This volume presents the first commented translation of Chaim Vital's (1542–1620) commentary on Sefer Yetzirah, in the recension of his teacher Rabbi Isaac Luria. The introduction situates the text in sixteenth-century Safed, examines Vital's Lurianic innovations — including his mapping of the twenty-two letters onto the Partzufim and the inter-sefirotic pathways of Ze'ir Anpin — and reconstructs the operative meditative tradition the text encodes. Comparative chapters address Sufi dhikr, Judeo-Arabic spiritual psychology, and contemplative neuroscience. A closing chapter treats the Golem tradition from the Talmud through the Maharal. Addressed to scholars of Jewish mysticism, historians of early modern spirituality, and students of comparative contemplative practice.