Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534-1572), renowned as the master of all the kabbalists, is commonly known as the Arizal, an acronym standing for Elohi Rabbi Yitzhak - the Godly Rabbi Isaac. No other master or sage ever had this extra letter, standing for Godly - prefaced to his name. He spent the last two years of his short life (died at 38) in Tsfat, Israel teaching to a select group of students the Kabbalah. Among this group, only his favorite student Rabbi H. Vital was chosen to put in writing his teachings.
The Arizal was born in Jerusalem in 1534. By the time he was eight, his memory was phenomenal and no one could stand up to him or challenge his understanding of the different texts. The Ari's father died while he was still a child and together with his mother went down to Egypt to live with his mother’s brother Mordecai Frances, a wealthy tax agent. At age seventeen, he discovered the Zohar, and spent years in seclusion, meditating and reaching the highest levels of sanctity and purity. At times, Elijah the prophet revealed himself to teach him the most profound secrets of the Kabbalah.
For most of us, the teachings of the Arizal are far above that which we can grasp. He knew about all the different levels of prophecy, their details and from which level the prophets had their revelations. He understood the whistling of the trees, the grass and stones, the language of the birds and other animals, the conversations of angels, the flicking of a candle. He could read on a face, the lines on the hand or on the forehead. He could interpret the exact meaning of any dream. He could talk to the soul of a person in front of him; know of his previous incarnations, what he did from the day he was born until now. He could see the origin of a person’s soul, his sins, why he came to this world, what he had to repair, what happened to him from his birth, and what will happen until the day he dies. He could see the effect of his sins, what they had damaged and to what extent. What was the necessary Tikun to repair the damage caused by this person, and how he could accomplish it.
The Arizal was able to take out a soul from a person, bring it to him, talk to it, and then return it to its body. He also was able to bring out souls from the dead whether it died recently or a long time ago. He knew future events, was aware of everything happening here on earth, and what was decreed in heaven.
The teachings of the Arizal about creation and God’s unicity changed the understanding of the Divine guidance, good and evil, and the human ability to touch the Divine. His writings are the supreme authority in Kabbalah and no one has opposed any of it, up to now.
He was unique, from a select number of individuals who live on a superior dimension closer to the higher realms than to this existence. From what he thought we grasp just little, and from this little, we can reach the highest levels of knowledge possible in this world. Such a person was the Arizal.
The Arizal was born in Jerusalem in 1534. By the time he was eight, his memory was phenomenal and no one could stand up to him or challenge his understanding of the different texts. The Ari's father died while he was still a child and together with his mother went down to Egypt to live with his mother’s brother Mordecai Frances, a wealthy tax agent. At age seventeen, he discovered the Zohar, and spent years in seclusion, meditating and reaching the highest levels of sanctity and purity. At times, Elijah the prophet revealed himself to teach him the most profound secrets of the Kabbalah.
For most of us, the teachings of the Arizal are far above that which we can grasp. He knew about all the different levels of prophecy, their details and from which level the prophets had their revelations. He understood the whistling of the trees, the grass and stones, the language of the birds and other animals, the conversations of angels, the flicking of a candle. He could read on a face, the lines on the hand or on the forehead. He could interpret the exact meaning of any dream. He could talk to the soul of a person in front of him; know of his previous incarnations, what he did from the day he was born until now. He could see the origin of a person’s soul, his sins, why he came to this world, what he had to repair, what happened to him from his birth, and what will happen until the day he dies. He could see the effect of his sins, what they had damaged and to what extent. What was the necessary Tikun to repair the damage caused by this person, and how he could accomplish it.
The Arizal was able to take out a soul from a person, bring it to him, talk to it, and then return it to its body. He also was able to bring out souls from the dead whether it died recently or a long time ago. He knew future events, was aware of everything happening here on earth, and what was decreed in heaven.
The teachings of the Arizal about creation and God’s unicity changed the understanding of the Divine guidance, good and evil, and the human ability to touch the Divine. His writings are the supreme authority in Kabbalah and no one has opposed any of it, up to now.
He was unique, from a select number of individuals who live on a superior dimension closer to the higher realms than to this existence. From what he thought we grasp just little, and from this little, we can reach the highest levels of knowledge possible in this world. Such a person was the Arizal.
