Etz Chaim (Tree of Life) is a collection of the teachings of Rabbi Isaac Luria (Arizal) as recorded by his disciple, Rabbi Chaim Vital. It is the primary introduction, interpretation, and synthesis of Lurianic Kabbalah. The Shemonah Shearim (Eight Gates) was arranged by Rabbi Samuel Vital, the son of Chaim Vital. Etz Chaim was the only work published within Chaim Vital's lifetime. The rest of his writings were buried with him in an unedited form until Samuel supposedly had a dream that he was to exhume his father's grave and remove certain writings, leaving the others buried. Samuel Vital went on to edit, annotate, and publish the works as the Eight Gates, which were then, at times, subdivided into other works. Sephardic kabbalists try to study all eight gates. Etz Chaim is typically published in a single-volume, three-part arrangement: the initial two parts are by Chaim Vital, with a third part, Nahar Shalom, by Rabbi Shalom Sharabi.