Manuscript - Halachic Responsa Handwritten and Signed by Rabbi Eliyahu Suleiman Mani, Rabbi of Hebron - Including ...

Manuscript - Halachic Responsa Handwritten and Signed by Rabbi Eliyahu Suleiman Mani, Rabbi of Hebron - Including Responsa to his Student, the Ben Ish Chai - Partially Unprinted
Collection of manuscript pages, Halachic responsa handwritten and signed by R. Eliyahu Suleiman Mani, rabbi of Hebron, including many responsa sent to his student R. Yosef Chaim of Baghdad, the Ben Ish Chai. [Hebron, ca. 1876].
The pages are excerpts from R. Mani's personal notebook of responsa (leaves 12-19, 37-42). The notebook is written alternately in the autographic handwriting of R. Mani (with erasures, additions and corrections), and another handwriting, likely that of his son, R. Suleiman Menachem Mani. Apparently, this notebook was used to write the original responsa, and they were then copied and sent to the askers. These pages include many responsa and sections that have never been printed.
Contents of the pages:
· On the first page is a part of a contract, copying in the handwriting of R. Suleiman Menachem Mani, with emendations by his father R. Eliyahu. Page 12a.
· Twenty-five questions sent by R. Yosef Chaim of Baghdad, the Ben Ish Chai, to R. Eliyahu. The questions are written in succession by R. Menachem Mani, followed by answers handwritten by R. Eliyahu. R. Eliyahu's signature appears following the last answer: "The young Eliyahu Suleiman Mani". Recently printed in the Min HaGenazin anthology published by Ahavat Shalom, Book 9, however, these responsa were not printed from this autograph but from a transcript of the responsa copied by R. Yechezkel Ezra Rachamim. Pages 12b-15a.
· Question regarding ownership issues in cases of inheritance, with a long responsum by R. Eliyahu Mani; responsum regarding this issue by R. Avraham Ashkenazi, the Rishon Letzion of Jerusalem, copied by R. Menachem Mani; further responsum in this matter by R. Eliyahu Mani (the responsa are written alternately by R. Eliyahu and his son). These responsa have been printed in Responsa Tana D'vei Eliyahu by R. Eliyahu Suleiman Mani (Jerusalem: Chevrat Ahavat Shalom, 1991). Pages 15b-19b.
· Incomplete responsum (lacking at the beginning) regarding the principles of Halachic ownership, signed "the young Yitzchak Abulafia" (R. Yitzchak Abulafia, of Tiberias and Damascus, author of Pnei Yitzchak). The responsum was copied by R. Eliyahu Mani, and to the best of our knowledge has never been printed. Pages 37a-38a.
· Draft of a responsum regarding monetary matters, ending: "These are the words of the young Eliyahu Suleiman Mani". To the best of our knowledge this responsum has never been printed. Pages 39a-b.
· Twenty questions asked by R. Yosef Chaim of Baghdad, the Ben Ish Chai, to R. Eliyahu Mani. The questions are written in succession, handwritten by R. Menachem Mani, followed by R. Eliyahu's answers to these questions in his own handwriting. The title reads: "These questions I received from Babylon (Iraq), from R. Yosef Chaim…". The answers are signed: "These are the words of a poor man Eliyahu Suleiman Mani". These questions and answers, except the last, were printed in Chevrat Ahavat Shalom's "Min HaGenazim" anthology (Vol. VI, 2015, pp. 171-183), using a copy of the responsa prepared by R. Yechezkel Ezra Rachamim (Haya'ar). Here we have the original text in the author's handwriting, including some unprinted additions, as well as the twentieth question which was not printed. Pages 40a-41b.
· Queries of the Ben Ish Chai and responses of R. Eliyahu Mani, in the handwriting of R. Eliyahu Mani, numbered 57-82, titled: "On 22 Nissan 1876, I received 82 questions from R. Yosef Chaim, and I wrote answers… these are the remaining questions". Most have recently been printed in the Min HaGenazim anthology published by Ahavat Shalom, Book 11, however, they were not printed from this autograph but from a transcript of this responsa copied by R. Yechezkel Ezra Rachamim. Three responsa were printed in the book Michtav Eliyahu.
R. Eliyahu Suleiman Mani (1818-1899) was among the great Torah scholars of Babylon (Iraq), and the Chief Rabbi of Hebron. He was born in Baghdad, where he became a disciple of R. Abdullah Somech. He studied Kabbalah from a young age and would fast and mortify himself in honor of G-ds presence. He moved to the Holy Land in 1856 in order to join the kabbalistic Beit El Yeshiva in Jerusalem. In 1858 he moved to Hebron and was appointed chief rabbi of the city in 1864. He established the Beit Yaakov synagogue in Hebron under the auspices of the kabbalistic Yeshivat Beit El.
R. Eliyahu was the principal teacher of R. Yosef Chaim of Baghdad, known as the Ben Ish Chai, and instructed him in Torah as well as Kabbalah. Their close connection developed in Baghdad during the Ben Ish Chai's youth, and was maintained through frequent letters after R. Eliyahu moved to Eretz Israel. The Ben Ish Chai frequently forwarded questions to R. Mani, often regarding the customs of the land of Israel in general, and specifically the customs of its kabbalists. In his own works, the Ben Ish Chai often quotes R. Eliyahu's responsa as well as halachot that he taught. Sections of their correspondence and responsa were published by R. Yaakov Moshe Hillel, rosh yeshiva of Chevrat Ahavat Shalom in Jerusalem, in the Mekabtziel anthologies. R. Hillel argues that these responsa are essential for deriving the principles on which the Ben Ish Chai based his own works.
12-19, 37-42 leaves [14 leaves in total]. 27.5 cm. Fair condition. Stains and dampstains, large tears, mainly to the margins. Detached leaves, unbound.