Machzor [festival prayers]

(LITURGY)

Soncino, after

1486

Two volumes bound in one. According to the Roman rite. Part I: Weekday, Sabbath, Rosh Chodesh, Chanukah, Purim, Four Parshiyoth, Pesach, Shavuoth, Fast Days, Tisha B'Av, Shabbath Nachamu * Part II: Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Sukoth, Simchath Torah. Prayers are printed in square letters, instructions and laws are printed in semi-cursive. Includes marginal notes in an early hand.

Goff Heb-74; G.Cohen, Hebrew Incunabula in the Library of Yeshiva University (1984) pp. 39-43

This is the second edition of the Soncino Roman Machzor, reset after the first edition issued in Casal Maggiore. The text on the pages is the same as the first edition, although the layout differs subtly in many places. The date and place of printing has been disputed due to the lack of a colophon. The Roman rite, also known as the Italian or “Lo’azim” rite, is rich in multifaceted piyutim. It originated in early medieval Rome and maintained a distinct identity. For a thorough, scholarly discussion of this rite, see Samuel David Luzzatto: Mavo LeMachzor Bne Roma (Tel-Aviv, 1966); with notes and additional material by Daniel Goldschmidt, and a bibliography by Y. Y. Cohen. See also S.C. Reif, Judaism and Hebrew Prayer (1993) pp. 164-66.