Large volume of halachic rulings, letters and halachic responsa, containing hundreds of autographs and signatures of leading Moroccan rabbis – including a letter handwritten and signed by R. Chaim ibn Attar, the Or HaChaim.

· Letter handwritten and signed by the Or HaChaim, addressed to the members of the Meknes Beit Din – R. Yaakov Toledano, R. Yehudah Berdugo and R. Maimon Adahan. The Or HaChaim signs his letter: "…peace to my brothers and friends from life and peace, so says Chaim son of Moshe Attar" (in his calligraphic signature). The Or HaChaim begins his letter: "Friends of G-d and of me, the perfect scholars, the excellent dayanim, R. Yaakov Toledano, R. Yehudah Verdugo and R. Maimon Dahan". In his letter, the Or HaChaim attempts to alleviate the tax burden on "the dear, honorable R. Yehudah ibn Nachmias". The letter appears on leaf 120 of the present volume.

Apparently, the Or HaChaim wrote this letter between 1737-1739, before leaving Morocco on his way to Eretz Israel ca. Iyar 1739, and after R. Maimon Adahan's appointment as dayan in the Meknes Beit Din in 1737 (see: R. Avraham Hillel, Pesak Din Chachmei VeRabbanei Fez BiDevar Serarat Batei HaKeneset, Min HaGenazim, IV – 2015, pp. 69-70). The letter was first published in Takanot Chachmei Fez by R. Maury Mordechai Amar, Paris 2013, pp. 54-56.

· Volume with collected halachic rulings and responsa by Moroccan rabbis. The volume contains hundreds of autographs and thousands of signatures of rabbis and dayanim of Morocco, most dating to the late 17th century and the first half of the 18th century.

The present volume comes from a collection of volumes of halachic rulings by Moroccan rabbis, compiled and preserved in Fez by the descendants of R. Yaakov Abensour – the Yaavetz. This collection also formed the basis for forming the Dovev Siftei Yeshenim society, established in Fez in the late 19th century in order to publish the teachings of Moroccan rabbis. One of their important projects was a two-volume edition of Responsa Mishpat UTzedakah BeYaakov by the Yaavetz (Alexandria, 1894-1903), where some of the halachic rulings and responsa in the present volume were printed.

The present volume contains extensive portions of the Yaavetz's teachings, including dozens of leaves in his handwriting: halachic rulings and letters he wrote, his handwritten drafts and Torah novellae, and more. Additionally, the volume contains many letters sent to him, and halachic rulings he signed along with his fellow rabbis and dayanim of Morocco. The volume also contains many autographs and signatures (over 20) of his teacher R. Yehudah ibn Attar (the first); the Yaavetz served as dayan in Fez alongside him, and they signed together on most halachic rulings issued in those days. Some of the present documents contain the Yaavetz's signature alongside signatures of Meknes dayanim, from his stay in Meknes between 1718-1728, and in others his signature appears alongside Tétouan rabbis, from his exile to Tétouan in the wake of a famine that broke out in Fez in 1738-1741.

The present volume also includes manuscripts and signatures of the rabbis of Fez of that time: R. Vidal HaTzarfati, R. Menachem Serero (both teachers of the Yaavetz), R. Avraham ibn Danan, R. Shalom Edre'i, R. Saadiah ibn Danan, R. Maimon Aflalo, R. Yaakov ibn Malka, R. Yehudah son of Reuven Abensour (brother of the Yaavetz), R. Refael Oved Abensour (son of the Yaavetz), R. Shaul ibn Danan, R. Eliyahu HaTzarfati and others.

Additionally, the present volume contains manuscripts and signatures of leading rabbis of Meknes: R. Yosef Bahtit, R. Moshe Toledano, R. Chaviv Toledano, R. Moshe Berdugo (the Mashbir; approx. ten of his signatures), R. Mordechai Berdugo (the Marbitz), R. Yehudah Berdugo, R. Yaakov Toledano (Maharit), R. Chaim Toledano (Maharchat), R. Moshe Adahan, R. Maimon Adahan and others.

Furthermore, the present volume contains manuscripts and signatures of rabbis from the following cities: Salé – R. Shmuel Karo, R. Shlomo HaKohen Alkhalatz, R. Shalom Abensour, R. Mordechai HaKohen, R. Yichye Abecassis and R. Yaakov Bibas; Tétouan – R. Chasdai Almosnino, R. Menachem Attiya, R. Shlomo Abudarham; Sefrou – R. Shmuel Chuta, R. Yehoshua ibn Chamu; and others.

