Sefer Etz Chaim – Tree of Life – Rabbi Chaim Vital. 2nd Edition

Sefer Etz Chaim — Tree of Life is a complete English translation of a foundational work of Jewish Kabbalah. Recorded by Rabbi Chaim Vital from the teachings of Rabbi Isaac Luria (the Ari) and arranged by Meir Poppers, it explores the structure of Lurianic Kabbalah: Ein Sof, tzimtzum, the ten sefirot, Adam Kadmon, and the four worlds of Atzilut, Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah. This edition includes Sha’ar HaKlalim and all fifty gates of Sefer Etz Chaim, together with historical rabbinic approbations, prefaces, introductions, a prayer before study, and concluding texts. It examines the emanations of Akudim and Nekudim, the shattering of the vessels (Shevirat ha-Kelim), the sparks of holiness, the partzufim, and spiritual rectification (tikkun). The annotated translation preserves Hebrew and Aramaic terms and the traditional structure, while its scholarly notes identify textual variants, glosses, alternative readings, gematria calculations, and biblical, Talmudic, and Zoharic sources. Differences between recensions and gaps in transmission are documented without inventing missing passages. Extensive cross-references help readers trace connections between the divine worlds, the sequence of emanations, and the Zoharic tradition. Designed for researchers and serious students of Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism, and the teachings of the Ari, this unabridged English edition offers a reliable resource for studying Chaim Vital’s Tree of Life, the Zohar, and the classical Lurianic tradition.