The Lion of Safed
Moshe Miller
1. The Preeminent Master Kabbalist
Rabbi Yitzchak Luria was undisputedly the greatest practitioner and
expounder of Kabbala since Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, author of the
Zohar. Rabbi Yitzchak Luria founded a new school in Kabbalistic thought,
known as "the system of the Ari."
Rabbi Yitzchak Luria ben Shlomo Ashkenazi, whose father was
related to the famous Maharshal, was born in the Old City of
Jerusalem in 5294 (1534) in what is now the Old Yishuv Court Museum,
and passed away on the 5th of Av 5332 (1572 CE). He is buried
in the Old Cemetery of Safed, where tens of thousands make
the pilgrimage to his graveside every year.
Rabbi Yitzchak Luria is commonly known as the Ari, an acronym
standing for Eloki Rabbi Yitzchak, the G-dly Rabbi Isaac. No
other master or sage ever had this extra letter aleph, an abbreviation
for Eloki [G dly] prefacing his name. This was a sign of the
esteem in which his contemporaries held him. Later generations, fearful
that this appellation might be misunderstood, substituted Ashkenazi,
his family name, for the aleph, indicating that his family
had originated in Germany, as indeed it had. Alternatively, some explain
that the aleph stands for Adoneinu, "our master."
To this day among Kabbalists, Rabbi Yitzchak Luria is only referred
to as Rabbeinu HaAri, HaAri HaKadosh (the holy Ari),
the Ari (which also means "lion"), or the Arizal
(the Ari, of blessed memory).
The following story is told about the birth of the Arizal:
There was once a very pious scholar living in Israel, named Rabbi
Shlomo Luria... One day he remained in the Study Hall alone, learning,
when Elijah the Prophet appeared to him and said, "I have been
sent to you by the Almighty to bring you tidings that your wife shall
conceive and bear a child, and that you must call him Yitzchak (Isaac).
He shall begin to deliver Israel from the kelipot [husks, forces
of evil]. Through him numerous souls will receive their tikun
(rectification). He is also destined to reveal many hidden mysteries
in the Torah and to expound on the Zohar. His fame will spread throughout
the world. Take care therefore that you not circumcise him before
I come to be the Sandak [who holds the child during the circumcision
ceremony]."
He finished speaking and disappeared. Rabbi Shlomo Luria went home
but did not reveal this secret to anyone, even his to wife. When the
Ari was born, the house was filled with light, and on the eighth day,
he was brought to the synagogue to be circumcised. His father searched
everywhere to see if Elijah had come as promised, but he did not see
him. Everyone was urging the father to proceed, but he replied that
not all the guests had yet arrived.
An hour went by, but Elijah still did not come. Then he thought bitterly
to himself: My sins must have prevented him from fulfilling his promise.
But as he was crying, Elijah appeared and said, "Do not cry,
servant of Hashem. Draw near unto the altar and offer your son as
a pure sacrifice dedicated entirely to Heaven. Sit on my chair and
I shall sit upon you." Whereupon, invisible to everyone present
except Rabbi Shlomo, Elijah sat on his lap, received the child with
both hands and held him during the entire circumcision. Neither the
mohel nor those assembled saw anything but the father holding
his baby. After the circumcision, he again promised Rabbi Shlomo that
the child would bring great light to the entire world, and then he
disappeared.
When the Ari was still a child, Rabbi Shlomo passed away.
In 1541, unable to support the family, the Ari's mother, with
her family, traveled to Egypt, where the family lived with her brother,
Mordechai Frances, a wealthy tax collector. The boy's brilliance continued
to shine in pilpul [Talmudic dialectic] and logic. Rabbi David
ben Zimra (Radbaz) taught the Ari both the revealed
and concealed aspects of the Torah. The Ari also studied under Rabbi
Betzalel Ashkenazi, the author of Shittah Mekubetzet.
By the time the Ari was fifteen, his expertise in Talmud had
equaled or surpassed that of all the sages in Egypt. At this age,
he married his uncle's daughter, and then spent the next six years
in intensive study with Rabbi Betzalel Ashkenazi. It was around this
time that a copy of one volume of the Zohar came into his hands. He
studied the Zohar in seclusion for another six years. He then isolated
himself completely in a house near the Nile for another two years.
He remained alone, not speaking to any human being throughout the
week. He would return home on the eve of Shabbat, just before dark.
But even at home, he would not utter a word, even to his wife. When
it was absolutely necessary for him to say something, he would say
it in the least possible number of words, and then, he would speak
only in the Holy language--Hebrew. The Ari and his wife had a number
of children, including a son named Moshe, who passed away at a young
age, and a daughter, who married the son of Rabbi Yosef Caro. Details
are sketchy regarding his other children.
He continued to progress in this manner until he was worthy of Divine
inspiration (Ruach HaKodesh). On numerous occasions, Elijah
the prophet revealed himself and taught the Ari the mysteries
of the Torah. Every night his soul ascended into the heavenly realms.
Troops of angels would greet him to safeguard his way, bringing him
to the heavenly academies. These angels would ask him which academy
he chose to visit. Sometimes it would be that of Rabbi Shimon bar
Yochai, and other times he would visit the heavenly academies of Rabbi
Akiva or Rabbi Eliezer the Great. On occasion he would also visit
the heavenly academies of the ancient prophets.
