Bidspirit auction | TractateShabbat – Slavita Press, 1836

TractateShabbat – Slavita Press, 1836 – Among the Final Volumes Printed by the Sacred Shapira Family Press - Tractate Shabbat, from the Babylonian Talmud. Slavita, printed by Rabbi Shmuel Avraham Shapira, son of the Rabbi of Slavita. 1836. A volume from the celebrated Slavita Talmud edition, printed at the renowned Shapira family press, which attained a unique status in the Jewish world and became famous as the “Talmud printed in holiness.” The volume opens with two title pages, followed by Keshet Divrei Emet and rabbinic approbations. This volume was printed in the latter part of 1836, at the height of the historic controversy between the printers of Slavita and those of Vilna—one of the most dramatic publishing and communal disputes of the nineteenth century. Included at the beginning of the volume are letters from leading rabbis relating to this controversy, serving as primary source material for understanding the events that shook the Torah world during that period. The present volume is among the last books produced by the Slavita press before its tragic closure by the Russian authorities following the well-known libel. It belongs to the fourth edition of the Slavita Talmud, during which only the tractates Berakhot, Shabbat, and Eruvin were completed. Printing was halted during the production of Pesachim, abruptly ending one of the most remarkable printing enterprises in the history of the Hebrew book. Slavita imprints occupied a unique place in the hearts of Eastern European Jewry, and many attributed to them special sanctity and spiritual significance. To this day, Talmud volumes printed in Slavita are regarded as cornerstone items in important rabbinic and bibliophilic collections. [3], 190; 43, [1] leaves. 38.5 cm. Condition: Poor. Numerous wormholes. Binding disbound, with detached leaves.