Bidspirit auction | Rare Kaballah Sefer: HaNephesh HaChochmah,

Rare Kaballah Sefer: HaNephesh HaChochmah, Basle 1608. First Edition. Vzos Hasefer HaNephesh HaChochmah [Kabbalistic Discourses On The Fate Awaiting The Soul After Death And The Mystical Significance Of The Precepts]. Also Includes Commentaries By Rabbi Moses De Leon And Rabbi Joseph Gikatilla To The Passover Hagadah. Basle, Konrad Waldkirch, 1608. First Edition. Moses de Leon of Guadalajara (c. 1240-1305) was one of the greatest Spanish kabbalists of his day, indeed scholars have attributed to him - rather than to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, the putative author - the composition of the Zohar. Painstaking comparisons have been made of de Leon’s other works, such as our HaNephesh HaChochmah, to ascertain whether there is overlap with the Zohar in terms of style, language and terminology, as well as to determine whether the two Kabbalistic systems are divergent or not. See G. Scholem, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (1967) pp. 159-204 and EJ, Vol. XII cols. 425-6. Pages : 64 Leaves. Size : 19.5 cm Condition : Overall in very fine condition, repair in back of title page, new binding.