Handwritten Sefer HaMiddot by Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, Kuntres Shemot HaTzadikim, Kitzur Likutei Mohar”n and piyyutim. Mizrachi manuscript [Allepo? c. 1850].
Specifications : [1] 195 [1] leaf, 13×9 cm.
Background: Rabbi Nachman of Breslov’s books were very common in Eastern Europe, but were unknown in the Oriental countries. Thus, while dozens of works and editions of Rabbi Nachman’s books were printed in Eastern European countries, not a single book was printed in the Orient.
Unique Features: This manuscript was written in Allepo, a copy of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov’s book, in Oriental handwriting. Rabbi Natan Shternhartz of Breslov, Rabbi Nachman’s renowned disciple who disseminated his teachings both orally and in writing, traveled to the Land of Israel in 1882, and on his way spent time in the Oriental Jewish communities. Apparently, the manuscript before us was copied from a copy of a book that was distributed by Rabbi Natan in one of the Oriental communities. Before us is a unique manuscript of Breslov chassidism in the Orient.
Owner’s signatures: “HaTzair Avraham ch’ Yosef Avraham [possibly the writer?] HaTzair Yosef Rachamim … v’eani goel acharon Shm”sh s”t, HaTzair Shlomo Abed Shlomo Moshe Twina s”t” [Rabbi Shlomo ben Abed Twina, rabbi and leader of the Babylonian Jews of Calcutta. He was born in Baghdad in 1856, emigrated to India in 1880, and passed away in 1913. He authored many books].
Provenance: Sasson family collection, manuscript no. 1300. The binding’s inner side sports a sticker with a typewritten self-dedication: “This Sefer HaMiddot was given to me as a gift by my honorable friend, son of kedoshim, HaRav HaMekubal HaEloki a’ Shimon Agassi z”l, Mr. Ezra Tzion Agassi.”
Condition: Fine. Some aging stains. Chafed original leather binding.
Large handwritten work, with dozens of kabbalistic homilies. Syria? 18th century.
Specifications: About 255 written pages. 15×21 cm. Oriental hand with catchwords. Solitary leaves are missing.
Content: Complete work with kabbalistic homilies from the Tanach, Zohar and Tikunei HaZohar . These are novellae by the author and mention of his teachers’ and colleagues’ thoughts. At the start of the manuscript, under the title “VaTashev B’Petach Einayim,” is the start of a table of contents in a 19th century Yemenite hand. This writer added sources between the pages of the book. The author of the manuscript has not been identified, but it is clear that he was an expert in the secrets of kabbalah.
Condition: Fine. Aging stains. Solitary detached leaves. Minimal worming holes. Ancient leather binding.
Notepad of novellae on weekly Torah portions, collected from various books. 18th-19th centuries.
Specifications: 107 leaves, paper. 16×10 cm. Small, cramped but neat Oriental handwriting. Eliezer son of Avraham Sassoon’s owner’s signature at the beginning.
Condition: Moderate-fine condition, disintegrated front binding, a few detached leaves, stains. Worn original antique leather binding.
Handwritten book of responsa. Autographed by Rabbi YVI”N. On Orach Chaim. Morocco, 19th-18th century.
Specifications: [78] leaves, paper, on which about 64 are written. Western script (Moroccan). Erasures and corrections.
Contents: Divided according to topics: morning conduct, the laws of tzitzit and tefilin, laws of blessings, Shema, prayer, grace after meals, Shabbat and Yom Tov and more. There are blank pages on certain topics which the author did not manage to write. In several responsa, the author ends with the initials YVI”N, probably one of the rabbis from the Birdugo family who lived in the late 18th-19th centuries.
To the best of our knowledge this compilation was not printed.
Condition: Moderate condition. Two leaves cut lengthwise without damage to text. Minimal worming holes damaging text. Aging stains. Faded writing in a some places. Bound in a new binding.
Handwritten transcription from the book Pri Megadim by Rabbi Shmuel son of Alexander, with an index for the Choshen Mishpat section of the Shulchan Aruch, arranged in alphabetical order. 18th century.
Specifications: 144 leaves, paper. 10×15 cm. Oriental handwriting.
Unique Features: One of the owners wrote at the top: “The book Pri Megadim by the author of the Turei Zahav. ” This is followed by: “Says Yitzchak son of Rabbi Michael Badhav the Jerusalemite: The above writer was mistaken, and it is not by the author of the Turei Zahav but by Rabbi Shmuel son of Alexander.” The owner, Rabbi Yitzchak Badhav, was a rabbi and collector of books and hundreds of manuscripts in Jerusalem (passed away in 1947). Most of his library was purchased by the National Library in Jerusalem.
