Eliyahu de Vidas on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Eliyahu de Vidas (1518–1587, Hebron) was a 16th-century
81
"Cordovero was the teacher of what appears to have been a relatively loose knit circle of disciples. The most important Elijah de Vidas, Abraham Galante, Moses Galante, Hayyim Vital, Abraham ben Eliezer ha-Levi Berukhim, Eleazar Azikri, Samuel Gallico, and an important kabbalist who studied with Cordovero for a short while in the 1560s, Mordechai Dato." De Vidas is known for his expertise in the
Photo
of the grave of Eliyahu de Vidas from the Old Jewish Cemetery of Hebron
Video
of the grave of Eliyahu de Vidas from the Old Jewish Cemetery of Hebron (starts at 1:19)
Video
of the grave of Eliyahu de Vidas from the Old Jewish Cemetery of Hebron (starts at 11:32) 1518 births 1592 deaths 16th-century rabbis from the Ottoman Empire Kabbalists Rabbis in Hebron Rabbis in Safed People from Hebron Rabbis in Ottoman Galilee Sephardi rabbis in Ottoman Palestine {{MEast-rabbi-stub
Eliyahu de Vidas (1518–1587, Hebron) was a 16th-century rabbi
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
in Ottoman Palestine
Ottoman Syria ( ar, سوريا العثمانية) refers to divisions of the Ottoman Empire within the region of Syria, usually defined as being east of the Mediterranean Sea, west of the Euphrates River, north of the Arabian Desert and south ...
. He was primarily a disciple of Rabbis Moses ben Jacob Cordovero
Moses ben Jacob Cordovero ( he, משה קורדובירו ''Moshe Kordovero'' ; 1522–1570) was a central figure in the historical development of Kabbalah, leader of a mystical school in 16th-century Safed, Ottoman Syria. He is known by th ...
(known as the ''Ramak'') and also Isaac Luria
Isaac ben Solomon Luria Ashkenazi (1534 Fine 2003, p24/ref> – July 25, 1572) ( he, יִצְחָק בן שלמה לוּרְיָא אשכנזי ''Yitzhak Ben Sh'lomo Lurya Ashkenazi''), commonly known in Jewish religious circles as "Ha'ARI" (mea ...
. Fine 2003, pp81
"Cordovero was the teacher of what appears to have been a relatively loose knit circle of disciples. The most important Elijah de Vidas, Abraham Galante, Moses Galante, Hayyim Vital, Abraham ben Eliezer ha-Levi Berukhim, Eleazar Azikri, Samuel Gallico, and an important kabbalist who studied with Cordovero for a short while in the 1560s, Mordechai Dato." De Vidas is known for his expertise in the
Kabbalah
Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "receiver"). The defin ...
. He wrote ''Reshit Chochmah
''Reshit Chochmah'' is an important book of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism), ethics and morality ('' Musar literature''), written by the 16th century scholar Rabbi Eliyahu de Vidas. It is based largely on the Zohar. Its name literally translates int ...
'', or "The Beginning of Wisdom," a pietistic work that is still widely studied by Orthodox Jews today. Just as his teacher Rabbi Moses Cordovero created an ethical work according to kabbalistic principles in his Tomer Devorah
''Tomer Devorah'' (Hebrew: תומר דבורה, English: ''The Palm Tree of Deborah'') was written in Hebrew in the middle of the 16th century by Moses Cordovero, a Jewish kabbalist in Safed, Ottoman Syria. This short text deals mostly with the ...
, Rabbi de Vidas created an even more expansive work on the spiritual life with his Reishit Chochmah. This magnum opus is largely based on the Zohar, but also reflects a wide range of traditional sources. The author lived in Safed and Hebron
Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after Eas ...
, and was one of a group of prominent kabbalists living in Hebron during the late 16th and early 17th-century.
Aaron ben Menahem Mendel of Kamenitz, the first hotelier in the Land of Israel, references his visit to the grave of Eliyahu de Vidas in his 1839 book ''Sefer Korot Ha-Itim''. He states, "here I write of the graves of the righteous to which I paid my respects." After describing the Cave of Machpela and the tombs of such Biblical figures as Ruth and Jesse, Othniel Ben Knaz and Abner Ben Ner, he reports, "I also went to a grave said to be that of the Righteous Rav, author of "Reshit Hokhma." Today the grave site has been refurbished and can be visited in the Old Jewish Cemetery in Hebron.
Notes
References
* *Photo
of the grave of Eliyahu de Vidas from the Old Jewish Cemetery of Hebron
Video
of the grave of Eliyahu de Vidas from the Old Jewish Cemetery of Hebron (starts at 1:19)
Video
of the grave of Eliyahu de Vidas from the Old Jewish Cemetery of Hebron (starts at 11:32) 1518 births 1592 deaths 16th-century rabbis from the Ottoman Empire Kabbalists Rabbis in Hebron Rabbis in Safed People from Hebron Rabbis in Ottoman Galilee Sephardi rabbis in Ottoman Palestine {{MEast-rabbi-stub