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Re: DSS in Hebrew, not in Rashi Script



what is called rashi script is in fact a common ordinary sephardic
script for hebrew used by sephardic scribes all through the middle
ages. when printers needed to distinguish between the commentary text
and the biblical text itself they choose the sepahrdic script type--
which was well known-- sephardic mss were read by northern europeans
and vice versa;  rashi's was the first commentary published and so the
commentary font ( so lines of commentary and text could be
distinguished) became known as rashi letters or rashi writing-- which
is accurate if we understand rashi to mean the printed commentary.

letters and alphabets have feels to them and the modern type setters
who set commentaries in block type are subtely changing the feel of
the commentary as separate but revered from the base text which it
comments upon. fonts etc are an integral part of the tradition
experience-- people can call things whatever they like but the only
intelligible, popular meaning to the name rashi letters is the above.

i teach that alphabet to my hebrew classes as well-- it is
indispensable if anyone wants to read classical literature or
manuscripts.

hbasser