​A siddur (prayer book) written in the Ladino language including prayers, blessings, and commandments to be observed by women. The siddur was probably printed in Salonica around 1550 and was edited by Rabbi Meir Benvenisti. The siddur includes an introduction in Hebrew.

The title page mentions that the siddur includes “the [Hebrew] alphabet with vowel points,” and a table explaining how to read Ladino using the Hebrew alphabet. The copy on display—probably the only one in existence—is, however, missing the final page with this table.

In the Hebrew introduction, the anonymous author complains about the neglect of the education of Jewish women: “No one demands or seeks to guide and teach them – neither the father his daughter nor the husband his wife.”

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Ladino – Ladino is the Judeo-Spanish language that is spoken by Jews of Spanish descent. The basis of the language is pre-sixteenth-century Spanish with Hebrew influences. As Jews moved to other Mediterranean countries after their expulsion from Spain in 1492, languages such as Turkish, Arabic, and French began to influence Ladino. Today there are about 160,000 Ladino speakers around the world.