ed., Haim Beinart ( Jerusalem, 1992), pp. 127 and 129; Kook, Iyyunim u-Mehkarim, I pp. 247–49; Roth, The Duke of Naxos, pp. 180–81; and Yaari, Constantinople, p. 127, n. 192. 1577, Ben Porat Yosef, Constantinople—Cecil Roth, The House of Nasi, Doña Gracia (Philadelphia, 1947), pp. 42–44; Roth, The Duke of Naxos, pp. 179–82; Yaari, Constantinople, pp. 127–28, n. 193; and Werblowsky, “R. Joseph Caro . . .,” pp. 189–92. 1577, Be’ur Sefer Kohelet, Venice—David Tamar, Studies in the History of the Jewish People in Erez Israel and Lands of the East ( Jerusalem, 1981), pp. 169–71 [Hebrew]. 1577, Hesed Avraham, Lublin—Elbaum, Openness and Insularity, pp. 146–47, 160–65, 296–98; Abraham J. Karp, From the Ends of the Earth. Judaic Treasures of the Library of Congress (Washington, 1991), p. 60; Margalioth, Great Men, I col. 45; Eugene Newman, Life & Teachings of Isaiah Horowitz (London, 1972), pp. 13–15; and Zinberg, VIII pp. 50–57. Concerning R. Abraham Horowitz’s ethical works see, Jacob Elbaum, Repentance and Self-Flagellation in the Writings of the Sages of Germany and Poland 1348–1648 ( Jerusalem, 1992) [Hebrew]. c. 1577, Iggeret Ogeret, Editor, Constantinople—Hacker, “Constantinople Prints,” p. 489 n. 185; Yaari, Constantinople, pp. 118–19 n. 185; idem, Studies, pp. 236–37; and Yudlov, Ginzei Yisrael, pp. 197–98 n. 1226. c. 1577, Iggeret ha-Vikku’ah, Constantinople—Harvey, var. cit.; Jospe, pp. 36–37; and Yaari, Constantinople, pp. 118–19 n.185. 1577–78, Kohelet Ya’akov, Safed—A. M. Habermann, The Hebrew Press in Safed (Safed, n.d.), reprinted in Studies, p. 315; Jewish National and University Library ( JNUL), Four Hundred Years of Printing in Erez Israel: Exhibition ( Jerusalem, 1977), pp. viii–ix [Hebrew with English introduction]; Heller, “From Lublin to Safed,” pp. 89–90; David Tamar, ed., Sefer Lekah Tov ( Jerusalem, 1977), pp. ix–x and 26–31 [Hebrew]; Yaari, Printers’ Marks, pp. 31 and 142 n. 51; and Avraham Yaari, Hebrew Printing in the East ( Jerusalem, 1936), pp. 10–11 and 17–18 [Hebrew]. Also see David Tamar, Studies in the History of the Jewish People in Erez Israel and Italy ( Jerusalem, 1972), pp. 150–54 [Hebrew]. Concerning Sar Shalom see Tamar, Studies . . . Erez Israel and Lands of the East, pp. 37–43. 1577, Lekah Tov, Safed—Tamar, Sefer Lekah Tov, pp. ix and 22–26; Yaari, Printers’ Marks, pp. 11 and 128–29 nos. 16–17; idem, Hebrew Printing in the East, pp. 10–11 and 15; and idem, Sheluhei, pp. 238–40. 1577, Olat Shabbat, Venice—Baer, II pp. 507–08 n. 2; Habermann, Giovanni di Gara, pp. 18–19 n. 44; and Halperin, p. 309 n. 570 1577, Shloshah Perushim al Shir ha-Shirim, Constantinople—Slatkine, Ozar ha-Sefarim, Helek Sheni, pp. 244 n. 651 and 300 n. 783; Yaari, Constantinople, pp. 122–24 n. 187; and idem, Studies in Hebrew Booklore, pp. 235–44.

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sources 1577–78, Shulhan Arukh, Venice—Ben-Menahem, p. 111 n. 8. 1578–81, Babylonian Talmud, Basle—Heller, Earliest Printed Editions, pp. 241–65; Popper, The Censorship of Hebrew Books, pp. 56–61; and Rabbinovicz, pp. 74–78. 1578, Sefer Bere’shit, Rome—Amram, p. 244; Benayahu, Cremona, pp. 94–99; Bloch, “Riva di Trento,” p. 98; and Sonne, “Expurgation,” pp. 221–23. 1578–79, Gur Aryeh, Prague—Ben Zion Bokser, The Maharal, The Mystical Philosophy of Rabbi Judah Loew of Prague (New York, 1954; reprint Northvale, 1994), p. 46; Marvin J. Heller, “Observations on a Little Known Edition of Tractate Niddah (Prague, c. 1608) and its Relationship to the Talmudic Methodology of the Maharal of Prague,” The Torah U-Madda Journal no. 8 (New York, 1998–99), pp. 141–45; and Byron L. Sherwin, Mystical Theology and Social Dissent, The Life and Works of Judah Loew of Prague (London and Toronto, 1982), pp. 38, 173–74, 190–91. 1578/79, Se’ah Solet/Marpe la-Nefesh/Orah Hayyim, Venice—Bonfil, Rabbis and Jewish Communities, p. 320; H. G. Enelow, “Raphael Norzi: A Rabbi of the Renaissance,” in Hebrew Union College Jubilee Volume (Cincinnati, 1925, reprint New York, 1968), pp. 333–378; and Habermann, Giovanni di Gara, pp. 20–21 nos. 48, 50–51. 1578, Tahkemoni, Constantinople—Hacker, “Constantinople Prints,” p. 491 n. 196; Victor Emanuel Reichert, The Tahkemoni of Judah Al-Harizi, An English Translation ( Jerusalem, 1965), var. cit.; Waxman, I pp. 462–65; and Yaari, Constantinople, p. 129 n. 196. 1578–79, Tanhumot El, Salonika—Hacker, “Intellectual Activity,” p. 111 n. 9; and Mehlman, “Hebrew Printing in Salonika,” p. 68. 1578, Tractate Rosh Ha-Shanah, Cracow – Friedberg, Poland, pp. 9–10; Heller, Earliest Printed Editions, pp. 369–75; Rabbinovicz, pp. 79,81; Steinschneider, CB col. 220 n. 1407 and also col. 228 n. 1427; and Yaari, Printers’ Marks, pp. 26, 139–40 n. 42 1579, Ibbur Shanim, Venice—I. Ben-Zvi, “Pseudo-Arabs in Palestine,” Sinai III ( Jerusalem, 1939), pp. 383–85 [Hebrew]; Habermann, Giovanni di Gara, p. 21 n. 52; Hill, Valmadonna, n. 45; and Langenberg, pp. 49–50 n. 40. 1579, Perush ha-Torah, Don Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel, Venice—Bloch, “Venetian Printers,” p. 84; Grossman, “Biblical Exegesis,” pp. 144–46; Habermann, Giovanni di Gara, pp. 21–23 n. 53; idem, pp. 193–95 n. 17; Netanyahu, Don Isaac Abravanel, var. cit.; and Yaari, Printers’ Marks, p. 131 n. 18. 1579, Reshit Hokhmah, Venice—Lawrence Fine, Safed Spirituality. Rules of Mystical Piety, The Beginning of Wisdom (Mahwah, 1984), pp. 83–91; Habermann, Giovanni di Gara, pp. 23–24 n. 54; and Hayim Yosef Valdman, Reshit Hokhmah ha-Shalem I ( Jerusalem, 1984), pp. 33–81 [Hebrew]. 1580, Sefer Hasidim, Basle—Simcha Kogut, “The Language of ‘Sefer Hasidim,’ Its Linguistic Background and Methods of Research,” in Studies in Medieval Jewish History and Literature, ed. Isadore Twersky, vol. 2 (Cambridge, 1984), pp. 95–108; Reuben Margaliot, ed., Sefer Hasidim ( Jerusalem, 1973), pp. 3–9 [Hebrew]; Prijs, p. 223 n. 132; and Scholem, Major Trends pp. 81–91. 1580, Ir Gibborim, Basle—Bettan, pp. 273–316; Elbaum, Openness and Insularity, pp. 98–99, 101–04; Habermann, Studies, pp. 235–36 n. 10; Prijs, pp. 212–15 n. 126 1580, Kaftor va-Ferah (Kavvanot ha-Aggadot), Jacob ben Isaac Luzzatto, Basle—Elbaum, Openness and Insularity, pp. 63, 393; Mehlman, “Hebrew Printing in Salonika,” pp. 69–71 n. 36; Prijs, 220–222 n. 131. 1580, Perush ha-Milot, Cracow—Elbaum, Openness and Insularity, p. 94.

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sources 1581–82, Gevurot ha-Shem, Cracow—Bokser, p. 46; Sherwin, pp. 38–39, 42, 58–60, 206–07; and Yudlov, Ginzei Yisrael, p. 194 n. 1197. 1581, Me’ir Nativ, Basel—A. M. Habermann, “The Printer Israel Zifroni and his son Elishama,” in Studies in the History of Hebrew Printers ( Jerusalem, 1978) pp. 239–40 n. 15 [Hebrew]; Langenberg, pp. 56–58 n. 54; Solomon Mandelkern, Heikhal ha-Kodesh Hebrew and Aramaic Concordance (1937), pp. xiii–xiv; Prijs, pp. 224–27 n. 133; and A. Tauber, “Old, also New,” KS II (1925/26), reprint Mehkarim Bibliografiyyim, pp. 59–62 [Hebrew]. 1581, Orhot Zaddikim, Prague—Joseph Weinfeld, Orhot Zaddikim ( Jerusalem, n.d.), introd. [Hebrew]. 1581, Sha’ar Yehudah, Constantinople—Hacker, “Constantinople Prints,” p. 491 n. 203; Rustow, Liberman Mintz, and Deutitsch, Scripture and Schism, pp. 102–03; Yaari, Constantinople, p. 131 n. 203; and Yudlov, Ginzei Yisrael, pp. 271–72 n. 1835. 1582, Hokhmat Shelomo, Cracow—Rabbinovicz, pp. 62–63 n. 5; Ron, “The Talmud Emendations of Rabbi Solomon Luria (Maharshal),” pp. 65–104; Tchernowitz, III pp. 74–78. 1582, She’elot u’Teshuvot Divrei Rivot, Salonika—Freehof, pp. 152–54; Mehlman, “Hebrew Printing in Salonika,” p. 68 n. 33; and Avraham Yaari, “The Descendants of Soncino,” in Studies in Hebrew Booklore, ( Jerusalem, 1958), p. 312 n. 2 [Hebrew]. 1583–c.1593, Babylonian Talmud, Constantinople—Friedberg, Italy, pp. 124–25; Hacker, “Constantinople Prints,” pp. 470, 491–92 nos. 206–20; Heller, Earliest Printed Editions, pp. 309–17; Rabbinovicz, pp. 70–74; and Yaari, Constantinople, pp. 131–37 nos. 205–220. 1583, Hamishah Homshei Torah, Basle—Friedberg, History of Hebrew Typography in . . . Amsterdam . . ., p. 6; Habermann, “Zifroni,” Studies, pp. 226, 242–43 n. 19; and Prijs, pp. 229–31, n. 138. Concerning the Cremona edition see Benayahu, Cremona, var. cit., and Chone Shmeruk, “Yiddish Printing in Italy,” Italia III ( Jerusalem, 1982), p. 139 n. 132 [Hebrew]. 1583, Ma’aseh HaShem, Venice—Elbaum, Openness and Insularity, var. cit.; and Neher, pp. 36, 201–02. 1583–84, Toledot Aharon, Freiburg—Habermann, “Zifroni,” Studies, pp. 225–26 and 244–45 n. 24. 1584, Ohel Ya’akov, Freiburg—Elbaum, Openness and Insularity, p. 146. 1585, Kevod Elohim, Abraham ha-Levi ibn Migash, Constantinople—Hacker, “Constantinople Prints,” p. 492 n. 222; and Yaari, Constantinople, p. 138 n. 222. 1585, Manot ha-Levi, Venice—Habermann, Giovanni di Gara, pp. 33–35 n. 73; and Isaac Mirsky, “Reasons for the Mitzvah of Mishlo’ah Manot,” in Hegioni Halakhah ( Jerusalem, 1989), pp. 261–62 [Hebrew]. c. 1585, Menorat Zahav Tohor, Cracow—Elbaum, Openness and Insularity, p. 224; andYudlov, Ginzei Yisrael, p. 177 n. 1084. 1586, Iggeret Orhot Olam, Venice—de Rossi, Dictionary, p. 80; Neher, pp. 122–35; Roth, Renaissance, pp. 121–23; David B. Ruderman, The World of a Renaissance Jew: The Life and Thought of Abraham ben Mordecai Farissol (Cincinnati, 1981); Simonsohn, Mantua, pp. 639, 707; and Steinschneider, CB cols. 689–90 n. 4222; and Meir Bar-Ilan, “The Discovery of the Words of Gad the Seer,” in Journal for the Study of Pseudepigrapha 11 (Sheffield, 1993), pp. 95–107, updated in http://faculty.biu.ac.il/~barilm/gadiscov.html 1586, Mikra’ei Kodesh, Venice—Fuenn, Knesset Yisrael, pp. 488–89.

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sources 1586, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Solomon ha-Kohen, Salonika—Benayahu, Yosef Behiri, p. 338; Habermann, Giovanni di Gara, p. 69 n. 138; Izhak Zev Kahane, Sinai XVIII ( Jerusalem, 1955), p. 400; and Mehlman, “Hebrew Printing in Salonika,” pp. 72–77 nos. 40, 43, and 47. 1586, Sefer ha-Yashar, Cracow—Margalioth, Great Men, II col. 465–66; and Waxman, II pp. 276–79. 1587, Biblia Sacra—Derekh ha-Kodesh, Hamburg—Berkowitz, pp. 99–100; and Herbert C. Zafren, “Elias Hutter’s Hebrew Bible,” in The Joshua Bloch Memorial Volume (New York, 1960), pp. 29–39. 1587, Mattenot Kehunnah on Midrash Rabbah, Cracow—Elbaum, Openness and Insularity, pp. 120–27; and Midrash Rabbah Mevo’ar I, introduction, n.p. [Hebrew]. 1587–88, Me’ammez Ko’ah, Venice—Habermann, Giovanni di Gara, p. 50 n. 102; idem, Studies, pp. 199–201; I. R. Molcho, “Rabbi Moses Almoshenino,” p. 201; and Yaari, Printers’ Marks, p. 132 n. 19. 1587, Or Ne’erav, Venice—Habermann, Giovanni di Gara, pp. 41–42 n. 87; Marvin J. Heller, “His Hand did not Leave Hers Until he was Grown: Two Little Known Works from Moses Cordovero (Ramak),” Los Muestros, no. 44 (Brussels, 2001), p. 45; and Ira Robinson, Moses Cordovero’s introduction to Kabbalah: an annotated translation of his Or ne’erav (New York, 1994), pp. xi–xxxiv, 207–24. 1587, Perush Avodat Yom ha-Kippurim, Venice—Habermann, Giovanni di Gara, pp. 46 n. 95; Judaica Jerusalem, Exhibition and Auction ( Jerusalem, June 20, 2000), p. 125 n. 201; Heller, “His Hand did not Leave Hers,” pp. 45–46; Robinson, Moses Cordovero’s introduction to Kabbalah, pp. 213–14; Scholem, Major Trends pp. 252–53; and Yaari, Constantinople, p. 126 n. 190. 1587, Shalshelet ha-Kabbalah, Venice—Vogelman-Goldfeld, “Some Reflections on the Hebrew Printing in Italy During the Sixteenth Century,” pp. 100–101; Habermann, Giovanni di Gara, pp. 47–48 n. 98; Waxman, II pp. 476–79; and Zinberg, IV pp. 82–86. 1587, Twelve Minor Prophets, Wittenberg—British Library Public Catalogue—shelfmark 1942.g.8 (http://blpc.bl.uk); and Steinschneider, CB col. 47 n. 277, cols. 3078–79 nos. 9382–83, col. 3104 n. 113. 1587, Zemah David, Venice—Habermann, Giovanni di Gara, p. 47 n. 97a; Roest, II p. 338 n. 1725; Roth, Renaissance, pp. 223–5; Cecil Roth, The History of the Jews in Venice (Philadelphia, 1930), pp. 95, 186–8; and Yaari, Printers’ Marks, pp. 26 and 139 n. 41. 1587, Zemirot Yisrael, Safed—Habermann, Studies, pp. 315–16; JNUL, Four Hundred Years, p. ix; Heller, “From Lublin to Safed,” pp. 90–91; Gershom Scholem, Sabbatai Sevi, The Mystical Messiah (Princeton, 1973), p. 355; Waxman, II pp. 93–97; Yaari, Hebrew Printing in the East, I pp. 18–19; and Joseph Zedner, Catalogue of the Hebrew Books in the British Museum (London, 1867; reprint Norwich, 1964), p. 390. 1588, Devek Tov, Venice—Elbaum, Openness and Insularity, pp. 344, 385 Encyclopedia Judaica. Das Judentum im Geschichte und Gegenwart, III col. 434; and Habermann, Giovanni di Gara, pp. 48–49 n. 97. 1588, Heshek Shelomo, Venice—Habermann, Giovanni di Gara, pp. 49–50 n. 101; Kayserling, p. 64; Moshe Lazar, “The Judaeo-Spanish Translations of the Bible,” in Itzhak Ben-Zvi Memorial Volume ( Jerusalem, 1964), pp. 351–53 n. 6 [Hebrew]; I. Sonne, “Jacob Lombroso and the Book Heshek Shelomo,” KS XI (1935), pp. 499–506 [Hebrew]; and Yaari, Judaeo-Spanish Books, p. 6 n. 36. 1588, Tomer Devorah, Venice—Louis Jacobs, The Palm Tree of Deborah (London, 1960), pp. 9–45; and “Tomer Devorah (The Palm Tree of Deborah)” www.digital-brilliance.com/kab/deborah/deborah.htm

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sources 1589, Derash Moshe, Cracow—Elbaum, Openness and Insularity, pp. 131–34, 158–59, 210–11; and Steinschneider, CB cols. 1824–25 n. 6475. 1589, Derekh on Avot, Cracow—Elbaum, Openness and Insularity, p. 106; Marvin Fox, “The Moral Philosophy of Maharal,” in Jewish Thought in the Sixteenth Century, ed. Bernard Dov Cooperman (Cambridge, 1983), pp. 167–85; Heller, “Observations on a Little Known Edition of Tractate Niddah,” pp. 143–44; Shaya Karlinsky, Maharal: Derech Chaim, www.torah.org/learning/maharal/ archive.html; and Sherwin, p. 47. 1589, Hasdei HaShem, Cracow—Elbaum, Openness and Insularity, pp. 37, 299–300, 322–24. 1589, Kol Bokhim, Venice—David Tamar, Studies in the History of the Jewish People in Erez Israel and Italy, pp. 101–06; Habermann, Giovanni di Gara, pp. 57–58 n. 111; and Margalioth, Great Men, I col. 28–29. 1589, Mareh Kohen, Cracow—Elbaum, Openness and Insularity, pp. 185–86, 395; Roest, II p. 240 n.1258; and Steinschneider, CB col. 1063 n. 5823 1589, Nefuzot Yehudah, Venice—Alexander Altman, “Ars Rhetorica as reflected in Some Jewish Figures,” in Essential Papers on Jewish Culture in Renaissance and Baroque Italy, ed. David B. Ruderman (New York, 1992), pp. 77–82; Bettan, pp. 192–226; Bonfil, Rabbis and Jewish Communities, pp. 21–25; Moses Idel, “Judah Moscato: A Late Renaissance Jewish Preacher,” in Preachers of the Italian Ghetto, ed., David Ruderman (Berkeley, 1992), pp. 41–66; Roth, Renaissance, pp. 35–36, 271–72; and Simonsohn, Mantua, pp. 423, 624–25, 721–22. 1589–90, She’elot u’Teshuvot She’erit Yosef, Cracow—Siev, Isserles, pp. 63–68; and Asher Siev, She’erit Yosef of Rabbi Yoseph Katz of Cracow (New York, 1984), pp. 9–37 [Hebrew]. 1590, Levush Malkhut, Lublin—Tchernowitz, III pp. 100–12; Twersky, “Shulhan ‘Aruk,” pp. 154–56. 1590, She’elot u’Teshuvot ha-Geonim, Prague—Assaf, Tekufat ha-Ge’onim, p. 219; Freehof, pp. 26–30; Zucrow, pp. 38–42. See also Ginzberg, Geonica I, introduction. 1590, Torat ha-Hattat, Cracow—Siev, Isserles, pp. 143–56; Reiner, pp. 86–88; and Tchernowitz, II pp. 64–68, 91–100. 1590, Yefeh Mareh, Venice—Meir Benayahu, “R. Samuel Yaffe Ashkenazi and other Commentators of Midrash Rabba,” Tarbiz XLII ( Jerusalem, 1973), pp. x–xi, 418–25, 428–30 [Hebrew with English Summary]; Habermann, Giovanni di Gara, pp. 60–61 n. 115; and Yaari, Printers’ Marks, pp. 23, 136 n. 36. 1591–97, Imrei Shefer, Cracow/Lublin—Elbaum, Openness and Insularity, pp. 88–89; Carmilly-Weinberger, p. 193; Roest, II p. 28 n. 160. 1591, Matteh Moshe, Cracow—Mordecai Hanoch Knoblovitsh, ed., Matteh Moshe (London, 1958), 9–13 [Hebrew]; and Yitzhak Raphael, Hanhagat Maharshal ( Jerusalem, 1961), p. 5 [Hebrew]. 1591, Pardes Rimmonim, Moses ben Jacob Cordovero, Cracow/Nowy Dwor—Friedberg, Poland, p. 16; Idel, Messianic Mystics, p. 163; Moses Idel, “Spanish Kabbalah after the Expulsion,” in The Sephardi Legacy II, ed., Haim Beinart ( Jerusalem, 1992), p. 173; Mehlman, “Hebrew Printing in Salonika,” p. 73 n. 42; and Scholem, Major Trends, pp. 252–53. c. 1592–1599, Fuente Clara, Salonika—Meir Benayahu, Between Greek and Italian Jewry, pp. 108–113; Giovanni Bernardo de Rossi, Biblioteca judaica antichristiana (Parma, 1800, reprint Amsterdam, 1964), pp. 33–34 n. 48; Moses Marx, “Among Recent Aquisitions,” SBB II:4 (1956), pp. 179–80; Mehlman, “Hebrew Printing in Salonika,” pp. 88–89 n. 76; and J. Rosenthal, “Anti-Christian Polemics from

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sources its Beginnings to the End of the 18th Century, Areshet II ( Jerusalem, 1960), pp. 162–63 n. 140 [Hebrew]. 1592, Havazzelet ha-Sharon, Venice—Habermann, Giovanni di Gara, pp. 67–68 n. 135; Ravi Shahar, tr. Shield of the Spirit: the Commentaries of Rashi and Rabbi Moshe Alshich on Sefer Daniel ( Jerusalem, 1995), in collaboration with Ephraim Oratz and Yitzhak Hirshfeld, pp. vi–xiv. 1592–93, Tamim Yahdav, Lublin—Elbaum, Openness and Insularity, pp. 189, 277; Scholem, Bibliographia Kabbalistica, p. 197 n. 49; and Yudlov, Ginzei Yisrael, p. 176 n. 1079. 1592, Tractate Berakhot, Salonika—Marvin J. Heller, Printing the Talmud: A History of the Individual Treatises Printed from 1700 to 1750 (E. J. Brill, Leiden, 1999), pp. 321–27; and Marvin J. Heller, “The Bath-Sheba/Moses de Medina Salonika Edition of Berakhot: An Unknown Attempt to Circumvent the Inquisition’s Ban on the Printing of the Talmud in Sixteenth Century Italy,” Jewish Quarterly Review LXXXVII (Philadelphia, 1996), pp. 47–60. 1592, Zemah David, Prague—Neher. Also see Mordecai Breuer, “R. David Gans, Author of the Chronicle Zemah David A Typological Study,” Bar-Ilan XI (Ramat-Gan, 1973), pp. 97–118 [Hebrew]; and B. Z. Degani, “The Structure of World History and the Redemption of Israel in R. David Gan’s Zemah David,” Sinai XLV ( Jerusalem, 1980), pp. 173–200 [Hebrew]. 1592–93, Haggadah Zevah Pesah, Bistrowitz—Friedberg, Poland, p. 16; Yerushalmi, Haggadah and History, n. 33; and Yudlov, Ginzei Yisrael, p. 77 n. 369. 1593, Be’urim, Nathan Nata ben Samson Spira (Shapira), Venice—Asufot XII, p. 49 n. 11; Birkat ha-Mazon, facsimile reproduction (Brooklyn, 2000), introduction by Eliezer Katzman, pp. 2–3; 1–10 [Hebrew]; and Roest, II p. 42 n. 243. 1593, Darkhei ha-Gemara, Mantua—Baer II p. 270; Chajes, p. xix; Iakerson, Ohel Hayyim, pp. 234–35 n. 163; Samuel Wiener, Kohelet Mosheh Aryeh Leyb Fridland: Reshimat kol ha-Sefarim ha-Ivrim . . . haNimtsa’im ba-Asefat-Fridland . . . be-St. Petersburg . . . II (St. Petersburg, 1893–1936, reprint Jerusalem, 1969), p. 309 n. 2523 [Hebrew]. 1593, Sefer ha-Hayyim, Cracow—Elbaum, Openness and Insularity, pp. 74, 173–74, 253–54; and Siev, Isserles, pp. 57–63, 68. 1593, Minhagim, Isaac Tyrnau/Simon Levi Guenzburg, Venice—Habermann, Giovanni di Gara, p. 70 n. 140; Sharon Liberman Mintz, et. al., Precious Possessions. Treasures From the Jewish Theological Seminary (New York, 2001), p. 63; Moshe N. Rosenfeld, “The Development of Hebrew Printing in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries,” in A Sign and a Witness. 2,000 Years of Hebrew Books and Illuminated Manuscripts (New York, 1988), p. 97; and Shmeruk, “Yiddish Printing in Italy,” pp. 126–27, 153–55 n. 19. See also Chone Shmeruk, “Illustrations from Minhagim in Yiddish, Venice, 1593, Reproduced in 17th Century Prague reprints,” SSB XV (1994), pp. 31–52 [Hebrew]. 1593, Ru’ah Hen, Prague—Elbaum, Openness and Insularity, p. 147 n. 206. 1593–94, Shulhan Arukh, Cracow—Ben-Menahem, p. 115 n. 14; Margaliot, “First Editions,” pp. 31–35; and Twersky, “Shulhan ‘Aruk,” pp. 150–58. c. 1593, Siddur Tefilot he-Hadash, Belvedere—Roth, The Duke of Naxos, pp. 218–19; Yaari, Constantinople, pp. 32–33 and 142–43 nos. 230 and 233; idem, Studies, p. 260 n. 3. 1593, Tevat Noach/Arca Noe, Venice—Habermann, Giovanni di Gara, pp. 72–73 n. 143; Habermann, “Zifroni,” in Studies, pp. 223 n. 21 and 249–50 n. 31; and Sotheby’s, Important Judaica, Books, Manuscripts, Silver . . ., March 16, 1999, n. 50.

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sources c. 1593–95, Torat Moshe, Belvedere—Meir Benayahu, The Toledot ha-Ari and Luria’s “Manner of Life” (Hanhagoth) ( Jerusalem, 1967), pp. 169–71 [Hebrew]; Hacker, “Constantinople Prints,” p. 492 n. 232; Eliyahu Munk, Midrash of Rabbi Moshe Alshich on the Torah ( Jerusalem, New York, 2000), introduction, n.p.; and Yaari, Constantinople, p. 143 n. 232. 1594, Mahzor—Ashkenaz Rite, Thannhausen—Burnett, pp. 334–36; Habermann, Title Pages, pp. 48, 128 n. 34; Kestenbaum & Company, Books, Manuscripts, and Works of Art (New York, March 3, 1998), pp. 52–53; and Moshe N. Rosenfeld, “The Development of Hebrew Printing in the Sixteenth an Seventeenth Centuries,” p. 97. 1594, Minhah Belulah, Verona—Heller, “Verona,” pp. 339–41; and Minhah Belulah, Jacob David Kohen, ed. (B’nei Brak, 1989), pp. 5–10 [Hebrew]. 1594, Paris un Viene, Verona—Marvin J. Heller, “A Little Known Chapter in Hebrew Printing: Francesco dalle Donne and the beginning of Hebrew Printing in Verona in the Sixteenth Century,” The Papers of the American Bibliographical Society 94:3 (New York, 2000), pp. 341–44; Shmeruk, “Yiddish Printing,” p. 120ff.; Chone Shmeruk, in collaboration with Erika Timm, Paris un’ Viena, Edited with Introduction, Notes, and Appendices ( Jerusalem, 1996) [Hebrew with English Preface]; and Zinberg, VII pp. 77–86. 1594, Pesak al Agunah, Prague—Elbaum, Openness and Insularity, pp. 18–19, 395; Steinschneider, CB col. 1247 n. 5602; and B. Wachstein, “The History of Israel and its Sages in Poland,” Ha-Eshkol VI (Cracow, 1909), pp. 218–22. Also see Elchanan Reiner, “Rabbi Ya’akov Pollack of Cracow. First and Foremost Among Cracow’s Scholars,” in Kruke—Kazimierz—Cracow. Studies in the History of Cracow Jewry, ed. Elchanan Reiner (Tel Aviv, 2001), pp. 43–68 [Hebrew]. 1594–97, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Samuel ben Moses de Medina (Maharashdam), Salonika—Bornstein, pp. vii–lxvii; Freehof, pp. 152–3, 230–31; and Mehlman, “Hebrew Printing in Salonika,” pp. 71–72 nos. 38–39, 77–78 nos. 49–50, 52. For a discussion of cultural material in de Medina’s responsa see, Morris S. Goodblatt, Jewish Life in Turkey as Reflected in the Legal Writings of Samuel De Medina (New York, 1952). c. 1595, Ayyalah Sheluhah, Cracow—Elbaum, Openness and Insularity, p. 83 n. 2; and Yudlov, Ginzei Yisrael, p. 31 n. 62. 1595, Iggeret Teshuvah, Prague—Concerning the Constantinople edition(s) see Shraga Abramson, “Iggeret Teshuvah of Rabbenu Yonah Gerondi—Constantinople 1548 and Constantinople 1548,” Tagim 3–4 ( Jerusalem, 1972), pp. 5–11 [Hebrew]. 1595, Keli Hemdah, Venice—Habermann, Giovanni di Gara, p. 81 n. 161. 1595, Kuhbuch, Verona—Shabbetai Bass, Siftei Yeshenim (Amsterdam, 1680, reprint Brooklyn: Copy Corner, 1993), 66 kaf 13 [Hebrew]; Heller, “Verona,” pp. 344–46; Eli Katz, Book of Fables: The Yiddish Fable Collection of Reb Moshe Wallich, Frankfurt am Main, 1697 (Detroit, 1994), pp. 10, 13, 16; Moshe N. Rosenfeld, The Book of Cows. A Facsimile Edition of the Famed Kuhbuch (London, 1984); Yaari, Printers’ Marks, pp. 30 and 141 n. 48. 1595, Lekah Tov, Venice—de Rossi, p. 184; Morris M. Faierstone, “Abraham Jagel’s Leqah Tov and Its History,” The Jewish Quarterly Review LXXXIX (Philadelphia, 1999), pp. 319–50; David B. Ruderman, Kabbalah, Magic, and Science: the Cultural Universe of a Sixteenth-century Jewish Physician (Cambridge, 1988), pp. 8–24, 158–68; and Simonsohn, Mantua, pp. 712–13. Concerning Gei Hizzayon see David B. Ruderman, Ge hizayon. A Valley of Vision: the Heavenly Journey of Abraham ben Hananiah Yagel. Translated from the Hebrew, with an introduction and commentary (Philadelphia, 1990). 1595, Levushei Or Yekarot, Lublin—Friedberg, Poland, p. 52.

