Isaac Luria
Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534 – July 25 1572), also known as the "Ari" (Hebrew: The lion), was a Jewish mystic in Safed, in Galilee, which is located in modern-day northern Israel, known as Palestine at that time. He was the founder of the Lurianic school of Jewish esoteric mysticism, known as the Kabbala. Born of a Ashkenazi father (a German or Polish Jew), and a Sephardi mother(Iberian-North African Jewish descent), his name today is attached to the mystic thought that developed in Safed. While his literary contribution to the Kabbalistic school of Safed was extremely small (he only wrote a few poems), his fame led to the school and all its works being named after him. The main popularizer of his ideas was Rabbi Hayim Vital, though Vital's claim to be the official interpreter of the Lurianic system is disputed.
Lurianic Kabbalah was falsely accused as being the cause of the spread of the false Messiah Shabbetai Tzvi: however it remained the leading school of mysticism in Judaism, and is an important influence on Hasidism. And as Jewish kabbalists attetsted, the followers of Shabbetai Tzvi strongly avoided Luria's teachings because his system disproved their false notions. A minority of today's Jewish mystics belong to other branches of thought in Zoharic mysticism.
In Hebrew he is called Yitzhak Lurya יִצְחַק לוּרְיָא, Yitzhak Ben Shlomo Ashkenazi, and Yitzhak Ashkenazi. He is also known as Ari אֲרִי and He-Ari ("The Lion") from the acronym for Elohi Rabbi Itzhak ("The Divine Rabbi Yitzhak"), thus Arizal with "ZaL" being the acronym for Zikhrono Livrakha ("of blessed memory" or literally "let the memory of him be for a blessing"), a common Jewish honorific for the deceased, and known as Ari Ha-Kadosh ("Ari the Holy").
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Early life
Luria was born in [[Jerusalem], Palestine] in 1534 to an Ashkenazi father and a Sephardic mother; he died in Safed, on July 25 1572 (5 Av 5332). When his parents died while still a child, he moved to Cairo, Egypt, where he was raised by his rich uncle Mordecai Francis, tax-farmer. His uncle provided him with the best Jewish teachers. Luria showed himself to be a diligent student of rabbinical literature; and, under the guidance of Rabbi Bezalel Ashkenazi (best known as the author of Shittah Mekubetzet), he, while quite young, became proficient in that branch of Jewish learning.
At the age of fifteen he married his well-to-do cousin, which enabled him to continue his studies. Though he initially may have pursued a career in business, he soon turned to asceticism and mysticism. About the age of twenty-two years old, for seven years he secluded himself entirey and became engrossed in the study of the Zohar, a major work of the Kabbalah which has recently been printed for the first time. As a recluse he retreated to the banks of the Nile, living in an isolated cottage, giving himself up entirely to meditation and prayer. He visited his family only on the Shabbat, speaking very seldom, and always in Hebrew. Through his deep life of prayer and meditation, he believed that he had frequent encounters with the prophet Elijah, who initiated him into the world of divine doctrines.
Disciples
In 1569 Luria moved to Palestine; after a short stay in Jerusalem, where his new kabalistic system seems to have met with little success, he moved north to Safed. There he formed a circle of kabbalists to whom he imparted the doctrines by means of which he hoped to establish a new moral system of the world. To this circle belonged Rabbi Moses ben Jacob Cordovero, Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz, Rabbi Joseph Caro, Rabbi Moses Alshech, Rabbi Eliyahu de Vidas, Rabbi Joseph Hagiz, Rabbi Elisha Galadoa, and Rabbi Moses Bassola. This group met every Friday, and each confessed to each other their sins. Soon Arizal had two classes of disciples: (1) novices, to whom he expounded the elementary Kabbalah, and (2) initiates, who became the depositaries of his secret teachings and his meditation formulas of invocation and conjuration. The most renowned of the initiates was Rabbi Chaim Vital of Calabria, who, according to his master, possessed a soul which had not been soiled by Adam's sin. In his company Luria visited the grave of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and of other eminent teachers, it is said that these graves were unmarked — the identity of each grave was unknown — and through Elijah each grave was recognized. Luria's kabbalistic circle gradually widened and became a separate congregation, in which his mystic doctrines became supreme, influencing all the religious ceremonies. Luria introduced a unique way of living which included the observance of esoteric rituals and meditations. On Shabbat Luria dressed in white and wore a fourfold garment to signify the four letters of the Ineffable Name.
