Solomon ha-Levi Alkabetz (; – 1584) was a

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 t ...

, kabbalist and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

. He is perhaps best known for his composition of the song '' Lekha Dodi''.

Biography

Solomon Alkabetz was likely born around 1505 into a

Sephardic Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

family in the Ottoman city of Salonica. the son of Moses Alkabetz. He studied

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

under

Joseph Taitazak Joseph ben Solomon Ṭaiṭazaḳ (), also referred to by the acronym ''MahaRITaTS'', was a Talmudic authority and Kabbalist who lived at Salonica in the 15th and 16th centuries. He was a member of the Taitazak family. With his father and brothe ...

. In 1529, he married the daughter of Yitzhak Cohen, a wealthy householder living in his hometown. Alkabetz gave his father-in-law a copy of his newly completed work ''Manot ha-Levi''. He settled in Adrianúpolis, where he wrote ''Bet Hashem'', ''Avotot Ahava'', ''Ayelet Ahavim'' and ''Brit HaLevi''. He dedicated this latter work to his admirers in Adrianople. His students included

Samuel ben Isaac de Uçeda Rabbi Samuel ben Isaac de Uçeda or Shmuel de Uzeda (; 1545 – 1604) was a Jewish commentator and preacher. Born in Safed, his name, Uçeda, originally was derived from the town Uceda in the archbishopric of Toledo. He was a pupil of Isaac Luri ...

, author of the ''Midrash Shmuel'' on the ''

Pirkei Avot Pirkei Avot (; also transliterated as ''Pirqei Avoth'' or ''Pirkei Avos'' or ''Pirke Aboth'', also ''Abhoth''), which translates into English as Chapters of the Fathers, is a compilation of the ethical teachings and maxims from Rabbinic Jewis ...

'', and

Abraham ben Mordecai Galante Abraham ben Mordecai Galante (died before 1589) was an Italian kabbalist born in Rome at the beginning of the 16th century. Abraham, like his father Mordecai and his brother Moses of Safed, is represented by his contemporaries as a man of high cha ...

, author of ''Yareach Yakar'' on 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 ...

''. His circle included Moshe Alshich and

Joseph Karo Joseph ben Ephraim Karo, also spelled Yosef Caro, or Qaro (; 1488 – March 24, 1575, 13 Nisan 5335 A.M.), was a prominent Sephardic Jewish rabbi renowned as the author of the last great codification of Jewish law, the ''Beit Yosef'', and its ...

, as well as his famous brother-in-law

Moses ben Jacob 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 ...

. Following the practice described in the ''Zohar'' of reciting biblical passages known as the "Tikkun'" on the night of

Shavuot (, from ), or (, in some Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi usage), is a Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday, one of the biblically ordained Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan; in the 21st century, it may ...

, Rabbi Solomon and Rabbi

stayed awake all that night reading. During the recitation of the required texts, Rabbi Karo had a mystical experience: The

Shekhinah Shekhinah () is the English transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning "dwelling" or "settling" and denotes the presence of God in a place. This concept is found in Judaism from Talmudic literature. The word "Shekhinah" is found in the Bible onl ...

appeared as a

maggid A maggid (), also spelled as magid, is a traditional Jewish religious itinerant preacher, skilled as a narrator of Torah and religious stories. A chaplain of the more scholarly sort is called a ''Darshan (Judaism), darshan'' (). The title of ''m ...

, praising the circle and telling them to move to the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definition ...

. When they stayed up again on the second night of Shavuot, the Shekhinah was adamant about their moving to the Land of Israel. Alkabetz recorded the account.Introduction to the book, ''Magid Mesharim'' Before moving to the Land of Israel, he made a sermon passionately discussing the rebuilding of the

Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. Accord ...

with messianic enthusiasm. He settled in Safed aged thirty, likely in 1535. In Safed, he made significant contributions to the development of Kabbalah, serving as a mystical instructor to Moses Cordovero, who later became his brother-in-law and one of Safed’s most esteemed Kabbalists before the arrival of

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 ...