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sources 1595, Orah le-Hayyim, Lublin—Jacob Elbaum, “Ethical Literature in Poland,” in Jewish Thought in the Sixteenth Century, ed. Bernard Dov Cooperman (Cambridge, 1983), pp. 152–56; idem, Openness and Insularity, pp. 235–37, 239–40, 273 1595, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Bezalel Ashkenazi, Venice—Amram, pp. 342–43; Bloch, “Venetian Printers,” p. 83; Kestenbaum & Company, Fine Judaica: Books, Manuscripts and Works of Art (New York, March 28, 2000), n. 161. 1595, Sibbuv and Midrash Yonah, Prague—Adler, Jewish Travellers, pp. 64–91; Eisenstein, Ozar Massa’ot, pp. 46–57; Eisenstein, Ozar Midrashim, I pp. 217–22; Heller, “The Printer’s Mark of Marc Antonio Giustiniani,” p. 387; and Yaari, Masot, pp. 48–55. 1595, Sod Yesharim, Venice—Mark Cohen, tr. and ed., The Autobiography of a Seventeenth-Century Venetian Rabbi. Leon Modena’s Life of Judah (Princeton, 1988), pp. 19–22, 124, 217, 223–24; Habermann, Giovanni di Gara, pp. 78–79 n. 154; and Roth, Renaissance, p. 13. Concerning the 1599 edition see Leon Nemoy, “A Hitherto Undescribed Edition of Leon de Modena’s ‘Sod Yesharim’,” JQR XXIV (1933–34), pp. 48–50. 1595–96, Torah, Nevi’im, Ketuvim (Bible), Frankfort on the Oder—Friedberg, Central Europe, p. 34; and Steinschneider, CB cols. 25 and 53 nos. 132, 312. The pagination for the last two parts, not examined for this work, are from Kestenbaum (New York, November 17, 1998), n. 29. 1596, Divrei Shelomo, Venice—Joseph Hacker, “Despair of the Redemption and the Messianic Hopes in the writings of Shelomo le-veyt Ha-Lewy,” Tarbiz XXXIX ( Jerusalem, 1969), pp. iii–iv, 195–213 [Hebrew with English Summary]; Joseph Hacker, “Israel Among the Nations as Described by Solomon le-Beit Ha-Levi of Salonika,” Zion XXXIV ( Jerusalem, 1969), pp. iii, 43–89 [Hebrew with English Summary]. 1596, Mevakkesh Ha-Shem/Devar Shemu’el, Venice—Elisheva Carlebach, The Pursuit of Heresy: Rabbi Moses Hagiz and the Sabbatian Controversies (New York, 1990), pp. 20, 283, 284; Habermann, Giovanni di Gara, pp. 81–82 nos. 160, 162; idem, Studies, pp. 252–53 nos. 33–34; and Yosef Ben Na’im, Malkhe Rabanan ( Jerusalem, 1931, reprint Jerusalem, 1998), p. 123a [Hebrew]. 1596, Shemen ha-Mor, Salonika—Encyclopaedia Judaica: Das Judentum in Geschichte und Gegenwart, I col. 331; and Mehlman, “Hebrew Printing in Salonika,” p. 80 n. 57. 1596, Ha-Terumot, Salonika—Mehlman, “Hebrew Printing in Salonika,” p. 79 n. 55; Tchernowitz, II pp. 134–40; and Yaari, Printers’ Marks, pp. 30, 141 no. 48. 1597, Asarah Ma’amarot, Venice—Habermann, Giovanni di Gara, p. 88 n. 176. 1597, Em ha-Yeled, Prague—Assaf, M’Koros L’Toldos Hahinukh B’Yisrael, pp. 52–54; Elbaum, Openness and Insularity, pp. 48, 260, 264; and Steinschneider, CB col. 1472 n. 5926. 1597, Ho’il Moshe/Ba Gad, Venice—Asufot XII, pp. 35, 57–58 n. 19; and Benayahu, Between Greek and Italian Jewry, pp. 129–30. 1597, Iggeret Shemu’el, Kuru-Chesme—Roth, The Duke of Naxos, pp. 218–19; Yaari, Constantinople, pp. 32 and 143 n. 234. Also see Tamar, Erez Israel and Lands of the East, var. cit. 1597, Proverbia Ben-Sira/Adagiorum Ebraicorum, Franeker—Fuks, L. and R. G. Fuks-Mansfeld, Hebrew Typography in the Northern Netherlands 1585—1815 I (Leiden, 1984), pp. 68–73 n. 92. 1597, She’elot u’Teshuvot, Salonika—Mehlman, “Hebrew Printing in Salonika,” p. 82 n. 62.

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sources c. 1597–98, Tractate Ketubbot, Kuru-Chesme—Heller, Earliest Printed Editions of the Talmud, pp. 318–21; Israel Mehlman, “Notes and Additions to A. Yaari’s Hebrew Printing at Constantinople,” pp. 577–81; Rabbinovicz, pp. 79–80; and Yaari, Constantinople, pp. 33 and 144 n. 236. 1597–1606, Yefeh To’ar, Venice—Benayahu, “R. Samuel Yaffe Ashkenazi,” pp. 430–32, 450; Habermann, Giovanni di Gara, pp. 84–85 n. 169; and Midrash Rabbah Mevo’ar I, introduction, n.p. 1598–99, Aleh Toledot Adam . . . Kohelet Ya’akov, Venice—Asufot XII, pp. 60–62 n. 24; Benayahu, Between Greek and Italian Jewry, pp. 189–93; idem, Copyright, pp. 249–50; Hill, Valmadonna, n. 50; Margalioth, Great Men, II cols. 288–89; and Steinschneider, CB col. 772 n. 4500. 1598, Be’er ha-Golah, Prague—Bokser, pp. 178–84; Elbaum, Openness and Insularity, pp. 109–11, 113–14; and Jacob Elbaum, “Rabbi Judah Loew and his Attitude to the Aggadah,” Scripta Hieroslymitana XXII ( Jerusalem, 1971), pp. 28–47. 1598, Minhagim, Basle—Yitzchok Yosef Cohen, Sages of Hungary and her Torah Literature ( Jerusalem, 1995), pp. 185–87 [Hebrew]; Prijs, pp. 248–49 n. 152; Shlomo Spitzer, ed., Sefer Haminhagim ( Jerusalem, 1979), pp. 9–17 [Hebrew]; and Tchernowitz, II pp. 260–61. 1598, Ner Mitzvah, Venice—Habermann, Giovanni di Gara, pp. 89–90 n. 178. 1598, Tanna de-Vei Eliyahu, Venice—Jacob Mann, “Date and Place of Redaction of Seder Eliyahu Rabba and Zutta,” HUCA IV (1929), pp. 302–10; Tanna de-Vei Eliyahu ( Jerusalem, 1989), pp. 573–80 [Hebrew]; and Waxman, I pp. 145–47. 1599, Haggadah, Venice—Habermann, Giovanni di Gara, pp. 92–93 n. 187; Roth, “The Illustrated Haggadah,” pp. 44, 56; Schubert, pp. 38–39; and Yerushalmi, Haggadah and History, nos. 34–37. 1599, Hiddushim, Basle—Reuven Margulies, Toledot Adam (Lemberg, 1912) [Hebrew]; and Prijs, pp. 262–63 n. 162. Also see Samuel Aba Horodetsky, Shem Shemuel (Drohobycz, 1895) [Hebrew]. 1599, Leshon ha-Zahav, Venice—Amram, pp. 344–46; Friedberg, Italy, p. 74; Marc Saperstein, “Yedaiah Bedersi’s Commentary on the Midrashim,” in Proceedings of the Eighth World Congress of Jewish Studies, Division C ( Jerusalem, 1982), pp. 59–65. 1599, Mehararei Nemeirim, Venice—Asufot XII, pp. 36, 68; Kestenbaum (New York, March 13, 2001), p. 2 n. 6; Steinschneider, CB cols. 665 n. 4178. 1599–1600, Mishpetei Shemu’el, Venice—Meir Benayahu, ed., “The Books Printed in Venice at the Zanetti Press,” Asufot XII, pp. 65–67 n. 30 [Hebrew]; and Benayahu, The Relation Between Greek and Italian Jewry, pp. 78–79. 1599, Seder ha-Yom, Venice—Asufot XII, pp. 11, 12, 25, 73; Pachter, pp. 165–66, 176 nos. 21–24; and Israel Jacob Wisivsky, ed., Seder ha-Yom ( Jerusalem, 1996), pp. i–vi [Hebrew]. 1599, Vikku’ah ha-Yayin ve-ha-Mayim, Basle—Prijs, pp. 263–65 n. 163a; and Steinschneider, CB col. 943 n. 4961:4.

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998

Index Aaron, 91, 867 Aaron Abiob, s. Abiob, Aaron Aaron Abulrabi, s. Abulrabi, Aaron Aaron ben Abraham, 257 Aaron ben Jacob ha-Kohen of Lunel, 331 Aaron ben Joseph ha-Rofe, 193 Aaron ha-Levi of Barcelona, 161, 567 Aaron of Neustadt, 137, 475, 533 Aaron of Pesaro, xxxii, 723, 759 Aaron the Elder, s. Aaron ben Joseph ha-Rofe Aba, s. Asher, Abraham ben Gedaliah Aba, Sefer, s. Or ha-Sekhel, 593 Abba Abraham bar David MeNeuten, 739 Abba Elijah, 895 Abba Mari ben Eligdor, 301 Aben Ezdra, Abraham, s. Ibn Ezra, Abraham Abiob, Aaron, xlv, 835, 867 Abner of Burgos, 421 Aboab I, Isaac, xx, xlvi, l, 175, 279, 307, 695 Aboab II, Isaac, 175, 279, 585, 737, 807 Aboab, Samuel, 375 Abrabanel, Isaac ben Judah, xix, xxv–xxvii, xliii, xliv, xlvi, 7, 21, 41, 45, 77, 141, 145, 175, 211, 289, 291, 367, 369, 397, 403, 495, 515, 539, 587, 603, 637, 647, 693, 721, 723, 803, 825 Abrabanel, Joseph, 367 Abrabanel, Judah, 7, 45, 289, 291, 377, 803 Abrabanel, Samuel, 45, 289, 367, 407 Abraham, 67, 511, 543, 721, 765, 905 Abraham, R., 283 Abraham bar Hisdai, 125 Abraham bar Hiyya, xxxi, 67, 847 Abraham Bedersi, xliv Abraham ben Aaron, 837 Abraham ben Avigdor, xlii, xxxvii, 243, 247 Abraham ben David of Posquières, 107, 129, 171, 331, 361, 543, 631 Abraham ben Eliezer ha-Kohen, 773 Abraham ben Eliezer ha-Levi (ha-Zaken), 37, 295, 423 Abraham ben Gedaliah ibn Asher, s. Asher, Abraham ben Gedaliah ibn Abraham ben Hananiah dei Galicchi Jagel, s. Jagel, Abraham ben Hananiah dei Galicchi Jagel Abraham ben Hayyim the Dyer (dei Tintori), xxv, 855 Abraham ben Isaac ben Judah ben Samuel Shalom, s. Shalom, Abraham ben Isaac ben Judah ben Samuel Abraham ben Isaac Zahalon, s. Zahalon, Abraham ben Isaac Abraham ben Isaac, 667 Abraham ben Jacob Saba, s. Saba, Abraham ben Jacob Abraham ben Jehiel Kohen Porto, 829 Abraham ben Joseph ibn Yaish, s. Ibn Yaish, Abraham ben Joseph

Abraham ben Judah Almalik, s. Elmalik, Abraham ben Judah Abraham ben Meir de Balmes, s. Balmes, Abraham ben Meir de Abraham ben Moses ha-Kohen ha-Sephardi, 133 Abraham ben Moses Ismail, 463 Abraham ben Moses Maimon, 91, 109 Abraham ben Nathan ha-Yarhi, 129 Abraham ben Samuel ha-Levi Ibn Hasdai, s. Ibn Hasdai, Abraham ben Samuel ha-Levi Abraham ben Samuel Zacuto, s. Zacuto, Abraham ben Samuel Abraham ben Shabbetai Horowitz, s. Horowitz, Abraham ben Shabbetai Abraham ben Shem Tov Bibago, s. Bibago, Abraham ben Shem Tov (Yom Tov) Abraham ben Solomon Akra, s. Akra, Abraham ben Solomon Abraham ben Solomon Haver Tov (Buoncompagno), 857, 897 Abraham filius Leui, 283 Abraham ha-Levi ibn Migash, s. Ibn Migash, Abraham ha-Levi Abraham Ibn Ezra, s. Ibn Ezra, Abraham Abraham Klausner, s. Klausner, Abraham Abraham Menahem ben Jacob ha-Kohen Rapa mi-Porto (Rapaport) Ashkenazi, xxvii, xxx, 341, 385, 413, 555, 581, 631, 829 Abraham of Beziers, 97 Abraham of Cologne, 501 Abraham of Prague, s. Abraham ben Avigdor Abraham of Revigo, 409 Abramsky, Ch., xxxvii Abramson, S., xlvii Abu al-Faraj Furqan ibn Asad, s. Jeshua ben Judah Abudarham, David ben Joseph, 103, 561, 603 Abudarham, Sefer, xlvi, xlix, li, 9, 75, 101, 103, 569 Abulafia, Abraham, 473, 525 Abulafia, Meir ha-Levi, 313, 877 Abulrabi, Aaron, 179 Academy Pelligrini, xxviii Achselrad, Bendit, 837 Adagiorum Ebraicorum decuriae, 879 Adam, 53, 185, 259, 269, 387, 595 Adam, Michael, 719 Adam Sikhli, xxxvii, 505 Adam ve-Havvah u-Mesharim, Sefer, 295 Adarbi, Isaac ben Samuel, xxii, xlv, 297, 527, 547, 687, 715, 835, 907 Adderet Eliyahu, xlvii, 193, 205, 491, 711, 911 Adelard of Bath, 451 Adelkind brothers, 139 Adelkind, Baruch, 89, 135, 143, 151 Adelkind, Cornelio Israel, xvi, xvii, xix, xx, xxvi, xxvii, 109, 177, 189, 193, 255, 263, 273, 275,

999

index 277, 279, 285, 287, 299, 301, 303, 309, 317, 327, 329, 335, 345, 355, 357, 361, 377, 387, 395, 397, 399, 401, 575 Adelkind, Daniel ben Cornelius, 373, 375, 377 Adeni, Solomon, 853 Adret, Solomon ben Abraham ibn, xxv, xxix, 5, 23, 25, 93, 97, 157, 159, 161, 233, 239, 321, 445, 463, 497, 567, 619, 621, 663, 701 Adrian VI, Pope, 115 Adrian, Cardial, s. Adrian VI, Pope Adrianople, xliv, xlvii, 205, 211, 229, 359, 373, 403, 467, 481, 499, 785, 795, 817 Adrianus, Matthew, 173 Aelst, xxxiv Aemilius, Paulus, xxxvi, 269, 281, 719 Aesop, 91, 333, 451 Aesop’s Fables, 213 Afendopolo, Caleb, 205 Africa, xlix, 91, 265 Africa, North, xxxiii, 59, 223, 309, 323, 473, 691 Against Apion, 277 Aggadat Shemu’el, 649 Aggadat Tehillim, s. Midrash Tehillim Agilar, Moses Rafael, 753 Agron, 437 Aguddah, Sefer ha-, xl, 409, 427, 457, 615, 777, 819 Agur, ha-, xvi, 147, 181, 295, 359 Aguzi, Menahem, 781 Aha bar Ada, R., 43, 283 Ahai of Shabha, 319, 343 Aharonim, 819 Ahasuerus, 533, 653, 729, 867 Ahavat Zion, 557 Aheron, R., 283 Aholiab, 655 Aix, 617 Akdamut, 87 Akedat Yizhak, xliv, 145, 539, 683, 797, 825 Akiva ben Joseph, 317 Akiva, R., 285, 543, 903 Aknin, Joseph ben Judah ibn, 371 Akra, Abraham ben Solomon, xxii, 891, 903 Akrish, Isaac ben Abraham, 421, 663, 665, 673 Al Tehi ka-Avotekha, 421, 663 Alachakim, Isaac, 389 Alami, Solomon, 275, 419 Alantansi, Eliezer ben Abraham ibn, 9 Alashkar, Moses ibn, xxvii, 229, 419, 619, 877 Albalag, Isaac, 419 Albania, 79, 157, 179 Albelda, Moses, 179. 875 Alberius, 501 Albo, Joseph, xvi, xx, xliv, 145, 147, 275, 291, 383, 397, 411, 419, 561, 617, 725 Alcalá de Henares, 55, 407, 601 Aldabi, Meir ben Isaac, xxx, 307, 497 Alef Bet de-R. Akiva, s. Otiyyot de Rabbi Akiva Aleh Toledot Adam . . . Kohelet Ya’akov, xxii, 887, 907 Aleppo, 437, 593, 841 Alexander of Aphrodisias, 515 Alexander of Macedonia, 35 Alexander Suslin ha-Kohen of Frankfort, xl, 357, 427, 615, 777 Alexander VI, Pope, xv Alexandria, 265, 751

Alfa Beta of Ben Sira, xxxvi, 127, 879 Alfa Beta Aheret le-Ben Sira, 127 Alfakhar, Abraham, 271 Alfalas, Moses, xxii, 875 Alfandari, Jacob, 737 Al-Farabi, 515, 665 Alfas, Sefer Rav, xiii, xxi, xxvii, xxx, xlvi, xlix, liv, 23, 31, 71, 81, 101, 143, 395, 397, 469, 479, 541, 871, 907 Alfasi Zuta, 871 Alfasi, Isaac ben Jacob, xxx, xlvi, 15, 31, 71, 93, 137, 161, 233, 293, 295, 337, 359, 385, 395, 463, 469, 479, 615, 735, 737, 819 Al-Ferjani, 339 Alfonso V, King of Portugal, 45 Alfonso X, King of Castile, 801 Alfonso, King of Spain, 403 Alfred the Englishman, 451 Algaba, Jacob ben Mosé, 253 Algazi, Abraham, 877 Algazi, Solomon ben Abraham, 273 Algeria, 87, 223, 273 Al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid, 547 Algiers, 323, 389, 561 Alhadib, Isaac ibn, 493 Al-Harizi, Judah ben Solomon, xxv, 125, 219, 371, 489, 685 Alkabez, Solomon ben Moses ha-Levi, 373, 729, 749, 877, 907 Allon, Abraham ben Solomon, xxii, 561, 577, 807 Almagest, (by Abraham Zacuto), s. Hibbur ha-Gadol, haAlmagest, (by Ptolemy), 339, 815 Almagiati, Samuel, 845 Almanac, 599 Almanso, Eliezer, 637 Almazan, 589 Almoli, Solomon ben Jacob, xliv, 21, 73, 201, 207, 455 Almosnino, Absalom, 547 Almosnino, Moses ben Baruch, xxii, xliv, 297, 547, 549, 559, 619, 745, 785 Almosnino, Samuel, 179 Almosnino, Simeon, 547, 745 Al-Nakawa, Israel ben Joseph, 223, 279, 307, 695 Alphabet of Ben Sira, s. Alfa Beta of Ben Sira Alphabetum ebraicum vetus, 879 Alphabetum Hebraicum, 3, 237 Alps, the, xxxvii Alshekh ha-Kodesh, s. Torat Moshe Alshekh, Hayyim, 795, 825 Alshekh, Moses ben Hayyim, xlviii, 593, 643, 795, 825, 875 Alsweiler, xxxii Alt Shule, Joshua, 575 Alt Shule, Solomon, 575 Altdorf, 519 Alton, Hayyim ben Moses, 155, 161, 189 Altona, 425 Altschuler, Moses ben Hanokh, xxxi, xxxviii Altschuler, Naphtali Hirsch ben Asher, 837 Alvalensi, Samuel, 903 Amadis de Gaula, xlvii, 253 Amar Nekeh, 351 Amarillo, Isaac, 297

1000

index Ambrosius, xxx Amerbach, 99 Amerbach, Johann, xxx, xxxi Ammudei Shelomo, 639, 911 Ammudei Shesh, 699 Amos, 229 Amram, D., xix, xxi–xxiii, xxv–xxix, xxxvi Amshel, R., 357 Amsterdam, 105, 179, 193, 195, 225, 249, 291, 327, 337, 349, 351, 387, 461, 539, 549, 557, 573, 683, 709, 757, 783, 811, 843, 845, 911 Amudei Golah, xxviii, xlvi, 33, 187, 295, 331, 337, 359, 417, 429, 435, 615 Anak, Sefer ha-, 655, 685 Anan bar Rav, 895 Anan ben David, 193 Anatoli, Jacob ben Abba Mari ben Samson, xx, xliii, 815 Anav, Benjamin ben Abraham ha-Rofei, xxiv, xxviii–xxx, 471, 513, 583, 603 Anav, Family, 195, 321, 425, 565 Anav, Jehiel ben Jekuthiel ben Benjamin ha-Rofe, 149, 321, 425, 565, 709 Anav, Judah ben Benjamin, 565 Anav, Moses, 513 Ancona, xv, xxvi, 527, 715, 775, 835 Andalusia, 347 Angel, Meir ben Abraham, xlviii, 821, 877 Anna Elohei Avraham, 243 Ansbach, 13 Anshel Levi Zion, 133 Anshelm, Thomas, xxxiv, 17, 115 Antwerp, xvii–xix, xxxiii, xxxiv, xxxvi, 81, 139, 151, 191, 263, 265, 601, 657 Apocrypha, 379, 751 Apulia, 367, 369 Aquin, Philippe d’, 75 Aquinas, Thomas, 79, 887, 907 Aragon, xliv, 109, 121, 141, 145, 239, 411, 547, 561, 671 Aragon, Francisco d’, 657 Aram, 257 Aram Zoba, 593 Arama, Isaac ben Moses, xxvi, xliv, 141, 145, 383, 397, 683, 797, 825 Arama, Meir ben Isaac, xxi, 145, 539, 901 Arba’ah Turim, xiv, xv, xxxvi, xxxviii, xliv–xlvii, l, 5, 7, 61, 89, 103, 121, 137, 175, 199, 217, 243, 245, 247, 327, 395, 409, 457, 463, 491, 555, 641, 779, 819, 847, 869 Arba’ah ve’Esrim, s. Bible, Hebrew Arba’ah ve-Esrim Devarim Me’akvim Teshuvah, 127 Arca Noe, Thesaurus Linguae Sanctae Novus, s. Tevat Noach Archivolti, Samuel ben Elhanan Jacob, xxi, xxii, 341, 391, 587, 659, 693, 749, 871, 893 Aretino, Pietro, l Arias Montanus, Benedictus, 601 Arignano, Benjamin Joseph d’, xxiii, 293, 307 Ariollia, Isaac, 907 Ariosto, Ludovico, 857 Aripul, Samuel ben Isaac, xlviii, xlix, 649, 651, 667 Aristotle, 141, 225, 309, 335, 421, 439, 489, 515, 561, 589, 613, 633, 637, 775, 815, 907 Arles sur Rhone, 301, 339

Armengaud, 347 Armenia, 855 Armilos Rofei, Samuel, 673 Arnoul, Jehan, 237, 333 Arollia, 687 Arollo, Isaac ben Moses ibn, 591 Aron ha-Edut, 279 Arphaxad, King, 379 Arroyo, Isaac ben Moses ibn, xlv, 687 Arta, 179, 221, 231, 905 Arugat ha-Bosem, 391 Arukh, xxi, 49, 105, 187, 257, 261, 277, 313, 391, 743, 755 Arukh ha-Kazar, he-, 105 Arukh ha-Shalem, 105 Aryeh, 251 Aryeh ben Solomon Hayyim of Moncelice, xxv, 227 Aryeh Mesubach, 125 Arzei Levanon, 903 Asarah Ma’amarot, 871 Ascarelli, Deborah, 901 Ascari, Eleazar, 821 Aschaffenburg, 759 Aschaffenburg, Simeon ben Isaac ha-Levi, xliii, 723, 759, 805 Asher Anshel of Cracow, 217, 837 Asher ben Jehiel, xv, xxvii, 5, 61, 71, 89, 107, 125, 139, 327, 341, 347, 351, 359, 401, 407, 457, 463, 467, 497, 531, 569, 615, 663, 819, 839, 883 Asher, Abraham ben Gedaliah ibn, xxi, lii, 593 Asheri, Sefer ha-, s. Piskei ha-Rosh Ashi, Rav, 71 Ashkeloni, Joseph ben Isaac, xlviii, 527, 717, 809, 821, 825, 877, 883 Ashkenaz, 645, 805, 891 Ashkenazi, Abraham ben Isaac, xlix, 669, 883 Ashkenazi, Berman, s. Issachar Ber ben Naphtali Katz Ashkenazi, Bezalel ben Abraham, xxii, 175, 853 Ashkenazi, Eliakim Segal, 231 Ashkenazi, Eliezer ben Elijah, 653, 721 Ashkenazi, Eliezer ben Isaac, xiv, xxix, xlix, 567, 629, 635, 645, 667, 669, 705, 757, 781 Ashkenazi, Eliezer, 883, 907 Ashkenazi, Elijah, 721 Ashkenazi, Hayyim ben Jacob, 349 Ashkenazi, Hayyim ben Samuel, 217 Ashkenazi, Isaac ben Eliezer, xlviii, 619, 627, 883 Ashkenazi, Jehiel ben Abraham Reuben, 245, 323 Ashkenazi, Jonah, 389, 409 Ashkenazi, Joseph ben Jacob Shalit, s. Shalit, Joseph ben Jacob Ashkenazi Ashkenazi, Joseph, 399, 661, 883 Ashkenazi, Saul ha-Kohen, 525, 637 Ashkenazi, Solomon, 623 Ashkenazi, Zekel, s. Solomon Isaac Yerushalmi ibn Menahem Asia, xlix, 91, 265, 669 Asis Rimmonim, 791 Assaf, S., 781 Assyria, 379 Astruc ha-Levi, 275, 411 Asufot, 643 Ateret Shelomo, 639, 911 Ateret Zekenim, xxvii

1001

index Augenspiegel, 29, 117 Augsburg, xiv, xxxv, xxxvi, 89, 123, 151, 213, 215, 243, 245, 247, 249, 269, 281, 315, 355, 357, 525, 569, 719, 827 Austria, 137, 427, 533, 891 Avadim, 529 Averroes, 141, 165, 275, 335, 421, 489, 515, 589, 633, 665, 815 Avicebron, s. Ibn Gabirol, Solomon ben Judah Avicenna, 515, 665 Avignon, 129, 291, 387, 707, 733 Avir Ya’acov, 79 Avkat Rokhel, xxxvi, 147, 177, 249, 483, 569, 659, 727, 881, 907 Avodah Zarah, xl, xliii, 85, 163, 445, 467, 527, 635, 677, 689 Avodat ha-Kodesh, 159, 517, 523, 535, 567, 609 Avodat ha-Levi, 295 Avodat Mikdash, 623 Avot, xxxvi, xliv, 7, 23, 155, 203, 211, 225, 397, 413, 419, 709, 751, 767, 825, 877, 907 Avot de-Rabbi Nathan, 529, 647, 669, 809 Axelrad, Bendit, 231 Ayllon, Abraham, xxi, 569 Ayumah ka-Nidgaloth, 579, 655, 657 Ayyalah Shelulah, 837 Ayyelet Ahavim, 373, 729 Azariah (Bonaiuto) ben Moses de Rossi, s. Rossi, Azariah (Bonaiuto) ben Moses de Azariah bar Simon, 409 Azariah ben Joseph, 309 Azharot, Sefer, xxxix, xlix, 39, 87, 101, 251, 363, 607 Azhorot Nashim, xxxviii Azmot Yosef, 835 Azriel, 121 Azriel ben Menahem of Gerona, 535, 543 Azubib, David ben Abraham, xliv, xlv, 687, 701, 731, 15, 737, 791, 835 Azulai, Abraham, 771 Azulai, Hayyim Joseph David, 331 B’nei Brak, xxii, 23, 829 B’nei Soncino, xvii, 23, 41, 77, 147 Ba Gad, xxii, 875 Ba’al ha-Akedah, s. Arama, Isaac ben Moses Ba’al ha-Hinnukh, 161 Ba’al ha-Hotem, s. Isaac ben Joseph of Corbeil Ba’al ha-Kelim, s. Keli Hemdah Ba’al ha-Ma’or, Sefer, 395 Ba’al ha-Tosafot, 739 Ba’al ha-Turim, s. Jacob ben Asher Ba’al Nes, s. Capusi, Hayyim Ba’al Shem Tov, 641 Ba’alei Tosafot, 33, 71, 107, 129, 157, 167, 233, 313, 445, 473, 487, 583, 587, 701, 819 Ba’er Heitev, 789 Babad, Joseph, 161 Babylonia, 49, 319, 343, 437, 781, 855 Bacharach, Jair Hayyim, 627 Baden, xxix, 17, 723 Baghdad, 59, 109, 537, 605, 611, 847, 855 Bagnol, 335 BaH, s. Sirkes, Joel Bahur, ha-, xxiii, 303, 501, 695 Bahya, s. Be’ur al ha-Torah

Bahya ben Asher ben Hlava, xvi, xxiv, 25, 53, 65, 67, 147, 315, 505, 569, 911 Bahya ben Joseph ibn Paquda, s. Ibn Paquda, Bahya ben Joseph Bak, Jacob ben Gershom, xxxviii, 895 Bakkashat Elef Alfin, 97 Bakkashat ha-Memim, 97 Balauhar, 119 Balkans, the, 603 Balmes, Abraham ben Meir de, 165, 283, 309 Bamberg, 357 Bar Kokhba, 53 Bar Sheshet, Isaac, s. Isaac ben Sheshet Perfet Baraita, 767 Baraita de-Rabbi Eliezer, s. Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer Barbary coast, xxxiii Barcelona, 5, 23, 121, 159, 161, 199, 239, 293, 411, 473, 869 Barco, xv, 35 Bari, 7, 117 Barlaam and Josaphat, 119 Baroka, R., 441 Baruch, Baruch ben Moses ibn, xxii, 875, 887, 899, 907 Baruch ben Isaac of Worms, 107, 167, 331 Baruch ibn Ya’ish, s. Ya’ish, Baruch ibn Baruch of Regensburg, s. Baruch ben Isaac of Worms Baruch of Salonika, 481 Baruch, David, 887 Baruch, Family, 887 Baruchson-Arbib, S.Z., xlix, l, liii, liv Basevi, Abraham ben Mattathias, s. Bath-Sheba, Abraham ben Mattathias Bashuysen, H.J. van, 273 Bashyatchi, 205 Bashyazi, Elija ben Moses, xlvii, 193, 205, 711 Bashyazi, Menahem ben Joseph, 205 Bashyazi, Moses, 205 Basir, Joseph ha-Ro’eh al-, 711 Basle, xiii, xxx–xxxii, xxxiv, 17, 53, 105, 117, 123, 187, 197, 215, 249, 261, 277, 303, 305, 307, 327, 341, 457, 509, 551, 635, 639, 677, 689, 697–701, 707, 719, 723, 799, 823, 843, 871, 891, 899, 911 Basola, Moses, 485, 747, 763 Basra, 343, 443 Bass, Shabbetai, 709 Bassan, Hayyim, 737 Basson, Isaac ben Samuel, 511 Bassudia, Moses, 669 Bath Sheba, 423 Bath-Sheba (Basevi) press, 799 Bath-Sheba (Basevi), Abraham ben Mattathias, xxx, xlix, 793, 799, 829, 831, 843, 867, 869 Bath-Sheba (Basevi), Abraham Joseph ben Mattathias, xlv, 793, 835, 881 Bath-Sheba (Basevi), Sabbatai Mattathias, xlv, 737, 793 Bath-Sheba, Fioretta, xlv Bath-Sheba, Joseph Abraham, s. Bath-Sheba, Abraham Joseph Battei ha-Nefesh, 347 Battei Hanhagat ha-Guf ha-Bari, 465 Bava Batra, 23, 85, 159, 163, 335, 635, 713, 899

