Although his great wish was to study Kabbalah with R. Benjamin b. Eliezer ha-Kohen Vitale of Reggio, he had to abandon his aim for economic reasons. In 1717 he was ordained rabbi in Trieste by R. Hillel Ashkenazi of Canea. Emigrating to Erez Israel in 1718, he settled in Safed, where he devoted himself to the study of Lurianic Kabbalah. In Safed he was ordained rabbi by R. Hayyim Abulafia, the rabbi of Safed. Because of a plague that ravaged the country, in which his daughter died, Ricchi left Erez Israel after two years. On his way back to Italy, his ship was captured and taken to Tripoli, but he was released after 40 days. He settled in Leghorn, but later journeyed to Smyrna, Salonika, Constantinople, and London. He spent two years in Aleppo and in 1737 he arrived in Jerusalem, where he stayed for three years. In 1741 he returned to Leghorn to settle business matters connected with his books. While on one of his trips he was murdered by robbers.

[2] דף בסוף: שני שירים. האחד "על שבת ומילה ותפילין" עם תווי-נגינה. פותח: מה טוב הוא ומה נעים. שם, עמ' 84, מס' 330. שיר זה חזר ונדפס בספר הניגונים, מאת שמואל זלמנוב, חלק ב, ברוקלין תשי"ח. השיר השני "אשר עשיתי כבואי תוך תחום שבת וראיתי ... גדר של יח אבנים ... בניתי אצלו ציון". שמונה עשר דברים שגזרו בו ביום, שבת, דף יג, ב ואילך. פותח: אוכל מאכל ראשון וכן שני. שם, א, עמ' 84, מס' 1819. שיר זה חזר ונדפס בספרו אדרת אליהו, חלק ב, דף נה,א.