Two Rare Sheets of Paper – Printed in Amsterdam 1709, for Cutting and Pasting in Place of Censored Sections in the ...

Two Rare Sheets of Paper – Printed in Amsterdam 1709, for Cutting and Pasting in Place of Censored Sections in the Frankfurt an der Oder 1697-1699 Talmud Edition – Including a Volume Comprising Several Tractates from This Edition
Two sheets of paper (4 pages) printed in Amsterdam, containing passages which were removed by the censor from the Talmud edition printed in Frankfurt an der Oder in 1697-1699 – leaves intended for cutting and pasting in place of the omissions in the printed tractates. [Amsterdam, 1708].
The Frankfurt an der Oder 1697-1699 Talmud edition was printed under the watchful eye of the Prussian-Christian censorship. This resulted in the omission of numerous passages (lines, and even entire paragraphs) which relate to gentiles or Yeshu (Jesus). The printers left empty spaces in the places where passages were omitted (in the text of the Talmud, the Rashi and Tosafot commentaries), and did not join the lines after the omission to the lines before it (unlike other printers). Ten years later, two Jewish brothers in Amsterdam initiated the printing of these leaves, which contain the passages censored from the Frankfurt an der Oder edition, arranged in the right size and format to fit within the empty spaces left in that edition. This was done in order to enable the buyers to cut the passages and past them in the corresponding spaces, and thus create a complete edition. The printing of the passages was done very accurately, so that each passage should fit exactly in its place in the middle of the page or even line. It must be noted that this venture was presumably only feasible in Amsterdam, which was under the much more tolerant Protestant rule, as opposed to the Prussian area where the Talmud was printed.
Heading the first page, the "Approbations of the great luminaries, the rabbis of Amsterdam" describe the censorship omissions in the Frankfurt an der Oder edition of the Talmud, and the purpose of these leaves: "The Talmud printed in Frankfurt an der Oder was made with many bald patches in various places in the text of the Talmud, Rashi and Tosafot, leaving whoever studies it perplexed, and this was done for the known reason. And now, two brothers, R. Shimon, beadle of our community, and his brother R. Yitzchak, have courageously decided to benefit the public… and have searched through the pages, one by one, to print all the missing parts in their original format… so that each and every person can paste each passage in its place, and there is nothing lacking or superfluous, since everything was done with careful thought…". The approbation is dated Cheshvan 1708, and is signed by R. Aryeh Leib Rabbi of the Ashkenazi community in Amsterdam, and R. Shlomo Ayllon Rabbi of the Sephardim.
These leaves are very rare (not listed in the Bibliography of the Hebrew Book, nor in the NLI catalog). Apart from the unlikelihood of single leaves surviving for several centuries (and supposing that the leaves were printed in a limited number of copies), it can be assumed that the buyers cut and pasted the leaves in the right places in their Talmud set, and therefore almost no complete sheets remain. It is also possible that the distribution of these leaves was prohibited in certain places, or that they were destroyed for fear of the authorities.
[2] sheets of paper, printed on one side (4 pages). Approx. 34 cm. Fair condition. Stains. Tears affecting text, professionally repaired with paper.
• Enclosed is a volume of this Talmud edition – Tractates Sanhedrin, Makkot, Shevuot, Horayot, Eduyot, Avot and Minor Tractates. Frankfurt an der Oder. Many of the censorship omissions are concentrated in this volume, in Tractate Sanhedrin (see picture 93a).
Multiple paginations. 35.5 cm. Condition varies: overall fair condition, several leaves in poor condition. Stains and wear. Large tears and worming, affecting text. Several detached leaves. Signatures and inscriptions. Old binding, damaged and detached.