Three Kabbalistic Works from the Circle of Moses Zacuto, Italy: 17th century

221 leaves (7 3/4 x 5 1/2 in.; 198 x 140 mm). Manuscript on paper, written in brown ink in seventeenth century Italian Hebrew semi-cursive scripts; modern (mis)foliation in pencil: 1-7, 9-162, 168-171, 163-167, 172-222= 221 leaves. Light staining; owner's notation f.1r; ; some marginal repairs; ff. 92-94, 188-191, frayed and chewed at lower corner; ff 205, 213-4 folded to preserve text. Later calf; rebacked. Worn.

This manuscript comprises three discrete units, each on different paper and written in a different hand, though all were most likely copied within the kabbalistic circle of Moses Zacuto (1620-97), one of the leading kabbalists of seventeenth century Italy, or of his principal pupil, Benjamin ha-Kohen (1651-1730).

Unit 1 190 folios. This alphabetically arranged lexicon of terms and expressions emanating from the corpus of Lurianic Kabbalah. The work is similar to Moses Zacuto’s Erkhei ha-Kinnuyim. Although no other copy of the present work is known, it is likely that it originated in Zacuto's circle.  The work is nearly complete, lacking only the first few leaves (until the middle of the letter “bet.”) The characteristic Italian Hebrew semi-cursive script and the watermark (Heawood, Watermarks, no. 900) both clearly indicate that this unit of the manuscript is Italian, and that it dates from the mid-seventeenth century.

Unit 2 12 folios (+ 1 blank).  Israel Saruk's commentary on Isaac Luria's zemirot (liturgical poems) for each of the three Sabbath meals: Azamer biShevahin for Friday night (ff. 192r-200v); Asader li-Seudata-for Sabbath morning (ff. 200v-202v); and Bnei Heikhala di-Khasifin for Seudah Shelishit (ff.  202v-203v).

Israel Sarug (fl. 1590-1610) was an Egyptian kabbalist who constructed his own version of Luria's doctrine, adding important speculations of his own. Between 1594 and 1600 he disseminated his version of Lurianic Kabbalah in Italy, founding a whole school of kabbalists who accepted his teaching as authentic. Sarug's commentary on Luria’s Sabbath hymns was first published Nowy Oleksiniec in 1767. This unit is also written in 17th century Italian script on contemporary Italian paper.

Unit 3 18 folios. A list of 79 principles of Kabbalah culled from the writings of Hayyim Vital (1542/3-1620). As the chief disciple of Isaac Luria in sixteenth century Safed, Vital was responsible for the development of many of the doctrines that would come to characterize Lurianic Kabbalah. Marginal notes in the hand of Moses Zacuto.