R Chaim Vital and his Unknown Work Sefer

1
Thursday, July 08, 2010
R. Chaim Vital and his Unknown Work Sefer ha-Pe'ulot:
A Work on Science, Medicine, Alchemy and Practical Magic.
by: Eliezer Brodt
תוחתפמו אובמ ללוכ םידומע טלת ,ע"שת ,לאטיו םייח יבר תולועפה רפס
A few years back, in a post at the Seforim blog discussing the history of plant known as
baladur, I mentioned a sefer, Refuah Ma'asiyot le-Rav Chaim Vital. At the time, I only
briefly touched upon this work. What follows is a more detailed discussion of the recently
published edition as well as the history and substance of the work. The author is R. Chaim
Vital, the most famous student of the Arizal. This work was virtually unknown, and is a
collection of science, medicine, alchemy and kabbalah ma'asiyot (practical magic). In
2007, Professors Amar and Buchman published a part of this manuscript, entitled Refuah
Ma'asios L’Rav Chaim Vital. A few months ago, someone printed the whole manuscript
and provided a different title, Sefer ha-Pe'ulot.
As mentioned above, the author is R. Chaim Vital (1543- 1620). R. Vital is most well-
known in the realm of kabbalah, and, specifically, as being the primary student of the Arizal
entrusted with disseminating the Arizal's works. R. Vital's reputation, however, wasn't
confined to the Arizal's teachings and kabbalah. R. Vital was well-represented in the niglah
(revealed Torah) arena. R. Vital studied niglah with R. Moshe Alschich and R. Vital
received (real) semikha during the time when such semikha was being given in Sefat.[1]
Unfortunately, we do not have much of his writings in niglah with the few exception where
his son quotes R. Vital in his son's various works. For example, five responsa of R. Vital
appear in Shu"t Baer Mayim Chaim (82-86) and the various pesakim scattered in his son's
works Chochmas Nashim, Chaim Shnayim Yeshalayim, and some of R. Vital's other
statements appear in Tosetos Chaim on Rashi. [2].
In Sefer ha-Chezyonot, R. Vital records R. Karo's admonition to R. Alschich regarding R.
Vital's study in niglah:
לכב ינדמלל דואמ רהזיש וב רבודה דיגמה ךאלמה םשב ךישלא השמ 'רה ירומל ל"ז וראק ףסוי ר"רהמ הוצ
.(ג:א תוניזח) ק"ירהמ לש ומוקמ אלממ אוהה רודב וירחא ראשיל דיתעה אוה ינא יכ ,ותלכי
M. Benayhu in his work Toldos ha-Ari quotes R. Chaim Hakohen, a student of R. Vital,
regarding R. Vital:

2
רמוא 'יהו .הלמב הלמ רמא קר ךכ לכ ךיראמ 'יה אל הליפתב םג תועימק בותכל אלש דואמ דיפקמ היה םגו
לכו םויה לכ דמול 'יהו .םויה לכ ןיללפתמש ןתואכ אל םגו ,ךיראמ ינאש וז ינאש העשב דומלל הצור ינאש
) הלילהי"ראה תודלות רפס 'מע ,243(
For all the Kabbalah aspects related to R. Vital see Y. Avivi work's Binyan Ariel, which
caused great controversy, and his more recent three volume masterpiece Kabbalat ha-Ari.
See also Lawrence Fine, Physicians of the Soul, Healers of the Cosmos.
Much has been written about Vital's famous autobiography, Sefer ha-Chezyonot, (see here
and here) G. Scholem sums up some of the history of the work:
:בתכ םולש 'ג קוק ברה דסומ םילשורי .ילוכשא באז ןרהא ידי לע רבחמה די בתכ ךותמ רואל אצי תונויזחה רפס
ג אלש לע קוק ברה דסומ ינפב םינבר המכ וחימ רפסה תעפוה ירחא םהיניבו ,הרותל ןויזב ומרגו הז רפס וזנ
) !םינורחאה ןמ ףיווזמ יאדווב דיה בתכש םהל בתכש א"תמ תוילגרמ ןבואר דוסה תרותב םולש םושרג תיירפס
תידוהיה ,א ,#4331(
Returning to the Sefer ha-Pe'ulot, it was first mentioned in brief by Gershon Scholem in
Alchemie und Kabbala [recently translated into English by Klaus Ottman]. The alchemy
section of this book was discussed by Raphael Patai in his book, Jewish Alchemists. Meir
Benayahu discusses it in various places in his writings (amongst them in his book on the
Ari and in two articles in Korot (9:3-17,9:91-111). Gerrit Boss, wrote an extensive article
on this book called "Hayyim Vital’s Practical kabbalah and Alchemy; a 17th Century book
of secrets" in the Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy, Volume 4, pp. 54-112. In this
article Boss reorders the book, as the book, as it is appears in the manuscript isn't a model
of clarity, doing an excellent job of putting each remedy into its proper categories. [Boss
also criticizes the discussion of Patai on the topic of alchemy in relation to this work.].
Yosef Avivi briefly discusses in his catalog of the Musayif collection (Ohel Shem, pp.191-
93) as that it where this manuscript came from. The whereabouts of the actual manuscript
today are a mystery, rumors are that it is sold page by page for a segulah, and each page
fetches a large sum of money.
More recently, Prof. Zohar Amar and Yael Buchman in published two articles in Sinai
(121:231-38 and 125:202-215) they focus upon the various halachic aspects discussed in
this work. Buchman also wrote her doctorate on this work of R. Vital, Aspects of Material
Culture, Realia and Medicine in the works of Rabbi Hayyim Vital (1543-1620), Bar Ilan
Univ., (Heb). Buchman's main focus is not the kabbalah parts but rather the science and
medical aspects of this work. She demonstrates, at length, that this is an excellent document
to give us a picture of the medical world during that time period. She also has an additional
article about this work based on her doctorate in Katedra (99:48-64). In 2007, Buchman
and Amar printed part of this book, Refuah Ma'asiyot le-Rav Chaim Vital. But, they printed