Pri Megadim on the Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat: And anyone looking for the source of any law will find it easily … by Rabbi Shmuel son of Alexander, published in the first edition in Frankfurt on the Oder, 1691.
Condition: Moderate-poor. Worming holes. Original leather binding with one original leather clasp.
Part of a handwritten sermon regarding soul reincarnation by the Ben Ish Chai.
Specifications : [8] pages, paper. 10×13 cm. Typical Sephardic writing with erasures and corrections. Approximately 18-22 lines per page. The sermon was printed in his book, Shani Eliyahu , part one, sermon seven.
Background: Rabbi Yosef Chaim of Baghdad (1833-1909), author of Ben Ish Chai , was the most prominent Oriental sage of his time. His father was Rabbi Eliyahu Chaim son of Rabbi Moshe Chaim, rabbi of Baghdad. He was a disciple of Rabbi Abdallah Somekh, and his genius and righteousness were apparent from a young age. He started sermonizing in the Great Synagogue when he was only 26-years-old. He continued delivering these sermons every Shabbat and holiday for about fifty years. Thousands of people gathered to listen to his eloquent words for four to five hours. He was world-renowned as “once-in-a-generation” in his knowledge of the hidden and revealed Torah and was noted for his great sanctity. In 1879, he traveled to the Land of Israel to pray at the graves of the righteous people, when it was Divinely revealed to him that his soul was rooted in that of Benyahu ben Yehoyada. He titled many of his dozens of works according to this name: Ben Ish Chai , Ben Ish Chayil , Ben Yehoyada , Rav Pe’alim , Od Yosef Chai and more.
Condition: Fine. New elegant leather binding in dedicated container.
Takfo shel Yosef r esponsa manuscript by Chacham Yosef ben Ayush Elmaliach, Part one. 18th-19th century.
Specifications: [2], 37 -144 leaves, paper. 20×15 cm. Arabic script. (Morocco). Until responsa 14 lacking. At the end of each responsa, the name of the author is written, sometimes including the year it was written. The book was printed in Livorno [1855].
It’s possible that this is an autograph manuscript from which the work was printed later. At the top of the manuscript, two leaves in different scripts were bound. On the second page, a lament on Yosef son of Yehudah Toledano by Yaakov ibn Tzur appears, (printed) and on the second page, a response in a different script, which was not included in Takfo shel Yosef .
Rabbi Yosef ben Ayush Elimalach, adjudicator and rabbi in Sale and Rabat, was appointed Av Beit Din in 1788. He authored Takfo shel Yosef , two parts. He passed away on 11 Elul 1823.
Condition: Fine condition. Some worming holes in the margins of the final pages. New binding.
Ktav Hekdesh in favor of the Etz Chaim Talmud Torah and Yeshiva with the signature of Rabbi Yaacov Shaul Elyashar – the Yis”a Brachah [Jerusalem, 1893].
Specifications: [1] leaf, paper. 21×27 cm. Handwritten signature of Rabbi Yaacov Shaul Elyashar and his official stamp.
Ktav Hekdeh from the woman Rachel daughter of Eliezer who dedicates her house and courtyard to the Etz Chaim Talmud Torah and Yeshiva. After the signature of the two witness the Rishon L’Zion, Rabbi Yaacov Shaul Elyashar added, in his handwriting, in his characteristic signature and official stamp as Chacham Bashi, that he confirms and upholds the aforementioned. The stamp which appears on the Ktav Hekdesh before us was prepared for the occasion of Rabbi Elyashar’s appointment as Chacham Bashi, several months previously.
Background: Rabbi Yaacov Shaul Elyashar was known as the ‘Yisa Brachah’. Served as Av Beit Din of Jerusalem and as the Rishon L’Zion. He headed the delegation of the Jewish community of Jerusalem who greeted the German Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1889, together with Rabbi Shmuel Salant and Rabbi Eliyahu Mani, and even received a medal from him. He passed away in 1906. He wrote many books whose titles include the initials of his name I”sh: Simchah L’I”sh , Ma’aseh I”sh , Derech I”sh , Olat I”sh , Shaal Ha’I”sh , Kavod L’I”Sh and Pnei I”sh . The Givat Shaul neighborhood in Jerusalem is named after him.
