Aaron Berechiah ben Moses of Modena
AARON BERECHIAH BEN MOSES OF MODENA
AARON BERECHIAH BEN MOSES OF MODENA (d. 1639), Italian kabbalistic writer and compiler. Aaron was a cousin on his mother's side of Leone *Modena. For the benefit of the pious members of his native Modena, Aaron compiled his Ma'avar Yabbok ("The Crossing of the Jabbok" (cf. Gen. 32:22), Venice, 1626, and often reprinted) comprising the readings, laws, and customs relating to the sick, deathbed, burial, and mourning rites. David Savivi of Siena published an abridged version under the title Magen David (Venice, 1676), and Samuel David b. Jehiel *Ottolengo, another entitled Keri'ah Ne'emanah (ibid., 1715). Aaron also compiled Ashmoret ha-Boker ("The Morning Watch," Mantua, 1624; Venice, 1720), containing prayers and supplications for the use of the pious confraternity Me'irei Shaḥar in Modena, as well as Me'il Ẓedakah and Bigdei Kodesh (both Pisa, 1785), containing prayers and passages for study.
[Shmuel Ashkenazi]