Or 17076

21-stanza rhymed paean to the Torah and its light, preceded by citations from classical Rabbinic texts, highlighting the performance of acts of lovingkindness, with a caption noting that the source (of the paean? of the paean prefaced by these introductory items?) is from a work entitled Tsedaḳah ṿe-ḥayim / צדקה וחיים, by Rabbi Ḥayyim פלאג’י (transliterated Palaji, Palachi, etc.). Seemingly from the collection of Rabbi Isaac Mejaled.

Folio 1r, top: Caption: “From the book Tsedaḳah ṿe-ḥayim / צדקה וחיים, = ‘Righteousness (or: Charity) and Life’ by our master Rabbi Ḥayyim פלאג’י (variously transliterated, including the following: Palaji, Falaji, Palachi, Palaçi; 1788 – 1868; chief rabbi of Izmir = present-day Smyrna), remembered for life in the world to come”. Note 1. The book Tsedaḳah ṿe-ḥayim is unidentified, although two similarly-titled books by the author have been published: Tsedaḳah le-ḥayim / צדקה לחיים; and Tsedaḳah ḥayim / צדקה חיים. The author was prolific, and not all of his works were published. Note 2. It is unclear whether this attribution refers to the introductory quotes from classical Rabbinic works, given on this folio, or to the main text, the rhymed paean to Torah, which occupies folios 2 – 5, or to the combination of the two.

Three citations from classical Rabbinic works, all of which highlight the performance of acts of lovingkindness:

Folio 1r, first half: Citation 1, from Midrash on Psalm 118:19, praising various acts of lovingkindness to the needy.

Folio 1r, bottom: Citation 2, from Babylonian Talmud, Soṭa 14a, explaining that it is by the various acts of lovingkindness to the needy that one fulfills the commandment (Deuteronomy 13:5) ‘follow after the Lord, your God’.

Folio 1v: Citation 3, from Yalḳut Shimoni on Deuteronomy 32:29, expressing the divine wish that Israel contemplate the Torah and conduct themselves towards one another with acts of lovingkindness.

Folios 2r – 5r: unidentified 21-stanza rhymed paean to the Torah and its light. Each stanza begins with the word ’or / אור = ‘light’. As suggested above, this unidentified paean may be what is attributed, at the top of folio 1a, to the unidentified book Tsedaḳah ṿe-ḥayim / צדקה וחיים by Rabbi Ḥayyim Palaji / Palachi.

Folio 6v: part of an official stamp. This appears to be the chief-rabbi stamp of Rabbi Isaac מג'לד (vocalized Mejaled / מְגַ'לֵד), chief rabbi of Baghdad from 1893 – 1905. The stamp contains three types of letters: Hebrew, Latin, and Arabic. The Hebrew letters clearly indicate the words Baghdad and Hakham, as well as the beginning of the word Bashi; The Latin letters seem to spell BAGDAD, 1893 (the year Mejaled became chief rabbi), the name Isaac (Mejaled’s first name), and the letters GRA, possibly the beginning of the word GRAND (as in Grand Rabbi).

End.