(Hayarchi). Sepher Ha’manhig.

The first work on European Minhag (Custom). A record of customs, particularly concerning prayer and synagogue functions as practiced in Provence, the south of France. Its explicit purpose was to demonstrate the Halachic underpinning for every Minhag. Due to the wider circulation of Halachic decisions emanating from Spanish Rabbinic authorities, a need arose to record indigenous communal practices and so prevent confusion. A scholarly treatment of the work, with a lengthy introduction emphasizing its importance and influence, was prepared by Yitzchak Raphael (Jerusalem, 1994). The author, R. Abraham ben Nathan of Lunel, was a disciple of R. Abraham ben David of Posquières (RABaD), famous for his glosses to Maimonides and to Alfasi. See Isadore Twersky, Rabad of Posquières (Cambridge, MA, 1962), pp. 240-244.