1002

index Bava Kamma, 85, 163, 467, 615, 639, 647, 669, 713, 717, 903 Bava Mezia, 85, 163, 175, 223, 467, 713, 717, 903 Bavaria, xxxvii, 13, 315, 827 Bavas, the, 71 Bavel, 109 Bayazid II, Sultan, 9, 49 Bayit Hadash, 89 Bé, Guillaume le, xviii, xix, 601 Be’er ha-Golah, 625, 681, 889 Be’er la-Hai Ro’i, 461 Be’er Mayim Hayyim, 297, 811 Be’er Moshe, 789 Be’er Sheva, 805, 845 Be’ur al ha-Torah, xxi, 25, 27, 67, 147, 315, 587, 593, 911 Be’ur al Shir ha-Shirim, xxi Be’ur Perush ha-Ramban, 175 Be’ur Sefer Kohelet, 659 Be’ur Zeh Yaza Rishonah, lii, 571 Be’uri Zurat ha-Arez, 847 Be’urim, xxii, xxx, 137, 189, 533, 641, 759, 787, 805 Beatrice de Luna, s. Nasi, Doña Gracia Bedek ha-Bayit, 567 Beer, 391 Begidat ha-Zman, xxxvii Behinat Olam, xxv, 97, 299, 301, 309, 421, 901 Behinat Olam Kizzur, 299 Beilen Ashkenazi, Eliezer ben Jacob, 509 Beisan, s. Beth-Shean Beit Aharon, 867 Beit Avot, 771 Beit Din Yafeh, 785 Beit Elohim, 365, 643 Beit Middot, s. Ma’alot he-Middot Beit Tefillah, 607, 687 Beit Yosef, xxvii, 71, 89, 175, 239, 359, 491, 555, 631, 653, 779, 819, 907 Bekhor Shor, 587 Bekhor Shor, Joseph ben Isaac, 487 Belat, daughter of Eleazer ben Judah of Worms, 11 Belgrade, xlviii, 821, 875 Belin, Elijah, 315 Bellin, s. Beilen, Eliezer ben Jacob Belteshazzar, s. Daniel Belvedere, xlviii, 211, 655, 657, 795, 809, 821, 825 Belz, 789 Bemidbar Rabbah, 885 Ben Asher, 169 Ben Gorion ha-Kohen, Joseph, 277, 585 Ben Gurion, s. Josippon Ben ha-Melekh ve-ha-Nazir, 119 Ben Meir, Aaron, 437 Ben Naftali, 169 Ben Porat Yosef, 655, 657 Ben Shemu’el, 835 Ben Sira, 879 Ben Sira, Sefer, s. Alfa Beta of Ben Sira Ben Zion ben Raphael, 181 Benayahu, M., xviii, xxii, xxvii–xxix, xlv, 361 Bendit Axelrod ben Eleazar, 133 Benedict XIII, Pope, 275 Benevento, Immanuel ben Jekuthiel, 473, 485 Benjacob, I., 413, 459, 507

Benjamin (printer), xxii Benjamin (tribe), 691 Benjamin ben Abraham Anav, s. Anav, Benjamin ben Abraham Benjamin ben Jonah of Tudela, xxvi, 265, 723 Benjamin ben Judah of Rome, 123, 329 Benjamin Samuel ben Abraham, 639 Benjamin Ze’ev ben Mattathias of Arta, 229, 231, 905 Benjamin, brother of Zedekiah (ha-Rofei) ben Abraham, 321 Benveneste, Meir ben Samuel, 553 Benveniste, Hayyim, 297, 547, 659, 735 Benveniste, Joseph, 659, 877 Benveniste, Judah ben Abraham, 93 Benveniste, Meir, 885 Benveniste, Samuel, 93 Benveniste, Vidal, xvi, 91, 177 Benvineda, Signora, 377 Berab II, Jacob, 669 Berab, Jacob, 175, 365, 563, 825, 903 Basle, 17, 53, 105, 117, 123, 187, 197, 215, 249, 261, 277, 303, 305, 307, 327, 341, 457, 509, 551, 635, 639, 677, 689, 697, 699, 701, 707, 719, 723, 799, 823, 843, 891, 899, 911 Berakhot, xvi, xlv, 23, 31, 65, 71, 73, 83, 85, 113, 139, 157, 159, 163, 273, 313, 335, 343, 395, 415, 469, 471, 479, 633, 647, 677, 713, 717, 799 Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan, xxxii, 125, 451, 723, 725, 843 Bereshit, (s. also Genesis), xxiii, 461, 503, 679 Bereshit Rabbah, lii, 257, 261, 593, 885 Beretaro, Samuel ben Joshua Minzi, 775 Berit Avraham, 635, 661 Berlin, 79, 107, 123, 137, 191, 219, 465, 573, 625, 697, 733 Berlin, Saul, 107 Berne, Dietrich von, 911 Bernheimer, C., 507 Bertinoro, Obadiah ben Abraham Yare of, 351, 495, 647, 667 Besamim Rosh, 107 Bet Eked Sefarim, 459 Bet Elohim, 547 Bet Lehem Yehudah, 647 Bet Ya’akov, s. Baruch, Family Bet Yisrael, s. Ein Yisrael Beth-El, 763 Beth-Shean, 347 Bethulia, 379 Beyreuth, 529 Bezah, xvi, xli, 85, 113, 131, 175, 467, 531, 689, 713, 717, 735, 899 Bezalel, 655 Bezalel ben Abraham Ashkenazi, s. Ashkenazi, Bezalel ben Abraham Beziers, 487 Bi’ur ha-Get, 445 Bibago, Abraham ben Shem Tov (Yom Tov), 141, 383 Bibas, Joseph ben Yoel, 43 Bible, xviii, xxxii–xxxiv, xxxviii, xliv, xlv, xlvii, xlix, l, 175, 179, 183, 207, 211, 217, 219, 225, 257, 261, 281, 303, 347, 349, 375, 379, 413, 425, 437, 451, 515, 521, 537, 539, 581, 587, 605,

1003

index 643, 655, 673, 683, 691, 707, 723, 751, 753, 761, 779, 795, 821, 837 Bible, Complutensian Polyglot, 55, 99, 601 Bible, Ferrara, xxvi, 389 Bible, Hebrew/Biblia Hebraica, xxv, xxxiii, 41, 53, 81, 173, 187, 237, 305, 625, 859 Bible, Hexaglot, 741 Bible, King James, 305 Bible, Latin, xxxi Bible, Polyglot, xvii, 325, 601, 741 Bible, Rabbinic/Biblia Rabbinica, (s. also Mikra’ot Gedolot), 81, 225, 305, 335, 601 Biblia Regia, s. Bible, Polyglot Biblia Sacra, xxxiv, 741 Biblia Sacra hebraice, chaldaice, graece et latine . . ., xxxiii, 601 Bibliotheca instituta et collecta, 283 Bibliotheca universalis, xviii, liv, 283 Bibus, Joseph ben Joel, 9, 121 Bidhapti, 451 Bilgoraj, 771 Binyam Olam, 735 Binyamin Ze’ev, 229, 231, 611, 905 Birkat ha-Mazon, xiii, xxiii, xxx, xxxiii, xxxiv, xxxvii, 641, 647 Birkot Maharam, xxx, 471 Bistrowitz, xliii, 7, 803, 847 Bitolj, 481 Bitonto, 309 Bittul Ikkarei ha-Nozerim, 421 Blado, Antonio, xxiii, 293, 307, 679 Bloch, J., xvii–xix, xxii, xxix, li, 541 Blumlein, s. Aaron of Neustadt Boaz, 577 Boaz, Joshua ben Simon Baruch, xix, xxvi, 327, 395, 401, 469 Boehm, Samuel ben Isaac, xiv, xxi, xxviii, xxx, xxxix, xli, 417, 535, 569, 589, 609, 621, 713 Boeschenstein, Johann, xxxv, 115 Bohemia, xv, xxxvii, xlii, xlix, 243, 667, 779, 781 Bologna, xxv, 133, 135, 225, 227, 233, 235, 239, 251, 285, 587, 697, 751 Bomberg, Daniel, xiii, xiv, xvi–xx, xxii, xxxiii, xxxvi, l, liii, liv, 29, 31, 47, 81, 85, 89, 95, 111, 113, 125, 133, 135, 137, 139, 143, 147, 149, 151, 155, 157, 159, 161, 165, 167, 169, 171, 177, 183, 189, 191, 193, 197, 209, 231, 241, 263, 277, 283, 285, 287, 289, 301, 303, 305, 309, 313, 319, 321, 329, 335, 337, 345, 361, 377, 385, 395, 401, 467, 529, 551, 629, 671, 689 Bomberg, David, (fictitious), 191 Bomberghen, Cornelius van, xxxiii, 81, 601 Bomberghen, H. van, 191 Bonafos, Menahem ben Abraham, 591 Bonafoux Abraham of Perpignan, s. Bonafos, Menahem ben Abraham Boner, Ulrich, 843 Bonfed, Solomon ben Reuben, 663 Bongoda, daughter of Jonah Demaestre, 87 Book on the Cardinal Points of Religion, The, 291 Borgia, Cesare, xv Borne, Dirck van, xxxiii Bosphorus, xlviii, 821, 877 Botarel, Moses ben Isaac, 543, 613 Boton, Abraham ben Moses di, 835, 903

Boton, Jacob di, 547 Bove-Bukh, xxxvi, 255, 831 Bozecco (Bozecchi), Benjamin ben Judah, 123 Bragadin, Alvise, xx, xxi, liv, 171, 361, 365, 371, 381, 385, 391, 393, 395, 463, 555, 581, 631, 675, 693, 785 Bragadin, Alvise III, xxi Bragadin, Giovanni, 785 Brahe, Tycho, 801 Brandt Spiegel, xxxi, xxxviii Breda, 249 Bresch, Loeb, s. Judah Loeb ben Moses Naphtali Brescia, xv, 219, 333, 677, 823 Brevi Discorsi et Eficacissimi Rocordi per Liberare Ogni Citta Oppressa dal Mal Contagiosi, 755 Breydenbach, Bernhardus de, xxxv Brindisi, 7 Brisk, 639, 725 Brixiense, Marco Marino, 677 Brocario, Arnaldi Guillelmi de, 55 Brocario, John, 55 Broda, Abraham, 595, 873 Broën, Antonio, xxix, 469, 489 Brooklyn, 811 Brucioli, Francesco, xx, 815 Bruna, Israel, 135, 357, 475 Brussels, 657 Buber, S., 545 Buda, 833 Budapest, 569 Budasaph, 119 Buddha, 119 Bueno, Solomon ben Jacob, 653 Bulat, Judah ben Joseph ibn, xlvii, 207, 273 Bulgaria, 517, 905 Bumslau, Zalman, s. Dan, Jekuthiel ben Isaac Buovo d’Antona, s. Bove-Bukh Burg, Adam, 827 Burgau, 827 Burgos, 271 Burnett, S.G., xxxvii, lii Bursa, 785 Busal, Hayyim ben Jacob Obadiah de, 297 Bustanai, 673 Buzaglo, Shalom, 461 Byzantine Empire, 277, 739 Cabbala Denudata, 773 Cabolli, Solomon ben Menahem, 499 Cairo, xlix, 347, 415, 455, 853 Calatayud, 145 Caleb, Samuel, 881 Calendar, l, 35 Calo, Maestro, s. Kalonymus ben Kalonymus ben Meir ha Nasi Calvo, Andrea, 397 Calvo, Francesco Minizio, li, 369, 397 Cambridge, xxxvi, 173, 665, 673 Campensis, Johannes, xxxiv Candia, 637, 673 Canisius, Peter, 845 Canizal, Jacob, 179 Canizal, Sefer, s. Perushim le-Rashi Canpanton, Isaac ben Jacob, 157, 175, 493, 589, 807

1004

index Canton, Isaac Berachiah, 353 Cantori, Joshua dei, xxix, 469 Capistrano, Juan di, 209 Capnion, s. Reuchlin, Johannes Capsali, Moses, 135, 189, 281 Capusi, Hayyim, 853 Caraffa, Giovanni Pietro, Cardinal, (s. also Paul IV, Pope), xx, 385 Carben, Victor von, xxxv Çarça, 493 Carlos, King of Sicily, 123 Caro, Isaac, xxx, xliv, li, 849, 877, 881 Caro, Joseph ben Ephraim, xxvii, xl, xlv, 31, 71, 89, 175, 195, 219, 235, 239, 273, 297, 331, 359, 365, 373, 463, 483, 555, 563, 571, 593, 611, 625, 631, 653, 659, 667, 669, 675, 691, 713, 727, 749, 771, 775, 779, 783, 795, 819, 825, 871, 881, 907 Caro, Judah, 881 Caspi, Joseph ben Abba Mari, 673 Castelnuovo, Samuel ben Moses, 901 Castiglione, Giovanni da, 397 Castile, 93, 109, 155, 199, 223, 235, 273, 333, 525, 557, 585, 589, 671, 801, 807 Castro, Moses, 563 Catalonia, 27, 633 Catherine of Aragon, 173 Cavallero, Isaac ben Shem Tov, 381 Cavalli, Giacomo, 569 Cavalli, Giorgio di, xxi, xxxix, 539, 555, 569, 571, 573, 583, 609, 675, 679 Cellarius, Johannes, xxxiii Cephalonia, xx Cervera, 33 Cesena, 177, 225 Ceylon, 265 Chajes, Isaac ben Abraham, xxxviii, xliii, 627 Chajes, Monish, 627 Chaldaica Grammatica, 187 Chambéry, xv, 83, 135, 209 Chanan, R., 265 Charles V, Emperor, 195, 387, 657 Charles IX, Duc d’Orleans, King of France, 635 Chelm, 899 China, 265 Christiani, Pablo, 121 Chroniche de la Origine Veneti, 85 Chronicles, 235, 335, 641 Chuete, 387 Chufut-Kale, 193 Cicero, 775 Cincinnati, 291 Ciudad, Juan de, 141 Clair, C., xxxi Clark, Marie de, 191 Clavis Talmudica, 273 Clavius, 489 Clement VI, Pope, 515 Clement VII, Pope, 181, 195 Clovis, 387 Cochin, 733 Colines, Simon de, 237 Colo, Joseph, 225 Cologne, xxxiv, 29, 61, 99, 115, 257, 501, 615, 815

Colon, Joseph ben Solomon, 135, 181, 351, 707 Colonna, Francesco, 3 Columbus, Christopher, 99, 585, 599 Columbus, Ferdinand, 99 Company of Silk Weavers, xxv, 225, 227, 233, 235, 239 Comtino, Mordecai ben Eliezer, 189, 205 Conat, Abraham ben Solomon, xxiii, xxv, 53, 277 Concordantiae bibliorum hebraicae, 707 Conforte, David, 623 Consolaçam as tribulaçoens de Israel, xxvi Constance, s. Konstanz Constantinople, xiv, xv, xviii, xliii–xlix, lii, 5–9, 15, 21, 23, 25, 27, 31–39, 47, 49, 59, 61, 63, 65, 67, 71, 73, 75, 79, 83, 87, 89, 91, 93, 97, 103, 107, 109, 119, 121, 127, 131, 135, 141, 145, 147, 151, 157, 159, 163, 171, 175, 177, 179, 189, 197–211, 215, 217–223, 229, 233, 239, 245, 247, 249, 253, 265, 267, 271, 273, 275, 277, 279, 281, 283, 285, 287, 289, 291, 293, 295, 299, 309, 311, 317, 323, 325, 329, 331, 337, 341, 345, 349, 361, 363, 373, 379, 383, 389, 395, 403, 417, 419, 421, 423, 425, 431, 439, 441, 445, 453, 455, 463, 465, 467, 469, 479, 481, 483, 493, 499, 517, 523, 527, 531, 535, 537, 545, 547, 553, 557, 565, 569, 579, 585, 595, 603, 605, 607, 619, 621, 623, 627, 629, 631, 633, 635, 637, 643, 645, 649, 655, 657, 663, 665, 667, 669, 673, 685, 691, 695, 803, 807, 809, 817, 821, 837, 839, 863, 867, 877, 883, 885, 887 Conti, Vincenzo, xxvi–xxviii, xxxii, 417, 425, 429, 433, 435, 439, 445, 453, 457, 465, 477, 485, 487, 491, 501, 503, 535, 557, 565, 567, 575, 595, 653, 677, 689, 711, 717, 727, 733, 739, 745, 749, 757, 761, 781, 785, 795 Copernicus, 489 Cordovero, Gedaliah, 747, 749, 761, 763 Cordovero, Moses ben Jacob, xli, xlv, 623, 667, 695, 747, 749, 761, 763, 771, 791, 871, 909 Corfu, 21, 229, 231, 289, 369, 905 Cornazano, 117 Corsica, 99 Corvinus, Antonius, 243 Cosimo I, Duke of Florence, 571 Cowley, A.E., xxxv Cracow, xiii, xiv, xxxviii–xli, xliii, xlvii, li, 5, 23, 25, 31, 33, 47, 65, 73, 89, 93, 149, 155, 189, 195, 217, 223, 245, 247, 269, 271, 277, 281, 287, 299, 307, 311, 315, 317, 327, 341, 345, 369, 379, 395, 403, 417, 465, 469, 479, 483, 491, 503, 523, 525, 535, 557, 563, 573, 577, 581, 585, 589, 609, 615, 621, 627, 635, 639, 641, 647–653, 661, 675, 681, 689, 697, 701, 703, 705, 709, 713, 721, 725, 731, 739, 743, 751, 759, 765–769, 773, 777, 779, 783, 787–791, 799, 805, 811, 819, 821, 833, 837, 839, 855, 871, 873, 877, 891, 899, 911 Crato, Johann, 753 Crato, Zachariah, 753, 859 Craton, s. Crato, Zachariah Cremona, xxv, xxvii–xxix, xxxii, xliii, 7, 11, 23, 135, 159, 259, 293, 301, 417, 425, 427, 429, 433, 435, 439, 445, 453, 457, 465, 469, 477, 485, 487, 491, 501, 503, 535, 557, 563, 565,

1005

index 567, 575, 589, 593, 613, 615, 653, 677, 679, 719, 721, 773, 803, 815, 829 Crescas, Hasdai, xxvi, 23, 75, 145, 275, 291, 293, 323, 389, 411, 421, 515, 633 Crete, 439, 637 Crimea, xviii, 193, 653, 855 Cusi, Meshullam, 355 Cyprus, 653, 657, 721 Da’at Elyon, 421 Da’at Zekanim, 487 Dabar Tov, xxvii Dalat al-Ha’rin, s. Moreh Nevukhim Damascus, xlix, 265, 563, 585, 645, 673, 685, 727, 757, 795, 843 Dan, 91, 201 Dan, Jekuthiel ben Isaac, xxxvii, 57 Daniel, 21, 37, 69, 195, 235, 335, 367, 513, 521, 595, 705, 753, 795, 805, 837, 907 Daniel ben Perahyah ha-Kohen, 599 Dante, 219, 489, 845 Darash Moshe, 179 Darkhei ha-Gemara, 157, 807 Darkhei ha-Talmud, s. Darkhei ha-Gemara Darkhei Moshe, 89, 247, 491, 819, 911 Darkhei No’am, 309 Daroca, 275 Darshan, ha-, s. Laniado, Samuel ben Abraham David ben Abraham of Modena, xxvii David ben Hayyim Kohen of Corfu, 229, 231 David ben Isaac de Pomis, s. Pomis, David ben Isaac de David ben Jacob, 797 David ben Jonathon, xxxv David ben Joseph Abudarham, s. Abudarham, David ben Joseph David ben Joseph Kimhi, s. Kimhi, David ben Joseph David ben Judah Messer Leon, s. Leon, David ben Judah Messer David ben Solomon Gans, s. Gans, David ben Solomon David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra, 673, 853, 903 David ben Solomon ibn Yahya, s. Ibn Yahya, David ben Solomon David ben Solomon Vital, s. Vital, David ben Solomon David ben Zakkai, 437 David Bonet Bonjorn, 663 David ha-Darshan, 609 David ha-Kohen, 221, 905 David, King, 45, 61, 109, 151, 185, 211, 243, 259, 269, 281, 423, 461, 731, 757, 877, 893 Dayyan, Menahem, 175 De accentibus et orthographia linguae hebraicae, xxxiv, 115 De arcanis catholicae veritatis, xvi, xviii, 117, 241 De arte cabalistica, xxxiv, 115 De Medico Hebraeo Enarratio Apologetica, 755 De optimo Reipublicae, xxxi De re militaria, 117 De remediis, 347 De Rossi, Azariah, s. Rossi, Azariah (Bonaiuto) ben Moses de De rudimentis Hebraicis, 17, 115 De verbo mirifico, 17

De’ot ha-Filosofim, 547 Decachordum Christianum, xiii, xv, 13, 25, 27, 45, 63, 77, 83, 85, 89, 105, 113, 117, 131, 205, 209, 245, 323, 349, 383 Decree Ordering the Confiscation and Burning of the Talmud, 385 Degel Ahavah, 391 Delacrut, Mattathias ben Solomon, 385, 525, 779, 847 Delmedigo, Elijah, 393 Delmedigo, Joseph Solomon, 141, 653, 721, 735, 751, 871 Derash Moshe, 765 Derashah, 627 Derashot, xxxviii Derashot, (by Levi ben Jacob Ibn Habib), 563 Derashot, (by Nissim Gerondi), 383 Derashot, (by Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno), 225 Derashot, Sefer ha-, (by David ben Judah Messer Leon), 79 Derashot (Sefer ha-Mefo’ar/Sefer ha-Musar), (by Solomon Molcho), xl, xliv, xlvii, 109, 195, 701 Derashot ha Torah, xxx, xl, 535, 589, 621 Derekh Emunah, xxx, 141, 517, 523, 535, 679 Derekh Erez, 529 Derekh Ez Hayyim, 297 Derekh ha-Kodesh, s. Biblia Sacra Derekh Hayyim, 235, 623, 681, 705, 721, 767, 893 Derishah u-Perishah, 639 Derush al ha-Neshamah, 397 Derush be-Hilkhot Pesah, 207 Demaestre, Jonah, 87 Dessau, 21, 371 Destructio Cabalae, 115 Deuteronomy, 285, 369, 651, 693 Devar Shemu’el, 375, 865 Devarim Rabbah, 865, 885 Devek Tov, 189, 243, 759, 805 Deventer, xxxiii Dialoghi di Amore, 7 Dictionarium Chaldaicum, xxxi, 187 Dictionarium Hebraicum . . . adiectis Chaldaicis vocabulis, 187 Dictionarium hebraicum novum, xxxi Dikduk Leshon Ebri, 225 Dikduk Tefillah, 505 Dikduk, Sefer, (s. also Mikneh Avram), xvi, xxiii, xxxiii–xxxv, xlvii, l, 117, 123, 303, 329 Dikdukei Rashi, xxx, 507 Dikdukim, 79, 329 Dilaz, 437 Dimitrovsky, H., 101 Dinei de-Garme, 157 Dinei Nashim, 881 Dinim ve-Seder, 873 Dinim, Sefer ha-, 297 Diplovatazio, Tommaso, 27 Divine Comedy, 219, 489 Divrei ha-Alah ve-ha-Niddui, 271 Divrei ha-Bayit Sheni, xxxv Divrei ha-Yamim le-Moshe Rabbenu, 91, 127, 177 Divrei ha-Yamin le-Malkhei Zarefat u-le-Malkhei Beit Ottoman ha-Togar, xxvii, 387 Divrei Malkhei Yisrael be-Vayit Sheni, 53 Divrei Rivot, s. She’elot u’Teshuvot Divrei Rivot

1006

index Divrei Shalom, xxii, xlv, 715, 907 Divrei Shelomo, xxii, 559, 861 Dodi ve-Nekhdi, 451 Doni, G.F., xxviii Donin, Nicholas, 337, 513 Donne, Francesco dalle, xxx, 831, 829, 843 Donnolo, Shabbetai, 543 Dore, Andrea, Doge, 387 Doresh Tov, 671 Doron, Judah, 415 Dorp, Martin van, xxxi Draconi, Christopher, xxix, 567, 653 Drifzan, Naphtali Hertz ben Eliezer, 315, 505 Drucker, Samuel, 709 Drusius, Johannes Clemens, xxxii, 879 Drusius fil., Johannes, 879 Du Bois, Michel, xix Dueren, 341 Dueren, Isaac ben Meir, xxxii, xxxviii, xlvii, 137, 151, 167, 341, 379, 409, 615, 635, 639, 641, 783, 911 Dukes, J.L., 353 Dulcina, wife of Eleazer ben Judah of Worms, 11 Dunash ben Labrat, 329 Duran, Isaac ben Moses Profiat, 309, 371, 663 Duran, Profiat, 421 Duran, Simeon ben Zemah, xxii, 87, 225, 275, 323, 331, 389, 411, 663 Duran, Solomon ben Simeon, 663 Duran, Solomon ben Zemah, 865 Dürer, Albrecht, xxx Early Prophets, s. Prophets, Former (s. also Nevi’im Rishonim) Ebronot, Sefer, xxx, 509 Ecclesiastes, (s. also Kohelet), xlviii, 173, 225, 645, 649, 673, 687, 703, 733, 755, 887, 907, 909, 911 Eckerdorf, Isaac, xxxii Edels, Samuel Eliezer ben Judah ha-Levi, xxxii, 557, 899 Edelstein, Der, 843 Edom, s. Rome Eduyyot, 163 Efodi, s. Duran, Isaac ben Moses Profiat Egozi, Menahem ben Moses, xlviii, 809 Egypt, 7, 19, 35, 91, 185, 265, 319, 347, 367, 379, 415, 437, 455, 517, 523, 653, 669, 673, 685, 721, 733, 751, 853 Eichorn, 859 Eikhah Rabbah, 131 Eilenborg, Issachar Baer, 557 Eilenburg, Judah Leib ben Obadiah, 243 Eilu Yamim she-Mitanin-Bahem, 127 Ein ha-Kore, 79 Ein ha-Talmud, 467 Ein Mishpat, xix, 327, 337, 395, 469, 671 Ein Ya’akov, s. Ein Yisrael Ein Yisrael, xx, xxi, xliv, xlvi, 43, 93, 163, 563, 569, 573, 617, 765, 789 Ein Zeitun, 909 Ein-Gedi, 155 Eisenstadt, I.T., 413 Eisenstein, E.L., xxxiii Eishet Hail, 845 El Mi Anusa le-Ezra, 513

El Qsar el Kebir, 155 Elbaum, J., liii Elbe, river, 753 Eldad ha-Dani, 91, 127 Eleazer ben Abraham Solomon ha-Kohen, 365 Eleazar ben Jacob, 427, 433 Eleazar ben Judah of Worms, xv, l, li, 11, 317, 501, 543, 561, 583, 599, 709, 731 Eleazer ben Raphael, 385 Eleazer ha-Gadol, s. Eliezer ben Isaac of Worms Eleazer, son of Simeon bar Yohai, 485, 771 Eliano, Giovanni Battista, s. Romano, Solomon Eliano, Vittorio, xxi–xxiii, xxviii, 341, 427, 445, 465, 487, 501, 503, 569, 679 Eliezer, R., 677, 903 Eliezer ben Abina, 423 Eliezer ben Elijah Ashkenazi, s. Ashkenazi, Eliezer ben Elijah Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, 595 Eliezer ben Isaac Ashkenazi, xlii, xliii, xlviii Eliezer ben Isaac of Worms, 531, 599, 611, 627 Eliezer ben Joel ha-Levi of Bonn, 233, 479, 583 Eliezer ben Meshullam, xlii Eliezer ben Nathan of Mainz, 429, 647 Eliezer ben Samuel of Metz, xxxix, 233, 513, 583 Eliezer ben Yose ha-Gelili, 445 Eliezer ha-Gadol, 127 Eliezer of Mainz, xxviii Eliezer of Metz, xxi Eliezer of Touques, 475 Elijah, 67, 511 Elijah Ba’al Shem, s. Loanz, Elijah ben Moses Elijah Bahur Ashkenazi Segal, s. Levita (Bahur), Elijah ben Asher ha-Levi Ashkenazi Elijah ben Abraham Mizrahi, s. Mizrahi, Elijah ben Abraham Elijah ben Asher ha-Levi Ashkenazi Levita (Bahur), s. Levita (Bahur), Elijah ben Asher ha-Levi Ashkenazi Elijah ben Hayyim, 499 Elijah ben Menahem ha-Zaken 227 Elijah ben Moses Bashyazi, s. Bashyazi, Elijah ben Moses Elijah ben Moses de Vidas, s. Vidas, Elijah ben Moses de Elijah ben Moses Loanz, s. Loanz, Elijah ben Moses Elijah ben Moses, s. Gallena, Moses ben Elijah Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, 855 Elijah, Galmidi, 629 Elijah ha-Levi, 189 Elijah ha-Tishbi, 559 Elijah ibn Hayyim, 809 Elijah of Pesaro, 653 Elijah, prophet, 441, 697, 895 Elimah Rabbati, 749 Elis, Isaac ben Moses, 731 Elisha ben Gabriel Gallico, s. Gallico, Elisha ben Gabriel Elkanah, 307 Elleh ha-Devarim, lii Elmaleh (Almalik), Family, 423 Elmalik, Abraham ben Judah, xxvi, 423 Em ha-Yeled, 873 Emden, 879

1007

index Emden, Jacob, 425, 485, 519 Emek Berakhah, 661 Emek ha-Bakha, xxix, 387 Empereur, Constantin L’, 273 Emunot, Sefer ha-, xxvi, 275, 389, 419, 421, 589 Emunot ve-ha-De’ot, Sefer ha-, xlvii, 325, 437, 451, 519, 537, 665, 815 Enelow, H.G., 279 England, xviii, liii, 129, 173, 183, 451 Enoch, 91 Enosh, 387 Enrique IV, King of Castile, 421 Enschechin, Asher (Israel), 393 Ensisheim, 435, 457 Ephraim, 31 Ephraim of Padua, 807 Ephraim Solomon ben Aaron of Luntshits, 699, 837, 851 Ephraim, Mount, 763 Epigrammata (by Erasmus), xxxi Epirus, 231 Episcopius, Nicholas, xxxi Epistles (by St. Paul), xxxi Epistola apologetica, xxxiv Epitome, 489 Epstein, Meir ben Jacob ha-Levi, xxxvii, 57 Erasmus, Desiderius, xxxi, 29, 55, 99 Ercole I d’Este, Duke, xxxvi, 733 Erez Israel, xliii, xlvi, xlix, 19, 23, 37, 47, 49, 63, 71, 121, 131, 149, 167, 239, 265, 293, 313, 319, 347, 351, 373, 437, 483, 535, 595, 603, 611, 619, 627, 635, 637, 645, 647, 657, 667, 669, 685, 689, 691, 693, 759, 771, 773, 811, 833, 853, 855, 865 Erfurt, 357, 615 Eruvin, xxvii, xlvi, 15, 83, 85, 239, 263, 265, 293, 401, 445, 713, 717 Esdraelon, 379 Eshkol ha-Kofer, 155 Esrim ve-Arbeh, Moses, 269, 281 Esslingen 115 Este family, xxvi Estella, 207, 407 Esther, xlix, 145, 155, 253, 449, 491, 533, 539, 561, 595, 659, 669, 785, 847, 867, 877 Esther Rabbah, 131 Esther, wife of Jacob Pollack, 833 Esther, wife of Abraham Ibn Migash, 727 Estienne, Henri I, 237 Estienne, Henri II, 237 Estienne, Robert, xxxii, xxxiii, 99 Estori ben Moses ha Parhi, 347 Ethiopia, 91 Ettlingen, xxix Euclid, 225, 335 Eupatoria, 205 Europe, l, liii, 115, 237, 265, 491 Europe, Central, 183, 427, 891 Europe, Eastern, 803 Europe, Northern, 485 Europe, Western, 29 Eusebius Hieronymus, xxx, xxxi, 99, 141, 305 Eve, 185, 269, 497, 595 Even Bohan, 219, 301

Even ha-Ezer, xxi, xxvii, 89, 245, 359, 569, 835, 881 Everborght, Laurent van, 601 Evreux, Moses ben Shneur, 23 Evreux, Samuel ben Shneur, 23, 33 Exodus, 25, 285, 681, 693, 893 Exodus Rabbah, 655 Extremos y Grandezas de Constantinopla, 547, 549 Eylenburg, Issachar Baer, 805 Ez Hayyim, 811 Ez Shatul, 275 Eze ha-Dat, 493 Ezekiel, 77, 651 Ezekiel, Moses ben Jacob, 781 Ezobi, Joseph ben Hanan ben Nathan, 5 Ezra, 121, 235, 703, 804 Ezra ben David Ovadiah ha-Rofeh, 181 Ezra ben Isaac of Fano, 545 Ezra ben Solomon of Gerona, 423 Ezrat Nashim, 271 Fabriano, 27 Facilino, Moses ben Samuel, 239 Fagiot da Montecchio, Giovanni Giacomo, xxiii Fagius, Paulus, xxxvi, 255, 257, 259, 261, 551, 879 Faiyum, 437 Falcon, Shneur (Senior) ben Judah, 517, 523, 535, 593 Falk, Joshua ben Alexander, 491, 639, 837 Famagusta, 653, 762 Fano, xiii–xvi, l, 5, 11, 13, 19, 23, 27, 85, 89, 99, 105, 147, 227, 245, 247, 275, 345, 729, 749, 761 Fano, Jacob, xxvi, 389 Fano, Menahem Azariah da, 729, 735, 749, 761, 763, 771, 791, 871 Faraj literature, 441 Farhi, 347 Farissol, Abraham ben Mordecai, 95, 733 Farnese, Pier Luigi, xxiii Farri, brothers dei, xx, 109, 275 Farri, Giovanni dei, 273, 275, 277, 279 Fasi, Joseph, 365, 817 Ferdinand, King of Bohemia, xxxvii Ferdinand I, King of Naples, 165 Ferdinand, King of Castile, 45 Fernández de Córdoba, Alfonso, 9 Ferrante II, King, 367 Ferrara, xxv, xxvi, xxxvi, liii, 121, 133, 177, 211, 235, 251, 265, 275, 299, 309, 315, 335, 367, 381, 389, 393, 407–411, 413, 415, 417, 421, 423, 431, 441, 455, 473, 521, 589, 625, 683, 733, 751, 857 Fez, xliv, xlix, 31, 75, 89, 101, 103, 155, 245, 247, 395, 473, 691, 865, 903 Figo, Azariah, 869 Figo, Moses ben Joseph, xv, 383 Filipponi, Francesco, 495, 597 Filipponi, the sons of, 597 Finzi, Abraham Raphael ben Jacob da, 133 Finzi, Jacob, 751 Finzi-Norsa dispute, lii Firkovich, Abraham, 205 Firman, Joseph, 737 Flanders, 95, 733 Florence, 79, 235 Florenza, 347