. Alkabets was deeply involved in the spiritual life of the city, exemplified by his authorship of " Lekhah Dodi," a liturgical song sung during the

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

service. This influence persisted even as Lurianic Kabbalah, promoted by Haim Vital and Israel Sarug, eventually eclipsed Cordoverian Kabbalah in popularity and status among Kabbalists. He is buried in the Old Safed Cemetery.

Views and opinions

His works written in Adrianupolis center on the holiness of the people of Israel, the Land of Israel, and the specialness of the

mitzvot In its primary meaning, the Hebrew word (; , ''mīṣvā'' , plural ''mīṣvōt'' ; "commandment") refers to a commandment from God to be performed as a religious duty. Jewish law () in large part consists of discussion of these commandments ...

. Alkabetz accepts the tradition that

Esther Esther (; ), originally Hadassah (; ), is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. According to the biblical narrative, which is set in the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus falls in love with Esther and ma ...

was married to

Mordecai Mordecai (; also Mordechai; , IPA: ) is one of the main personalities in the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. He is the cousin and guardian of Esther, who became queen of Persia under the reign of Ahasuerus (Xerxes I). Mordecai's loyalty and ...

before being taken to the king's palace and becoming queen and even continues her relationship with Mordechai after taking up her royal post. The view of

midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; or ''midrashot' ...

articulated by Alkabetz and other members of the school of Joseph Taitatsak represents an extension of the view of the authority of the oral law and midrash halakha to

aggadah Aggadah (, or ; ; 'tales', 'legend', 'lore') is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, particularly the Talmud and Midrash. In general, Aggadah is a compendium of rabbinic texts that incorporat ...

and thus leads to the sanctification and near canonization of aggadic expansions of biblical narrative.

Published works

In print

*''Ayalet Ahavim'' (completed 1532, published 1552) on

Song of Songs The Song of Songs (), also called the Canticle of Canticles or the Song of Solomon, is a Biblical poetry, biblical poem, one of the five ("scrolls") in the ('writings'), the last section of the Tanakh. Unlike other books in the Hebrew Bible, i ...

. *''Brit HaLevi'' (1563), a kabbalistic commentary on the

Haggadah The Haggadah (, "telling"; plural: Haggadot) is a foundational Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder. According to Jewish practice, reading the Haggadah at the Seder table fulfills the mitzvah incumbent on every Jew to reco ...

. *'' Lekha Dodi'' (1579), a mystical hymn to inaugurate the

. *''Manot HaLevi'' (completed 1529, published 1585) on the

Book of Esther The Book of Esther (; ; ), also known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as "the Scroll" ("the wikt:מגילה, Megillah"), is a book in the third section (, "Writings") of the Hebrew Bible. It is one of the Five Megillot, Five Scrolls () in the Hebr ...

. *''Or Tzadikim'', a book of sermons. *''Shoresh Yishai'' (completed 1552, published 1561) on the

Book of Ruth The Book of Ruth (, ''Megillath Ruth'', "the Scroll of Ruth", one of the Five Megillot) is included in the third division, or the Writings ( Ketuvim), of the Hebrew Bible. In most Christian canons it is treated as one of the historical books ...

Manuscripts

*''Apiryon Shlomo'', ''Beit Hashem'', ''Beit Tefilla'', interpretations of the prayers. *''Divrei Shlomo'', on the section of Scripture known as Writings. *''Lechem Shlomo'', on the guidelines for the sanctification of meals, according to

Kabbalah Kabbalah or Qabalah ( ; , ; ) is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. It forms the foundation of Mysticism, mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ...

. *''Mittato shel Shlomo'', on the mystical significance of sexual union. *''Naim Zemirot'', on

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of B ...

. *''Pitzei Ohev'', on the

Book of Job The Book of Job (), or simply Job, is a book found in the Ketuvim ("Writings") section of the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Poetic Books in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The language of the Book of Job, combining post-Babylonia ...

. *''Shomer Emunim'', on the fundamental principles of faith. *''Sukkat Shalom'', ''Avotot Ahavah'', on the

Biography

Views and opinions

Published works

In print

Manuscripts

Notes

References

Further reading