Likkutei ha-Remez, Shorshei ha-Shemot, and Remez ha-Romez (Three volumes on practical Kabbalah) by Moses Zacuto [Italy: 18th century]

Vol. 1 (Likkutei ha-Remez): 1-2, 13-62=52 leaves (10 5/8 x 7 in.; 268 x 178 mm.);

Vol. 2 (Shorshei ha-Shemot): 64-89=26 leaves (10 5/8 x 7 in.; 268 x 178 mm.);



Vol. 3 (Remez ha-Romez): 90-226=137 leaves (10 5/8 x 7 in.; 268 x 178 mm.)

Three volumes of collectanea on kabbalistic subjects compiled by Rabbi Moses Zacuto, who is often referred to in Hebrew sources by his initials, ReMeZ (=secret):

Vol. 1: Likkutei ha-Remez (Remez’s Gleanings) is an anthology of Lurianic material organized in alphabetical order. Zacuto himself seems to have originally written this work as a series of essays and homilies on various topics, which an unknown scholar later rearranged alphabetically. The book was first published under the title Em la-Binah (The Mother of Insight) as the second half (ff. 63r-104v) of Rabbi Isaac Saba’s Sefer Sha‘arei Binah, vol. 2 (Salonika, 1813).

Vol. 2: Shorshei ha-Shemot (The Roots of the Names) (in some manuscripts, the title is given as Mekor ha-Shemot [The Sources of the Names]) is a work of practical Kabbalah, alphabetically listing the esoteric permutations of God’s Names, their sources in the Hebrew Bible, and the magical purposes to which they can be put. The book was widely circulated in manuscript, especially in North Africa (where it was expanded considerably), and was first published in Jerusalem in 1987 as Sefer ha-Shemot. The first few leaves of the present volume (ff. 64-66) contain corrigenda to Zohar ha-Rakia, which are then followed by three blanks (ff. 67-69) and Shorshei ha-Shemot (ff. 70-89).

Vol. 3: Remez ha-Romez (The Hinter’s Secret) sequentially lists numbers (extending into the thousands) and explains their mystical significance based on gematria (Hebrew numerology), e.g., 624=24 times the Ineffable Name of God (whose numerical value is 26). Entries for numbers without a mystical explanation are left blank. The book was printed for the first time (together with Em la-Binah) as Sefer Remez ha-Romez in Tifrah, Israel.