Rabbi Yitzchak (Isaac) Luria

Rabbi Yitzchak (Isaac) Luria – The holy “Ari Zal”
The most famed kabbalist, and a great authority on Torah Law
1534 to 5 Menachem-Av 1572, C.E.

The followers of the great kabbalist, Rabbi Isaac ben Solomon Luria (surnamed Ashkenazi), called him the Ari (“the Lion”). (“Zal” is the acronym in Hebrew for the phrase “Of Blessed Memory”.) He was born in the Jewish community in Jerusalem. In his 20s, he spent seven years in seclusion, intensely studying the true kabbalah.

He settled (c.1570 C.E.) at Safed (Tsfat) in the north of the Holy Land. There, he became the teacher and leader of a large circle of students. This became an important school of Jewish kabbalistic studies.

The Lurianic Doctrine

Luria taught new insights into kabbalistic doctrines from an earlier period, and by doing so, he hastened the Messianic Era. He also sought to understand the nature of the earthly redemption and it’s connection with cosmic restoration. Furthermore, he taught that our thoughts, speech and actions link to the secret processes of G-d’s continuous creation of the physical and spiritual realms.

We are all thus an integral part of the purpose and development of the entire creation. Our positive deeds work toward mankind’s redemption by aiding in the restoration of the creation to its original state of holiness, before the first sin of Adam and Hava (Eve) in the Garden of Eden. After that preparation, G-d will restore the creation and also elevate it to an even higher spiritual level.

The Ari Zal taught that it is adherence to G-d’s commandments, communicated to Moses at Mount Sinai and embodied in traditional Jewish Torah Law (which are the 613 specific commandments for Jews, and the 7 general commandments for Gentiles), that will effect the restoration. Even more so, this Divine service will bring about the coming of the true Messiah as the completion of earthly redemption.

Rabbi Hayim Vital, the Ari Zal’s chief disciple, passed down those kabbalistic doctrines in numerous works. In particular, the Ari Zal taught about the apparent concealment of G-d’s Essence from the physical and Heavenly realms. Unfortunately, some leading Rabbinical scholars in the 1600s and 1700s misinterpreted that foundational teaching.

Eventually, it was Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi who correctly interpreted and expounded the Ari Zal’s teaching in a logically consistent and practical way.

Here is a one-minute audio lesson about the AriZal from Rabbi Nachman Simon:

– By Dr. Michael Schulman, Director of Ask Noah International.