Yehuda Ashlag

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Yehuda Ashlag
1886
Born
Łódź
1954
Died
Jerusalem
Occupation Rabbi
Religion Orthodox Judaism

Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag (1885—1954) or Yehuda Leib Ha-Levi Ashlag (Hebrew: ‫ַר ִּבי ְיהּוָד ה ֵליּב‬
‫ )ַהֵּלִוי ַא ְׁש ַלג‬also known as the Baal Ha-Sulam (Hebrew: ‫ַּבַעל ַהּסּוָלם‬, "Author of the Ladder") in
reference to his magnum opus, was an orthodox rabbi and kabbalist born in Łódź, Congress
Poland, Russian Empire, to a family of scholars connected to the Hasidic courts of Porisov and
Belz.[1] Rabbi Ashlag lived in the Holy Land from 1922 until his death in 1954 (except for two
years in England). In addition to his Sulam commentary on the Zohar, his other primary work,
Talmud Eser Sefirot is regarded as the central textbook for students of Kabbalah. Ashlag
systematically interpreted the wisdom and promoted its wide dissemination. In line with his
directives, many contemporary adherents of Ashlag’s teachings strive to spread Kabbalah to the
masses.[1]

Contents
[hide]
 1 Biography
o 1.1 Poland
o 1.2 Israel
 2 Books
o 2.1 Works of Interest
 3 Teachings
 4 Ashlag's sons
 5 References
 6 See also

 7 External links

[edit] Biography
[edit] Poland
Ashlag reputedly studied Kabbalah from the age of seven, hiding pages from the book Etz Chaim
(The Tree of Life) of Isaac Luria (also known as the Arizal) in the Talmudic tractate he was meant
to be studying.[1] At the age of twelve, he studied the Talmud independently. By nineteen,
Ashlag’s knowledge of the Torah was profound enough for the rabbis of Warsaw to confer upon
him the title of rabbi. During this period he worked as a judge in the court of the Warsaw rabbis
and also gained experience as a teacher for training judges for Jewish courts. Ashlag also studied
German while in Warsaw, and read original texts of Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche, and Schopenhauer.
[1]

While still in Poland, he met an unidentified Warsaw merchant, who revealed himself to Ashlag
as a Kabbalist. Ashlag studied with this particular teacher every night for three months, he said,
“until my arrogance separated us,” and the teacher disappeared. A few months later Ashlag met
the teacher again, and after pleading with him, convinced him to reveal an important kabbalistic
secret. The next day, the teacher died.[1]

[edit] Israel

In 1921, at the age of 36, Ashlag made the decision to emigrate to the Land of Israel, a journey
that took several months.[1] He spent the first few years living anonymously, supporting his
family through manual labor by day and writing his commentaries at night. Eventually, he was
recognized through his work, and was appointed Rabbi of Givat Shaul, Jerusalem in 1924.[1]

Ashlag was friendly with the Kabbalist and Chief Rabbi of the British Mandate of Palestine,
Rabbi Abraham Kook, who recognized Ashlag as a great follower of Isaac Luria. Ashlag had
high hopes of meeting great Kabbalists in Jerusalem including the Sephardi followers of the great
18th century Yemenite Jewish Kabbalist Sar Shalom Sharabi. However, he was profoundly
disappointed by his encounter with them. Their views about Kabbalah ran contrary to Ashlag’s
experience with the teaching as a means of profound personal transformation and spiritual
illumination, by becoming a vessel for divine light.[1]

In 1926 Ashlag left for London, and it was there that he wrote his commentary on Isaac Luria
book Etz Chaim (The Tree of Life). This work is entitled Panim Meirot Umasbirot. It took him
one and a half years to complete this work. It was published in 1927, and in 1928 Ashlag returned
to the British Mandate of Palestine.[1]

In 1932 Ashlag and his family moved to Jaffa. During this period, Ashlag also began one of his
main works, Talmud Eser Sefirot, a commentary on all the writings of the Isaac Luria.[2] In this
undertaking, he developed a comprehensive explanation of the sequence of the creation of all of
the upper worlds (Olamot Elyonim), starting with the source of emanation (Ma'atzil) and
finishing with our world (Olam HaZeh). The work is divided into six volumes, containing sixteen
parts and over two thousand pages. Some today consider it as the core of the entire teaching of
Kabbalah.

In the 1930s Ashlag, now in his fifties, gathered around him a group of disciples who studied
Kabbalah every night, often from shortly after midnight until dawn. He also composed many
articles and letters at this time that openly promoted the study of Kabbalah on a mass scale. [1]
Ashlag went to great lengths to publish Kabbalistic material, in mediums suitable for
disseminating the knowledge he had acquired across the entire Israeli nation. He began an
independent Kabbalistic newsletter publication, “HaUma” (“The Nation”), of which only one
issue survived.[citation needed] Its contents present Ashlag's analytical depths of using knowledge he
had attained in Kabbalah to illuminate the cause of political and social problems in human
egoism; giving reasons why communism was destined to fail, and offering solutions for
correcting the property of human egoism through his teaching method of Kabbalah.[3][verification needed]

Ohel of Yehuda Ashlag on Har HaMenuchot

Ashlag differs fundamentally from all Kabbalists of the past, who studied and taught Kabbalah in
a concealed manner, in that he felt a great need to reveal and clarify the teaching of Kabbalah to
the masses.[1] This was because he saw that the evil inclination in people (human egoism) would
rise to an altogether new height in this era of humanity, causing an altogether new era of internal
suffering felt as a meaningless and confused existence.[2][verification needed]

In 1943, Ashlag moved to Tel Aviv, and there began working on his book, HaSulam (The
Ladder), a collection of commentaries on The Zohar. During this period, he wrote for eighteen
hours a day, and due to a lack of money he was not able to afford a sufficient amount of paper
and ink to write more precise explanations. He later said that if it had been within his capabilities,
he would have written a full commentary on The Zohar in two-hundred volumes, but he was
unable to begin the work only because of a lack of means.[4]

He completed this work in 1953, and later added three more volumes. In honor of the completion
of the entire work, his students organized a big feast in Meron, where Ashlag gave the speech that
is today printed under the title “Maamar LeSiyum HaZohar” (“An Article for the Completion of
the Zohar,” also known as “Speech in Celebration for the Conclusion of the Zohar”).[4] Yehuda
Ashlag died on the day of Yom Kippur in 1954. He was buried on cemetery Har HaMenuchot
located in Givat Shaul, Jerusalem, Israel.

[edit] Books
Ashlag wrote and published two major works. The first, Talmud Eser Sefirot is a complete re-
editing and commentary to the works of 16th century Kabbalist Rabbi Isaac Luria. This is a
comprehensive exposition of the system of the upper worlds, Partzufim and Sefirot, in the
scientific language of Kabbalah which was developed by Luria.[2]

As a core Kabbalistic text, it is especially unique in its utmost precision to detail to the structural
organization and processes occurring in the upper worlds. It is set out as a comprehensive
textbook, complete with commentaries, a section in each chapter dedicated to further reflection
upon the commentaries, definitions of terms, tables of questions and answers, an introduction
clarifying how to study Kabbalah in the correct manner, and also a summarized preface of the
entire text.[2]

His other masterwork was his Sulam commentary on The Zohar, which earned him the name
“Baal HaSulam”. This monumental work took him ten years to complete, written between the
years 1943 and 1953. It includes a translation of The Zohar from Aramaic to Hebrew as well as
an extensive interpretation.

