On This Day

Etz Hayyim presents the teachings attributed to Isaac Luria through the writings and editorial legacy of Hayyim Vital and later transmitters. Its discussions of contraction, shattered vessels, divine emanation, souls, exile, and cosmic repair became central to Lurianic Kabbalah. The text should not be treated as a direct transcript of Luria’s speech; it developed through manuscripts, revisions, selections, and competing chains of transmission. Its circulation shaped Sephardic mystical study from the Ottoman Empire to North Africa and beyond. Etz Hayyim demonstrates how discipleship and manuscript culture constructed enduring religious authority.