Seder Taharos, First Edition of the Bomberg Shas, Venice 1523
Mishnayos of Seder Taharos with the Rambam’s Commentary
From the first complete edition of the Talmud printed by the renowned printer Daniel Bomberg at his famed press in Venice. This was the first time that the Mishnayos of Taharos and the Rambam’s commentary were printed as part of a Talmud edition.
Printed on thick, high-quality paper with rich, dark ink, this edition highlights the refined craftsmanship of Bomberg’s press.
The Rambam originally wrote his commentary on the Mishnah in Arabic. He himself expressed a desire to translate it into Hebrew, as he wrote in his letter to Mar Yosef ben Gabar of Baghdad: “I now wish to translate the commentary on the Mishnah into Lashon HaKodesh” (Igros HaRambam, Shilat edition, Vol. 1, p. 409).
However, this project was never realized. The identity of the translator of Seder Taharos remains unknown. According to Rabbi Solomon Sassoon, the translator may have been Rabbi Nathaniel Almoli, a physician from Saragossa who passed away in 1310 (introduction to the Rambam’s Commentary on the Mishnah, Copenhagen, 1956).
At the end of his commentary, the Rambam penned a fascinating colophon in which he details his lineage and recounts that he began writing it at the age of 23, noting that portions were written during his travels and aboard a ship amidst the upheavals of exile. Consequently, the project took seven years to complete. The colophon also provides the date of its completion when the Rambam was 30 years old, in the year 1479 of what is known as the count of Shtaros, commonly corresponding to 1168 CE.
Venice, 1523. Daniel Bomberg’s press. Pages: 78 leaves.
Size: 36.5 cm.
Condition: The title page has undergone extensive restoration to address numerous holes, and there are repairs in leaves 2-5. Bound in an elegant new leather binding.
Stefansky Sifrei Yesod, No. 41
The Bomberg Shas – Prototype for All Future Gemaras
The first complete set of Talmud Bavli was printed by Daniel Bomberg in his famed printing house in Venice between the years 1520-1523. The complete set was a masterpiece, with attractive, clear type and practically free of censorship. It likewise contained new additions that were printed for the first time ever based on handwritten manuscripts.
Commonly regarded as the prototype for all future editions, the Venice Shas established the famous tzuras hadaf which fixed the number of pages in each tractate and served as the basis for all future printings of the Gemara. Until this very day, anyone who cites a source in Shas references the daf as established in Bomberg’s Venice Shas.
Rabbi Refael Nosson Notta Rabinowitz, world-acclaimed expert on the various editions of Talmud, writes, “In its format and appearance, this Talmud is the epitome of beauty and glory. The paper is fine, and the letters are dark and clear… No subsequent editions have approached its beauty” (Essay on the Printing of the Talmud p. 41).
Bibliography: Stefansky, Sifrei Yesod p. 18; Appendix p. 254