Another publication is the notebook of Yehuda Ashlag’s son and disciple, Baruch Ashlag. His
notebook, entitled Shamati (I Heard]), contains over two hundred articles which were copied
down from lessons and talks of Yehuda Ashlag. Baruch Ashlag kept this notebook with him in
secret, until he was on his deathbed, in 1991. It was later published in Hebrew, and has been
translated into many different languages. The articles in Shamati form a unique kabbalistic work
in their emotional depth of capturing the inner processes that a Kabbalist goes through on the
path of spiritual attainment.

[edit] Works of Interest

 Matan Torah (Gift of the Bible)

 Perush HaSulam (Commentary of the Ladder on the Zohar)
 Talmud Eser haSefirot (Study of the Ten Luminous Emanations)
 Panim Meirot u'Masbirot (Welcoming and Illuminating Revelations)
 Ha’Akadama Le Talmud Eser haSefirot (Introduction to the Ten Luminous
Emanations)
 Ha’Akadama Le Sefer HaZohar (Introduction to the Zohar)
 Mavo le Sefer HaZohar (Entrance to the Zohar)
 Pticha le Hokhmat haKabbalah (Opening to the Wisdom of Kabbalah)
 Sefer haIlan (Book of the Tree or Book of Illustrations)
 Pticha le Perush haSulam (Opening to the Sulam Commentary)
 Ha’Akadama Le Sefer Panim Meirot u’Masbirot (Introduction to Panim Meirot
u’Masbirot[Welcoming and Illuminating Revelations])
 Pticha Kolelet leSefer Panim Meirot u’Masbirot (Opening to Panim Meirot u’Masbirot
[Welcoming and Illuminating Revelations])

[edit] Teachings
Ashlag’s commentary offered a systematic interpretation of the legacy of the Isaac Luria. This
was the first since the 18th century when the Baal Shem Tov, Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (Ramchal),
the Vilna Gaon and Sar Shalom Sharabi (the Rashash) offered their interpretation of the Luria's
teaching. Ashlag’s system focused on the transformation of human consciousness from a state of
desiring to receive, to desiring to give. This path of transformation is described in Lurianic
Kabbalah.

Ashlag stated that the purpose of studying Kabbalah is equal to the purpose of why human beings
were created, and that through its study, a person is capable of revealing the entirety of processes
and structures that have taken place in the creation of the universe.[5][verification needed]

"Equivalence of form" with this source means having the same attributes or qualities as it, and
Ashlag defines the qualities of this source as being altruistic, namely the desire to give, or in
Ashlag's words, the "will to bestow" (Ratzon LeHashpia).[6][verification needed]

Through intensive study of Kabbalah, a person's desire to give to others is developed in relation
to this goal. Ashlag believed that the coming of the Messiah meant that humans would attain this
quality which would allow them to give up their selfishness and devote themselves to loving each
other for the sake of life's purpose, as stated in the commandment "love thy neighbor as
thyself."[6]

Ashlag had strong political opinions, believing in a religious version of libertarian communism,
based on principles of Kabbalah. Though his anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist ideas show some
Marxist influence, he strongly opposed communism instituted by force and believed in
"developing a community based on love between its members and a society founded on economic
justice."[1] He supported the Kibbutz movement and preached to establish a network of self-ruled
internationalist communes, who would eventually “annul the brute-force regime completely, for
‘every man did that which was right in his own eyes.’”, because “there is nothing more
humiliating and degrading for a person than being under the brute-force government”.[7]

[edit] Ashlag's sons

 Baruch Ashlag (1906–1991)
 Shlomo Benyamin Ashlag
 Yaʿaqov (Jacob) Ashlag

Nahmanides
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article
by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and
removed. (November 2010)
Moshe ben Nahman Girondi
 Image indicating one artist's conception of
Nahmanides' appearance
Full name Moshe ben Nahman Girondi
1194
Born
Girona, Spain
1270
Died
Israel
Era Medieval Philosophy
Region Mediterranean
School Jewish philosophy

Nahmanides, also known as Rabbi Moses ben Naḥman Girondi, Bonastruc ça Porta and by
his acronym Ramban, (Girona, 1194 – Land of Israel, 1270), was a leading medieval Jewish
scholar, Catalan rabbi, philosopher, physician, kabbalist, and biblical commentator.

Contents
[hide]
 1 Name
 2 Biography
 3 Attitude toward Maimonides
 4 Iggrot ha-Kodesh
 5 Views on death, mourning and the resurrection
 6 Commentary on the Torah
 7 Attitude toward Abraham ibn Ezra
 8 Disputation of Barcelona, 1263
 9 In Jerusalem
 10 Works
 11 References

 12 External links
[edit] Name
"Nahmanides" is a Greek-influenced formation meaning "son of Naḥman". He is also commonly
known by his Hebrew acronym, "Ramban", (Rabbi Moshe ben Naḥman). His Catalan name was
Bonastruc ça Porta, (also written Saporta, de Porta).

[edit] Biography
Nahmanides was born at Girona (hence his name "Girondi") in 1194, and died in the Land of
Israel about 1270.[1] He was the grandson of Isaac ben Reuben of Barcelona and cousin of Jonah
Gerondi (the Rabbeinu Yonah); his brother was Benveniste de Porta, the bailie of Barcelona.
[clarification needed]
Among his teachers in Talmud were Judah ben Yakkar and Meïr ben Nathan of
Trinquetaille, and he is said to have been instructed in Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) by his
countryman Azriel of Gerona,[2] who was in turn a disciple of Isaac the Blind.

Nahmanides studied medicine which he practiced as a means of livelihood; he also studied

philosophy. During his teens he began to get a reputation as a learned Jewish scholar. He learnt
from the famous kabbalist Zacharia Coppell Gold, who was more commonly known as 'the small
one' - so called because of his slight frame. At age 16 he began his writings on Jewish law. In his
Milhamot Hashem (Wars of the Lord) he defended Alfasi's decisions against the criticisms of
Zerachiah ha-Levi of Girona. These writings reveal a conservative tendency that distinguished his
later works — an unbounded respect for the earlier authorities.

In the view of Nahmanides, the wisdom of the rabbis of the Mishnah and Talmud, as well as the
Geonim (rabbis of the early medieval era) was unquestionable. Their words were to be neither
doubted nor criticized. "We bow," he says, "before them, and even when the reason for their
words is not quite evident to us, we submit to them" (Aseifat Zekkenim, commentary on Ketubot).
Nahmanides' adherence to the words of the earlier authorities may be due to piety, or the
influence of the northern French Jewish school of thought. However, it is thought that it also may
be a reaction to the rapid acceptance of Greco-Arabic philosophy among the Jews of Spain and
Provence; this occurred soon after the appearance of Maimonides' Guide for the Perplexed. This
work gave rise to a tendency to allegorize Biblical narratives, and to downplay the role of
miracles. Against this tendency Nahmanides strove, and went to the other extreme, not even
allowing the utterances of the immediate disciples of the Geonim to be questioned.

