Discovery! Handwritten Sermon by the 'Ben Ish Chai' with Eight Pages that were not Printed

Discovery! Handwritten Sermon by the 'Ben Ish Chai' with Eight Pages that were not Printed

Handwritten sermon by Rabbeinu Yosef Chaim of Baghdad, the "Ben Ish Chai," a eulogy and discussion of the great merit of shedding tears over the passing of a righteous person. [1897]

Specifications: [37] pages, paper. 10x13 cm. Typical Sephardic hand with deletions and corrections. About 18-22 lines on each page.

Content: Eulogy for Chacham Yitzchak Mordechai Sasson, prominent Iraqi Sage, Rosh Metivta of Beit Zilkha and head of "Yeshivat Chacham Yitzchak." He was known as the rabbi of Rabbi Shimon Agassi, Rabbi Yechezkel Ezra Ilya, Rabbi David Sofer, Rabbi Yechezkel Ezra HaLevi, and many other prominent Iraqi Torah scholars. 

Unique features: The eulogy was printed in Shnei Eliyahu - Niveh Tzadikim [drush 5]. However, this manuscript has about another eight pages that were not printed in the book [!]. In these leaves, the Ben Ish Chai offers a lengthy elucidation of the verse in Ecclesiastes, "Better to go to a house of mourning than a house of celebration." In addition, the book does not mention the name of the subject of the eulogy, while Rabbi Yosef Chaim notes the name of the deceased in this manuscript and the precise date the eulogy was delivered.

Background: Rabbi Yosef Chaim of Baghdad (1833-1909), author of the Ben Ish Chai, was the most prominent Oriental sage of his time. His father was Rabbi Eliyahu Chaim son of Rabbi Moshe Chaim, rabbi of Baghdad. He was a disciple of Rabbi Abdallah Somekh, and his genius and righteousness were apparent from a young age. He started sermonizing in the great Synagogue when he was only 26-years-old. He continued delivering these sermons every Shabbat and holiday for about fifty years! Thousands of people gathered to listen to his eloquent words for four to five hours. He was world-renowned as "once-in-a-generation" in his knowledge of the hidden and revealed Torah and was noted for his great sanctity. In 1879, he traveled to the Land of Israel to pray at the graves of the righteous people, when it was Divinely revealed to him that his soul was rooted in that of Benyahu ben Yehoyada. He titled many of his dozens of works according to this name: Ben Ish Chai, Ben Ish Chayil, Ben Yehoyada, Rav Pe'alim, Od Yosef Chai and more.

Condition: Very fine. New, magnificent leather binding. Minimal stains.