Like the letter of the Or HaChaim regarding community taxes which appears in the present volume, several halachic rulings and letters dealing with tax exemptions or deductions for various individuals also appear in this volume (see below).

Some examples of important letters and halachic rulings appearing in the present volume:

On leaf 117 – letter from the Yaavetz to the rabbis of Meknes – "The perfect scholars… R. Chaim Toledano and his brother R. Yaakov". The letter deals with the same issue as the Or HaChaim's letter: "Regarding the dear R. Yehudah ibn Nachmias…". The letter of the Yaavetz is written on a leaf attached to that on which the Or HaChaim wrote his letter, indicating that both letters were sent together to the rabbis of Meknes.

On leaf 137 – one of the earliest documents in the present volume – a halachic ruling regarding land in the Jewish quarter of Fez which served as a dump, signed by R. Saadiah ibn Danan, R. Immanuel Serero and R. Vidal HaTzarfati. Fez, 1670. The ruling begins: "Since one of the king's officers once passed through and saw a large dump in the Jewish quarter… and he was angered and decreed that the community clear it, which requires much money…". Further in the leaf is an addition signed by R. Saadiah ibn Danan and R. Vidal HaTzarfati, followed by another addition dated 1674, signed by R. Maimon son of Chaim Aflalo and R. Shmuel Adahan ("the scribe"). On verso of leaf is another ruling, dated 1675, signed by R. Maimon Aflalo and another signatory.

On leaf 70 – an early document – is a decree by the rabbis of Fez dated 1690, regarding a tax exemption for schoolteachers and Torah scholars, signed by R. Menachem son of David Serero, R. Vidal HaTzarfati, R. Shalom son of Yehudah Siboni, R. Maimon son of Chaim Aflalo, R. Shmuel ibn Danan, R. Moshe HaKohen, R. Maimon ibn Danan, R. Saadiah ibn Danan and other signatories. At the end is an addition dated 1696, signed by R. Avraham Maimaran. On verso of leaf – additional halachic ruling on the issue, signed by R. Yehudah ibn Attar, R. Avraham ibn Danan and the Yaavetz, followed by a confirmation with additional signatures. Printed in Takanot Chachmei Fez, pp. 331-332, decree 53.

On leaf 212 – letter to R. Yehudah ibn Attar, handwritten and signed by R. Chaviv Toledano, regarding writings and halachic rulings R. Moshe Chagiz had sent to him (through Gibraltar), regarding the Sabbatean Nechemiah Hayyun. At the end of the letter there is also mention of R. Tzvi Hirsch Ashkenazi, the Chacham Tzvi. Printed in Takanot Chachmei Fez, p. 911, document 24.

On leaves 228-229 – copying of a responsum handwritten by the Yaavetz (unsigned), regarding a tax deduction for R. Shmuel de Avila (brother-in-law of the Or HaChaim, author of Even Shmuel and Keter Torah). A halachic discussion on the tax exemption for Torah scholars is followed by praise for R. Shmuel: "We knew this R. Shmuel in Meknes as a diligent learner… and we presume he retained this quality after he went to Salé, especially since we learned by hearsay that his strength today is the same as it was then…". Interestingly, R. Shmuel de Avila's book, Keter Torah, discusses the honor of Torah scholars and the obligation to exempt them from community taxes. This book was printed in Amsterdam, 1725, prefaced by approbations by Moroccan rabbis, including his brother-in-law the Or HaChaim, R. Yehudah ibn Attar and the Yaavetz.

On leaf 251 – halachic ruling handwritten by the Yaavetz (incomplete), regarding the estate of his teacher R. Vidal HaTzarfati, beginning: "In Tevet 1719 I was in Fez and the heirs of my close teacher R. Vidal HaTzarfati the third came to court…". He goes on to write: "After they made their claims for us in a court of three judges, namely the great rabbi R. Yehudah ibn Attar, the perfect scholar and dayan R. Avraham ibn Danan and me, the most junior one, Yaavetz…".

[263] leaves (including several blank leaves – outer wrappers of the letters). Size of leaves varies; maximum size: approx. 22 cm. Condition varies between leaves, over fair condition (some leaves in poor condition). Stains and wear (dampstains and traces of mold on some leaves). Tears and open tears (some large), affecting text in several places. Detached leaves and gatherings. Placed in a new binding and slipcased.

