Rashi Script - כתב רש״י

Open any printed edition of the Talmud or a Chumash with commentaries, and you'll see two different typefaces on the page. The main text is in standard block letters (כתב דפוס), while the commentaries - especially Rashi's - are printed in a distinctive semi-cursive script.

This typeface is called Ktav Rashi (כְּתָב רַשִׁ״י), though Rashi himself never used it. It was adopted by early Hebrew printers in 15th-century Italy to visually separate commentary from the main sacred text. It's based on Sephardic handwriting styles of that era.

Learning to read Rashi script is essential for anyone studying Torah commentaries, Talmud, or traditional Jewish texts. The letters are the same 22 - the sounds don't change - but the shapes look different enough that they need practice.

Compare: שָׁלוֹם (block) vs שָׁלוֹם (Rashi)