Bidspirit auction | Heichal HaKodesh – A Foundational

Heichal HaKodesh – A Foundational Work of Moroccan Kabbalah. First Edition. Amsterdam, 1653. Rare. - Heichal HaKodesh, a kabbalistic commentary on the liturgy for the entire year, based upon the Zohar and the teachings of Rabbi Menachem Recanati, by the kabbalist Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon Elbaz (known as Rambam Elbaz). Amsterdam, printed by Emmanuel Benveniste, 1653. First edition. A rare and important cornerstone of Moroccan Kabbalistic literature, long regarded as one of the principal sources for understanding the traditions of Moroccan Kabbalah prior to the widespread acceptance of the teachings of the Ari. The work presents a comprehensive mystical commentary on the prayers of the entire liturgical year, drawing upon the holy Zohar and the writings of earlier kabbalists. The book was brought to press by the gaon Rabbi Jacob Sasportas, Chief Rabbi of Amsterdam and one of the foremost opponents of the Sabbatean movement. Recognizing the growing influence of Lurianic Kabbalah in his generation, he incorporated into the volume the glosses of the kabbalist Rabbi Aharon HaSebaoni of Salé, which include explanations and additions based on the teachings of the Ari. As a result, the present edition serves as a unique meeting point between the earlier Moroccan kabbalistic tradition and the emerging dominance of Lurianic Kabbalah throughout the Jewish world. In his extensive introduction, Penei Heichal, Rabbi Jacob Sasportas emphasizes the uniqueness of the work, noting that its author drew upon ancient kabbalistic traditions that predated the publication and dissemination of the writings of both the Ramak and the Ari, thereby preserving an earlier and highly significant stream of Kabbalistic thought. The importance and sanctity of the work are further reflected in a tradition recorded by Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulai in Shem HaGedolim. There he relates an incident concerning a scholar who disparaged Heichal HaKodesh and was punished in a dream, compelling him to repent and seek forgiveness for having slighted the author and his work. The author, Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon Elbaz (16th century), one of the leading kabbalists of Morocco, lived and taught in Taroudant. In 1575 he began composing Heichal HaKodesh, contemporaneous with the era of the holy Ari and the kabbalists of Safed. Around him gathered an important circle of disciples and kabbalists, including Rabbi Yaakov Ifargan, author of Minchah Chadashah and Perach Shoshan, Rabbi Yitzchak HaKohen, author of Ginat Bitan, and Rabbi Yaakov Chanin. Remarkably, this is the only work printed from the teachings of the Moroccan kabbalists of the fifteenth through seventeenth centuries, a fact that grants it exceptional significance in the history of Kabbalah and in the heritage of Moroccan Jewry. 7, [1] leaves; 76 leaves. 17 cm. Condition: Very good. Modern leather binding. Complete and attractive copy. A rare first edition of one of the most important foundational works of Moroccan Kabbalah.