Bidspirit auction | Sefer Vayakhel Moshe. Dessau, 1698.

Sefer Vayakhel Moshe. Dessau, 1698. With important handwritten glosses - Sefer Vayakhel Moshe – Discourses from the Zohar and authentic Kabbalistic writings based on the teachings of the Ari, by the Kabbalist Rabbi Moshe ben Menachem (Graf) of Prague. Dessau, 1698. With important handwritten glosses. First and rare edition of one of the most significant Kabbalistic works printed in Central Europe in the late seventeenth century. The book was compiled and printed during the author’s lifetime, Rabbi Moshe ben Menachem being among the leading Ashkenazic Kabbalists and one of the earliest disseminators of Lurianic Kabbalah in Europe beyond Italy. The work presents a collection of Zoharic passages and interpretations according to the system of the Ari, organized by themes relating to Atzilut (emanation), the Sefirot, and the structure of the supernal worlds. The author seeks to gather “words of truth” from the Zohar and earlier Kabbalistic sources, integrating them with the principles of the Lurianic doctrine, while emphasizing the connection between the spiritual realms and human conduct in the earthly world. The book is adorned with approbations from prominent rabbis of the era, including Rabbi David Oppenheim, Chief Rabbi of Prague and one of the greatest Jewish bibliophiles in history, and Rabbi Shimshon Wertheimer of Vienna, court rabbi of the Austrian Empire and a major philanthropist of his time. Both praise the author’s wisdom and stature in the mystical tradition. These endorsements lend the book notable importance within the history of Kabbalah in Europe. At the center of the work, in the discourse “Adam d’Atzilut, ” appears a rare and magnificent Kabbalistic diagram, spread across two pages, depicting “The Holy Ancient One” – a symbolic human form representing the Thirteen Attributes of the Divine Beard (Yud-Gimel Tikunei Dikna d’Mehemanuta) according to the Zohar. This illustration is among the earliest and rarest of its kind in printed Kabbalistic literature, serving as a striking visual expression of the symbolic world of Lurianic Kabbalah. Throughout the volume appear numerous handwritten marginal notes, written in square Hebrew script, including textual corrections, references to additional sources, and occasional brief explanations of the author’s words – likely penned by a learned contemporary or disciple of notable stature whose identity remains unknown. [4], 5–14; 58 leaves. Approximately 20 cm. Very good condition. Fine paper, minor age stains. Original vellum binding. An impressive and elegant copy of one of the most important Kabbalistic works printed in Ashkenazic Europe at the end of the seventeenth century – a rare testimony to the diffusion of the Ari’s teachings beyond Italy and their integration among the circles of Kabbalists in Prague, Vienna, and Dessau.