Bidspirit auction | Collection of Letters, Responsa and

Collection of Letters, Responsa and Halachic Rulings – Autographs and Signatures of Moroccan Rabbis – 1647-1834 – Letters of Consolation, Documents and Halachic Rulings Relating to the Yaavetz and His Family, and More - Assorted collection of letters, documents and halachic rulings – autographs and signatures of Moroccan rabbis, mainly rabbis and dayanim of Fez. [Ca. 1647-1834]. Includes a collection of letters of consolation from Moroccan rabbis, a collection of documents relating to R. Yaakov Abensour (the Yaavetz) and his family, and other documents, some early (beginning 1647, throughout the 17th century and beyond). The letters of consolation include: • A poetic letter of consolation sent from Oran to Fez: ”To our elderly father… who is justifying the divine judgment, R. Nechemiah Kohen Khalatz… To the bright brothers R. Avraham Tzarfati and R. Moshe his brother, as well as my dear friend R. Moshe ibn Maman…”. Among other things he writes: ”How the princes have been killed, clothed in rocks!... How the desirable vine has been chopped down!… How the fruit of the righteous and the tree of life has been destroyed!... How the lofty holy one and the chariot of Israel bitterly groans!...”. The letter goes on to mention ”R. Avraham Navarro”, whom the author identifies as ”my cousin”. The letter is truncated and lacking, and the writer (a Torah scholar of Oran, Algeria) has not been identified. • About ten poetic letters of consolation addressed to R. Yedidiah Monsonego in Fez and his brothers R. Yitzchak, R. Eliezer and R. Shlomo, upon the passing of their father R. Aharon Monsonego, Rabbi of Fez, on 9th Av 1840. The letters are signed by: R. Yosef Berdugo, R. Amor Abitbul, R. Yehudah Elbaz, R. Menachem son of R. David Gigi, R. Yehoshafat Gigi, R. Yosef son of R. Avraham ibn Lilti, R. Shmuel Elbaz, R. Amram Elbaz, R. Chaim Toledano, R. Moshe Toledano, R. Pinchas Toledano, R. Yaakov Toledano, R. Yehudah Toledano, R. Yosef HaLevi ibn Yuli, R. Chaviv HaLevi ibn Yuli. • A poetic letter of consolation addressed to R. Refael HaTzarfati in Fez. Signed by: R. Chaim Toledano and R. Moshe Toledano. • A poetic letter of consolation addressed to ”R. Chaim Toledano, his son R. Yosef, R. Chaviv Toledano and R. Moshe his brother, and the entire family”, dated 1778, probably upon the passing of R. Daniel Toledano. Signed by the rabbis of the Mansano family in Fez: R. Avraham, R. Chaim, R. Eliyahu and R. Yaakov. The documents relating to the Yaavetz and his family include: • A court record dated Cheshvan 1689 for the widow of R. Reuven Abensour and their son R. Yaakov (the Yaavetz), signed by R. Chaim son of David Uziel and R. Meir Tzarfati. • A document made for the Yaavetz, regarding a debt, in Fez, 1700, signed by R. Yehoshua son of Menachem Serero and R. Yaakov ibn Attar. • A halachic ruling dated Tamuz 1729, signed by R. Yaakov son of Yosef ibn Malka and R. Mordechai Saba; with addition handwritten by the Yaavetz and signed by R. Shmuel ibn Saadon and R. Yosef Tzarfati[?] – regarding the one-sixth portion of the synagogue owned by the Yaavetz. • Two documents, dated 1738 and 1749, written in Tétouan, both apparently handwritten by the Yaavetz, regarding the inheritance of four brothers of the Ibn Danan family, and the sale of part of the courtyard to the Yaavetz. Two signatures, one by R. Avraham Nahon. • Document dated 1745: Tena'im document of the Yaavetz for his second wife Dona, signed by R. Shaul ibn Danan and R. Meir Kadosh. • Double leaf, including: copying of a document regarding a financial investment of the Yaavetz, signed by R. Meir Kadosh and R. Elazar Assulin, with an addition on the same issue dated 1749 (where the Yaavetz seeks to withdraw the profits from his investment), signed by R. Efraim Monsonego and R. Meir Kadosh; an additional ruling on the issue for R. Refael Oved Abensour, dated 1753, signed by R. Shaul ibn Danan and R. Eliyahu HaTzarfati; and another addition dated 1755, signed by R. Yosef ibn Samun[?] and R. Yaakov ibn Naim. • Document dated Kislev 1762, regarding the division of the inheritance of Sarah wife of R. Yehudah de Avila with her brother R. Refael Oved Abensour, signed by R. Shaul ibn Danan and R. Eliyahu[?] Mansano. • Halachic ruling dated 1767, for R. Refael Oved Abensour, signed by R. Shmuel Shaul ibn Danan and R. Eliyahu HaTzarfati. • Last will, dated 1769, made for R. Refael Oved Abensour, with two signatures, one by R. Eliyahu HaTzarfati. • Document of sale, dated 1793, to the heirs of R. Shlomo Shmuel Abensour, with two signatures, one by R. Elazar HaKohen. The other documents in the present collection include: • Document of collateral, from Fez, 1647, signed by R. Shmuel son of R. Yaakov HaSofer, R. Reuven son of Shlomo ibn Zikri, R. Shaul ibn Danan, R. Azuz[?] son of Masud Madadsi HaSofer, and others. The document includes mentions of R. Chaim ibn Ayash and R. Avraham Adaruki. • Halachic ruling from Fez, 1702,