Manuscript, Siddur Kavanot HaAri - Morocco, 18th Century - Early Edition, with Many Hitherto Unprinted Additions - ...

Manuscript, Siddur Kavanot HaAri - Morocco, 18th Century - Early Edition, with Many Hitherto Unprinted Additions - Glosses of Rabbi Yosef Luria, Grandson of the Ari
Manuscript, Siddur with Kavanot HaArizal - year-round prayers with kabbalistic practices and kavanot (hidden meanings), kabbalistic illustrations and charts, menorahs and a LaMenatze'ach menorah. [North Africa/Morocco, ca. mid-18th century].
Siddur of the Sephardi rite, and Seder Kavanot according to the arrangement of Maharam Poppers. The prayers are written in square script, integrated with commentaries and kavanot in Western-Sephardic script. Contains: weekday prayers, birkot hanehenin and birkot hamitzvot; Sod HaTevila; Shabbat, Rosh Chodesh and Festival services; kavanot of the mitzvot and ketoret (incense); Birkat HaMazon; prayers for the High Holidays and kavanot for the blowing of the shofar; service for kindling Chanukah lights and kavanot for Purim; Passover Haggadah and Sefirat HaOmer.
Many long kabbalistic glosses are written in "windows" and in parentheses within the main text, as well as on the margins. Some glosses open or end with the names of the sources from which they were copied, such as: "Tzemach" [R. Yaakov Tzemach], "The writer", "Commentary", "Sefer HaKavanot", "Siddur HaRav", "Siddur HaRemez". The book Zera Kodesh [published in 1696] is mentioned in one gloss (p. 36b). Two glosses signed Tzemach (p. 143b, p. 148a) appear in the Passover Haggadah.
Three glosses in "windows" on leaf [8] (before leaf 1) are signed "Yosef". Another gloss in parentheses on p. 97a reads: "…However, it seems to me to edit here… Yosef Luria. And I say… and it is unnecessary to edit, so it seems to me, the writer". R. Yosef who is signed on these glosses is apparently R. Yosef Luria son of R. Shlomo son of the Ari, who reached North Africa and in 1655 signed a halachic responsum written in Morocco: "Yosef son of R. Shlomo Luria Ashkenazi" (see article by R. Moshe Hillel, Mekabtziel, Issue 39, pp. 708-709, note 30). His glosses on kabbalistic books were copied into several manuscripts in North Africa and have not yet been printed.
To the best of our knowledge, many of these glosses and additions have never been printed (such as theadditions beginning with the words "Commentary"/"In my lowly opinion", found on pp. 31b-32a; 42a; 59a).
An interesting addition before the Baruch Sh'Amar prayer (p. 14b): "One should not recite L'David Barchi Nafshi. So I have found in the Siddur HaRav; however, in the rest of the siddurim of the Remez, the instructions are not to recite it on Shabbat and Festivals". Gloss on p. 14a: "See Siddur HaRav".
The Arizal did not write the kabbalistic kavanot himself, rather these kavanot were arranged by second-generation disciples according to the teachings of the Ari and of his disciple, R. Chaim Vital. The first book of the kabbalistic teachings of the Ari which was printed is the edition of Sefer HaKavanot by R. Moshe Trinki (Venice, 1620). R. Meir Poppers (died in 1662) compiled and arranged Seder Kavanot, which is the source of most of the siddurim of kavanot which were widespread in various countries [from which were printed in the late 18th-early 19th centuries Siddur Rabbi Asher and Siddur HaAri Kol Yaakov]. Here is an early copying of Siddur Kavanot in Sephardi writing, with additions and arrangement variations (within the main text and on the margins). Some of these additions do not appear in other siddurim.
Most of the siddur [with the exception of the first nine leaves and the leaves at the end from leaf 189] was written by one scribe, with additions and glosses in various handwritings by several scribes and proofreaders.
[9]; 1-23, 25-81, [4], 82-136, [1], leaf 137, [2], leaf 138, [1], 139-149, 151-152, [2], 153-154, [1], [6] (leaves 159, 155, 150, 156, 158, 157 - leaves 150-159 are bound out of order), 160-161, [2], 189-192, [4], 193-200, [10] leaves. (Lacking leaves 162-188 - which contained most of the services of the High Holidays, except two of them).
Approx. 208 leaves, including 22 blank leaves. 18 cm. Fair condition. Wear, stains and water damage. Faded and hardly legible ink in many places. New parchment binding.