1008

index Foa, Eliezer, xxvii Foa, Mordcai, xxvii Foa, Tobias, xxvi, 369, 387, 395, 397, 399, 401, 427, 495, 799 Fons Vitae, 363 Forti (Hazketto), Baruch Uzziel ben Baruch, 367 Fostat, 653, 721 Foster (Foester), Johan, xxxi Fraenkel, David ben Naphtali Hirsch, 371 Fraga, 145 France, xv, xxxii, 9, 59, 83, 109, 129, 135, 151, 167, 209, 237, 239, 265, 299, 315, 323, 343, 347, 355, 371, 387, 407, 445, 463, 475, 487, 583, 585, 591, 617, 635, 815 Francesco da Bologna, s. Griffo, Francesco Francis I, King of France 237, 387, 657 Franeker, 477, 879 Frankfort on the Main, xxxi, xxxiii, xxxiv, 273, 277, 289, 315, 327, 329, 421, 433, 505, 573, 581, 585, 601, 615, 627, 647, 677, 697, 725, 759, 801, 833, 911 Frankfort on the Oder, 5, 97, 753, 785, 859, 885 Frankfurter, Akiva, 911 Frankfurter, Moses, 179, 557 Frederick III, Emperor, 17 Fregoso, Ottoviano, 99 Freiburg-im-Breisgau, xxxii, 187, 265, 275, 451,707, 719, 723, 725, 759 Freimann, A., xxxv, 585 Friedberg, Ch. B., xx, xxvi, xxxi, xxxii, xxxv, xxxix–xlii, xliv, 459, 811, 911 Friedl, F., xxxiii Friesland, 879 Froben, Ambrosius, xxxi, 677, 697, 699, 701, 707, 719, 723 Froben, Aurelius, xxxi Froben, Hieronymus, xxxi, 723 Froben, Johannes, xxxi, 187 Fuente Clara, xlv, 793 Fuerth, 209, 269, 491, 573 Fuki, 711 Fuki, Judah, 193 Fuks, L., xxxiv Fuks-Mansfeld, R.G., xxxiv Fulda, 911 Fulda, Reuben, 801 Fust, Johann, xxx Gabbai, Abraham, 785 Gabbai, Hayyim ben Meir ibn, 517, 523 Gabbai, Joseph, 47 Gabbai, Meir ben Ezekiel ibn, xxx, 17, 523, 535, 609 Gad, 195, 733, 875 Gakon, Isaac, 37 Gal shel Egozim, xlviii, 809 Galante, Abraham ben Mordecai, 671, 771 Galante, Moses ben Mordecai, xlix, 175, 667, 771, 773 Galatinus, Pietro Columna, xvi, xviii, 117 Galen, Claudius, 125, 465 Galicchi (Gallico) Family, 845 Galilee, 277 Galinus ha-Rofei, s. Galen, Claudius

Gallena, Elijah, xxviii Gallena, Moses ben Elijah, 439 Gallico, Elisha ben Gabriel, 659, 761, 877 Gallico, Samuel, 791 Gallipoli, 603 Gamaliel, R., 43 Gan Eden. Hortus Edun. grammatica Linguae Sanctae, 823 Gans, David ben Solomon, xxxviii, 505, 627, 777, 801 Gantz Juedisch Glaub, Der, xxxv Gara, Daniel di, xxii Gara, Giovanni di, xxii, 619, 633, 637, 649, 651, 659, 671, 683, 691, 693, 695, 721, 729, 733, 735, 737, 745, 747, 749, 751, 755, 759, 761, 763, 771, 775, 785, 795, 813, 825, 841, 845, 849, 857, 865, 871, 885, 893, 897 Garci Ordóñez, s. Montalvo, Garci Rodrigues de Gardano, Allesandro, 675 Garden of Eden, 733 Gaskell, Ph., lii, liii Gattino, Hayyim ben Samuel ibn, 503 Gaza, 185, 757 Gedaliah ben Joseph ibn Yahya, s. Ibn Yahya, Gedaliah ben Joseph Gedaliah, Judah, xliii, xliv, 69, 93, 145, 163, 195, 581, 599, 743 Gedaliah, Moses, 163 Gedarim, Sefer ha-, 349, 493, 591 Gei Hizzayon, 845 Geisler, Peter, 827 Gelnhausen, Jacob, 433 Gemara, s. Talmud Gemmingen, Uriel von, Elector and Archbishop of Mayence, 29 Gemze, Simon zur, s. Guenzburg, Simeon ben Judah ha-Levi Genebrard, Gilbert, 52, 617 Genesis, (s. also Bereshit), xxx, xxxvi, xlviii, 483, 679, 693, 795, 809, 825, 893 Genesis Rabbah, 911 Geneva, xv, xxxii, 83, 209, 237 Genoa, 99, 387 Geraldinus, Jacobus, Archbishop, 485 Gerim, 529 Germany, xxix, xxx, xxxii, xxxiv, 5, 61, 129, 135, 147, 167, 195, 239, 265, 303, 343, 355, 429, 457, 475, 501, 583, 597, 615, 709, 723, 753, 827, 879 Gerona, 121 Gerondi, Jonah ben Abraham, xv, xxvi, xxxii, xxxiii, xlvii, 23, 25, 31, 67, 159, 379, 389, 409, 469, 603, 723, 739, 839 Gerondi, Moses, 95 Gerondi, Nissim ben Reuben, xxiii, 31, 93, 293, 323, 379, 383, 411, 445, 469, 619, 735 Gerondi, Perez ben Isaac, 473 Gerondi, Zerahiah ben Isaac ha-Levi, 395 Gershom ben Solomon ha-Kohen, 57 Gershon ben Solomon of Arles, 339, 497 Gershon, Isaac ben Mordecai, xx, 539, 643, 735, 771, 841, 871, 893, 905, 907, 909 Gershon, son in law of Joseph Colon, 135 Gershon, son of Elijah Mizrahi, 499

1009

index Gersonides, Levi, xx, xxv, xxx, xxxvii, xxxviii, 51, 95, 169, 335, 375, 419, 515, 521, 561, 633, 637, 693, 705, 839 Gersonides, the, 613, 889 Gesner, Conrad, xviii, liv, 283 Gevurot ha-Shem, 681, 705 Gezerat Oestreich, 647 Ghislieri, Michele, Cardinal, s. Pius V, Pope Gibbon, E., 265 Giddulei Terumah, 867 Gikatilla, Joseph ben Abraham, xxx, xxxv, 307, 423, 525 Gilgulei Neshamot, 871 Ginnat Egoz, 525, 809 Ginsburg, C.D., liii, 143 Ginzberg, L., 579 Ginzei Yisrael, 75 Gittin, xxvii, xlii, xlv, 43, 85, 157, 159, 163, 401, 527, 531, 627, 713, 881 Giulio de’ Medici, s. Clement VII, Pope Giustiniani, Agostino, 99 Giustiniani, Bernardo, 805 Giustiniani, Marco Antonio, xix–xxi, xlii, liii, liv, 47, 65, 99, 109, 171, 197, 263, 277, 287, 291, 295, 305, 313, 317, 327, 331, 343, 353, 359, 361, 385, 393, 395, 401, 467, 613, 631, 635, 645, 645, 669, 689, 709, 855 Giustiniani, Niccolo, xix Gniezno, 721 Goliath, 185 Gonzaga, Vespasian, Duke, xxvi, xxvii, 595 Goovaerts, A., 191 Goslar, 479 Gourmont, Aegidius, xxxiii Graetz, H, 551, 573 Granada, 19, 223, 273, 815 Granville, Cardinal, 601 Greece, 37, 179, 221, 231, 265, 603, 611, 685, 821, 855 Gregory XIII, Pope, xiv, 755 Grendler, P.F., xxi, l Griffo, Francesco, 3 Grimani, Domenico, Cardinal, 165, 225 Grimani, G., Cardinal, 755 Grodno (Horodno), 641, 759, 779, 787, 805, 847, 873 Grözinger, K.E., xxx Gryphio, Giovanni, xxi, xxii, xxxix, 555, 587, 593, 609, 675 Gryphos, the, 587 Guadalajara, 101, 151, 175, 333, 449 Guarin, Thomas, xxxii, 719 Guastalla, 677 Gubbio, Bosone da, 219 Guenzberg, Jacob, 911 Guenzburg, Simeon ben Judah ha-Levi of, xxxi, 677, 813, 827, 891, 911 Gunzberg, Isaac of, xxxvi Guide for the Perplexed, s. Moreh Hanevukhim Guimarães, 155 Gunzenhauser, Joseph, 181 Gur Aryeh, xxxviii, 681, 705, 847, 889 Gustallah, 817 Gutenberg, Johannes, xxx

Gutrat, Jacob ben David, xlii Guyot, François, 601 Ha-Aguddah, 635 Ha-Ari, s. Luria, Isaac Habakkuk, 51, 225, 375 Habermann, A.M., xvi–xix, xxii, xxxii, xxxv, xxxvi, xxxix, xli, xlvii, l, 191, 199 Habiba, Joseph, 31, 293 Habor, desert of, 733 Hacker, J., xlvi, xlviii Hackspan, Theodore, 519 Hadrat Zekenim, 625 Hadrath Kodesh, s. Adam Sikhli, 505 Ha-Elef Lekha Shelomo, 193 Haftarah/Haftarot, xlii, xliii, xlvi, 9, 57, 69, 103, 193, 211, 449, 507, 541, 691, 719, 859 Hagar, 685 Hagenau, xxxiv, 115, 123 Haggadah, xix, xxiii, xxxiv, xxxv, xxxvii, xxxviii, xlvi, 11, 103, 185, 199, 213, 251, 321, 331, 419, 447, 509, 511, 517, 597, 603, 653, 681, 705, 721, 779, 897 Haggadah de-R. Akiva, s. Otiyyot de-Rabbi Akiva Haggadah Zevah Pesah, (s. also Zevah Pesah), xliii, 7, 803 Haggadot ha-Talmud, xlvi, 43, 93 Haggahot, 491 Haggahot Maimuniyyot, 171, 361, 457, 479 Haggai, 641 Hagigah, 101, 163, 183, 717, 903 Hagiographa, (s. also Ketuvim), 211, 349, 581, 859 Hagiz, Jacob, 865 Hagiz, Moses, 875 Hagiz, Samuel ben Jacob, 865 Hai ben Sherira Gaon, xv, xxv, xxxiii, 5, 23, 73, 79, 441, 455, 617, 859 Hainberg, 533 Hakdamah le-Ferek Helek, 605 Halab, 593 Halakhot Gedolot, 31, 39, 87, 319, 343, 583 Halakhot Ketannot, 31, 71, 395, 469 Halakhot Pesukot, 343 Halevi, Judah ben Samuel, xv, 19, 31, 59, 219, 815, 901 Halicz brothers, 247, 311, 609 Halicz, Andreas, s. Halicz, Samuel Halicz, Asher, xxxviii, xxxix, 217, 341 Halicz, Elyakim ben Hayyim, xxxviii, xxxix, 217, 341 Halicz, Hayyim ben Samuel Ashkenazi, xxxix, 217, 379, 527, 839 Halicz, Johannes, s. Halicz, Eliakim Halicz, Paul, s. Halicz, Asher Halicz, Samuel ben Hayyim, xxxviii, xxxix, xlvii, 217, 341, 379 Halicz, Shuvu’el, s. Halicz, Samuel ben Hayyim Halikhot Olam, 207, 273, 595, 817 Halikhot Olam-Mevo ha-Talmud, xx Halikhot Sheva, 73 Halpin, Elia Menahem ben Abba Mari, 365 Halukat ha-Karaim, 205 Haman, 561, 595, 729 Hamburg, xxxiv, 741

1010

index Hamishah Homshei Torah, (s. also Pentateuch; Torah), xxxvii, 9, 57, 287, 533, 719, 761, 805 Hamnuna, R., 43 Hamon, Joseph, 619 Hamon, Moses, 325, 817 Hananel ben Hushi’el, 25, 31, 441 Hananiah ibn Yakar, 527, 685 Hanau, xxx, 165, 433, 525, 721, 751, 911 Handspiegel, 29 Hanhagat ha-Hayyim, xliv, 549 Hanina, R., 543 Hannah, 281, 307 Hannah, daughter of Eleazer ben Judah of Worms, 11 Hannah, Hayyim Shahor’s granddaughter, xlii Hanokh, Sefer, 91 Hanover, 273 Harkavah, ha-, xxiii, 303 Hartmann, Friedrich, 753, 859 Hartmann, Johann, 753, 859 Hasagot, 331 Hasdai Crescas, s. Crescas, Hasdai Hasdei Avot, 211 Hasdei HaShem, 769 Hashlamah, Sefer ha-, 97 Hasidei Ashkenaz, 137, 501, 519, 697 Hasidim, Sefer, xxv, xxxii, li, 23, 137, 519, 697 Hassagot, 419 Hassagot ha-Rambam, 39 Hasson, Solomon ibn, 481 Ha-Tanna of Safed, s. Ashkenazi, Joseph Hatzaa al Odot ha-Get, 571, 653 Havakbuk ha-Navi, Sefer/Massekhet Purim, 51, 375 Havazzelet ha-Sharon, 795 Havvat Ya’ir, 627 Hayyat Kaneh, 195 Hayyat, Judah, 211, 473 Hayyim, R., 533 Hayyim ben Bezalel, 639, 783, 811 Hayyim ben Jacob Obadiah de Busal, s. Busal, Hayyim ben Jacob Obadiah Hayyim ben Meir ibn Gabbai, s. Gabbai, Hayyim ben Meir ibn Hayyim ha-Kohen, 313 Hayyim Kohen of Paris, 583 Hayyim, Sefer ha-, 811 Hayyim, son of David ben Hayyim Kohen of Corfu, 229 Hayyui, Judah ben David, 329, 507 Hayyun, Joseph, 21, 45, 211 Hazon, Isaac ben Hayyim, 363, 649 Hazon, Sefer, 181 Hazozerot Kesef, 673 Hazut Kashah, xxvi, 145 Hazzan, Isaac ben Joseph, 593 He’arot le-Sefer he-Arukh, 391 Hebron, 347, 431, 611, 695, 773 Heckethorn, C.W., xxxii Heddernheim, xxxvi, 25, 315, 355, 505 Hefez ben Yazli’ah, 39 Hegesippus, 277 Heidelberg, 187, 879 Heidenheim, W., 353 Heilbronn, Jacob, 873

Heilbronn, Joseph ben Elhanan, 873 Heilperin, Meir ben Moses, 445 Heilpern, Moses Ashkenazi, 557, 899 Heilprin, Jehiel, 709 Heller, M.J., xiv, xviii–xx, xxvii, xxx, xlv, xlviii, li, lii Heller, Yom Tov Lipmann, 5, 351 Hendel, s. Menoach ben Shemaria Hene, Hans Jacob, xxxii Hene, Vecelina, xxxii Henry II, King of France, 225, 493, 635 Henry III, Duke d’Anjou, 635 Henry IV, King of Navarre, 617 Henry VIII, King of Britain, 173 Henry of Trastámare, s. Henry II Henry of Valois, 651 Hercules, 593 Hermon, 655 Hertz, Naphtali ben Menahem, xl, 609 Hesed Avraham, 635, 661 Heshek Shelomo, 761, 861 Hesse, 187 Hezekiah ben Isaac of Fano, 631 Hezekiah ben Manoah, xxviii, 487 Hezekiah, King, 15 Hezkat ha-Yad, 579 Hezkito, Baruch Uziel, 409 Hibbur ha-Gadol, Ha-, 585, 599 Hibbur Yafeh me-ha-Yeshu’ah, xxvi, 441 Hibbur, Sefer ha-, 451 Hida, s. Azulai, Hayyim Joseph David Hiddushei Aggadot, 557, 899 Hiddushei Aggadot ha-Shas, 159 Hiddushei Aguddah, 615 Hiddushei Halakhot, 899 Hiddushei ha-Ramban Bava Batra, 157 Hiddushei ha-Ran, 469 Hiddushei ha-Rashba Massekhet Hullin, 159 Hiddushei Ramban, 121 Hiddushei u-Perushei Maharik, 135 Hiddushim, xxxii, 899 Hidot Isopeto, 91 Hieronymi Epistolae, xxx Hieronymus, s. Eusebius Hieronymus Higayon ha-Nefesh, 67 Hijar, 9, 21 Hikor Dinim, 395 Hilkheta Gavrata, 273 Hilkhot Avelut, 471 Hilkhot Bedika u-Shehitah, 221 Hilkhot ha-Rosh, s Piskei ha-Rosh Hilkhot ha-Re’ah, xxv Hilkhot Hassidut, 11 Hilkhot Katanot, 479 Hilkhot Kiddush ha-Hodesh, 563, 847 Hilkhot Rav Alfas, s. Alfas, Sefer Rav Hilkhot Shehita, xxv Hilkhot Shehitah u-Vedikah, xxvii, 357, 425, 471 Hilkhot Terefot ha-Sirkah, 21 Hillel ben Samuel of Verona, 23, 497 Hinnukh, Sefer ha-, 39, 161 Historia Ruth, 879 Historiae animalium, 283 Hiyya Meir ben David, 125, 133, 135, 139

1011

index Hizzekuni, xxviii, 487, 587 Ho’il Moshe, xxii, 557, 789, 875 Hobab, 141 Hochstraten, Jakob, 115, 117 Hok le-Yisrael, 455 Hokhmah Reshit, 279 Hokhmat Shelomo, 183, 639, 713 Holbein, Hans, xxxii, 187, 243 Holland, 355, 669 Holophernes, 185, 379 Holy Land, s. Erez Israel Honain, 223 Hooftman, Gilles, xxxiii Hopyl, Wolfgang, 237 Horayot, 163 Horeb, 669 Hormah, s. Safed Horodno, s. Grodno Horowitz, Family, 641 Horowitz, Abraham ben Shabbetai Sheftel, 635, 661 Horowitz, Abraham ha-Levi, 491 Horowitz, Isaiah ben Asher ha-Levi, xxxvii, 57, 491, 611, 661 Horowitz, Jacob, 611, 661 Horowitz, Sheftel (Shabbetai), 661 Hoshanot, xxxvii, 607 Hoshanot le-Sukkot, 389 Hoshen Mishpat, xxvii, 89, 245, 359, 675, 777, 835, 869 Hotam Tokhnit, xliv Hovot ha-Levavot, 345, 363, 695, 709, 739, 815 Hrubieszow, 797 Huesca, 141 Hukkat ha-Pesah, 603 Hullin, 31, 101, 113, 157, 159, 163, 395, 467, 469, 479, 713, 735 Hulsius, A., 249 Humash, (s. also Pentateuch, Torah), xlviii Hunain ibn Ishak, 685 Huppot Eliyahu Rabbah, 695 Hutter, Elias, xxxiv, 741 Hyde, Thomas, 325 Hydra, 593 Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, 3 Ibbur Shanim, 691 Iberian peninsula, xv, xlv Ibn Adonijah, Jacob ben Hayyim ben Isaac, xvi, xvii, 149, 155, 161, 169, 313 Ibn Albalia, Baruch ben Isaac, 31 Ibn Albarkala, Samuel, 685 Ibn al-Hayham, 165 Ibn at-Tufayl, 489 Ibn Daud, Abraham, xxxv, 53, 319, 403, 585 Ibn Dunan, Moses, 737 Ibn Dysoss, Samuel, 863, 875 Ibn Ezra, Abraham, xxxi, xlvi, 9, 19, 25, 59, 61, 63, 77, 97, 123, 169, 173, 197, 203, 257, 283, 305, 309, 329, 335, 419, 443, 487, 493, 509, 557, 587, 655, 693 Ibn Ezra, Isaac, 59 Ibn Ezra, Joseph, 835 Ibn Ezra, Moses, 59, 891 Ibn Falaquera, Shem Tov ben Joseph, 363, 465, 493, 663, 665

Ibn Farhi, Isaac, 267 Ibn Gabirol, Solomon ben Judah, 39, 51, 87, 219, 299, 363, 375, 381, 425, 465, 477, 561, 607, 815 Ibn Gaon, Shem Tov ben Abraham, 171, 361, 631 Ibn Ghayyat, Isaac ben Judah, 31 Ibn Gikatilla, Joseph, 637 Ibn Habib, Jacob ben Solomon, xliv, xlvi, 93, 163, 229, 397, 563, 573, 617 Ibn Habib, Levi ben Jacob, 93, 563, 631, 691, 835 Ibn Habib, Moses ben Shem Tov, 309, 637 Ibn Hadib, Isaac, s. Alhadib, Isaac ibn Ibn Hasdai, Abraham ben Samuel ha-Levi, 39, 119 Ibn Hayyuj, 203 Ibn Hiyya, Joseph ben Solomon, 663 Ibn Ishbili, Yom Tov ibn Abraham, 93, 401 Ibn Ja’ir, Meir ben Jacob, xxv Ibn Janah, Jonah, 197, 203, 507 Ibn Job, Solomon, 39 Ibn Lev, Joseph, 835, 861 Ibn Makhir, Moses ben Judah, xxii, 909 Ibn Melekh, Solomon, 349 Ibn Migash, Abraham ha-Levi, xlviii, 727 Ibn Migash, Joseph, 31, 713, 735 Ibn Musa, Abraham, 903 Ibn Nahmias, brothers, 127, 199, 207 Ibn Nahmias, family, 87 Ibn Nahmias, David, xlv, xlvi, 7, 9, 15, 21, 31, 33, 35, 37, 43, 49, 59, 119 Ibn Nahmias, Moses, 107 Ibn Nahmias, Samuel, xlv, xlvi, 7, 9, 15, 21, 31, 33, 35, 43, 49, 119 Ibn Nahmias, Samuel ben David, xlvi, 47, 61, 67, 71, 91, 107 Ibn Paquda, Bahya ben Joseph, 25, 67, 345, 363, 709, 739, 815 Ibn Rushd, Muhammad, s. Averroes Ibn Saruq, Zechariah ben Joshua, xxii, 561 Ibn Shabbetai, Judah ben Isaac, 97, 271, 311 Ibn Shanghi, Abraham ben Ephraim, 209, 349 Ibn Shaprut, Shem Tov, xxvii, 399 Ibn Shem Tov, Isaac, 419 Ibn Shem Tov, Joseph ben Shem Tov, xxvi, 419, 421, 589 Ibn Shem Tov, Shem Tov ben Joseph, xxvi, xxx, 275, 371, 389, 419, 421, 515, 535, 589, 807 Ibn Shraga, Joseph, 423 Ibn Shuaib, Joel, xliv, 671, 771 Ibn Shuaib, Joshua, xl, 407, 621, 671 Ibn Shushan, Isaac, 129 Ibn Shushan, Joseph, 129 Ibn Shushan, Solomon, 129 Ibn Susan, Issachar ben Mordecai, 563, 691 Ibn Tibbon, Jacob ben Machir, 489 Ibn Tibbon, Judah ben Saul, xx, xxix, xliii, 19, 197, 345, 363, 437, 477, 537, 815 Ibn Tibbon, Moses, 39, 489 Ibn Tibbon, Samuel, 109, 371, 489, 493, 605, 661, 815 Ibn Verga, Joseph ben Salomon, xliv, li, 403, 817 Ibn Verga, Judah, li, 403 Ibn Verga, Solomon, xxvii, xliv, li, 403, 817 Ibn Yahya, David ben Joseph, xlvi, 21, 31, 235

1012

index Ibn Yahya, David ben Solomon, xlvi, 21, 73, 95, 617, 637 Ibn Yahya, Gedaliah ben Joseph, 235, 751 Ibn Yahya, Jacob Tam, 221 Ibn Yahya, Joseph ben David, xxv, 235, 751 Ibn Yahya, Tam, 207 Ibn Yihyya of Lisbon, Meir ben Joseph, 19 Ibn Zerah, Menahem, xxvi, xxvii, 249, 389, 621 Ichenhausen, xxxvi, 315 Iggeret Ba’alei Hayyim, 443 Iggeret Derekh ha-Shem, 365 Iggeret Gid ha-Nasheh, 205 Iggeret ha-Halom, 465 Iggeret ha-Hitnazzelut, 97 Iggeret ha-Hitnazzelut ha-Katan, 301 Iggeret ha-Kodesh, xxiii, xxxii, 307, 497 Iggeret ha-Mehaber, 161 Iggeret ha-Musar, 275, 301, 419, 465, 489 Iggeret ha-Tiyyul, 811 Iggeret ha-Vikku’ah, 465, 663, 665 Iggeret ha-Yerushah, 205 Iggeret ha-Zom, 205 Iggeret le-ha-Me’o . . . u-Teshuvot, s. Teshuvot She’elot Iggeret Ogeret, 421, 663, 665, 673 Iggeret Orhot Olam, 733 Iggeret Rav Sherira Gaon, 441 Iggeret Shemu’el, xlviii, 877 Iggeret Teshuvah, xlvii, 23, 379, 839 Iggerot Shelomim, xxxv, 215 Iggul de-R. Nashon, 509, 599 Ikkarim, Sefer ha-, xvi, xx, xliv, 147, 275, 291, 411, 419, 693, 725 Illescas, Jacob di, xxix, 557, 787 Immanuel ben Solomon ben Jekutiel of Rome, xlvii, 219, 301 Imola, 235, 751 Imrei Binah, 625 Imrei Emet, 623 Imrei Noam, xxix, 557 Imrei Shefer, 557, 641, 787, 805, 837 In Sapientiam Iesu Sirach . . . Notae, 879 Index Expurgatorius, 823 Index Librorum Expurgatorum, 155 Index Librorum Prohibitorum, 381, 551, 573, 677 Index, Pauline, s. Index librorum prohibitorum Index, Tridentine, s. Index librorum prohibitorum India, 91, 127, 265, 585, 733 Ingolstadt, xxxvi, 17, 281, 827 Introductio utilissima hebraica discere cupientibus, 3 Ir Gibborim, xxxii, 699, 723 Iraq, 443, 579, 685, 855 Isaac, 67, 579, 645 Isaac, R., 209 Isaac Aboab I, s. Aboab I, Isaac Isaac Aboab II, s. Aboab II, Isaac Isaac ben Abba Mari, 129 Isaac ben Abraham, 837 Isaac ben Abraham Akrish, s. Akrish, Isaac ben Abraham Isaac ben Abraham Chajes, s. Chajes, Isaac ben Abraham Isaac ben Eleazar he-Levi, 151 Isaac ben Elijah Sheni, s. Sheni, Isaac ben Elijah Isaac ben Hayyim, 249, 459 Isaac ben Jacob, 855

Isaac ben Jacob Alfasi, s. Alfasi, Isaac ben Jacob Isaac ben Jacob Canpanton, s. Canpanton, Isaac ben Jacob Isaac ben Joseph Caro, s. Caro, Isaac ben Joseph Isaac ben Joseph ha-Kohen, xliv Isaac ben Joseph of Corbeil, xxviii, xlvi, 33, 331, 337, 417, 429 Isaac ben Judah, 151 Isaac ben Judah Abrabanel, s. Abrabanel, Isaac ben Judah Isaac ben Kalonymus Nathan, s. Mordecai Nathan Isaac ben Meir of Dueren, s. Dueren, Isaac ben Meir Isaac ben Melchizedek of Siponto, 313 Isaac ben Meshullam, 791 Isaac ben Mordecai Gershon, s. Gershon, Isaac ben Mordecai Isaac ben Moses Arama, s. Arama, Isaac ben Moses Isaac ben Moses ibn Arroyo, s. Arroyo, Isaac ben Moses ibn Isaac ben Moses of Vienna, 107, 125, 317, 457, 479 Isaac ben Naphtali ha-Kohen, 189 Isaac ben Samuel, 509 Isaac ben Samuel Hayyim, 181 Isaac ben Samuel of Dampierre, 313 Isaac ben Samuel Onkeneira, s. Onkeneira, Isaac ben Samuel Isaac ben Samuel the Elder of Dampierre, 129, 167 Isaac ben Sheshet Perfet, xxx, 87, 137, 293, 323, 389, 411, 445, 515 Isaac ben Solomon ibn Abi Sahula, s. Sahula, Isaac ben Solomon ibn Abi Isaac ben Todros, 25 Isaac Bezalel, 853 Isaac ha-Levi, Johann, xxxiii, 815 Isaac ha-Zaken, s. Isaac ben Samuel of Dampierre Isaac Kohen, Solomon Alkabez’s father-in-law, 729 Isaac Mazia, 827 Isaac of Camerino, 513 Isaac Tyrnau, s. Tyrnau, Isaac Isaac Yom Tov, xxiii Isaac, Joannes, s. Isaac ha-Levi, Johann Isabella of Castile, 45 Isaiah, xxxiii, 77, 539, 641, 841, 861 Isaiah Sofer ben Meir, xli Isengrinus, Michael, xxxi, 305 Ish Hai, Moshe, s. Mat, Moses ben Abraham Ishmael, R., 265, 285, 335, 445 Ishmael ha-Kohen Tanuji, s. Tanuji, Ishmael ha-Kohen Ishmael Hanina of Valmontone, 871 Isny, xxxv, xxxvi, 255, 257, 259, 261, 269, 709, 879 Isola Dovarse, xxviii Isopet, 451 Israel, s. also Erez Israel, xlviii, 149, 763, 765, 771, 773, 801, 813 Israel Ashkenazi, s. Isserlein, Israel ben Pethahiah Israel ben Abraham, 371, 801 Israel ben Joseph ha-Kohen, 459 Israel ben Moses, 797 Israel ben Moses Najara, s. Najara, Israel ben Moses Israel ben Pethahiah Isserlein, s. Isserlein, Israel ben Pethahiah

1013

index Israel of Krems, 533 Israelite, The, 291 Issachar, 435, 691 Issachar ben Mordecai ibn Susan, s. Ibn Susan, Issachar ben Mordecai Issachar Ber ben Naphtali Katz, 743, 773 Isserlein, Israel ben Pethahiah, xxx, 137, 181, 341, 357, 409, 475, 533, 615, 635, 805 Isserles, Moses ben Israel, xx, xxviii, xxxviii, xl, 89, 231, 243, 247, 341, 359, 361, 427, 475, 491, 555, 585, 613, 615, 639, 653, 661, 675, 713, 721, 773, 777, 779, 783, 801, 811, 819, 891, 911 Issur ve-Hetter, s. Sha’arei Dura Istanbul, s. Constantinople Italy, xiv–xx, xxiii–xxx, xxxv, xxxix, xliii, xliv, xlviii, xlix, lii, liii, 13, 17, 35, 37, 49, 51, 59, 83, 105, 113, 133, 135, 137, 147, 155, 177, 181, 191, 195, 203, 209, 211, 225, 235, 249, 265, 277, 303, 309, 329, 351, 365, 369, 381, 385, 387, 393, 399, 401, 423, 467, 469, 473, 511, 527, 557, 571, 573, 609, 611, 623, 637, 649, 669, 675, 715, 719, 751, 755, 761, 773, 775, 777, 799, 821, 829, 835, 843, 847, 857, 865, 873, 875 Ittim, Sefer ha-, 869 Ittur, 107, 129 Iuvenis, Martin, s. Morelius, Gulielmus Izmir, 785, 885 Jabez, xiv, 435 Jabez, brothers, 749, 883 Jabez, Isaac, xlviii, 211 Jabez, Joseph ben Hayyim, xliv, 211, 389 Jabez, Joseph ben Isaac, xliv, xlv, xlvii, xlviii, 379, 403, 467, 473, 481, 499, 527, 547, 549, 553, 559, 591, 599, 603, 605, 607, 623, 629, 643, 655, 657, 663, 665, 673, 685, 697, 711, 717, 727, 863 Jabez, Solomon ben Isaac, xliv, xlvii, xlviii, 211, 403, 481, 499, 523, 527, 537, 579, 585, 607, 623, 629, 663, 665, 673, 681, 685, 711, 717, 727 Jabin, R., 265 Jacob, 93, 399, 531, 611, 661, 667, 709, 721, 833, 875, 889 Jacob Avigdor of Padua, xxiii Jacob Baruch ben Judah Landau, s. Landau, Jacob Baruch ben Judah Jacob ben Abba Mari ben Samson Anatoli, s. Anatoli, Jacob ben Abba Mari ben Samson Jacob ben Abraham of Meseritz, 843 Jacob ben Asher, xiv, xv, xx, 5, 61, 71, 89, 103, 181, 243, 245, 247, 327, 359, 417, 457, 463, 565, 737, 779, 819, 835, 839, 847, 869 Jacob ben Baruch, 243 Jacob ben Eleazer, 197 Jacob ben Hayyim, 811 Jacob ben Isaac Luzzatto, s. Luzzatto, Jacob ben Isaac Jacob ben Joseph Pollack, s. Pollack, Jacob ben Joseph Jacob ben Judah Weil, s. Weil, Jacob ben Judah Jacob ben Makhir, 347 Jacob ben Meir, 83, 107, 125, 151, 167, 209, 233, 583, 615

