Bidspirit auction | Hon Ashir – Amsterdam, 1731 First

Hon Ashir – Amsterdam, 1731 First Edition | Among the Earliest Hebrew Books Printed with Musical Notation - Hon Ashir – commentaries and novellae on the Six Orders of the Mishnah, by the renowned scholar and kabbalist Rabbi Immanuel Chai Ricchi. Amsterdam, 1731. First edition. A foundational commentary on the Mishnah by one of the foremost kabbalists of Italy and the Land of Israel, combining explanations based on the plain meaning of the text, halachic analysis, and kabbalistic interpretation. The volume is enriched with illustrations, diagrams, and liturgical poems composed by the author, reflecting the intellectual and spiritual world of one of the outstanding sages of his generation. A particularly remarkable feature of this work is its inclusion of printed musical notation, placing it among the earliest Hebrew books to do so. Between the various tractates and orders of the Mishnah, the author inserted original poems and hymns. One such composition, devoted to the themes of Shabbat, Circumcision, and Tefillin performed with proper spiritual intention, is accompanied by printed musical notation. At the end of the volume appear two additional hymns by the author—”Mah Tov Hu U’Mah Na’im Ki Yeshvu Achim Gam Yachad” and ”Ad Yom Chulin Me’id Banu”—also printed together with their original musical settings. The author, Rabbi Immanuel Chai Ricchi (1688–1743), was one of the leading kabbalists of the generation following the Ari. Among his best-known works are Mishnat Chassidim, Aderet Eliyahu, Chazeh Tzion, and numerous other writings. At approximately thirty years of age he immigrated to the Land of Israel and settled in Safed, where he devoted himself to the study of Kabbalah and the teachings of the Ari. Throughout his life he served various communities in rabbinic positions, undertook communal missions, and traveled extensively in order to publish and disseminate his works. The author's introduction is among the most fascinating autobiographical documents in rabbinic literature. He recounts how he composed the book over a period of two years in Safed and describes the hardships and ordeals that followed. Among other events, he tells of a brutal attack by Barbary pirates who robbed him of his possessions and books, while the manuscript of Hon Ashir was miraculously preserved: “This is the book that I rescued from the lion’s mouth... almost by miracle.” In his concluding remarks, he thanks God for allowing him to return and settle once again in the Holy Land, in the holy city of Safed, where he could “stand firmly upon Torah and Divine service in the Holy Land.” Another fascinating bibliographical aspect concerns the title of the work itself. Approximately fifteen years before its publication, the author intended to print the book in Venice under the far more modest title Dikdukei Aniyut (“Details of Poverty”). The plan never materialized, and in his introduction he describes at length the circumstances that led to the change of title and the eventual publication of the work in its present form. The volume is also of exceptional musical interest. According to a well-known Chabad tradition, Rabbi Shmuel Schneersohn, the Maharash of Lubavitch, drew inspiration for the famous Chabad melody “Lechatchilah Ariber” from the musical notation printed in this work. Researchers and students of Chabad musical tradition have noted a clear connection between Rabbi Immanuel Chai Ricchi’s melody and the celebrated Chabad tune. This first edition is regarded as one of the most important and sought-after editions of Rabbi Immanuel Chai Ricchi’s works, both for the significance of the commentary itself and for the rarity of the printed musical notation incorporated within it. [2], 168, [2] leaves. 23 cm. Very good condition. Age staining. Worn binding.