Manuscript on Tanach and Talmud by a Great Tunisian Sage
Handwritten by Rabbi HaDagan
1871
158 large and wide pages containing chiddushim and insights on Torah, Nevi’im and Kesuvim, various Talmudic tractates, and halachic topics.
Never Before Printed.
The author, a distinguished Torah scholar, was a disciple of Rabbi Yeshua Basis and Rabbi Yitzchak HaCohen Tanuji. He cites Torah teachings from various Tunisian sages (see below). While his exact identity remains unknown, there is no doubt that he was one of the leading scholars of his generation in Tunis.
The manuscript is mostly handwritten by Rabbi David Jaoui, one of the Rabbanim of Gabes and Sousse, who also added some glosses. In some of the glosses he mentions the author with blessings for life. Some are integrated within the body of the sefer while others are written in the margins. Rabbi Jaoui’s signature appears almost 15 times throughout the sefer, using the initials "HaDagan" (הדג"ן), which stands for "HaTzair David Jaoui Neiro Yair Vayizrach" – “The youngster David Jaoui, may his light continue to shine.”
At the end of the sefer there are 27 pages written in a different, unique script, possibly in the author’s own handwriting. Some annotations and additions in this script appear throughout the sefer.
Various glosses appear throughout the sefer in the handwriting of Tunisian Rabbanim, some signed:
- Five signed glosses by Rabbi Tzemach Ben Natan HaLevi, author of ‘Pri Kodesh’. Some bear the initials "Tzahal" (צה"ל)—Tzemach HaLevi. One gloss (p. 27/1) begins with, "And I, his servant and disciple" and concludes, "the humble servant Tzemach, son of my master and father Natan HaLevi, may he be blessed."
- Six glosses begin with א"ח and end with חז"ן. These glosses are integrated within the main text.
- Additional unsigned glosses appear in various handwriting styles.
The work is dated on the flyleaf: "I began copying this sefer on the day… of "נשירה ונזמרה גבורתך" [the year 5631 = 1871].
Tunis, 1871. 158 pages written in a large format, with two columns per page, except for two pages where the text appears in an especially wide single column. Various handwriting styles.
Size: 24 × 31 cm.
Condition: Good. Small holes in the margins, some restored. Minor tears in the edges of a few pages. New half-leather binding.