Jacob ben Mosé di Algaba, s. Algaba, Jacob ben Mosé di Jacob ben Moses, xlii Jacob ben Naphtali ha-Kohen of Gazolo, xxvi, 449, 461, 473, 483, 485, 493, 495, 503, 525, 543 Jacob ben Samson, 151 Jacob ben Samuel Bunim Koppelman, s. Koppelman, Jacob ben Samuel Bunim Jacob ben Solomon ibn Habib, s. Ibn Habib, Jacob ben Solomon Jacob ben Yakar, 151 Jacob ben Yuzpa, 895 Jacob Canizal, s. Canizal, Jacob Jacob di Ilescas, s. Illescas, Jacob di, Jacob ha-Lavan, 855 Jacob ibn Nissim, 441 Jacob of Wuerzburg, 321 Jacob, son of Eleazer ben Judah of Worms, 11 Jaffa, 437 Jaffe (in Lublin), xiv Jaffe, Abraham, 243 Jaffe, Hayyim, xliii Jaffe, Isaac, 885 Jaffe, Joseph, xliii, 885 Jaffe, Kalonymus ben Mordecai, xlii, xliii, 635, 639, 641, 661, 779, 787, 797, 803, 847, 851 Jaffe, Mordecai ben Abraham, xlii, 243, 491, 639, 681, 779, 837, 847, 873 Jaffe, Mordecai ben Moses, 725, 797 Jaffe, Samuel ben Isaac Ashkenazi, 743, 785, 885 Jaffe, Zevi Hirsch, xliii Jagel, Abraham ban Hananiah dei Galicchi, 845 Jagel, Camillo, 845 Jagiello dynasty, 635 Jaroslaw, 699 Jedaiah ha-Penini ben Abraham Bedersi, xxii, xxv, 97, 217, 299, 309, 421, 477, 901, 907 Jedidiah Solomon of Troki, 711 Jehiel (in Bologna), 251 Jehiel bar Asher ha-Kohen, 565, 663, 731 Jehiel ben Jekuthiel ben Benjamin ha-Rofe Anav, s. Anav, Jehiel ben Jekuthiel ben Benjamin ha-Rofe Jehiel ben Jekuthiel ha-Kohen, 53, 273, 277, 289 Jehiel ben Solomon of Verona (Ravenna?), xxv, 227 Jehiel Michael ben Jedidiah Morawczyk, s. Morawczyk, Jehiel Michael ben Jedidiah Jehiel of Paris, 33, 457 Jehoiachin, 53 Jekuthiel of Benevento, 461 Jeraka, Adfal, 193 Jeraka, Shabbetai, 193 Jeremiah, 77, 539, 597 Jericho, 645 Jeroham ben Meshullam, 463 Jerome, s. Eusebius Hieronymus Jerusalem, l, 7, 19, 37, 43, 97, 105, 123, 135, 141, 273, 281, 317, 347, 351, 379, 387, 415, 431, 443, 491, 497, 523, 547, 553, 563, 595, 603, 615, 623, 625, 645, 669, 671, 673, 691, 747, 749, 755, 759, 771, 820, 845, 853, 855, 865, 871 Jeshua ben Judah, 711 Jesi, 27 Jessnitz, xxvii, 371, 801

1014

index Jewish Antiquities, The, 277 Jewish War, The, 277 João II, King of Portugal, 45, 175, 585 João III, King of Portugal, 195 João Miguez, s. Nasi, Don Joseph Job, xx, xxv, xlviii, 69, 121, 225, 235, 335, 431, 453, 521, 539, 547, 561, 645, 671, 733, 757, 837 Jochebed, Rashi’s daughter, 151 Joel ibn Shuaib, s. Ibn Shuaib, Joel Johanan ben Joseph Treves, s. Treves, Johanan ben Joseph Johnson, A.F., xxxi Jonah, 225, 595, 855 Jonah ben Abraham Gerondi, s. Gerondi, Jonah ben Abraham Jonathan ben David ha-Kohen of Lunel, 31 Jonathan ben Uzziel, 95, 169 Jonathan ha-Kohen of Luniel, 685 Jordan, the, 875 Joselmann of Rosheim, 911 Joseph, 51, 67, 319, 611, 653 Joseph Albo, s. Albo, Joseph Joseph bar Moses, 137 Joseph ben Abraham Gikatilla, s. Gikatilla, Joseph ben Abraham Joseph ben al-Aysh, 407 Joseph ben Benjamin Samegah, s. Samegah, Joseph ben Benjamin Joseph ben David, 751 Joseph ben David ibn Lev, s. Lev, Joseph ben David ibn Joseph ben David ibn Yahya, s. Ibn Yahya, Joseph ben David Joseph ben Elhanan Heilbronn, s. Heilbronn, Joseph ben Elhanan Joseph ben Ephraim Caro, s. Caro, Joseph ben Ephraim Joseph ben Ephraim (called Joseph Magish), 661 Joseph ben Gershom, 109 Joseph ben Gorion ha-Kohen, 387 Joseph ben Hanan ben Nathan Ezobi, s. Ezobi, Joseph ben Hanan ben Nathan Joseph ben Hayyim, 423 Joseph ben Hayyim Jabez, s. Jabez, Joseph ben Hayyim Joseph ben Isaac of Fano, 845 Joseph ben Joel Bibus, 431 Joseph ben Joshua ha-Kohen, 387 Joseph ben Judah, 151 Joseph ben Meir, 669 Joseph ben Mordecai Gershon Katz, s. Katz, Joseph ben Mordecai Gershon Katz Joseph ben Samuel ha-Levi Hachim, xlvii, 517, 523, 579 Joseph ben Shalom Ashkenazi of Barcelona, 543 Joseph ben Shem Tov ben Yeshuah Hai, 599 Joseph ben Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov, s. Ibn Shem Tov, Joseph ben Shem Tov Joseph ben Sheshet Ibn Latimi, 663 Joseph ben Solomon Colon, s. Colon, Joseph ben Solomon Joseph ben Solomon ibn Verga, s. Ibn Verga, Joseph ben Solomon Joseph ben Yakar, xxxv, xli, xlii, 215, 243, 249, 315

Joseph Caro, s. Caro, Joseph Joseph ha-Arokh, s. Joseph ben Shalom Ashkenazi of Barcelona Joseph ha-Levi, 309, 535 Joseph ibn Zaddik of Cordova, 495 Joseph Joselmann of Rosheim, 141, 243 Joseph Shalit ben Jacob of Padua, s. Shalit, Joseph ben Jacob Joseph Taitazak, s. Taitazak, Joseph Josephus ha-Kohen, s. Joseph ben Gorion ha-Kohen Josephus, Flavius, 277, 599, 625 Joshua, 269, 647 Joshua ben Levi, 321 Joshua ibn Nun, 645 Joshua ibn Shuaib, s. Ibn Shuaib, Joshua Josiah, 685 Josippon, xx, xxxi, xxxii, 187, 253, 277, 403, 561, 625 Juan II, King of Castile, 421 Jubelschrift . . . Zunz, 97 Judah, 387, 689, 767, 813, 885, 889 Judah, R., l, 171 Judah Aryeh ben Joseph Moscato, s. Moscato, Judah Aryeh ben Joseph Judah ben Abraham, 151 Judah ben Abraham Khalaz, s. Khalaz, Judah ben Abraham Judah ben Abraham Zarko, s. Zarko, Judah ben Abraham Judah ben Asher, 249, 407, 569 Judah ben Barzillai al-Bargeloni, 869 Judah ben Benjamin, 321 Judah ben Eliezer, 337 Judah ben Eliezer Ha-Levi Minz, s. Minz, Judah ben Eliezer Ha-Levi Judah ben Isaac ha-Levi Ashkenazi, 273, 277, 289 Judah ben Isaac ibn Shabbetai, s. Ibn Shabbetai, Judah ben Isaac Judah ben Jehiel, 181 Judah ben Jekuthiel, 769 Judah ben Joseph, 109 Judah ben Joseph ibn Bulat, s. Bulat, Judah ben Joseph ibn Judah ben Kalonymus, 11 Judah ben Moses ha-Kohen, 457 Judah ben Nathan of Cracow, 567 Judah ben Samuel Halevi, s. Halevi, Judah ben Samuel Judah ben Samuel he-Hasid, xxv, xxxii, 11, 23, 519, 557, 697, 855 Judah ben Samuel Lerma, 397 Judah ben Solomon al-Harizi, s. Al-Haziri, Judah ben Solomon Judah ben Yakar, 121 Judah ha-Kohen, 415 Judah ha-Levi, 561 Judah Hayyat, s. Hayyat, Judah Judah he-Hasid, s. Judah ben Samuel he-Hasid Judah Ibn Tibbon, s. Ibn Tibbon, Judah Judah Loeb ben Moses Naphtali, 719 Judah Loew ben Bezalel, xxxviii, 515, 519, 625, 681, 705, 721, 759, 767, 779, 783, 801, 811, 833, 873, 889, 911 Judah Mintz, s. Mintz, Judah Judah Sir Leon of Paris, 167, 337

1015

index Judah Zarko of Rhodes, 377 Judah, sons of, 37 Judea, 379 Judenfeind, Der, xxxv Judenspiegel, Der, 29 Judith, 185, 379 Julius II, Pope, 27, 41 Julius III, Pope, xx, 361, 385 Justinanus, Augustinus, 371 K’tav Hitnatzlut, xli Ka’arat Kesef, 5 Kabbalah, Sefer ha-, 53, 287, 319, 403 Kabizi, Joseph ben Ayyid, 87 Kabuli, Solomon ben Menahem, 781 Kad ha-Kemah, 25, 65, 67, 199 Kaftor va-Ferah, xxxi, xxxii, xlv, 269, 347, 677, 701, 723 Kairouan, xxvi, 31, 441 Kalai, Moses ben Mattathias ben Samuel, 905 Kalai, Samuel ben Moses, xxii, 297, 905 Kallah, 529 Kallah Rabbati, 129, 529 Kalman Wermeisa, 713 Kalonymous ben David, 165 Kalonymus ben Kalonymus, 51, 443 Kalonymus ben Kalonymus ben Meir ha-Nasi, 301, 375 Kalonymus, Family, 11 Kanfei Yonah, 871 Kara, Simeon, 581 Karlsruhe, 709 Karmi, 51 Kasani, Samuel, 593 Kashti, David ben Elijah, xlviii, 629 Kasputah, Isaac, 9 Katz, Abraham, 341 Katz, Avigdor, 321 Katz, Bezalel, 709 Katz, Gershom ben Bezalel, 839 Katz, Gershom ben Joseph Bezalel, 855 Katz, Moses ben Joseph Bezalel, 815, 833 Katz, Solomon, 709, 815 Katz, Zalman, 357 Katzenellenbogen, Meir ben Isaac, xx, 221, 225, 231, 361, 391, 393, 777, 833 Katzenellenbogen, Samuel Judah, 625, 887 Kaufman, Mycelium, xxi Kav ve-Naki, 21, 95 Kavanot, 547 Kavanot Hokhmah, 695 Kavod, Sefer ha-, 697 Kavvanot ha-Aggadot, s. Kaftor va-Ferah Kavvanot ha-Torah, 587 Kayserling, M., 761 Kayyara, Simeon, 39, 343 Keere, Hendrick van der, 879 Kehillat Ya’akov, s. Kaftor va-Ferah Kehillot Moshe, 225 Kelal Kazar, xlvii, 199, 207 Kelalei ha-Gemara, 273 Kelalei ha-Talmud, 853 Kelalei Kal va-Homer, 807 Kelalei Midrash Rabbah, 903 Kelalei Shemu’el, 807

Keli Golah, 841 Keli Hemdah, 841 Keli Mahazik Berakhah, 757 Keli Nehoshet, 205 Keli Paz, 841 Keli Yakar, 699, 841 Kelil Yofi, 193 Kelim, 495 Kelimat ha-Goyim, 663 Kellner, M., 291 Keneset ha-Gedolah, 659 Kepler, Johannes, 801 Keri’at Shema al ha-Mittah, 547 Keritot, Tractate, 263 Keritut, Sefer, 273, 445, 817 Kesef Mishneh, 631, 871 Kesef Nivhar, xlix, 843 Keshet Nehushah, xlviii, 821 Kessler, Nicholas, xxx Keter Shem Tov, 501, 863 Keter Torah, 221, 229 Ketubbot, xxvii, xl, xlviii, 43, 109, 139, 163, 175, 401, 467, 483, 689, 713, 735, 881, 883, 903 Ketuvim, (s. also Hagiographa), xliii, 69, 95, 111, 169, 259, 761, 837 Kevod Elohim, xxvi, 421, 589, 727, 735 Kevod Hakhamim, 79, 157 Kevurot ha-Tzadikim be-Erez ha-Kedoshah, xliv Khalaz, Judah ben Abraham, xlvii, 223 Khalaz, Moses ben Eliezer, 223 Khazaria, 855 Kiddushin, xxvii, 43, 107, 163, 175, 401, 467, 527, 607, 713, 727, 881, 899 Kiera, Esther, 673 Ki-Khelot Yeini, 51 Kimha de-Avishuna, 251, 285 Kimhi, David ben Joseph, xv, xxiv, xxv, xxxvi, xliv, xlvi, xlvii, 9, 17, 41, 61, 67, 77, 83, 95, 109, 123, 169, 173, 197, 203, 209, 217, 237, 257, 259, 261, 305, 349, 561, 617, 753, 837 Kimhi, Joseph, 77, 123, 197, 203, 345, 477 Kimhi, Moses ben Joseph, xvi, xxiii, xxxiii–xxxv, l, 99, 117, 123, 203, 303, 329 Kinat Setarim, 771 Kings, xxxvi, 261, 269, 281, 521, 837 Kinnot, xxxii Kiryat Arba’ah, 309, 627 Kiryat Sefer, xxi, 365 Kisse Melekh, 461 Kitab al-Amanat wa-al-Itiqadat, 537 Kitab al-Fara’id, s. Sefer ha-Mitzvot Kitab al-Hidaya ila Faraid al-Qulub, s. Hovot ha-Levavot Kitab Balahuar wa-Budasaph, 119 Kizzur Dikduk Leshon ha-Kodesh, 753 Kizzur Hovot ha-Levavot, 345 Kizzur Inyan ha-shehita, 205 Kizzur Mizrahi, 189, 507, 773 Kizzur Piskei ha-Rosh, 61, 71, 89, 199, 327 Kizzuri ibn Rushd, 489 Kizzurot, ha-, 457 Klausner, Abraham, xxx, 471, 475, 891 Klausner, Mendel, 475 Klober, Isaac, 639 Kneppe, 457 Knorr von Rosenroth, Christian, 773

1016

index Ko’ah Avanim, 451 Kodashim, 31, 149, 351, 495, 615 Kodesh ha-Kadashim, 673 Kodesh Ysrael, 887 Koelner, Johann, 647 Kohelet, (s. also Ecclesiastes), 659, 667 Kohelet Rabbah, 131 Kohelet Ya’akov, xlix, 667, 875, 907 Kohen, Isaac, 773 Kohen (Katz), Gershom ben Solomon ha-, xxxv, xxxvii, xxxviii, 185, 247 Kohen (Katz), Gronem (Geronim) ha-, xxxvii, 185 Kohen (Katz), Joseph ben Mordecai Gershom ha-, xxvii, xxix, 241, 615, 653, 709, 769, 777 Kohen (Katz), Judah ha-, xxxvii Kohen (Katz), Mordecai ben Gershom ha-, xxxvii, xxviii, 247, 613, 681, 781 Kohen (Katz), Moses ha-, xxxvii, xxxviii, 247, 801 Kohen (Katz), Solomon ha-, xxxvii, xxxviii, 247, 801 Kohut, A., 105 Kol Bo, xvi, xxi, 79, 147, 295, 331, 569 Kol Bokhim, 671, 771 Kol Elohim, 625 Kol ha-Kore, 873 Kol Melekhet Higgayon, 489 Kol Yedudah, 775 Konska Wola, xlii, 531 Konstanz (Constance), xxxvi, 259, 505, 719 Kook, S., 655 Koppelman, Jacob ben Samuel Bunim, xxxii, 451, 723, 725 Kopyst, 463 Kor le-Zahav, s. Behinat Olam Kizzur Korban Aharon, 867 Korban ha-Edah, 371 Kore ha-Dorot, 623 Korzec, 573, 871 Kotser codicis, 173 Kovno, 787 Kremenitz, 779 Kuhbukh, xxx, 333, 843 Kulpa, Loeb, s. Judah ben Isaac ha-Levi (Ashkenazi) Kunigunde, Countess-Abbess, 29 Kunteres Aharon, 553 Kurdistan, 855 Kuropoli, Immanuel ben Gabriel, 485 Kuru-Chesme, xlviii, 527, 757, 877, 883 Kurze Auszlegung der Episteln, 243 Kushta, s. Constantinople Kutim, 529 Kuzar, ha-, s. Kuzari Kuzari, xv, xx, 19, 59, 775, 815 Labis, Nehemiah, 871 Lahakat ha-Nevi’im, 637 Lamentations, xxxiii, xliv, 671, 703, 723, 753, 771, 841, 877 Lamentations Rabbah, 785 Lammlin, Asher, 505 Land, Aaron ben Gershon, 661 Landau, Jacob Barukh ben Judah, xvi, 181 Landau, Judah, 181 Landau, Moses, 777 Laniado, Samuel ben Abraham, 841

Larissa, 231 Later Prophets, s. Prophets, Later, (s. also Nevi’im Ahronim) Latif, Isaac ibn, 473 Latif, Samuel ben Meir, xxiii, 53, 65 Lattes, Isaac ben Immanuel de, xxiii, xxv, liv, 227, 293, 307 Lattes, Isaac Joshua, 485 Laurentius, Abselmius, xv Lausanne, 283 Lecce, 165 Lehem Dimah, 877 Lehem ha-Panim, 279 Lehem Mishneh, 835 Lehem Setarim, 907 Lehem Shelomo, 861 Lehem Yehudah, xxi, xxiv, xxvii, xlvii, li, 385, 397, 501, 605, 619 Leiden, xxxiii, xxxiv, xxxvi, 149, 273, 425, 801 Leipzig, 489, 741 Leiria, 273, 335, 599 Lekah Tov, xlix, 557, 669, 757, 845 Leket Yosher, 137 Lekhah Dodi, 373, 909 Le-Khal Hefetz, 377, 619 Lekhet ha-Kazir, 823 Lemberg, 97, 465, 609, 699, 787 Lemlein, Asher, 733 Leo Hebraeus, s. Gersonides, Levi Leo X, Pope, 29, 55, 95, 99, 117, 139, 551 Leon de Bagnols, Maestro, s. Gersonides, Levi Leon, David ben Judah Messer, 79, 157, 329 Leon, Isaac de, 807 Leon, Judah ben Jehiel Messer, 135, 145, 165, 181 Leon, Moses ben Shem Tov de, 249, 485, 577 Leone ( Judah Aryeh) Modena, s. Modena, Leone ( Judah Aryeh) Leone Ebreo, s. Abrabanel, Judah Lepanto, 657, 755 Lerma, Judah, xxi, xxvi, xxvii, li, 385 Leshon ha-Zahav, xxii, 97, 901, 907 Leshon Limmudim, xlvi, 9, 21, 31, 73 Letter of Aristeas, s. Hadrat Zekenim Lev Avot, xliv, 559, 861 Lev Hakham, xlviii, 629, 649, 667 Lev, David ben Joseph ibn, 481, 527 Lev, Isaac ibn, 323, 785 Lev, Joseph ben David ibn, xlvii, xlviii, 359, 467, 481, 527, 559, 715, 737 Levant, 485 Levi ben Gershom, s. Gersonides, Levi Levi ben Jacob ibn Habib, s. Ibn Habib, Levi ben Jacob Levi, Isaac ben Moses ha-, s. Duran, Isaac ben Moses Profiat Levita (Bahur), Elijah ben Asher ha-Levi Ashkenazi, xxiii, xxxi, xxxvi, 123, 187, 197, 243, 255, 257, 261, 287, 303, 305, 329, 341, 507, 679, 703, 755, 831, 873, 879 Leviticus, 25, 285 Levush, 243, 639, 681, 837 Levush Eder Yakar, 847 Levush Even Yikrat, 847 Levush ha-Orah, 847 Levush Malkhut, 779 Levush Simhah ve-Sason, 847

1017

index Levushei Or Yekarot, 847 Levushim, xlii, 847 Lewy, R., li Lexicon hebraicum, xxxiii Libellus de natura literarum et punctorum Hebraicarum, xxxiv Liber de capite fidei, 291 Liber Viarum Linguae Sanctae, 99, 123 Libro de la Regimento de la vida, 549 Libro Intitolado Yihus ha-Zaddikim, xlviii Liechtenstein, Hermann, 81 Likkutei ha-Pardes, xxv, 125 Likkutei Kadmoniyyot, 633 Likkutei Shikhhah u-Fe’ah, xxvi, 423 Likkutei Shoshannim, 539, 643 Likkutim ve-Hibburim, ha-, 127, 441 Limud, s. Talmud Lisbon, xliii, xliv, xlix, 9, 21, 55, 63, 75, 103, 155, 163, 195, 235, 309, 369, 403, 657, 715, 817 Lithuania, 205, 531 Lithuania, Duke of, 217 Livorno, xxvii, 175, 507, 573, 619, 785 Liwa of Mantua, 133 Loanz, Elijah ben Moses Ashkenazi, 341, 491, 911 Loanz, Jacob ben Jehiel, 17 Lombardy, 147, 457 Lonago, Saadia, 687 London, 59, 147, 173, 325, 685, 811 Longo, Saadiah, 835 Lonzano, Menahem ben Judah de, 623, 757 Loredano, Leonardo, Doge, 95, 111 Lorenzo the Magnificent, 733 Lorki, Joshua, 275 Lot, 51 Louis XII, King of France, 27 Louvain, xxxiv, 173, 657 Lu’ah Dikduk, 873 Lu’ah ha-Zavah, 509 Lublin, xiii, xiv, xxxvi, xxxviii, xl–xlii, xlviii, xlix, 5, 65, 67, 147, 195, 243, 275, 295, 299, 341, 459, 491, 505, 509, 531, 557, 595, 609, 611, 627, 629, 635, 639, 641, 647, 661, 689, 699, 723, 759, 779, 783, 797, 803, 805, 815, 829, 833, 837, 847, 891, 899 Lucena, 31 Lucerne, 115 Lumbroso, Jacob, 761 Lumen Gentium, 225 Lunel, 31, 815 Lungo, Saadiah, 603 Luniel, 129 Luntshits, Ephraim, xxxii, 723 Luntz, Elijah, 341 Lunzer, J., xxxvii Luria, David, 595 Luria, Isaac, 525, 623, 695, 749, 757, 825, 849, 853, 871, 877 Luria, Jehiel, 713 Luria, Johanan, 911 Luria, Mordecai ben Jehiel, 703 Luria, Solomon ben Jehiel, xxxviii, 137, 183, 231, 341, 519, 613, 639, 653, 699, 703, 713, 717, 731, 769, 777, 779, 789, 811, 883, 911 Luria, Wolf, 713 Luther, Martin, 173, 753

Luzzara, 845 Luzzatto, Jacob ben Isaac, xxxi, xxxii, 677, 701, 723 Luzzatto, Solomon ben Abraham, xxi, 587 Lvov, xxxix, 217, 609, 661, 749 Lyck, 815 Lyon, xxi, 587, 627, 667 Lyuboml, 789 Ma’adanei Melekh, 593 Ma’alot ha-Middot, xxviii, 425, 565, 695, 709 Ma’alot, Sefer ha-, 465 Ma’amadot, xxx Ma’amar ha-Ahdut, 211, 389 Ma’amar Hasdei Hashem, xliv, xlvii, 211 Ma’amar Haskel, xxviii, 429 Ma’amar Hattim, 871 Ma’amar ha-Yihud, 295 Ma’amar Mashreh Kitrin, s. Mashreh Kitrin Ma’amar Mordekhai, 863 Ma’amar Olam Katan, 871 Ma’amar Perek Helek, 37 Ma’amar Tehiyyat ha-Metim, 109, 605, 685 Ma’arekhet ha-Elohut, xxvi, 211, 473 Ma’arekhot Yisrael, 757 Ma’arikh, 623 Ma’aseh Avraham Avinu, 127 Ma’aseh Buch, 843 Ma’aseh Efod, 9, 663 Ma’aseh HaShem, 653, 705, 721 Ma’aseh Hoshev, Sefer, 335 Ma’aseh Rabbi Yehudah ben Levi, 127 Ma’aseh shel Yerushalim, 91 Ma’aseh Torah, 79, 127 Ma’aseh Ugah, 663 Ma’aseh Yehudit, xlvii, 379 Ma’asiyyot she-ba-Talmud, 127, 441 Ma’gelei Zedek, 911 Ma’yan Gannim, 391 Ma’yenei ha-Yeshu’ah, xxv, 367 Mabit, s. Trani, Moses ben Joseph di Maccabees, 449 Macedonia, 481 Machir ben Isaac Sar Hasid, 177, 249, 569 Macolini, Francesco, xxviii Maddah, Sefer ha-, 109 Madrid, 55, 381, 547, 549 Madruzzo, Cristoforo, Cardinal, xxix, xxx, 469, 497, 515, 521, 533, 539 Madruzzo, Ludowic, xxx, 539 Maertinsz, Dirck, xxxiv Mafte’ah ha-Zohar, 667, 771, 773 Mafte’ah Manulei ha-Talmud, 441 Magasid al-Falasifa, 547 Magdeburg, 475 Magen Avot, 669 Magen Avraham (Viku’ah ha-Da’at), 493, 733 Magen David, 79, 801 Maggid me-Reshit, 737 Maggid Mesharim, 195, 771 Maggid Mishneh, 171, 223, 361, 631 Maggid, Sefer ha-, xxxviii Maghreb, 691 Magish, Joseph, s. Joseph ben Ephraim Magnus, Albertus, 633

1018

index Mahalakh Shevilei ha-Da’at, s. Dikduk, Sefer Mahaloket, Sefer ha-, 395 Maharadakh, s. David ben Hayyim Kohen of Corfu Maharal, s. Judah Loew ben Bezalel Maharam, s. Meir ben Baruch of Rothenburg Maharam Alashkar, s. Alashkar, Moses ibn Maharam Galante, s. Galante, Moses ben Mordecai Maharanah, s. Elijah ben Hayyim Maharashdam, s. Medina, Samuel ben Moses de Mahari Moellin, s. Moellin, Jacob ben Moses Mahari Segal, s. Moellin, Jacob ben Moses Maharik, s. Colon, Joseph ben Solomon Maharil, s. Moellin, Jacob Maharil, Sefer, xxvii, xxix, 409, 427, 475, 567, 679 Maharit, s.Trani, Joseph Maharit Zahalon, s. Zahalon, Yom Tov ben Moses Mahariv s. Weil, Jacob Maharival, s. Lev, Joseph ibn Maharsha, s. Edels, Samuel Eliezer, 557 Maharshach, s. Solomon ha-Kohen Maharshak, s. Solomon ben Abraham ha-Kohen Maharshal, s. Luria, Solomon Mahazik ha-Bedek, 129 Mahbarot Immanuel, xlvii, 219 Mahbarot Iti’el, 685 Mahbarot Shevet Mussar, s. Iggerot Shelom Mahrit, s. Trani, Moses Mahzor Vitry, 167 Mahzor(im), xv–xvii, xxi, xxix, xxxiv–xxxvii, xxxix, xlii, xliv, xlvii, 147, 217, 225, 227, 243, 251, 283, 447, 449, 475, 569, 641, 689, 749, 813, 827 Maimoni, 891 Maimonides, Moses, xx, xxi, xxvii, xxviii, xxxv, xlvi, l, liii, 5, 21, 23, 25, 31, 39, 63, 71, 77, 79, 85, 87, 97, 99, 107, 109, 121, 125, 135, 137, 139, 141, 145, 147, 159, 161, 171, 173, 203, 219, 221, 223, 225, 233, 235, 251, 275, 283, 289, 291, 295, 299, 307, 313, 327, 331, 335, 337, 339, 343, 351, 359, 361, 365, 371, 383, 385, 393, 399, 407, 411, 417, 419, 421, 429, 431, 447, 457, 463, 465, 467, 489, 493, 495, 515, 525, 555, 561, 563, 579, 585, 589, 591, 605, 613, 617, 631, 633, 635, 637, 647, 661, 683, 685, 693, 749 Mainz, xxxiv, 29, 427, 457, 709, 715, 721, 737, 739, 815, 819, 835, 845, 847, 853, 873, 887 Majorca, 87, 323 Makhil Kohelet, 687 Makhshirin, 495 Makkot, 163, 713 Malachi, 643 Malaga, 223, 273, 363, 473 Malah ha-Arez De’ah, xxxvii, 315, 505 Malchial, xxxvii Malchial, Hezekiah ben Abraham, xxxvii Malinovski, Joseph, 193 Malmad ha-Talmidim, 815 Manasseh (printer), xxii Manasseh (tribe), 195, 733 Manasseh ben Israel, 193 Manhig Olam, s. Manhig, Sefer haManhig, Sefer ha-, 129 Manoah of Beziers, 487 Manoello Giudeo, s. Immanuel ben Solomon of Rome, 219

Manot ha-Levi, 373, 729 Mantino, Jacob, xxxiii, 285, 371 Mantua, xxiii–xxvii, xxxvi, li, lii, 13, 25, 53, 65, 67, 79, 97, 107, 119, 123, 135, 181, 195, 211, 221, 223, 251, 273, 277, 279, 299, 329, 335, 345, 413, 443, 447, 449, 451, 461, 473, 483, 485, 493, 495, 503, 511, 517, 521, 523, 525, 543, 545, 571, 595, 597, 619, 621, 625, 659, 683, 695, 733, 773, 775, 781, 807, 813, 817, 821, 835, 845, 871, 889, 897, 909 Manuale Caesaraugustanum, 9 Manuel I, King of Portugal, 563, 585 Manula, Elijah, liv Manutius, Aldus, xvii, 3, 99 Manutius, Paulus, 551 Manzoni, G., xv, 89 Mappah, ha-, xl, 491, 779, 783, 819 Marca d’Ancona, 27 Marcaria, Jacob, xxix, 469, 471, 475, 479, 489, 497, 507, 509, 513, 515, 521, 529, 539, 541 Mareh Kohen, 743, 773 Margaret of Savoy, 755 Margarita, Anton, xxxv Margherita, Duchess of Savoy, 775 Margolioth, Moses Mordecai ben Samuel, 769 Margolis, Isaac, 833 Margolis, Jacob, 833 Margulies, Family, 641 Mari, Isaac ben Abba, 107 Marie de France, 451 Marino Brixiense (da Brescia), Marco, 683, 823 Marot Elohim, 517, 523, 535 Marot ha-Zove’ot, 795 Marpe la-Nefesh, 683, 849 Marpe Lashon, 309 Marrakesh, 875 Mars, 369, 597 Marseille, 445, 489 Marsilius of Inghen, 633 Martini, Raymond, 117, 159 Martinus, Petrus, xxxiv Marx, A., xviii, xxxi Marx, M., xvi, xvii, xxiii, 27, 41, 793 Mary, Queen Regent of the Netherlands, 657 Mashbit Milhamot, 735 Mashmi’a ha-Yeshu’ah, xliv, 367 Mashreh Kitrin, 37, 423 Masius, Andreas, liv Masorah, 169 Masorah Magna, 169 Masorah Parva, 169 Masoret ha-Berit, 821 Masoret ha-Berit ha-Gadol, 821 Masoret ha-Hokhmah, 37 Masoret ha-Masoret, 303 Masoret ha-Mikra, xliii, 723, 759 Masraton, Joseph, 69 Massa Gei Hizzayon, xxix, xxx, 321, 471, 513 Massa’ot, Sefer ha-, xxvi, 265, 723 Massekhet Purim, 51, 301, 375 Mat, Abraham, 789 Mat, Moses ben Abraham, li, 557, 789, 837 Mattathias, xxxvii Mattathias ben Johanan, 821 Mattathias ha-Yizhari, 75, 411

