---

2 translated pages

---

Chapter 1 Page 1

“Lo, I send to you” Eliyahu Ha-Levi,[1] who has “listened to and tested”[2] [i.e., carefully
weighed and formulated] pleasant words that “are carried throughout the earth to the
end of the world.”[3] We refer to the two books that he authored about the grammar of
the holy tongue: first, a compilation that includes an explanation of every foreign and
complicated word in accordance with the grammar and, second, the book for the
“young man,”[4] which includes the rules and principles of grammar, most of which are
matters that no one has previously set out, since “[previous scholars] left the matter
open for him to come and delineate it.”[5] He has also been so kind to compose a table of
the grammar of verbs and conjugations to “endow the young with knowledge”[6] and an
abridged “path of learning through grammar”[7], as the Sages said: “An [effective] teacher
will always teach his students in an abridged [i.e, precise and direct] manner.”[8] And
since we know this man and his words and know that he “has a double portion of his
spirit”[9] [i.e., he is doubly wise] regarding grammar and masorah [the rules of spelling,
lettering, and notation that precisely define the traditional text of the Bible], and that he
authored the writings referred to above with effort and labor and the devotion of many
days of his time, which is in addition to the considerable sums expended by the fine
brothers, Yitzhak, Yom Tov, and Yaakov, sons of our rabbi and teacher, Avigdor Ha-Levi,
may God protect him, who contributed their assets and selves to this project until its
fruition and printed the three works mentioned above.
“Perchance there is a stock sprouting poison weed and wormwood”[10] [i.e., an
evil actor] who, in his heart, is planning that he, too, will print one or all of the
aforementioned works in a more attractive printing, and as a result Rabbi Eliyahu and
the aforementioned brothers will find themselves in the situation of having acted
nimbly, and yet having lost. Therefore, we take the initiative to stand against such
vandals. There is in Kiddushin [a tractate of the Talmud that principally concerns matters
of marriage and betrothal] a passage that states: “If a poor man is reaching for a crust of
bread and another comes and seizes it,

Footnotes:

1. A rhyming play on words and reference to: “Lo, I will send to you
Eliyahu Ha-Navi [i.e., the prophet Elijah] before the coming of the
awesome, fearful day of the Lord.” Malachai 3:23.

2. Likening the author to the sage, Kohelet: “Because Kohelet was a sage,
he continued to instruct the people. He weighed and tested the soundness of
many maxims.” Ecclesiastes 12:9.

3. “The heavens declare the glory of God…. Their voice carries throughout
the earth, their words to the end of the world.” Psalms 19:2,5.

4. “Bakhur” means young man in Hebrew and was also the surname that the
author had previously adopted for himself.

5. Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Holin 6:72.

6. “For endowing the simple with shrewdness, the young with knowledge and
foresight, the wise man, hearing them, will gain more wisdom.” Proverbs
1:4-5.

7. The phrase derekh mavo ha-dikduk, appears to be a play on derekh
mavo-hashemesh, the “path of the sunrise,” or the west road at the entry
point of the Israelites into the land of the Canaanites, described in
Deuteronomy 11:30.

8. Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Psakhim 3:2.

9. “Elijah said to Elisha, ‘Tell me, what can I do for you before I am
taken from you?’ Elisha answered, ‘Let a double portion of your spirit pass
on to me.” 2 Kings 2:9-10.

10. “Perchance there is among you some man or woman … whose heart is even
now turning away from the Lord our God to go and worship the gods of those
nations – perchance there is among you a stock sprouting poison weed and
wormwood.” Deuteronomy 29:17.

---

Chapter 1 Page 2

that person is called a wicked person.”[11] And it is
said in tractate Bava Batra [a tractate of the Talmud that concerns civil wrongs]: “One
[who wants to spread a fish net] must distance himself from a fish [that another
fisherman has staked out with his net] by the full distance that a fish swims, since [to do
otherwise] is encroachment upon another’s livelihood.”[12] And even according to Rabbi
Meir [c. 1060- after 1135], who posited that this rule applies only when the first
fisherman is using a dead fish [as bait] to attract other fish [i.e., is taking concrete steps
that cause the fish to gather around his net], to spread one’s net in such circumstances
is tantamount to misappropriation.[13] It is certainly the case, therefore, that when one
has taken pains and labored, and another encroaches upon his livelihood, that person is
an actual misappropriator [gozel mamash]. And we find in Sanhedrin [a tractate of the
Talmud that largely concerns courts and judicial procedure]: “[The righteous man]
refrains from drawing near to him his neighbor’s wife [interpreted by the rabbis in the
commercial context as avoids taking what another dearly values]; this is a matter that
relates to [the rule against] encroaching upon another’s livelihood.”[14]
And since printed books travel from sea to sea, we have not limited our ruling to
acts occurring within a territorial border, but rather simply decree: Anyone who knows
of, saw, or heard this our decree prohibiting the printing of those books, and who
proceeds to print them nevertheless, whether by himself or through his agent, is a
violator of the law and will be “bitten by the snake” [of ostracism, excommunication,
and anathema][15]. Further any person who knowingly purchases from such a
transgressor after hearing of our decree will suffer anathema, while all of Israel who
obey our decree will be blessed. Our decree will remain in force for the period of ten
years, that is until the year 5289 [the Hebrew year spanning 1528-1529]. It applies to all
who have not received permission from the honorable aforementioned Eliyahu or the
aforementioned brothers, and said permission must be in writing.
Those who hear and abide by our words will be blessed, Amen. And he who
purchases the books printed here in Rome by Rabbi Eliyahu and the aforementioned
brothers will “exult and rejoice”[16] with his purchase and there will be upon good tidings
upon him, Amen.
Written and signed this Friday, the fifth day of Tishrei, 5778 [September 10,
1518].
The speaker who is troubled and dejected, “whose heart is empty within him,”[17]
the most insignificant, Yisrael, the son of the rabbi Yehiel, may his memory have a place

Footnotes:

11. Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Kiddushin 59a:71. The interloper is generally regarded as having engaged in immoral, but not illegal conduct. As such a rabbinic court would not require the interloper to deliver the item to the poor person.

12. Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Bava Batra 21b.

13. Tosefot to Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Kiddushin 59a:71. Rabbi Meir ben Samuel was a founder of a school of medieval commentators on the Talmud from northern France and Germany, known as tosafists (or “those who made additions”), and the father of the most prominent tosafist, Jacob ben Meir (Rabbenu Tam).

14. Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Sanhedrin 81a.

15. Nahash, the Hebrew word for “snake” is also an acronym for niddui (ostracism), herem (ban or excommunication), and shamta (anathema), which are different aspects and stages of punishments in which a transgressor is denied a part of community life and religious ritual, with herem being the most severe. They were, collectively, the most effective device for enforcing communal ordinances and rulings in pre-Emancipation Jewish communities.

16. “When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, Jacob will exult and Israel will rejoice.” Psalms 14:7.

17. “Now You, Oh God, my Lord … save me. For I am poor and needy, and my heart is empty within me.” Psalms 109:21-22.

18. Yisrael Ben Yehiel Ashkenazi was a leading rabbinic authority in Italy.

Translation by: Neil Netanel