Tephiloth al HaKevaroth [prayers upon visiting a cemetery].

(LITURGY).

26th Iyar

Asti, Italy

1884

Hebrew manuscript written on paper in a square calligraphic Italian hand by Raphael ben Mordechai Moshe Luzzatti.

This manuscript includes the prayers Italian Jews said upon visiting the graves of their ancestors on the three customary dates: Tisha B’Av, Erev Rosh Hashanah and Erev Yom Kippur. The text includes various Piyutim unique to the Italian rite, such as Ana Elo-hai Selichot VeHarachamim Asher LeZera Yedidecha, composed by Rabbi Samuel Archivolti (1515-1611). At the very beginning of the volume (prior to the title) is a page for yahrzeits, with just one single listing, the date of death of the father of the scribe, 22nd Nisan 5684, just one month before the date this manuscript was composed. The manuscript was evidently written by a son after his own father’s death. The Luzzattis were a branch of the distinguished Italian scholarly and rabbinic Luzzatto family.