Likkutei Shikh'hah u-Fe'ah, Abraham ben Judah Elmalik, Ferrara: Abraham ibn Usque, 1556

42 leaves (7 3/8 x 5 1/2 in.; 187 x 140 mm). [2], 40. Elaborate decorated title page with Usque's device, an armillary sphere. Dampstained; lightly browned and soiled; lightly wormed at end touching several letters; some wear to edges; minor marginal tears. Owners' inscriptions on title. Black cloth.

Vinograd, Ferrara 41.

This mystical commentary on portions of Talmudic aggadah by the kabbalist Abraham ben Judah Elmalik is the first and only edition of this enigmatic text. In addition to Elmalik’s introduction, the text includes a treatise on the Sefirot by Joseph ben Hayyim and selected writings from Joseph Gikatilla. Also included, but unattributed, is the work of another Spanish kabbalist, Ezra ben Solomon of Gerona, on selected aggadot. Little is known of the author, although a few autobiographical notes appear in the preface to the present work. The title, though literally a reference to agricultural halakhic regulations, is actually an allusion to gleanings of a mystical nature; several bibliographers have failed to discern the distinction.