Haggadah Shel Pesach, according to the Sephardic custom. By Dr. Hilel Farhi.
Hebrew & Arabic.
Rare! Apparently has never been offered at public auction.
42, 14 leaves. 19.5 Cm.
Not in Yaari, Yudlov 2679.
Overall Good condition. some stains, cover page and last page have small tears at edges not affecting text, last page partially detached, paper bound.
See: Nahem Ilan, “For Whom Was the Farḥi Haggadah intended? On the Image of Egyptian Jews during the First Half of the Twentieth Century, ” Jewish Studies Internet Journal, vol. 4 (2005): 35-59 (Hebrew).
Dr. Hillel Yaacob Farhi (1868-1940) was a man of unbelievable conviction and determination. He strove for the betterment of his fellow man in every possible way. For those of us who did not personally know this remarkable individual; his desire to be of help, and support his fellow man is most evident in his translation of the daily jewish prayer Book into the Arabic language. This was no easy task as this was never previously attempted and as such he did not even have a template to work from.
Dr. Farhi was born in Damascus, Syria studied in Beirut, Lebanon and London in the United Kingdom, and resided in Cairo, Egypt. He was a descendant of a very old and illustrious sephardic family
with branches throughout the world. He had a lot of expectations to live up to, so he was determined to make his prayer book the most complete and correct one available, while at the same time following the liturgy of sephardic jewry the world over. What he had accomplished reflected on him and on the entire Farhi family. Siddur Farhi follows the traditional prayer text as used for centuries by the jews of Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, North Africa, etc…
In addition to being a medical doctor, Hillel Farhi was a linguist of both the Arabic and Hebrew languages. Any of his translations could and would be nothing less than perfect. His translation of the siddur is not just literal; it is poetic and never is the flavor or the nuance of any original phrase ever compromised.
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