His teachings
Luria delivered his lectures extempore and wrote several works and some kabbalistic poems in Aramaic for the [[Shabbat|Sabbath]. The real exponent of his kabbalistic system was RabbiChaim Vital. Vital collected all the notes of the lectures which Arizal's disciples had made; and from these notes he produced numerous works, the most important of which was the eight volume Etz Chayim, ("Tree of Life"). At first these writings circulated in manuscript copies; each of Arizal's disciples had to pledge himself, under the threat of excommunication, not to allow a copy to be made for a foreign country; so that for a time all the manuscripts remained in Palestine. At last, however, one was brought to Europe and was published at Zolkiev in 1772 by Isaac Satanow. In this work are expounded both the theoretical and the devotional or meditative Kabbalah based on the Zohar.
Teachings about the Sefirot(the Attributes of God)
The characteristic feature of Luria's contribution to the Kabbalah is his definition of the Sefiroth and his theory of intermediary agents, which he calls partzufim. Before the creation of the world, Luria writes that the Ein Sof ("Without Ending") filled the infinite space. When the Creation was decided upon, in order that God's attributes, which belong to other beings as well, should manifest themselves in their perfection, the Ein Sof retired into God's own nature, or, to use the kabbalistic term, God "concentrated" (Tzimtzum) Himself. From this "concentration" proceeded the "infinite light." When in its turn the light "concentrated," there appeared in the center an empty space encompassed by ten circles or dynamic vessels (kelim) called Sefirot, ("Circled Numbers") by means of which the infinite realities, though forming an absolute unity, may appear in their diversity; for the finite has no real existence of itself.
However, the infinite light did not wholly desert the center; a thin conduit of light traversed the circles and penetrated into the center. But while the three outermost circles, being of a purer substance because of their nearness to the Ein Sof, were able to bear the light, the inner six were unable to do so, and burst. It was, therefore, necessary to remove them from the focus of the light. For this purpose the Sefirot were transformed into "figures" (parzufim).
The first Sefirah, being Keter ("Crown"), was transformed into the potentially existing three heads of the Macroprosopon (Erech Anpin); the second Sefirah, being Chochmah (Wisdom"), into the active masculine principle called "Father" (Abba); the third Sefirah, being Binah (Understanding"), into the passive, feminine principle called "Mother" (Imma); the six broken Sefirot, into the "male child" (Ze'er), which is the product of the masculine active and the feminine passive principles; the tenth Sefirah, Malkut which is ("Kingship"), into the female child (Bath). This proceeding was absolutely necessary. Had God in the beginning created these figures instead of the Sefirot, there would have been no evil in the world, and consequently no reward and punishment; for the source of evil is in the broken Sefirot or vessels (Shvirat Keilim), while the light of the Ein Sof produces only that which is good. These five figures are found in each of the Four Worlds; namely, in the world of Emanation (atzilut), Creation (beri'ah), Formation (yetzirah), and in that of Action (asiyah), which represents the material world.
Luria's psychological system, upon which is based his devotional and meditational Kabbalah, is closely connected with his metaphysical doctrines. From the five figures, he says, emanated five souls, whose names are Neshamah ("Soul"), Ru'ach ("Wind"), Nefesh ("Spirit"), Chayah ("Life"), and Yechidah ("Singular"); the first of these being the lowest, and the last the highest. (Source: Etz Chayim). Man's soul is the connecting link between the infinite and the finite, and as such is of a manifold character. All of the souls destined for the human race were created together with the various organs of Adam. As there are superior and inferior organs, so there are superior and inferior souls, according to the organs with which they are respectively coupled. Thus there are souls of the brain, souls of the eye, souls of the hand, etc. Each human soul is a spark (nitzotz) from Adam. Luria teachings suggest that something went wrong at the time of creation, which caused conflict, disharmony and evil to enter into the world. It caused confusion among the various classes of souls: the superior intermingled with the inferior; good with evil; so that even the purest soul received an admixture of evil, or, as Luria calls it, of the element of the "shells" (Kelipoth). From the lowest classes of souls proceeded the pagan world, while from the higher emanated the Israelitish world. But, in consequence of the confusion, the former are not wholly deprived of the original good that existed in them at the time of creation, and the latter are not altogether free from sin. This state of confusion and conflict, which gives a continuing impulse toward evil, will cease with the arrival of the Messiah, who will establish a moral system for the world and will rebuild the archtype or prototype man, Adam. Until that time comes, man's soul, because of its deficiencies, can not return to its source, and has to wander not only through the bodies of men and of animals, but even through inanimate things such as wood, rivers, and stones.
