Reshit Chokhmah, in English The Beginning of Wisdom, is a 16th-century work by Rabbi Elijah de Vidas. Based largely on the Zohar, it describes a method of meditation that combines visualization and permutation of Hebrew letters and is intended to inspire the reader with a sense of purity and holiness. The book was originally published by the author’s nephew, Rabbi Eliezer HaKohen, and subsequently reprinted in more than 50 editions and translated into several languages.