Manuscript – segulot, hashbaot, incantations, amulets, lots and interpretation of dreams – practical kabbalah notebook of R. Refael Yeshaya Azulai, son of the Chida and rabbi of Ancona. Written in part by a scribe and in part by R. Refael Yeshaya Azulai. [Ancona, ca. 1818-1819].
The manuscript was written alternately by a scribe (neat Italian script) and by R. Refael Yeshaya Azulai (Sephardic script), who added many segulot and hashbaot. The manuscript also contains his personal notes, with records of income and expenditures and names of Jews from Ancona, from the years 1818-1819.
Three leaves in neat Sephardic script (from an unknown writer), featuring tables, kabbalistic diagrams, and Angelic script.
Contents:
Leaves [1-3] – Segulot, hashbaot and incantations, for various occasions: "For blessing the home", "To restore a person's mind", "To find favor in the eyes of all people even a king and ruler", "For love", "To imprison a person", "To change the mind of a dayan or ruler", "To overcome adversaries", and more; the manner of "arranging amulets", with prayers to "sanctify the amulet".
Leaves [4-7] – Segulot and incantations handwritten by R. Refael Yeshaya Azulai: "For a women who despises her husband", "she'elat chalom [dream question]", "To bring menstruation", "To end menstruation", etc.
Leaf [8] – Many segulot for "love", including a "wonderful" segulah for love called "Hashbaah of the Valerian".
Leaves [10-11] – many segulot for love; "Segulot of 7 dishes which are helpful for all maladies", hashbaot for writing on dishes to cure various maladies: "For aching hands and feet", "For heart conditions", "For headaches and for all illnesses", "For obsessions and boredom", "For mutism or crooked hands, feet or mouth", "For vesicles", "For a person who arises at night with fears and trembling and imagines things or for anxiety"; G-d's Name which "is forbidden to utter, only to focus on in thought", for times of trouble: "When the world is in great trouble due to dread or war or pestilence or an epidemic or hunger…". The long Name is followed by the "Seal of the aforementioned Name" – chart of the combination of letters of the Name.
Leaf [12] – "Segulah and secret for treating fear".
Leaves [13-14] – Various instructions for casting lots (titled Goral Baduk), for a dream question. Leaf [13b] contains the text of an amulet handwritten by R. Refael Yeshaya Azulai. Inscription handwritten by R. Refael Yeshaya Azulai on leaf [14b]: "Here is a wondrous matter and great secret for confusion of the mind and insanity and depression…".
Leaf [15] – Segulot handwritten by R. Refael Yeshaya Azulai: "Marvelous matter if other cures and segulot do not help…".
Leaf [16b] – Handwritten by R. Refael Yeshaya Azulai: "Dream question – write on the leaf of an etrog and place under your head…".
Leaves [17-21] – Sefer Pitron Chalomot.
Leaf [24b] – Text of an amulet "For a person who wants to change and is under a spell…" handwritten by R. Refael Yeshaya Azulai, and more.
Leaves [25-27] – "Verified hashbaah of a ring to cast a lot" – in neat Oriental script by an unknown writer.
Leaf [27b] – "Incantation for a very painful headache", handwritten by R. Refael Yeshaya Azulai.
Leaf [28] – "Incantation for a person who is coerced by devils", incantation in Italian (in vocalized Hebrew letters), with the addition of two lines handwritten by R. Refael Yeshaya Azulai.
Leaf [29] – "To destroy an enemy, know the secret of this Name…", handwritten by R. Refael Yeshaya Azulai.
Leaves [29b-31a] – Amulets and segulot "To separate the love between two people who love one another", "For the hate of an enemy", "For pain of the eyes", "For an eye malady", "To enlighten dark eyes", "For a deathly illness", "To overcome your adversary", "To cause a person to die", and more.
Leaf [31b] – Various segulot handwritten by R. Refael Yeshaya Azulai: "For hate", "A verified way to overcome an adversary in judgement", "For a woman whose children do not survive", etc.
Personal notes handwritten by R. Refael Yeshaya Azulai:
Leaf [16a] – "Account of the Safed emissary R. Mordechai Asseo, I have taken from the treasurer S. Yitzchak Levi for his expenses…" (R. Mordechai Asseo, a Salonikan Torah scholar, author of Higid Mordechai, immigrated to Jerusalem and travelled to Italy as an emissary).
Leaf [22] – "Calculation of the wine which I take from David Hasson Adar 1819… until Rosh Chodesh Adar… Erev Rosh Chodesh Nissan… Passover… Erev Shavuot… Sivan… Tammuz"; Today, Thursday…, I have made a calculation with Shimshon Sereni[?]…".
Leaf [23] – "Calculation with the abovementioned…", "I owe Shimshon…".
Leaf [32] – "Nissan 1818: That which I need to take into my account from the community… What I received from David Hasson… Sr. Moshe Chaim Morpurgo [rabbi in Ancona]… Sr. Yehuda Avraham Morpurgo … Sr. Shabtai Chaim Sepilli… Sr. Azaryah Kohen…".
R. Refael Yeshaya Azulai (1743-1826), eldest son of the illustrious R. Chaim Yosef David Azulai – the Chida and a great Torah scholar in his own right. Born in Jerusalem, he served a rabbi, posek and leader of Italian Jewry in his times. Some of his halachic responsa were printed in his father's books, who honored and esteemed him and always mentioned him with epithets of love ("my dear son", "my firstborn son, the perfect great chacham", "the light of my eyes", "friend of my soul", etc.). After the death of R. Avraham Yisrael Rabbi of Ancona in 1785, the community leaders turned to the Chida who hinted that his son R. Refael Yeshaya was suitable for this position. He indeed served as rabbi of Ancona until his passing on 9th Shevat 1826 (he lived 83 years, like his father). He was greatly honored at his death and was mourned by his congregation for a long time (for further information see M. Benayahu's book on the Chida, pp. 476-487].
[32] leaves. 19 cm. Good condition. Stains, minor wear to margins. Worming, slightly affecting text in several places. Several detached leaves. Partially detached gatherings. Without binding.