Condition: Fine condition. Fold marks, short tears along the fold lines one of which damages a small number of letters which Rabbi Elyashar wrote under his signature.
Anthology of Bakashot [songs of supplications] from Morocco, arranged by melodies [“Tevaim”], copied by Elazar Bar Shalom Lushki. 18th-19th century.
Specifications : 126 leaves. Paper. 7×10 cm. Maghrebi script (Moroccan).
Special Features: Leaf 51b features the copier’s signature: “Elazar Bar Shalom Lushki.” Leaf 125a features the owner’s signature: “Yehuda Ben Yosef Tzabbach.” Includes a few drawings.
Condition: Moderate. Tears and stains. Worming holes. Old leather binding, with broken clasps.
Prayer for the sandak with piyyut Korban HaKetoret on parchment. Illustrated title page. Early 20th century.
Specifications: [6] leaves. 12×9 cm. Scribe’s handsome handwriting, scribal letters in Velish script on both sides of the parchment.
The cover is illustrated; written in the center: “Prayer for the Sandak with the piyyut Korban HaKetoret that I wrote, I the small one, Mordechai Levi s”t by the will of my beloved Rabbi Shai Shmuel Yishmael Pesach …” The last leaf contains the piyyut “Pitum HaKetoret.”
Condition: Very fine. Original marble paper binding with minor flaws.
Chahir for Passover. Includes the piyyut Yedidim Yotzim MiParech Anemin, by Yaakov, Targum Onkelos on the Torah reading for Passover, and an Aramaic translation of the haftarot for Passover.
Specifications: 34 leaves with writing and [12] blank pages. 10×16.5 cm. Paper. Western script (Moroccan). Soft binding.
Condition: Legible despite acid damage. Several pages are torn along the leaf’s length near the spine. Worming holes. Moderate-fine condition.
Collection of poems and piyyutim in Hebrew and Arabic. The cover bears the caption: Shirei Yedidut .
Specifications: 94 pages, paper. 11.5×8 cm, Western script (Moroccan). Original binding, without pages 1-2.
The name of the copyist “Makhluf Atiya” is found on page 62, and also on page 29 with the date 1955. At the manuscript’s end, in a different handwriting, is the name: “Atias Makhluf Yisrael … 1955.” His name and location, “Atias Makhluf Lod Yisrael,” are also written on page 16.
Condition: Aging stains. Partially detached binding. Fine condition.
Compilation of piyyutim from Morocco, including piyyutim for Pesach and Motzaei Shabbat. Pages 22a-29b contain “HaMafteach Shel Sefer Shir Yedidut.”
Specifications: [70] leaves, paper. 11×17 cm, (Western) Moroccan handwriting. New cardboard binding.
Condition: Moderate. Stains and tears.
Fragments of paper with text written by Rabbeinu Yosef Chaim of Baghdad, the Ben Ish Chai.
Specifications: 22 half lines, in the hand of the Ben Ish Chai. Various sizes.
Background: Rabbi Yosef Chaim of Baghdad [1832-1909], author of Ben Ish Chai , was the most prominent Oriental chacham of his time. He was the son of Rabbi Eliyahu Chaim son of Rabbi Moshe Chaim, rabbi of Baghdad. He was a disciple of Rabbeinu Abdallah Somech, and was known already in his youth for his genius and righteousness. He started sermonizing in the Great Synagogue when he was only 26-years-old, and continued in this role every Shabbat and holiday for fifty years. He was one-of-a-kind, known throughout the world for his proficiency in both revealed and hidden Torah, and was renowned for his great sanctity. In 1869, he traveled to the Holy Land to pray at the graves of righteous people, and he had a heavenly revelation that he stemmed from the same soul as Benayahu ben Yehoyada. As such, he named many of his dozens of works to reflect this: Ben Ish Chai, Ben Ish Chayil, Ben Yehoyada, Rav Pealim, Od Yosef Chai and more.
Condition: Fine.
Lamentations for Tisha B’Av. Page 16a includes an index to another compilation of lamentations, and page 16b includes an index to the lamentations in this manuscript.
Specifications: 16 leaves, paper. 10×15.5 cm. (Western) Moroccan handwriting.
Condition: Fine. Aging stains, small holes. New cardboard binding.
Magen LeRosh HaShanah . Piyutim for Rosh Hashanah. According to the Moroccan custom.
Specifications: [39] written leaves, and an additional 11 blank leaves. Paper. Arabic (Moroccan) script.