[edit] Attitude toward Maimonides

Called upon, about 1238, for support by Solomon of Montpellier, who had been excommunicated
by supporters of Maimonides, Nahmanides addressed a letter to the communities of Aragon,
Navarre, and Castile, in which Solomon's adversaries were severely rebuked. However, the great
respect he professed for Maimonides (though he did not share the latter's views), reinforced by
innate gentleness of character, kept him from allying himself with the anti-Maimonist party and
led him to assume the role of a conciliator.
In a letter addressed to the French rabbis, he draws attention to the virtues of Maimonides and
holds that Maimonides' Mishne Torah – his Code of Jewish Law – not only shows no leniency in
interpreting prohibitions within Jewish law, but may even be seen as more stringent, which in
Nahmanides' eyes was a positive factor. As to Maimonides' Guide for the Perplexed, Nahmanides
stated that it was intended not for those of unshaken belief, but for those who had been led astray
by the non-Jewish philosophical works of Aristotle and Galen. (Note that Nahmanides's analysis
of the Guide is not the consensus view of modern scholars.)

"If," he says, "you were of the opinion that it was your duty to denounce the Guide as heretical,
why does a portion of your flock recede from the decision as if it regretted the step? Is it right in
such important matters to act capriciously, to applaud the one to-day and the other tomorrow?"

To reconcile the two parties Nahmanides proposed that the ban against the philosophical portion
of Maimonides's Code of Jewish law should be revoked, but that the ban against the study of the
"Guide for the Perplexed", and against those who rejected allegorical interpretation of the Bible,
should be maintained and even strengthened. This compromise, which might have ended the
struggle, was rejected by both parties in spite of Nahmanides' authority.

[edit] Iggrot ha-Kodesh

Nahmanides allegedly [3] wrote a book on marriage, holiness, and sexual relations for his son as a
wedding gift, the Iggeret ha-Kodesh (‫ אגרת הקודש‬- The Holy Epistle). In it Nahmanides criticizes
Maimonides for stigmatizing man's sexual nature as a disgrace to man. In the view of the author,
the body with all its functions being the work of God, is holy, and so none of its normal sexual
impulses and actions can be regarded as objectionable.

[edit] Views on death, mourning and the resurrection

In Nahmanides's Torat ha-Adam, which deals with mourning rites, burial customs, etc.,
Nahmanides sharply criticizes writers who strove to render man indifferent to both pleasure and
pain. This, he declares, is against the Law, which commands man to rejoice on the day of joy and
weep on the day of mourning. The last chapter, entitled Shaar ha-Gemul, discusses reward and
punishment, resurrection, and kindred subjects. It derides the presumption of the philosophers
who pretend to a knowledge of the essence of God and the angels, while even the composition of
their own bodies is a mystery to them.

For Nahmanides, divine revelation is the best guide in all these questions, and proceeds to give
his views on Jewish views of the afterlife. He holds that as God is eminently just, there must be
reward and punishment. This reward and punishment must take place in another world, for the
good and evil of this world are relative and transitory.

Besides the animal soul, which is derived from the "Supreme powers" and is common to all
creatures, man possesses a special soul. This special soul, which is a direct emanation from God,
existed before the creation of the world. Through the medium of man it enters the material life;
and at the dissolution of its medium it either returns to its original source or enters the body of
another man. This belief is, according to Nahmanides, the basis of the levirate marriage, the child
of which inherits not only the name of the brother of his fleshly father, but also his soul, and thus
continues its existence on the earth. The resurrection spoken of by the prophets, which will take
place after the coming of the Messiah, is referred by Nahmanides to the body. The physical body
may, through the influence of the soul, transform itself into so pure an essence that it will become
eternal.

[edit] Commentary on the Torah

His commentary on the Torah (five books of Moses) was his last work, and his most well known.
It frequently cites and critiques Rashi's commentary, and it usually provides alternative
interpretations. He was prompted to write it by three motives: (1) to satisfy the minds of students
of the Law and stimulate their interest by a critical examination of the text; (2) to justify the ways
of God and discover the hidden meanings of the words of Scripture, "for in the Torah are hidden
every wonder and every mystery, and in her treasures is sealed every beauty of wisdom"; (3) to
soothe the minds of the students by simple explanations and pleasant words when they read the
appointed sections of the Pentateuch on Sabbaths and festivals.

His commentary on the creation of the world describes the universe expanding, and matter
forming.

...At the briefest instant following creation all the matter of the universe was
“ concentrated in a very small place, no larger than a grain of mustard. The matter at
this time was very thin, so intangible, that it did not have real substance. It did have,
however, a potential to gain substance and form and to become tangible matter. From
the initial concentration of this intangible substance in its minute location, the
substance expanded, expanding the universe as it did so. As the expansion
progressed, a change in the substance occurred. This initially thin noncorporeal
substance took on the tangible aspects of matter as we know it. From this initial act of
creation, from this etherieally thin pseudosubstance, everything that has existed, or
will ever exist, was, is, and will be formed.[4] ”
His exposition, intermingled with aggadic and mystical interpretations, is based upon careful
philology and original study of the Bible. As in his preceding works, he vehemently attacks the
Greek philosophers, especially Aristotle, and frequently criticizes Maimonides' Biblical
interpretations. Thus he cites Maimonides' interpretation of Gen. 18:8, asserting that it is contrary
to the evident meaning of the Biblical words and that it is sinful even to hear it. While
Maimonides endeavored to reduce the miracles of the Bible to the level of natural phenomena,
Nahmanides emphasizes them, declaring that "no man can share in the Torah of our teacher
Moses unless he believes that all our affairs, whether they concern masses or individuals, are
miraculously controlled, and that nothing can be attributed to nature or the order of the world."
See further on this debate under Divine Providence.
Next to belief in miracles Nahmanides places three other beliefs, which are, according to him, the
Jewish principles of faith, namely, the belief in creation out of nothing, in the omniscience of
God, and in divine providence.

[edit] Attitude toward Abraham ibn Ezra

Nahmanides was an adversary of Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra, an influential Jewish Bible
commentator. Nahmanides disagrees with him; especially with regard to Kabbalah (Jewish
mysticism).Notwithstanding, he had tremendous respect for ibn Ezra, as is evidenced in his
introduction to his commentary on the Five books of the Torah.

[edit] Disputation of Barcelona, 1263

Main article: Disputation of Barcelona

Nahmanides, first as rabbi of Girona and later as chief rabbi of Catalonia, seems to have led a
largely untroubled life. When well advanced in years, however, his life was interrupted by an
event which made him leave his family and his country and wander in foreign lands. This was the
religious disputation in which he was called upon to defend his faith in 1263. The debate was
initiated by an apostate rabbinic Jew, Pablo Christiani, who had been sent by the Dominican
Master General, Raymond de Penyafort, to King James I of Aragon, with the request that the king
order Ramban to respond to charges against Judaism.

Pablo Christiani had been trying to make the Jews abandon their religion and convert to
Christianity. Relying upon the reserve his adversary would be forced to exercise due to fear of
offending the feelings of the Christians, Pablo assured the King that he would prove the truth of
Christianity from the Talmud and other rabbinical writings. Ramban answered the order of the
King, but asked that complete freedom of speech should be granted. For four days (July 20–24)
he debated with Pablo Christiani in the presence of the King, the court, and many churchmen.[5]

The subjects discussed were:

1. whether the Messiah had appeared;

2. whether the Messiah announced by the Prophets was to be considered as divine or as a
man born of human parents
3. whether the Jews or the Christians were in possession of the true faith.

