Physical Description

First edition. [2, 34, 4] ff. octavo 188:115 mm., nice margins, light age staining. A very good copy bound in later boards, rubbed.

Detailed Description   

Prayer book on Keriat Shema al ha-Mittah according to the renowned kabbalist R. Shalom ben Isaac Mizrahi Sharabi. There is an introduction from the gabbaim of the yeshiva Sha’ar Shamayim and its branch Kahal Hasidim of Jerusalem and the text, which a kabbalistic work on the subject.

R. Shalom ben Isaac Mizrahi Sharabi (1720–1777), Jerusalem kabbalist. Sharabi was born in Sana in Yemen, where the study of Kabbalah and mysticism was widespread. in his youth, he emigrated to Erez Israel via Damascus. In Damascus he was involved in a controversy with the local rabbis concerning the meaning of the minimum quantity ("the size of an olive") prescribed for the eating of mazzah on Passover night. When he arrived in Jerusalem, he prayed and studied at the kabbalistic yeshivah Bet El, which was founded in 1737 by the kabbalist Gedaliah Hayon. There the prayers were held in accordance with the mystical meditations of Isaac Luria. Like the Jerusalem kabbalists, he studied only the Lurianic Kabbalah, as transmitted through the works of Hayyim Vital, Luria's outstanding pupil. Soon he became widely known as a man of outstanding piety and as a kabbalist. Sharabi succeeded Gedaliah Hayon as head of the yeshivah after the latter's death (1751). During his leadership, he did much for the yeshivah, initiated important regulations and arranged the order of prayer. He became known as one of the greatest rabbis in Jerusalem and his signature appears on several documents preserved from this period. In 1754 and 1758, he and other rabbis of Jerusalem signed the note binding the association of kabbalists, Ahavat Shalom. In 1774 he signed next to the leaders of the community of Jerusalem on a letter for emissaries to Western Europe.

Sharabi's life was embellished by legends even from his youth, and in Erez Israel he was famous as a saint and miracle worker. Popular tradition links his departure from Yemen with a miracle that occurred after a rich Muslim woman tried to seduce him. In Bet El he worked as a servant and hid his learning from others; only miraculously was his deep knowledge of Kabbalah discovered and he became a member of the kabbalistic circle. According to legend, the prophet Elijah appeared to him and he was an incarnation of Luria. After his death, his name became greatly revered among the Jews of Jerusalem and among the kabbalists of Bet El. His grandson, Solomon Moses Hai Gagin, wrote a poem of praise on his expertise in Ez Hayyim and in Shemonah She'arim of Hayyim Vital. The members of Bet El used to prostrate themselves on his grave on the Mount of Olives on the commemoration of his death. His signature was Shalom Mizrahi di-Ydi'a Sharabi and his titles Ha-Reshash or Ha-Shemesh (both are Hebrew acronyms of Shalom Mizrahi Sharabi).

Sharabi's books are on Lurianic Kabbalah. Particularly famous is his prayer book Nehar Shalom (Salonika, 1806) which includes in detail the secrets and mystical meditations on prayers and on mitzvot for the entire year according to Luria's Kabbalah. It became popular in Erez Israel and North Africa after his death. His contemporary, H. J. D. Azulai, attested that Sharabi studied the Lurianic teachings in depth and presented the mystical meditations of Luria clearly and correctly. He annotated corruptions in the texts and elucidated lacunae and contradictions. His glosses and explanations of Luria's writings are an important source for their understanding. The missing part of the work was published later in an edition of Ez Hayyim (1866–67; 1910). It was published in Jerusalem in two editions (1911–12; 1916). Parts of the prayer book were published under different titles and in many editions from 1911. He also wrote Rehovot ha-Nahar, a commentary on Luria's principles (Salonika, 1806); and Emet ve-Shalom,glosses to Hayyim Vital's Ez Hayyim (Salonika, 1806), later published in Ez Hayyim (Salonika, 1842; Jerusalem, 1866–67).

Hebrew Description   

... מהני גניזין ... דאשאר לן... ר' שלום מזרחי שרעבי ז"ל מהני כתבי ... מהרח"ו [ר' חיים וויטאל] זצוק"ל נאמן ... רבנו ... האר"י [ר' יצחק לוריא]... וסדר לו סידור כוונות ... לכל סדר התפלות לכל השנה ... וזה יצא ראשונה סידור (הכונות של) ק"ש שעה"מ ([קריאת-שמע] שעל המטה)... גבאי מייסדי ישיבת "שער השמים" (וענף "קהל חסידים")... פעיה"ק ירושת"ו.

בראש הספר: הקדמה. חתומים מייסדי הישיבה: ר' גבריאל בארטינאווסקי, ר' שמעון צבי הורוויטץ ור' חיים יהודא ליב אויערבאך. כותבים בין השאר: "הישיבה ... 'שער השמים' ... אשר זכינו ליסד ... בציון ... והני אברכי ... מתכנסים ללמוד יום יום בשבילין דאורייתא טמירתא". הישיבה נוסדה בשנת תרס"ז. עיין אור המאיר וקול מבשר, ירושלם תרס"ז. לר' שמעון צבי הורוויץ. מעבר לשער: "הננו מחזיקים טיבותא ... חו"ר [חכמי ורבני] (בית המדרש) המקובלים (הספרדיים)... המכונים (עפ"י כונות האריז"ל) בסידור ... של רבינו מרש"ש ז"ל ... בחברת רחובות (בשכונת רחובות של ק"ק הבוכארים) ... שהשתדלו עמנו להוציאו לאור עולם ובהסכמת כלנו קראנו לו שם: חיים ושלום". באותה השנה יצאה הוצאה נוספת. גוף הספר ([34] דף) זהה בשתי ההוצאות, אלא שבכל הוצאה השער ודפים אחדים בראש הספר שונים. כאן נוספו גם [2] דף בסוף הספר: תקוני השגיאות.

Bibliography

BE het 645; EJ; Bibliography of the Hebrew Book 1470-1960 #000181281