Reishith Chochmah [“Beginning of Wisdom” - Zoharic-based ethics].

DE VIDAS, ELIJAH.

Giovanni di Gara

Venice

1579

FIRST EDITION. Bound into three volumes. Extensive marginalia throughout first volume.

Vinograd, Venice 642.

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.