Bidspirit auction | The Sacred Piyut Azamer Bishvachin

The Sacred Piyut Azamer Bishvachin by the Holy Arizal First and Rare Edition. Yefeh Nof: Venice, c. 1575 * A holy and exceedingly rare sefer, marking the very first appearance in print of the writings of the Ari HaKadosh! It also contains, printed here for the first time from manuscript, a unique Tefillas HaDerech from the Ramban. The Arizal composed lofty and mystical piyutim (liturgical songs) for the three seudos of Shabbos, described by his talmid Rabbi Chaim Vital in 'Shaar HaKavanos' as being “founded upon the wisdom of truth, aligned with all the intricate kavanos (intentions) of Shabbos.” These songs convey the spiritual elevation of Shabbos and the great spiritual rectifications that they effect in the upper worlds. The song is acrostically signed with the Arizal's name: “אני יצחק לוריא בר שלמה” Within the song, several Shabbos practices based on mystical secrets are mentioned, such as: placing the candelabra in the south and the table in the north, taking a bundle of hadasim (myrtle branches), and laying out twelve loaves for the breaking of bread at the Shabbos meal. The song was sung by kabbalists and later in chassidic communities as well. The Siddur HaShabbos of the Admor Rabbi Chaim of Chernowitz (Vol. I, Part 3, p. 2) states that the purpose of the song is to sweeten judgments and subdue harsh forces. The sefer was printed without a date, a rarity among Venetian prints of the era. Most bibliographers assign it to the year 1575. The piyutim of the Arizal appear on leaves 40a–40b (together with additional songs of the Arizal) under the heading: “Exquisite songs, as precious as sapphires, composed by the saintly, Godly sage Moreinu HaRav Yitzchak Ashkenazi zt”l.” The sefer contains the very first printing of the Ramban’s renowned tefillah for travelers!  “For those who journey by sea and cross through deserts.” This prayer was later printed in dozens of tefillah compilations, such as Sha’arei Tzion, Ma’aneh Lashon, and in many siddurim. The sefer contains a rich variety of material: literary letters, templates for legal documents, various tefillos and piyutim, including a prayer for travelers by the Ramban, a piyut by the Maharam Alshakar, and the Viduy and Malkos liturgy for Erev Yom Kippur. Venice, c. 1575. First edition. Exceptionally rare. Page Count: 46 leaves. Size: 19 cm. Condition: Minor repair on the margin of the title page, light water stains, new binding.  A complete copy of this sefer is exceptionally rare. For an extensive study on the sefer, see: Meir Benayahu, Asufot Vol. 7, 1993, pp. 29–68.