Collection ID: 0021 | Metadata type: TEI | TEI XML | Data

Title

Yemenite prayer book; Pa'amon Zahav

Authors

• Wana, Isaac

Other related names

• Gaster, Moses 1856-1939, former owner (http://viaf.org/viaf/12428346)
• ben Samuel Hazak, Elisha, former owner

Call number

Gaster Hebrew MS Add 5
(Manchester, United Kingdom, University of Manchester, University of Manchester Library, Hebrew Manuscripts)

Alternate identifiers

• Former: Gaster Add 5

Publisher

University of Manchester Library

Language

Hebrew; Judeo-Arabic; Imperial Aramaic (700-300 BCE), Official Aramaic (700-300 BCE)

Origin

Place

Produced in Bir al-Azab, part of Ṣanʻā', Yemen

Summary

This Yemenite prayer book for the whole year, known as a tikhlal (תכלאל), was produced in the Bir al-Azab district of Ṣanʻā' in 1769. The manuscript does not refer to the term tikhlal but rather mentions siddur gadol ("Great Daily Prayer Book") on its title-page. The tikhlal is preceded by a Hebrew exhortation and a series of supplicatory poems or hymns known as baqqashot (בקשות) to be sung or recited on especially the late night or early morning of Shabbat. The tikhlal proper contains a siddur for daily prayers, the prayers and liturgical poems for Shabbat new moon days and festivals, as well as the liturgy connected to the life cycle. In more detail, it includes a Passover Haggadah, Ibn Gabirol's Keter Malkhut, numerous liturgical poems (such as selihot and qinot), the Mishnah tractates Avot and Yoma and the Aramaic Scroll of the Hasmoneans (מגלת בני חשמונאי). The liturgical instructions alternate in Hebrew and Judeo-Arabic. The texts of the tikhlal are accompanied by Isaac Wana's commentary Pa'amon Zahav [ve-Rimmon] or Golden Bell [and Pomegranate], also known as Hiddushin. Towards the end the tikhlal contains a Judeo-Arabic section on the calendar and intercalation and one on documents. The scribe shows awareness of printed siddurs and mahzors (e.g. on folios 12b, 70a, 95a). Most texts have Babylonian vocalisation.

Notes

• Water damage and text loss; several corners have been repaired; back board damaged; sewing absent and spine exposed
   
• Small paper strip with handwritten Hebrew text glued to folio 160a; the same text has left an imprint on folio 159b
   
• Folio missing between fol. 49 and fol. 51
   

Extent

275; 325 x 227 mm bound to 330 x 230 mm

Foliation

Hebrew foliation at the top outer corner of side a of each folio, from 2 [ב] to 283 [רפג]; missing on first and last folios and on 18, 49, 70-74, 77, 83, 100, 118-119, 159-161; several folios missing: one between 49 [unnumbered] and 51 [נא], two between 272 [רעב] and 275 [רעה], six between 275 [רעה] and 282 [רפב]

Support

Paper

Binding

Brown leather binding with blind tooled decoration on boards: a double-line frame, a central diamond, four corner pieces and four diamonds on the sides; remnants of two leather ties; paste-downs in paper and spine reinforced with cloth

Layout

Long line with a maximum of 30 written lines. Whenever the page includes more than one text, the secondary one is written in smaller characters on a side column.

Decoration

Larger headings with ornamental borders in red or black ink

Script

Yemenite square script

Colophon

"(...) ספרא / חלשא ומסכינא אברהם בן לא"א מ"ו אהרן בן/ שלום בן אהרן בן שלום מנזלי ?קב"ה יזכני / לכתוב ספרים הרבה עד אין קץ". The colophon then continues with a formulaic benediction. In the second part of the text the name of the patron has been effaced.

Provenance

• Acquired by The John Rylands Library from the heirs of Moses Gaster, 1954.
   

