The title page states that Iggeret ha-Tiyyul is so entitled because the reader journeys through “an orchard of pomegranates” (cf. Song of Songs 4:13) “to gather lilies” (ibid. 6:2) to find calm for his soul. There is an introduction from R. Hayyim, in which he informs that his teacher for Bible, particularly Torah and Rashi in depth, was R. Isaac ha-Sephardi, upon whose knee he learned; his words were pearls, pleasant sayings that captivated and made an impression upon Hayyim’s heart and were honey in his mouth. Those who heard R. Hayyim repeat these words urged him to record them so that they would not be forgotten. However, time and responsibility for his yeshiva did not permit him to do so, until the winter of 1569. At that time the “flock was gathered” (cf. Genesis 29:8) together “for anger has come out from the Lord and the plague began” (Numbers 17:11) in Frankfurt and Friedberg. As a result, learning in the yeshiva ceased. Hayyim, deeply troubled by those who perished, was unable to penetrate the depths of halakhah and Tosafot. Nevertheless, he could not sit idle without Torah, even for one day, for Torah is a shield against Divine wrath and a refuge from the Angel of Death. Hayyim determined to write this work with the words he heard from his teacher. It is entitled Iggeret ha-Tiyyul, for in it one can journey (ya-tiyyul) and find delight from troubles and burdens. It is divided into four parts; peshat, remez, derash, and sod (pardes, literal, allusive, discursive, and esoteric interpretations of Torah), as it says, “four entered the orchard” (cf. Hagigah 14b). All who read it will stroll (tiyyul) in the orchard of pomegranates and pick the lilies. The title page is not dated but the colophon dates completion of the work to Thursday, 25 Sivan, 365 (June 9, 1605). The text, in a single column in rabbinic type, is divided into four separate parts.

פירושים קצרים בענינים שונים לפי סדר א"ב. נחלק לארבעה חלקים: חלק הפשט, חלק הרמז, חלק הדרוש, חלק הסוד. דף טז: "פירוש החידה דאבן עזרא... כאשר קבלתי מאדוני אבי... זצ"ל... מצאתי... באמתחות אחי... ר' ' אליעזר ש"ן [שיחיה נצח]". בהוצאות מאוחרות לא נדפס הפירוש. הוצאות קודמות: פראג שס"ה; פרנקפורט דאודר תנ"ג.