Mishneh Torah, Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides), Venice: Meir Parenzo for Alvise Bragadini, 1574–1575

Fourteen parts in four volumes (11 ½ x 8 in.; 292 x 204 mm). Four title pages, each with Bragadin’s device of Three Crowns, Meir Parenzo’s device of Venus and the Dragon on verso, and following the Table of Contents (the late) Asher Parenzo’s device of a Mountain rising from the Sea; text illustrations. Lightly browned and stained in places, few leaves neatly remargined; ownership notes and stamps on title pages and final leaves, occasionally elsewhere. Censors’ notations on final leaf of vol I (Domenico Irosolimitano, 1592), and title pages of vols II-IV (Alexander Montisregalis, 1591).Final volume includes the first edition of the alphabetical index compiled by the school of Barukh Uziel and final leaf with a poem in honor of one of Karo’s disciples, Abraham Hayug; foliation: Vol. I: ff. (22), 316. Paper repairs to inner margin and lower corner of title, last three leaves remargined; vol. II: ff. (10) 219 (i.e. 218); vol. III: ff. (20),451 (1); four lengthy, extensive full-page marginal notes in a 17th century Italian hand; vol. IV: ff. (10), 297, (9). Modern uniform blind tooled morocco.

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Vinograd, Venice 600; Steinschneider, col. 1872, no. 6513,7.

First edition with the Kesef Mishneh of Joseph Karo

This splendid edition of the Mishneh Torah, distinguished for its textual accuracy and aesthetic composition, was published by the Bragadini press of Venice in 1574. Its editor, Meir Parenzo, utilized manuscripts brought from Safed, as well as one corrected in the Egyptian academy. Its four tastefully arranged volumes, well printed on fine paper, featured a new commentary by the “wondrous scholar," Joseph Karo. This important first edition of Karo’s commentary, called Kesef Mishneh, relates that Moses Provencal of Mantua was the driving force behind the scenes, encouraging and hastening Karo to complete the work for publication. Karo also benefitted from the expertise of the prominent scholar and Kabbalist, Menahem Azaria of Fano, who examined the work to ensure its precision. Some scholars have noted the irony that these volumes, published during Karo’s lifetime, unite for the first time upon the printed page, Maimonides, the author of the first comprehensive code of Jewish law, with Karo, whose own code, the Shulhan Arukh, was destined to displace the Mishneh Torah as the standard Jewish law code.

This edition also presents the first publication of a comprehensive alphabetical subject index based upon writings from the school of “ha-rav Ha-zaken Gadol Be-doro,” R. Baruch Uziel. It also marks the first appearance of the glosses of Rabbi Abraham ben David of Posquieres (Raavad) as a distinct entity (in earlier editions, it had been incorporated into the Maggid Mishneh commentary).