Lot 117
Sefer HaGilgulim – First Edition – Frankfurt, 1684
Sefer HaGilgulim, Kabbalistic teachings of the Ari, by R. Chaim Vital. Frankfurt, [1684]. First edition.
The book is based on the writings of R. Yaakov Tzemach, and was edited by R. Meir Poppers. During a conference of rabbis of Frankfurt in 1682, a ruling was issued prohibiting the publisher R. David Greenhut to distribute Sefer HaGilgulim "due to the hazard", but the publisher did not heed the warning and published the book in 1684. In his foreword, "The printer's foreword" on the verso of the title page, the publisher condemns the decision to forbid the printing of the book. He supports his claim with various Kabbalah books which were previously printed in Frankfurt with the approbation of prominent Frankfurt rabbis.
The endpapers contain letter drafts and ownership inscriptions in early Ashkenazic handwritings - "This Sefer HaGilgulim belongs to the outstanding young scholar… R. Mordechai".
[1], 45 leaves. 17 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Some leaves darkened and stained. Original binding with leather spine, worn.