Return of the soul
Luria developed the theory of the impregnation (ibbur) of souls, which teaches that if a purified soul neglected some religious duties while on earth, it must return to earth and attach itself to the soul of a living man and unite with it in order to make up for such neglect while on earth. In other words, departed souls, to expiate their sins and achieve spiritual growth, must return to the earth plane and work with the souls of living people to do good deeds.
Further, such souls will also appear on earth to assist the soul of a weaker person. However, this union, which may extend to three souls at any one time, can only take place between souls of similar character; that is, in Kabbala terminology, between those which are sparks of the same Adamite organ. According to Luria, the many calamities of the Jewish people, as seen in the explusion of the Jewish people outside of their homeland several times, starting with the the destruction of the First Temple in 586 B.C.E. by the Babylonians, the Jewish Revolt and the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E. by the Romans, and Bar Kokhba's revolt in 135 C.E. against the Roman Empire), had a purpose behind it: the salvation of men's souls; i.e., as purified souls the Israelites would fullfill the prophecy of becoming "A lamplight unto the nations," influencing the souls of men of other races in order to free them from demoniacal influences. Thus, the calamities of the Israelites were seen as a mirror of the captivity that the Godhead had fallen into at the time of the creation. With Luria's mystical theology, the creation could be restored. Man bears an important role in this process.
Luria also taught that humankind bears on their forehead a mark by which one may learn the nature of their soul: to which degree and class it belongs; the relation existing between it and the superior world; the wanderings it has already accomplished; the means by which it can contribute to the establishment of the new moral system of the world; how it can be freed from demoniacal or evil influences; and to which soul it should be united in order to become purified. This union was to be effected through secret meditation formulas of conjuration.
More on - Shaar ha Gilgulim
Influence on ritual
Luria introduced his mystical system into religious ceremonies. Every commandment had for him a mystical meaning. The Sabbath with all its ceremonies was looked upon as the embodiment of the Divinity in temporal life; every ceremony performed on that day was considered to have an influence upon the superior world. Every word, every syllable, of the prescribed prayers contained hidden names of God upon which one should meditate devoutly while reciting. New mystic ceremonies were ordained and codified under the name of Shulkhan Arukh heAri (The "Code of Law of the Ari") (compare Shulkhan Arukh by Rabbi Joseph Karo).
Influence on modern Judaism
The teachings of Luria while in Safed have been widely accepted in Orthodox Judaism, although not all groups follow the customs he initiated or revived. Those communities which most tend to play down or avoid the influence of Luria consist mainly of certain Litvish and Modern Orthodox groups, as well as a noticeable segment of Baladi Yemenite Jews and others who follow a form of Torah Judaism more strictly in line with classical authorities like Maimonides and the Geonim (see Dor Daim). The Spanish and Portuguese Jews.
Modern day descendants
Many members of the ultra-orthodox community now living in Safed and in Jerusalem claim their lineage back to Luria [citation needed].
The teachings and practices of Luria have widely influenced the Kabbalah Centre.
References in popular culture
In the X-Files episode 'Kaddish' (episode 15, season 4), protagonists Agents Scully and Mulder investigate the murder of an Isaac Luria and reprisal killings he apparently committed himself against his Neo-Nazi murderers after his death. He is eventually revealed to be a golem. (In Jewish folklore a golem ((גולם, sometimes, as in Yiddish, pronounced goilem))is an animated being created entirely from inanimate matter by use of mystical powers)
See also
- Ari Synagogue
- Ari Ashkenazi Synagogue
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Fine, Lawrence. Physician of the Soul, Healer of the Cosmos: Isaac Luria and His Kabbalistic Fellowship. Stanford University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-8047-4826-8
- Klein, Eliahu. Kabbalah of Creation: The Mysticism of Isaac Luria, Founder of Modern Kabbalah. Berkeley: North Atlantic Books, 2005. ISBN 1-55643-542-8
- http://www.cix.co.uk/~craftings/kabbalah.htm,The Holy Kabbalah, August 5, 2007
External links
- Writings of the Holy Ari
- Short biography of Rabbi Isaac Luria - The Ari Hakodosh
- OU page on the Ari
- The Kabbalah of the Ari za"l, according to the Ram`hal, synthesized 18 pages summary of the Etz `Hayim
- Center for Lurian Kabbalah
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