ר׳ שבתי משורר בס

ר׳ שבתי בן ר׳ יוסף משורר בס (1641–1718), best known as the author of שפתי חכמים, was a biblical commentator, cantor, bibliographer and pioneering Hebrew printer. Born in Kalisz, he lost his parents in the persecutions of 1655 and fled to Prague. There he studied Talmud under ר׳ מאיר וֶרטֶרס, learned music from ר׳ לייב שיר השירים and sang bass in Prague’s Altneuschul; his vocal part produced the names Bass, Bassista and משורר. From 1674 to 1679 he visited Jewish scholarly centres and libraries across Poland, Germany and Holland. In Amsterdam he learned printing and proofreading and in 1680 issued שפתי חכמים, a concise guide to difficulties in רש״י’s Torah commentary, alongside שפתי ישנים, the first substantial bibliography of Hebrew books. After securing official permission, he established a Hebrew press at Dyhernfurth in 1689. The enterprise attracted Jewish workers and helped create a durable local community; his descendants continued it. A fire damaged the press in 1708. In 1712 Jesuit accusations led to his arrest and the confiscation of books, though he was ultimately acquitted. He later returned to Poland and died in Krotoszyn. His commentary remained widely printed beside רש״י, while שפתי ישנים made him a founder of Hebrew bibliography.