Creator Bio

Ḥayim Vital

1542–1620

A prominent kabbalist of the Safed circle and the most important disciple of Isaac Luria, Ḥayim ben Joseph Vital lived in Safed (where Moses Alsheikh and Moses Cordovero were among his teachers), in Jerusalem, and in Damascus, where he died. His ‘Ets ḥayim (Tree of Life) was a vast compendium of the collected writings of Luria—whose sole authoritative guardian Vital claimed to be. A second major work, Sefer ‘ets ha-da‘at (Book of the Tree of Knowledge), which appears to have included biblical commentary, is only partially extant. Ḥayim Vital also wrote commentaries to the Zohar as well as an autobiographical work, Sefer ḥezyonot (Book of Visions).

Content by Ḥayim Vital

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Sefer ha-ḥezyonot (The Book of Visions): On the Afterlife

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That year my wife, Hannah, became extremely ill and one Sabbath she was in a coma and close to death. At night, at the conclusion of the Sabbath, we approached her to witness the departure of the…

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Sefer ha-ḥezyonot (The Book of Visions): The Soul of the Gentile

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In the year 5332 [1572], we went out in the fields and we passed the grave of a gentile that was more than a thousand years old. His Animus was seen on his tombstone and he tried to harm me and kill…

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Sha‘ar ruaḥ ha-kodesh (The Gate of the Holy Spirit)

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A yihud [magical-theurgic “unification”] that my teacher, of blessed memory, taught me to remove an evil spirit: [For] sometimes the soul of an evil person is yet unable to get into Gehinnom because…

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Sha‘ar ha-hakdamot (The Gate of Introductions)

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The intention of the Supernal Emanator was for the choice [free will] of doing good or evil to be given to those in the lower realm, [and] for them to have reward or punishment…

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Sha‘ar ha-mitsvot (The Gate of Commandments)

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By way of our prayers and our practical commandments that we perform below, we need to cause a coupling of the male and the female, and we raise them up…

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Sha‘ar ma’amare Rashbi (The Gate of the Sayings of R. Simeon bar Yohai)

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Human prayer that is properly intended is above, in the supernal depths, according to the secret of the point of Zion; and there is the secret place of the holy…

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She‘are kedushah (Gates of Holiness)

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You already know that concerning all matters of supernal attainment, one needs to be alone in his house so that others will not disturb his thought, and he himself needs to…

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