Physical Description

Part III-IV only, 289, [1] ff., quarto,195:153 mm., blue tint paper, wide margins, usual age and damp staining, stamps. A good copy bound in modern boards.

In a scholarly article on the early Slavuta imprints, Marvin Heller proves that the Ber Press was run by R. Moses Shapira.

Detail Description

The Zohar, is arranged according to the weekly portions of the Torah, up to and including the portion Pinhas. From Deuteronomy there are only Va-Ethannan, a little on Va-Yelekh, and Ha'azinu. Basically it is a kabbalistic Midrash on the Torah, mixed with short statements, long expositions, and narratives concerning Rebbe Simeon b. Yohai and his companions. Some of it consists also of common legends. The number of verses interpreted in each portion is relatively small. Often the exposition digresses to other subjects quite divorced from the actual text of the portion, and the interpretations are skillfully constructed. The expositions are preceded by petihot ("introductions") which are usually based on verses from the Prophets and the Hagiographa, especially Psalms, and which end with a transition to the subject matter of the portion. Many stories act as a framework for the homilies of the companions, e.g., conversations while they are on a journey or when they rest for the night. The language is Aramaic, as it is for most of the other sections of the work. Before the portion Bereshit there is a hakdamah ("preface"), which would appear to be a typical collection of writings and not a preface as such, unless perhaps it was intended to introduce the reader to the spiritual climate of the book.

R. Moses Shapira, son of the zaddik R. Phinehas b. Abraham of Korets, founded the Slavuta printing press, in 1791. Later his two sons, Samuel Abraham and Phinehas, took over the administration of the press. Three editions of the Babylonian Talmud, an edition of the Bible (with commentaries), the Zohar, and many other religious works, especially chasidic literature, were all produced handsomely and with great care by the press. In 1836 the press was closed down when the owners were arrested for the alleged murder of a worker who had supposedly denounced them for printing books without permission from the censor. Slavuta imprints are rare as they were consistently and continuously used by hasidim, causing extreme wear and the destruction of many copies.

Hebrew Description

... כפי אשר נדפס באמשטרדם [תפ"ח] דף על דף... חלק א-ד

חלק ג: ויקרא. בשנת והמש’כילים’ יז’הירו’ כזוה’ר הר’קיע [תקנ"ח]. קטו דף.

חלק ד: במדבר ודברים. בשנת והמש’כילים’ יז’הירו’ כזוה’ר הר’קיע [תקנ"ח]. [1], קיז-רצט, [1] דף.

References

EJ; JE; Bibliography of the Hebrew Book 1470-1960 #000129416