Discovery. Lengthy Sermon in the Ben Ish Chai's Handwriting on the Day of his Father's Passing. Not printed

Lengthy sermon in Rabbi Yosef Chaim of Baghdad's handwriting, delivered on his father's yahrzeit, the 7th of Elul, 5235 (1875).

[25] leaves. Ink on paper. The writing covers 48 pages. 10x13 cm. Typical Sephardic hand with erasures and corrections. Approx. 18-22 lines per page.

To the best of our knowledge, the sermon was neither printed in the book Shnai Eliyahu, which he printed in his lifetime at the end of Ben Ish Chayil, part one, nor in Shnai Eliyahu, part four at the end of Ben Ish Chayil.

The majority of the sermon speaks of the 310 worlds that exist as reward for the righteous.

Rabbi Eliyahu son of Rabbi Moshe Chaim, father of Rabbi Yosef Chaim, passed away on the 7th of Elul, 1859. He inherited the rabbinate from his father, Rabbi Moshe Chaim. He was deeply pious, and possessed great knowledge of the Torah's hidden and revealed dimensions. He composed magnificent essays, such as Midrash Eliyahu BaTorat HaNistar, among others, which his son mentions in his writings. He was in charge of the charity fund, and during his lifetime was asked for a report, which he declined to give. This caused several people to spread gossip about him. But after his passing, his secret was finally discovered: He had distributed large sums of his money to charity, and did not want it to be public knowledge in his lifetime.

Rabbi Yosef Chaim of Baghdad (1833-1909), author of Ben Ish Chai, was the most prominent Oriental sage of his time. Born to Rabbi Eliyahu Chaim son of Rabbi Moshe Chaim, rabbi of Baghdad. He was a disciple of Rabbi Abdullah Somech, and his genius and righteousness were apparent from a young age. He started sermonizing in the great synagogue when he was only 26-years-old. He continued delivering these sermons every Shabbat and holiday for about fifty years! Thousands of people gathered to listen to his eloquent words for four to five hours. He was world-renowned as "once-in-a-generation" in his knowledge of the hidden and revealed Torah and was noted for his great sanctity. In 1879, he traveled to the Land of Israel to prostrate himself at the graves of the righteous, when it was divinely revealed to him that his soul was rooted in that of Benayahu ben Yehoyada. He titled many of his dozens of works according to this name: Ben Ish Chai, Ben Ish Chayil, Ben Yehoyada, Rav Pe'alim, Od Yosef Chai and more.

Very fine condition. Few worming holes and ink smears. Original semi-leather binding?