כתב-יד, עץ חיים לרבי חיים ויטאל - מזרח אירופה, המאה ה-18 - איורים וקישוטים רבים

Manuscript, Sefer Etz Hayyim, the Torah of the Ari from his disciple Rabbi Hayyim Vital. [Eastern Europe, 18th century]. A magnificent and exceptionally beautiful manuscript. Richly adorned with illustrations, decorated opening words (initials), and impressive ornaments. Elegant Rashi-Ashkenazic script, with emphases and headings in square letters. The manuscript opens with the introductions of Rabbi Hayyim Vital and general principles from the Ari and the Maharhav. Following these appears the second gate (Sha'ar Derushe HaAgulim VeHaYosher), bearing the title "Sha'ar HaRishon" (subsequent gates are numbered correctly). The copyist omitted Sha'ar HaKlalim, which is the first gate. Includes glosses by Rabbi Yaakov Tsemah, written in a smaller hand. In the margins, the copyist added several variant readings from "S.A." [other books]. A similar manuscript with comparable illustrations, apparently from the hand of the same scribe, is held in the Etz Hayyim Library in Amsterdam, where the scribe's name is recorded as: "Dov Ber b.h. Hayyim… from Podhajce" (Podhajce, Galicia-Poland), with the date 5540 (1780). (See the exhibition catalogue Me'Otzrot Sifriyat Etz Hayyim / Montezinos, published by the National Library, Jerusalem 5740, item 182.) Dozens of illustrated title pages open most sections ("gates") of the work. The ornaments and motifs vary with each gate and include: a serpent biting its own tail, two rampant crowned lions, a stork gripping in its beak the head of a dragon coiling around its legs, a double-headed eagle, two rampant deer; at the head of the "Tenth Gate — Sha'ar HaMelakhim," illustrations of fantastical royal faces, and more. Various ornaments at the conclusions of the gates, influenced by the Rococo style and the spirit of the period: flowers, branches, leaves, shells, and conches; a lion and a deer amid a tangle of branches; at the close of Sha'ar Arikh Anpin, an ornament in the form of a dragon biting its own tail, encircling numerous faces. At the end of Sha'ar HaAkudim, an illustration of the figure of Yaakov Avinu with the rods at the troughs, illustrations of "akudim," "nekudim," and "berudim" sheep, and a detailed depiction of the Akedah scene. Decorated and ornamented opening words, some fashioned from figures of animals, birds, and fish. Ownership stamps on leaves: "Neum Shlomo… b.m. Nissan yitz'u." Several ownership glosses in manuscript. A gloss at the end of gate 44: "A full page and one chapter are missing — see the printed editions" (referring to the copyist's omission of the first gate and a complete passage from the end of gate 44). Ff. 2–14; 1–227, 227–307 (first gate lacking). 24 cm. Good condition. Staining. Most pages fully intact. Tears caused by ink corrosion in several pages and illustrations. Tear repairs by paper attachment on individual pages. Gilt and engraved decorated page edges. Original binding with gilt impressions, rubbing.