Mishmereth HaChodesh [prayers for the new month].

The bulk of the prayers here were composed by R. Chaim Vital, chief disciple of the Ari z’l in Safed, who later moved to Damascus. This edition contains additional prayers by R. Mordechai Galant, the rabbi of Damascus. While the work was popular in Europe and printed many times, this particular edition appears to have been prepared by and for the community of Damascus. It contains the Haskamot of multiple Damascene rabbis, including R. Haim Romano and R. Isaac Abulafia. As Damascus had no Hebrew press (only one Hebrew book was ever printed there in 1605), the press in Safed, a mere 60 miles away, was the best - and local - option.