Bomberg Talmud Bavli. First Edition.
Maseches Avodah Zara. Venice, 1520
Complete volume of maseches Avodah Zara with Rashi and Tosfos from the world-famous original edition of the Bomberg Talmud by the celebrated printer Daniel Bomberg of Venice.
In this Bomberg edition, for the first time, the Rosh and Rambam’s commentary were printed at the end of the Gemara.
Beautiful high-quality printing with dark ink on thick paper.
This is one of the rare remaining tractates of the original Venice Shas. Its sensitive content, which includes controversial topics regarding Jews and gentiles, left it vulnerable to book-burnings and the censor. Yet this sefer survived the burning of the Talmud and the eagle eyes of the Church and its censors.
This tractate of the Bomberg Shas is exceedingly valuable, both for its content and wording. Tractate Avodah Zara is thought to have suffered the most damage of all tractates of Shas from the malevolent work of the church and government censors, yet this particular edition remained virtually clean of deleterious changes and deletions.
Annotations and references in an ancient Sephardic script were added at the margin of the first 30 pages.
Venice, 1520. Daniel Bomberg Press. 97 leaves. Page size: 33.5 cm. Several old restorations in margins. Good condition. New half-leather binding.
Stefansky Sifrei Yesod # 41
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Bomberg Shas
The Talmud Bavli was printed in its entirety for the first time in Daniel Bomberg’s printing press in Venice between the years 1520-1523. The Bomberg Edition of the Talmud boasted a high-quality printing, remained virtually free of the censor, and includes important additions that were published for the first time, making it the template for future editions of the Talmud.
The Venice Shas established the classic layout of the daf, as well as the number of folios in each tractate for all future generations. From then on, any scholar who wished to cite pages of Gemara would do so according to the number of dapim established by the Venice edition.
Rabbi Refael Nosson Nutta Rabinowitz, an expert on the various editions of Talmud, said regarding this edition that, “in its form and appearance, it is entirely beautiful. The paper is fine and the letters are black and clear…and all the printings that followed it have not been as beautiful. (Ma’amar al Hadpasas HaTalmud, page 41.)
[Source: Stefansky Sifrei Yesod page 18 and 168]
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