Mishneh Torah by the Rambam, with the Migdal Oz commentary by R. Shem Tov ibn Gaon, with Hagahot Maimoniot. Part II. [Venice: Justinian, 1550-1551].
The book is annotated with dozens of brief glosses and corrections in early Yemenite script, identified by researchers as the handwriting of R. Shalom Shabazi, leading Yemenite Torah scholar.
R. Shalom Shabazi - the Rashash (1619-1695), known amongst Yemenite Jewry as "Abba". Leading Yemenite poet, a righteous wonder-worker, outstanding Torah scholar and kabbalist, a most revered personage amongst Yemenite Jewry. He was born in Najd Al-Walid village near Taiz, southern Yemen, to the Mashta family, a distinguished family of rabbis and Torah scholars. In his youth, he travelled to Sana'a, where he was exposed to its Torah scholars and studied in its yeshivot. He later returned to Taiz where he lived and was active until his passing. R. Shalom Shabazi was tremendously proficient in all realms of the Torah, whether in revealed or hidden parts, in Kabbalah and in philosophy, and was one of the most prolific writers in his generation. He also dealt in practical Kabbalah and in astronomy. He was primarily renowned for his many poems and piyyutim, numbering over one thousand, of which over five hundred are extant today, and which contained profound kabbalistic allusions and secrets. His poems and piyyutim accompany Yemenite Jewry during their Shabbat and festivals, and at every ceremony and stage of their lives.
Stories of wonders and miracles he performed abound amongst the Yemenites. Allegedly, he would miraculously travel every week to spend Shabbat in Eretz Israel, sometimes in Jerusalem, others in Tiberias, Acre or Hebron, and when the Shabbat ended, he would return to Yemen. R. Yaakov Sapir, who visited Yemen, reported that he saw in one of R. Shalom Shabazi's compositions an explicit reference to this phenomenon: "I was in Jerusalem and I saw such and such a sight, and in Safed such and such…". In one of his poems, he writes: "My heart is in Yemen, only my soul flew to Eretz Israel, crying longingly like a doe". He is renowned for the wonders he performed to bring salvation to the people, as well as for his exceptional abilities to cure the sick, help barren women conceive, etc. He composed a work on practical Kabbalah named Goral HaChol, to prevent the Jews of his generation from turning to non-Jewish wonder-workers. His gravesite in Taiz is considered a holy pilgrimage site, visited every year by Yemenite Jewry.
Incomplete copy: 394-494, 496-534 leaves (lacking: title page and leaves 535-767, [5]). Contains the books: Haflaa-Tahara, without the books Nezikin-Shoftim. 39 cm. Fair condition. Stains. Worming affecting text, and tears. Large tears to first and last few leaves, affecting text with some loss. Binding damaged and detached.
The handwriting was identified as that of R. Shalom Shabazi by Prof. Aharon Gaimani and the researcher Yoel Oshri from the Department of Jewish History, Bar Ilan University (report enclosed).