Fascinating Agreement for Printing the Holy Zohar, Signed by the Rabbanim of Livorno, 1790
A particularly fascinating document – an agreement between seven partners in the city of Livorno, some of them the geonim of the generation, who came together to finance the printing of a new and enhanced edition of the Zohar (which was indeed printed there between 1791-1793).
The agreement is filled with unknown details about the printing: The agreement called for printing 1,000 complete sets of the Zohar, on four different types of paper; the printer commits to bringing new letters from Venice and to complete the printing work by 1791 (the printing was, in fact, only completed in 1793). The partners commit, among other things, to proofread the Zohar four times!
This edition of the Zohar is particularly important, as it was the first to include the annotations of the Chida on the Zohar. (These annotations are not mentioned in the present document, so it seems the proposal to add the Chida’s annotations to enhance the edition only came later.)
The following seven partners signed their names at the end of the agreement:
- Rabbi Yaakov Ibn Naim – Raavad of Algiers and later one of the Rabbanim of Livorno, author of ‘Zera Yaakov’.
- Rabbi Chaim Avraham Yisrael Ze’evi – emissary of the sages of Chevron, friend of the Chida.
- Rabbi Shmuel son of Rabbi Moshe HaCohen – one of the dayanim of Livorno.
- Rabbi David Atzayoli – one of the sages of Livorno, close to the Chida.
- Rabbi Yaakov Nunes Vais – Rav of Livorno and Rosh Yeshiva there.
- Rabbi Eliezer Sa’adon – owner of the renowned printing press in Livorno.
- Rabbi Raphael Massa (in foreign script).
A rare historical document on the history of Hebrew printing in the city of Livorno.
Livorno, 1790. Manuscript, signed by the partners. Page Count: [1] double leaf of paper, containing two written pages. Size: 24.5 x 19 cm.
Condition: Good. Tears and some wear at fold marks. Stains.
The saintly kabbalist Rabbi Yaakov Ben Naim was born in Fez, Morocco. He served as Rav in Algiers for eighteen years. After several journeys, he settled in Livorno where he became one of the important Rabbanim, and was greatly respected by the Chida. He was involved in printing the Zohar, Sefer ‘Ketem Paz’, a siddur and a haggadah. (For more about him, see: Encyclopedia of Italian Sages page 250.)
Rabbi Chaim Avraham Yisrael Ze’evi was among the sages of Chevron. He traveled as an emissary to many places – Germany, Italy, Arab countries and Yemen. Rabbi Chananel Nepi writes about him: "I merited to know him… he was an exalted chassid and conducted himself with abstinence and purity…" (For more about him, see: Encyclopedia of Spanish Geonim Vol. 2 page 673.)
Rabbi Yaakov Nunes-Vais, son of Rabbi Yitzchak Nunes-Vais and nephew of Rabbi Yishmael HaCohen of Modena. He served as Rav of Livorno and as Rosh Yeshiva there and was renowned as a sharp genius. (For more about him, see: Encyclopedia of Italian Sages page 216.)
Rabbi David Atzayoli was a scholar from Livorno. Today it is known that a work of the Chida was copied by Rabbi David for one of the wealthy patrons, and the Chida added his dedication to the manuscript. Several manuscripts are known to have been copied by members of the Atzayoli family of Livorno.
Rabbi Shmuel HaCohen was among the dayanim of Livorno. (For more about him, see: Encyclopedia of Italian Sages page 511.)
