Isaac Luria the Holy Ari (1534-1572)

Important People in Kabbalah

Isaac Luria—The Holy Ari (1534-1572)

Rabbi Isaac Luria (The Holy Ari), was the greatest Kabbalist in Zephath (a famous city of Kabbalists in Northern Israel) in the 16th century. He is also one of the most importantand substantialfigures in the history of Kabbalah.

His life is shrouded in mystery, starting from the moment of his birth, when his father was told that his son was destined for greatness, and up to his sudden demise in his house, overlooking the hilly landscape ofZephath.

The Ari was born in Jerusalem, 1534. At the age of eight, his father passed away and his family went through very rough times. To improve their situation, his mother decided to take young Isaac to live with his uncle in Egypt, where he spent most of his years.

Even as a young boy, the Ari would confine himself to his room for hours and days at a time. He delved in The Book of Zohar, the seminal book of Kabbalah, trying to understand its hidden and sublime meaning.There is a folktale that says that the Ari was awarded “the revelation of Elijah,” and that he studied TheZohar “from him.” To the Ari,The Book of Zohar was the entire world.

In those days, Zephath was a center for Kabbalah students, attracting many practitioners from all over the land. Additionally, Zephath is located not far from Mt. Meron, the burial place of Rabbi Shimon Bar-Yochai, author of The Book of Zohar.

In the year that the Ari came to Zephath, there was a harsh winter in Egypt. The rains were unbearable, gale force winds tore roofs off buildings, and the Nile overflowed, inundating whole villages under rivers of mud and water.

A legend has it that on one of the stormiest nights of this dreadful winter, Prophet Elijah was revealed to the Ari. Elijah told him that his end was near, and that he must take his family and move to the town of Zephath, where he is already awaited. The legend also has it, that Elijah told him that there he would find his disciple Chaim Vital, “whom you will anoint after you, ordain and convey your wisdom to, for he will take your place.” Elijah revealed to the Ari: “You did not come into this world but to correct the soul of Rabbi Chaim, for he is a precious soul.”

Thus, in the year 1570, at age 36, the Ari went to the land of Israel.

The wisdom of Kabbalah had been hidden by the greatest Kabbalists for 1,500 years prior to the Ari. The Kabbalists would rise at midnight, light a candle and shut the windows so their voices would not be heard outside. They would reverently open the Kabbalah books and delve in them, attempting to understand the hidden reality.

In those days, Kabbalah was studied in secret, behind closed doors. Kabbalists were apprehensive about publicizing it, fearing it would be misinterpreted. The generation was not yet ready.

Humanity has waited for many long years for the right guides to open the gates of the wisdom of Kabbalah to the public, and now the time has come. The arrival of the Ari in Zephath and the open publication of The Book of Zoharin those years were signs that the time has come to introduce the secrets of Kabbalah to the masses.

It is difficult to describe the importance and stature of the Ari. Within merely 18 months, the Ari left a huge mark in the history of Kabbalistic thought. However, the Ari himself never wrote his words; we know his entire Kabbalistic teaching only from the writings of his disciples.

Today, Rabbi Chaim Vital is considered the Ari’s greatest student and successor. Among the important compositions that Chaim Vital published, which contain his mentor’s Kabbalah teachings, is the book Etz Chaim (The Tree of Life). In this book, Chaim Vital presents his mentor’s Kabbalistic teachings scientifically, in a clear and simple form. In addition, the words of the Ari were collected in a series of eight books, called Shmonah She’arim (Eight Gates). In this series we can find, among other things, a fascinating and comprehensive explanation of the concept of incarnation.

In Zephath, the Ari headed a group of Kabbalists, known as the “The Ari Cubs.” Among its members were Rabbi Shlomo Elkabetz, composer of the famous song Lecha Doddi (Go, my beloved), and the Ari’s brother-in-law, the great Kabbalist Rabbi Moshe Kordovero (the Ramak), author of the book Pardes Rimonim (Park of Pomegranates). Although the Ramak passed away less than a year after the arrival of the Ari in Zephath, it is said that he was the first to recognize the Ari’s greatness and was both the Ari’s student and his friend.

Not long before his passing, the Ramak said the following to his students: “Know, that there is one man, who is sitting here, who will rise after me and enlighten the eyes of the generation with wisdoms of Kabbalah. …in my days the channels were blocked… and in his days the channels will be revealed. …and know that he is a great man, a spark of the Rashbi (Rabbi Shimon Bar-Yochai).” It appears that the Ramak destined the Ari to succeed him, and instructed his students to accept him as their teacher.

The Ari passed away in the summer of 1572, after falling ill with an epidemic that broke out in Zephath. He was only 38 when he died.

The appearance of the Ari in our world was a forerunner to a whole new era of human and spiritual evolution. He was among the greatest Kabbalists. He was also among the first to be given “permission from above” to disclose the study method of Kabbalah to the masses. His greatness was in understanding how to turn Kabbalah from a method intended for a chosen few to a method suitable for a great number of souls that today are ready for spiritual elevation. The correction method that he established led to the opening of the wisdom of Kabbalah to many, and to a clear method for the correction of the people of Israel and the entire world.

Rav Yehuda Ashlag, a.k.a. Baal HaSulam, wrote about it in 1945, in his famous composition Introduction to the Book of Zohar. In his words, he stresses the importance of the dissemination of Kabbalah specifically in our time: “…before the vessels had begun to appear, the wisdom of TheZohar in general and the wisdom of Kabbalah in particular were hidden from the world. However, during the time of the Ari, the light of sublime wisdom appeared in secret, through the soul of the Godly Rabbi Isaac Luria, who was ready to receive that great Light. Hence, he revealed the essentials of The Book of Zohar and the wisdom of Kabbalah, until he overshadowed all his predecessors.

“Nevertheless, since these vessels have not been entirely completed (since he died in the 1572, as it is known), the world was not yet ready for his words to appear, and his holy words were in possession of a chosen few, who were not given permission to disclose them to the world. And now, in our generation, …we are now given permission to disclose his words and the words of TheZohar in the world, and to a great extent. Thus, from our generation forward the words of TheZohar will begin to become revealed more each time, until the full measure is revealed…” (Introduction to The Book of Zohar, item 62).