Bidspirit auction | Manuscript, Mishmeret HaKodesh by Rabbi

Manuscript, Mishmeret HaKodesh by Rabbi Chasdai Almosnino – With Kuntres Acharon by the Mashbir and the Marbitz – Handwritten by Rabbi Shmuel ibn Wa'ish – Meknes, 1759 - Manuscript, Mishmeret HaKodesh, on Rashi's commentary on the Torah, by R. Chasdai Almosnino, Rabbi of Tétouan, with appendix by R. Moshe Berdugo (the Mashbir) and R. Mordechai Berdugo (the Marbitz), handwritten by R. Shmuel ibn Wa'ish. Meknes, [Kislev 1759]. Neat Western script. The manuscript begins with a color-illustrated title page, with decorations characteristic of Morocco (horseshoe arches, geometrical and floral patterns). The manuscript continues with color-illustrated initial words, with similar decorative characteristics (next to the initial word of Devarim is an animal illustration). Colophon of scribe on title page: ”The work of copying was completed on 7th Kislev [1759], the copyist Shmuel ibn Wa'ish… here in Meknes”. Another colophon at end of work (p. 165b): ”May G-d Who helped me start and finish to copy this book assist me to copy other books… the copyist Shmuel ibn Wa'ish”. Leaves 168-188 contain a work composed of selections on the Torah portions. At top of first page: ”Kuntres Acharon, which is selections on Rashi, from the Mashbir, and also from my teacher and master the Marbitz, and also other commentators…”. The page headers are labeled ”Kuntres Acharon” (appendix). On last page of Kuntres Acharon is another colophon: ”This book was completed… on Tuesday, 7th Kislev [1759], here in Meknes… the copyist Shmuel ibn Wa'ish”. Afterwards appear two leaves (189-190) with novellae by R. Shmuel ibn Wa'ish, who signs his name at the end: ”My humble opinion, Shmuel”. Mishmeret HaKodesh by R. Chasdai Almosnino, a leading Moroccan Torah scholar and Rabbi of Tétouan (d. 1728), first printed in Livorno at the initiative of prominent members of the Gibraltar community. The present manuscript contains textual differences, and it was one of the manuscripts that formed the basis of the new edition of the work published by Ahavat Shalom, 2013 (see foreword to that edition). The copyist of the present manuscript, R. Shmuel ibn Wa'ish, was a rabbi and dayan in Meknes, a close disciple of R. Mordechai Berdugo (the Marbitz). The Torah novellae by R. Moshe Berdugo (the Mashbir), selected by R. Shmuel, have been printed in the Mashbir's book Kenaf Renanim; however, to the best of our knowledge, the novellae by the Marbitz have not been printed, nor have the novellae by R. Shmuel at the end of the manuscript. [190] leaves (including several blank leaves). 15.5 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains, including dark stains. Wear. Tears, open tears and damage to several leaves, affecting text and affecting decorations on title page and elsewhere. New binding. Provenance: 1. The Abensour Family Collection, Fez, Morocco. 2. The Victor Klagsbald Collection – Morocco, no. 28. Reference: Victor Klagsbald, Catalogue des manuscrits marocains de la collection Klagsbald, Paris 1980, pp. 61-62. 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. 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; Malchei Rabanan, pp. 64-65), a most prominent and illustrious figure of Moroccan Jewry. A leading halachic authority of his generation (the generation of the holy Or HaChaim and his teachers), a poet and a kabbalist, also well versed in practical kabbalah. At the age of twenty, he was appointed scribe of the Beit Din of R. Vidal HaTzarfati, R. Menachem Serero and R. Yehudah ibn Attar in Fez. He then authored Et Sofer – laws and customs of halachic documents. With the passing of R. Vidal HaTzarfati, R. Yehudah ibn Attar was appointed head of the Beit Din and the Yaavetz became his fellow dayan. The Yaavetz (along with R.