Misplaced Pages

Latest revision as of 18:28, 8 January 2025

Hayyim ben Joseph Vital Calabrese/Calabris
חַיִּים בֶּן יוֹסֵף וִיטָאל
Personal life
Born	(1542-10-11)11 October 1542 Safed, Ottoman Palestine
Died	23 April 1620(1620-04-23) (aged 77) Damascus, Ottoman Syria
Nationality	Ottoman Empire
Notable work(s)	Etz Chaim (book) Shaar HaGilgulim Shemonah She'arim
Occupation	Rabbi, kabbalist
Religious life
Religion	Judaism
Teachers	Isaac Luria, Moses ben Jacob Cordovero, Moshe Alshich
Jewish leader
Influenced by Joseph Karo

Hayyim ben Joseph Vital (Hebrew: חַיִּים בֶּן יוֹסֵף וִיטָאל; Safed, October 23, 1542 (Julian calendar) / October 11, 1542 (Gregorian Calendar) – Damascus, 23 April 1620) was a rabbi in Safed and the foremost disciple of Isaac Luria. He recorded much of his master's teachings. After Vital's death, his writings began to spread and led to a "powerful impact on various circles throughout the Jewish world."

Early life

Part of a series on
Kabbalah
Concepts Ein Sof Tzimtzum Ohr Ayin and Yesh Sefirot Four Worlds Seder hishtalshelut Tree of Life The path of the flaming sword Merkavah Jewish angelic hierarchy Shekhinah Partzufim Qlippoth Tohu and Tikun Sparks of holiness Messianic rectification Gilgul Kabbalistic astrology Gematria Notarikon Temurah Names of God in Judaism Shemhamphorasch Tzadik Tzadikim Nistarim Anthropomorphism in Kabbalah Panentheism
History Pre-Kabbalistic Jewish mysticism Tannaim Heichalot Sefer Yetzirah Chassidei Ashkenaz Medieval Bahir Toledano tradition Prophetic Kabbalah Zohar Kabbalistic commentaries on the Bible Mainstream displacement of rationalism with Kabbalah Renaissance Selective influence on Western thought Hermetic Qabalah Mysticism after Spanish expulsion Mystics of 16th-century Safed Cordoveran Kabbalah Lurianic Kabbalah Maharal's thought Popular Kabbalistic Mussar Early modern Baal Shem-Nistarim Sabbatean mystical heresies Emden–Eybeschutz controversy Immigration to the Land of Israel Traditional Oriental Kabbalists Beit El Synagogue Eastern European Judaism Hasidic Judaism / philosophy Lithuanian Jews Hasidic-Mitnagdic schism Modern Hasidic dynasties Mysticism in religious Zionism Academic interest in Jewish mysticism Non-Orthodox interest in Jewish mysticism English James Lees'
Practices Torah study Mystical exegesis Mitzvot Minhag Customary immersion in mikveh Meditation Kavanot Teshuvah Deveikut Prayer Nusach Tikkun Chatzot Tikkun Leil Shavuot Pilgrimage to Tzadik Pilgrimage to holy grave Lag BaOmer at Meron Asceticism Rosicrucianism Practical Kabbalah
People 100s Four Who Entered the Pardes Simeon bar Yochai 1100s Isaac the Blind Azriel 1200s Nahmanides Abraham Abulafia Joseph ben Abraham Gikatilla Moses de Leon Menahem Recanati 1300s Bahya ben Asher 1400s 1500s Meir ibn Gabbai Joseph Karo Shlomo Alkabetz Moshe Alshich Moses ben Jacob Cordovero Isaac Luria Chaim Vital Judah Loew ben Bezalel 1600s Isaiah Horowitz Abraham Azulai 1700s Chaim ibn Attar Baal Shem Tov Dov Ber of Mezeritch Moshe Chaim Luzzatto Shalom Sharabi Vilna Gaon Chaim Joseph David Azulai Nathan Adler Schneur Zalman of Liadi Chaim Volozhin 1800s Nachman of Breslov Ben Ish Chai Shlomo Eliyashiv 1900s Abraham Isaac Kook Yehuda Ashlag Baba Sali Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Role History Torah Tanakh Prophecy Ruach HaKodesh Pardes exegesis Talmudical hermeneutics Midrash Jewish commentaries on the Bible Oral Torah Eras of Rabbinic Judaism Generational descent in Halacha Generational ascent in Kabbalah Rabbinic literature Talmudic theology Halakha Aggadah Hakira Classic Mussar literature Ashkenazi Judaism Sephardi Judaism Modern Jewish philosophies Jewish studies Topics God in Judaism Divine transcendence Divine immanence Free will Divine providence Kabbalistic reasons for the 613 Mitzvot Jewish principles of faith Jewish eschatology Primary texts
v t e

