Sefer Mitsṿot gadol
Moses ben Jacob, of Coucy, active 13th century
Sefer Mitsṿot Gadol (Great Book of Commandments)
Rome: Obadiah, Menasheh and Benjamin of Rome, ca. 1469–72
Approximately 175 original Hebrew books and 2,000 copies of them were produced before 1501. The Dorot Jewish Division’s collection of these Hebrew incunabula is one of the finest in the United States; it features 38 titles in 45 volumes, including five of nine of the earliest known Hebrew incunabula printed in Rome between 1469–72.
The collection contains one of the most important early incunabula, Sefer Mitsṿot Gadol (Great Book of Commandments), written by the 13th-century rabbinical authority Moses ben Jacob of Coucy. The book contains the earliest woodcut illustrations ever printed in Hebrew books. They depict a palm frond (lulav), a myrtle offshoot (hadas), and a willow branch (aravah), the symbols of the Sukkot holiday, along with text explaining the meaning of the commandments associated with them.
The New York Public Library believes that this item is in the public domain under the laws of the United States, but did not make a determination as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. This item may not be in the public domain under the laws of other countries.
