It is not a Bubbeh Ma'aseh

Where does the term Bobbe Maase Come From?

It is not a Bubbeh Ma'aseh. It is a Boveh Ma'aseh

Reb Eliyahu Bachur*was the typesetter (Zetser) of the

first printed Shas.(Bomberg)  From then on, whenever 

a printing mistake is found in any Sefer, we put the blame on 

the " Bachur Hazetser”.

He wrote many Seforim on Dikduk ,Mesorah and Ta’amim.

He was the first to translate the Chumash in Yiddish.

He wrote and translated other Seforim and books in Yiddish.

He translated (Yiddish) a story about a prince called

Boveh Dantuna. This  book was called “Boveh Buch”.

Boveh Buch was the first Yiddish novel .

The expression Bubbeh Ma’ases, referred to the

Boveh Buch which was a fiction. It has nothing to do with a

grandmother(Bubbeh)  but a prince called Boveh.

*Most Seforim   quote him,  as “Habachur”

It is unknown why he was called Habachur,

Because he was a married man.

Some speculate that he got married late

and Habachur remained stuck to his name. Others claim

Habachur means the chosen. 

Click here to see a beautiful tefila from Reb Eliyahu Bachur