"A holy angel… father of all the Torah scholars of North Africa…" – R. Chaim ibn Attar, the Holy "Or HaChaim"

R. Chaim ibn Attar (1696-1743), known as the holy Or HaChaim, was a famed Torah scholar, posek, kabbalist and holy man. He was a leading rabbi of North Africa (Morocco) and Jerusalem, and served as Rabbi of Salé. His first work, Chefetz Hashem on the Talmud, was printed in Amsterdam, 1732. In 1739 he began his journey to Eretz Israel, where he intended to establish a yeshiva to be named Knesset Yisrael, whose members would conduct themselves in holiness and piety and study Torah day and night in order to hasten the redemption.

On his way there he passed through Italy, where he stayed some three years (1739-1742), intending to recruit members for his yeshiva and emigrate from there to Eretz Israel. He was received with great honor in Livorno, where he made his home into a Beit Midrash which many people visited to hear his discourses and teachings. His visitors included important and wealthy community members whom R. Chaim ibn Attar influenced to support the yeshiva he was going to establish in Jerusalem. In Livorno he founded a committee called Knesset Yisrael, whose members were merchants and rich community members.

He traveled to other communities in Italy, including Venice, Modena, Ferrara and Mantua, and also founded a similar committee in Modena. At the same time, he gathered a group of disciples who joined with his family and a few disciples who had come with him from Morocco, forming the group that immigrated with him to Eretz Israel. At that time he also worked to prepare his works for printing (his book Or HaChaim was printed in Venice in autumn 1741, a short time after his immigration to Eretz Israel; his work Pri Toar was likewise printed in Amsterdam, 1742, after his immigration; both works were printed with the support of Livorno wealthiest persons).

On Rosh Chodesh Av 1741, he departed Livorno on his way to Eretz Israel, together with his companions, numbering thirty persons. In Jerusalem the Or HaChaim established his yeshiva, which many eminent scholars and kabbalists of Jerusalem joined (on the yeshiva and its organization, see: Benayahu, "History of the Knesset Yisrael Beit Midrash in Jerusalem", Yerushalayim, II, 1949, pp. 103 ff [Hebrew]). R. Chaim ibn Attar sadly passed away suddenly about a year later, on 14 Tammuz, 1743. Reportedly, the Baal Shem Tov apprehended his sudden death with ruach hakodesh, and reported that Shabbat that "the western candle has gone out".

According to Chassidic lore, the Baal Shem Tov's aspiration to immigrate to Eretz Israel derived from his desire to meet R. Chaim ibn Attar, who was a "spark of the mashiach", and to cooperate with him to hasten the redemption. Earlier in 1742, the Baal Shem Tov had asked his brother-in-law R. Avraham Gershon of Kitov to move to Jerusalem in order to approach and learn from the "western candle". Reputedly, the Baal Shem Tov sent his brother-in-law several lofty questions to ask the Or HaChaim in his name.

The Chassidic masters praise the Or HaChaim extensively. In Netiv Mitzvotecha, Rebbe Yitzchak Eizik of Komarno quotes the Baal Shem Tov's high appraisal of the Or HaChaim's soul; for instance: "…Every night he heard Torah from G-d, and his great holiness cannot be written; and he was among those who descend upon the Merkavah…". R. Efraim Zalman Margaliot, author of Beit Efraim, writes of him: "A holy angel, an exceedingly awesome man of G-d… father of all the Torah scholars of North Africa…".

R. Chaim Yosef David Azulai (the Chida), who studied under him during his short stay in Jerusalem, writes of him: "R. Chaim ibn Attar, a holy angel from Salé, came to Jerusalem in the summer of 1742. And I merited to be a member of his elevated yeshiva, and I saw with my eyes the greatness of his Torah. He would uproot mountains of mountains, and his holiness was absolutely wondrous. He struck awe in our generation in study, and he was like an ever-gushing fountain… and in Tammuz 1743 he was called up to Heaven at the age of 47. He authored Chefetz HaShem, Rishon LeTzion, Or HaChaim and Pri Toar, and his sagacity is discernable from his books, yet this is only a tenth of his wisdom and heart's expansiveness and unbelievable sharpness. He conducted himself continuously in holiness and separation from worldly matters, and his mighty deeds of awe were many…" (Shem HaGedolim, Maarechet Gedolim, Chet, 42).

The Or HaChaim commentary on the Torah was accepted throughout the entire Jewish world and became a classic commentary in Chumash editions. This composition was especially sacred to the leaders of the Chassidic movement. The book gained recognition at once, due to the Baal Shem Tov's praise, as the Chida, disciple of the Or HaChaim, relates in his book Shem HaGedolim: "The commentary on the Torah by the outstanding and holy R. Chaim ibn Attar, printed in Venice alongside the text of the Torah with Targum and Rashi. And we hear that it is now held in high regard in Poland, and was printed there in another two editions. And this was due to the praise of the holy R. Yisrael Baal Shem Tov for the greatness of R. Chaim's soul" (Maarechet Sefarim, Alef, 54).