1019

index Mattathias, son of Benjamin ben Mattathias of Arta, 231 Matteh Moshe, li, 789, 837 Mattenot Kehunnah, 743, 773 Mattioli, Antonio, 27 Matzref le-Hokhmah, 751 Maximilian, Emperor, xxxviii, xli, 29, 657 Mayim Amukim, 499 Mayyin Ganim, 871 Mazelot shell Adam al Derekh Heskoneh, 459 Mazia, Isaac, 813 Mazli’ah b. Elijah ibn al-Bazak, 195 Mazref la-Hokhmah, 871 Mazref, Sefer ha-, 451 Mazzochi, Yakovo, xxiii McKerrow, R.B., liii McMurtrie, D.C., xxxi Me’ah Berakhot, xv Me’ah She’arim, Sefer, xliv, 267 Me’ammez Ko’ah, 547, 745 Me’assef le-Khol ha-Mahanot, 73, 201, 207 Me’ilah, 263 Me’ir Iyyov, xxi, 539, 569 Me’ir Nativ, xxi, xxxii, 349, 707, 723 Me’ir Tehillot, 539, 901 Me’irat Einayim, 491, 837, 873 Me’or Einayim, 369, 413, 625, 631, 659, 775, 801, 889 Measef, ha-, 733 Media, 379 Medici, Giovanni Angelo de, Cardinal, s. Pius IV, Pope Médicis, Catherine de, 635 Medigo, Elijah del, 637 Medina, Moses ben Samuel de, xlv, 835, 867, 869, 881, 793, 799 Medina, Samuel ben Moses de, xlv, 137, 239, 297, 463, 527, 547, 623, 715, 737, 793, 835, 867, 907 Medinaceli, 525 Medini, Hayyim, 709 Mefasher Helmin, xliv, 73, 455 Mefo’ar, Sefer ha-, s. Derashot Megalleh Amukkot, 641 Megillah/Megillot, xxiii, xl, xlii, xliii, xlvi, 9, 47, 57, 69, 131, 145, 151, 155, 163, 251, 287, 305, 335, 401, 521, 547, 593, 609, 659, 679, 703, 717, 719, 723, 743, 761, 805, 861, 867, 877, 885, 907 Megillat Ahasuerus, s. Megillat Esther Megillat Amrafel, 37 Megillat Antiochus, 447, 449, 691 Megillat Eikhah, 771 Megillat Esther, 9, 343, 373, 561, 643, 653, 681, 703, 703, 721, 725, 729, 863 Megillat Purim, s. Megillat Esther Megillat Ruth, xliv, 193, 373, 577, 877 Megillat Sefer, 575 Megillat Setarim, 51, 335, 375, 441 Megillat Ta’anit, 53 Mehararei Nemeirim, xxii, 891, 903 Mehir Yayin, xxviii, 491, 613 Mehlman, I., xviii, xlv, 81, 579 Mei ha-Shilo’ah, 655 Meinhard of Görz, Count, 457

Meir, R., 807 Meir ben Abraham Angel, s. Angel, Meir ben Abraham Meir ben Asher, 633 Meir ben Baruch of Rothenburg, xxx, 5, 171, 233, 321, 361, 435, 457, 471, 475, 479, 615, 653, 899 Meir ben David Michtam, xxxvii, 57 Meir ben Ephraim of Padua, 447, 449, 461, 473, 483, 485, 493, 503, 545 Meir ben Ezekiel ibn Gabbai, s. Gabbai, Meir ben Ezekiel ibn Meir ben Gedaliah, 899 Meir ben Isaac Aldabi, s. Aldabi, Meir ben Isaac Meir ben Isaac Arama, s. Arama, Meir ben Isaac Meir ben Isaac of Trinquetaille, 121 Meir ben Isaiah, 837 Meir ben Moses of Rome, 321, 513 Meir ben Samuel Benveneste, s. Benveneste, Meir ben Samuel Meir ben Todros ha-Levi of Toledo, 109 Meir ha-Kohen of Rothenburg, s. Meir ben Baruch of Rothenburg Meir of Gornes, 903 Meir of Lublin, s. Meir ben Baruch of Rothenburg, 837 Meir, Jonathan, 723 Meiseles, Abraham ben Joseph, 837 Mekhilta, li, 173, 295, 553 Mekhilta of R. Ishmael, 285 Mekor Barukh, 645 Mekor Hayyim, 363, 493 Melamed, Shem Tov ben Jacob, xxii, 863 Melizat Efer ve-Dinah, xvi, 91, 147, 177 Melizat ha-Mitzvot, 205 Melli, Eliezer, 377, 619 Melli, Jehiel, 695 Melokhim Bukh, xxxvi, 269, 281 Menahem, 251 Menahem Azariah da Fano, s. Fano, Menahem Azaria da Menahem bar Jacob ha-Kohen mi-Porto, s. Abraham Menahem ben Jacob ha-Kohen Rapa mi-Porto Ashkenazi Menahem ben Aaron ibn Zerah, 407 Menahem ben Abraham Bonafos, s. Bonafos, Menahem ben Abraham Menahem ben Abraham of Modena, xxv, 227 Menahem ben Benjamin Recanati, s. Recanati, Menahem ben Benjamin Menahem ben Judah de Lonzano, s. Lonzano, Menahem ben Judah de Menahem ben Moses Egozi, s. Egozi, Menahem ben Moses Menahem ben Moses ha-Bavli, xliii, 611 Menahem called Megedolin, 413 Menahem ha-Bavli ha-Hevroni, s. Menahem ben Moses ha-Bavli Menahem ibn Saruq, 507 Menahem ibn Zerah, 569 Menahem of Merseburg, 833 Mendel, Menahem, 911 Mendes, Family, 657 Mendes, Francisco, 657 Mendes de Sola, Semuel, 549

1020

index Menoach ben Shemaria, 797 Menorat ha-Ma’or, (by Isaac Aboab I), xx, xlvi, l, 175, 279, 307, 695 Menorat ha-Ma’or, (by Israel ben Joseph Al-Nakawa), 223, 279, 307, 695 Menorat Zahav Culah, 223 Menorat Zahav Tohor, xxxviii, 731 Merkevat ha-Mishnah, 495 Meron, 771 Mesahek et ba-Tevel, xlix, 757 Meshal ha-Kadmoni, xx, 147, 333, 843 Mesharim, Sefer, 463 Meshullam ben Jacob, 815 Meshullam ben Solomon, xlii, 531 Meshullam Cusi, 243 Meshullam of Beziers, 97 Mesi’ah Illemim, 223 Mesopotamia, 265 Mesorat ha-Shas, xix, 799 Mesorat ha-Talmud, xix, 163, 327 Mestre, 135 Metevelli, Modecai ben Baruch, 729 Meturgeman, 257, 755 Metz, 583 Mevakkash Ha-Shem, 865 Mevakkesh, 465 Mevo ha-Talmud, 207, 273 Mevo Sha’arim, 341, 635, 641 Mezuzah, 529 Michael ha-Kohen, s. Jehiel ben Asher ha-Kohen, 731 Michal of Arpatshuk, 805 Michelangelo, 511, 597 Middle East, 645 Middot, 495 Middot ha-Nefesh, 815 Middot, Sefer, s. Orhot Zaddikim Midrash Eicha, 553 Midrash Hamesh Megillot, 131 Midrash ha-Ne’lam, s. Tappuhei Zahav Midrash Hazita, 553 Midrash Kohelet, 553 Midrash Megillat Esther, 127, 553 Midrash Mishlei, 553 Midrash Rabbah, xxi, xl, xlv, 47, 97, 131, 553, 609, 743, 773, 785, 885, 901 Midrash Rabbah ve-Zotah, 647 Midrash Rabbot, 287, 593 Midrash Ruth, 503, 553 Midrash Shemu’el, 553, 785, 875, 877 Midrash Tanhuma, xxx, l, 545, 553, 655, 743 Midrash Tillim (Tehillim), xliv, 49, 75, 553, 743, 891 Midrash va-Yosha, 127 Midrash Yonah, 855 Midrash(im), xlvi, li, 91, 105, 129, 207, 261, 269, 279, 281, 285, 317, 319, 333, 343, 373, 379, 413, 441, 487, 493, 533, 545, 581, 587, 621, 671, 683, 695, 701, 751, 809, 829, 841, 881, 891 Mifalot Elokim, 291 Migdal Oz, 171, 219, 361, 425, 547, 631 Migdal Yeshu’ot, 367 Mikdash Ha-Shem, 305 Mikdash Me’at, 901 Mikhlal Yofi, s. Gedarim, Sefer ha-

Mikhlol Helek ha-Dikduk, Sefer, 203 Mikhlol Yofi, 911 Mikhlol, Sefer, xv, xlvii, 83, 173, 197, 209, 349 Mikhtam le-David, 221 Mikhtav Tehiyyat ha-Metim, 605 Mikneh, 141 Mikneh Avram, 165, 263, 309 Mikra’ei Kodesh, 735 Mikra’ot Gedolot, (s. also Bible, Rabbinic/Biblia Rabbinica), xvii, 81, 95, 111, 169, 557, 587 Mikva’ot, 495 Mikveh Yisrael, 757 Milan, xxv, li, 85, 369, 397, 417, 501, 571, 679 Milan, Duchy of, xxviii Milan, Duke of, 217 Mildanado, Moses, 379 Milhamot HaShem, Sefer, xxx, 335, 515, 521 Milhemet ha-Hokhmah ve-ha-Osher, 171, 311 Miller, Ph. E., xviii Min ha-Adummim, Family, 625 Minerva, 369, 597 Minhagei Maharil, s. Maharil, Sefer Minhagei Maharsal, 789 Minhagim, Sefer ha-, xxx, xxxii, xxxix, xliii, 217, 471, 475, 647, 779, 813, 891 Minhah Belulah, xxx, 385, 413, 829 Minhah Hadashah, 647, 651 Minhat Hinnukh, 161 Minhat Kohen, 893 Minhat Yehudah Sone ha-Nashim, 211, 243, 271, 337, 473 Mintz, Judah, 79, 189, 833 Minz, Abraham ben Judah ha-Levi, 133, 393, 833 Minz, Joseph ben Abraham, 235, 393 Minz, Judah ben Eliezer Ha-Levi, 229, 393 Mirandola, Pico della, 17, 775 Miriam, 453 Mirkevet ha-Mishneh, xxvi, xxxviii, 217, 369, 397, 693, 723, 837 Miscellanea Locutionum sacrarum, 879 Mishalim shel Shelomo, 91 Mishkovsy, Prince, xl Mishlei Hakhamim ve-Hidosam, 125 Mishlei Shu’alim, xxxii, 125, 451, 723, 725, 843 Mishlei Sindabar (Sindbad), 91 Mishmeret ha-Bayit, 567 Mishnah/Mishnayot, xx, xxvii, xlix, l, 31, 39, 85, 139, 149, 171, 207, 267, 273, 285, 291, 295, 313, 343, 351, 397, 401, 467, 495, 547, 559, 579, 605, 677, 809, 811 Mishneh Torah, xx, xxi, xlvi, l, 21, 31, 39, 109, 121, 125, 135, 149, 161, 171, 295, 327, 331, 337, 359, 361, 365, 385, 393, 395, 411, 457, 553, 579, 605, 617, 631, 835, 853 Mishpat Zedek, 225 Mishpetei Shemu’el, xxii, 297, 905 Mispar, Sefer ha-, 189, 199 Mitpahat Sefarim, 485 Mitzvot Gadol, Sefer, 33, 107, 135, 189, 327, 337, 395, 417, 429, 557, 639, 911 Mitzvot Kazzar, Sefer, s. Amudei Golah Mitzvot, Sefer ha-, xx, xlvi, 39, 161, 171, 193, 221, 295, 361 Mivhar Peninim, 299, 301, 363, 425, 477, 815 Mizbe’ah ha-Zahav, xxxi

1021

index Mizmor le-Todah, 649, 651 Mizrahi, Elijah ben Abraham, xliv, xlvii, 21, 189, 207, 229, 297, 337, 393, 499, 563, 639, 641, 785, 787, 805 Mizrahi, Ephraim, 613 Mizrahi, Israel, 189 Mizraim, s. Egypt Mo’ed, xxvii, 15, 31, 71, 83, 85, 93, 139, 149, 191, 396, 469, 495 Mo’ed Katan, 163, 717 Moab, the land of, 875 Modena, Abraham ben Meshullam, 485 Modena, Judah Aryeh (Leon), xxii, 391, 799, 823, 875, 857, 893 Moellin, Jacob ben Moses, xxvii–xxix, 357, 427, 433, 439, 453, 475, 615 Molcho, Solomon, xl, xliv, 195, 387, 505, 701, 907 Monastir, 481 Monopoli, 7, 367, 369 Monson, Abraham, 853 Montalvo, Garci Rodriguez de, 253 Montpellier, 97, 489 Moralia in librum Job, xxxi Moravia, xxxix, 355, 609, 647, 681, 765 Morawczyk, Jehiel Michael ben Jedidiah, 647, 651 Morawczyk, Michael, s. Morawczyk, Jehiel Michael ben Jedidiah Mordecai, 615, 653, 779 Mordecai ben Abraham Jaffe, s. Jaffe, Mordecai ben Abraham Mordecai ben Eliezer, xxxvii, 57 Mordecai ben Gershom Katz, s. Kohen (Katz), Mordecai ben Gershom Mordecai ben Hillel ha-Kohen, xxx, 31, 125, 479 Mordecai ben Isaac, 797 Mordecai ben Jehiel Luria, s. Luria, Mordecai ben Jehiel Mordecai ben Moses ha-Levi, 699, 723 Mordecai Nathan, xxi, xxxii, 135, 349, 707 Mordekhai, Sefer Rav, xxx, 31, 85, 125, 251, 395, 409, 457, 469, 479, 777, 891 Moreh ha-Moreh, 465 Moreh Nevukhim, xxi, xxvii, xxxiii, 23, 63, 73, 79, 99, 109, 121, 141, 203, 371, 383, 399, 411, 419, 421, 465, 493, 515, 525, 589, 591, 605, 617, 637, 685, 721, 725, 815, 847 Morelius, Gulielmus, xxxiii, xxxiv, 617 Morenu ha-Rav Yacov Levi, s. Moellin, Jacob ben Moses Morocco, xxxiii, 75, 155, 423, 865 Morosino, Giulio, 679 Morrh, xxxiii Moscato, Judah Aryeh ben Joseph, 775 Moses, xliii, 91, 131, 141, 171, 243, 247, 259, 269, 275, 317, 361, 365, 377, 391, 419, 497, 585, 605, 611, 655, 693, 731, 751, 763, 765, 781, 783, 789, 863, 875, 889 Moses Albelda, s. Albelda, Moses Moses Alfalas, s. Alfalas, Moses Moses Basan Navarra, 133 Moses ben Abraham Mat, s. Mat, Moses ben Abraham Moses ben Abraham Provencal, s. Provençal, Moses ben Abraham

Moses ben Baruch Almosnino, s. Almosnino, Moses ben Baruch Moses ben Eliezer Parnas ha-Rofei, 323 Moses ben Elijah Gallena, s. Gallena, Moses ben Elijah Moses ben Gabbai, 695 Moses ben Hayyim Alshekh, s. Alshekh, Moses ben Hayyim Moses ben Hayyim ben Shem Tov Pesante, s. Pesante, Moses ben Hayyim ben Shem Tov Moses ben Isaac of Pizenz, 765 Moses ben Israel Isserles, s. Isserles, Moses ben Israel Moses ben Jacob Cordovero, s. Cordovero, Moses ben Jacob Moses ben Jacob ha-Levi, 879 Moses ben Jacob of Coucy, 33, 107, 135, 189, 327, 337, 417 Moses ben Jekuthiel, 769 Moses ben Joseph di Trani, s. Trani, Moses ben Joseph di Moses ben Joseph Figo, s. Figo, Moses ben Joseph Moses ben Joseph Kimhi, s. Kimhi, Moses ben Joseph Moses ben Judah ibn Makhir, s. Ibn Makhir, Moses ben Judah Moses ben Maimon, s. Maimonides, Moses Moses ben Mordecai Galante, s. Galante, Moses ben Mordecai Moses ben Nahman, s. Nahmanides, Moses Moses ben Shem Tov ibn Habib, s. Ibn Habib, Moses ben Shem Tov Moses ben Solomon of Beaucaire, 301 Moses ben Zechariah from Corfu, 347, 351, 393 Moses Elishema ben Israel, 817 Moses Esrim ve-Arbeh, s. Esrim ve-Arbeh, Moses Moses ha-Darshan, 105 Moses ha-Kohen, 11 Moses ha-Parki, 347 Moses Kalfo of Bari, 105 Moses Mordecai ben Samuel Margolioth, s. Margolioth, Moses Mordecai ben Samuel Moses Nathan ben Nathaniel Solomon, 623 Moses of Burgos, 333 Moses of Coucy, 557, 639, 911 Moses of Pavia, 105 Moses of Speyer, 209 Moses of Znaim, 475 Moses, brother of Zedekiah (ha-Rofei) ben Abraham, 321 Mossé, B., 291 Moznayim, s. Moznei Leshon ha-Kodesh Moznei Leshon ha-Kodesh, 329 Muelhausen, Yom Tov Lipmann, xxxvii, 475, 519, 709 Mugil, Jacob, 413 Munich, 3, 827 Munk, S., 363 Munkacs, 135, 461 Münster, Sebastian, xxxi, xxxv, 123, 187, 203, 303, 305, 551 Murad, Sultan, 809, 883 Murner, Beatus, xxxiv Musaf he-Arukh, 105

1022

index Musar Haskel, xv, xxxiii, 617 Musar Haskel be-Meliza, 5, 23, 859 Musar, Sefer ha-, s. Derashot (Sefer ha-Mefo’ar), (by Solomon Molcho) Mussafia, Benjamin, 105 Mutal, Benjamin, 207, 807 Nabal the Carmelite, 51 Naftulei Elohim Niftalti (Simanim al Hiddushei Bahya), xxxvi, 25, 315, 505 Nagari, Moses ben Judah, 637 Nagid u-Mezavveh, 789 Nahalat Avot, xlvi, 7, 21, 289, 569 Nahalat Ya’akov, 873 Nahman ben Pinhas, 37 Nahmanides, Moses, xix, xxiii, xxvi, xxxii, liii, 9, 23, 25, 39, 61, 63, 65, 87, 93, 101, 107, 109, 121, 157, 161, 179, 189, 223, 233, 239, 289, 305, 307, 331, 343, 361, 411, 429, 431, 497, 501, 543, 587, 619, 621, 653, 681, 693, 869, 903 Nahon, S.U., xxix Nahshon bar Zadok, 579, 599, 655 Nahshon Gaon, s. Nahshon bar Zadok Najara, Israel ben Moses, xlviii, xlix, 623, 757 Najara, Moses, 757 Najjar, Nathan, 663 Naomi, 577 Naphtali ben Menahem Hertz, s. Hertz, Naphtali ben Menahem Naphtali ben Moses, called Hirsch, 855 Naphtali Hertz ben Eliezer Treves, s. Treves, Naphtali Hertz ben Eliezer Naphtali Hirsch ben Asher Altschuler, s. Altschuler, Naphtali Hirsch ben Asher Naples, xvi, liv, 7, 25, 45, 53, 63, 67, 79, 121, 145, 181, 197, 219, 235, 289, 291, 301, 309, 345, 367, 369, 449, 539, 673 Narbonne, 105, 123, 203 Nashim, 31, 43, 71, 149, 395, 401, 425, 469, 481, 615, 883 Nasi, Don Joseph, xlviii, 481, 527, 547, 549, 579, 653, 655, 657, 673, 809, 821, 877, 883 Nasi, Doña Gracia, xlviii, 481, 527, 547, 657, 821 Nasi, Donna Reyna, xlviii, 809, 821, 877, 883 Nathan Ashkenazi ben Samson Spira, s. Spira (Shapira), Nathan Nata ben Samson Nathan ben Jehiel of Rome, xxi, 49, 105, 187, 257, 261, 391, 755 Nathan ben Meir of Trinquetaille, 869 Nathan Nata ben Samson Spira (Shapira), s. Spira (Shapira), Nathan Nata ben Samson Nathan Nata ben Simeon Spira (Shapira), s. Spira (Shapira), Nathan Nata ben Simeon Nathan Nata ben Solomon Spira, s. Spira (Shapira), Nathan Nata ben Solomon Nathan of Gaza, 757 Nathan of Ratisbon, 855 Natronai Kahana ben Emunah of Baghdad, 319 Navarre, 109, 207, 265, 407, 671 Navarro, Moses, 251 Naxos, xlviii, 499, 547, 653, 657, 821, 877 Nazir, 43, 163 Ne’im Zemirot, s. Mizmor le-Todah Nebbio, 99

Nebuchadnezar, 367, 379, 513, 533 Nedarim, xxvii, 43, 163, 401 Nedivot, Isaac, 102 Nedivot, Samuel ben Isaac, xlix, 101, 103 Nefesh ha-Hakhamah, ha-, 249 Nefesh, Sefer ha-, 125, 465 Nefuzot Yehudah, 775 Nega’im, 495 Nehamot, 901 Nehar Pishon, 175 Nehemiah, 335 Nehmad ve-Naim, 801 Nehorai, Meir ben Isaac, 87 Ner Elohim, 411 Ner Mitzvah, 235, 327, 395, 603, 607, 681, 893 Ner Moshe, 547 Nethaniel ben Levi of Jerusalem, 181 Netherlands, xxxii, xxxiii, xxxvi Netiv ha-Avodah, 519 Netivot Olam, 681 Neustadt, 137, 303, 475 Neveh Shalom, Sefer, li, 383, 633 Neviim, 259 Nevi’im Ahronim, (s. also Prophets, Later), 41, 77, 95, 111, 169, 761 Nevi’im Rishonim, (s. also Prophets, Former), 41, 45, 77, 95, 111, 169, 761 Nevu’at ha-Yeled, 37 New Testament, 55 New York, 105, 279, 695 Nezah Yisrael, 681, 705 Nezikin, xxvii, 31, 71, 149, 395, 425, 469, 529, 615, 647 Nibelungenlied, 269, 281 Niddah, 43, 149, 163, 313, 415, 495, 615, 635, 639, 713 Niederingelheim, 187 Niggunei Maharil, 427 Nikkud ve-Sod Hashmal, ha, 525 Nikolsburg, 681 Nimmukei Yosef, 31, 511, 597 Ninveh, 379 Nishmat Hayyim, 297 Nissim, R., 701 Nissim ben Jacob Ibn Shahin, xxvi, 31, 441 Nissim ben Reuben Gerondi, s. Gerondi, Nissim ben Reuben Nizzahon, Sefer ha-, 29, 519 Noah, 51, 595 Nofet Zufim, 181 Nora Tehillot, 671 Norlingen, David, 557 Normandy, 451 Norsa, Immanuel ben Noah Raphael da, 133, 733 Norsa, Moses ben Nathaniel, xxiv Norton, E.J., xvi Norway, 501 Norzi, Isaac, 807, 817 Norzi, Raphael ben Gabriel, 683 Norzi, Samuel, 817 Norzi, Solomon ben Samuel, 807, 817 Nosek, B., xxxvii Novelot Hokhmah, 721 Nowy Dwor, xli, 791

1023

index Numbers, 285 Numbers Rabbah, 655 Nuremberg, 357, 479 Nuremberg Chronicle, 185 Obadiah, xxxv, 753 Obadiah (printer), xxii Obadiah ben Abraham Yare of Bertinoro, s. Bertinoro, Obadiah ben Abraham Yare of Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno, s. Sforno, Obadiah ben Jacob Obadiah Sabach ben Menahem ha-Kohen, 685 Observationum sacrarum libri XVI, 879 Oels, xxxv, xxxix, 215 Ofen, 841 Offenbach, 299 Offenberg, A.K., xiii, xlv Ohalot, 295, 495 Ohel Mo’ed, 289, 353 Ohel Ya’akov, xxxii, 275, 723, 725 Ohev Mishpat, 225 Ohev Nashim, 97, 271 Ohilah Kirot Libi, 513 Oholei Tam, 207 Okbara, 265 Olam Zuta, 53 Olat Shabbat, 671 Olat Tamid, 179, 875 Olelot Ephraim, 699 Omek Halakhah, 725 Onkelos, xliii, 69 Onkeneira, Isaac ben Samuel, 579, 655, 657 Opatow, 789 Opera (by Jerome), xxxi Opera omnia (by Ambrosius), xxx Oporto, 175 Opuscula quattuor, xxxiii Opusculum . . . Hebraicum a . . . Elia Levita . . . elaboratum, . . . Thisbites, 261 Or Ammim, xxv, 225, 587 Or Einayim, 453 Or Hadash, 681 Or ha-Hayyim, 211, 389, 411 Or ha-Sekhel, xxi, lii, 593 Or ha-Shem, xxvi, 75, 275, 291, 389, 411 Or Ne’erav, 747, 749, 761, 763 Or Olam, 695 Or Torah, 623 Or Yakar, 747, 749, 771, 871 Or Zaru’a, 107, 125, 317, 479, 891 Orah Hayyim, xxi, xxxvii, 89, 175, 181, 245, 247, 359, 555, 683, 699, 779, 835, 851, 891 Oratio de laudibus trium linguarum, 173 Orcutt, W.D., xxxiii Orden de Ros hashana y kipur, translado en Español, xxxiv Ordenanca delas Oraciones del Cedur, 381 Organon, 489, 633 Orhot Hayyim, xv, xxxviii, 5, 127, 331, 599, 891 Orhot Zaddikim, xxxvi, xxxviii, 695, 709 Orlando furioso, 857 Ortaköy, xlviii, 821 Ortas, Abraham de, 599 Ortona, xv, xvi, xviii, 117, 123, 131 Ortonamare, s. Ortona Oshaiah, R., 543

Osimo, 775 Ossenburg, Simeon, 243 Ostrog, 189, 573, 639, 773, 899 Ot Emet, 553, 885 Otiyyot de Rabbi Akiva, 317 Otiyyot Meshiah, 127 Otranto, 309 Ott, N., xxxiii Ottolenghi, Joseph ben Nathan, xxix, 417, 445, 469, 479, 497, 507, 521 Ottoman Empire, xiv, xv, xxvii, xliii, xlv, liii, liv, 21, 135, 189, 793, 861 Oxford, 173, 191, 283, 733, 879 Ozar Yaisha, 305 Padua, xiv, xx, xxvi, xxx, 79, 119, 151, 165, 189, 229, 235, 251, 303, 361, 391, 393, 437, 443, 449, 503, 523, 535, 563, 589, 597, 615, 621, 637, 653, 677, 735, 833, 873, 897 Pagnini, Sante, xxxiii Pahad Yizhak, xliii, 627 Palma, 87 Palquera, 665 Paltiel, Hayyim, 475 Pandectarum sive Partitionum universalium libri XXI, 283 Pane’ah Raza, 655 Panzi, Gershon, 231 Pappenheim, Naphtali, 249 Parah, 495 Parallela sacra, 879 Paraphrasis in librum Koheleth, 173 Parashiot, 469, 541 Parashiot Kesef, 875 Pardes Rimmonim, xxvii, xli, xlv, 125, 399, 695, 747, 749, 791, 871 Pardes, Sefer ha-, 97, 901 Pardo, Joseph, 885 Parenzo, Asher ben Jacob, xxi, xxii, 631, 693, 735, 745, 759, 775, 785 Parenzo, Meir ben Jacob, xx, xxi, 333, 339, 341, 347, 351, 395, 555, 631, 679 Paris, xxxiii, xxxiv, 5, 17, 75, 99, 123, 197, 203, 209, 237, 281, 321, 337, 363, 543, 617, 685, 707, 797 Paris un Viene, xxx, 831 Parma, xxiii, 75, 697 Parnas, Isaiah, xvi Parnas, Moses ben Eliezer, xlvii, 27, 349, 363, 383, 455, 517 Pasquato, Lorenzo, xxx, 535, 589 Passau, 699 Patras, 221, 229 Paul III, Pope, xxiii Paul IV, Pope, xx, 385, 501, 551, 755 Paul, St., xxxi Paulus Israelita, s. Ricius, Paulus Pavia, 135, 181 Pazi, Moses, 711 Peculium Abramae s. Mikneh Avram Pedro III of Aragon, 159 Pelah ha-Rimmon, 791, 871 Pellican, Conrad, 17, 25, 99, 155, 187, 241 Penei Yizhak, 627 Peniel, Solomon Ben Abraham, 453 Peninah, 281

1024

index Pentateuch, (s. also Hamishah Homshei Torah, Humash, Torah), xxiii, xxvii, xxxii, xxxv–xxxviii, xli–xliii, xlvi, 7, 9, 21, 47, 55, 57, 69, 95, 111, 151, 155, 175, 245, 287, 289, 325, 449, 459, 507, 545, 671, 699, 719, 743, 841, 865, 907 Perah Shoshan, 309 Perakim be-Hazlahah, 591 Peregrinato in terram sanctam, xxxv Perek Shirah, 365 Perez, 135 Perez, R., 83, 209 Perez ben Elijah of Corbeil, 33, 331, 435, 479 Perez ben Isaac, xxvi, 211, 473 Perez ha-Kohen 323, 445 Peri Megadim, 257 Perpignan, 5, 97, 591 Persia, 265, 325, 855 Perugia, 571, 755 Perush al Rashi, 805 Perush Alfabetin, 513 Perush Avodat Yom ha-Kippurim, 747 Perush Derekh Yemin, 735 Perush ha-Haggadah, 525 Perush Hamesh Megillot, 235 Perush ha-Milot, 703 Perush ha-Tefillot, 233 Perush ha-Torah, xix, xlvi, 45, 59, 63, 121, 233, 289, 335, 369, 521, 681, 693, 847 Perush ha-Torah le-R. Ya’akov, 61, 207 Perush ha-Tosafot, 487 Perush le-Midrash Hamesh Megillot Rabbah, xl, 609 Perush le-Midrash ha-Rabbot me-ha-Torah, 609 Perush Megillat Ahasuerus, xxii, 561 Perush Megillat Eichah, xliv, 671 Perush Nevi’im Rishonim, 45 Perush Rashi al ha-Torah, 147, 151, 189 Perush Seder Avodat Yom ha-Kippurim, 749, 761 Perush Shir ha-Shirim, 761 Perushim, 647 Perushim le-Rashi, lii, 179 Pesah le-HaShem, 517, 523 Pesahim, xxvii, xlii, xlvi, xlviii, 15, 113, 139, 163, 343, 401, 531, 713, 717, 883, 899 Pesak al Agunah, xxxviii, 833 Pesakim u-Khetavim, 137 Pesakim, Sefer ha-, xxxix, lii, 133, 297 Pesante, Moses ben Hayyim ben Shem Tov, 603, 607 Pesaro, xv, xvi, xxv, l, liv, 13, 25, 27, 41, 45, 51, 63, 77, 83, 85, 101, 105, 113, 121, 123, 129, 147, 255, 301, 303, 335, 375, 389, 423, 485, 521, 713 Pescarol, Abraham ben Kalonymus, 557, 567 Pescarol, Zanvil, xxviii Pesikta, 245 Petah Devarai, 79, 329 Peter the Cruel, 394 Pethahiah ben Jacob of Regensburg, xxxviii, 855 Petirat Aharon, 91 Petirat Moshe Rabbenu, 91 Petri, Henricus, xxxi, 305 Petri, Johann, xxxi Peurbach, George, 613 Pfefferkorn, Johannes, xiii, xxxv, 29, 115, 117 Pfefferkorn-Reuchlin controversy, xxxiv

