Shaar HaHakdamos by Rabbi Chaim Vital
First Edition
Personal Copy of the Holy Mekubal Rabbi Yehuda Fetaya, with Hundreds of His Handwritten Corrections and Notes!
A sefer yesod in Kabbalah – ‘Shaar HaHakdamos’, the first of eight gates (chapters) in the sefer ‘Eitz Chaim’ authored by Rabbi Chaim Vital, based on the teachings he received from his Rebbe, the Arizal. This edition was edited by Rabbi Shmuel Vital (see below).
Throughout the sefer there are over 200 corrections, glosses, and notes, some written in red ink – all in the sacred handwriting of the holy kabbalist and miracle-worker Rabbi Yehuda Fetaya, author of ‘Beis Lechem Yehuda’, one of the great kabbalists in recent generations.
On leaf 25a he references his own sefer, writing: “See what we wrote in BLY [Beis Lechem Yehuda]…”
Most of the glosses are brief and pertain to textual corrections, while others are longer, containing explanations, questions, and source references.
As its name implies, ‘Shaar HaHakdamos’ – [the gate of introductions] serves as the gateway and key to understanding the wisdom of the hidden Torah according to the Kabbalah of the Arizal. Rabbi Yehuda Fetaya frequently cites the words of Rabbi Chaim Vital from ‘Shaar HaHakdamos’ regarding the obligation to study the secrets of the Torah.
This is the original copy of ‘Shaar HaHakdamos’ from which Rabbi Yehuda studied and in which he left a vast treasure of glosses!
The holy gaon and kabbalist
Rabbi Yehuda Moshe Yeshua Fetaya zt”l (1859–1942) was a holy man, one of the most extraordinary kabbalists of the past generations. Even in his youth he was drawn to the study of the hidden Torah, and by the age of twenty-five he had completed his profound work ‘Yayin HaRekah’, which includes a commentary on the Idra Rabba and Zuta.
His literary output in kabbalah was vast. Among his renowned works are ‘Beis Lechem Yehuda’, a comprehensive commentary on ‘Eitz Chaim’ by Rabbi Chaim Vital, which became a staple on the tables of kabbalists; ‘Minchas Yehuda’, ‘Masok LaNefesh’, and many more.
He was famed as a healer of the sick, a restorer of broken spirits, one who brought salvation to barren women, interpreter of dreams, and renowned for his expertise in writing amulets, dealing with gilgulim, and dispelling evil spirits and dibukim, with whom he would converse as one speaks to a fellow man, as described in his sefer ‘Ruchos Mesapros’.
Jerusalem, 1865. Yisrael Beck Press. First edition
of this gate [section] as edited by Rabbi Shmuel Vital (see below).
Page Count: [2], 78, [2] leaves.
Size: 34 cm.
Condition: Repairs to the margins of the first leaves, stains on the lower part of the leaves. Aside from that, good condition. New binding (one gloss was formerly on the original binding, which is no longer present).
With the stamps of Rabbi Shaul Fetaya, son of Rabbi Yehuda Fetaya.
Due to the importance of these glosses, the Yeshivas HaMekubalim HaShalom printed a facsimile edition of this very copy, including all the glosses, with a list of the glosses and their decipherment at the end. (Jerusalem, 1998 edition).
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Shaar HaHakdamos Edited by Rabbi Shmuel Vital
Originally, ‘Shaar HaHakdamos’ was the introduction to the sefer ‘Eitz Chaim’, the foundational work of the kabbalistic teachings of the Arizal, and upon which Rabbi Yehuda Fetaya composed his monumental work, ‘Beis Lechem Yehuda’.
The original manuscripts of ‘Eitz Chaim’ in the handwriting of Rabbi Chaim Vital (Maharchu), were entrusted to his son, Rabbi Shmuel Vital (Maharshu). Rather than publishing them in their raw form, Rabbi Shmuel restructured and edited them into a more accessible format for study, organizing the material into what became known as the Shemonah She’arim—the "Eight Gates". ‘Shaar HaHakdamos’ is the first of these gates, and was printed here for the first time.
For further details on Rabbi Shmuel Vital’s editorial work on his father’s writings, see: Rabbi Yosef Avivi, Kabbalas HaAri, vol. 2, chapter 20, section 91, “The Editing of R’ Shmuel Vital, ” pp. 674–701.
