❧ Description
Second volume of the Maḥzor of Oran, renowned for the Judeo-Arabic cycle it contains between folios 101v and 141r: a long poetic sequence in Maghrebi Arabic transcribed in Hebrew characters, blending liturgical poems and secular poems (notably love poems), in dialogue with the Arab-Andalusian tradition. It is one of the most important witnesses to Maghrebi Judeo-Arabic poetry, probably sung at family celebrations. Its transcription in Hebrew characters signals a literature internal to the Maghrebi Jewish world.
Provenance: 1 Jewish community of Oran (Cansino), before 1669 2 Livorno community (Megorashim), 1669–19th c. 3 Acquisition by Samuel David Luzzatto, around 1834, Padua 4 Isaia Luzzatto sale, 1869 5 Bodleian Library, since 1869
Codicological notice — origin Oran, Spanish presidio, Algeria; script: Maghrebi; dimensions: quarto; early catalogues: Joseph Luzzatto Catalogue 1868 · no. 53; Neubauer 1886 · 1191; editorial status: Unpublished.
— Source: Mémoires des Manuscrits Juifs du Moyen-Âge Maghrébin (MMJMM / Collectif GMPL), https://mmjmm.org/corpus/catalogue/bodleian-opp-add-4-85; manuscript held at the Bodleian Library (Oxford).
