Obj. ID: 38400
Jewish printed books Chesed le-Avraham by Avraham ben Mordechai Azulai, Sulzbach, 1685
This text was prepared by William Gross:
Kabbalistic discourses by R. Abraham ben Mordechai Azulai (c. 1570-1643). Chesed le-Avraham was printed independently in two locations in 1685, Amsterdam and Sulzbach. It is not certain which edition was printed first.
Of the two editions, the Sulzbach edition is regarded as superior, being based on a complete and corrected manuscript. This, in contrast to the Amsterdam edition, which according to Hida (Ma’arekhet Seforim het 95) is based on a faulty manuscript, is incomplete, and full of errors (see B.1222). In addition to being more complete, this edition varies somewhat organizationally from its Amsterdam counterpart. Publication was at the expense of the Duke CH. Knorr v. Rosenroth.
Floral border around title page. Kabbalistic diagrams.
Abraham ben Mordecai Azulai (c. 1570–1643) (Hebrew: אברהם בן מרדכי אזולאי) was a kabbalist of repute, author and commentator born in Fez, Morocco. In 1599 he moved to Palestine, experiencing many hardships along the way, and settled in Hebron, where he wrote a commentary on the Zohar entitled Kiryat Arba. The plague of 1619 drove him from his new home in Hebron to Gaza. It was there that he wrote his Chesed le-Avraham. He is considered one of the few Kabbalists that put into writing many teachings that were only passed down orally. His grandson was R. Hayyim Joseph David Azulai (”Hida”, 1724-1806).
Moses b. Uri Shraga Bloch (Phoebus Bloch) established a new Hebrew press in Silzbach in 1682. He began printing in 1684 with a fine edition of the Zohar, one that greatly enhanced the press's reputation. He continued printing Hebrew books until his death; his sons inherited the press.