ספר שאלות ותשובות מהרח"ש – שאלוניקי, תי"א – העותק של רבינו ה"אור החיים" הקדוש

A book of responsa pertaining to Tur Even HaEzer, by Rabbi Chaim Shabtai [Maharach"sh]. Salonika, 1651. The personal copy of our teacher the holy Or HaChaim, given to him as a "mishloach manot" gift by the sage Rabbi Shemaya from Imran, as attested by a dedication dated 1728, in the hand of Rabbi Shemaya from Imran, appearing on the leaf following the title page: "Presented before one of the foremost, namely the complete and venerable sage, scion of elders, son of holy men, pure of heart, on the day of Purim of the year 1728, to fulfill therewith the commandment of mishloach manot — namely our beloved KMHR"R Chaim ibn Attar, may his light not be extinguished, from one bound in love to him, Shemaya from Imran, S.T." The author of the dedication is Rabbi Shemaya from Imran, among the sages and notables of Meknes, father-in-law of Rabbi Chaviv Tolidano, one of the rabbis of Meknes (the master of the Mashbi"r; see attached material). To the best of our knowledge, our teacher the "Or HaChaim" resided in Meknes during those years. His grandfather, Rabbi Chaim ben Attar the Elder, had already passed away in 1721, and it follows that the dedication before us was written in honor of our teacher the "Or HaChaim" and not in honor of his grandfather, and was presumably given to him on Purim day of 1728. Our teacher Chaim ben Attar (1696–1743), universally known as the "holy Or HaChaim" after his celebrated work, was one of the great luminaries of Western Jewry and of the Land of Israel. He was born in the city of Salé in Morocco and was raised under the tutelage of his grandfather Rabbi Chaim ben Attar the Elder, after whom he was named. In his youth he wandered with his family from his birthplace to Meknes. There his Torah light began to shine through his sermons delivered to the public morning and evening, and his name became known as that of a holy man and wonder-worker. In 1732, his novellae on the Talmud were printed in Amsterdam in his book Cheifetz Hashem. In 1738 he left Morocco and traveled through Algiers and Italy on his way to the Land of Israel. While in Italy he printed his celebrated work Or HaChaim on the Torah. In 1741 he ascended to the Land of Israel with a group of disciples, settling first in Akko and Peki'in, and after a short time moved to Jerusalem, where he established his yeshiva. Among the disciples who sat at his feet was the Gaon the Chida, who mentions him many times in his works with great admiration [in Shem HaGedolim he wrote: "And I, the humble one, merited to be in his lofty yeshiva, and my eyes beheld the greatness of his Torah, which uprooted mountains, and his holiness was wondrous and marvelous," and in Kikar LaAden he writes of him: "And I saw the remarkable rabbi, the pious and holy KMHR"R Chaim ibn Attar, of blessed memory, who fasted three consecutive days before Purim, night and day…," and much more in a similar vein]. It is related that beyond his well-known yeshiva he also maintained a hidden yeshiva for the study of esoteric wisdom, and that the Baal Shem Tov told his brother-in-law Rabbi Gershon of Kitov about its existence before the latter's ascent to the Land of Israel, urging him to strive to be numbered among its students. His book Or HaChaim on the Torah was received throughout all the Jewish diaspora; the great Hasidic masters said that its standing was like that of the Zohar, in that it had the power to purify the soul. His disciple the Chida records the Hasidic custom of studying his holy book on Friday night: "And we have heard that now in Poland they hold it in great esteem, and it has been printed two more times, and this was stirred by the fact that the saintly rabbi the Besht declared the greatness of the soul of the aforementioned MHRH." The great Hasidic masters spoke exceedingly highly of the holiness of our teacher the holy Or HaChaim. The Baal Shem Tov said of him that every night he receives Torah from the mouth of the Holy One, Blessed be He, and that "he was among those who descended to the Merkavah, one granted the revelation of souls and the level of true divine spirit." He further said that when he performs a soul-ascent every night, he sees that of all the righteous, only Rabbi Chaim ben Attar precedes him in his ascent on high, and no matter how much he strives and hurries he cannot overtake him. It is related that the Baal Shem Tov's attempt to ascend to the Land of Israel was motivated by his desire to meet Rabbi Chaim ben Attar, who was a "spark of the Messiah," and thereby to bring about the redemption. Many miracle stories were written about him, concerning wonders and salvations that were wrought through him in his life and in his death. [2], 219 leaves (excluding index leaves 220–222). Good-fair condition. 28 cm. Moth damage and wear, minor staining, the last 12 leaves torn at the upper left corner with damage to the text. Several leaves trimmed at the margins to the edge of the text. Worn binding.