Sifte Hakhamim. Vehu Perush al Divre Rashi al ha-Torah ve-Hamesh Megilot (Lips of the Sages. A Commentary on the Writings of Rashi on the Torah and the Five Scrolls)
Frankfurt: Johann Kelner, [1712]. First edition. Hardcover. Octavo. [1] 143 double-sided leaves. Rebound in modern black buckram boards. Blue and white sticker on the spine with handwritten lettering in black in ink. Gilt ruling to the head and tail of the spine. Decorative woodcut borders on the title page, woodcut tailpiece on the verso of the final leaf. A first edition* of this important commentary on the biblical exegesis of Rashi, by Rabbi Shabbethai ben Joseph Bass (1641–1718), considered his magnum opus. The work returns the reader to the original questions and confusions that Rashi himself faced with the original biblical text and chronicles his thought process in answering those questions. Also included in this text are summaries of much of the content of previous commentaries of Rashi 's writings, most notebly including the writings of Rabbi Elijah Mizrachi (c. 1455 – 1525 or 1526, aka "Re'em"). This work is considered an essential text for the study of the commentaries of Rashi.
The Hebrew text throughout is printed in Rashi script, in a two-column format.
Binding with some minor rubbing to extremities, and slight bowing of the front cover. Interior with previous owner's ink stamps on the free endpapers, and a small orange sticker on the interior front cover. Age toning to pages throughout. Minor chipping to the bottom edge of the initial leaf, resulting in minor loss of border design, and minor text loss on the verso. Sporadic light water stains and/or smudges throughout, mostly in the margins. The final two leaves contain a few small wormholes, resulting in minor loss of text. Tightly trimmed pages from the title p.24, with minimal text loss in a few instances. Binding in very good, interior in very good- condition overall. vg- to vg. Item #48353
Hebrew title: שפתי חכמים : והוא פירוש על דברי רש״י על התורה וחמש מגילות
Author: בס, שבתי בן יוסף
Publication: פרנקפורט דמיין, יוהאן קעלנר
Alternate transliteration: Sifte Hahamim, Siftei Chachamim, Sifsei Chachamim
Bibliographic reference: Vinograd, p. 585, Frankfurt A.M., #295
*Although this is the first publication of the work by itself, the work had previously appeared as part of a publication of the Pentateuch which also included the commentaries of Rashi, published in Amsterdam in 1680.
Price: $500.00