Mystics > Halakha and kabbalah
LURIA, SOLOMON BEN JEḤIEL (1510?-1573/4).
Menorat zahav ṭahor.
Manuscript in Hebrew on paper.
Italy, ca. 18th century.
MS X893 M52
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Menorat zahav ṭahor: 3v-4r
While there was often a strict dividing line between the halakhists, those who studied the Jewish legal processes, and the kabbalists, those who studied mysticism, Solomon ben Jehiel Luria was a scholar who had a foot planted solidly in each of the two fields. After serving as the rosh yeshiva (dean) of yeshivot in Ostrog and Lublin, he established his own yeshiva in Lublin, and taught many leaders of the next generation. His glosses on Talmud are now included in the standard printed editions.
This manuscript is a kabbalistic commentary by Rabbi Luria on Psalm 67. The seven-branched menorah illustrates the seven mystical concepts that are discussed based on this psalm.