Obj. ID: 37354  Asaf ha-Mazkir by Zakhariah Porto, Venice, 1675

This text was prepared by William Gross:

References and sources for books of sermons, containing commentaries on essays in Talmudic aggadahs, according to the order in Ein Yaakov. This colossal concordance wends its way through the entire Talmud, offering for each Aggadic statement invaluable references to numerous homiletic works. The book was published posthumously by the Jewish community of Rom, where Porto had served as rabbi.
R. Zechariah ben Ephraim Porto (d.1672) was a member of the distinguished Porto (Rappaport) family. He resided in Urbino, Florence and Rome. He was a philanthropist, and served as rabbi in the latter location, but, due to his great humility, would not assume the title that went along with the position. For the same reason he would not publish Asaf ha-Mazkir during his lifetime. It was published after his death by the Talmud Torah of Rome.
Decorative Bragadin title page with Tablets of the Law at the top, supported by angels. Moses and Aaron stand in niches below. Cartouche with 3 lion heads at bottom center (Bragadin emblem?). For the same title page used in a different volume see B.813 (Venice, Bragadin, 1674). For a nearly-identical title page, which shows the figure of King Solomon instead of Aaron, see B.1741 (Venice, Bragadin, 1664).
Decorative frames surround tractate names throughout the text.
In 1550 Alvise Bragadin established a Hebrew press in Venice, thus ending a brief monopoly in Hebrew printing in Venice enjoyed by Guistiani (after the closing of the Bomberg press). This press continued as one of Venice’s leading Hebrew print-shops, issuing Hebrew titles in the 18th C under several generations of Bragadins (the last of whom was Alvise III). Throughout the years, the output of the Bragadini press was considerable, and covered the gamut of Hebrew works. The press was somewhat unusual, however, in that the Bragadins themselves did not always take an active role in their printing-house, leaving its operation to other printers, and lending their name to other presses.