Obj. ID: 37617
Jewish printed books  Masat Moshe by Moshe ben Chaim Alshekh, Venice, 1601

This text was prepared by William Gross:

A commentary on Megillat Esther by R. Moses ben Hayyim Alshekh (c.1508 – c.1600). In his introduction, Alshekh discusses the mitzvah to study and delve into the meaning of the Megillah and associated miracles. He tells how he would expound and share his insights with his congregation, recording them every twelfth month, the month of Adar. He further describes a vision he experienced in his home which resulted in this work: “…it came to pass one day, while occupied with the books that the Lord has given me, I saw, revealed to me, a vision in my home. I raised my eyes to it…Who knows perhaps the Lord will cause your words to find favor in the eyes of their beholders…and all who read them will merit and cause me merit…and I called it Masat Moshe [the levy of Moshe, II Chronicles 24:6-9]…”
Text of the megillah appears in the inner column in square vocalized letters. Alshekh’s commentary is in the outer column in rabbinic type.
Unornamented title page. Decorative borders surround the initial word of the Megillah and the initial phrase of Alshekh’s commentary.
Five woodcut illustrations appear after the text, all borrowed (and re-contextualized) from a Hagaddah printed by Giovanni di Gara (1599). Four are used to illustrate characters from the story: Mordechai, Ahasuerus, Esther and Haman; the fifth is a vignette showing Mishloah Manot and the Purim meal.
The printer Daniel Zanetti inherited the print-shop established in Venice by Matteo Zanetti. Active from 1596-1608, Daniel published more than sixty titles.