Manuscript – homilies, halachic responsa and novellae, handwritten and signed by R. Yaakov Antebi Rabbi of Damascus. [Damascus and Jerusalem, 1815-1846].
Thick manuscript volume (over five hundred written pages), almost completely handwritten by the author, R. Yaakov Antebi, chief rabbi of Damascus for over thirty years and central figure in the Damascus Affair. The present manuscript contains a large, hitherto unpublished composition by R. Yaakov Antebi, written in part during his tenure in Damascus and partly in Jerusalem.
The volume comprises over forty homilies for various occasions and eulogies, including some particularly lengthy ones, composed and delivered by R. Yaakov Antebi. Most of the homilies begin with a heading listing the place, audience and date of the sermon, and other details.
The manuscript also contains over ten lengthy halachic responsa on various topics, as well as dozens of novellae and various selections, including several segulot. Some homilies and responsa are signed at the end by R. Yaakov Antebi.
In the final leaves of the manuscript, there is a responsum by R. Yaakov regarding property ownership disputes in Jerusalem, which serves as a fascinating historical documentation of life in Jerusalem in those times. R. Yaakov relates there that he was personally involved in such a dispute when he rented a house in Jerusalem, and was repeatedly harassed by people claiming to be the true owners.
The front endpaper bears three autobiographical-familial inscriptions written by R. Yaakov Antebi. The first one documents his departure from Damascus on 17th Sivan 1842, and his arrival in Jerusalem on 25th Sivan. The second inscription records the marriage of his daughter, and the third, the passing of his wife on 27th Tammuz 1845.
R. Yaakov Antebi (1787-1846), leading Torah scholar of his times and prominent kabbalist, chief rabbi of Damascus and the region for thirty years. Only a small amount of his responsa, homilies and novellae have been published so far, and the present item is an entire volume of his hitherto unpublished teachings. During the Damascus Affair in 1840, which began when a Christian friar disappeared and the Jews were accused of murdering him for ritual purposes, R. Yaakov Antebi was imprisoned alongside seven community leaders, and they were brutally tortured to extort a confession. The affair drew wide international outrage, and after the intervention of influential westerners, including Sir Moses Montefiore and members of the Rothschild family, the prisoners were released and their innocence eventually recognized. R. Yaakov Antebi later immigrated to Jerusalem, where he refused to assume an official position. He passed away there in 1846.
[264] leaves (written on both sides). 23 cm. Fair condition. Stains and wear. Tears to several leaves. Significant worming to all leaves, affecting text (some leaves with minor damage, on other leaves significant damage). Several detached and loose leaves. Original leather binding, torn and damaged.