Manuscript, Sefer HaShemot on Practical Kabbalah – Mogador, Morocco, 1856 – Kabbalistic Illustrations, Ilanot Sefirot

Manuscript, Sefer HaShemot on Practical Kabbalah – Mogador, Morocco, 1856 – Kabbalistic Illustrations, Ilanot Sefirot

Manuscript, Sefer HaShemot, lexicon of practical kabbalah – hashbaot, Holy Names, letter combinations, amulets and segulot, scribed by R. Yosef son of R. Yaakov Elmaliach. [Mogador, Morocco], 1856.
Neat Maghrebi square and semi-cursive script. Title inscribed on the first page. Leaves 3-6 contain illustrations of Ilanot Sefirot and various other kabbalistic diagrams and illustrations. The copying resumes on leaf 8. Additional kabbalistic diagrams and illustrations throughout.
Sefer HaShemot is the book Shorshei HaShemot by R. Moshe Zacuto, the Remez, in its full, expanded version, as it was copied in Maghrebi countries, with additions by Moroccan rabbis (see below).
On p. 32b, the writer quotes from a book of the Yaavetz, who quotes from the writings of R. Shmuel Ibn Danan.
Colophon on the final page, stating that the manuscript was completed on 28 Sivan 1856 by Yosef son of R. Yaakov Elmaliach. The name of the scribe was deleted, yet remains legible. The script and signature are identical to those in other manuscripts copied by R. Yosef Elmaliach of Mogador, including JTS library New York, Ms. 1162, which he copied in 1914.

Sefer HaShemot, better known as Shorshei HaShemot, is a comprehensive work on the Holy Names, with a detailed description of their functions and use in hashbaot and amulets. The work is formatted as an alphabetical encyclopedic lexicon, and includes thousands of Holy Names and kabbalistic name combinations, as well as much practical kabbalah. The core of the work was composed by the kabbalist R. Moshe Zacuto – the Remez, and it includes kabbalistic secrets he received from his teachers. The work of the Remez was of limited scope, but it was later expanded upon significantly by R. Eliyahu Shapira. The Chida in Shem HaGedolim (Maarechet HaGedolim in the entry about R. Moshe Zacuto), lists Shorshei HaShemot amongst his works, relating that he saw a manuscript of the work. In Maarechet Sefarim, he mentions two additional manuscripts of Shorshei HaShemot: one with many additions by R. Eliyahu Shapira, and the second: "A remarkable manuscript in quantity and quality, from Maghrebi Torah scholars".
At the beginning and end of the manuscript, stamps of the kabbalist R. Yeshaya Asher Zelig Margolies of Jerusalem.

[1], 45 leaves. 23 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Ink stains in several places. Tears and open tears, slightly affecting text, repaired in part with paper. Several pen inscriptions. Fine leather binding, with minor defects.

Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, MO.011.112.