3
only the medical portion. This edition, however, is very useful in understanding the medical
aspects of the sefer. They note that a volume on the realia part is being prepared.
What makes Sefer ha-Pe'olot especially interesting is that we see R’ Chaim Vital in a
different light than previously known. In the first part of this work we see him as a doctor
of sorts. He provides remedies to people for all kinds of illnesses, in all areas of health,
asthma, infertility, headaches, toothaches and much more. Much of the advice was based
on Segulos or the like. In this work he shows a familiarity with real medical procedures
from that time period. He quotes various pieces of medical advice that he had had read in
various medical works.
We already were aware of Vital's interest in science as he wrote a work called Sefer ha-
Techuna related to astronomy. But, in Sefer ha-Pe'olot aside from showing him to be very
involved in medicine we also see him interested in other things. For example, Vital
provides in-depth descriptions of how to make wine, various milk products and the making
of honey. He has a lengthy discussions of how to remove stains from clothes, how to dye
garments, how to make ink and reeds for writing. These discussions are a gold mind of
information for those studying realia of various time periods of Eretz Yisroel. Realia is a
prime topic of interest for Professor Amar and Bochman and they deal with that in their
excellent introduction to Refuah Ma'asiyot le-Rav Chaim Vital. This is also the main focus
of Bochman's previously mentioned doctorate. As Bochman writes in her doctorate ”this
manuscript… is the sole Hebrew source originating in 16th century EY still known today,
which discusses directly and in detail different aspects of material culture, realia and
medicine. He thus provides a rare insight into the daily routine of the Jewish community
in EY during this period, of the problems it faced and the ways in which those problems
were solved.” Gerit Bos in his above cited article (pp. 59-62) also touches a bit on this
aspect of realia.
Bochman suggest an interesting reason for R. Vital interest in writing about all these
practical things such as wine making dyeing, cheese making etc. ”R. Chaim Vital’s purpose
in writing about everyday issues is in fact a reflection of his Halachic world view. A study
of his Halachic and practical teachings confirms that R. Vital preferred to make the goods
he needed himself rather than buying them from gentiles. In order to do so he had to find
ways of simplifying the manufacturing process of many products. He succeeded, and thus
avoided the Halachic problems raised as a result form purchasing from foreign sources.”
Other Ideas Discussed in Sefer ha-Pe'olot
Another large section of this work is segulos and kabbalah masiyot. This section contains
many parts, many of which R. Vital writes he tested and used successfully, other recipes
he tested and they did not work and yet others which he heard from reliable sources that
they worked but he had not independently tested. All these sections, however, are not in

