Rav Alfas – Venice, 1522 – Hundreds of Glosses from the 16th Century

Hilchot Rav Alfas, "Second Part of the Alfasi", Seder Nashim. Venice, 1522. Printed by Daniel Bomberg. On the title page are ancient ownership signatures in Italian handwriting: "Yosef Chaim", etc. On the margins and inside the text are hundreds of long glosses by several writers. They contain: commentaries and novellae, version revisions and sources. Copy of sayings from the Talmud, the Tosfot and Rishonim – in early cursive Italian-Ashkenasi script, [characteristic of the second half of the 16th century]. At that time, the Inquisitors decreed the burning of Holy Books in Italy, beginning with the burning of the Talmud in Rome on Rosh Hashana, 1553. During that period, study and printing of the Talmud was prohibited, however the books of the Rif were permitted for study. Therefore, these books were the primary source of learning by Italian scholars at that time and were used as a springboard for reconstructing the words of the Talmudic sages according to the books written by the Rishonim and other sources. The first book written on the Rif at that time was Shiltei HaGiborim. This is the first edition of that book, although many books authored by Italian Torah scholars at that time were written on the leaves of the Rif. This manuscript is one of those compositions. (For more information on the decree of Holy Books in Italy, see: Introduction to Chiddushei Rabbi Moshe Kazis, Mechon Yerushalayim, 1988; A. Ya'ari, Burning of the Talmud in Italy; M. Benayahu, The Hebrew Printing in Cremona; etc). [1], 402-472, 474-744 leaves (Originally: [1], 402-782 leaves, including the rest of the Tosefta of Seder Kodshim and Taharot). Missing leaf 473, replaced with a leaf in an especially nice-looking ancient Italian handwriting. 36 cm. Varying condition, good-fair. Restoration on leaf 472. Some of the glosses are cutoff. Stains and wear. Minor worming. New binding. Variant. On Leaf 744/b, at the end of Tosefta Chulin. Significant layout variations from the copy which appears in the scans of Otzar HaChochma and Hebrew Books. From the library of Prof. Moshe David Cassuto.