Abudarham

Sefer Abudarham was originally written in 1340 in Seville. It is a commentary to the liturgy discussing "the customs connected with prayer [that] ha[d] become varied from one country to another" and Abudarham recognized that people did not understand the words, the ritual customs associated with these prayers and the reasons for the them. The book is based on the Talmud and the decisions of the geonim, and on the early and later commentators. It abounds in source material of Spanish, Provencal, French, and Ashkenazi origins, not all of which has otherwise survived. Abudarham made extensive use of the prayer book of Saadiah Gaon, and it seems he was the last to see and use an original of this book. See Encyclopedia Judaica, entry, "Abudarham." Subtitle: ... BHB note: קולופון: תם ונשלם ... היום יום ר' יום הושענא רבה, כ"א תשרי שכ"ז לפ"ק, פה ויניציאה.