Alshich on the Torah, Venice 1601 – First Complete Edition
Toras Moshe, commentary on the Torah by Rabbeinu Moshe Alshich, Venice 1601 –
the first complete edition on the entire Torah.
The Alshich’s commentary on Sefer Bereishis was first printed in Belvedere in 1593, and later in Venice in 1600.
Before us is the first complete edition on the entire Torah.
Every Jew who studies it is saved by Rabbeinu Alshich himself!
It is known the story from Rabbi Yitzchak of Posen, the Rebbe of the Magen Avraham, who heard from his Rebbe, that during the pogroms of 1648-49, there was a Jew who regularly studied the seforim of the Alshich,
and during the upheaval, the Alshich himself came to save him because he had been learning from his seforim (see sources for this miraculous story in Sheim HaGedolim, HaMaor edition).
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The holy mekubal, Rabbeinu Moshe Alshich (1508–1600), was one of the great luminaries of Tzfas, and was ordained by Maran the Beis Yosef. He was close to the Arizal, who told him that his mission in this gilgul was to delve deeply into drush, saying of him, "He aligns with the truth in his drashos…" and not to engage in kabbalah, as he had already completed that in previous gilgulim (Shivtei Musar, Perek 23). He was the Rebbe in Nigleh of Rabbi Chaim Vital and even gave him semicha (the Chida in Birkei Yosef Choshen Mishpat, Siman 1, Sif Katan 7, recounts seeing the manuscript of this semicha).
A wondrous story is told about Rabbeinu, who gave a drosha on Shabbos about the deceitfulness of Lavan HaArami.
The holy Arizal entered the drosha, and suddenly they saw him laugh. The Alshich asked him why he was laughing, and the Arizal replied that from Shamayim they had brought Lavan to hear your drosha detailing all his deceptions, and at the hundredth trick that you mentioned, Lavan laughed, for that particular trick had never crossed his mind!
