Auction 15
Lot 307:
Sefer Chemdat HaYamim, mussar and customs according to the Kabbalah and the teachings of the Ari, part two, [unknown author]. Venice, [1763]. Third edition. Sefer Chemdat HaYamim is a book which deals with Kabbalah in general and especially with the Kabbalah of the Ari, and was first published by Rabbi Yisrael Yaakov Elgazi in Izmir in 1731. The author’s identity and nature – whether he was early or late, a Sabbatian or faithful to tradition are under dispute, as is the attitude to the customs mentioned in the book. The book was printed 54 years after the death of Shabbtai Zvi. The book contains poems with acrostics of “Natan HaAzati”, as well as sayings which are known to be attributed to Sabbatians. The Ya’avetz said: “I glanced into it for a short while and drew back, then I knew its nature and the hints ofheresy concealed within it in numerous hints”. It is told that one Saturday night the Ba’al Shem Tov said that a book has been published which is a blow and will draw many into dispute, and he was referring to Chemdat HaYamim (the story is told in Shivchei HaBa’al Shem Tov). Rabbi Yehuda Pattaya, a Kabbalist and Rabbi in Iraq, related that he corrected the soul of the author of this book after many efforts. On the other hand, Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin, the disciple of the Vilna Gaon expressed a positive opinion about the book, saying that even if the book was written by Nathan of Gazza himself, there is nothing wrong with the book, and it appears to have been written before he was drawn over to Sabbatism. The Leshem defined its author as “One of the exalted holy people”. The book, in the 2003 edition, begins with an approbation from Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef “I only felt enthusiasm for the holiness of Shabbat and festivals by reading this book of the Torah”. 128 leaves. Ownership inscriptions, detached binding, moth damage, stains. Overall condition: Good.
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