Bidspirit auction | Early Manuscript. Unknown Piyutim and

Early Manuscript. Unknown Piyutim and Supplicatory Hymns from Aram Zoba (Aleppo). 17th–18th Century. - Presented here is an elegant small-format manuscript constituting an extensive and exceptional collection containing approximately 350 supplications (bakashot) and liturgical poems from the tradition of Aram Zoba (Aleppo). Unlike the more common printed piyut collections of the nineteenth century, this manuscript is written in a markedly earlier style, consistent with the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century. Most of the piyutim appearing in the collection are apparently unknown. Furthermore, whereas standard liturgical anthologies generally record the author’s name at the head of each poem, here the compositions are copied anonymously throughout, suggesting either a personal anthology or possibly the original work of a single author. (Autograph?) Comparative examination with the catalog of the National Library of Israel, manuscript no. F 43760, containing several leaves in the hand of Rabbi Y. Dabbah, raises a substantial possibility that the present manuscript was written by the gaon Rabbi Yeshaya Dabbah, one of the foremost rabbis and poets of Aram Zoba, whose distinctive script style appears recognizable throughout the volume. On the front flyleaf appears a later ownership signature: “The young Avraham Mashan.” It has been suggested that this may refer to the father of the gaon and kabbalist Rabbi Eliyahu Mashan, teacher of the Rabbi Shalom Hedaya and head of the Hasidim study hall in Aram Zoba. A manuscript of major significance for the liturgical, poetic, and spiritual traditions of Aleppan Jewry, preserving a rich corpus of otherwise unknown devotional compositions. [226] pages. Condition: Very good. Strong, thick, high-quality paper. Original leather binding.