Drush HaTanninim: The Discourse of the Dragons - Rabbi Yosef ibn Tabul

Come and see, friendsDrush HaTanninim by the divine kabbalist, our teacher, Rabbi Yosef Ibn Tabul of blessed memory, is a rare and historical Sefer that opens a different window into the teachings of the holy Arizal. Most who enter the world of Lurianic Kabbalah do so through Rabbi Chaim Vital, the foremost disciple who preserved the teachings in a single, enduring form—but he was not alone. Among the students of the Arizal stood Rabbi Yosef Ibn Tabul, whose writings preserve a distinct and lesser-known transmission, offering a rare glimpse into how these mysteries were received and expressed in the earliest generation. At the center of this Sefer is a deep commentary on Parashat Bo in the Zohar (34a–35b), on the passage of the great dragons, where the secret of the dragons and Leviathan is unfolded as part of the hidden structure of creation—revealing a profound balance of division and unity, concealment and revelation, exile and repair.For centuries, this Sefer remained scattered across manuscripts—shortened, expanded, and at times even attributed to the Arizal himself—leaving its full form obscured. This edition restores that history, presenting for the first time both the long and short versions together in one volume, alongside a precise interlinear English translation that allows the reader to follow the text word by word. This is a preserved voice from within the circle of the Arizal—a rare and historical Sefer that reveals a lesser-known path into the teachings of the Zohar and the mystery of the Great Dragons. Read more