Autograph Folio (f. 45) from Rabbi Hayyim Vital’s Sefer ha-Refu’ot, ha-Segullot, ve-ha-Kame‘ot (The Book of Remedies, Charms, and Amulets)

1 folio (7 1/2 x 5 3/4 in.; 190 x 145 mm). Ink on paper, two columns, 43-46 lines. 

Hayyim Vital, The Book of Manipulations: Remedies, Charms, Practical Kabbalah, Chemistry, 2nd ed. (Modi'in Illit, 2014) (in Hebrew); Meir Benayahu, "Medical Matters in an Unknown Manuscript by Rabbi Hayyim Vital," Korot 9,3-4 (1986): 3-17 (in Hebrew); Meir Benayahu, "Excerpts from the Book of Remedies and Charms by Rabbi Hayyim Vital," Korot 9,5-6 (1987): 91-112 (in Hebrew); Gerrit Bos, "Hayyim Vital's 'Practical Kabbalah and Alchemy': A 17th Century Book of Secrets," The Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy 4 (1994): 55-112; Yael Buchman and Zohar Amar, Practical Medicine of Rabbi Hayyim Vital (1543-1620): Healer in the Land of Israel and Vicinity (Ramat Gan, 2006) (in Hebrew).

Lots 147, 148, and 149 comprise individual leaves from the autograph manuscript of Sefer ha-Refu’ot, ha-Segullot, ve-ha-Kame’ot (The Book of Remedies, Charms, and Amulets), a major compendium of medicine, magic, alchemy, and practical Kabbalah by Hayyim Vital. The book is divided into four chapters: the # rst three chapters contain original material by Vital, while the last and largest chapter includes short treatises culled from various written and oral sources. It would appear from the evolving nature of the handwriting that Vital compiled and added to this work over the course of many years. Following Vital’s death, the volume came into the possession of his son Samuel, who edited it and appended a detailed table of contents.

Chapter three of Sefer ha-Refu'ot, ha-Segullot, ve-ha-Kame'ot is subdivided into two parts. The first constitutes a lengthy treatment of alchemy, a subject to whose study and practice Vital had dedicated two years of his youth, though in later years he regretted having done so. The second part of the chapter discusses various material manipulations that Vital attempted but which ultimately failed.  The present lot comprises folio 45, the final leaf of the first part of ch 3. Here, Vital describes the procedure for separating an alloy of gold and silver into its constituent components.