Seder Haphtaroth Kol HaShanah [Readings from the Prophets for the Entire Year]. * Appended: Calendario facil y curiozo

(SABBATIANA)

David de Castro Tartas

Amsterdam

"Nosha'" (i.e. 1666)

Hebrew title page with engraved borders and contemporary hand-coloring in glorious hues with keywords highlighted in gold, with text in a contemporary hand. Calendar includes three foldout tables

Fuks, Amsterdam 443; EJ, Vol. XIV, col. 1229 (facs. of a variant title page)

BEAUTIFUL CONTEMPORARY HAND-COLORED TITLE-PAGE. Whether the printer David de Castro Tartas was himself a believer in the Messiahship of Shabthai Tzvi, or merely made a living by turning out literature for the faithful, is a moot point. The fact remains that from Tartas's Amsterdam press, there issued in the year 1666 several Tikunim prescribed by Shabthai's "prophet" Nathan Aschkenazi of Gaza. Tartas used special title-pages for several of these books displaying a reverent portrait of Shabthai Tzvi as the Messiah. Also, embedded in the chronograms of books were direct allusions: One chronogram is "Moshi'a" (Savior); other books contain, as ours, "Nosha'" (Saved). Though our text of the Haphtaroth is devoid of any Sabbatian content, the chronogram "Nosha'" adds our title to the list of Sabbatiana. It does appear there are variants of the title page of the Haphtaroth and the present one is rather less controversial. Most likely these Haphtaroth were issued together with the Pentateuch (see Fuks, Amsterdam 443). There is a slight possibility, however, that the Haphtaroth were also issued independently. See L. Fuks, Hebrew Typography in the Northern Netherlands 1585-1815, II (1987), p. 341; G. Scholem, Sabbatai Sevi: The Mystical Messiah (1975), pp. 524-527; 528, n. 144; A.M. Habermann, A History of the Hebrew Book (Hebrew), p. 104