Perush Rashi al ha-Torah ve-Al Hamesh Megillot (Rashi's Commentary on the Pentateuch and on the Five Scrolls), Solomon ben Isaac (Rashi), Venice: Daniel Bomberg, 1522

140 leaves (10 x 7½ in.; 254 x 190 mm). Title soiled and stained with two small holes of which one is mended, hole mended in lower margin of second leaf affecting a few words, two other small wormholes, marginal spotting throughout. Eighteenth-century boards, remains of paper labels on spine; edges and corners rubbed, head and foot of spine chipped.

Jekutiel ben Menahem-1565; Shalom Zeligman, beadle— his name on title page; another owner's inscription on first text page-only the date, Wednesday, the 18th of Elul 5535= 5 Sept, 1775 is legible

Vinograd, Venice 71; Habermann 71, Mehlman 683

140 leaves (10 x 7½ in.; 254 x 190 mm). Title soiled and stained with two small holes of which one is mended, hole mended in lower margin of second leaf affecting a few words, two other small wormholes, marginal spotting throughout. Eighteenth-century boards, remains of paper labels on spine; edges and corners rubbed, head and foot of spine chipped.
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Printed in 1522 by Daniel Bomberg, this volume is exceedingly scarce with complete copies rarer still.  With the exception of Bomberg's first Biblia Rabbinica (1517) this is the earliest appearance of Rashi's commentary on all the Hamesh Megillot (the five scrolls of the Hebrew Bible: Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Ruth, Esther and Lamentations).         

Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac (1040-1105) is most commonly referred to by the Hebrew acronym, "Rashi."  Author of the most widely disseminated and most comprehensive commentary on the Hebrew Bible, Rashi's fame rests on his unparraleled ability to present the basic meaning of the text in a concise yet lucid fashion.  His exegesis is based on both literal and midrashic interpretations of the biblical text.  Accordingly, his commentary appeals to both beginning students and learned scholars and is an indispensable companion to both casual and serious students of Judaism's primary text.

Sources variously give Rashi's surname as Yitzhaki, deriving from his father's name, Yitzhak, or Yarhi indicating that his family came from Lunel. The acronym, "Rashi," is sometimes also fancifully expanded as Rabban Shel Israel (Teacher of the Jewish People), or as Rabbenu she-Yihye (our Rabbi, may he live).

Within a century of his death in 1105, his Hebrew commentaries on the Bible and Talmud had spread from the communities of France and Germany to Spain, Africa, Asia and Babylonia. Considering the time and expense entailed in the production of handcopied books, the high cost of paper and parchment, and the great difficulties and obstacles encountered in their distribution in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the early popularity of Rashi, and the wide and unprecedented dissemination that his commentaries on the Bible achieved, are nothing short of remarkable. It is no wonder therefore that his commentaries were among the very first Hebrew printed works in the late-fifteenth and early-sixteenth centuries.

Two fascinating inscriptions are found on the verso of the final leaf. The first is signed by Jekutiel ben Menahem and dated "Friday, of the Torah portion Lekh Lekha, [5]325" (= 13 October 1564.)  Within a rhyming paragraph, Jekutiel swears an oath to abstain from all manner of gambling until the year 5331. We are given no further information as to whether or not he was able to maintain his vow, however we do know that it was not uncommon among Jewish gamblers to take an oath not to indulge in games of chance. Unfortunately, this conscious effort on the part of inveterate gamblers to curb their passion usually resulted in a double transgression: gambling and breaking a vow. The vows varied: some gamblers set a time limit to their vows; others excluded specific days or special occasions; while still others only refrained from placing monetary stakes, but played, for example, for stakes of fruit. For their part, rabbis discouraged hasty vows, realizing that these did not lessen the lure of games of chance.

We may perhaps presume that Jekutiel was successful in his effort to refrain based on the second inscription, in another hand and dated some 21 years later, 10 Kislev 5346  (=1 December 1585). Another habitual gambler here promises to refrain from playing dice for one year. The presence of this second, later oath written in the same volume would suggest that the book itself was perhaps viewed as a talisman of sorts.

For a thorough discussion of the practice of taking oaths to cease gambling, see: Leo Landman,  "Jewish Attitudes toward Gambling. II. Individual & Communal Efforts to Curb Gambling,"  The Jewish Quarterly Review, New Series, Vol. 58, No. 1 (Jul., 1967), pp. 34-62.