The famous cemetery in Safed (Northern Israel)
B"H
This upcoming Shabbat, we are celebrating the beginning of the new month "Menachem Av". A few days later, on 5th Av, we remember the Yahrzeit (day of death) of one of the greatest Kabbalist, Rabbi Yitzchak Luria.
It is always important to especially remember the Arizal and here is an article in his memory:
Who was Rabbi Yitzchak Luria ?
Hardly any other Kabbalist has influenced the Kabbalah as much as Rabbi Yitzchak Luria. And no other Kabbalist has remained as mysterious as him within the course of the centuries.
Who was the famous Kabbalist Rabbi Luria who seemed to jump out of the dark into the light and thus changed the way of thinking of all following Kabbalists and Kabbalah itself?
Yitzchak ben Shlomo (Salomon) Luria was born in Jerusalem in 1534. Until today you can see the house where he was born in the Old City of Jerusalem. And in case you are going for a visit, you will find a very nice synagogue inside the building.
Except for his ordinary name Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, we also know him under his additional name ARI (the Lion). The Hebrew word LION - ARI stands for the abbreviation "HaElohi Rabbi Yitzchak (the Holy Yitzchak).
Born in Jerusalem in 1534, Rabbi Luria spent the early years of his life with his uncle in Egypt. For ten years, he lived on a small island belonging to his uncle. During the week, Rabbi Luria lived there in a cave and only for Shabbat he came back to the shore in order to celebrate Shabbat with some company.
On the island, Rabbi Luria transformed into a great Kabbalist. Most of the time he spent studying the ZOHAR (Book of Splendor). He studied each page until he understood the whole meaning. No matter how long it took him and how complicated it was. Studying the Zohar is anything but easy, as it almost entirely consists of symbols and metaphors. G - d, His different powers which whom He created the world, the angels, everything is explained in metaphors.
At the age of 36, the ARI moved to Safed (Tsafed) in Northern Israel. Until then, no one knew about him at all.
Already in those days, the city of Safed was famous for its Kabbalist circle consisting of six or seven extremely intelligent students and rabbis. Shortly after Rabbi Luria arrived in town, people quickly realized what kind of a great extraordinary authority he was.
After the great Kabbalist, Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, died in 1570, his best and closest student, Rabbi Chaim Vital (1543 - 1620), took over the leadership of the Safed circle. And please note that, at that time, Rabbi Vital was only 27 years old ! Thus you can see, how great those Kabbalists in Safed were.
Of course, Rabbi Chaim Vital looked down on the newcomer and had never heard of Rabbi Yitzchak Luria. He even refused to go and see him after people reported him about the greatness of the ARI. Rabbi Vital just said that Rabbi Luria should come to him and not vice versa. By the way, the ARI made the same claim and, for this reason, it took a while until they finally met. Apparently Rabbi Chaim Vital gave in and went to see his "competitor" and became the most famous student of the ARI.
Rabbi Yitzchak Luria hardly left any writings and almost everything we know of his teachings today was transmitted by his students. And as many students participated to write the famous "ETZ CHAIM - The Tree of Life", there seem to occur many discrepancies. Especially towards the end of the book. Most of it was written by Rabbi Chaim Vital but also another student, Rabbi Israel Sarug, joined and wrote a few pages. And especially about Rabbi Israel Sarug it was said that he wasn't really a student of the ARI and misinterpreted many concepts.
Today you can find to ARI synagogues in Safed; one is Ashkenazi and the other one is Sephardi. However, you can visit both and I can only recommend a visit. The municipality is taking care of the synagogues but the area around Safed has always been in danger of earthquakes. In the course of the centuries, many times the town was almost destroyed.
Rabbi Yitzchak Luria died at the early age of 38.
Why ? No one really knows it.
He himself always claimed that the purpose of his whole existence is to tell a certain kabbalistic secret to his student Rabbi Chaim Vital. As soon as he did so, his life would end.
And this is exactly what happened.
Some time after the death of his great teacher, Rabbi Chaim Vital moved to Damascus where is is also buried.
Those of you visiting Safed should definitely visit the famous cemetery. Just walk a few meters from the Central Bus Station down the Ari Street and you will have the most amazing view right over the cemetery. An unbelievable landscape and you can even see until Meron (where Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai is buried). A breathtaking view.
There are always people standing at the ARI's grave and praying. So, you cannot miss the grave. Sometimes, however, his grave is becoming too much of a shrine and other rabbis buried on the same particular cemetery seem to be left out. For instance, Rabbi Yosef Karo (the author of the "Shulchan Aruch") or Rabbi Shlomo HaLevi Alkabetz (who wrote the "Lecha Dodi" song we sing on Erev Shabbat).
Right above the cemetery you can find the Mikveh of the ARI who is still in use. But for men only, as usual.
Or rather - "unfortunately".
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