Oth Le’tovah [secrets of the Hebrew alphabet, using the Notarikon method]

CONZIO, JOSEPH BEN GERSON

by the Author

Chieri

1627

FIRST EDITION. Title within typographical border. Extensive use of large square Hebrew type and typographical text ornaments

Vinograd, Chieri 3; Mehlman 1289

Joseph Conzio established a small Hebrew press in Chieri, a Piedmontese town in Northern Italy, where he printed some one dozen items between 1626 and 1632, all mostly like this one, his owncompositions. By the early 20th century the Jewish Community in Chieri had ceased to exist. See EJ, V col.422 The notarikon method of hermeneutical interpretation involves a system of abbreviations arrived at by either shortening words or by writing only one letter of each word. Broadly, these two methods of notarikon are as follows: One method interprets every letter in a word as an abbreviation of another whole word. The second method, breaks up the word into various component words. As a system of Biblical interpretation, it is the 30th of the 32 Hermeneutical Rules of the Baraitha of “Thirty-two Rules.” Although there is an opinion that the hermeneutic law of notarikon has Biblical authority, the Talmud does not use this method for halachic interpretations and there were authorities who objected to its use even in interpretation of aggadic materials. See EJ, XII col. 1231-2 The present work by Conzio presents concepts that are hinted at in the letters of the Aleph-Bet. Such as, five things a father must do for his son,seven things that existed before the world was created, love, faith, repentance, peace etc.