Manuscript, Etz Chaim - Ashkenazic Script, 18th Century - Hundreds of Glosses, Long and Original

Manuscript, Etz Chaim - Ashkenazic Script, 18th Century - Hundreds of Glosses, Long and Original
Manuscript, Etz Chaim of the Ari, arranged from the writings of his disciple R. Chaim Vital by R. Meir Poppers. [Europe, 18th century].
Neat ancient Ashkenazic script. Hundreds of glosses appear in the margins and between the lines of the text. The glosses are written in Ashkenazic script [ca. 18th-19th centuries] and contain unique content. Some are exceptionally long. These glosses are in the autographic handwriting of an unknown scholar, evidently a learned kabbalist. The content of the glosses includes questions and answers, novellae and explanations, comparisons and textual variations. Several of the glosses are extremely critical and harsh (an unprecedented phenomenon in kabbalistic writings). The author casts doubt on whether specific chapters and paragraphs were indeed authored by R. Chaim Vital, and comments where the contents of the work do not seem logical to him, attributing the mistakes to the writings of R. Chaim Vital's disciples. The glosses also include explanations of laws and customs according to kabbalistic teachings. See p. 212a: "It seems to me that this is the hidden reason for the custom of sprinkling wine onto the circumcision site; also, the oral suction…".
Other works of the Ari which are quoted in the glosses are "Sefer HaGilgulim" and "Mevo She'arim". The glosses also quote other glosses with the introduction: "I have found written" (some of these are the glosses of the kabbalist R. Yitzchak of Poznan. See the glosses of R. Yitzchak of Poznan printed in Moriah, Issue 74, Adar I 1984, pp. 33-37). The author of the glosses also refers to the book Ohr Yisrael (by R. Yisrael Yaffe, Frankfurt, 1702).
The pages contain headings (with summary of contents) written by a third hand, in Ashkenazic script (19th century).
The text of Etz Chaim on approximately one third of the leaves is illegible due to ink erosion. The glosses, however, written with different ink, have remained undamaged and are easily read.
308, [1] leaves. 32.5 cm. Condition varies; fair-poor. Tears and wear. Detached leaves. Approximately one third of the leaves are severely damaged by ink erosion; illegible text. These leaves have many tears to the text (without damage to the marginal glosses). The final leaf and the back binding are detached. Old leather binding, worn and damaged, without spine.