Isaac ben Rueben of Barcelona. Seder Azharoth [piyutim for Shavu’oth]

(LITURGY).

Israel Bak

Jerusalem

1842

According to the custom of the Eastern Lands

Vinograd, Jerusalem 10; Halevi 6.

Azharoth are poetic arrangements of the 613 commandments to be recited on Shavu’oth. Various communities adopted Azharoth of different medieval poets. The Azharoth of R. Isaac ben Reuben Al-Bargeloni (i.e., of Barcelona) were adopted by the communities of Morocco. Indeed the present edition was issued by the Moroccan Rabbi Moses Edrehi. It bears the haskamah (approbation) of Rabbi Hayyim Abraham Gaguine, the Rishon le-Zion or Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Eretz Israel. Publisher Moses Edrehi (c.1774-c.1842) was a most colorful character and in his introduction here, he recounts his personal narrative. He spent many years in both London and Amsterdam before finally settling down in Jerusalem.