Christiani argued, based upon several aggadic passages, that the Pharisee sages believed that the
Messiah had lived during the Talmudic period, and that they ostensibly believed that the Messiah
was therefore Jesus. Nahmanides countered that Christiani's interpretations were per-se
distortions; the rabbis would not hint that Jesus was Messiah while, at the same time, explicitly
opposing him as such. Nahmanides proceeded to provide context for the proof-texts cited by
Christiani, showing that they were most clearly understood differently than as proposed by
Christiani. Furthermore, Nahmanides demonstrated from numerous biblical and talmudic sources
that traditional Jewish belief ran contrary to Christiani's postulates.
Nahmanides went on to show that the Biblical prophets regarded the future messiah as a human, a
person of flesh and blood, and not as a divinity, in the way that Christians view Jesus. He noted
that their promises of a reign of universal peace and justice had not yet been fulfilled. On the
contrary, since the appearance of Jesus, the world had been filled with violence and injustice, and
among all denominations the Christians were the most warlike.

"[... it seems most strange that... ] the Creator of Heaven and Earth resorted to the womb
of a certain Jewish lady, grew there for nine months and was born as an infant, and
afterwards grew up and was betrayed into the hands of his enemies who sentenced him to
death and executed him, and that afterwards... he came to life and returned to his original
place. The mind of a Jew, or any other person, simply cannot tolerate these assertions.
You have listened all your life to the priests who have filled your brain and the marrow of
your bones with this doctrine, and it has settled into you because of that accustomed
habit. [I would argue that if you were hearing these ideas for the first time, now, as a
grown adult], you would never accept them."

He noted that questions of the Messiah are of less dogmatic importance to Jews than most
Christians imagine. The reason given by him for this bold statement is that it is more meritorious
for the Jews to observe the precepts under a Christian ruler, while in exile and suffering
humiliation and abuse, than under the rule of the Messiah, when every one would perforce act in
accordance with the Law.

As the disputation turned in favor of Nahmanides, the Jews of Barcelona, fearing the resentment
of the Dominicans, entreated him to discontinue; but the King, whom Nahmanides had
acquainted with the apprehensions of the Jews, desired him to proceed. The controversy was
therefore resumed, and concluded in a complete victory for Nahmanides, who was dismissed by
the King with a gift of three hundred gold pieces as a mark of his respect. The King remarked
that he had never encountered a man who, while yet being wrong, argued so well for his position.

The Dominicans, nevertheless, claimed the victory, and Nahmanides felt obligated to publish the
text of the debates. From this publication Pablo selected certain passages which he construed as
blasphemies against Christianity and denounced to the head of his order, Raymond de Penyafort.
A capital charge was then instituted, and a formal complaint against the work and its author was
lodged with the King. James was obliged to entertain the charge, but, mistrusting the Dominican
court, called an extraordinary commission, and ordered that the proceedings be conducted in his
presence. Nahmanides admitted that he had stated many things against Christianity, but he had
written nothing which he had not used in his disputation in the presence of the King, who had
granted him freedom of speech.

The justness of his defense was recognized by the King and the commission, but to satisfy the
Dominicans, Nahmanides was sentenced to exile for two years and his pamphlet was condemned
to be burned. He may also fined, but this was lifted as a favor to Benveniste de Porta, who
according to some authorities (Graetz Gesschichte der juden Vol. VII pp. 440–441;, Chazan,
Barcelona and Beyond, p. 199)), was Nahmanides' brother. The Dominicans, however, found this
punishment too mild and, through Pope Clement IV, they seem to have succeeded in turning the
two years' exile into perpetual banishment.
Other scholars believe that the identification of Bonastruc de Porta with Nachmanides is incorrect
(Mayer Kayserling JQR Review 8, 1896, p. 494. If their view is correct than there were actually
two people who were found to be blasphemous in the same time period and location.

[edit] In Jerusalem
Old Yishuv

Jewish life in the Land

of Israel before Modern
Zionism

Key figures

Nahmanides • Yechiel
of Paris • Bartenura •
Yehuda he-Hasid

Economy

Kollel • Halukka • Etrog

Communities

Sephardim • Perushim •
Hasidim

Synagogues

Ramban • Ari • Hurva •

Shomrei HaChomos

Related articles

History of the Jews in

 the Land of Israel •
History of Zionism
(Timeline) • Anti-
Zionism (Timeline) •
Haredim and Zionism •
Edah HaChareidis •
ShaDaR • Yishuv •
Three Oaths

 v
 d

 e

Nahmanides left Aragon and sojourned for three years somewhere in Castille or in southern
France. In 1267, seeking refuge in Muslim lands from Christian persecution,[6] he made aliyah to
Jerusalem. There he established a synagogue in the Old City that exists until present day, known
as the Ramban Synagogue. His re-establishment of Jewish communal life in Jerusalem (which
had been interrupted by Crusader repression) is notable in that it marked the beginning of almost
700 consecutive Jewish years in Jerusalem until the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Nahmanides then
settled at Acre, where he was very active in spreading Jewish learning, which was at that time
very much neglected in the Holy Land. He gathered a circle of pupils around him, and people
came in crowds, even from the district of the Euphrates, to hear him. Karaites were said to have
attended his lectures, among them being Aaron ben Joseph the Elder, who later became one of
the greatest Karaite authorities (although Graetz writes that there is no veracity to that).

It was to arouse the interest of the Israeli Jews in the exposition of the Bible that Nahmanides
wrote the greatest of his works, the above-mentioned commentary on the Torah. Although
surrounded by friends and pupils, Nahmanides keenly felt the pangs of exile. "I left my family, I
forsook my house. There, with my sons and daughters, the sweet, dear children I brought up at
my knees, I left also my soul. My heart and my eyes will dwell with them forever."

A street in Jerusalem bears his name

During his three years' stay in the Holy Land Nahmanides maintained a correspondence with his
native land, by means of which he endeavored to bring about a closer connection between Judea
and Spain. Shortly after his arrival in Jerusalem he addressed a letter to his son Nahman, in which
he described the desolation of the Holy City, where there were at that time only two Jewish
inhabitants — two brothers, dyers by trade. In a later letter from Acre he counsels his son to
cultivate humility, which he considers to be the first of virtues. In another, addressed to his
second son, who occupied an official position at the Castilian court, Nahmanides recommends the
recitation of the daily prayers and warns above all against immorality. Nahmanides died after
having passed the age of seventy-six. There is a disagreement as to his actual burial place. Some
say that his remains were interred at Haifa. Others say that they are as he requested, next to the
building housing the grave sites of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs in Hebron. Supporting this latter
theory was the discovery of a small underground tomb by an expert in the use of divining rods in
the exact place that his request mentioned, under the seventh step of the small stairs to the right of
the building. This location is visited at times by people to give respect to this great Torah Master.
Other traditions hold that a rock-hewn cave, called the Cave of the Ramban in Jerusalem, is the
Ramban's final resting place.

[edit] Works
Nahmanides' wrote glosses on the whole Talmud, made compendiums of parts of Jewish law,
after the model of Isaac Alfasi. His major work on the Talmud is referred to as: "Chiddushei
haRamban", and offers a dazzling breadth and depth to the Talmud. He often provides a different
perspective on a variety of issues that are addressed by the Tosefot.

