Bidspirit auction | (KABBALAH). MEIR IBN GABBAI. Avodath

(KABBALAH). MEIR IBN GABBAI. Avodath HaKodesh. Second edition. Title letters within decorative woodcut vignettes. ff. 139. Few stains, paper repairs, title with some loss, expertly conserved. Modern blind-tooled chestnut calf. Folio. Vinograd, Cracow 45. Cracow, Yitzchak ben Aaron of Prostitz, 1577. An early work that systematized the Kabbalah of the Zohar while refuting the rationalist approach of the Ramba’m. Spanish-born Meir ibn Gabbai (c. 1480-1540) provides here a comprehensive presentation of the Kabbalistic system, divided into four sections: The first deals with the unity of God, the second addresses man’s obligation in worshipping God, and the third section discusses the purpose behind man’s existence. The final part of the book is the most consequential, in which the author delves into the mystical secrets of the Torah. “The finest account of Kabbalistic speculation before the resurgence of the Kabbalah in Safed.” (EJ, Vol. X, col. 542).