The rise of printing had major effects on culture and society in the early modern period, and the presence of this new technology—and the relatively rapid embrace of it among early modern Jews—certainly had an effect on many aspects of Jewish culture. One major change that print seems to have brought to the Jewish communities of Christian Europe, particularly in Italy, was greater interaction between Jews and Christians in the production and dissemination of books. Starting in the early sixteenth century, the locus of production for Jewish books in many places in Italy was in Christian-owned print shops, with Jews and Christians collaborating on the editorial and technical processes of book production. As this Jewish-Christian collaboration often took place under conditions of control by Christians (for example, the involvement of Christian typesetters and printers, expurgation and censorship of Hebrew texts, and state control of Hebrew printing), its study opens up an important set of questions about the role that Christians played in shaping Jewish culture. Presenting new research by an international group of scholars, this book represents a step toward a fuller understanding of Jewish book history. Individual essays focus on a range of issues related to the production and dissemination of Hebrew books as well as their audiences. Topics include the activities of scribes and printers, the creation of new types of literature and the transformation of canonical works in the era of print, the external and internal censorship of Hebrew books, and the reading interests of Jews. An introduction summarizes the state of scholarship in the field and offers an overview of the transition from manuscript to print in this period.

This volume includes contributions presented at two conferences, in Mainz (Germany) and Jerusalem (Israel). The articles present a number of new discoveries of binding fragments in several European libraries and beyond.

The volume investigates the interconnections between the Italian Jewish worlds and wider European and Mediterranean circles, situating the Italian Jewish experience within a transregional and transnational context mindful of the complex set of networks, relations, and loyalties that characterized Jewish diasporic life. Preceded by a methodological introduction by the editors, the chapters address rabbinic connections and ties of communal solidarity in the early modern period, and examine the circulation of Hebrew books and the overlap of national and transnational identities after emancipation. For the twentieth century, this volume additionally explores the Italian side of the Wissenschaft des Judentums; the role of international Jewish agencies in the years of Fascist racial persecution; the interactions between Italian Jewry, JDPs and Zionist envoys after Word War II; and the impact of Zionism in transforming modern Jewish identities.

This survey of the history of Kabbalah in Italy represents a major contribution from one of the world's foremost Kabbalah scholars. Idel charts the ways that Kabbalistic thought and literature developed in Italy and how its unique geographical situation facilitated the arrival of both Spanish and Byzantine Kabbalah.

Structures of settlement and the economy - Trades and professions - Structures of culture and society - Education - Jewish culture, Hebraists and the role of the Kabbalah - Community institutions - Circumcision - Marriage - Death - Jews - Venice - Florence - Death rites.

This early history of printed literature “delves into the delectable intrigues of Renaissance Venice with a degree of detail that will mesmerize readers” (La Repubblica). This accessible yet erudite history traces the incredible rise of publishing in the Republic of Venice, the Renaissance’s era of global capital of culture and trade. While a number of Venetian innovators drove this new enterprise, one in particular, Aldus Manutius, stands head and shoulders above the rest. Manutius tirelessly promoted the concept of reading for pleasure, and his Aldine Press commissioned the first modern typeface. Beginning in Venice and subsequently across much of the civilized world, bound printed editions of the Talmud, the Koran, the works of Erasmus of Rotterdam, and classics of Greek and Latin poetry and theater began to circulate for the first time, leading to an unprecedented diffusion of human knowledge, and bringing about the birth of the modern world.

Kar-Ben Read-Aloud eBooks with Audio combine professional narration and text highlighting to bring eBooks to life! Francesco Tirelli loved to eat gelato from his uncle's cart. So when he moves from Italy to Hungary, Francesco decides to open his own ice cream store. There young Peter learns to love ice cream as much as Francesco did. But when the war comes and Francesco closes his shop for the winter, he uses the shop for a special purpose—to hide his Jewish friends and neighbors from danger. This heroic tale is based on true events.