Leaf (two pages) handwritten by R. Chaim Yosef David Azulai – the Chida – comments on the words of the poskim and the commentators.
The novellae found in the present leaf are similar in style to those appearing in the Chida's work Ha'lem Davar, yet they do not appear there. The sections on the first page are numbered 228-237, while the sections on the second page are not numbered.
According to the enclosed expert opinion (by R. Shimon Schwartz), the present leaf is from a different edition of Ha'lem Davar.
Ha'lem Davar was authored by the Chida in his youth, as he mentions in Responsa Yosef Ometz (section 105): "In my youth I produced… an essay which I titled Ha'lem Davar – several oversights of leading Torah scholars". Up until now, only a manuscript of He'elem Davar comprising 149 sections was known of (JTS manuscript, no. 5391), first published in 1958 by Meir Benayahu (in Sinai, 43; and later in other books in several editions), yet it is known that the Chida would rewrite his works in various editions with additions.
The contents of the present leaf were not found in the printed work, and are to the best of our knowledge hitherto unpublished.
The Chida – R. Chaim Yosef David Azulai (1724-1806) was a leading halachic authority, Kabbalist, outstanding Torah scholar, prolific author and famous emissary. Born in Jerusalem to R. Refael Yitzchak Zerachia Azulai, a Jerusalem scholar and great-grandson of the kabbalist R. Avraham Azulai author of Chesed LeAvraham. From his early years, he was a disciple of leading Jerusalemite Torah scholars and kabbalists, including R. Chaim ben Attar, the Or HaChaim. He began studying kabbalah at the Beit El Yeshiva for kabbalists headed by R. Shalom Mizrachi Sharabi – the Rashash, alongside with his colleague R. Yom Tov Algazi.
In 1753, he embarked on his first mission as emissary on behalf of the Hebron community. During the course of his five years of travel, he passed through Italy, Germany, Holland, England and France. During this mission, his name began to spread. Wherever he traversed, he attracted a great deal of attention and many acknowledged his greatness. In 1773, the Chida embarked on an additional mission on behalf of the Hebron community, leaving a profound imprint on all the places he visited. At the end of this journey, he settled in Livorno, Italy, serving there as rabbi. In Livorno he published most of his books.
The Chida was among the greatest authors of all times and composed more than 80 works in all facets of Torah, including his composition Birkei Yosef, a commentary on the Shulchan Aruch which greatly impacted the field of halachic rulings. His books were accepted throughout the Diaspora, and were regarded with great esteem. The majority of his works were written while he was preoccupied with his travels or other matters, and with access to very few books, and this attests to his tremendous erudition and phenomenal memory. In each city the Chida visited, he would visit the local libraries and search for unknown manuscripts and compositions written by prominent Torah scholars. Due to the great respect and admiration he evoked, he was granted authorization to enter large libraries and museums, such as the National Library of France, where he spent many hours copying important manuscripts. The vast knowledge he gleaned during these opportunities pervade all his books, particularly his bibliographic masterpiece Shem HaGedolim.
[1] leaf. 18 cm. Good condition. Stains. Worming (slightly affecting several characters of text). Elegant leather binding.
Enclosed is the expert's opinion, authenticating the manuscript as handwritten by the Chida, and confirming that the teachings are unpublished.