Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In 1484, fewer than three decades after the Gutenberg Bible was printed in Mainz, the first two tractates of the Talmud, Berakhot (Blessings) and Beitzah (Egg), were printed in Italy by the Soncino family, Ashkenazi immigrants who had established one of the most significant Hebrew presses of the fifteenth century. These volumes rank among the most celebrated Hebrew incunabula and played a foundational role in establishing the canonical layout of the Talmud page, a typographical arrangement that would endure largely unchanged through subsequent centuries of printing. While scholars have examined the influence of the Soncino edition on later printings and on successive generations of Talmud students, the question of contemporary demand - that is, the readership and market for this edition at the moment of its appearance - has yet to receive sustained scholarly attention.
Join us for a lecture by Professor Yakov Z. Mayer of the University of Haifa, who will explore the book culture of Talmud scholars in the study halls (yeshivot) of northern Italy at the end of the fifteenth century. He will describe the cultural, economic, and scholarly context in which the Soncino Talmuds were printed, focusing on the eight surviving tractates produced between 1484 and 1489.
This program is made possible through the generous support of the Lilly Endowment, Inc.
For transcript and more information, visit loc.gov/item/video-12038
In 1484, fewer than three decades after the Gutenberg Bible was printed in Mainz, the first two tractates of the Talmud, Berakhot (Blessings) and Beitzah (Egg), were printed in Italy by the Soncino family, Ashkenazi immigrants who had established one of the most significant Hebrew presses of the fifteenth century. These volumes rank among the most celebrated Hebrew incunabula and played a foundational role in establishing the canonical layout of the Talmud page, a typographical arrangement that would endure largely unchanged through subsequent centuries of printing. While scholars have examined the influence of the Soncino edition on later printings and on successive generations of Talmud students, the question of contemporary demand - that is, the readership and market for this edition at the moment of its appearance - has yet to receive sustained scholarly attention.
Join us for a lecture by Professor Yakov Z. Mayer of the University of Haifa, who will explore the book culture of Talmud scholars in the study halls (yeshivot) of northern Italy at the end of the fifteenth century. He will describe the cultural, economic, and scholarly context in which the Soncino Talmuds were printed, focusing on the eight surviving tractates produced between 1484 and 1489.
This program is made possible through the generous support of the Lilly Endowment, Inc.
For transcript and more information, visit loc.gov/item/video-12038
