Commentary on the Zohar
Saba D’Mishpatim in the Handwriting of the Holy Kabbalist Rabbi Yehuda Petaya
Jerusalem, 1938
Sefer ‘Matok LaNefesh’ is a commentary on all the words of the Saba D’Mishpatim found in the holy Sefer HaZohar Parshas Mishpatim, in the actual handwriting of the holy kabbalist Rabbi Yehuda Petaya.
The manuscript is completely intact with the author’s introduction and concluding remarks. Rav Petaya’s holy signature appears at the end of the introduction, and at the end of the work, it is written: "Completed on Monday 21 Iyar 1938, second edition completed Friday 9 Tammuz."
The commentary was printed by Rav Petaya under the name ‘Matok LaNefesh’ in the holy city of Jerusalem in 1938.
Regarding the name of the sefer, Rav Petaya writes in his introduction: "I called this commentary by the name ‘
Matok LaNefesh’ (Sweet to the Soul) because, as its name indicates, the words of the Saba are like honey, pleasant sayings which are sweet to the soul of the departed and heal the bone – the body which remains in the grave."
Saba D’Mishpatim is a section of the Zohar in Parshas Mishpatim in which Rav Yeiva Saba reveals wondrous secrets to the students of Rashbi regarding the rectification of souls and the secret of gilgulim. This section in the Zohar is called by the kabbalists ‘Saba D’Mishpatim’.
In his introduction, Rav Petaya relates that it was the custom of the kabbalists of his city of Baghdad to learn the Saba D’Mishpatim on the night of a yahrtzeit. Therefore, it occurred to him to write a commentary on it, for the benefit of those who learn this seder on yahrtzeit nights.
The holy kabbalist Rabbi Yehudah Petaya (1859-1942) was among the leading kabbalists in recent generations. He possessed a saintly character and was unrivaled in his kabbalistic attainments. Already in his youth, he was drawn to the study of kabbalah, and by the age of 25, had authored his remarkable work ‘Yayin Harokach’, a commentary on Idra Rabba and Zuta.
Rabbi Yehudah Petaya was a prolific author who authored many other monumental
kabbalistic works including Beis Lechem Yehudah, the authoritative commentary on Rabbi Chaim Vital’s Sefer ‘Eitz Chaim’; ‘Minchas Yehudah’; and ‘Matok Lenefesh’, among others.
He was renowned as a miracle worker whose prayers and blessings brought health and recovery to the ill and children to the barren. He revived broken souls with his amulets. He also removed evil spirits by conversing with them, as described in the sefer ‘Ruchos Mesapros’.
Jerusalem, 1938
Page Count: [1] 36 leaves. 74 written pages. All in his holy handwriting. Written in pencil.
Size: 17 x 25 cm.
Condition: Tiny tear with loss in the name Yehuda in his signature. Good condition, bound in new binding.
"Learning the Zohar is a great key for purifying man’s soul." (Words of the holy kabbalist Rabbi Yehuda Petaya at the beginning of the introduction in the present manuscript.)
The revelation of Rabbi Yeiva Saba D’Mishpatim to Rabbi Yehuda Petaya
One time, the saintly Chacham Suleiman Mutzafi conducted a shiur in his home on Saba D’Mishpatim from the Zohar, on the secrets of gilgulim. This was taught to the students of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai by the soul of Rav Yeiva Saba. The saintly Chacham Yehuda Petaya sat with them and explained the teachings by way of the revelation of secrets and wonderful insights.
Suddenly, Chacham Suleiman began trembling with emotion. Chacham Yehuda said to him, "Tell your friends what you see." Chacham Suleiman said, "I see my father dressed in Shabbos clothes entering here and with him is a holy man, and both are listening to our learning." Chacham Yehuda said to the congregated, "Rav Yeiva Saba has come here to hear our words and brought with him from Gan Eden the father of the host Chacham Suleiman so that he may delight in the radiance of the Torah’s honor in his son’s home."
