Rachel Aberlin, or ''Rachel ha-Ashkenaziah'' (fl. 1582–1609), was a Jewish mystic. She is described in the ''

Sefer ha-Ḥezyonot Sefer may refer to: * Sefer (Hebrew), a term for a book People with the surname *Franjo Šefer (born 1905), Yugoslav tennis player *Bela Šefer, Yugoslav footballer playing in 1924 People with the forename * Sefer Reis, Turkish privateer and Ottom ...

'' ("The Book of Visions") by

Hayyim Vital Hayyim ben Joseph Vital (; Safed, October 23, 1542 (Julian calendar) / October 11, 1542 (Gregorian Calendar) – Damascus, 23 April 1620) was a rabbi in Safed and the foremost disciple of Isaac Luria. He recorded much of his master's teachin ...

. She was an influential figure of the early

Sabbateanism The Sabbateans (or Sabbatians) are a variety of Jewish followers, disciples, and believers in Sabbatai Zevi (1626–1676), an Ottoman Jewish rabbi and Kabbalist who was proclaimed to be the Jewish Messiah in 1666 by Nathan of Gaza. Vast ...

and a spiritual leader of women. Her brother was R. Judah Mishan, a well-known mystic, and her family is believed to have been from

Safed Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. Safed has been identified with (), a fortif ...

. In 1564, she married Judah Aberlin, a man who had been born in

Salonika Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

but moved to Safed, becoming a leader of the Ashkenazi Jewish community of

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

and

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

. After his death in 1582, she acted as a patron of famous mystics within the Jewish community (such as

Hayyim ben Joseph Vital Hayyim ben Joseph Vital (; Safed, October 23, 1542 (Julian calendar) / October 11, 1542 (Gregorian Calendar) – Damascus, 23 April 1620) was a rabbi in Safed and the foremost disciple of Isaac Luria. He recorded much of his master's teachi ...

, with whom she was very close), establishing a court for mystics to study and practice within. She herself was a leading mystical figure, particularly known for regularly experiencing mystical visions, from pillars of fire to

Elijah the Prophet Elijah ( ) or Elias was a prophet and miracle worker who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Ahab (9th century BC), according to the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible. In 1 Kings 18, Elijah defended the worship ...

. In ''Sefer ha-Ḥezyonot'', Aberlin is depicted as a woman who frequently had mystical experiences, ranging from seeing pillars of fire to encountering Elijah the Prophet. She was reportedly "accustomed to seeing visions, demons, souls, and angels," and made prophecies of the future. Her date of death is not recorded but she made an intervention in a case of spirit possession involving a young woman in Damascus in 1609.

References

* Emily Taitz, Sondra Henry & Cheryl Tallan,
The JPS Guide to Jewish Women: 600 B.C.E.to 1900 C.E.
', 2003 * J.H. Chajes, ''Between Worlds: Dybbuks, Exorcists, and Early Modern Judaism'' (2003) * M.M. Faierstein, ''Jewish Mystical Autobiographies: Book of Visions and Book of Secrets'' (1999). {{DEFAULTSORT:Aberlin, Rachel 16th-century Jews from the Ottoman Empire 16th-century religious leaders Jewish mysticism 17th-century Jews from the Ottoman Empire 17th-century women from the Ottoman Empire 16th-century women from the Ottoman Empire Sabbateans Jews from Ottoman Palestine

See also

References