Minchath Kohen [on the Masorah]

JOSEPH BEN SHNEUR HACOHEN.

Dona Reyna widow of the illustrious Duke Don Joseph Nasi

Kuru Cesme

1597

Vinograd Const. 322; Yaari, Const. 240; St. Cat. Bodl. 6006 (lib. rarus).

EXCEPTIONALY RARE. Following the death in 1593 of the Constantinople-based Hebrew printer Solomon Jabez, Dona Reyna widow of the illustrious Don Joseph Nasi, used the remaining inheritance left to her (following the expropriation of much of her wealth) to establish a printing-press in her Palace of Belvedere in nearby Orta-Koy. For reasons unclear, the press was soon transferred to Kuru-Cesme, another suburb of Constantinople. Thus, “the noble lady of noble lineage” became the first Jewish woman to establish a printing-press. This work emphasizes the proper spelling of various words in the Torah. In the introduction the author writes of the importance of the work for scribes and readers of the Torah in synagogues, alongside a scholarly discussion pertaining to the Masorah.