KISSEI KAVOD, MANUSCRIPT ON PAPER Moses Judah Abbas [17th century]

81 leaves (one blank), 8 3/8 x 6 1/8 inches; 213 x 156 mm, written in black ink in an Oriential semi-cursive script, modern foliation in pencil; some marginal dampstaining, most pronounced in fols. 74-81, small tears to upper outside corner of fol. 1 and to lower inside corner of fol. 81, slightly affecting text, fore-edges clipped to accommodate tabs and shoulder notes, edges rather frayed. Eighteenth-century brown marbled boards, suede backstrip, worn, spine wormed and sprung from text block, hinges detached.

Hayyim Joseph David Azulai (see his Shem ha-Gedolim, entry Judah Abbas)  —  Solomon Halberstam (shelf no. 346)

Hirschfeld (ms. no. 64)

This is an unpublished autograph copy of Kissei Kavod, a commentary on the minor tractates Kallah, Soferim, Evel Rabbati (until chapter 13), and Derekh Erez. Its author, Moses Judah Abbas, was a talmudist and poet.  He was born in Salonica about 1601 and later served as a rabbi in Rashid, Egypt, where he died in 1671.  One other copy of Kissei Kavod is extant in London, British Library Or. 5003.  It is in the same hand and includes commentaries on tractates Kallah, Semahot and Soferim, with some variations.