Obj. ID: 35613
Jewish printed books Minhagim by Shimon Levy Ginsburg, Amsterdam, 1724
This text was prepared by William Gross:
Minhagim books (Yid. Minhogim bukh מינהגים בוך; Heb. Sefer minhagim ספר מינהגים) are collections of religious practices arranged according to the order of the religious year and life cycle. When the genre first appeared in the Early Middle Ages, these volumes focused on local customs, with the purpose of ascertaining their existence and halakhic validity, and preventing them from being forgotten.
Originally written in Hebrew, minhagim books were later translated into Yiddish for the benefit of women and laymen not schooled in Hebrew. The author of the original Hebrew text was the Austrian-Hungarian Rabbi Isaac Tyrnau (c. 1400), but it did not appear in print until 1566, in Krakow. In 1590, a Yiddish translation by Simon Günzburg was printed in Venice by Giovanni di Gara, a member of the (Christian) family who were among the leading producers of Hebrew books in Venice through the second half of the 16th century (despite the periodical bans on printing Hebrew and Yiddish books). Although Yiddish was spoken in Venice, the primary audience was probably the communities in Central Europe.
The earliest printed minhagim books were unillustrated (one or two manuscript editions with illustrations exist). Around the end of the 16th century, however, woodcut illustrations were added to the text to increase the books’ visual appeal and hold the interest of the reader. The earliest published example of such an edition was printed by Giovanni di Gara in Venice, 1593, and employs the same text as his 1590 unillustrated edition. These woodcuts ensured the book’s fame – and popularity – and made it a model for later editions.
A large number of post-1593 printed minhagim books derive their illustrations from the Venice 1593 edition. Most examples are from Amsterdam and Germany, primarily Frankfurt a. M. More than 50 editions of the book were produced between the 16th and 19th centuries.
This small format edition, as opposed to the larger dimensions of the 1722 edition that preceeded it, is quite rare but utilizes the same illustrations.
Isaac Hezekiah ben Jacob de Cordova came from a Sephardic family with a printing trade tradition. His father Jacob Chaim de Cordova was born in Brazil, and following his arrival in Amsterdam learned the the printing trade and worked at several Jewish presses there. From c.1706 Isaac printed Hebrew and Spanish books at his own press. In 1709 he moved his press to Hamburg where he purchased some more printing equipment. He printed a total of 6 works in Hamburg before returning to Amsterdam and resuming operations there in 1714. He remained in the printing business for a further 15 years, until 1730, both printing and selling books. From time to time he printed in Yiddish as well.