Ḥaye ha-nefesh
Abulafia, Abraham ben Samuel, 1240–ca. 1292 (Author)
Mosheh ben Ya’aḳov ben Mordekhai (Scribe)
Ḥaye ha-nefesh
Manuscript on paper, ca. 1465-68
This volume of kabbalistic treatises was previously in the private collection of the well-known bibliophile David Solomon Sassoon (1880–1942), a member of a prominent Baghdadi Jewish family. It contains three manuscripts in Byzantine script, dating to approximately 1465–68, that originated in the Ottoman Empire. The first two manuscripts are authored by Abraham ben Samuel Abulafia, a renowned kabbalist from Spain.
On view here is a page from the third kabbalistic work, Sefer ha-razim (Book of Secrets). It is considered to be the main source for Jewish magic and is filled with descriptions of mystical remedies, charms, and even witchcraft. Its author is unknown, but the work is believed to have been created in the early fourth or late third century. The scribe of all three volumes was Mosheh ben Ya’aḳov ben Mordekhai. The visually enchanting and intricate kabbalistic symbols on this page are intended to enhance the power of amulets and spells, and may also encode the names of angels involved in the supernatural deeds.
Amid the Nazis’ systematic bombings of London in 1940, Sassoon was able to safely store some 1,200 precious books and manuscripts in his collection. He died during World War II, unable to reunite with his cherished treasures, which survived the war in the safety of British repositories.
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