Nahmanides' known halakhic works are: "Mishpetei ha-Cherem," the laws concerning
excommunication, reproduced in "Kol Bo"; "Hilkhot Bedikkah," on the examination of the lungs
of slaughtered animals, cited by Shimshon ben Tzemach Duran in his "Yavin Shemu'ah"; "Torat
ha-Adam," on the laws of mourning and burial ceremonies, in thirty chapters, the last of which,
entitled "Sha'ar ha-Gemul," deals with eschatology (Constantinople, 1519, and frequently
reprinted).

Nahmanides' writings in the defense of Simeon Kayyara and Alfasi also belong in the category of
his Talmudic and halachic works. These writings are: "Milhamot HaShem," defending Alfasi
against the criticisms of Zerachiah ha-Levi of Girona (published with the "Alfasi," Venice, 1552;
frequently reprinted; separate edition, Berlin, 1759); "Sefer ha-Zekhut," in defense of Alfasi
against the criticisms of Abraham ben David (RABaD; printed with Abraham Meldola's "Shiv'ah
'Enayim," Leghorn, 1745; under the title "Machaseh u-Magen," Venice, 1808); "Hassagot"
(Constantinople, 1510; frequently reprinted), in defense of Simeon Kayyara against the criticisms
of Maimonides' "Sefer ha-Mitzwoth" (Book of Precepts).

 "Derashah", sermon delivered in the presence of the King of Castile

 "Sefer ha-Ge'ulah", or "Sefer Ketz ha-Ge'ulah", on the time of the arrival of the Messiah
(in Azariah dei Rossi's "Me'or 'Enayim Imre Binah," ch. xliii., and frequently reprinted)
 "Iggeret ha-Musar", ethical letter addressed to his son (in the "Sefer ha-Yir'ah," or
"Iggeret ha-Teshuvah," of Jonah Gerondi)
 "Iggeret ha-Chemdah", letter addressed to the French rabbis in defense of Maimonides
(with the "Ta'alumot Chokmah" of Joseph Delmedigo)
 "Wikkuach", religious controversy with Pablo Christiani (in the "Milchamot Chovah")
 "Perush Iyyov", commentary on Job
  "Bi'ur" or "Perush 'al ha-Torah", commentary on the Torah

Joseph ben Abraham Gikatilla

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Jump to: navigation, search
Not to be confused with Joseph ben Abraham.
Rabbinical Eras
 Chazal
o Zugot
o Tannaim
o Amoraim
o Savoraim
 Geonim
 Rishonim

 Acharonim

Joseph ben Abraham Gikatilla (1248 – after 1305) (Hebrew: ‫יוסף בן אברהם ג'יקטיליה‬, Spanish:
Chiquitilla, "the little") was a Spanish kabbalist, student of Abraham Abulafia.

Contents
[hide]
 1 Biography
 2 Works
o 2.1 Ginnat Egoz, ‫גנת אגוז‬
o 2.2 Sha'are Orah, ‫שערי אורה‬
 2.2.1 Contents and Style
o 2.3 Other works
 3 Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography
 4 References

 5 Notes

[edit] Biography
Born at Medinaceli, Old Castile, Gikatilla was for some time a pupil of the kabbalist Abraham
Abulafia, by whom he is highly praised; his kabbalistic knowledge became so profound that he
was supposed to be able to work miracles, and on this account was called "Joseph Ba'al ha-
Nissim" (the Thaumaturge or literally Master of Miracles; Zacuto, Yuḥasin, p. 224a). Like his
master, Gikatilla occupied himself with mystic combinations and transpositions of letters and
numbers; indeed, Abulafia considered him as the continuator of his school (Adolf Jellinek, B.H.
iii, p. xl). But Gikatilla was not an adversary of philosophy; on the contrary, he tried to reconcile
philosophy with kabbalah, declaring that the latter is the foundation of the former. He, however,
strove after the higher science, that is, mysticism. His works in general represent a progressive
development of philosophical insight into mysticism. His first work shows that he had
considerable knowledge of secular sciences, and that he was familiar with the works of Ibn
Gabirol, Ibn Ezra, Maimonides, and others. He died at Peñafiel after 1305.

In different manuscripts of the work the author's name is variously written "Gribzul," "Karnitol,"
and "Necatil," all corruptions of "Gikatilla."

[edit] Works

Portae Lucis, Latin translation of Gikatilla's work

[edit] Ginnat Egoz, ‫גנת אגוז‬

Gikatilla was a prolific writer; he wrote his first work (Ginnat Egoz, ‫ )גנת אגוז‬when only twenty-
six. It is a kabbalistic treatise in three parts (Hanau, 1615).

 The title (from Cant. vi.11). It literally means "garden of nuts,". Kabalisitically, "Ginnat"
consisting of the initials of "Gemaṭria," "Noṭarḳon," "Temurah", the three main elements
of Kabbala, while "Egoz" (the nut) is the emblem of mysticism.
 The first part, in five chapters, treats of the various names of God occurring in the Bible.
According to Gikatilla, "YHVH" is the only name which represents the substance of God;
the other names are merely predicates of the divine attributes. "YHVH" stands for God as
He is, while "Elohim" denotes God as the creative power. The name "ẓeba'ot" (hosts), he
 says, applies to all the beings of the three natures, earthly, heavenly (or spheres), and
spirits (or forms). The interpretation of "ẓeba'ot" as ("host of letters") leads him over to
the second part.
 The second part treats of the letters of the alphabet. He declares that the number ten
emanated from YHVH, the primitive cause, and is the source of all being; he attempts to
prove his statement by different combinations based on religion, philosophy, physics, and
mysticism. He shows that the Talmudic view that space is filled with spirits agrees with
the belief of the philosophers that there is no vacuum. He also treats here of the
revolutions of the sun and moon, giving the relative sizes of the planets.
 The third part is a treatise, in four chapters, on the vowels. The three primitive vowels,
"ḥolem," "shuruḳ," and "ḥiriḳ," represent the upper, middle, and lower worlds; the three
compound ones, "ẓere," "segol," and "shewa," represent the composition or the
construction of the worlds; the "pataḥ" and "ḳameẓ" represent their movements.

Gikatilla at times criticizes the Sefer Yeẓirah and the Pirḳe Hekalot. The seven heavens (Ḥag.
12a) are identified by him with the seven planets. He holds Maimonides in great esteem even
when he opposes him, and quotes him very often. Other authorities quoted by him are Ibn
Gabirol, Samuel ibn Naghrela, and Abraham ibn Ezra. Isaac ben Samuel of Acre in his Me'irat
'Enayyim severely criticizes Gikatilla for too free usage of the Holy Name.

[edit] Sha'are Orah, ‫שערי אורה‬

Sha'are Orah, or Sefer ha-Orah, (‫ )שערי אורה‬is Gitatilla's most influential work. The Arizal call
it "a key to understanding the mystical studies".[1]. The Vilna Gaon and Zundel Salant
recommended that their students study it. Among those who quote it are: Moshe Cordevero,
Joseph Caro, Chaim Vital, the Shelah ha-Kadosh, the Sefat Emet,[2] Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov,
Moses al-Ashkar, and Judah Hayyat, and long extracts from it are inserted by Reuben ben
Hoshke in his Yalḳuṭ Reubeni. It was translated into Latin by Paul Ricius and used by Reuchlin
as a defense against his adversaries.[3]

[edit] Contents and Style

Sha'are Orah (Mantua, 1561) deals with the names of God.

