(JNi.media) The Ari z”l died in Tsfat on the 5th of Av 5332, July 25, 1572. He was buried in the Old Cemetery of Tsfat.
Since Monday evening, and throughout the day Tuesday, thousands have made the pilgrimage to the grave of the Ari z”l, where they say silent prayers. The police has launched a special operation that includes officers from the city of Tsfat, the Department of Traffic and Border Police forces, together with the Fire Department, and MDA.
Rabbi Isaac ben Solomon Luria Ashkenazi (1534 – 1572), commonly known as the ARI (an acronym of Ashkenazi Rabbi Itzchak), was the founder of contemporary Kabbalah, also known as Lurianic Kabbalah.
As is often the case with such legendary figures, most of what we know about his teachings came to us through the works of his disciples, who preserved his oral legacy in their books.
The Lurianic Kabbalah describes a new, mystical view of the origins of Creation. It stresses the messianic culmination of the world as its central dynamic. The Ari z”l sees the different spiritual realms through their inner dimension of Divine exile and redemption; the cosmic role of each individual and the historical affairs of Israel; symbolism of sexuality in the supernal Divine manifestations; and the unconscious dynamics in the soul.