Sefer Kafai Aharon, responsa and novellae by Rabbi Aharon Azriel. First part. Jerusalem, 5634 [1874]. With a ...

Sefer Kafai Aharon, responsa and novellae by Rabbi Aharon Azriel. First part. Jerusalem, 5634 [1874]. With a handwritten dedication by the author.

On the title page appears a beautiful dedication (partially trimmed at the edges) in the author's own handwriting, addressed to:

"The eminent, outstanding rabbi… head of the sacred Beit Din, Tzof D.B. [Sh] may he be protected… from the humble author…"

Rabbi D.B.Sh. refers to Rabbi David Ben Shimon, one of the great rabbis of Jerusalem and the leader of the Western Sephardic community in the city.

Rabbi Aharon Azriel (5579–5639 [1819–1879]), a renowned kabbalist, was the son-in-law of the towering mussar giant, the divine scholar Rabbi Eliezer Papo, author of Pele Yoetz. He studied Talmudic law under Rabbi Nissim Shmuel Yehuda Aruatz and Kabbalah under Rabbi Chaim Yedidya Raphael Abulafia, head of the Beit El Kabbalists' Yeshiva. After his teacher's passing, he was appointed Rosh Yeshiva of Beit El and later served as Av Beit Din of the Sephardic community in Jerusalem.

His tombstone inscription reads:

"...Av Beit Din… among the leaders of the Sanhedrin, resembling an angel of Hashem Tzevaot, the eminent rabbi, the divine kabbalist… our master Rabbi Aharon Azriel… author of Kafai Aharon."

Rabbi David Ben Shimon (d. 5640 [1880]), an illustrious rabbi in Rabat, Morocco, raised numerous disciples. In 5614 [1854], he immigrated to Eretz Yisrael, where he founded the Western Sephardic Council and the Machane Yisrael neighborhood. He is known for his works Sha’arei Tzedek, Sha’ar HaMatarah, and Sha’arey Mifkad. His descendants form the distinguished Ben Shimon family lineage.

S. Halevi, Jerusalem Books 211.

[4], 178 leaves. 26.5 cm.

Condition: Good. Small tears on the edges of the first and last leaves (minor loss on the last leaf without affecting text). Tiny hole in the first five leaves. Unbound.