Rare Rectification ("Tikkun") Written by the Ben Ish Chai for One who has Committed Adultery ("Eshet Ish")

Rare Rectification ("Tikkun") Written by the Ben Ish Chai for One who has Committed Adultery ("Eshet Ish")

What should a person who has transgressed the severe sin of having relations with a married woman do? 

The order of repentance and rectification for this sin was written by Rabbi Yosef Chaim of Baghdad, author of Ben Ish Chai, more than a hundred years ago. It appears here before us in his holy handwriting, extending over five large leaves.

The rectification begins with accepting a fast one day from dawn (alot hashachar) until nightfall (tzet hakochavim). After morning prayers, he should immerse in a mikveh and then recite acceptance of repentance and confession according to the special text written by the Ben Ish Chai, the order of the prayer "Answer us, G-d of Avraham, answer us ..." ("Anneinu Elokei Avraham Anneinu ..."), and perform further immersions in the mikveh while reciting verses. Afterwards, he should arise from the water, get dressed, wash his hands and say additional verses for the rectification of his sin and of his soul.

The rectification ends with the verse "נר השם נשמת אדם חופש כל חדרי בטן" ("The candle of Hash-m is man's soul, which searches the chambers of the belly").

While the Ben Ish Chai would usually write his works on small notebook pages of 10x13 cm, here he wrote the rectification on leaves of almost twice that size, which is rare in its own right.

Specifications: [5] leaves, 13.5x21 cm, approximately 24 lines on each page, all in his holy handwriting.

The rectification was printed in Ateret Tiferet, page 222 onwards.

An expert's certificate of absolute identification of the handwriting is included.

Rabbi Yosef Chaim of Baghdad (1833-1909), author of Ben Ish Chai, was the greatest Oriental sage of his time. He was born to Rabbi Eliyahu Chaim son of Rabbi Moshe Chaim, rabbi of Baghdad. He was a disciple of Rabbi Abdullah Somech's, and was known for his genius and righteousness already at a young age. He began to deliver sermons at the Great Synagogue when he was only 26 years old. He sermonized there from then on every Shabbat and holiday for some fifty years. Thousands gathered to hear the sweet words of his special sermons for four to five hours. He became famous worldwide as "once-in-a-generation" in both the hidden and revealed (aspects of the Torah), and was well known for his great holiness. In 1869 he traveled to the Land of Israel to prostrate himself on the graves of the righteous, and it was then revealed to him from Heaven that he was from the root of the soul of Benayahu ben Yehyoda. As such, he named many of his dozens of works to reflect this: Ben Ish Chai, Ben Ish Chayil, Ben Yehoyada, Rav Pealim, Od Yosef Chai and more.

Condition: Very fine. Reinforcement on the reverse of each leaf on the fold mark. The leaves are placed in passe-partout in a magnificent leather binding and cardboard slipcase.