Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael: A Critical Edition on the Basis of the Manuscripts and Early Editions with an English Translation, Introduction and Notes (3 Vols.)
Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1949. Hardcover. Duodecimo. lxiv [i], 255, 292, 271pp. Blue cloth with gilt initials in blind-stamped ruling on covers, gilt lettering and decorative ruling on spine. Top edges gilt. Bilingual Hebrew - English text. C. Purple ribbon markers. "...critical edition, in three volumes, of the Mekilta de-Rabbi Ishmael, a body of ancient comments and traditional interpretations of the Torah. The Mekilta of Rabbi Ishmael is one of the oldest of these interpretations. It contains an exposition of a large part of the book of Exodus and represents the two main bodies of interpretations: the Halakah, or legal, and the Haggadah, or moral and religious teachings. The work also contains allusions to historical events and ancient legends not found elsewhere." (Advertisement). Light wear along edges of bindings and ribbon markers lightly frayed. Very good+ condition. Item #55941
The author, Jacob Zallel Lauterbach (1873-1942) was an American Judaica scholar and author who served on the faculty of Hebrew Union College and composed responsa for the Reform movement in America. He specialized in Midrashic and Talmudical literature, and is best known for this landmark critical edition. Though he was first and foremost a Talmudist he was thoroughly familiar with all the modern techniques of critical scholarship, including manuscript comparison and decryption. He was the author of several books besides this three-volume Mekilta, and was a prolific contributor to the Jewish Encyclopedia, for which he authored or co-authored 260 articles. He additionally contributed 17 articles to the Hebrew Otzar Yisrael encyclopedia of Julius Eisenstein. - Source Rothman, Walter E. (1951), "A bibliography of the writings of Jacob Z. Lauterbach", written at Cincinnati, in Lou H. Silberman, Rabbinic Essays by Jacob Z. Lauterbach, Hebrew Union College Press. Rothman (1951).
Price: $95.00