4
any order. He returns to the same topic than goes to another and comes back to it again and
again. Bos in his previously mentioned article does a nice job of organizing some of it into
topics. There are methods for all kinds of things just to list a few: methods preventing Ayin
Hara, bones stuck in a throat, finding out which woman one will marry, talking to dead
people, how to deal with plagues, ways to track down thieves, dealing with enemies and
help having children. I will discuss a few of these 'recipes 'and a little about them in other
sources.
She'elot Chalom - Asking Questions via Dreams
He includes many methods to find out information via dreams (pp. 11-12, 193, 250-51,
265, 276). We find many methods and instances for performing a dream question and
answer from the Geonic period into the Middle Ages the process is generally referred to as
םולח תלאש. One of the most famous works which was written utilizing this method is the
Shu"t Min ha-Shamyim. Much has been written on this topic in general, as the use of such
a procedure appears to run afoul of Rabbinic rule that Torah is not in heaven (Torah lav
ba-shamayim). A nice collection of material on this topic has been collected by A. Heschel
in a classic article printed in the Sefer Hayovel Lekovod Alexander Marx (see especially
pp. 183-186, 195-208). R. Reven Margolis in his edition of Shu"t Min ha-Shamayim also
does a great job of putting together the material on the topic. One should also read the
introduction of R. Aron Marcus to his edition of Shut Min Ha-shmayim. Recently this topic
has been dealt with in a doctorate by M. Goldstein called Histayos Begormim Min
Hasmayim Be Hachras Halacha. See also the forthcoming article on this topic from
Professor Kanarfogel called ”’For its not in heaven’: Dreams as a Determinant of Jewish
Law and Practice in Northern Europe During the High Middle Ages”. See also Hagar
Kahana-Smilansky, "Aristotle on Sleep and Wakefulness: A Medieval Hebrew Adaptation
of an Unknown Latin Treatise," Aleph 10:1 (2010): 67-118; (especially at the end of the
piece); A. Kuyt, Hasidut Askenaz on the Angel of Dreams, in Creation and Re-creation in
Jewish Thought. Yuval Harrari, “‘The Opening of the Heart’: Magical Practices for
Gaining Knowledge, Understanding and Good Memory in Judaism of Late Antiquity and
Early Middle Ages,” in Shefa Tal: Studies in Jewish Thought and Culture presented to
Bracha Sack, eds., Z. Gries, H. Kreisel, and B. Huss (Beer Sheva, 2004), 336-344. See
also. M. Idel, Mekubulim Shel Leiylah. See also the manuscript of a sefer Segulot from
Italy available here p. 8,12,14,19,21,24 (of the PDF).
Shadal writes about his father:
המ תותמ הלבק תמכח יפ לע םולח תלאש ךרוצה תעל השוע היה ל"צז יבא ינודא םג יכ ךל דיגא םא רמאת המו
מעפל גישהו ,תירבה 'סב דמלש) ומייקתנש תודיתע תדגה םיללוכ םיקדוצ תומולח םיהלבקה תמכח לע חוכיו ,
'מע125 :האר תירבה רפסו ויבא לע] םייח יקרפ'מע (סאוולוש)19 .([
Interestingly to note while looking for early sources that mention the Beshet, G. Scholem
(The Latest Phase, (Heb.), p. 119) found one from the Shages Aryeh where he said:

5
ידי לע לכה היה עדי בוט םש לעבהש המ לכ רמאוםולח תלאש .הליל לכב
And one quoted from manuscript by S. Dubnov:
ל"צז םש לעב לארשי 'הומ תוקלא תמכחב יקבה םסרופמה ברה תויהב יתרכזםולח תלאש השע ול וארהו
ומ יבא תמשנש הז ןקתל ו"מדא אב םישדק רדסב יספלא ברה רובח אלש רובעבו ,ספלא בר תמשנ ל"ז יר
'מע ,תודיסחה תודלות)484.(
Just for bibliographical purposes G. Scholem got the exact sources wrong it was the Gra
who said it and not the Shages Aryeh - he misread the source. It says:
אוהש ל"צז ןואגה לע רמא הירא תגאשהו לופלפה רחא הברמ אוהש הירא תגאשה לע רמא ןואגהש רמא םג
הליל לכב םולח תולאש ידי לע 'יה עדיש המ בוט םש לעבהש רמא דועו .תוטשפב הברמ
This is from a list of statements that R. Chaim Volzhiner told a student of his printed in the
Tosfos Maseh Rav (p.18b, #113). Scholem understood that the whole statement was from
the Shages Aryeh, as R. Chaim Volzhiner also studied with him. But, the statement
following the period is really a new piece and is going back to the Gra which is what most
of the sefer is material R. Chaim heard from the Gra. Today we have other manuscripts
which contain this statement and confirm that this statement was made by the Gra and not
by the Shages Aryeh, see Keser Rosh, (last chapter #13); Eliach, Kol Hakosev Lechaim, p.
239. Be that as it may it is clear the Gra held that the Beshet used this method often. But,
R. A. Kemlar in his work Dor De'ah (p. 29) writes that Beshet was very anti using such
methods. The source for R. Kemlar was probably R. Aron Marcus who makes this claim
in his Keses Hasofer on Shut Min Ha-shmayim (p.8) and he used his works extensively.
There is another possible source of the Besht using dreams and that is regards to eating
Chadash:
בוט םש לעבהש רפיסוומולחב לאש תא ונייצ ל"צ ח"בה תריטפ רחאלש ול ונעו .ןידה ךיא הזה ןמזב שדח לע
ל"צז בוט םש לעבה דמע רקובבו .ח"בה דובכל הז ךירצ היהש תמחמ םוי םיעברא םניהגה רכש איבהל חלשו
) וילע ךומסל ריתמש ח"בה יאדכ רמאו .והתשו שדחמבוט ןורכז ,בוקרטעיפ .(אי תוא א"ע בי ףד ,בנרת
This story is very famous and has been dealt with at length by Y. Mondshine here. I will
quote two sources from Mondshine's article as this leads us into this next topic. He shows
that how the story developed and to when this piece of the Besht and a dream was added
to it. See also Pardes Yosef, Vayikra, p. 274; R. G. Oberlander, Minhag Avosenu Beyadnu,
2, pp. 512-24.
Even if The Besht did not use dreams he used other methods such as תעבשה המשנה תיילע as
it is clear from the famous document המשנה תיילע תרגא. For the sources on this see Y.
Mondshine, Shivhei ha-Besht, pp. 233-39; Shivhei ha-Besht (Rubenstein ed.), pp. 92-3; M.