Akademik

(1534—1572)

   Jewish cabalist. Born in Jerusalem and educated not only in cabalistic mysticism but also in the Jewish law, he considered the Sefer Zohar / Book of Splendor, a work written in Spain in the 13th century but then thought to date from the second century, to be the most authoritative cabalistic text. By 1554 he was living in Egypt, where he became a judge of the religious court of Ashkenazic Jews. In 1569 he moved back to the Holy Land, settling at Safed.

   Luria became famous both for his mastery of the Cabala and for his knowledge of the religious law. Most of his small body of writings consisted of commentaries on the Zohar, though he also wrote some poems. His teachings emphasized the inner experience of the soul, and he also had strong messianic expectations. He did not earn his living as a teacher or legal scholar but as a merchant, a profession he followed throughout his life.