Sefer ha-Or and Sod Kaf-Bet Otiyyot, Judah ben Jacob Ibn Hanin, Scribe: Joseph ben Solomon Ibn Mussa, [North Africa, 17th-18th century]

Fols. 1r-42v: Sefer ha-Or, kabbalistic explanations of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, the vowels, cantillation points and tagin, by Judah ben Jacob ibn Hanin (Morocco-Algeria, sixteenth-seventeenth century). Lacking the third part on cantillation in chapter 14. Other copies of this text are found in Jerusalem, Jewish National Library oct. 1074; Moscow, Russian State Library, Ms. Guenzburg 281; New York, Jewish Theological Seminary Ms. 1711 and Paris, Bibliothèque nationale héb. 858.

Fols. 43r-56r: This is one of only two extant copies of Sod Esrim u-Shetayyim Otiyyot, kabbalistic explanations of the Hebrew alphabet by Moses ben Maimon Albaz. The author, a Moroccan kabbalist lived in Taroudant in the second half of the sixteenth century. The other extant copy of this text can be found in New York, Jewish Theological Seminary Ms. 1710.

Sotheby’s is grateful to Menahem Schmelzer z”l and Benjamin Richler for cataloguing this manuscript.

Physical Description

56 leaves on paper, 7 ½ x 6 inches; 192 x 150 mm, written in Maghrebi semi-cursive script in brown ink, catchwords, early foliation in ink in Hebrew letters, modern foliation in pencil; some worming in the margins not affecting the text, slight stains, inner margins reinforced. Marbled paper over boards.

Literature

Hirschfeld (ms. no. 335); on Judah ben Jacob ibn Hanin, see M. Hallamish, in Da’at, xvi (1986), pp. 101-102 (in Hebrew); on Moses ben Maimon Elbaz, see idem, ibid., pp. 119-120 (in Hebrew); D. Manor, Kabbalah, vii (2003), pp. 199-223 (in Hebrew)