Ṣefirah, Saadiah ben Joseph

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ṢEFIRAH, SAADIAH BEN JOSEPH

ṢEFIRAH, SAADIAH BEN JOSEPH (middle of the 19th century), Yemenite author of the work Kesef Ẓaruf (Jerusalem, 1896), novellae on the Torah. The work includes extracts from ancient and recent biblical commentators, especially from the Ḥemdat Yamim, which is attributed to *Shabbazi. A supplement containing Ma'yan Gannim, extracts and explanations on the Song of Songs, as well as funeral sermons, is attached to the work. The son of the author, joseph Ṣefirah, immigrated to Ereẓ Israel in 1870 and settled in *Jerusalem; he copied his father's work and introduced his own novellae (Jerusalem, 1931).

bibliography:

J. Saphir, Massa le-Teiman, ed. by A. Yaari (1951), 191.

[Yehuda Ratzaby]