Mekor Chaim – Kabbalistic Krias Shema At Bedtime.
Saloniki, 1546. First Edition. Very Rare.
This sefer is the second part of ‘Be’er Mayim Chaim’ by the Gaon Rabbi Chaim Ovadiah of Thessaloniki, a disciple of Rabbeinu Eliyah Mizrachi.
The sefer contains Seder Krias Shema at Bedtime, with its secrets and kavanos (intentions) according to Torat HaSod and the Zohar, with Kabbalistic diagrams. Saying Krias Shema before going to bed is a shemirah, a safeguarding.
The text of the tefillah appears again at the end, without the commentary, so that one can pray from it continuously.
"This is the order which is proper and correct to say, and blessed are the people who abide by it, " the author writes at the end of the sefer. The Holy Shlah also brings a halacha for the kavanos of Krias Shema from it, and this is the way the Eliyah Rabbah and Chayei Adam ruled.
Pocket format – only 13.7 cm.
An extremely rare sefer!
Saloniki, 1546. Single edition (reprinted only in recent years).
Page Count: 82 leaves.
Condition: Good; restoration in last two pages; slight restoration on the title page. A few punctures and stains. New binding.
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The author, Rabbi Chaim Ovadiah, was the rabbi of Thessaloniki in the middle of the 16th century. He is referred to with respect and esteem by the sages of his generation such as Rabbi Moshe Almoshanino, the Maharashdam, Rabbi Moshe of Tranny, and others. His sefer ‘Be’er Mayim Chaim’ contains four parts, but only the first two were printed. This is the second part.
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In his remarks, the author cites many long passages from manuscripts of the Zohar, sometimes in a different nusach from the Zohar, which were first printed only more than a decade later (Mantuba 1557-1559). One excerpt in the sefer quoted from the Tikunei Zohar is not found at all in our editions today!
He also cites many passages from the Rishonim, some of which he is the only source for, and there are those whose nusach differs from the printed one.
