Meir Ibn Gabbai
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Meir ben Ezekiel ibn Gabbai () was a Kabbalist born in
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
toward the end of 1480. While the details of his life are not known, he likely lived in Turkey and possibly died in the Land of Israel. He complained in his twenty-seventh year that he had to work hard to support himself and his family (see end of ''Tola'at Ya'aḳob''). He was an enthusiastic cabalist, noted for thorough mastery of the whole cabalistic lore, the most important points of which he, as far as can be judged now, was the first of his generation to treat systematically. He must be regarded, therefore, as the precursor of
Moshe Cordovero Moses ben Jacob Cordovero ( ''Moshe Kordovero'' ‎; 1522–1570) was a central figure in the historical development of Kabbalah, leader of a mystical school in the Ottoman Empire in 16th-century Safed, located in the modern State of Israel. H ...
and
Isaac Luria Isaac ben Solomon Ashkenazi Luria (; #FINE_2003, Fine 2003, p24/ref>July 25, 1572), commonly known in Jewish religious circles as Ha'ari, Ha'ari Hakadosh or Arizal, was a leading rabbi and Jewish mysticism, Jewish mystic in the community of Saf ...
. His first work, completed in 1507 and held in high regard, was ''Tola'at Ya'aḳob'', a cabalistic exposition of the prayer ritual. His chief work, which he finished December 22, 1531, after having spent eight years on it, was ''Avodat Hakodesh'', in which he expounds in detail his cabalistic system, making a close study of
Maimonides Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (, ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (), was a Sephardic rabbi and Jewish philosophy, philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah schola ...
in order the better to refute him. In 1539 he wrote an exposition and defense of the
Sefirot Sefirot (; , plural of ), meaning '' emanations'', are the 10 attributes/emanations in Kabbalah, through which Ein Sof ("infinite space") reveals itself and continuously creates both the physical realm and the seder hishtalshelut (the chained ...
under the title ''Derek Emunah,'' in answer to his pupil
Joseph ha-Levi Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...
, who had questioned him in regard to his doctrine of the Sefirot, Gabbai basing his work on
Azriel of Gerona Azriel ibn Menahem ibn Ibrahim al-Tarās (Arabic: عزريل بن مناحيم بن ابراهيم التاراس ''Azrēyl bin Mināḥīm ben Ibrāhim āl-Tārās''; Hebrew: עזריאל בן מנחם בן אברהם אלתראס ''ʿÁzrīyʾēl ...
's ''Perush 'Eser Sefirot.'' Gabbai regarded the
Zohar The ''Zohar'' (, ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work of Kabbalistic literature. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material o ...
as the canonical book of the Kabbala. His system is tinged with
panentheism Panentheism (; "all in God", from the Greek , and ) is the belief that the divine intersects every part of the universe and also extends beyond space and time. The term was coined by the German philosopher Karl Krause in 1828 (after reviewin ...
. God Himself, as the first cause of all causes, can neither be conceived nor cognized, and can not even be mentioned; the name "En Sof" (Infinite) is a mere makeshift. Even the Keter Elyon, the first Sefirah, can not be conceived or imagined; it is coeternal with the En Sof, although only its effect; it is what is called in Scripture "His Name." By means of it the other sefirot emanated from God, being the various manifestations through which the Godhead makes Himself cognizable. To them the prayers are addressed, and they are intended in the different designations of God, whose relation to them is the same as that of the soul to the body. The other emanations are the seven "hekalot," which proceed from the sefirot, and represent in a way the feminine world as contrasted with the masculine world of the sefirot; they are the real vessels of the further development of the world. This emanation of the world from God constitutes the "glory of God." The consciousness of dependence on God, with the striving toward Him in order to be united and become one with Him, and thereby to acknowledge His unity and effect its realization, is the "yiḥud," "the conscious union with God," which is the final aim of the world. Man, a reflection of the highest "hekal," unites in his soul the rays of all the sefirot, and in himself in general as microcosm all the basic elements of being. His soul therefore is in connection with the upper world, which it is able to influence and stimulate by its actions and aspirations; for everything that happens in this world reaches in wave-like circles to the uppermost regions. By recognizing and fulfilling the religious and moral precepts man advances the harmony and union of the various grades of creatures, and succeeds in performing his task in life—the bringing about of the "yiḥud." Gabbai's son Ḥayyim was also a cabalist: and his son-in-law Senior ben Judah Falcon published Gabbai's first two books after his death, the ''Tola'at Ya'aḳob'' with the aid of Abraham Reyna at
Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
in 1560, and ''Avodat Hakodesh'' at
Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
in 1567. One if his disciples was Rabbi Yosef Yutzpa father of Eliyahu Baal Shem of Prague. He moved from Spain to Krakow in Poland because of the expulsion of the Jews. It is said he was a Tzaddik nister and had giluy Eliyahu.


References

* *Elliot K. Ginzburg, ''Sod Hashabbat'': ''The Mystery of the Sabbath'', pp. 1–3 ("Biographical Notes"), State University of New York Press: 1989. {{DEFAULTSORT:Meir ben Ezekiel ibn Gabbai 16th-century Spanish rabbis 1480 births 16th-century deaths Kabbalists