Safed Spirituality: Rules of Mystical Piety, the Beginning of WisdomLawrence Fine Paulist Press, 1984 - 205 pages "...an undertaking of signal importance." Jacob Needleman Professor of Philosophy, San Francisco State University Safed Spirituality: Rules of Mystical Piety, The Beginning of Wisdom translated and introduced by Lawrence Fine preface by Louis Jacobs "Prepare the meal of the King. This is the meal of the Holy Ancient One, And the Impatient and the Field of holy apples. Behold, they come to share the meal with him." Isaac Luria (1534-1572) "The renaissance of Jewish mystical life which took place in the Galilean city of Safed in the sixteenth century is one of the most significant and remarkable chapters in the history of Judaism. The ideas which developed there, the rich literature which was produced, the stunning array of teachers which it nurtured, established Safed as one of the great centers of Jewish creativity." So writes Professor Lawrence Fine in the foreword of this volume. Collected here are the Hanhagot of Moses Cordovero, Abraham Galante, Abraham be Eliezer ha-Levi Berukhim, Joseph Karo, and Isaac Luria, plus the mystical-ethical treatise, Reshit Hokhmah (The Beginning of Wisdom) by Elijah de Vidas. In these writings the unique blend of kabbalistic tradition and messianic enthusiasm, which is characteristic of Safed spirituality, comes alive. The importance of the Safed tradition for today is perhaps best summed up by Louis Jacobs' description of the Safed mystics as "mighty God seekers; at times perhaps, over-credulous and superstitious from the contemporary point of view, but daring stormers of the heavens." Their intense devotional piety, their efforts to imbue even the most mundane event with religious meaning and their insistence on the cosmic significance of all human action make their thought a relevant, stimulating source of spiritual insight for our age. + |
From inside the book
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Page 12
... eat- ing too much meat or drinking wine , Joseph Karo's mentor - angel exhorts him to " take care not to enjoy your eating and drinking and marital rela- tions . It should be as if demons were compelling you to eat that food . " " A ...
... eat- ing too much meat or drinking wine , Joseph Karo's mentor - angel exhorts him to " take care not to enjoy your eating and drinking and marital rela- tions . It should be as if demons were compelling you to eat that food . " " A ...
Page 36
... eat meat on Sunday , nor any cooked dish , nor drink wine . He ought to take greater care not to indulge in levity on this day than on other days , unless it is a Festival , New Moon , or a feast connected with a religious celebration ...
... eat meat on Sunday , nor any cooked dish , nor drink wine . He ought to take greater care not to indulge in levity on this day than on other days , unless it is a Festival , New Moon , or a feast connected with a religious celebration ...
Page 37
... eating and before going to sleep . 30. During the three weeks of mourning2 an individual should avoid re- citing the ... eat meat or drink wine unless he is about to fast . He is permitted to do so on account of his fast . 31. A person ...
... eating and before going to sleep . 30. During the three weeks of mourning2 an individual should avoid re- citing the ... eat meat or drink wine unless he is about to fast . He is permitted to do so on account of his fast . 31. A person ...
Page 43
... eating of the unleavened bread with that which has been subjected to ten ritual precepts . 7 5. On the intermediate days of the Festival of Passover , at midday , they assemble in the synagogues and recite the Song of Songs ...
... eating of the unleavened bread with that which has been subjected to ten ritual precepts . 7 5. On the intermediate days of the Festival of Passover , at midday , they assemble in the synagogues and recite the Song of Songs ...
Page 44
... eat- ing meat on the evening of the Ninth of ' Av . " 13. On the night of the Day of Atonement they do not sleep at all , thus following the example set by the nobility of Jerusalem who stayed awake throughout the night ; they spend it ...
... eat- ing meat on the evening of the Ninth of ' Av . " 13. On the night of the Day of Atonement they do not sleep at all , thus following the example set by the nobility of Jerusalem who stayed awake throughout the night ; they spend it ...
Contents
30 | |
41 | |
47 | |
Joseph Karo | 54 |
Additional Customs from Safed | 58 |
Isaac Luria | 61 |
Elijah de Vidass Beginning of Wisdom as condensed by Jacob Poyetto | 81 |
Introduction | 83 |
The Gate of Humility | 116 |
The Gate of Fear | 126 |
The Gate of Love | 135 |
Appendix | 157 |
Description of the Ten Sefirot | 159 |
Glossary | 163 |
Selected Reading | 166 |
Notes | 169 |
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Common terms and phrases
Abraham According ascetic Avot Bahya ibn Paquda Berukhim blessed memory Bride century Chapter cleave commandments concerning custom deeds divine eating Ein-Sof Elijah de Vidas esoteric ethical evil exile fear Festivals Gate of Holiness God's Hanbagot Hayyim Vital heart Hebrew honor humility inasmuch individual Isaac Luria Israel Jacob Jerusalem Jewish Mystical Jews Joseph Karo Kabbalah Kabbalat Shabbat Kabbalism kabbalistic Karo's Keter King David Lekhah Dodi Lord meal means Mercy messianic midnight Mishnah Moses Cordovero night one's penitent person pious Poyetto practice pray prayer Psalm rabbinic realm recite redemption refers regarded religious repentance Reshit Hokhmah rest in peace righteous ritual Sabbath Safed mystics Sages scholars Scholem Sefer Sefirah Sefirot serve Shabbat Shekhinah Simeon bar Yohai sins sixteenth-century Solomon song soul spiritual study of Torah study Torah supernal synagogue Talmud taught teacher teachings texts things Thou Tiferet Tiqqunim transgressions verse Vidas's wisdom YHVH Zohar Zolkiew
Popular passages
Page 114 - O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that trusteth in him. O fear the Lord, ye his saints; for there is no want to them that fear him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger; but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.
Page 118 - Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
Page 94 - And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations whither the LORD thy GOD hath driven thee...
Page 133 - Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God.
Page 117 - LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty : Neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me. Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.
Page 96 - For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers : our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.
Page 68 - And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation...