Two-page manuscript containing two complete derashot , from beginning to end, handwritten by the leading Kabbalist of Bavel (Iraq), the living lion, Rabbeinu Yosef Chaim of Baghdad. Each derashah is on a separate page, with a title and a date of its own, and each of them (!) concludes with the famous blessing that turned the Ben Ish Chai’s manuscripts into true amulets: “May Hashem [א-ל ש-די] assist us and protect us and help us always, amen, may it be His will.” Baghdad, 1867.
It is extraordinarily rare to find a leaf with two complete derashot from beginning to end (a single derashah often covers several leaves), which grants a twofold blessing – double the blessing of the Ben Ish Chai: “May Hashem [א-ל ש-די] assist us and protect us and help us always, amen, may it be His will.”
The first derashah deals with the explanation of the passuk “Be whole with Hashem, your G-d” and the rectification of the sin of Adam HaRishon, according to what the commentators wrote, that Adam blemished the aleph of emet [פגם ב’אל”ף דאמ”ת”] etc. Baghdad, 1867 [year chronogram “תרכ”ז בס”ד ליקבה”ו”].
The second derashah deals with Hashem’s obligation to redeem the Jewish people from their exile and distress, and to return them to the Land of Israel. It revolves around the passuk “Awaken yourself! Awaken yourself! Rise up, Jerusalem, who has drunk the cup of fury from His hand …” (Yeshayahu 51:17). The Ben Ish Chai explains this according to what the Chid”a wrote: It is known that if an elder sees a lost object and it does not befit his stature to return it, he not obligated to return it. However, if he hit it with a stick, he is obligated to return it. So too the Jewish people – Hashem, so to speak, is not obligated to return them, but if the elder hit them with a stick, he must return them . The tribulations brought upon the Jewish people by Hashem are like being hit by a stick, and He must return them …” The rest of the derashah deals with the passuk “I have placed My words in your mouth and I have covered you with My hands” (ibid, 51:16). The Ben Ish Chai quotes what he wrote in his sefer , Aderet Eliyahu , which was printed just three years earlier. He explains: “I have placed My words in your mouth” – this is the Torah that was not written; it is the Torah that is transmitted orally, and therefore, “I have covered you with My hands” – from the nations, “Who cannot steal this Torah from you.” At the end of the derashah , he mentions the passuk , “Your right hand is outstretched to receive the returnees.” [Baghdad], 1867, Bs”d.
The Ben Ish Chai’s manuscripts are known among Oriental Jews in general, and especially Iraqi Jews, as an expert amulet, tried-and-true, for healing, sustenance, and protection. Especially this Kabbalistic manuscript, which, in which the Ben Ish Chai writes in his own hand, the segulah passuk , written on amulets designed for power and governance: “I have placed My words in your mouth and I have covered you with My hands”!!
It is worth noting two additional points regarding this manuscript. This commentary is from when Rabbi Yosef Chaim was only thirty years old, which is especially evident in his delicate handwriting. In addition, as stated, Rabbi Yosef Chaim quotes what he wrote in Aderet Eliyahu , which was his first Torah sefer .
Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for a brief biography of Rabbi Yosef Chaim of Baghdad .
[2] pp, 15×9.5 cm. Characteristic autograph script.
Very fine condition. Magnificent new binding, as befits such a sacred manuscript.