 It discusses about 300 names[4], organized into ten chapters, one for each sephirah. Each
sephirah has one main name, but may have many others. Some names are associated with
more than one sphirah.
 The purpose of the book is "so that you can understand and experience the 'fountain of
living waters' (Jer. 2,13) that flows from all his names, and when you attain this 'then you
will prosper and have good success' (Joshua 1,8)"[5].

Sephirot and Holy Names

Sephirah Holy Name [6]
‫כתר‬, Keter, "Crown" ‫אהי"ה‬, Eheye, "I AM"
‫חכמה‬, Chokhmah, "Wisdom" ‫יה‬, Yah, "LORD"
‫בינה‬, Binah, "Understanding" ‫יהו"ה‬, Havayah, "LORD"
‫חסד‬, Chesed, "Kindness"
‫גבורה‬, Gevurah, "Severity"
‫תפארת‬, Tiferet, "Beauty"
‫נצח‬, Netzach, "Eternity"
‫הוד‬, Hod, "Splendor"
‫יסוד‬, Yesod, "Foundation"
‫מלכות‬, Malkuth, "Kingship"
‫אל‬, El, "God"
‫אלהים‬, Elohim, "God"
‫יהו"ה‬, Havayah, "LORD"
‫יהו"ה צבאות‬, Havayah Tsevaot, "LORD of hosts"
‫אלהים צבאות‬, Elohim Tsevaot, "God of hosts"
‫אל חי‬, El Chai, "the living God"
‫אדני‬, Adonai, "my Lord"

Gikatilla takes an attitude somewhat hostile to philosophy. He quotes only the Sefer Yeẓirah and
the Pirḳe Hekalot,.

[edit] Other works

 Sha'are Ẓedeḳ, or Sha'ar ha-Shamayim, another treatise by Gikatilla on the ten spheres
(Riva, 1561).
 Sefer ha-Niḳḳud, a mystical explanation of the vowel-points, included with the Arze
Lebanon (Venice, 1601);
 Sod ha-Ḥashmal, a kabbalistic commentary on the vision of Ezekiel, also printed with the
Arze Lebanon;
 Ẓofnat Pa'aneaḥ, commentary on the Pesaḥ Haggadah (ib. 1600 [?]);
 Sodot ha-Miẓwot, a kabbalistic explanation of the commandments;
 Iggeret, kabbalistic essays (Feṙrara, 1556);
 Teshubot, responsa;
 Sha'ar Meshalim, a kabbalistic essay in 138 paragraphs;
 Oẓar ha-Kavod, according to Jellinek, the same as the Sodot ha-Miẓwot, a commentary
on Canticles.
 Hassagot (unpublished) consists of strictures on the Moreh, (Guide to the Perplexed)
Gikatilla used Al-Ḥarizi's translation, in which he corrects many mistakes and sometimes
differs from Maimonides. It seems that he wrote the Hassagot in the beginning of his
literary career, when he was more of a philosopher and less of a mystic.
 Jellinek thinks that Gikatilla composed a kabbalistic treatise entitled Hekalot of the same
character as the Pirḳe Hekalot.

Moses ben Jacob Cordovero

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Cordovero's grave in Safed

Moses ben Jacob Cordovero, (1522–1570) (Hebrew: ‫)משה קורדובירו‬, was a central figure in the
historical development of Kabbalah, leader of a mystical school in 16th-century Safed, Israel. He
is known by the acronym the Ramak.

After the Medieval flourishing of Kabbalah, centered around the Zohar, attempts were made to
give a complete intellectual system to its theology, such as by Meir ibn Gabbai. Influenced by the
earlier success of Jewish philosophy in articulating a rational study of Jewish thought, Moshe
Cordovero produced the first full integration of the previous differing schools in Kabbalistic
interpretation. While he was a mystic inspired by the opaque imagery of the Zohar, Cordoverian
Kabbalah utilised the conceptual framework of evolving cause and effect from the Infinite to the
Finite in systemising Kabbalah, the method of philosophical style discourse he held most
effective in describing a process that reflects sequential logic and coherence. [1] His encyclopedic
works became a central stage in the development of Kabbalah.[2]

Immediately after him in Safed, Isaac Luria articulated a subsequent system of Kabbalistic
theology, with new supra-rational doctrines recasting previous Kabbalistic thought. While
Lurianism displaced the Cordoverian scheme and became predominant in Judaism, its followers
read Cordoverian works in harmony with their teachings. Where to them, Lurianism described
the "World" of Rectification, Cordovero described the pre-Rectification World.[3] Both
articulations of the 16th century mystical Renaissance in Safed gave Kabbalah an intellectual
prominence to rival Medieval Rationalism, whose social influence on Judaism had waned after
the Expulsion from Spain.

Contents
[hide]
 1 Biography
o 1.1 Early life
o 1.2 Scholarship
o 1.3 Disciples
 2 Succession of Kabbalistic interpretation after the Ramak
 3 Among the Ramak's most visible books
 4 Notes

 5 External links

[edit] Biography

Part of a series on

Kabbalah

Concepts[show]
History[show]
Practices[show]
People[show]
Role[show]

 v
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 e

[edit] Early life

His birthplace is unknown, but the name Cordovero indicates that his family originated in
Córdoba, Spain and perhaps fled from there during the expulsion of 1492 during the Spanish
Inquisition. His Hebrew signature, however, [Cordoeiro] strongly suggests a long-lasting
residence in Portugal.

The Ramak was either born in, or moved to Safed in the Land of Israel, the city that was soon to
become famed as a center of Kabbalah and mystical creativity. Albeit not involved in mystical
studies until his twentieth year, RaMaK soon after gained a reputation of an extraordinary genius
and a prolific writer. Besides his knowledge in Kabbalah, he was a Talmudic scholar and a man
of commanding mastery in Jewish philosophical thought who was respected in these fields.
Contrary to popular belief, however, Ramak was not one of the rabbis who received the special
semicha ("ordination") from Rabbi Jacob Berab in 1538, alongside Rabbi Yosef Karo
(Cordovero's teacher in Halakha), Rabbi Moshe of Trani, Rabbi Yosef Sagis, and Rabbi Moshe
Alshich. As a whole, Ramak's future posterity was in speculative and performative Kabballah,
but during his own lifetime he was the renowned head of the Yeshiva for Portuguese immigrants
in Safed.

[edit] Scholarship

According to his own testimony in the introduction to "Pardes Rimonim", in 1542, at the age of
twenty, Ramak heard a "Heavenly voice" urging him to study Kabbalah with his brother-in-law,
Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz, composer of the mystical song Lecha Dodi. He was thus initiated into
the mysteries of the Zohar. The young Ramak not only mastered the text, but decided to organize
the Kabbalistic themes leading to his day and present them in an organized fashion. This led to
the composition of his first book, Pardes Rimonim ("Orchard of Pomegranates"), which was
completed in 1548 and secured Ramak's reputation as a brilliant Kabbalist and a lucid thinker.
The Pardes, as it is known, was a systemization of all Kabbalistic thought up to that time and
featured the author's attempt at a reconciliation of various early schools with the conceptual
teachings of the Zohar in order to demonstrate an essential unity and self-consistent philosophical
basis of Kabbalah.[4]

His second work - a magnum opus titled Ohr Yakar ("Precious Light") - was a 16 volume
commentary on the Zoharic literature in its entirety and a work to which Ramak had devoted
most of his life (the modern publication of this great work has started during the mid 1960s and
reached partial fruition in 2004 Jerusalem, though the 23-volume set left out about two-thirds of
the Tikkunei Zohar; additional volumes are still being published). Some parts of Ohr Yakar have
been published under separate titles, such as Shiur Qomah, Tefilah le-Moshe etc.

