Bidspirit auction | Manuscript, Shaar HaGilgulim – Fez,

Manuscript, Shaar HaGilgulim – Fez, 1710 – Copy of Rabbi Moshe HaKohen Alkhalatz of Fez - Manuscript, Shaar HaGilgulim, kabbalistic teachings of the Arizal, by R. Chaim Vital. Fez, 1710. Neat Western script. Written for the martyr R. Moshe HaKohen Alkhalatz of Fez, disciple of R. Yaakov Abensour (Yaavetz). Colophon of scribe on last page: ”…I, who study at the feet of the sages, wrote this book at the request of the perfect Torah scholar, the pious R. Moshe son of R. Nechemiah HaKohen, [calligraphic signature:] Yitzchak son of R. Yaish Andam, and it was completed Tuesday, 9th Adar II 1710, here in Fez”. Marginal glosses, some apparently by the scribe himself (mainly containing copyings of glosses by R. Yaakov Tzemach). Several glosses by other writers (some may be handwritten by R. Moshe HaKohen). R. Moshe son of R. Nechemiah HaKohen Alkhalatz (born 1683; Malchei Rabanan, leaf 89), a pious and holy man, rabbi and kabbalist in Fez, Morocco, and disciple of R. Yaakov Abensour (Yaavetz). He had a special Beit Midrash where he disseminated Torah, and he was a preacher of homilies and rebukes. He was martyred for the sanctification of G-d's name in Meknes on 6th Elul 1714, executed on false charges at the command of King Moulay Ismail, together with his brother R. Shem Tov HaKohen. His teacher R. Yaakov Abensour authored a lamentation for him (Et Lechol Chefetz, Alexandria 1893, p. 95b), before which he wrote: ”Woe for the bitter and unthinking day… when the great sins of our people brought about that 'the breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord was caught in their traps' and was killed in sanctification of G-d's name; dear friend of my entire soul, my dear boy, my distinguished disciple, the wise, perfect, pious and holy R. Moshe HaKohen, and with him his understanding brother R. Shem Tov HaKohen…”. Many legends and wondrous stories about him were preserved in Morocco (see: Malchei Rabanan, ibid.; Ner HaMaarav, p. 128), and it is also said that he merited revelation from Elijah (Toldot Chachmei Tunis, Bnei Brak 1988, p. 247). In his notes, the Chida quotes a legend according to which R. Moshe HaKohen knew he would be killed: ”He discovered that he was a spark of Yarovam and would eventually be killed, and he also said to his disciple R. M. Ben Maman that he would eventually be killed…” (Sefer HaChida, Jerusalem 1959, p. 98). The Chida also quotes him in his Machazik Berachah (Orach Chaim 225) as ”the pious, holy R. Moshe HaKohen of Fez”. The Mashbir writes of his greatness (Rosh Mashbir, p. 77b): ”From that point on, diligence dwindled, due to our sins which caused the bright light, the pious one, to be killed, along with his brother… He was the pious man who literally made nights as days and never spoke anything mundane; humble, upright and trustworthy; and these are only a small part of his praises…”. On first page, stamp of R. Refael son of R. Shlomo Abensour (the youngest; 1830-1917), Rabbi of Fez, succeeding his fathers, famous book and manuscript collector. Collected many manuscripts and volumes of halachic rulings by Moroccan rabbis, inherited from his ancestors (see introduction to the present chapter). 102 leaves. 21.5 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains. Worming, mainly to inner margins, slightly affecting text (affecting text of several glosses). Detached leaves. New binding (detached). Placed in case. Provenance: 1. The Abensour Family Collection, Fez, Morocco. 2. The Victor Klagsbald Collection – Morocco 21. Literature: Victor Klagsbald, Catalogue des manuscrits marocains de la collection Klagsbald, Paris, 1980, pp. 48-49. Manuscript Collection of Moroccan Rabbis – The Abensour Family In the 1960s, the Klagsbald collection was supplemented by a particularly important collection – the manuscripts of the Abensour (Ibn Tzur) family of Fez. The collection contains many volumes comprising halachic rulings and correspondence of leading Moroccan rabbis, centering around the figure of R. Yaakov Abensour, the Yaavetz, a leading Moroccan Torah scholar and Rabbi of Fez, and an ancestor of the family. The collection was painstakingly assembled by R. Refael Abensour the youngest (see below) and was held in its entirety by the Abensour family in Fez until its purchase by Victor Klagsbald. This collection is of inestimable importance as an immense and rare compilation of the Torah teachings and halachic rulings of generations of Moroccan rabbis, kept in its entirety over many generations. Many parts of this collection have yet to be studied and published. Furthermore, the present collection preserves an unparalleled, comprehensive assemblage of autograph manuscripts – handwritten by the leading rabbis of Morocco, with their unique, calligraphic signatures, first and foremost by the Or HaChaim and his peers. R. Yaakov Abensour – the Yaavetz The centerpiece of the collection is comprised of numerous halachic rulings and autographs by R. Yaakov Abensour, the Yaavetz (1673-1752;