Meʼir Tsabaḥ esoteric writings, 1920?-1950?
מאיר צבאח כתבים אזוטריים

Format:

Book

Manuscript

Author/Creator:

Tsabaḥ, Meʼir.

Language:

Hebrew

Judeo-Arabic

Subjects (All):

Maimonides, Moses, 1135-1204.

Maimonides, Moses.

Judah Loew ben Bezalel, approximately 1525-1609.

Judah Loew ben Bezalel.

Joseph Della Reina, active 15th century.

Joseph Della Reina.

Hasidim--Legends.

Hasidim.

Midrash.

Short stories, Jewish.

Miracles in rabbinical literature.

Cabala.

Jewish magic.

Genre:

Legends.

Calendars (documents)

Codices (bound manuscripts)

Commentaries.

Penn Provenance:

Sold by Mizrahi Bookstore (Brooklyn, New York) to Jacob Djmal.

Sold by Jacob Djmal (Brooklyn, New York), 2018.

Physical Description:

1 volume (93 leaves) : paper ; 340 x 140 (310 x 135) mm bound to 350 x 140 mm

Place of Publication:

1920?-1950?

Language Note:

In Hebrew with paragraphs of Judeo-Arabic.

Biography/History:

Kabbalist and miracle worker of Moroccan descent, active in Tunis in the early 20th century.

Summary:

This is a manuscript of esoteric writings and tales. Because R. Meʼir Tsabaḥ was a miracle worker and kabbalist, the themes of amulets, spirits, charms appear throughout the manuscript in multiple genres. There are two folios of remazim, or allegories on the Pentateuch, Psalms, and the Song of Hannah, and the author inscribes the Notarikons which he constructed and some novel homiletical material on the Psalms. The Maʻaśiyot section is composed of tales, each separated by a divider, often citing the source of the story or the subject of the story as a known figure; examples include "a major, awesome tale (מעשה גדול ונורא)" concerning Joseph Della Reina (15th century) and his failed attempt to bring the Messiah by attempting to assassinate Samael, archangel of accusation, who assassinated him (this tale has been reprinted in different versions; f. 5v-8v); a Hasidic tale about the Maggid of Chernobyl (R. Mordechai Twersky, Cherobyl 1770-1837) collecting charity from misers (f. 11r); a tale about R. Ḳalonimus baʻal ha-nes of Jerusalem (Ḳalonimus the miracle worker; Jerusalem 16th century) who used a divine name to wake a dead child whose body was planted in the Sefardic Synagogue, avoiding a feared massacre of the Jewish settlement (f. 14r-14v); legends about Maimonides (f. 21v-23v); and legends about Maharal of Prague (Judah Loew ben Bezalel; Poznań? 1525?-Prague 1609) creating a Golem with a verse and using the Golem to repel mobs threatening the Jewish community in Prague in response to blood libels (f. 26v-31v). The manuscript ends with commentary on Midrashim and Aggadot. There are examples of self-censorship (for example, f. 19r) and excision of manuscript material (f. 15). The manuscript was written in part of a printed calendar, beginning in June and ending in December (in French), bound with black tape; the commercial paper is very brittle. Written in square script typical of Tunisian and Moroccan hands of the late 19th or early 20th centuries, using blue and black ink. References in this record are to the modern foliation and not to the contemporary pagination (f. 3r-92v paginated 1-128,179-184 in ink, upper outer corners).

Contents:

1. f. 1r-2v: Ḥidushim

2. f. 2v-62v: Maʻaśiyot

3. f. 70v-90r: [ʻal ha-]Midrash.

1. f. 1r-2v: חדושים

2. f. 2v-62v: מעשיות

3. f. 70v-90r: [על ה]מדרש.

Cited as:

UPenn CAJS Rar Ms 520.

OCLC:

1124925456

Access Restriction:

Access to this item is subject to staff review.