Machzor Shaar Bat Rabim – Two Parts – Venice, 1711-1715 – Handwritten Kabbalistic Glosses, by an Unidentified ...

Machzor Shaar Bat Rabim – Two Parts – Venice, 1711-1715 – Handwritten Kabbalistic Glosses, by an Unidentified Italian Kabbalist, Containing Passages of the Teachings of the Ramchal
Machzor Shaar Bat Rabim, Part I – prayers for the weekdays, Shabbat, Rosh Chodesh and Festivals, and Part II – prayers for the High Holidays and festivals of Tishrei, "following the rite of the Ashkenazi community", with the Hadrat Kodesh commentary, by R. Yitzchak son of R. Yaakov Yosef HaLevi. Venice: Bragadin, [1711-1715]. Two large volumes.
This machzor was published at the initiative of the Italian communities, who undertook to buy the printed copies. The machzor was printed and sold in individual gatherings.
The leaves of the second volumes contain many kabbalistic glosses in Italian script (some trimmed), by an unidentified Torah scholar and kabbalist, who served as a cantor. The writer added kabbalistic kavanot above some of the words, in the margins and between the lines. Some leaves contain exceptionally lengthy kabbalistic glosses. In several places, the writer copied passages from the teachings of the Ramchal. These passages can be found in the glosses on the Ramchal's copy of the Shaar Bat Rabim machzor (which was sold at Kedem, Auction 63, item 72). Those glosses were discovered in recent times by R. Yosef Avivi, and he published them in the book Machzor Ramchal (Jerusalem 1995; compare with the glosses in this machzor, pp. 126a, 127a-b and 129b). Apart from these glosses, there are other lengthy kabbalistic glosses which do not parallel those in Machzor Ramchal. Several glosses are in a different handwriting; there may have been two writers or more.
A handwritten leaf was bound between leaves 112-113, containing the text of Keriat Shema in large, square script, with the addition of kabbalistic kavanot and letter combinations, between the lines and in the margins.
The machzor also contains many glosses with comments, textual corrections and local customs. Cantillation marks were added throughout the machzor, to assist the cantor during the prayers.
It has not been determined how the writer obtained the passages from the Ramchal's glosses, which he then copied into this machzor. It is unclear whether he was one of the Ramchal's disciples, or whether he got hold of the aforementioned machzor of the Ramchal, or did he only obtain a copying of the Ramchal's glosses (it must be noted that the Ramchal's glosses were not printed until recently). Either way, the glosses disclose that this writer was an Italian Torah scholar, who presumably served as cantor in one of the Ashkenazi communities in Italy, and was at the same time well versed in Kabbalah.
Two volumes. Vol. I: 2-356 leaves. Lacking title page and four final leaves: 357-360. Vol. II: 372, 377-384 leaves. Leaves 153-156 of vol. II bound out of sequence. Additional handwritten leaf bound between leaves 112-113. 36 cm. Thick, high-quality, light-colored paper. Good-fair condition. Stains. Dampstains to some leaves (dark stains to final leaves of vol. II). Traces of past dampness with mold to upper part of many leaves at the end of vol. I. Marginal wear and minor tears to first and final leaves of both volumes, affecting border of title page of vol. II. Small tear in center of title page of vol. II, slightly affecting text. Worming to inner margins of several leaves in vol. II, not affecting text. Without bindings.