600 pages. Although according to some reports Vital, upon learning of this, claimed that the papers which has been copied were not his own writings, they were rapidly disseminated. The writings in question purported to contain the teachings of the Luria rather than Vital's independent work. The first printed edition was in eight volumes, known as the Shemonah She'arim, and this version is still used by some Kabbalists in the Sephardi world. The best known recension was published later under the title Etz Hayyim ("Tree of Life"), in which the topics were arranged in a more systematic order, and the parts on ritual (the Peri Etz Hayyim) were kept separate from the parts on the underlying theology. In addition to a tribute to the Luria, the work contains the assertion that it is one of God's greatest pleasures to witness the promotion of the teaching of the Kabbalah, since this alone can assure the coming of the Jewish Messiah. However, Vital still held the teachings of his former teacher, kabbalist Moses Cordovero, in high esteem. He maintained that Cordovero often appeared to him in dreams. One of the most prominent of Vital's opponents was Menahem Lonzano, who publicly denounced him in his work Imrei Emet. Later life and death On 20 Elul 1590, Vital received rabbinical ordination from his teacher Moshe Alshich. Four years later, in 1594, he settled permanently in Damascus, where he lectured every evening on the kabbalah. In 1604 Vital's sight began to fail; in 1620 he died while preparing to return to Safed. He was 77. Notes References Hayyim ben Joseph Vital, The Tree of Life: Chayyim Vital's Introduction to the Kabbalah of Isaac Luria - The Palace of Adam Kadmon. Translated and with an introduction by Donald Wilder Menzi and Zwe Padeh. Northvale, N.J. and Jerusalem: Jason Aronson, 1999. This is a translation of the first volume of Luria's “Etz Chaim”; the introduction by the translators gives a general overview of the Lurianic system. External links Shaarei Kedushah - Gates of Holiness in English Works of Rabbi Chaim Vital Introduction by Chaim Vital (Hebrew) Sefer Gilgulim Great Leaders of our People - Rabbi Chaim Vital Encyclopædia Britannica articles 1542 births 1620 deaths 16th-century rabbis from the Ottoman Empire 17th-century rabbis from the Ottoman Empire Jewish mysticism Kabbalists Isaac Luria Rabbis in Safed Rabbis in Ottoman Galilee Sephardi rabbis in Ottoman Palestine