Kabbalistic Manuscript by Rabbi Yehudah Ptayah

Kabbalistic Manuscript by Rabbi Yehudah Ptayah

"The spirits were apprehensive about him ... there were people whose lives the doctors despaired of ... and he would do tikkunim and revive the dead and they lived several years more" (The Rishon LeTziyon Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu)

Extraordinarily deep and "terrifying" Kabbalistic manuscript (in the words of Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu) full of sacred Names,  sefirot and partzufim. Entirely written by the leading Kabbalist of Bavel (Iraq), the G-dly Kabbalist Rabbi Yehudah Ptayah, who was known for enacting wonders and for his prophetic visions unlike any other heard in recent generations, since the time of Rabbi Chaim Vital. Autographic script with glosses and revisions [Baghdad, late 19th century]. Printed [with many, many changes] in his sefer Beit Lechem Yehuda, Sha'ar 29, Chapters 8 and 9.

This manuscript is completely different from what is printed in his sefer, Beit Lechem Yehudah. Textual comparison shows that there is almost no single line where this manuscript completely matches what is printed in the sefer! As is known in such lofty matters dealing with the wisdom of truth used for creating the Heavens and the Earth, each change, even within a single word, can influence worlds of meaning. This is also the reason that in our times, when many errors have crept into sacred Names, supernatural actions possible in previous generations can no longer be reproduced.

Some Kabbalists maintain that the errors were inserted intentionally into the early works by their authors, lest they fall into the hands of dishonest disciples who would use them for undesirable purposes. This is a manuscript from the last of the Kabbalists of Bavel, who used sacred Names to perform wonders, and this manuscript, as stated, is quite different from the printed version. We do not understand hidden matters, and don't know the reason Rabbi Ptayah changed the text, or even the nature of those changes, but the large number of textual differences will certainly occupy countless Kabbalists who deal with these lofty matters - as divrei Torah poor in one place are wealthy in another.

Kabbalist Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu, in his foreword to the new edition of Beit Lechem Yehudah (Jerusalem, 2006) writes about Rabbi Yehudah Ptayah and his magnum opus as follows: "This precious and important sefer, Beit Lechem Yehudah, which is an in-depth and terrifying commentary on Etz Chayim ... authored by the great rabbi, the fortress and the tower, wise man of secrets, tallest of the cedars, the wondrous gaon, full of Divine honor, a pious tzaddik, the sacred Kabbalist ... Rabbi Yehudah Ptayah ztzuk"l, whose praise is sung the world over ... While yet abroad, before his ascent to the Land of Israel, there was no one who could battle the spirits; he was the first to act in this way - refer to his sefer, Minchat Yehudah, powerful matters and lofty actions to the extent that the spirits were apprehensive about him ... his prayers were always fulfilled. Patients who were sentenced to death by doctors who had despaired of their recovery came to him. He carried out tikkunim for them and pray for them, reviving the dead - and they lived several more years."

It is told that manuscripts by gedolei Yisrael - on any topic - constitute, through the generations, amulets for protection and success. This was especially true of manuscripts by Babylonian Kabbalists (such as the Ben Ish Chai, as is known). How much more so a manuscript by the leading Kabbalist of his generation, known for his extensive use of practical Kabbalah and writing amulets (as appears in his sefarim in detail). And even more so, this manuscript, which deals entirely with the roots of sephirot and partzufim and is filled across its entire length with sacred and lofty Names, each of which has the power to revive the dead.

Refer to the Hebrew catalog text for a brief biography of the G-dly Kabbalist Rabbi Yehudah Ptayah.

[2] pp, approximately [21] cm. Thick, high-quality paper. Characteristic chatzi-kolmus script in black ink.

Very fine condition. Aging stains.