Some other books for which the Ramak is known are Tomer Devorah ("Palm Tree of Deborah"),
in which he utilizes the Kabbalistic concepts of the Sephirot ("Divine attributes") to illuminate a
system of morals and ethics; Ohr Neerav, a justification of and insistence upon the importance of
Kabbalah study and an introduction to the methods explicated in Pardes Rimonim;[5] Elimah
Rabbati, a highly abstract treatise on kabbalistic concerns revolving around the Godhead and His
relationship to the Sefirot; and Sefer Gerushin, a short and intimate composition which features
the highly devotional slant of Ramak, as well as his asceticism and religious piety. Certain parts
of Ramak's works are still in form of manuscripts, whereas his existing writings suggest many
other compositions which he either intended to write or had actually written - but were lost.

[edit] Disciples

Around 1550, the Ramak founded a Kabbalah academy in Safed, Israel, which he led for twenty
or so years, until his death. According to Jewish legend, it was reported that the prophet Elijah
revealed himself to him. Among his disciples were many of the luminaries of Safed, including
Rabbi Eliyahu de Vidas, author of Reshit Chochmah ("Beginning of Wisdom"), and Rabbi Chaim
Vital, who later became the official recorder and disseminator of the teachings of Rabbi Isaac
Luria.

Ramak was survived by a wife whose name remains unknown (it is known that she was Solomon
Alkabetz' sister) and by a son named Gedaliah (1562–1625). Gedaliah was the impetus behind
the publication of some of Ramak's books in Venice, Italy circa 1584-7. Gedaliah was buried in
Jerusalem, where he had spent most of his adult life after returning from Venice.

[edit] Succession of Kabbalistic interpretation after the

Ramak
According to tradition, Isaac Luria (known by the acronym "Ari" or "Arizal") arrived in Safed on
the exact day of the funeral of Moshe Cordovero in 1570. When he joined in the funeral
procession, he realised that only he saw a pillar of fire following the Ramak's presence.[6] The
Zohar describes this spiritual revelation as a sign to the individual who sees it, that he is meant to
inherit the succession of leadership from the departed person. However, as Luria had been
instructed to find his chosen disciple in Safed, Haim Vital, to reveal his new teachings to, he
avoided accepting Kabbalistic leadership until six months later, when Rabbi Haim Vital
approached him. The Ari only lived for two years after this, until 1572, but in those few months
he revolutionised the conceptual system of Kabbalah, with his new doctrines and philosophical
system.

The two schools of Cordoveran and Lurianic Kabbalah give two alternative accounts and
synthesis of the complete theology of Kabbalah until then, based on their interpretation of the
Zohar. After the public dissemination of the Zohar in Medieval times, various attempts were
made to give a complete intellectual system of theology to its different schools and
interpretations. Influenced by the earlier rational success of Jewish philosophy, especially the
work of Maimonides, in producing a systematic intellectual articulation of Judaism, the Ramak
achieved the first accepted systemisation of Kabbalah, based on its rational cattegorisation and
study. Subsequent followers of the Ari saw their teachings as harmonious with, and a deeper
interpretation of the Zohar and the Ramak's system, but the new system of Isaac Luria revealed
completely new doctrines, as well as new descriptions of the earlier ideas of Kabbalah. In time,
Lurianic Kabbalah emerged as the dominant system; however, the works of the Ramak are still
highly esteemed and widely studied, as well.

[edit] Among the Ramak's most visible books

 1. "Pardes Rimonim" ("An Orchard of Pomegranates") - Ramak's first book, which secured
his reputation as a mystical genius.
2. Ohr Yakar ("A Precious Light") - A Magnum opus of some 16 volumes in its extant
manuscript form, which had occupied Ramak throughout his adult life - a classic
commentary on the Zohar, Sefer Yetzirah and the Zoharic literary offshoots. Its
publication ended around 2005 in Jerusalem (some 22 volumes). Certain parts of it - such
as Tefilah le-Moshe and Shiur Qomah - were also published independently.
3. Tomer Devorah ("Palm tree [of] Deborah"), a popular work of Musar Literature, which
exists in an English translation by Rabbi Moshe Miller (1993).
4. "Eilima Rabbati" - of which 2/3 are still unpublished!
5. Ohr Neerav ("A Pleasant Light" - can also mean "a mixed light" and "a darkened light")-
exists in an Annotated English translation by Ira Robinson (1994).
6. " Sefer Gerushin" ("The Book of Banishments") - a disclosure of Ramak's fellowship and
their devotional piety in the Galilean outskirts of Safed. A highly informative texts in
regard to RaMaK's devotional piety and the use of landscape as the negotiator between
heaven and earth.

Hayyim ben Joseph Vital

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(Redirected from Chaim Vital)
Jump to: navigation, search

Hayyim ben Joseph Vital (Calabria, 1543[1] – Damascus, 23 April 1620[2]) was a rabbi in Safed
and the foremost disciple of Isaac Luria. He recorded much of his master's teachings. After
Vital's death his writings spread having a "powerful impact on various circles throughout the
Jewish world."[1]

Part of a series on

Kabbalah
 Concepts[show]
History[show]
Practices[show]
People[show]
Role[show]

 v
 d

 e
Contents
[hide]
 1 Early life
 2 Study with Cordovero
 3 Student of the Arizal
 4 Exile and return
 5 Etz Hayyim
 6 Later life and passing
 7 Notes
 8 References

 9 External links

[edit] Early life

Born in Calabria, Italy,[3] as a young boy, Hayyim Vital was educated by the scholar, Rabbi
Moses Alshich. Other than that, most of his early life is full of legends. For instance, it is claimed
that at the age of twelve, he was told by a chiromancer that when he reached the age of twenty-
four, he would find himself standing before two roads, and would rise or fall according to his
choice. Rabbi Joseph Karo is said to have paid special attention to Vital's early talents and in
1557 requested that Alshich take special care in his education as he was destined to succeed his
teacher in the world of Torah study. That same year, Vital first became acquainted with the
kabbalist Rabbi Yitzhak Ben Shlomo Ashkenazi (Isaac ben Solomon Luria) aka as "The Ari",
"Ari-Hakadosh", or "Arizal, who would have a lasting influence on him.

Hayyim Vital apparently married at a young age. According to one legend, his first wife was
Hannah, the daughter of a certain Moses Saadia. It was an unhappy marriage, and when he left
his wife, the prophet Elijah appeared to him in a dream and led him to a beautiful garden, where
he saw the pious of all ages, in the form of birds, flying through the garden and studying the
Mishnah. In the center of the garden was God Himself, seated on a throne that was surrounded by
the pious, resting on elaborate tapestries. Convinced by this vision that he was destined to
become a kabbalist, Rabbi Hayyim Vital devoted the following two and a half years to the study
of alchemy. Upon completing his studies, Elijah appeared to him again in a vision, and told him
that he would succeed in his efforts and write a commentary on the Zohar.