In 5330 (1570 CE), after he had attained an extremely exalted rung
of holiness in Egypt, Elijah told him the time had come to move to
Safed, a city in the Galilee in the north of Israel. There, he would
meet Rabbi Chaim Vital, the man to whom he was destined to transmit
the keys to the ancient knowledge.
When he first arrived in Safed, the Arizal joined the circle
of students who studied Kabbala under Rabbi Moshe Cordovero (Ramak).
His discipleship was short-lived for the Ramak passed on soon
afterwards.
After the passing of the Ramak, the Ari began teaching Kabbala.
The Radbaz, who had also settled in Safed, warned him not to
teach Kabbala in public. However, later the Radbaz recanted,
after receiving a sign from Heaven that he had erred in his ruling.
(Some say that Elijah the prophet himself visited the Radbaz and revealed
to him that he had erred). Soon a group of the leading kabbalists
in Safed gathered around him, among them Rabbi Chaim Vital, who became
his chief disciple.
*
Rabbi Chaim Vital writes in the Introduction to Shaar HaHakdamot:
The Ari overflowed with Torah. He was thoroughly expert in
Scripture, Mishnah, Talmud, Pilpul, Midrash, Agada, Maaseh
Bereishit and Maaseh Merkava. He was expert in the language
of trees, the language of birds, and the speech of angels. He could
read faces in the manner outlined in the Zohar (vol. II, p. 74b).
He could discern all that any individual had done, and could see what
they would do in the future. He could read people's thoughts, often
before the thought even entered their mind. He knew future events,
was aware of everything happening here on earth, and what was decreed
in heaven.
He knew the mysteries of gilgul [reincarnation], who had been
born previously, and who was here for the first time. He could look
at a person and tell him how he was connected to higher spiritual
levels, and his original root in Adam. The Ari could read wondrous
things [about people] in the light of a candle or in the flame of
a fire. With his eyes he gazed and was able to see the souls of the
righteous, both those who had died recently and those who had lived
in ancient times. Together/from these departed souls, he studied the
true mysteries.
From a person's scent, he was able to know all that he had done.
(See Zohar, Yenuka vol. III p. 188a). It was as if the answers to
all these mysteries lay dormant within him, waiting to be activated
whenever he desired. He did not have to seclude himself to seek them
out.
All this we saw with our own eyes. These are not things that we heard
from others. They were wondrous things that had not been seen on earth
since the time of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. None of this was attained
through magic, heaven forbid. There is a strong prohibition against
these arts. Instead, it came automatically, as a result of his saintliness
and asceticism, after many years of study in both the ancient and
the newer Kabbalistic texts. He then increased his piety, asceticism,
purity and holiness until he reached a level where Elijah would constantly
reveal himself to him, speaking to him "mouth to mouth,"
teaching him these secrets.
After the engagement of R. Yosef Caro's son and the Ari's daughter,
Rabbi Caro, the author of Shulchan Aruch and one of the most
important masters of Jewish Law ever, declared , "Even an angel
cannot know what the Ari knows." "He has the soul
of one of the Early Prophets, for even a Tanna could not have
said what he has said."
The Ari's Writings
The Arizal himself wrote relatively little. From his own hand
we have novellae on two Talmudic tractates. These have been included
in his teacher's "Shittah Mekubetzet." His writings
in Kabbala were included in Rabbi Chaim Vital's Etz Chaim and
are marked by Rabbi Chaim with the preface "found written in
manuscript." There is also a commentary on a small section of
the Zohar and a few hymns for the Sabbath from the master himself.
The bulk of his teachings were recorded by his disciples, in numerous
works, primarily by Rabbi Chaim Vital. His disciples also recorded
his customs in a work known as "Shulchan Aruch HaAri"
published in Venice 5440 (1680 CE).
The teachings of the Ari were afforded the status of a Rishon
[primary authority]. Every custom of the Ari was scrutinized,
and many were accepted, even against previous practice. The Magen
Avraham (Rabbi Avraham Gombiner, 5395-5443 / 1635-1683 CE) accepts
many of the Ari's customs as legally binding. In deciding disputes
that had remained unresolved for centuries, he often cites the Ari's
custom as the final authority.
Main Students:
Rabbi Chaim Vital (Calabrese)
Rabbi Yisrael Sarug
Rabbi Shmuel Ozida (author of Midrash Shmuel).
Rabbi Yitzchak Cohen
Rabbi Masud HaMaaravi
Rabbi Gedalia
[Reprinted from http://www.KabbalaOnline.org]
Rabbi Moshe Miller, a guest teacher at Ascent when he lived
in Israel, was born in South Africa and received his yeshiva education
in Israel and America. He is a prolific author and translator, with
some twenty books to his name on a wide variety of topics, including
a new, authoritative, annotated translation of the Zohar. He currently
lives in Chicago.
Yrachmiel Tilles
is co-founder and associate director of Ascent-of-Safed, and editor of Ascent
Quarterly and the AscentOfSafed.com and KabbalaOnline.org websites. He has hundreds
of published stories to his credit.
