Bible, Amsterdam, 1666-1667 – Edition Used by the Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch – Fine Original Binding

Bible, Amsterdam, 1666-1667 – Edition Used by the Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch – Fine Original Binding

Bible, Five Books of the Torah, Neviim Rishonim, Neviim Acharonim and Ketuvim. Amsterdam: Josephi Athias, 1666-1667.
Second edition of the Bible edited by Johannes Leusden, who added a foreword in Latin. This edition was corrected according to early editions, and was considered for many years to be the most precise edition of the Bible. The proofreaders wrote in the Hebrew foreword: "We checked several editions… to correct every distortion that crept in… G-d granted us two Bible manuscripts from ancient times, without any imperfections… We owe our gratitude… to Yosef [Athias]… because after each leaf was printed… he sent it to Utrecht, to a wise man… named Johannes Leusden… he, his friends and his disciples examined it letter by letter and point by point".
The present edition was used by the Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch, who would read the haftarah from it on Shabbat.
A copy of the 1666-1667 Amsterdam Bible – this very edition – previously owned by the Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch, is found in the Library of Agudas Chassidei Chabad. The Tzemach Tzedek used that bible on a regular basis. He would read the haftarah from it on Shabbat and recite Tehillim from it. Its margins bear many handwritten glosses by the Tzemach Tzedek. In addition, on the first leaf of the aforementioned book, the Tzemach Tzedek's grandson, Rebbe Rashab of Lubavitch, wrote, quoting the Siftei Yeshenim: "Precise Bible, closely proofread by quite a number of Jewish sages and Christian scholars, not a single mistake was found… very beautiful print, Amsterdam 1667". A sticker inside the front board of that copy, with a note from his son, the Rebbe Rayatz of Lubavitch reads: "From the library of my grandfather the Tzemach Tzedek, and he would use it to recite the haftarah".
Rabbi Shalom DovBer Levine, in his book MiBeis HaGenozim, divides the Tzemach Tzedek's glosses in that copy into three categories: 1. The haftarah reading, in cases where there are different customs. 2. The places where the second, third, etc. aliyot begin (where they were not marked). 3. Printing errors and notes on the Masoretic text. R. Levine concludes from this: "Aside from reciting the haftarah from this Tanach, he [the Tzemach Tzedek] also used it to listen to the Torah readings, and would study from it extensively. The well-used leaves in the Sefer Tehillim also indicate that he would use it to recite Tehillim".

Four parts in one volume; each part opens with a fine engraved title page. Part I (Five Books of the Torah): [19], 178 leaves; Part II (Neviim Rishonim): [1], 2-155 leaves; Part III (Neviim Acharonim): [156]-316 leaves; Part IV (Ketuvim): [317]-508, [2] leaves. Approx. 20 cm. Good condition. Stains, including dampstains. Wear. Marginal tears and open tears to several leaves, slightly affecting text. Old handwritten glosses, signatures and inscriptions (in Latin characters) on verso of title pages, in margins and between lines (primarily in Sefer Tehillim), at foot of first title page and inside front board. Early, decorated, leather over wooden boards, with clasp remnants (Elector of Saxony, presumably Augustus I [1526-1586], portrayed on one board, and a coat of arms, faded, on other board). Damage and minor wear to binding and spine.