HIJAR

HIJAR (Ixar), small town in Aragon, E. Spain. There is no record of an organized Jewish community in Híjar, though the activity of Jewish printers there points to at least a small number of resident Jewish families (cf. Isaac b. Sheshet's responsum no. 435). Eliezer b. Abraham Alantansi, a scholar, businessman, and physician, of Murcia, in partnership with Solomon Zalmati of Jativa, set up a press at Híjar and produced Jacob b. Asher's Arba'ah Turim (1485–87); the Latter Prophets (1486–87); the Pentateuch with Onkelos and Rashi (1490); and the Pentateuch with haftarot and Five Scrolls (1487–88). Possibly other books were printed by this press but have been lost. Abraham b. Isaac b. David was employed as corrector. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: A. Freimann, Thesaurus (1924), B 8–12; H.M.Z. Meyer, Supplement to A. Freimann, Thesaurus (1967–69), Bibliographical notes, Short Title Catalogue, nos. 222–32; J. Bloch, Early Hebrew Printing in Spain and Portugal (1938), 19–26; C. Roth, in: JJS, 4 (1953), 116–30; Ch.D. Friedberg, Toledot ha-Defus ha-Ivri (19562), 97–100.