Condition: Moderate-fine. Stains, slight tear on first leaf. New binding.
Notebook written in Gibraltar, with piyutim, prayers and various lists.
Specifications: [18] leaves, paper. 10.5×15 cm. Gibraltar. Oriental writing.
The notebook’s binding is inscribed with: “פיוטים לכבוד חתן וכלה” [“Piyyutim in honor of bride and groom”], but only a small portion of the poems relate to weddings. Amongst the rest are Birkat HaChamah (5b-7a); notes in Ladino from the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century; a list in Ladino written in “commemoration” in the year 5657 (1897), signed by “Yitzchak ibn Sirus” (7b); ” Another Poem in Honor of the Queen [Victoria] ” (9b); speeches and matters related to the community Nefotzot Yehudah in Gibraltar, 1898, among others signed by “Yitzhak ibn Sirus cantor of the Nefutzot Yeudah community” (12b-13a).
Condition: Front and back cover detached from one another and also from the notebook. Stains. Fine condition.
Notebook with lists, words of Torah, grammar, nature and more. Possibly a student’s notebook or a journal. Includes entries written in 682 [1921-2], from the 20th of Kislev until the 25th of Tevet.
Specifications: [38] leaves, paper. 1921-2. 11×17 cm. North Africa. Western script. Written in a notebook for students.
Pages 19b-20b contain a letter to a friend, signed, “Yitzchak Hadari”; perhaps he wrote the entire notebook.
Condition: Aging stains, stains. Moderate-fine condition.
Kabbalistic composition on the prayers by Rabbi Yaakov Tzemach, from what he copied from the words of Rabbi Chaim Vital, from what he received from his rabbi, the Ar”i. First edition.
[1] 77 leaves, 19 cm.
Handwritten glosses, apparently by Rabbi Nissim Kaduri.
Rabbi Nissim Ezra Kaduri (1891-1972) was among the rabbinical leaders in Iraq and among the great adjudicators of his generation, known also as a kabbalist who dealt very much with kabbalah.
Fine condition. Blemish on the title page.
Passover haggadah with Persian translation. Incomplete.
Specifications: 43 leaves, paper. 10X16 cm. Persian script.
Page 1b contains a piyyut in Hebrew and in Judeo-Persian: “‘רני אתני ועלזו לפני ואמרו פסח הוא לה” [” Roni etni vealzu lefanai veamru Peach hu laHash-m “], by Elazar (not listed in the in the Davidson catalog of poems) Lacking the end of the haggadah.
Condition: Moderate-fine. Stains. Tears on corners and margins of some leaves, without damage to text. New binding.
Compilation of piyutim and prayers, mainly for Jewish festivals. The end includes the inscription: “I copied them on the twenty sixth of Elul, 1898, signed, Massoud Asbag.”
Specifications: 19 leaves, paper, 10 of which are blank. 9X14 cm. (Western) Moroccan script. New binding.
Condition: Fine. Stains. New cover.
Piyyutim, including some written by Moroccan poets; compilations, among other authors, “by the great rabbi … Mahar”sh [Shimshon] of Ostropoli” and matters related to the calendar.
Specifications: [26] leaves, paper. 13×10 cm. (Western) Moroccan script. New binding.
Condition: Slight aging stains. Very fine condition.
Notebook of piyutim (liturgical poems). The majority are by poets from North Africa, predominately Morocco .
Shir HaPalmach ( The Palmach’s Song ) is featured on page 32A-B, and HaTikvah is on page 33A, both are written in a later script.
The copyist’s name is found at the beginning of the manuscript, and also appears on page 22A, in addition to the inscription: “This book of piyyutim belongs to Shimon HaLevi Y”Tz. Yemen, 1937.”
Specifications: 37 leaves written, and additional blank pages. 10×15 cm. (Western) Moroccan script. Written in a notebook with a cardboard binding.
Condition: Fine condition.
Piyyutim and supplications by poets from Morocco, and more.
Specifications: [39] leaves within a notebook, paper. 10×14 cm. Western handwriting (Moroccan).
Contains piyyutim in honor of Lag BaOmer; a piyyut in honor of Rabbi Avraham Azulai; piyyutim by Rabbi Yaakov Abichatzera and in his honor; the piyyut Bar Yochai nimshachta ashrecha translated into Arabic; and a poem on “Rabbi Yichia Lalu” [for further reading on him see Sefer Malki Rabbanan, page 62]; and more.
Condition: Fine. Stains. Detached leaf. New binding.
