Obj. ID: 37333  Shivchei ha-Ari, Aleppo, 1872

This text was prepared by William Gross:

Early Aleppo print, with decorative title page.
The printing press arrived to the Jewish Community in Aleppo surprisingly late, not before the year 1865. This may be due in part to their neighbors' religious beliefs, Islam's view of the printing press, "It would be an act of impiety if the word of God should be squeezed and pressed together; but the true cause was, that great numbers of themselves earned a considerable income by transcribing those books" (Quarterly Review XLI 1829 Page 475). Before the arrival of the printing press in Aleppo, the Jewish Community would send their books mostly to Europe to be printed, in the 16th and 17th century for the most part to Venice, later on to Amsterdam and Constantinople and from the 18th century on, mainly to Livorno, Italy. The first known book to be sent from Aleppo to be printed was the Mahzor Aram Soba, printed in Venice in 1527.

It happened more than once that manuscripts sent to be printed in Europe were lost en-route, so many authors would keep copies of their manuscripts for themselves, before sending them on the long journey to be printed in Europe. The risks and financial burden that it took to get a book sent and printed outside of Aleppo can be seen from the introduction of Hazon Ovadia by R. Ovadia Halevi of Aleppo, printed in Livorno in 1787. He writes how he sold his entire library and put up his home as collateral in order to raise the funds to have his book printed!

In Aleppo itself, there were people whose business it was to arrange for the printing of manuscripts and making copies of the works before they were sent. One such person was Avraham ben Yeshua Sasson, who later on would be the founder of the First Hebrew printing press in Aleppo. Avraham Sasson printed in Livorno several works of Aleppo Rabbis, including Ohel Yesharim of R. Avraham Antebi in 1943.
The printer of this volume, the first to be printed in Aleppo, is the son of Avraham Sasson, Eliyahu Hai Sasson (b.1830).
Eliyahu Hai Sasson was sent by his father to the printing press of R. Elijah Benamozegh in Livorno in 1864. He returned in 1865 and procured from the Rabbis of Aleppo exclusive rights to Hebrew printing and a printing ban for anyone else. The first book to come out of Sasson's press was this Sha'are Kedusha of R. Haim Vital. The books produced by Sasson were of the highest quality, on fine paper and with attractive font. The rabbinic type he employs is, not surprisingly, very similar to that used by the Livornese Hebrew presses. In all, in the period of 1866-1873 13 books were printed by Sasson in Aleppo. The work at the press was very much a family affair, with the father assisting in choosing the material to be printed and his brother, Moshe assisting with the actual printing. Under financial pressure, the printing press moved in 1873 to Jerusalem. Even after Sasson departed to Jerusalem, the original 20-year ban against competitors was still in effect, and no additional books were printed in Aleppo until 1887.