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Rabbi Shlomo HaLevi Alkabetz was one of the great kabbalists
living in Safed during the time of the great luminaries of Kabbala, Rabbi Moshe
Cordovero ( Ramak) and Rabbi Yitzchak Luria ( Arizal). Rabbi
Shlomo was born in Salonica c. 5260 (1500 CE) (according to some authorities he
was born in 5265). He studied Torah under Rabbi Yosef Taitatzak. In 5289 (1529
CE) he married the daughter of one Yitzchak Cohen, a wealthy householder living
in Salonica. Instead of giving his wife a more traditional wedding gift, he gave
her his newly completed work Manot HaLevi. His father-in-law and
brother-in-law apparently revered Torah scholars greatly for "their delight in
receiving this gift was many times greater than if he would have sent them
jewelry and precious stones of great monetary value."
Shortly afterwards, Rabbi Shlomo and his wife decided to settle
in the Holy Land. On the way there, the young Rabbi and his wife stopped over in
Adrianople, Turkey. The townsmen, including a group of kabbalists, begged him to
instruct them in the spiritual life and his methods of serving G-d. He agreed
and wrote several works during his stay in this town - Beit Hashem, Avotot
Ahava, Ayelet Ahavim and Brit HaLevi. This latter work he dedicated
to his admirers in Adrianople.
Rabbi Shlomo eventually continued his journey, teaching wherever
he went. Several men who were later to become great kabbalists themselves were
deeply influenced by Rabbi Shlomo. Among them were Rabbi Shmuel Ozida (author of
Midrash Shmuel on Pirkei Avot), Rabbi Eliezer Azikri, author of
Sefer Chareidim, a kabbalistic treatise on the correspondence of the
limbs and organs of the human body to the 613 mitzvot of the Torah; Rabbi
Avraham Galante, author of Yareach Yakar on Zohar and other
works.  | | " Only in the Holy Land, he insisted, could one fathom the secrets of Torah." | | |
Rabbi Shlomo arrived in Safed around 5295 (1535 CE) where he
settled. Only in the Holy Land, he insisted, could one fathom the secrets of
Torah. Rabbi Shlomo attributed much of his depth of understanding to his custom
of prostrating himself at the graveside of tzadikim. Many students
gathered around him, including Rabbi Moshe Cordovero (Ramak), who married
Rabbi Shlomo's sister. It seems, however, that Rabbi Shlomo later became the
student of Ramak, a testimony to his humility. Rabbi Yosef Caro was
another student of Rabbi Shlomo. Rabbi Shlomo tells the story that he was once
studying with Rabbi Yosef Caro when the latter's Maggid (an angelic
teacher) appeared to them. Rabbi Caro once asked his teacher to explain the
kabbalistic meaning of the verse "the two great luminaries" (Gen.
1:16) which he did in a lengthy dissertation. It seems that he served as the
head of a yeshiva in Meron, which lies across the valley from Safed. He also
appears to have served as a Rabbi in Safed.
Rabbi Shlomo is most renowned for his
Lecha Dodi
hymn, sung at the inauguration of the Sabbath. It was composed according to
kabbalistic teachings regarding the ascent of the sefira of malchut
(which represents both the Shechina and the Jewish soul) on the
Sabbath, and it therefore expresses the yearning of the Shechina and the
Jewish soul for the redemption. The hymn became so popular that it was
incorporated into the Sabbath liturgy of every community. Rabbi Shlomo passed on
in 5340 (1580 CE) and is interred in Safed. For more information on R. Shlomo Alkabetz at this site,see also
Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz: Works
and
Secret of Queen Esther
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