Rabbi Isaac Luria ( Ari ) - The Tree Of Life _ Poem
Rabbi Isaac Luria -- Yitzchak (1534-1572) who was known as the "Ari', an acronym for Adoneinu Rabbeinu Issac [our master, our rabbi, Issac], was the greatest Kabbalist in 16th century Zephath (Safed), a city in northern Israel famed for its Kabbalist population. He was also one of the most influential individuals in the history and evolution of the wisdom of Kabbalah.
Kabbalists kept the wisdom of Kabbalah hidden for 1,500 years prior to the Ari. They would rise at midnight, light a candle and shut the windows so their voices wouldn't be heard outside. Then they would reverently open the Kabbalah books and delve into them, striving to grasp hidden truths. In those days, Kabbalah was a secret study, taught behind closed doors. Kabbalists were reluctant to publicize their work because they feared it would be misinterpreted. "The generation," they said, "is not yet ready."
Humanity had been waiting for many centuries for the right guide to open the gates of the wisdom of Kabbalah to the public. Finally, with the arrival of the Ari in Zephath and the public's subsequent exposure to The Book of Zohar, it appeared that it was now time to introduce the secrets of Kabbalah to the masses.
It is difficult to overstate the Ari's importance and stature. Within merely eighteen months, he had left a huge mark on the history of Kabbalistic thought. Moreover, he made that mark without writing a single word himself, as his entire Kabbalistic teaching was revealed only through the writings of his student, Rabbi Chaim Vital.
Isaac Luria refused to commit his seminal teachings to written form. When his disciples pleaded him to do so, he replied: "It is impossible because all things are interrelated. I can hardly open my mouth to speak without feeling as though the sea burst its dams and overflowed. How than shall I express what my soul had received, and how can I put it down in a book?''
The Ari's life was shrouded in mystery and legends. One such legend is that when he was born, his father was told that his son was destined for greatness. The Ari's sudden demise at age thirty-eight, when he was in his prime, remains a mystery even today.
"There are not enough words to measure his holy work in our favor. The doors of attainment were locked and bolted, and he came and opened them for us. Thus, all who wish to enter the King's palace need only purity and sanctity, and to go and bathe and shave their hair and wear clean clothes, to properly stand before the sublime Kingship.
You find a thirty-eight-year-old who subdued with his wisdom all his predecessors through the Genius and through all times. All the elders of the land, the gallant shepherds, friends and disciples of the Godly sage, the RAMAK, stood before him as disciples before the Rav.
All the sages of the generations following them to this day, none missing, have abandoned all the books and compositions that precede him, the Kabbalah of the RAMAK, the Kabbalah of The First and the Kabbalah of The Genius, blessed be the memory of them all. They have attached their spiritual life entirely and solely to his Holy Wisdom.''
Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam), "Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot," Item 8
The Ashkenazi Ari Synagogue was built in the sixteenth century on the northern fringes of the Sephardic neighborhood in the Old City of Safed. It is named after Rabbi Issac (Yitzchak) Luria. He died at age 38, three years after he arrived in Safed.