Torat Chacham, sermons on the Torah portions by the kabbalist R. Chaim HaKohen of Aleppo, disciples of R. Hayyim Vital. Venice: Vendramin, [1654]. First edition.

At beginning of book, two poems by R. Moshe Zacuto.

Ownership inscriptions and signatures on title page, second leaf, and pp. 1a and 221a.

The kabbalist R. Chaim HaKohen of Aleppo (1585?-1655) was a close disciple of R. Chaim Vital in the latter's final years in Damascus. After his teacher's passing, R. Chaim served as one of the rabbis of Aleppo. For twenty years, he toiled on composing many works. Upon completing them, he took all his compositions and travelled by ship to Venice, Italy to have them published, yet during the course of the voyage, his ship was attacked by pirates, and R. Chaim escaped the ship together with his son, leaving all his works behind.

When R. Chaim reached Venice, he began reconstructing some of the lost works from memory (this story is recounted in the author's introduction, which is absent from the present copy). In his final years, he printed some of his works, including Tur Bareket, Mekor Chaim and Torat Chacham. In his works, R. Chaim explains the laws of the four parts of Shulchan Aruch based on the methods of kabbalah, homiletics, ethics and inspiration to service of G-d (in a somewhat similar style to Likutei Halachot by R. Natan of Breslov). Many of his works remain unpublished.

In his final year, he settled in Livorno to oversee the printing of his books. There he made the acquaintance of the kabbalist R. Natan Nata Hannover, author of the famous kabbalistic siddur Shaarei Tzion. In his preface to his siddur, R. Natan Nata writes: "And a holy man, R. Chaim, close disciple of R. Chaim Vital came here, and I received from him this splendid wisdom firsthand, and he transmitted to me several good ideas which he had received from his teacher which are not mentioned in Etz Chaim, and all his teachings are as if written from Sinai".

[2], 25, 27-28, 30-55, 57-58, 60-473 leaves. Lacking 13 leaves: [4] leaves at beginning with introductions, leaves 26, 29, 56, 59, and [5] leaves with concluding remarks and index. 29 cm. Fair condition. Many stains, including traces of former dampness and large, dark dampstains on title page and other leaves (mainly to beginning and end of book). Light wear and creases. Worming in a few places. Marginal tears and open tears to several leaves, repaired with paper. Stamps. New leather binding.

CB, no. 4694, 6.