Related resources

• Davidson, Israel, Thesaurus of mediaeval Hebrew poetry (New York, 1924-1933) (http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/466181624)

Subjects topical

• Maḥzor (Yemen). Passover
• Siddur (Yemen)
• Prayer Judaism
• Judaism Liturgy Texts
• Cabala
• Jewish law
• Mishnah
• Jewish calendar
• Jewish astronomy
• Piyutim

Keywords

• Prayer book
• Haggadah
• 18th century
• Jewish
• Yemenite
• Colophon
• Damage
• Paper
• Yemen
• Astronomy
• Kabbalah
• Legal
• Liturgy
• Piyutim

Licenses

• Text

  Images are ©2018 The University of Manchester Library Special Collections and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License version 4.0 (CC-BY-4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. For a description of the terms of use see the Creative Commons Deed https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

  URL

  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

• Text

  Metadata is ©2018 The University of Manchester Library Special Collections and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License version 4.0 (CC-BY-4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. For a description of the terms of use see the Creative Commons Deed https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

  URL

  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

Table of contents

• 1a — Hebrew exhortation in a different hand to the rest of the manuscript.; incipit: ישמע חכם ויוסף לקח ויבין הדברים כפשטן / שובו נא אחים ורעים שובו שובו מדרכיכם הרעים.
• 2a — Gaster Hebrew MS Add 5. Yemenite prayer book, תכלאל, Tikhlal. Baqqashot (בקשות) with the simanim (name acrostics of the poets) mentioned in the margin [ff. 2a-11a].
• 11b — Gaster Hebrew MS Add 5. [ff. 11b-12a] Some rabbinic lore.
• 12b — Gaster Hebrew MS Add 5. [12b] Liturgical poem (Davidson 128ה) presumably for the inauguration of a synagogue under the heading seder ha-'avodah (סדר העבודה).
• 13a — Gaster Hebrew MS Add 5. [13a] Title-page.
• 13b — Gaster Hebrew MS Add 5. [ff.13b - 25a] Benedictions (ברכות) with Judeo-Arabic instructions and Isaac Wana's commentary Hiddushin in the outer column.
• 25b — Gaster Hebrew MS Add 5. [ff.25b - 32b] Daily prayers.
• 33a — Gaster Hebrew MS Add 5. [ff.33a - 51a] Shabbat songs and readings (as prescribed possibly by Isaac Luria), entitled תקוני שבת מלכתא, preceded by an introduction. Include the Chapters (פרקים) of Mishnah Shabbat on folios 41b-50b and commentary sections.
• 51a — Gaster Hebrew MS Add 5. [ff.51a -b] תקוני ליל השבועות וליל הושענא רבא
• 52a — Gaster Hebrew MS Add 5. [ff.52a - 72a] Prayers for Shabbat. Include Isaac Wana's commentary Hiddushin, Mishnah Avot [ff.58a - 64b], Pereq Qinyan Torah [ff.64b-67a] and numerous pizmonim and liturgical poems.
• 58a — Gaster Hebrew MS Add 5. [ff.58a - 64b] Prayers for Shabbat. Isaac Wana's commentary Hiddushin, Mishnah Avot.
• 64b — Gaster Hebrew MS Add 5. [ff.64b - 67a] Prayers for Shabbat. Pereq Qinyan Torah and numerous pizmonim and liturgical poems.
• 72a — Gaster Hebrew MS Add 5. [ff. 72a-74a] Prayers for new moon days.
• 74a — Gaster Hebrew MS Add 5. [ff. 74a-166b] Prayers for festivals, starting with Passover. This part includes e.g. a Passover Haggadah with two or more commentaries [ff. 77b-87a], Ibn Gabirol's Keter Malkhut [ff.131a-136b], Mishnah Yoma with commentary [ff.136b-140b] and the Scroll of Antiochus [ff.159a-163b] מגלת בני חשמונאי,
