RARE FIRST EDITION first volume of a general systematic introduction to Judaism, which also includes one of the very first surveys of Jewish literature in Italy, edited from lessons delivered in 1830-1831 to the students of the Collegio Rabbinico of Padova by the renowned scholar, translator and professor at the Rabbinic college of Padua, Samuel David Luzzatto (1800-1865), a pivotal figure in modern Italian-Jewish scholarship and a member of the `Wissenschaft des Judentums` movement. 215x150mm. 55 pages. Rebound board Hardcover with brown cloth spine. Original softcover in-bound. Cover curved, stained and yellowing. Cover edges slightly worn. Spine and text-block bottom part stained. Sticker on spine bottom edge. Spine peeling in one place. Spine edges slightly peeling. Original rear softcover stained. Ex-library copy with stamp on whitepage, title page, and pages 23 and 49. Pages rough-cut as published (as a result, some page edges seem tattered). Pages yellowing, wavy and age-stained. [SUMMARY]: This extremely rare original edition of published lectures by one of the giants of modern Jewish scholarship is otherwise in good condition.