[edit] Study with Cordovero

When Luria arrived in Safed, Moses Cordovero had been the principal figure in the kabbalistic
community for numerous years. "Cordovero was the teacher of what appears to have been a
relatively loose knit circle of disciples. The most important Elijah de Vidas, Abraham Galante,
Moses Galante, Hayyim Vital, Abraham ben Eliezer ha-Levi Berukhim, Elazar ben Moshe
Azikri[1], Samuel Gallico, and an important kabbalist who studied with Cordovero for a short
while in the 1560s, Mordechai Dato."[4]

There's evidence to suggest that Isaac Luria also regarded Moses Cordovero as his teacher.
"Joseph Sambari (1640-1703), an important Egyptian chronicler, testified that Cordovero was 'the
Ari's teacher for a very short time.'[5] ... Luria probably arrived in early 1570, and Cordovero died
on June 27 that year (the 23d day of Tammuz).[4] Bereft of their most prominent authority and
teacher, the kabbalists looked for new guidance, and Isaac Luria helped fill the vacuum left by
Cordovero's passing.

[edit] Student of the Arizal

In 1570 Vital became a student of Rabbi Isaac Luria, the Arizal, the foremost kabbalist of the
day. In a study of Lurianic mysticism, Lawrence Fine writes: "Vital provides us with the names
of thirty-eight individuals who according to him, made up Luria's discipleship... According to
him, the fellowship was divided into four, hierarchically ordered groups. The first and most
important, was composed of eleven men, listed in this order: Hayyim Vital, Jonathan Sagis,
Joseph Arzin, Isaac Kohen, Gedaliah ha-Levi, Samuel Uceda, Judah Mishan, Abraham Gavriel,
Shabbatai Menashe, Joseph ibn Tabul, and Elijah Falko (or Falkon). The order in which these
names are presented is significant. Vital regarded himself as the leading disciple and thus placed
himself at the head of the list. Joseph ibn Tabul, who was actually an exceedingly important
disciple, perhaps second only to Vital in influence, is placed at the end of the list. Undoubtedly,
Vital regarded ibn Tabul as a rival and thus sought to relegate him to a relatively insignificant
place in the hierarchy of disciples."[6]

Despite this rivalry, it is largely accepted that within a year Hayyim Vital emerged as the leading
student, so that when the Arizal died in 1572, at the age of thirty-eight, Vital succeeded him.
Since the Arizal had left almost none of his teachings in writing, Vital began to write down
everything he had learned from his master.

[edit] Exile and return

Hayyim Vital arrived in Egypt in 1577, but soon returned to the Land of Israel, settling in the
village of Ein Zeitim (near Safed), and later in Jerusalem. After that he went to live in Damascus,
where he became the head of the Sicilian Jewish community.
A legend states that, when Vital was in Jerusalem, the Ottoman governor, Abu Saifia, requested
that he use his powers to locate the aqueduct leading from the River Gihon to the city, which had
been built in the days of King Hezekiah. Unwilling to fulfill this request, he fled to Damascus
using the power of practical Kabbalah, where his master appeared to him and told him that he had
had a chance to bring the final redemption by releasing the waters of Gihon, and now the chance
was lost.[citation needed] This grieved Vital greatly.

In Damascus he began writing his first work of his own, on Abraham. The greater part of the
book consists of an exposition on the conjuring of clouds and a discourse on the seven fixed stars
(planets), the seven heavens, and their corresponding metals. Upon completing his book, Vital
returned to Jerusalem, where his former teacher, Moshe Alshich, ordained him "in the 1590s."[7]
After a time, however, Vital left Jerusalem for Safed, where he fell sick and was obliged to keep
his bed for an entire year.

He also authored Shaar HaGilgulim, a kabbalistic work on reincarnation, which became one of
the Shemonah She'arim (see below).

[edit] Etz Hayyim

During this illness Rabbi Yehoshua, his closest follower, who had accompanied Vital on nearly
every journey, managed to bribe Vital's younger brother, Rabbi Moshe, with 500 gold coins, to
lend him his master's writings, which were kept locked in a box. Rabbi Moshe accordingly
brought Rabbi Yehoshua a large part of the manuscripts, and 100 copyists were immediately
engaged: in just three days, they were able to reproduce more than 600 pages. Although
according to some reports Vital, upon learning of this, claimed that the papers which has been
copied were not his own writings, they were rapidly disseminated. The writings in question
purported to contain the teachings of the Ari rather than Vital's independent work.

The first printed edition was in eight volumes, known as the Shemonah She'arim, and this version
is still used by some Kabbalists in the Sephardi world. The best known recension was published
later under the title Etz Hayyim ("Tree of Life"), in which the topics were arranged in a more
systematic order, and the parts on ritual (the Peri Etz Hayyim) were kept separate from the parts
on the underlying theology.[8] In addition to a tribute to the Arizal, the work contains the assertion
that it is one of God's greatest pleasures to witness the promotion of the teaching of the Kabbalah,
since this alone can assure the coming of the Jewish Messiah. Rabbi Chaim Vital stated that he
had received these teachings, like his other mystic theories, from his teacher the Arizal.

However, Vital still held the teachings of his former teacher, kabbalist Rabbi Moshe Cordovero,
in high esteem. He maintained that Rabbi Moshe Cordovero often appeared to him in dreams.
One of the most prominent of Vital's opponents was Menahem Lonzano, who publicly denounced
him in his work Imrei Emet.

[edit] Later life and passing

On 20 Elul 1590, Vital received rabbinical ordination from his teacher Rabbi Moses Alshich.
Four years later, in 1594, he settled permanently in Damascus, where he lectured every evening
on the Kabbalah. In 1604 Vital's sight began to fail; in 1620 he died while preparing to return to
Safed.

[edit] Notes
1. ^ a b Fine 2003, p. 2
2. ^ Prevalent opinion for this date is 3 May 1620, corresponding to the Hebrew date
of 30 Nisan 5380, consequently Rav. Chaim Vital's yahrzeit is celebrated, on the 30 Nisan
of each year. 23 April 1620, corresponds to the Hebrew date of 20 Nisan 5380. 20 Nisan
is not being considered the yahrzeit date of Rav. Chaim Vital
3. ^ www.ascent.org
4. ^ a b Fine 2003, p. 80-81
5. ^ Sambari 1673, p. 64
6. ^ Fine 2003, p. 83
7. ^ Fine 2003, p. 52
8. ^ There now exists an edition of Vital's works in fifteen volumes containing both
recensions.

[edit] References
 Fine, Lawrence (2003). Rodrigue, Aron; Zipperstein, Steven J. eds. Physician of the Soul,
Healer of the Cosmos: Isaac Luria and His Kabbalistic Fellowship. Stanford, CA:
Stanford University Press. pp. 480. ISBN 0804748268. http://books.google.com/books?
id=B2o8vqvrQOcC. Retrieved 2010-08-16.
 Joseph ben Isaac Sambari (1994) [1-23-1673]. Sefer Divrei Yosef. Jerusalem: Ben Zvi
Institute.
 Hayyim ben Joseph Vital, The Tree of Life: Chayyim Vital's Introduction to the Kabbalah
of Isaac Luria - The Palace of Adam Kadmon. Translated and with an introduction by
Donald Wilder Menzi and Zwe Padeh. Northvale, N.J. and Jerusalem: Jason Aronson,
1999. This is a translation of the first volume of Luria's “Etz Chaim”; the introduction by
the translators gives a general overview of the Lurianic system.