Bidspirit auction | Exceptionally Rare Sefer Mishlei with

Exceptionally Rare Sefer Mishlei with an Italian Translation in Hebrew Letters! Venice, 1617 * Sefer Mishlei Shlomo, which is Sefer Mishlei by Shlomo HaMelech, wisest of all men, printed with a facing Italian translation. The Italian translation, as well as the text on the title page and the translator’s dedications — also printed in Italian — were all printed in Hebrew characters! The illustrious Italian Jewish community was renowned for its high level of scholarship and its constant thirst for knowledge. Before us is the most famous Jewish book of wisdom, in a special edition prepared for the notables of the community who knew how to read Hebrew letters yet desired to understand Shlomo’s Proverbs in their own language. Popular works of this nature were heavily used, and almost none have survived. In a most unusual format, uncommon for Biblical sefarim, the work is divided into two separate parts: the first extending through chapter 24 (inclusive), and the second, with its own title page, from chapter 25 through the end of the book. A free translation of the Italian title page reads: “The Proverbs of Shlomo, newly translated from Lashon HaKodesh into the Tuscan language, with great diligence, by the honorable Rabbi Chizkiyah Rieti, may he live and be well.” On leaf 2 appears the translator's dedication to the dignitary Yeshayah Massarani, written in Italian with Hebrew letters. A translation of this introduction into Hebrew was published by Benayahu in Asufot (a photograph is attached). On leaf 30, following the second title page, appears another dedication by the translator in honor of his esteemed mother, Mrs. Serena Rieti of Mantua. Venice, 1617. Singular edition of this translation. Page Count: 38 leaves. Size: 19 cm approx. Condition: Medium; the entire sefer underwent restoration and the filling of holes. A few leaves are shorter, and extended with restored margins. Elegant new leather binding. Bibliography: M. Benayahu, Asufot 13, pp. 121–122, no. 21; Ginzei Yisrael (Mehlmann), no. 83 (due to its exceptional rarity, a photograph of the sefer was printed there, facsimile 6). Also, in an article in the German newspaper Ost und West from 1901, regarding the large collection of the bibliophile Ignaz Bernstein, a photograph of the title page of this rare sefer was printed (a photograph of the article is attached).