R. Chaim Vital

Rabbi Chaim became famous as one of the greatest kabbalists.

Rabbi Chayim Vital ("Vital," from the Latin vita, life, has the same meaning as the Hebrew chayim) was born in the city of Safed in the Holy Land. His father Rabbi Joseph was a learned and pious man, who was a maker of tefillin; his tefillin were famous ...

Rabbi Chaim is reknowned for his compilation of the Arizal's teachings

Nissan 30 is the yahrtzeit (anniversary of the passing) of the famed Kabbalist Rabbi Chaim Vital (1542?-1620), author of the mystical work Eitz Chaim. Rabbi Chaim was the leading disciple of Rabbi Isaac Luria (the "Holy Ari," 1534-1572) and the ...

The Torah Concept of Reincarnation

We learned that yesod [the last sefira of Zeir Anpin] and the root [of the sefirot, keter] get adorned together in malchut. This [malchut] is the memory and the gateway to all the rest of the sefirot, as is written: "Open to me the gates of ...

Come and see: on Friday, when evening sets, a shining star [of the kelipa] comes from the north [it is the kelipa Storm Wind,In the prophet Ezekiel's vision of the Divine chariot (Ezekiel 1:4) in which he saw and described the forces that conceal ...

Come and see: "Whatever your [left] hand finds to do, do it with your strength [i.e. your right hand]." (Eccl. 9:6) That means that a person needs to include the left [associated with the sefira of gevura] within the right [hinted at by the ...

"But the Levites,, he shall do the service of the Tent of Meeting..." (Num. 18:23) Rabbi Aba opened: "he that sits upon the circle of the earth." (Isaiah 40:22) Come and see: when G-d wanted to create the world, it arose in His will ...

Come and see: when Shabbat enters and that flame [the Great Wind, the source of all harsh judgments (as described here)] is hidden [in the Great Depths], then all the flames of the harmful fires are hidden and subdued. And even the fire of Purgatory ...