• 77b — Gaster Hebrew MS Add 5. [ff. 77b-87a]Prayers for festivals, starting with Passover. This part includes e.g. a Passover Haggadah with two or more commentaries.
• 131a — Gaster Hebrew MS Add 5. [ff.131a-136b] Prayers for festivals, starting with Passover. Ibn Gabirol's Keter Malkhut.
• 136b — Gaster Hebrew MS Add 5. [ff.136b-140b] Prayers for festivals, starting with Passover. Mishnah Yoma with commentary.
• 159a — Gaster Hebrew MS Add 5. [ff.159-163b] Prayers for festivals, starting with Passover. The Scroll of Antiochus מגלת בני חשמונאי,
• 167a — Gaster Hebrew MS Add 5. [ff. 167a-170b] Liturgy relating to certain events from the life cycle, including elegies known as qinot (קינות על המתים) and prayers for the ill (תפלה על החולים).
• 171a — Gaster Hebrew MS Add 5. [ff. 171a-216a] Selihot, such as for the lele ashmurot and selihot by Sa'adya Gaon.
• 217a — Gaster Hebrew MS Add 5. [ff. 217a-231a] seder ha-rahamim followed by liturgical poems including e.g. some listed as נוסח מרנות, seder 'avodah by Abraham ibn Ezra.
• 231b — Unidentified text in a different hand to the rest of the manuscript, possibly the same scribe as on folio 1.
• 232a — Gaster Hebrew MS Add 5. [ff. 232a-c. 238a] Berakhot or benedictions (ברכות) for various occasions (e.g. circumcision) or situations (e.g. mourning).
• 238a — Gaster Hebrew MS Add 5. [ff. 238a-241a] (approximately), Liturgical poems incl. pizmonim for a circumcision.
• 241a — Gaster Hebrew MS Add 5. [ff. 241a-247b] halakhic section.
• 248a — Gaster Hebrew MS Add 5. [ff.248a-267b] Judeo-Arabic section on the calendar and intercalation, entitled נוסח עיבור השנים, with tables on 248b-257b covering the period 1769 (5529 AM) till 1940 (5700 AM), i.e. the end of lunar cycle (mahzor) 291 up to and including lunar cycle 300.
• 268a — Gaster Hebrew MS Add 5. [ff. 268a-275b] Judeo-Arabic section on documents such as marriage and divorce contracts. Damaged and incomplete.
• 282a [Missing folios 276 - 281 — Gaster Hebrew MS Add 5. [ff. 282a-283b] liturgical poems[?]
• 283b — Gaster Hebrew MS Add 5. [ff. 283b] Colophon. The colophon then continues with a formulaic benediction. In the second part of the text the name of the patron has been effaced.; incipit: נשלם זה הסידור המפואר ביומא קמא לחדש סיון שנת תרין אלפין ?ותמנן שנין לשטרי במאתא קאע ביר אלעזב / ספרא / חלשא ומסכינא אברהם בן לאא מ"ו אהרן בן / שלום בן אהרן בן שלום מנזלי ?קב"ה יזכני / לכתוב ספרים הרבה עד אין קץ . (...) ".
• 284a — Judeo-Arabic letter (?) mentioning the land of Yemen.

Decorations

• 1a — Signature of Moses Gaster
• 1a — Handwritten in pencil numeral 51 and in blue crayon numeral 5.
• 2a — Handwritten note in Hebrew reading "אברהם 'ן מ"ו אהרן יצ"ו / אנתקל ?אלא מלך אברהם 'ן מ"ו בנימין יצ"ו / ?צעיר יודא 'ן יו?נה הזפאן יצ"ו"
• 10b — Handwritten ownership note, including the name Elisha ben Samuel Hazakאלישע בן שמואל חזק
• 13a — Signature of Moses Gaster
• 13a — Handwritten note in Hebrew reading "אני הצעיר הכותב אברהם בן מ"ו אהרן / כתבתיו לי לעצמי ולבני ?קב"ה יזכהו להגות / בו אני (...) / אכי"ר".
• 45a — Marginal decoration in black ink.
• 120a — Signature of Moses Gaster
• 238b — Signature of Moses Gaster
• 267b — Circle subdivided into eight sections mentioning the cardinal points, the corresponding element (earth, water, fire, air) and lands surrounding Yemen.
• 284a — Signature of Moses Gaster