Born in Safed, as a young boy Hayyim Vital was educated by the scholar Moshe Alshich. Joseph Karo is said to have paid special attention to Vital's early talents and in 1557 requested that Alshich take special care in his education as he was destined to succeed his teacher in the world of Torah study. That same year, Vital first became acquainted with the kabbalist Isaac Luria, who would have a lasting influence on him.

Vital apparently married at a young age. It was an unhappy marriage, and when he left his wife, the prophet Elijah appeared to him in a dream and led him to a beautiful garden, where he saw the pious of all ages, in the form of birds, flying through the garden and studying the Mishnah. In the center of the garden was God seated on a throne that was surrounded by the pious, resting on elaborate tapestries. Convinced by this vision that he was destined to become a kabbalist, Vital devoted the following two and a half years to the study of alchemy. Upon completing his studies, Elijah appeared to him again in a vision and told him that he would succeed in his efforts and write a commentary on the Zohar.

Study with Cordovero

When Luria arrived in Safed, Moses ben Jacob Cordovero had been the principal figure in the kabbalistic community for numerous years. "Cordovero was the teacher of what appears to have been a relatively loose-knit circle of disciples. The most important were Eliyahu de Vidas, Abraham ben Mordecai Galante, Moses Galante, Hayyim Vital, Abraham ben Eliezer Halevi, Elazar ben Moshe Azikri, Samuel Gallico, and an important kabbalist who studied with Cordovero for a short while in the 1560s, Mordechai Dato."

Evidence suggests that Isaac Luria also regarded Moses Cordovero as his teacher. Joseph ben Isaac Sambari (1640-1703), an Egyptian chronicler, testified that Cordovero was "the Ari's teacher for a very short time." Luria probably arrived in early 1570, and Cordovero died on June 27 that year (the 23d day of Tammuz). Bereft of their most prominent authority and teacher, the kabbalists looked for new guidance, and Isaac Luria helped fill the vacuum left by Cordovero's passing.

Student of Isaac Luria

In 1570 Vital became a student of Isaac Luria, the foremost kabbalist of the day. In a study of Lurianic mysticism, Lawrence Fine writes:

Vital provides us with the names of 38 individuals who according to him, made up Luria's discipleship... According to him, the fellowship was divided into four hierarchically ordered groups. The first and most important, was composed of 11 men, listed in this order: Hayyim Vital, Jonathan Sagis, Joseph Arzin, Isaac Kohen, Gedaliah ha-Levi, Samuel Uceda, Judah Mishan, Abraham Gavriel, Shabbatai Menashe, Joseph ibn Tabul, and Elijah Falko (or Falkon).

It is broadly accepted that Hayyim Vital emerged as the leading student within a year, so when Luria died in 1572 at the age of 38, Vital succeeded him. Since Luria had left almost none of his teachings in writing, Vital began to write down everything he had learned from his master.

Exile and return

Hayyim Vital arrived in Egypt in 1577 but soon returned to Ottoman Syria, settling in the village of Ein Zeitim (near Safed) and later in Jerusalem. After that, he went to live in Damascus, where he began writing his first work. Most of the book consists of an exposition on the conjuring of clouds and a discourse on the classical planets, the seven heavens, and their corresponding metals. Upon completing his book, Vital returned to Jerusalem, where his former teacher, Moshe Alshich, ordained him "in the 1590s." After a time, however, Vital left Jerusalem for Safed, where he fell sick and was bedridden for an entire year.

He also authored Shaar HaGilgulim, a kabbalistic work on reincarnation, which became one of the Shemonah She'arim "Eight Gates."

Etz Hayyim

During this illness Rabbi Yehoshua, his closest follower, who had accompanied Vital on nearly every journey, and managed to bribe Vital's younger brother, Rabbi Moshe, with 500 gold coins to lend him Vital's writings, which were kept locked in a box. Rabbi Moshe accordingly brought Yehoshua a large part of the manuscripts, and 100 copyists were immediately engaged: in just three days, they could reproduce more than 600 pages. Although according to some reports Vital, upon learning of this, claimed that the papers which has been copied were not his writings, they were rapidly disseminated. The writings in question purported to contain the teachings of Luria rather than Vital's independent work.

