Reishith Chochmah [“Beginning of Wisdom” - Zoharic-based ethics].
Auction 94 |
Thursday, June 17th,
2021 at 11:00am
Rare & Excellent Hebrew Printed Books: From the Library of Arthur A. Marx
Lot 105
DE VIDAS, ELIJAH.
Reishith Chochmah [“Beginning of Wisdom” - Zoharic-based ethics].
Venice: Giovanni di Gara 1579
Est: $2,000 - $2,500
PRICE REALIZED $3,000
<<Rare First Edition of a Classic of Ethics.>>
Elijah de Vidas (1518–87) was a disciple of R. Moshe Cordovero, and part of the select group of Kabbalists active in Safed during its golden age of mysticism in the late 16th century. His work, Reishith Chochmah, describes Kabbalistic concepts in easily understood terms, and intersperses them with more general Aggadic and moralistic ideas. Thanks to its user-friendly approach, Reishith Chochmah has become a popular classic within ethical literature, thus broadly disseminating mystical ideas amongst the wider public.