Machzor [Yamim Noraim -Elul, Selichoth, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkoth]

The publication of this important and rare Aschkenazic Machzor has engendered much bibliographical discussion. Begun in Sabbioneta in 1557, in the house of Tobias Foa, it took two and half years to complete. It was completed in Cremona on the eve of the New Year [5]321 (1560) by Vicenzo Conti (as explained in the colophon at the end of this volume). According to Meir Benayahu, this Machzor is a second edition of the Aschkenazic machzor printed earlier in Salonika in 1548-9 for use by the Italian Aschkenazic community of that city. However one of the novel additions to the present edition are the many kabbalistic commentaries to the prayers. From a typographical perspective, this Machzor is something of a mystery. Considering it was printed in two different cities, clearly the transition was hardly seamless. The great bibliographers, such as Steinschneider, Sonne, Berliner, Rivkind and Benayahu tried to make sense of the way in which various letters occur in the edition. To add to the confusion, it seems that this second part of the Machzor went through two printings, each marked by slight variations. In this copy the woodcut surround for the word “HaMelech” (f. 303v) fits Benayahu’s “first printing” (facsimile on p. 160), whereas the historiation of the word “Ashirah” (f. 296r) conforms to Benayahu’s supposed second printing (facsimile on p. 162). In this copy, f. 200 appears twice with typographical differences and corrections. See Benayahu, HaDephus Ha’Ivri BeCremona (1971) pp. 139-178.