reader; he then proceeded to give a summary of his view, and concluded with answering all the questions seriatim. His Commentaries abound in references to Talmud, Midrash and Zohar, but contain scant references to other commentaries, such as the works of Abravanel, Gersonides or Maimonides. His explanations are all of a homiletical character; his sole object being to find in each sentence or in each word of the Scriptures a moral lesson, a support for trust in God, encouragement to patient endurance, and a proof of the vanity of all earthly goods as compared with the everlasting bliss to be acquired in the future life. He frequently and earnestly appeals to his brethren, exhorting them to repent, and to abandon, or at least restrict, the pursuit of all worldly pleasures, and thus accelerate the approach of the Messianic era. Alshich possessed an easy and fluent style; his expositions are mostly of an allegorical character, but very rarely approach mysticism. In his commentary on the Song of Solomon, he calls peshaִt (literal explanation) and sod (mystical interpretation) the two opposite extremes, while he declares his own method of introducing allegorical exposition to be the safe mean between these extremes. Alshich wrote the following commentaries, most of which have appeared in several editions: "Torat Mosheh" (Commentary on the Pentateuch), first ed. Belvedere near Constantinople, about 1593. Complete, with Indexes, Venice, 1601. An abstract of this commentary was prepared by Jos. b. Aryeh Loeb, and has appeared in various forms (entitled: "Qitsur Alshich 'al ha-Torah"), Amsterdam, 1748. "Marot ha-Tsobeot" (Collected Visions), on the prophets and their prophecies, Venice, 1803–7. Extracts from this commentary are included in "Minhah Qe'tannah," a commentary on the earlier prophets; published in the Biblia Rabbinica (Qohelet Mosheh), Amsterdam, 1724. "Romemot El" (Praises of God), on the book of Psalms, Venice, 1605. "Rab Peninim" (Multitude of Pearls), on Proverbs, Venice, 1601. "Helqat Mehoqeq" (The Lawgiver's Portion), on Job, Venice, 1603. "Shoshanat ha-'Amaqim" (Lily of the Valleys), on the Song of Solomon. This commentary was the first to appear in print, and was edited by Alshich himself in 1591. According to this commentary, the Song is an allegory, and represents a dialogue between God and exiled Israel on the latter's mission. "'Ene Mosheh" (Eyes of Moses), on Ruth. Alshich says of the book of Ruth, "Surely from it we might take a lesson how to serve God"; and illustrates this statement