Bidspirit auction | Manuscript of Rabbi Chaim Vital!

Manuscript of Rabbi Chaim Vital! - Handwritten Leaf by Rabbi Chaim Vital – “Proven Remedies and Protective Amulets” for Women in Childbirth and Other Conditions Two Fully Written Pages in the Holy Hand of the Kabbalist Rabbi Chaim Vital (Maharchu), Principal Disciple of the Ari. An extraordinary and rare autograph manuscript: one complete leaf written on both sides, in the holy handwriting of Rabbi Chaim Vital, containing “Tried and Proven Segulot and Remedies” (Segulot Menusot VeRefu'ot)—including segulot for protecting women in childbirth, and practical advice for ailments such as toothaches and ear pain. The page includes several autographic erasures and corrections. It is part of a composition of remedies and segulot authored by Rabbi Chaim Vital. Rabbi Chaim Vital (1543–1620) Also known as the Maharchu, Rabbi Chaim Vital was the foremost disciple and authoritative transmitter of the teachings of Rabbi Isaac Luria (the Ari). Born in Safed in the year 5303 (1543), then a vibrant center of Torah scholarship and Kabbalah, he studied under leading sages including Rabbi Moshe Alshich (disciple of Rabbi Yosef Karo, author of the Shulchan Aruch), and later under Rabbi Moshe Cordovero (the Ramak). In the year 1570 (Shin Lamed), Rabbi Isaac Luria (the Ari) arrived in Safed from Egypt. That same year, the Ramak passed away, and the Ari succeeded him as leader of the Kabbalists. Rabbi Chaim Vital became his closest disciple, personally documenting the Ari’s teachings over a span of approximately two years. These writings form the foundation of the Lurianic Kabbalistic tradition that shaped later Jewish mysticism. Rabbi Chaim Vital later moved to Damascus, where he passed away in the year 5380 (1620). This page is from Rabbi Vital’s lesser-known book of remedies and segulot, a work that circulated in manuscript form and was known under various titles: Sefer HaPe’ulot, Ta'alumot Chochmah, Sefer Refu’ot, Kabbalah Ma’asit, among others. Unlike his major kabbalistic writings, this text was not published in full and survives only in partial form, often quoted in later books of folk medicine and practical Kabbalah. In this manuscript leaf are 89 lines of text, densely filled with medical and spiritual advice, all penned by Rabbi Vital himself. The Chida wrote of Rabbi Chaim Vital: “His soul was exceptionally great and purer than all others of his generation.” He is known to have had prophetic vision and insight through Divine inspiration (Ruach HaKodesh). [1] Manuscript leaf, written on both sides (2 full pages, 89 linesl). Size: approx. 19.5 × 15.5 cm. Good condition. Bound in an elegant modern leather binding. A sacred and historical treasure—an original manuscript in the hand of the Ari’s greatest disciple.