Pfefferkorns Leben, Des, xiii, 29 Pforzheim, xxxiv, 17, 115, 187 Phaedrus, 451 Pharaoh, 185 Philip II, King of Spain, xxviii, xxxiii, 417, 601 Philip IV, King of France, 347 Philo, 625, 775 Philosophia Pauperum, 633 Piacenza, xxiii Pindar, 3 Pinel, Duarte, s. Usque, Abraham ibn, 389 Pinto, Aaron David, 549 Pinto, Josiah ben Joseph, xlix, 843 Piove di Sacco, 135, 243, 355 Pires, Diogo, s. Gedaliah, Don Judah Pirhei Shoshannim, 733 Pirkei Avot, xxi, xxiii, xxxvii, xliv, xlvi, l, 13, 51, 65, 97, 251, 289, 397, 447, 529, 559, 607, 647, 651, 661, 733, 767 Pirkei ben Azzai, 529 Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer, xx, xxvii, xlix, 595, 757, 743, 855, 901 Pirkei Eliyahu, 303 Pirkei Moshe, xliv, 547, 647 Pirkei Tosafot, 531 Pisa, 235, 351 Piskei Eruvin, 471 Piskei ha-Ga’on R. Liva mi-Ferrara ve-Rav Avraham Minz, s. Pesakim, Sefer haPiskei Halakhot, xxv, 233 Piskei Hallah, 159 Piskei ha-Rashdam, 835 Piskei ha-Rosh, 5, 71, 463 Piskei Tosafot, 83, 85, 139, 467, 799 Pistari Gaon, 127 Pitron Halomot, xxv, xlix, 73, 79, 455 Pius IV, Pope, 501, 551, 755 Pius V, Pope, xxvi, xxviii, 751, 755 Piza, Jeudah, 549 Pizei Ohev, xlviii, 757 Pizmonim, 757 Pizzighettone, David, 133 Plantin, Christopher, xxxiii, xxxiv, 601 Plato, 775 Plesser, R., xxxix Poetics, 309 Poggetti, Jacob, 695 Poki, Isaac ben Judah, 711 Poki, Judah ben Eliezer Chelebi, 711 Poki, Moses ben Eliezer Chelebi, 711 Polak, Jacob, 723 Poland, xiv, xv, xxxviii–xliv, liv, 133, 205, 233, 531, 557, 621, 627, 635, 639, 651, 653, 721, 723, 773, 779, 787, 803, 821, 823, 851, 855, 891 Politanus, Angelus, 3 Politics, 561 Pollack, Jacob ben Joseph, xxxviii, 33, 833 Pollak, Joseph, 393 Pomis, David ben Isaac de’, 755 Ponte, Gotardo da, 85 Popper, W., xxviii Porat Yosef, xxii, 735, 887, 901, 907 Porro, Pietro Paolo, 99 Portae Lucis, 525 Porteira, David, 83, 85

1025

index Portelvecchio, Pietro del, 589 Porto, 155, 829 Porto ha-Kohen, Abraham Menahem, s. Abraham Menahem ben Jacob ha-Kohen Rapa mi-Porto (Rapaport) Ashkenazi Porto Kohen, Isaac, 511 Portugal, xv, xxv, xlix, 21, 25, 45, 93, 155, 195, 209, 211, 235, 239, 273, 309, 369, 389, 403, 421, 473, 483, 563, 585, 693, 861 Poryck, 695 Posen, xxxix, 217, 627, 639, 653, 661, 681, 701, 721, 769, 779, 873, 899 Posnan, 641 Postel, Guillaume, xxvii, 543 Potkin, Johann, xxxiv, 99 Poznah, 791 Praeparatio evangelica, 141 Prague, xviii, xxxv, xxxvii, xxxviii, xlii, 23, 57, 65, 89, 183, 185, 189, 199, 213, 215, 219, 243–247, 269, 299, 399, 457, 459, 491, 511, 513, 519, 553, 557, 597, 613, 625, 627, 633, 639, 653, 661, 681, 699, 705, 709, 723, 731, 779, 781, 783, 789, 801, 807, 811, 815, 827, 833, 839, 847, 855, 871, 873, 889, 895, 899, 911 Pratensis, Felix, s. Prato, Felice da Prato, Felice da, xvii, 81, 95, 111, 143, 177, 305 Presigno, Comino, xxii, 805 Pressburg, 329, 465, 891 Prester John, 127 Principles of Faith, 291 Principes de la foi, Les, 291 Priesty Goan, 127 Priesty Juan, 127 Prinz, Jacob, 581 Prinz, Meir, 581 Prizol, Abraham, s. Farissol, Abraham ben Mordecai Profateus Judeaus, 489 Proops, Solomon, 461 Prophets, 349, 447, 581, 795, 837 Prophets, Earlier, s. Prophets, Former Prophets, Former, (s. also Nevi’im Rishonim), 335, 521, 693, 837, 841, 859 Prophets, Later, (s. also Nevi’im Ahronim), 693, 841, 859 Prophets, Twelve minor, 77, 753 Prossnitz, xxxix, 609, 627 Prostitz, xiv, 573 Prostitz, Aaron, 609 Prostitz, Isaac ben Aaron, xxxix, xl, xli, 311, 557, 581, 609, 615, 621, 647, 651, 689, 703, 705, 713, 739, 743, 765, 767, 769, 773, 777, 783, 789, 791, 811, 819, 837, 855 Prostitz, Issachar, 609 Provencal, Abraham, 695 Provencal, Jacob ben David, 673 Provençal, Moses ben Abraham, 571, 631 Provence, xliv, xlvi, 37, 97, 121, 129, 203, 265, 301, 335, 337, 339, 347, 463, 583, 627, 663, 685, 815 Provenzali, David, 495 Provenzalo, Jacob ben David, 181 Proverbia Ben-Sira, 879 Proverbiorum classes duae, 879 Proverbs, 23, 25, 69, 145, 219, 335, 621, 654, 673, 795, 797

Prubach, 547 Przemysl, li, 789 Psalms, (s. also Tehillim), xx, xxiii–xxv, xxix, xxxii, xxxvi, xxxviii, 49, 69, 75, 115, 211, 225, 235, 255, 259, 539, 621, 641, 649, 651, 671, 679, 705, 731, 741, 753, 795, 797, 841, 859, 861, 867, 901, 907, 909 Psalter, xxxiv, xxxvii Psalterium, xiii, xvii, 81 Psalterium ex hebreo diligentissime ad verbum tralatum, 81 Psalterium Hebraeum, Graecum, Arabicum et Chaldaeum, 99 Psalterium, Quadruplex, xxxi Psalterium, Quincuplex, 99 Pseudo-Josephus, s. Gurion ha-Kohen, Joseph ben Ptolemy, 815 Pugio Fidei, 117, 159 Pumbedita, 5, 287, 319, 325, 343, 455, 585, 781 Putnam, G.H., xxxiii Puy-de-Dôme, 617 Qal’at Hammad (Kalat Hamad), 31 Quaestiones Naturales, 451 Quaestionum ebraicarum libri tres, 879 Quintilian, 775 Quirino, Carlo, xx, 351 Ra’ah, s. Aaron ha-Levi of Barcelona Ra’aya Meheimna, 461, 791 Rabad I, s. Ibn Daud, Abraham Rabad III, s. Abraham ben David of Posquières Raban, s. Eliezer ben Nathan of Mainz Rabbah bar Nahamani, 287 Rabbenu Asher, s. Asher ben Jehiel Rabbenu Bahya, s. Bahya ben Asher ben Hlava Rabbenu Gershom Me’or ha-Golah, 105, 125, 227, 331 Rabbenu Jacob Ba’al ha-Turim, s. Jacob ben Asher Rabbenu Jeroham, s. Jeroham ben Meshullam Rabbenu Nissim, s. Gerondi, Nissim ben Reuben Rabbenu Nissim, s. also Nissim ben Jacob Ibn Shahin Rabbenu Tam, s. Jacob ben Meir Rabbenu Yonah, s. Gerondi, Jonah ben Abraham Rabbinovicz, R.N.N., xl, xli, 43 Rabyatchi, Joseph ben Moses, xviii, 193 Rachel, 889 Radaeus, Aegidius, 879 Radak, s. Kimhi, David ben Joseph Radbaz, s. David ben Solomon ibn Abi Zimra Rademaker, Jan, xxxiii Ralbag, s. Gersonides, Levi Ralbah, s. Ibn Habib, Levi ben Jacob, 563 Ramah, 763 Ramak, s. Cordovero, Moses Rambam, s. Maimonides, Moses Ramban, s. Nahmanides, Moses Ran, s. Gerondi, Nissim ben Reuben Rapa, s. Jehiel ben Jekuthiel ha-Kohen Rapaport, Abraham Menahem, s. Abraham Menahem ben Jacob ha-Kohen Rapa mi-Porto (Rapaport) Ashkenazi Raphael ben Gabriel Norzi, s. Norzi, Raphael ben Gabriel Raphelengius, Christoffer, xxxiv

1026

index Raphelengius, Franciscus, xxxiii, 601 Rasa’il ikhwan as-safa’ wa khillan al-wafa, 443 Rash, s. Samson ben Abraham of Sens Rashba, s. Adret, Solomon ben Abraham ibn Rashba, s. also Simeon ben Abraham Rashbam, s. Samuel ben Meir Rashbash, s. Duran, Solomon ben Simeon Rashbaz, s. Duran, Simeon ben Zemah Rashi, s. Solomon ben Isaac Rashi al ha-Torah, s. Perush Rashi al ha-Torah Ratdolt, Erhard, l Ratisbon, 137 Rav, 43 Rav Peninim, 795 Ravad, s. Abraham ben David of Posquières Ravan, Eliezer ben Nathan Ravenna, 227 Ravina, R., 71 Ravyah, s. Eliezer ben Joel ha-Levi of Bonn Re’amim, Sefer, 509 Re’umah, Sefer, 579, 655 Recanati, Menahem ben Benjamin, xxv, xxxii, 233, 267, 611, 701, 847 Red Sea, 597 Reed Sea, 185, 721 Refu’ot ha-Talmud, xlix, 455 Refuot ha-Geviyah le-hakham Rabbenu Judah ben Solomon al-Harizi, xxv, 125 Regensburg, 135, 195, 357, 697, 855 Reggio di Calabria, 151 Regimiento dela Vida, 549 Regiomontanus, l Reims, 635 Reinhart, M., xxxvii Reinhold, 489 Rema, s. Isserles, Moses Remak, s. Kimhi, Moses Remazim, Sefer ha-, s. Kizzur Piskei ha-Rosh Remus, 49 Reshit Da’at, 179 Reshit Hokhmah, xlviii, 307, 465, 695, 907 Reshit Hokhmah Kazar, 695 Reuben, 195, 733 Reuben ha-Bavli, 611 Reubeni, David, 195, 387 Reubeni, Solomon, 493 Reuchlin, Johannes, xxxiv, xxxvi, 3, 17, 29, 115, 117, 173, 225 Reuven, son of Nathan ben Jehiel, 105 Reuveni, Joseph, 195 Reyna, Abraham, 517, 523 Rhodes, 619 RI, s. Isaac ben Samuel of Dampierre, 129 Ribam, s. Isaac ben Meir, 151 Ribash, s. Isaac ben Sheshet Perfet, 87 Ricius, Paulus, xxxv, 525 Rieti, Moses ben Issac da, 901 Rif, s. Alfasi, Isaac ben Jacob Rikomin, Samuel, xlvi, 59 Rimini, xv, xvi, xliv, 25, 27, 131, 147, 151, 177, 181, 249, 275, 331, 569 Rimoch, Astruc, 663 Rinnat Dodim, 911 Riom, 617 Ritba, s. Ibn Ishbili, Yom Tov

Ritus, xxxiv Riva di Trento, xxi, xxv, xxix, xxx, 7, 25, 31, 145, 299, 323, 335, 363, 395, 467, 471, 475, 479, 483, 489, 497, 507, 509, 513, 515, 521, 525, 529, 533, 539, 541, 803 Rivevot Ephraim, 699 Rivkind, I., 35 Robert of Anjou, King of Naples, 301 Robert the Wise, s. Robert of Anjou Robisheux, T., xxxvii Rocca, David della, 901 Rödelheim, 97 Roke’ah, s. Eleazer ben Judah of Worms Roke’ah, Sefer ha-, xv, l, li, 11, 137, 295, 317, 709, 731 Romagna, xv Romano, Joseph, s. Eliano, Vittorio Romano, Solomon, 679 Rome, xvi, xx, xxii, xxiii, xxv, xxviii, l, li, liv, 21, 27, 37, 49, 53, 63, 77, 81, 105, 109, 123, 127, 159, 171, 177, 187, 195, 197, 203, 219, 225, 227, 239, 257, 265, 293, 301, 303, 307, 321, 329, 335, 337, 369, 371, 385, 397, 425, 455, 513, 521, 551, 587, 625, 667, 677, 679, 689, 755, 771, 823, 829, 845 Romemot El, 795 Romulus, 49, 451 Rosenfeld, M.N., xxxv, xxxvi Rosenthal, A., lii, 263 Rosh Amanah, xix, xxvii, xlvi, 21, 289, 291 Rosh ha-Shanah, xl, xlvi, 15, 101, 103, 163, 689, 717 Rosh Yosef, 785 Rosh, s. Asher ben Jehiel Rossi, Azariah (Bonaiuto) ben Moses de, 141, 369, 413, 625, 631, 659, 775, 801, 889 Rossi, G.B. de, xxvii, xxxiii Roth, C., xviii, xlviii, l Rothenburg, 457 Rothschild Miscellany, 271 Rouen, 445 Rovigo, lii, 735, 769 Ruah Hen, xx, xxix, xliii, 567, 815 Rudolph I, Emperor, 457 Rufach, 187 Ruffinelli, Tomaso, xxiv, 807, 817 Ruffinelli, Venturin, xxiv, 443, 447, 449, 473, 483, 511, 545, 597, 909 Rufinelli, Giacomo, xxiv Ruppel, Berthold, xxx Russia, 5, 71, 233, 265, 531, 609, 773, 855 Ruth, xv, xxxiii, xxxvii, 155, 577, 667, 703, 753, 785, 877, 901 Ruth Rabbah, 131 Rutherford, 291 Rychard, Wolfgang, 173 Saadiah ben Joseph Gaon, xlvii, 25, 61, 91, 129, 277, 317, 325, 329, 335, 343, 437, 451, 509, 519, 537, 543, 587, 665, 673, 815 Saba, Abraham ben Jacob, xiii, xiv, xxi, 155 Sabbioneta, xiii, xxv–xxix, xxxii, li, 31, 145, 151, 273, 291, 359, 369, 371, 385, 387, 395, 397, 399, 401, 403, 407, 413, 417, 427, 451, 469, 475, 495, 541, 587, 595, 677, 693, 723, 773, 783, 799, 831, 869

1027

index Sabellicus, Marcus Antonius, 85 Sacro, Gioanni de, 547 Safah Berurah, xlvi, 329 Safed, xxii, xlviii, xlix, 37, 195, 235, 359, 365, 373, 399, 485, 531, 563, 577, 593, 603, 611, 627, 643–649, 657, 659, 667, 669, 675, 677, 695, 701, 729, 757, 761, 771, 795, 821, 853, 875, 877, 893, 909 Sagis, Solomon, 749 Sagri, Jacob, 761 Saharon, 795 Sahula, Isaac ben Solomon ibn Abi, 333 Salamanca, 55, 93, 585 Salerno, 265 Salim, Sultan, 69 Salomon, H.P., 381 Salon, 301 Salonika, xv, xliii–xlviii, li, 5, 31, 43, 47, 49, 69, 71, 73, 75, 79, 89, 93, 141, 145, 147, 163, 177, 179, 195, 197, 199, 211, 245, 247, 259, 267, 273, 275, 287, 289, 297, 299, 307, 345, 349, 365, 367, 369, 373, 395, 403, 467, 469, 481, 483, 499, 527, 539, 545, 547, 549, 553, 555, 559, 561, 563, 573, 581, 589, 591, 599, 603, 607, 611, 629, 645, 649, 655, 671–675, 687, 691, 701, 715, 731, 735, 737, 745, 747, 749, 751, 757, 771, 791, 793, 795, 799, 835, 843, 861, 867, 869, 881, 885, 887, 905, 907 Sambatyon, 733, 755 Samegah, Joseph ben Benjamin, 735, 785 Samson, 185 Samson, R., 209 Samson ben Abraham of Sens, xx, 167, 313 Samson ben Isaac of Chinon, 273, 445, 817 Samson ben Jacob ha-Cohen, xxxvi Samson ben Joseph of Falaise, 313 Samson ben Zadok, xxviii, 435, 457 Samuel, xxxvi, 281, 815, 837 Samuel, R., 855 Samuel af Na’im, 607 Samuel Almosnino, s. Almosnino, Samuel Samuel bar Mari, 319 Samuel bar Nahamani, 257 Samuel ben Abraham Laniado, s. Laniado, Samuel ben Abraham Samuel ben Ali, 109, 695 Samuel ben Elhanan Jacob Archivolti, s. Archivolti, Samuel ben Elhanan Jacob Samuel ben Isaac Aripul, s. Aripul, Samuel ben Isaac Samuel ben Isaac ha-Sardi, s. Sardi, Samuel ben Isaac haSamuel ben Isaac Uceda, s. Uceda, Samuel ben Isaac Samuel ben Isaac, 535 Samuel ben Jacob Hagiz, s. Hagiz, Samuel ben Jacob Samuel ben Joseph Kohen Zedek, 893 Samuel ben Kalonymus he-Hasid, 519, 697 Samuel ben Kohen Ashkenazi, xlvii Samuel ben Meir, 61, 151, 167, 487, 587, 615 Samuel ben Moses de Medina, s. Medina, Samuel ben Moses de Samuel ben Moses Kalai, s. Kalai, Samuel ben Moses

Samuel ben Perachiah ha-Kohen Zedek, 559, 603, 607, 701 Samuel ben Shabbetai of Candia, 561 Samuel ben Solomon of Falaise, 457 Samuel ben Solomon Segelmassi, 863 Samuel Eliezer ben Judah ha-Levi Edels, s. Edels, Samuel Eliezer ben Judah ha-Levi Samuel ha-Kohen 415 Samuel ha-Levi Hachim, 323 Samuel ha-Nagid, 207, 273, 441 Samuel ibn Seneh Zarza, s. Zarza, Samuel ibn Seneh Samuel ibn Shraga, 473 Samuel Jaffe ben Isaac Ashkenazi, s. Jaffe, Samuel ben Isaac Ashkenazi Samuel Menahem 457 Samuel of Evreux, s. Evreux, Samuel Samuel of Revigo, 409 Samuel Rosh Kallah, 319 Sanhedrin, 23, 37, 163, 291, 641, 677, 713, 717, 903 Sant Jordi, Francisco de, s. Rimoch, Astruc Santa Fe, Geronimo (Hieronymus), s. Lorki, Josua Sar Shalom, xlix, 649, 667 Sar Shalom, s. Shalom ben Isaac of Neustadt Sara, sister of Jacob Pollack’s wife, 833 Saragossa, 25, 75, 141, 271, 323, 345, 363, 411, 539, 663, 671 Sarai, 685 Sardi, Samuel ben Isaac ha-, xlv, 869 Sarfati, Samuel, xxiii, 293 Sarug, Israel, 871 Saruq, Joseph ben Hayyim, 795 Sassoon, Judah ben Joseph, 61, 67, 71, 199 Saul Astruc ha-Kohen, 323 Saul ben Simon, 465 Saul ha-Kohen Ashkenazi, s. Ashkenazi, Saul ha-Kohen Saxo, Johann, 741 Saxony-Anhalt, 753 Schechter, S., li Scheiber, A., 199 Scheindlein, R. Israel Isserlein’s wife, 137 Schiff, A.A., 583 Schmelzer, M.H., xviii, 287 Schneittach, R., 519 Schneur Zalman of Liadi, 565 Schoeffer, Petrus, xxxv Scholem, G., 37 Schönen Glück, Der, 255 Schurmann, Stefan, 827 Schwarz, Hayyim, s. Shahor, Hayyim ben David Sczebrzeszyn, 773 Se’ah Solet, 683 Sedeh Yehoshu’a, 785 Sedei Hemed, 709 Seder Eliyahu, s. Tanna de-Vei Eliahu Seder Eliyahu Rabbah, 895 Seder Eliyahu Zuta, 895 Seder Gittin va-Halizah, 393 Seder ha-Dorot, 709 Seder ha-Ibbur, 513 Seder ha-Ma’arakhah, 227 Seder ha-Yom, xxii, 909 Seder Kedusha, 553 Seder Mitzvot Nashim, 873

1028

index Seder Olam, 53, 617 Seder Olam Rabbah, s. Seder Olam Seder Olam Zuta, xxxiii, 617 Seder Tefillot ha-Shanah Minhag Kehillot Romania, 629 Sefarad, s. Spain Sefarim Hizonim, 379 Sefat Yeter, 329 Sefer ha-Halakhot, s. Alfas, Sefer Rav Sefer Rav Alfas, s. Alfas, Sefer Rav Sefer Rav Mordekhai, s. Mordekhai, Sefer Rav Sefer shel R Anshel, s. Mirkevet ha-Mishneh Segal, Jacob, 269 Segovia, 421, 525, 589 Segura de la Orden, 45 Sekhel Tov, 123 Selihot, xv, xxxv, xxxvi, xxxix, xliii, 13, 85, 217, 315, 355, 653, 699, 721 Selim, Sultan, 591, 607 Selim II, Sultan, 547, 657 Selim, Solomon ben Isaac, 813 Semag, s. Mitzvot Gadol, Sefer Semahot, 529 Semak, s. Amudei Golah Sen Astruc de Noves, s. Abba Mari ben Eligdor Sens, xv, 83, 209 Sephardi, Immanuel, 903 Septimus, B., xlvi Septuagint, 601, 625 Seth, 387 Seville, 103, 403 Sfera del Mondo, 547 Sforno, Hananel, 225, 587 Sforno, Obadiah ben Jacob, xxi, xxv, 17, 225, 251, 587 Sforza, Constantine, Duke, 41 Sforza, Family, 755 Sforza, Galeazzo, 85 Sforza, Giovanni, xvi, 85 Sha’ar ha-Gemul, xxvi, liii, 121, 431 Sha’ar ha-Shamayim, xx, 339, 347, 497, 547 Sha’ar ha-Sho’el, 535 Sha’ar Yehudah, 193, 711 Sha’arei Dimah, 179 Sha’arei Dura, xx, xxvi, xxxii, xxxviii, xlvii, 137, 341, 379, 409, 457, 491, 615, 635, 639, 641, 679, 783, 911 Sha’arei Ez Hayyim, 513 Sha’arei ha-Avodah, 23 Sha’arei Orah, xxx, xxxv, 525 Sha’arei Teshuvah, xv, 23, 409, 695, 839 Sha’arei Zedek, 23, 335, 525 Shabbat, 159, 163, 713, 717, 727 Shabbatai Zevi, 619, 757 Shahor (Schwarz), Hayyim ben David, xiv, xxxv–xxxvii, xli, xlii, 57, 185, 213, 215, 243, 249, 269, 281, 315, 355, 531 Shahor, Hayyim ben Isaac, 459 Shahor, Isaac, xli, xlii, 215 Shakhna, Shalom, xxxix, 341, 491, 639, 783, 811, 833 Shalit, Isaac ben Eliezer, 611 Shalit, Isaac ben Hayyim, 315 Shalit, Joseph ben Jacob Ashkenazi, xxiv, xxvi, 119, 369, 437, 443, 451, 495, 539, 597, 745, 841, 897 Shalom, 137

Shalom ben Isaac of Neustadt, 427, 891 Shalom, Abraham ben Isaac ben Judah ben Samuel, li, 383, 633 Shalom, Samuel, 493, 585 Shalshelet ha-Kabbalah, 235, 751 Shamaiah, 151 Shamayim Hadashim, 291 Shamayim la-Rom, s. Behinat Olam Shani, s. Sheni, Isaac ben Elijah Shapira, David ha-Kohen, xxxviii Shapira, Nathan, 759 Shapira, s. Spira, Nathan Nata ben Samson Shapira, s. Spira, Nathan Nata ben Simeon Shapira, s. Spira, Nathan Nata ben Solomon Shapira, Zevi, 461 Shas, s. Talmud She’ar Yashuv, 673 She’elot u’Teshuvot, 135, 239, 357, 393, 433, 453, 457, 471, 481, 527, 563, 639, 737, 835, 853, 871, 881 She’elot Inyan ha-Neshamah, 459 She’elot le Hakham, 525, 637 She’elot Teshuvot le-ha-Rosh, xxi, 107 She’elot Teshuvot Rabbenu Nissim, 293 She’elot u’Teshuvot Divrei Rivot, xlv, 297, 527, 687, 715 She’elot u’Teshuvot ha-Geonim, xxxviii, 629, 781, 809 She’elot u’Teshuvot Rashba, 97 She’elot u’Teshuvot She’erit Yosef, xliv, li, 403, 599, 615, 777, 817 She’erit Yehudah, 907 She’erit Yisrael, 757 She’iltot, 319, 343 Shehitah u-Vedikah, xxxviii Shekalim, 149, 191 Shekel ha-Kodesh, xlvi, 21, 73, 477, 617 Shelah, s. Horowitz, Isaiah Shelom Esther, 643 Shelosh Esrei Ikkarim, xxxv Shem, 257 Shem Tov ben Jacob Melamed, s. Melamed, Shem Tov ben Jacob Shem Tov ben Joseph ibn Falaquera, s. Ibn Falaquera, Shem Tov ben Joseph Shem Tov ibn Shaprut, s. Ibn Shaprut, Shem Tov Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov, s. Ibn Shem Tov, Shem Tov Shemaryah ben David, xxxvii, 57 Shemen ha-Mor, xlv, 835, 867 Shemonah Perakim, 447, 635, 661 Shemot Devarim, 879 Shemot Rabbah, 885 Shenei Luhot ha-Berit, 491, 661 Sheni, Isaac ben Elijah, 267 Sherira, Gaon, 227, 585 Sheshet, R., 233 Shetei Yadot, 623 Sheva Einayim, 175 Shevah Devarim ha-Meakvim et ha-Tefillah, 127 Shevet Yehudah, xxvii, xliv, li, 403, 595, 817 Shevilei Emunah, xxx, 307, 497 Shevilei Tohu, xviii, 241 Shevu’ot, xlii, 163, 183, 467, 527, 531, 713, 903 Shibbolei ha-Leket, 125, 321, 513, 565, 603 Shibbolei ha-Leket ha-Shalem, 321 Shidlow, 491 Shiltei ha-Gibborim, xxvi, 389, 395

1029

index Shimon bar Yohai, s. Simeon bar Yohai Shimon ben Lakish, 15 Shimon ben Pazi, 15 Shimonei, 95 Shimshon, R., 83 Shimush Tehilim, xxvi Shinar, 579 Shiphrah, 729 Shir ha-Lamedin, 97 Shir ha-Maalot, 651 Shir ha-Shirim, (s. also Song of Songs), 373, 539, 645, 667, 673 Shir ha-Shirim Rabbati, 131 Shir ha-Yihud, xxxvii, 519 Shirish, Solomon di, 761 Shisha Sidrei Mishnah, s. Mishnah Shitah Mekubbezet (Asefat Zekenim), 175, 853 Shloshah Perushim, 663, 665 Shloshah Perushim al Shir ha-Shirim, 673 Shmeruk, Ch., xxx Shmuel Bukh, xxxvi, 269, 281 Shohatei ha-Yeladim, 757 Shoher Tov, s. Midrash Tehillim Sholal, Isaac ha-Kohen, 37, 347 Shomerim la-Boker, xli Shorashim, Sefer ha-, xliv, xlvi, 17, 197, 203, 217, 257, 753 Shoresh Yishai, 373 Shoshannat ha-Amakim, 795 Shoshannat ha-Melekh, 347 Shoshannat Ja’akov, 873 Shulhan Arukh, xxi, xl, xliv, xlv, l, 31, 89, 121, 219, 337, 341, 359, 427, 491, 555, 569, 625, 631, 669, 675, 691, 779, 781, 783, 801, 819, 881, 891, 905, 909 Shulhan ben Arba, xxiv, 25, 53, 65, 67 Shushan, 729, 779 Si’ah Yizhak, xxxviii, 627 Sibbuv, xxxviii, 855 Sicily, 105, 117, 265 Siddur, xxiii, xxxv, 215, 227, 475 Siddur ha-Tefillot ke-Minhag Kahal ha-Karaim, 193 Siddur Tefillot shel Pesah, xxiii Siddur Tefilot he-Hadash, xlviii, 821 Sidurim de-beracha, 283 Sifra, 245, 285, 295, 313, 343, 553 Sifra di-Zeni’uta, 503 Sifrei, 245, 285, 313, 343, 553, 901 Sifrei Zuta, 313 Sifroni ha-Ashkenazi, Israel ben Daniel, s. Zifroni ha-Ashkenazi, Israel ben Daniel. Siftei Da’at, 699 Siftei Yeshenim, 709, 843 Sigisimund I, King, xxxix, 217 Sigisimund Augustus I, King, xlii Sigisimund II Augustus, King, xxxix, xl, 609, 635 Sigisimund III, King, xli, 797 Silesia, xxxv, xxxix, 215 Silling, Christophorus, 115 Simanei ve-Kizzur Piskei ha-Mordekhai, 469 Simanim al Hiddushei Bahya, s. Naftulei Elohim Naftaltei Simeon, R., 43 Simeon bar Yohai, 421, 461, 485, 503, 577, 619, 771, 849 Simeon ben Abraham, 233

Simeon ben Bezalel, 797 Simeon ben Isaac ha-Levi Aschaffenburg, s. Aschaffenburg, Simeon ben Isaac ha-Levi Simeon ben Samuel, xxxvii, 505 Simeon ben Yohai, s. Simeon bar Yohai Simeon ben Zemah Duran, s. Duran, Simeon ben Zemah Simeon ha-Darshan, 581 Simeon Kayyara, s. Kayyara, Simeon Simeon Levi Guenzburg, s. Guenzburg, Simeon ben Judah ha-Levi Simeon of Frankfort, 581 Simeon of Sens, 351 Simhah ben Samuel of Vitry, 151, 167 Simlai, Levi, 909 Simon bar Reuben, 709 Simon ha-Levi, 565 Simonei Mordekhai, 479 Simonsohn, S., xxiv Sinai, 365, 669, 733 Sinan Chelebi, s. Rabyatchi, Joseph ben Moses Sinigaglia, 27 Siprut Gabbay, Josseph, 549 Sir Bevis of Hampton, xxxvi, 255 Sirilyo, Samuel ibn, 807, 877 Sirkes, Joel, 89, 243, 789 Sirleto, Gillaume, Cardinal, 823 Sixtus of Siena, 501, 503 Sixtus V, Pope, 755 Sixtus VI, Pope, 551 Skoplje, 861 Slatkine, M.M., 507 Slonik, Benjamin Aaron, 789, 873 Slovakia, 891 Smith, M.M., l Sneek, 879 Sod Yesharim, 857 Sodei Razayya, 501 Sofer, Shabbetai, 789 Soferim, 529 Sofia, 821 Soler, Johann, 99 Solomon, King, 185, 243, 533, 673, 709, 887 Solomon Baruch, 603 Solomon ben Abraham Adret, s. Adret, Solomon ben Abraham Solomon ben Abraham ha-Kohen, xlv, 737 Solomon ben Abraham of Montpellier, 23, 371 Solomon ben Abraham of Urbino, 353 Solomon ben Abraham Peniel, s. Peniel, Solomon Ben Abraham Solomon ben Eli of Sarai, 23 Solomon ben Eliezer ha-Levi, 295 Solomon ben Hasdai, 319 Solomon ben Isaac, xxv, xxvii, xxx, xxxi, xxxv, xlii–xliv, xlvi, 15, 25, 43, 57, 61, 63, 69, 77, 83, 85, 93, 95, 101, 121, 125, 135, 139, 151, 157, 169, 175, 179, 189, 201, 209, 223, 243, 277, 285, 305, 315, 325, 327, 337, 351, 379, 401, 413, 429, 447, 449, 467, 469, 475, 483, 487, 499, 507, 513, 533, 557, 563, 587, 593, 639, 641, 647, 681, 689, 691, 693, 701, 713, 719, 727, 759, 767, 785, 787, 789, 799, 805, 809, 811, 837, 847, 877, 899, 911 Solomon ben Isaac le-Bet ha-Levi, xxii, xliv, 481, 553, 559, 861

