❧ Description
Or ha-Ḥayim — “The Light of Life” — commentary on the Torah by Ḥayyim ben Moshe ibn Attar (1696-1743), a Moroccan rabbi of Salé and later of Meknès and Fès, who emigrated to Livorno (1739) and then to Jerusalem (1741). The commentary combines peshat, rabbinic exegesis, medieval philosophy, and Lurianic kabbalah — a fusion characteristic of the eighteenth-century Moroccan rabbinic school. The work became one of the most studied Torah commentaries in the Sephardic world, and was adopted even within Hasidism.
Provenance: 1 Composed in Morocco (Salé / Meknès) then completed in Livorno, 1730s-1741 2 Editio princeps: Venice, 1742 3 Reprints Amsterdam, Salonica, Livorno, Jerusalem
Codicological notice — origin Maghreb then Italy; script: Maghrebi; editorial status: Critical edition available.
— Source: Mémoires des Manuscrits Juifs du Moyen-Âge Maghrébin (MMJMM / Collectif GMPL), https://mmjmm.org/corpus/catalogue/to-locate-ibn-attar-or-hahayim.
