Shortly after 1492, the year Spanish Jewry was expelled and Columbus discovered America, the city of Tzfat in Northern Israel began to experience a spiritual awakening. It started with the arrival of Rabbi Yosef Saragossa from Saragossa, Spain. He opened up the first academy for the study of Kabbalah and Talmud and had amongst his students the Radbaz, Rabbi David Abu Zimra (1470-1572), a celebrated Kabbalist with a very wide influence.
Not long after his arrival, another famed Kabbalist who had been exiled from Spain arrived by the name of Rabbi Yosef Taitazak (1477-1545). He gained a following of distinguished students as well. One of his greatest students was Rabbi Shlomo HaLevy Alkabetz (1505-1584) who became immortalized through his composition of the Kabbalat Shabbat prayer "Lecha Dodi" (Come, My Beloved). (His name appears as an acrostic in the prayer.) Rabbi Alkabetz was to be an important link in the chain of Tzfat Kabbalists, becoming in turn the teacher of the noted luminary Rabbi Moshe Cordovero. In addition to his continuing the traditions of Kabbalah, his composition of Lecha Dodi successfully integrated Kabbalistic ideas about the nature of Shabbat into mainstream Judaism. And while unfortunately most Jews who recite Kabbalat Shabbat have no idea of its rich mystical significance, they can't help but be inspired by the powerful, poetic, romantic nature of the psalms and especially of the Lecha Dodi.
The Lecha Dodi is poetry based on quotes of the Bible and Talmud arranged in such a way that it leaves one with a sense of the lost and found element of a lover being reunited with his beloved. This concept of the unification of the lovers is a metaphor for a coming together of the feminine and masculine aspects of Divine emanation that need to be realigned to face one another and enter into a state of spiritual intimacy. This idea of two parts being reunited is also the metaphor for the Divine presence (The Holy One, Blessed be He) which represents the six Divine emotions of which Tiferet is the center, uniting with the Shechina, the indwelling of the Divine whose presence is felt in the world. In short, the transcendent unites with the immanent.
This unification happens on the three levels of time, space, and self. Shabbat is seen as the unifier of time and the place where transcendence and immanence meet. Jerusalem is seen as the center of the world which while still in exile awaits for its true nature to be revealed, the ultimate unity of the transcendent G-d within it. The Children of Israel through their existence and actions represent the embodiment of soul or self that is yearning for oneness with their Divine source that can bring G-d's deepest desire into reality.
Rabbi Moshe Cordovero (1522-1570), the main disciple of Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz, was widely credited for being the architect of the philosophy of Kabbalah and was Tzfat's greatest teacher up until that period. It wasn't long before his teacher Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz became his brother in-law and later his equal and eventually in a role reversal, his student. Rabbi Moshe Cordevero was known as the RaMaK, an abbreviated name, a distinction offered only to the greatest scholars. The Ramak's students included Eliyahu de Vidas, Rabbi Chaim Vital and Rabbi Avraham Galante, to name a few. Rabbi Eliyahu de Vidas (passed away1593) wrote one of the most influential Mussar (ethical) works called Reishit Chochma (the Beginning of Wisdom), a fusion of a ethical self development with Kabbalah. The Ramak also wrote a smaller volume which integrates Kabbalah with self-development called Tomer Devorah (the Palm Tree of Devorah) that is based on the concept that the thirteen attributes of Divine mercy are a template for the proper attitude and behavior.
The main work of the Ramak was to be the greatest synthesis and systematic exposition of earlier works of Kabbalah. The Pardes Rimonim (Pomegranate Orchard) contains 32 "gates," each composed of multiple chapters. In each chapter the Ramak brings down a number of earlier Kabbalistic sources and asks questions about what the true meaning of these spiritual concepts are. While in this process, he will sometimes give more weight to one of the earlier opinions than the other, quite often he will find a way to reconcile the differences and explain a systematic approach to the issues. For example, in Gate 4 he brings down the opinions of Rabbi Menachem Recanti and the seemingly opposing view of Rabbi Dovid ibn Zimra of the Magen Dovid about whether the Sefirot are Divine or Vessels. Whether you say the ten Sefirot are Divine or Vessels present their own challenges. The Ramak explains (based on the Zohar) that the inside of the Sefirah-the Light of the Sefira-is Divine, while the outside-the vessel of the Sefirah-is like a tool in the hands of the Creator. This is a simple summary of a complex discussion about the nature of Divine unity within the Sefirot. Likewise, each gate of the Pardes Rimonim deals with difficult questions and often reconciles the contradictory approaches of earlier schools by coming up with a new approach that with subtlety can distinguish the differences, following what the Talmud says, "When two verses are in contradiction, wait for a third verse to come and mediate between them."
The Ramak developed many spiritual practices; one of the more interesting was recorded in his book called Gerushin (Wanderers In Exile). The design is to roam the countryside so that you are like a homeless wanderer whose feet are tired and aching, thus emulating the suffering of the Shechina, the Divine presence which is also in exile. As they would mirror the pain and suffering of the Shechina, they would repeat Biblical verses and meditated on them until the longing in their heart to be a vessel for the homeless Shechina created a powerful inspiration that would come over them as if someone else was speaking through them.
The Ramak's writings include a commentary on the Zohar called Ohr Yakar (Precious Light) as well as an introduction to Kabbalah called Ohr Neerav.
Tsfat of the mid-16th century was already home to the greatest Halachic authority of the time, Rabbi Yosef Caro (1488-1575). He had already composed the Bet Yosef, the greatest compendium of Jewish Law since Maimonides’ Code, and was working on a shorter version that is known as the Shulchan Aruch, the Code of Jewish Law. Although Rabbi Caro would be immortalized through these great legal works, he was also a noted Kabbalist. He had a Magid, a spiritual being, who would come and reveal mystical secrets to him. In one recorded encounter, when a small group of rabbis stayed up studying all night on Shavuot, they witnessed the Magid speaking through Rabbi Caro's throat, and it had a distinct sound that was clearly not the voice of Rabbi Caro. Some of these teachings can be found in a book called Magid Meisharim.
One of Rabbi Caro's students was Rabbi Moshe Alshich, known as the Alshich Hakadosh (the Holy), He wrote Torat Moshe, one of the greatest homiletical interpretations on the TaNaCH. The Alshich explains that pshat, which is the simplest interpretation, and sod, which is the most esoteric, are two extremes, while his way is the middle way.
Thus there is a moral and ethical lesson to be learned from the various verses of the Torah. The Alshich had a student by the name of Rabbi Chaim Vital, a Kabbalist of note. He had studied under Rabbi Moshe Cordevero, but it would be through Rabbi Chaim Vital's final teacher of Kabbalah, the Saintly Ari (1534-1572), that his name would always be remembered. TO BE CONTINUED.....
Bibliography:
Fine, Lawrence. Safed Spirituality: Rules of Mystical Piety, the Beginning of Wisdom. 1984
Kaplan, Aryeh. Meditation and Kabbalah. 1994
Additional suggested reading:
Ohr Neerav by Rabbi Moshe Cordevero (available in English translation)
Tomer Devorah Palm tree of Devorah by Rabbi Moshe Cordevero (available in English translation)
– Reb
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