Jewish Post, Indianapolis, Marion County, 31 March 1972 — Page 43

Friday, March 31, 1972

THE JEWISH POST AND OPINION

Ari, Great Mystic, Died

(Contirmed from Preceding Pg.) prominent among the women, in France in the 15th century he says, citing the examples • and was a descendant of Kashi from Kashi’s famous great(Kabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki), the granddaughter, Miriam, who great commentator, who was taught “halacha” to outstanding himself of the lineage of King scholars, to Mrs. Rose Halprin David. (nee Luria). OTHER “ARISTOCRATIC” The Year of the Ari Cornfamilies in Jewry (apart from mittee is circulating thousands the Luria and their variations), of likely Jewish families, in which trace their descent to the Is rael and abroad, with a Lurias, if not to the Ari himself, “yichus” questionnaire, and are, among others: Shapiro, from these the team of scholars Lipschitz, Wallach, Bendit, are to produce The Luria Book. Lunz, Ashkenazi, Ginsburg, MR. ALBERT is confident the Beilinson, Halpern, Auerbach, Year of the Ari will prove a Bachrach, Braude, Eliasberg, great success. “The search for Lazarus, Oppenheim, Kappa- mysticism, for inner meaning, port, Trivas, Katzenelenbogen is a universal phenomenon of and Mintz. According to Mr. our time. Was there ever a Albert who has become a verit- more authentic and deeper : able expert on Luria “mish- mystic thinker than the Aril pachology” in these past For 400 years the Ari has been months, a certain streak of respected throughout Jewry, but genius, or at least intellectual very little is really known about prominence, recurs throughout him. Isn’t it high time to the Luria-connected family remedy this situation?” trees. The streak is especially THE ARI WAS born in 1534

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in Jerusalem, where the house of his birth can still be seen in the Old City. His father, Rabbi Shlomo, a member of the distinguished Luria family, which in the course of many centuries produced a most remarkable succession of scholars, had immigrated from Poland or Germany (hence the byname “Ashkenazi,” given to people of Ashkenazi background born or living in predominantly Sephardi environments). Yitzhak was eight years old when his father died. The mother thereupon travelled with him to her brother, Mordechai Francis, a wealthy tax-farmer and merchant in Cairo. Recognizing the boy’s exceptional gifts, the uncle took great care of his education. He placed him under fine tutors, and before long the young student gained high proficiency in Rabbinic scholarship. At the age of 15, Yitzhak married his cousin, and, being well provided for, he could freely pursue his studies. His teachers were scholars of great renown: Rabbi David ibn Zimra and Rabbi Bezalel Ashkenazi, who, on their part, had high regard for their obviously brilliant disciple; the latter even co-authored with him a volume of Talmudic novellae (on Tractate Zevahim).' At the same time, the gifted young man helped out in his father-in-law’s business. YITZHAK LURIA seemed by now well on the way to a respectable conventional career, as a wealthy rabbi or possibly a merchant endowed with great Rabbinic learning. Soon, however, an incident occurred which was to change the course of his life, and in fact the course of Jewish spiritual history as a whole. Coming to the synagogue one day, Luria met a foreign merchant. He was a Marrano and he had in his« possession an old volume of Kabbalistic writings. As the young scholar examined the manuscript, his interest was aroused, and he persuaded the owner to sell it to him for a good price. THUS STARTED Rabbi Yitzhak Luria’s preoccupation with mystic studies, and after a while he decided for their sake to give up his other affairs and even his home. He took up solitary residence on an island on the Nile which belonged to his uncle, the “Garden Island” opposite Fostat (Old Cairo). Only on Shabbat did he visit his family; and even then he scarcely spoke, and only in Hebrew. All the other days of the week Luria spent in the seclusion of his cottage, deeply immersed in meditation and in the study of the works of the Kabbala and especially of the Zohar (which had just then first appeared in print; Mantua, 1558-1560). As he himself relates, he took endless pains to penetrate the profound teachings and hidden meanings of the Zohar. Where the doors were locked, he often felt himself favored with visionary illuminations. The prophet Elijah came and conversed with him, and when he was asleep, his soul ascended to Heavenly assemblies, where angels and sages of the past would initiate him into the most sacred esoteric mysteries. (Continued on Next Page)

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