1030

index Solomon ben Isaac of Lisbon, xxiii, 293 Solomon ben Jacob Almoli, s. Almoli, Solomon ben Jacob Solomon ben Jehiel Luria, s. Luria, Solomon ben Jehiel Solomon ben Judah ibn Gabirol, s. Ibn Gabirol, Solomon ben Judah Solomon ben Mazzal Tov, xlvii, 61, 129, 209, 221, 245, 325, 349, 483 Solomon ben Mordecai of Meseritz, xxxi Solomon ben Moses ha-Levi Alkabez, s. Alkabez, Solomon ben Moses ha-Levi Solomon ben Nahmias Mor David, 909 Solomon ben Samuel ha-Levi, xxxvii, 57 Solomon ben Samuel ha-Sefardi, 231 Solomon ha-Kohen, 71, 867 Solomon Hayyim, 897 Solomon Hayyim ben Jehiel Raphael ha Kohen, 181 Solomon ibn Melekh, s. Ibn Melekh, Solomon Solomon ibn Verga, s. Ibn Verga, Solomon Solomon Isaac Yerushalmi ibn Menahem, 399 Solomon Molcho, s. Molcho, Solomon Solomon of Urbino, 289 Soltana, Solomon Alkabez’s mother Soncin, Joshua, 715, 745 Soncino, xv, 53, 85, 97, 101, 113, 123, 139, 147, 151, 205, 299, 337, 363, 419, 447, 477, 479, 713 Soncino, Eliezer ben Gershom, xv, xliv, xlvii, 27, 89, 209, 219, 221, 223, 229, 245, 253, 265, 267, 271, 323, 325, 349, 455, 517 Soncino, Gershom ben Eliezer, xlix, 455 Soncino, Gershom ben Moses, xiii–xix, xliv, xlvii, 3, 5, 11, 13, 19, 23, 25, 27, 35, 41, 45, 51, 63, 77, 83, 85, 89, 105, 113, 117, 123, 129, 147, 177, 181, 199, 203, 205, 207, 209, 211, 219, 241, 249, 349, 455, 715 Soncino, Hieronymus, s. Soncino, Gershom ben Moses Soncino, Israel Nathan ben Samuel ben Moses, 147, 209, 211 Soncino, Joshua Solomon ben Israel Nathan, xvi, 83, 123, 131 Soncino, Moses, xliv, 199, 209, 211, 581, 715 Soncino, Solomon ben Moses, 245 Soncinos, the, 47, 69, 383 Soncinus, Hieronymus, s. Soncino, Gershom ben Moses Sone Nashim, 97 Song of Songs, (s. also Shir ha-Shirim), xxiii, xxxiii, 225, 267, 293, 447, 577, 587, 645, 649, 659, 671, 703, 716, 795, 911 Song of Songs Rabbah, 655, 785 Sonne, I., xxviii, xxix, 413, 761 Sonnenfeld, J.H., 615 Sotah, 43, 163, 713 Soter, Jacob, 815 Spain, xv, xxxiii, xlix, 5, 7, 9, 15, 19, 21, 25, 31, 37, 45, 59, 63, 71, 73, 75, 83, 93, 107, 109, 121, 123, 129, 141, 145, 155, 157, 159, 175, 189, 199, 203, 207, 209, 211, 221, 235, 239, 265, 271, 275, 279, 291, 297, 323, 337, 345, 347, 351, 363, 365, 367, 373, 387, 403, 423, 463, 465, 473, 483, 499, 523, 535, 539, 557, 559,

561, 563, 585, 589, 625, 655, 657, 663, 665, 671, 673, 685, 815, 849, 861, 901, 907 Speyer, 209, 211, 697 Spiegel, Y., 101, 287 Spinner, A., xxvii Spinoza, Baruch, 411 Spira (Shapira), Nathan Nata ben Samson, 341, 557, 641, 759, 787, 805 Spira (Shapira), Nathan Nata ben Simeon, 635 Spira (Shapira), Nathan Nata ben Solomon, 641 Spira, Isaac, 787, 805 Spoleto, 755 Statuta Civitatis Fano, 27 Stein, B., xxxiii Stein, Isaac, 337 Steinschneider, M., xl, xli, 191, 413, 459, 689, 859 Stephanus, Robertus, s. Estienne, Robert Stephen Báthory, King of Poland and Prince of Transylvania, xli, xliii, 635, 651, 739 Strasbourg, xxxiv, xxxvi, 17 Stuttgart, 17 Sukkah, 13, 43, 85, 163, 713, 717 Suleiman, Sultan (Suleiman the Magnificent), 163, 179, 207, 211, 245, 265, 325, 379, 455, 727 Sulz, 505 Sulzbach, 773 Summa Theologiae, 79 Superchio, Aurelio, 27 Sur Mera, 857 Sura, 343, 437, 579, 585, 599, 655, 781 Surenhusius, Guilielmus, 351 Susu, Moses, 231 Switzerland, xxx, xxxii, 83 Syntagma de hebraeorum codicum incorruptione, 173 Syria, xviii, 265, 437, 685, 727, 855 Ta’amei ha-Mitzvot, xxxii, xliii, 233, 267, 611, 701 Ta’amei Mitzvot ha-Arukhot, 611 Ta’anit, xlii, 13, 163, 183, 635, 677, 717 Tabulae tabularum coelestium motuum: sive almanach perpetuum, 599 Tahkemoni, Sefer, 125, 219, 685 Taitazak, Joseph, xxii, 195, 229, 231, 239, 297, 373, 481, 653, 687, 715, 795, 835, 885, 887, 891, 907 Taitazak, Judah, 907 Takkanot me-Rabbenu Gershom, 125 Talmi, Rafael, 227 Talmid, Jacob ben Hayyim, 853 Talmud, xiii, xvi, xviii–xxii, xxv, xxvii, xxviii, xxxi, xxxii, xxxvi, xxxvii, xxxix–xliii, xlviii–l, liii, liv, 11, 13, 29, 31, 33, 35, 43, 45, 47, 49, 53, 67, 71, 73, 81, 83, 85, 89, 93, 105, 113, 117, 127, 129, 137, 143, 145, 157, 159, 161, 163, 165, 167, 173, 181, 189, 193, 207, 209, 211, 223, 225, 235, 241, 249, 261, 267, 269, 273, 279, 283, 285, 289, 299, 329, 333, 337, 347, 357, 361, 373, 375, 391, 393, 395, 397, 399, 401, 409, 415, 417, 423, 445, 455, 469, 479, 481, 485, 505, 513, 529, 531, 543, 545, 551, 553, 559, 567, 573, 581, 609, 613, 615, 627, 633, 639, 647, 649, 661, 663, 669, 673, 677, 679, 681, 683, 689, 695, 713, 755, 759, 781, 799, 811, 813, 817, 823, 829, 833, 843, 847, 853, 859, 861, 869, 887, 889, 895, 899, 903

1031

index Talmud, Babylonian, xvii, xx, xxvii, liv, 139, 149, 151, 171, 183, 191, 245, 263, 279, 283, 287, 313, 319, 321, 327, 343, 351, 359, 383, 385, 425, 441, 467, 545, 587, 621, 677, 701, 707, 717, 723, 743, 765, 855 Talmud, Jerusalem, xvii, xx, xxvii, l, 149, 159, 171, 191, 201, 245, 279, 313, 321, 343, 359, 371, 383, 385, 425, 431, 607, 621, 702, 723, 743, 765, 785, 885 Talmud Katan, s. Alfas, Sefer Rav Talmud, Palestinian, s. Talmud, Jerusalem Talmud di-Venei Ma’arava, 149 Tam ibn Hiyya ben David, 277 Tam, Jacob ben Meir, 313, 739 Tamakh, Abraham, 293 Tamar, D., 659 Tamar, daughter of Joseph ben Moses ha-Kohen Tamari, 571 Tamari, Joseph, 569 Tamari-Venturozzo affair, lii, 653 Tamid, 623 Tamim Yahdav, 797 Tamim, Sefer ha-, 395 Tangier, 415 Tanhuma, s. Yelammedenu Tanhuma bar Abba, 545 Tanhumot, xlv Tanhumot El, 687 Tanna, ha-, 399 Tanna de-Vei Eliyahu, xxii, li, 695, 895 Tanuji, Ishmael ha-Kohen, xxvi, 415 Tanya Rabbati, s. Tanya, Sefer, 77 Tanya, Sefer, xxiv, xxix, 53, 149, 321, 435, 565, 567 Tappuhei Zahav, xxii, xxxvii, xlviii, 577, 695, 769 Tappuhim, Ha-, Family, 755 Tapu’ah, Sefer ha-, 125 Tarfon, Isaac, 663 Tarfon, R., 809 Targum of the Megillot, xxxii, 725 Targum Onkelos, 95, 169, 325 Targum R. Joseph, 95 Targum Sheni to Megillat Esther, xxxii, 95, 533, 725 Targum(im), 77, 105, 175, 257, 261, 305, 325, 487, 703, 805 Tarnapol, 367 Tarragona, 145 Tartary, 855 Tarviz, Baruch ben Simhah Kalman, 721 Taryag Mitzvot, 789 Tashbez, Sefer, xxviii, 87, 331, 435, 457, 615 Tauroci, Isaac, s. Isaac ben Todros Tavus, Jacob ben Joseph, 325 Tedghi, J., xlix Tefilla Kezara, 887 Tefillah le-Moshe, xliv, 547 Tefillat Ta’anit, 775 Tefillin, 529 Tefillot Latini, xxv, 227 Tehillah le-David, 21, 79 Tehillim, (s. also Psalms), 259 Tehinnot be-Kol Yom, 911 Tehiyyah ve-Sefer ha-Pedut, Sefer ha-, 437 Tekufot, 509 Tel Aviv, 159, 465 Teomim, Joseph, 257

Teru’at Melekh, 841 Terumah, Sefer ha-, 107, 167, 331, 503 Terumat ha-Deshen, 137, 341, 357, 409, 475, 533, 615, 635, 729, 805 Terumot, ha-, xlv, 869 Teshuvot ha-Rav, xxx, 323 Teshuvot, Sefer, 229 Teshuvot u’She’elot, xlvii, 109, 499 Testament, New, 879 Testament, Old, 879 Tetuan, 875 Teutsch-Khumesh, 719 Tevat Noach, 823 Tevul Yom, 495 Thannhausen, xxxvii, 813, 827 Themistius, 515 Theologia Judaica, 249 Theoricae Novae Planetarium, 613 Theory of the Stars, 547 Thesaurus Antiquitatum Sacrarum, 733 Thiengen, xxxvi, 315, 505, 519, 577 Tibbon, Don Profiat, 489 Tiberias, 37, 657 Tiferet Yisrael, xxii, 681, 705, 865, 889 Tikkun Middot ha-Nefesh, 363 Tikkun Sofrim, Sefer, 619, 785 Tikkun Yissakhar, 691 Tikkunei ha-Nefesh ve-Refuah, 849 Tikkunei Teshuvah, 849 Tikkunei Zohar, 461, 771, 791, 911 Tirnau, 891 Tishbi, ha-, xxxvi, 257, 261, 755 Tishbi, J., 711 Tissard, xxxiii Titrich of Bern, 255 Titus, 105, 219, 625, 755 Tivnat Enosh, 123 Tlemcen, 223, 271, 323 To’afot Re’em, 583 To’aliyyot Ralbag, 335, 521 Tofet ve-ha-Eden, ha-, 219 Tohorat ha-Kodesh, 493 Tohorot, 31, 149, 295, 313, 351, 495, 615 Tokhahah, 893 Tola’at Ya’akov, 517, 523, 535 Toledano, Eliezer, xliii, xlix, 9, 75, 103, 163 Toledano, Isaac, xlix Toledo, 5, 19, 23, 55, 61, 103, 129, 175, 271, 273, 279, 407, 463, 483, 493, 497, 557, 663, 691, 877 Toledot Adam, xxviii, 439 Toledot Adam ve-Havvah, 323, 463 Toledot Aharon, xxxii, 707, 723, 759 Toledot ha-Ari, 825 Toledot Rashi, 787 Toledot Yeshu, 29 Toledot Yizhak, xxx, xliv, xlv, li, 323, 447, 483, 687, 849 Tomer Devorah, 749, 761, 763r Torah, (s. also Pentateuch), xvi, xxvii, xxx, xl, l, li, 25, 33, 39, 47, 49, 51, 57, 59, 61, 63, 65, 69, 71, 75, 83, 93, 95, 103, 111, 121, 135, 145, 151, 155, 157, 161, 171, 175, 177, 179, 189, 201, 203, 205, 207, 209, 221, 225, 233, 235, 251, 259, 267, 275, 287, 291, 299, 303, 305, 315, 317, 319, 325, 335, 337, 343, 345, 347, 349, 359, 365, 369, 371,

1032

index 373, 383, 385, 389, 393, 397, 411, 413, 419, 421, 425, 427, 431, 435, 441, 443, 447, 449, 453, 461, 463, 467, 475, 479, 481, 483, 485, 487, 493, 497, 501, 507, 517, 521, 523, 531, 539, 541, 547, 549, 555, 557, 559, 569, 577, 581, 587, 589, 593, 595, 605, 609, 621, 627, 633, 639, 647, 653, 661, 665, 667, 669, 671, 681, 687, 691, 693, 699, 709, 715, 721, 727, 733, 735, 739, 743, 747, 749, 751, 757, 763, 765, 767, 769, 771, 773, 777, 789, 793, 809, 811, 825, 829, 833, 835, 837, 841, 845, 847, 851, 859, 861, 863, 865, 875, 877, 889, 893, 903, 909, 911 Torah, Nevi’im, Ketuvim, 111, 143, 859, 887 Torah Or, xix, xxv, 235, 327, 751, 893 Torah, Sefer, 529, 639 Torat ha-Adam, 121, 431 Torat ha-Bayit, xxix, 159, 567 Torat ha-Bayit Arukh, 567 Torat ha-Bayit ha-Kazer, s. Torat ha-Bayit Torat ha-Hattat, xl, 491, 783, 811 Torat ha-Mashiach (Matthew), 187 Torat ha-Olah, xxxviii, 491, 613 Torat Hesed, 211 Torat Kohanim, li, 553 Torat Moshe, xlviii, 795, 825, 875 Tortosa, 75, 275, 399, 419 Tosafot, 15, 83, 139, 157, 209, 263, 313, 327, 337, 401, 445, 467, 487, 557, 563, 583, 689, 713, 717, 735, 799, 817, 899 Tosafot he-Arukh ha Shalem, 105 Tosafot Sens, 313 Tosafot Yeshanim, 337 Tosafot Yom Tov, 5 Tosefot ha-Smag, 189, 337 Tosefta, 313, 319, 343 Totilla, 399 Toulon, Astruc de, xliv, xlvi, 37, 47, 59, 127, 201, 285, 771 Touques, 83, 209, 211 Tournes, Jean de, 627, 667, 781 Tours, 347 Toze’ot Hayyim, Sefer, xlviii, 623, 695, 701 Trabots, the, 135 Trani, Isaac di, 603 Trani, Isaiah di, 401, 449 Trani, Joseph di, 643, 909 Trani, Moses di, xxi, 365, 563, 611, 643, 659, 667, 887 Trastevere, 425 Travels of Eldad ha-Dani, 91, 127, 617 Tremellius, Immanuel, 601 Trent, xxix, 469, 551, 573, 677 Treves, Eliezer ben Naphtali Hertz, xxxvi, 505, 519, 801 Treves, Family, 505 Treves, Isaac ben Gershon, 643, 695 Treves, Isaac ben Mordecai Gershon, 721, 729 Treves, Johanan ben Joseph, 251, 285 Treves, Jonathan, s. Treves, Johanan ben Joseph Treves, Joseph ben Naphtali Hertz, xxxvi, 227, 505, 519 Treves, Naphtali Hertz ben Eliezer, xxxvi, 13, 25, 315 Tridentine Index, 677

Trikkola, 611 Trino, xxiii Tripoli, 865 Troyes, 151, 315 Tübingen, xxxiv, xxxv, 17, 173 Tudela, 19, 59, 265, 465, 621, 671 Tummat Yesharim, 207, 807 Tunis, 415, 585 Tunisia, 415 Tur, s. Jacob ben Asher Turim, s. Arba’ah Turim Turin, 99 Turkey, 37, 209, 265, 387, 403, 423, 483, 535, 571, 603, 623, 653, 691, 777, 785, 875 Turnaer, Caspar, 213 Tuvi ben Tuvial, 91 Tuvia, Sefer, xxxi, 127 Twersky, I., xlvi Tyndall, William, 305 Tyrnau, Isaac, xxxii, xliii, 475, 647, 779, 813, 891 Tzitzit, 529 Uceda, Samuel ben Isaac, xlviii, 659, 821, 875, 877 Ugolini, Blassio, 733 Ulm, 135, 173, 213 Ulman, Judah Seligman, 433 Umbria, 755 Urbino, 353 Urbino and Soro, Duke of, 77 Urbino, Family d’, 353 Urim ve-Tummim, 539 Usküb, 861, 867 Usque, Abraham ibn, xxv, xxvi, 389, 407, 409, 411, 415, 419, 421, 423, 431, 441 Usque, Samuel ibn, xxvi, 671 Valencia, 9, 45, 309, 323, 493 Valencia, Samuel, 807 Valency, 93 Valensi, Samuel, 807 Valona, 79, 157, 179 Vasco di Gama, 585 Vatable, François, 237 Vatican, 55, 59, 511, 679 Vavassore, Florio, 27 Va-Yakhel Moshe, 875 Va-Yikra Rabbah, 885 Vecinho, Joseph, 585 Veltwyck, Gerard, xviii, 241 Venice, xiii, xiv, xvi–xxii, xxv–xxviii, xxxii, xxxiii, xxxix, xlii, xlv, xlviii, li, lii, liv, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 19, 23, 25, 29, 31, 39, 41, 45, 47, 51, 53, 61, 63, 65, 67, 75, 79, 81, 89, 91, 93, 95, 97, 103, 105, 107, 109, 111, 121, 123, 125, 133, 135, 137, 139, 143, 145, 147, 149, 151, 155, 157, 159, 161, 165, 169, 171, 175, 177, 179, 181, 183, 189, 191, 193, 197, 203, 209, 221, 225, 231, 233, 239, 241, 245, 247, 249, 251, 255, 263, 273, 275, 277, 279, 283, 285, 287, 289, 291, 295, 299, 300–303, 305, 309, 313, 316–321, 326–347, 350–361, 365, 369–377, 381, 385, 390–393, 395, 397, 401, 413, 417, 431, 433, 441, 455, 463, 469, 475, 477, 499, 503, 521, 525, 531, 535, 539, 541, 545, 551, 555, 561, 563,

1033

index 565, 567, 569, 571, 573, 575, 577, 581, 583, 587, 589, 593, 595, 601, 611, 615, 619–623, 631, 633, 635, 637, 641, 643, 645, 649, 651, 653, 657, 659, 667, 669, 671, 675, 677, 679, 683, 691–695, 701, 705, 707, 715, 721, 723, 729, 731, 733, 735, 737, 739, 743, 745, 747, 749, 751, 755, 757, 759, 761, 763, 771, 775, 779, 785, 787, 791, 795, 803, 805, 807, 813, 815, 823, 825, 829, 835, 841, 845, 849, 853, 857, 861, 863, 865, 869, 871, 873, 875, 877, 885, 887, 891, 893, 895, 897, 901, 903, 905, 907, 909 Ventura, Samuel (Shmuel ha-katan) ben Moses, s. Venturozzo, Samuel ben Moses Venturozzo, Samuel ben Moses, 569, 571 Venus, 631 Verona, xiv, xxviii, xxx, 13, 155, 333, 385, 413, 545, 573, 793, 799, 829, 831, 843, 869 Vespasian, 277 Ve-Zot li-Yehudah, 711 Vicinho, Joseph, 599 Vidal ben Levi, 273 Vidal Benveniste, s. Benveniste, Vidal Vidal, Ephraim, 87 Vidas, Elijah ben Moses de, xviii, 279, 695, 701, 773 Vidas, Samuel, 561 Viddui Karov le-Malkot, 887 Vidin, 905 Vienna, 105, 205, 349, 387, 441, 475, 633, 663, 685, 739, 891 Vigerio, Urbano, 27 Vigerius, Marcus, xiii, 27 Vikku’ah ha-Yayin ve-ha-Mayim, 911 Vikku’ah Mayim Hayyim, 783, 811 Vikku’ah, Sefer ha-, 121 Vilna, 595, 781, 855 Vinograd, Y., xiii, xvii, xliii Virgil, xxxiii Vita Epaminudae, xv Vital, David ben Solomon, 221, 229 Vital, Hayyim, 623, 695, 757, 795, 821, 825, 877 Viterbo, Egidio de, Cardinal, 257, 303 Vladimir-Volynski, 789 Voltaggio, 387 Von dem Jüdischem vnnd Israelischen volck und jren vorgeern, 213 Vorstius, Guilielmus, 291 Vranex, Agnes, 8 Vulgate, 173, 305, 707 Wakefield, Robert, 173 Waldkirch, Konrad, xxxi, xxxii, 341, 723, 891, 899, 911 Walid, Solomon, 161 Walton, Brian, 325 Warsaw, 595, 709, 791 Weil, Jacob ben Judah, xxxviii, 137, 181, 357, 427, 615 Weinreich, M., 255 Weiser, R., xxxix Weisswasser, Moses ben Katriel, 807 Wengrow, Ch., xxxvii Wessely, Naphtali Herz, 733 Westfalen, Johannes van, xxxiv

Westfalen, Paulus van, xxxiv Wiener Geserah, 647 Wiener-Neustadt, 137 William Louis, Count of Nassau, Stadtholder, 879 Wimpfen, Alexander ben Salomo, 457 Wind, August, xxxv, 214 Wise, I.M., 291 Wittenberg, xiii, xxxv, 197, 753, 859 Wolff, J.C., 859 Worde, Wynkyn de, 173 Worms, xxxv, 615, 713, 811, 911 Württemberg, 17, 281 Würtzburg, 457 Ximenes ( Jimenes) de Cisneros, Francisco, Archbishop of Toledo, 55 Ya’ir Nativ, s. Me’ir Nativ Ya’ish ibn Isaac, Baruch ibn, 645 Ya’ish, Abraham ben Joseph ibn, 9 Ya’ish, Baruch ibn, 645 Ya’ish, Solomon ibn, 717 Ya’quab ibn Ishaq al-Kindi, 465 Yaari, A., xviii, xx, xxvi, xxvii, xlvi, xlvii, li, 199, 579, 761 Yad Avshalom, 145 Yad ha-Hazakah, s. Mishneh Torah Yad Haruzim, 849 Yada’im, 495 Yafik Razon, xlviii, 211 Yalkut, 75 Yalkut me-ha Torah, 553 Yalkut Nevi’im, 553 Yalkut sha’ar ha-Ketuvim, 553 Yalkut sha’ar ha-Torah, 553 Yalkut Shimoni, xliv, 581 Yalkut Tillim, 553 Yam shel Shelomo, 639 Yare’ah Yakar, 771 Yashar, Sefer ha-, 59, 125, 609, 739 Yatom, Abraham ben Moses, 455 Yavez, s. Emden, Jacob Yavin Shemu’ah, 273 Yayyin ha-Rekah, 11 Yedei Moshe, xxii, 547 Yedidut, Sefer, 513 Yefeh Anaf, 785, 885 Yefeh Einayim, 785 Yefeh Kol, 785, 885 Yefeh Mareh, 785 Yefeh Nof, 377, 619, 785 Yefeh To’ar, 743, 785, 885 Yehudai Gaon, 343 Yelammedenu, 261, 545, 901 Yemen, 109, 605, 667 Yemin HaShem Romenah, 735 Yere’im, Sefer, xxi, 233, 513, 583 Yere’im ha-Shalem, Sefer, 583 Yeri’ot Shelomo, 639 Yerushalmi, Abraham, 47, 629 Yerushalmi: Gazru Shemad, 127 Yesh Nohalin, 661 Yesha Elohim, 603, 607, 847 Yeshu’ah ben Joseph ha-Levi, 207, 273, 817 Yeshu’a ben Saadiah, 9

1034

index Yeshu’ot Meshiho, 367 Yesod ha-Dikduk, 329 Yesod ha-Emanuah, 211, 389 Yesod ha-Teshuvah, xlv, 731 Yesod Shirim, s. Midrash ha-Ne’lam Yesod Shirim, s. also Tappuhei Zahav Yetad ha-Ohel, 353 Yevamot, xxvii, 43, 85, 163, 263, 401, 635, 677, 713, 899 Yirah, Sefer ha-, xxxii-, 23, 543, 613, 723 Yochanan, R., 627 Yom Tov, s. Bezah Yom Tov ben Moses Zahalon, s. Zahalon, Yom Tov ben Moses Yom Tov ben Samuel ha-Kohen, 671 Yom Tov Lipman Muelhausen, s. Muelhausen, Yom Tov Lipman Yom Tov of Tolosa, 171, 361, 631 Yoma, xlvi, 15, 163, 337, 717 Yoreh De’ah, xxi, xxix, xxxviii, xxxix, xlix, 89, 101, 175, 181, 245, 247, 359, 627, 675, 835 Yoreh Hataim, 731 Yose ben Halafta, 53 Yosef Lekah, xxix, 567, 653, 721 Yoshua ben Alexander, 797 Yozrot, xxxix, xlii, 217 Yudah ben Meir, 797 Yudlov, I., xxii, xlvi, 75, 199 Yugoslavia, 861 Yuhasin, Sefer ha-, 37, 493, 585 Zabara, Judah, 605 Zacuto, Abraham ben Samuel, 37, 175, 585, 599 Zacuto, Samuel, 585 Zafenat Pane’ah, xxvii, 413, 579, 655, 911 Zafren, H.C., xxx, xxxiv Zahalon, Abraham ben Isaac, 849 Zahalon, Yom Tom ben Moses, xlix, 669 Zahut be-Dikduk, 329 Zak, Nathan, 315 Zalman of St. Goar, s. Eleazar ben Jacob Zalmati, Solomon ben Maimon, 9 Zamora, 93, 145, 151, 563, 807 Zamora, Alfonso de, 55 Zamora, Juan de, 55 Zanetti family, xxii Zanetti, Christophel, xxii, 561, 577, 909 Zanetti, Daniel, xxii, 875, 887, 895, 901, 903, 905, 907, 909 Zanetti, Francesco, xxii, xxiii, 679 Zanetti, Matteo, xxii, 805, 853, 861, 863, 901 Zarefati, Abraham Esquerra, xxv, 83 Zarefati, Samuel ibn Askara, xxv, 367, 389 Zarefati, Solomon ben Perez Bonfoi, 477 Zarephath, 67 Zarfati, Joseph ben Samuel, 169 Zarko, Judah, xlvii Zarza, 493 Zarza, Samuel ibn Seneh, 493 Zavim, 495 Zayas, Gabriel de, 601 Zechariah, 225, 229 Zechariah ben Joshua ibn Saruq, s. Ibn Saruq, Zechariah ben Joshua

Zechariah ha-Levi, 387 Zedah la-Derekh, xxvi, xxvii, 249, 389, 407, 557, 569, 595, 621 Zedek Olamim, 637 Zedekiah (ha-Rofei) ben Abraham, 125, 321, 513, 565, 603 Zefunei Ziyyoni, 501 Zeh Yenahamenu, 141 Zehner, David, 833 Zekhut Avot, 771 Zelah Abraham ben Shabbetai, 885, 905 Zelda, Mordecai ben Hillel ha-Kohen’s wife, 479 Zemah David, xxxviii, 505, 627, 755, 777, 801 Zemah, Jacob, 789 Zemirot, ha-, xxxix, 639, 647 Zemirot ve-Tishbahot, 911 Zemirot Yisrael, xlix, 757 Zerah Kodesh, 607 Zerahiah ha-Levi, 411 Zerahiah ha-Yevani, 739 Zeraim, Seder, xxvii, 93, 149, 297, 313, 495, 607, 615, 685, 717, 823 Zeror ha-Kesef, 155 Zeror ha-Mor, xiii, xiv, xxi, 155, 493, 569 Zerubbabel, Sefer, 127 Zeruf, Samuel, 299 Zevah Elokim, xlviii Zevah Pesah, (s. also Haggadah Zevah Pesah), xix, xlvi, 21, 31, 289, 353, 603 Zevah Todah, 649 Zevahim, 167, 735 Zevi ben Isaac, 609 Zevi of Rimenov, 611 Zhitomir, 683, 837 Zifroni ha-Ashkenazi, Israel ben Daniel, xxii, xxxii, 677, 699, 701, 707, 719, 723, 725, 759, 761, 823, 865, 885 Zikhron Devarim, 899 Zikhron Divrei Romi, 53 Zikhron Moshe, 899 Zikhron Torat Moshe, xv, 383 Zikhronot, Sefer ha-, 869 Zikkaron, Sefer ha-, xxvi, 385, 415 Zion, 595, 647, 655, 669, 699, 709, 855 Zivhei Elokim, 821 Ziyyon ha-lo tishali, 19 Ziyyoni, Menahem, xxviii, 501 Ziyyoni, Sefer, xxviii, 501 Zohar, xxviii, 25, 117, 145, 181, 223, 373, 419, 421, 461, 473, 485, 501, 503, 525, 577, 619, 647, 667, 683, 695, 701, 729, 743, 747, 771, 773, 791, 797, 825, 855, 885, 911 Zohar Gadol, 503 Zohar Hadash, xxxvii, xlv, 577, 769 Zohar ha-Raki’a, 87 Zohar Katan, 503 Zohorei Hammah, 771 Zolkiew, 61, 573 Zoppino, Nicholaus, 843 Zori ha-Yagon, 465, 665 Zultot, xxxvii, 813, 827 Zunz, L., xxxvii Zurat ha-Arez, xxxi, 801 Zurich, xxxii, 241, 255, 277, 283, 719

1035

BRILL’S SERIES IN JEWISH STUDIES 1. Cohen, R. Jews in Another Environment. Surinam in the Second Half of the Eighteenth Century. 1991. ISBN 90 04 09373 7 2. Prawer, S.S. Israel at Vanity Fair. Jews and Judaism in the Writings of W.M. Thackeray. 1992. ISBN 90 04 09403 2 3. Price, J.J. Jerusalem under Siege. The Collapse of the Jewish State 66-70 C.E. 1992. ISBN 90 04 09471 7 4. Zinguer, I. L’hébreu au temps de la Renaissance. 1992. ISBN 90 04 09557 8 5. Gutwein, D. The Divided Elite. Economics, Politics and Anglo-Jewry, 1882-1917. 1992. ISBN 90 04 09447 4 6. Eraqi Klorman, B.-Z. The Jews of Yemen in the Nineteenth Century. A Portrait of a Messianic Community. 1993. ISBN 90 04 09684 1 7. Ben-Dov, N. Agnon’s Art of Indirection. Uncovering Latent Content in the Fiction of S.Y. Agnon. 1993. ISBN 90 04 09863 1 8. Gera, D. Judaea and Mediterranean Politics, 219-161 B.C.E. 1998. ISBN 90 04 09441 5 9. Coudert, A.P. The Impact of the Kabbalah in the Seventeenth Century. The Life and Thought of Francis Mercury van Helmont (1614-1698). 1999. ISBN 90 04 09844 5 10. Gross, A. Iberian Jewry from Twilight to Dawn. The World of Rabbi Abraham Saba. 1995. ISBN 90 04 10053 9 12. Ahroni, R. The Jews of the British Crown Colony of Aden. History, Culture, and Ethnic Relations. 1994. ISBN 90 04 10110 1 13. Deutsch, N. The Gnostic Imagination. Gnosticism, Mandaeism and Merkabah Mysticism. 1995. ISBN 90 04 10264 7 14. Arbel, B. Trading Nations. Jews and Venetians in the Early Modern Eastern Mediterranean. 1995. ISBN 90 04 10057 1 16. Menache, S. (ed.). Communication in the Jewish Diaspora. The Pre-Modern World. 1996. ISBN 90 04 10189 6 17. Parfitt, T. The Road to Redemption. The Jews of the Yemen 1900-1950. 1996. ISBN 90 04 10544 1 18. Assis, Y.T. Jewish Economy in the Medieval Crown of Aragon, 1213-1327. Money and Power. 1997. ISBN 90 04 10615 4 19. Stillman, Y.K. & Stillman, N.A. (eds.). From Iberia to Diaspora. Studies in Sephardic History and Culture. 1999. ISBN 90 04 10720 7 20. Barkai, R. A History of Jewish Gynaecological Texts in the Middle Ages. 1998. ISBN 90 04 10995 1 21. Heller, M.J. Printing the Talmud. A History of the Individual Treatises Printed from 1700 to 1750. 1999. ISBN 90 04 11293 6 22. Deutsch, N. Guardians of the Gate. Angelic Vice Regency in Late Antiquity. 1999. ISBN 90 04 10909 9 23. Ratzabi, S. Between Zionism and Judaism. The Radical Circle in Brith Shalom 1925–1933. 2000. ISBN 90 04 11507 2 24. Brasz, C. & Kaplan, Y. (eds.). Dutch Jews as Perceived by Themselves and by Others. Proceedings of the Eighth International Symposium on the History of the Jews in the Netherlands, 22–25 November 1998. 2000. ISBN 90 04 11705 9

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