Bidspirit auction | Two Works by the Kabbalist

Two Works by the Kabbalist Rabbi Shalom Buzaglo – A Major Bibliographic and Historical Discovery - Mikdash Melech – Commentary on the Zohar by Rabbi Shalom Buzaglo. Amsterdam, 1750. Special copy. First edition of this foundational Kabbalistic commentary on the Zohar. The present copy includes an additional leaf not found in any other known copies, containing an unknown approbation (haskamah) by Rabbi Yonatan Eybeschutz. This approbation does not appear in any subsequent editions of the work. Rabbi Yonatan begins: “Behold, there has come to my boundary a sage of secrets, an eminent scholar, great in wisdom — his name is Shalom, and his faith and fear of Heaven precede his wisdom…” As is known, Rabbi Shalom Buzaglo was involved in examining the amulets written by Rabbi Yonatan Eybeschutz, which some had suspected of Sabbatean influence, and the two are said to have met personally (see also the introductions to Sefat Emet and Lashon Zehorit). Rabbi Yaakov Emden (the Yaavetz) at first granted approbation to Mikdash Melech, but later retracted it due to similar suspicions (see A. Bick, “The Apology of R. Yaakov Emden for His Approbation to Mikdash Melech, ” Kiryat Sefer 50 [1975], pp. 154–156). While it is unnecessary to elaborate on the famous controversy that split European Jewry in the 18th century, historians will find this previously unknown approbation a source of major significance. Stefansky, Sifrei Yesod no. 331. [3], רך, רכה–רכו, [3] ff. 20 cm. Condition: good; minor worming and age stains; binding loose. Kisei Melech on the Zohar – Rabbi Shalom Buzaglo. Amsterdam, 1769 (תקכ״ט). First edition. A commentary on the Tikkunei HaZohar following the teachings of the Ari, by the eminent Kabbalist Rabbi Shalom Buzaglo. Listed in Stefansky, Sifrei Yesod no. 331 (notes). [4], 128 ff. 20 cm. Condition: good; worn binding, lacking spine. Rabbi Shalom Buzaglo (1700–1780) One of the greatest Moroccan Kabbalists and foremost commentators on the Zohar. Born in Marrakesh, he studied Kabbalah under several of the leading sages of Morocco — his father Rabbi Moshe Buzaglo, Rabbi Avraham Azulai, Rabbi Yaakov Pinto, and Rabbi Chaim ben Attar the Elder. For a time he served as Av Beit Din of Marrakesh, but due to persecution by the king of Morocco, he relocated to London, where he composed his monumental work Mikdash Melech, a comprehensive commentary on the Zohar that became a cornerstone of Lurianic Kabbalistic exegesis, integrating the teachings of the Ari and Rabbi Chaim Vital.