The first printed edition was in eight volumes, known as the Shemonah She'arim, and some Kabbalists still use this version in the Sephardi world. The best-known recension was published later under the title Etz Hayyim ("Tree of Life"), in which the topics were arranged in a more systematic order, and the parts on ritual (the Peri Etz Hayyim) were kept separate from the parts on the underlying theology. In addition to a tribute to Luria, the work contains the assertion that it is one of God's greatest pleasures to witness the promotion of the teaching of the Kabbalah since this alone can assure the coming of the Messiah.

However, Vital still highly esteemed the teachings of his former teacher, kabbalist Moses Cordovero. He maintained that Cordovero often appeared to him in dreams.

One of Vital's most prominent opponents was Menahem Lonzano, who publicly denounced him in his work Imrei Emet.

Later life and death

On 20 Elul 1590, Vital received rabbinical ordination from his teacher Moshe Alshich. Four years later, in 1594, he settled permanently in Damascus, where he lectured every evening on the kabbalah. In 1604 Vital's sight began to fail; in 1620 he died while preparing to return to Safed. He was 77 years old when he died and was buried in the Jewish cemetery in Damascus.

Notes

1. Kaplan, Aryeh (January 1985). Meditation and Kabbalah. Weiser Books. ISBN 9780877286165.
2. Prevalent opinion for this date is 3 May 1620, corresponding to the Hebrew date of 30 Nisan 5380, consequently Vital's yahrzeit is celebrated on the 30 Nisan of each year. 23 April 1620 is the same date according to the Julian calendar, which was then still in use in Damascus.
3. Fine 2003, p. 2
4. Faierstein, Morris M.; Vital, Ḥayyim ben Joseph; Safrin, Isaac Judah Jehiel (1999). Jewish mystical autobiographies : Book of visions and Book of secrets. Internet Archive. New York : Paulist Press. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-8091-0504-5.
5. "Vital, Ḥayyim ben Joseph | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
6. ^ Fine 2003, page 80-81
7. Sambari 1673, p. 64
8. Lawrence Fine (2003). Physician of the Soul, Healer of the Cosmos: Isaac Luria and His Kabbalistic Fellowship. Stanford University Press. p. 83. ISBN 978-0-8047-4826-1.
9. Fine 2003, p. 52
10. There now exists an edition of Vital's works in 15 volumes containing both recensions.

References

• Fine, Lawrence (2003). Physician of the Soul, Healer of the Cosmos: Isaac Luria and His Kabbalistic Fellowship. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. p. 480. ISBN 0-8047-4826-8. Retrieved 2010-08-16.
• Joseph ben Isaac Sambari (1994) . Sefer Divrei Yosef. Jerusalem: Ben Zvi Institute.
• Hayyim ben Joseph Vital, The Tree of Life: Chayyim Vital's Introduction to the Kabbalah of Isaac Luria - The Palace of Adam Kadmon. Translated and with an introduction by Donald Wilder Menzi and Zwe Padeh. Northvale, N.J. and Jerusalem: Jason Aronson, 1999. This is a translation of the first volume of Luria's "Etz Chaim"; the introduction by the translators gives a general overview of the Lurianic system.
• Faierstein, Morris M.; Vital, Ḥayyim ben Joseph; Safrin, Isaac Judah Jehiel (1999). Jewish mystical autobiographies : Book of visions and Book of secrets. Internet Archive. New York : Paulist Press. ISBN 978-0-8091-0504-5.

External links

• Shaarei Kedushah - Gates of Holiness in English
• Works of Rabbi Chaim Vital
• Introduction by Chaim Vital (Hebrew)
• Sefer Gilgulim
• Great Leaders of our People - Rabbi Chaim Vital
• Encyclopædia Britannica articles

• 1542 births
• 1620 deaths
• 16th-century rabbis from the Ottoman Empire
• 17th-century rabbis from the Ottoman Empire
• Jewish mysticism
• Kabbalists
• Isaac Luria
• Rabbis in Safed
• Rabbis in Ottoman Galilee
• Sephardi rabbis from Ottoman Palestine