Chassidic leaders describe the importance and holiness of the book in effusive terms. Rebbe Yisrael of Ruzhin stated that learning the Or HaChaim commentary purifies the soul. His son Rebbe David Moshe of Chortkov related that after hearing this, he began learning the Or HaChaim commentary on the weekly portion consistently. R. Pinchas of Korets testified that he was the one who publicized the Or HaChaim, through an episode which occurred in Chyhyryn, when he exclaimed that he could see a great light in the city and he inquired whether anyone held a book of the Or HaChaim commentary in their possession. When the book was found, he asserted that it was what was illuminating the whole town. On a different occasion, his son took ill, and he undertook to learn a page a day of the Or HaChaim commentary (Imrei Pinchas HaShalem, I, p. 281).

The Arvei Nachal once remarks of the Or HaChaim that "his words are attainable only through ruach hakodesh".

When he came to Jerusalem, the Or HaChaim purchased a courtyard in the city (which is traditionally held to have been the birthplace of the Arizal two centuries earlier), where he established his Beit Midrash. Even after his sudden death, his yeshiva remained in the Beit Midrash, which was one of the few synagogues not destroyed by the Jordanians in 1948. After the Six Day War and the establishment of the Jewish quarter in the Old City, the Beit Midrash was renovated on the Or HaChaim street.

Manuscript Collection of Moroccan Rabbis – The Abensour Family

In the 1960s, the Klagsbald collection was supplemented by a particularly important collection – the manuscripts of the Abensour (Ibn Tzur) family of Fez. The collection contains many volumes comprising halachic rulings and correspondence of leading Moroccan rabbis, centering around the figure of R. Yaakov Abensour, the Yaavetz, a leading Moroccan Torah scholar and Rabbi of Fez, and an ancestor of the family. The collection was painstakingly assembled by R. Refael Abensour the youngest (see below) and was held in its entirety by the Abensour family in Fez until its purchase by Victor Klagsbald. This collection is of inestimable importance as an immense and rare compilation of the Torah teachings and halachic rulings of generations of Moroccan rabbis, kept in its entirety over many generations. Many parts of this collection have yet to be studied and published. Furthermore, the present collection preserves an unparalleled, comprehensive assemblage of autograph manuscripts – handwritten by the leading rabbis of Morocco, with their unique, calligraphic signatures, first and foremost by the Or HaChaim and his peers.

R. Yaakov Abensour – the Yaavetz

The centerpiece of the collection is comprised of numerous halachic rulings and autographs by R. Yaakov Abensour, the Yaavetz (1673-1752; Malchei Rabanan, pp. 64-65), a most prominent and illustrious figure of Moroccan Jewry. A leading halachic authority of his generation (the generation of the holy Or HaChaim and his teachers), a poet and a kabbalist, also well versed in practical kabbalah. At the age of twenty, he was appointed scribe of the Beit Din of R. Vidal HaTzarfati, R. Menachem Serero and R. Yehudah ibn Attar in Fez. He then authored Et Sofer – laws and customs of halachic documents. With the passing of R. Vidal HaTzarfati, R. Yehudah ibn Attar was appointed head of the Beit Din and the Yaavetz became his fellow dayan.

The Yaavetz (along with R. Yehudah ibn Attar and other leading Torah scholars of the generation) authored the approbation to Chefetz Hashem by R. Chaim ibn Attar, the Or HaChaim (printed in Amsterdam, 1732). Following R. Yehudah ibn Attar's passing, the Yaavetz succeeded him as head of the Fez Beit Din, and became the supreme authority in Morocco, responding to halachic queries from throughout the Maghreb. The Yaavetz was compelled to leave Fez several times. Between 1719-1728 he resided in Meknes, and during the famine of 1738, he wandered to Tétouan. In these places he was also received with great honor and joined the local rabbis in the Beit Din, even heading the list of signatories on Beit Din rulings. In his later years, he appointed five of his disciples to assist him in leading the community, who became known as "the Beit Din of Five", serving as the leaders of the community in his old age and after his passing. He wrote numerous halachic responsa and other works. Some of his responsa were published in his two-part book Mishpat UTzedakah BeYaakov (printed in Alexandria, Egypt, 1894 and 1903), some were published in the books of his contemporaries, and the rest remain in manuscript form.

The Yaavetz was renowned for his poetical talents, demonstrated in