The most ancient Jewish sources discuss matters that concern Jewish mysticism, Kabbala. The Torah describes wondrous and miraculous events like the Creation, the splitting of the Red Sea, and the giving of the Torah. The books of the Prophets describe the revelation of God to human beings. Likewise, there are concealed traditions mentioned in the texts of the mishnaic era, e.g., Ma’aseh Bereshit, which is concerned with what occurred at Creation, and Ma’aseh Merkava, which is concerned with the revelation of the Shekhina, the Divine Presence. These ideas find expression in independent works such as Sefer Yetzira, which discusses the creation of the world via the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and the Heikhalot (palaces) literature, which discusses the structure of the upper worlds and the role of the angels.

The ancient, concealed Torah reached its culmination with the Zohar, a work attributed to the mishnaic Sage Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai. The Zohar consists of a commentary on the Torah in accordance with its concealed meaning. The main subject of the Zohar is how God acts and is revealed in the world. The Zohar is full of unique terms that have become identified with Kabbala and are a hallmark of all later kabbalistic works.

The Zohar is the fundamental book of kabbalistic wisdom. It is attributed to the mishnaic Sage Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai. The main body of the Zohar is composed of an exegetical, kabbalistic commentary on the Torah, the Song of Songs, and the book of Ruth, written in Aramaic. Some parts are structured as a dialogue between Sages, and others are written as stories about Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai and his students. Additionally, interspersed throughout the Zohar are a number of independent sections that concentrate on particular topics:

Zohar Ĥadash is the name for texts that were first printed independently of the Zohar but were later incorporated within it. The Zohar emerged as a complete work only at the beginning of the fourteenth century, but it was known to the kabbalistic Sages prior to this time.

From the Zohar:

“The wise will shine like the radiance [zohar] of the firmament, and those who lead the multitudes to righteousness, like the stars, forever and ever” (Daniel 12:3). “The wise” are those who study the concealed wisdom; “will shine,” meaning that they will glow with the brightness of the heavenly wisdom; “like the radiance” is a reference to the shining light of the river that emerges from the Garden of Eden. This is the secret of “the firmament,” where the stars, planets, sun, moon, and all the other lights are found.

In mid-sixteenth-century Safed, kabbalistic thought flourished. Kabbala was enriched by the theories and practices that developed, and its adherents experienced a unique religious life. Rabbi Moshe Cordovero (Ramak), Rabbi Yitzĥak Luria (Ari), and his student, Rabbi Ĥayyim Vital authored works explaining and expanding on the Zohar. Various kabbalistic customs were established, such as a version of the prayer liturgy that contained mystical intentions, the Kabbalat Shabbat service, Kabbala study groups, and prostration upon the graves of Sages in the Galilee region.

Emotionally, the Jews of Safed, some of whom had been expelled from Spain, felt they lived in a time close to the redemption, and this brought about a proliferation of creativity. Some figures wrote biblical commentaries and compiled collections of non-halakhic portions of the Talmud and midrashim. Poets composed such poems as Lekha Dodi (Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz) and Yedid Nefesh (Rabbi Elazar Azikri). Large-scale works, such as the Shulĥan Arukh, were published. There were some, among them Rabbi Yaakov Beirav, who even tried to restore the traditional ordination of Sages, semikha, in order to reestablish the Sanhedrin.

This generation is known as the era of the Ari because he was the main proponent of kabbalistic thought in the period.

Ramak (1522–1570) came from a family of Jews who were expelled from Cordova, Spain. He learned the revealed Torah from Rabbi Yosef Karo, and the concealed Torah from Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz. He served as a judge in the religious court of Safed, and wrote several books: Pardes Rimonim, which addresses disputes concerning the sefirot, and Eilima, which summarizes and expands on the kabbalistic tradition of the Zohar and of the ancient Kabbala. Or Yakar is a commentary on the Zohar of which only part was published due to its length. Tomer Devora is a work of Musar that is written in accordance with kabbalistic principles. It teaches a person how to connect to God.

Rabbi Cordovero used to go with Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz into “exile,” secluding themselves in nature. On these walks, in their discussions or via mystical enlightenment, they achieved an understanding of difficult passages in the Zohar.

From Ramak:

At every moment a person is sustained and alive due to the heavenly power that flows to him…. Although the person sins with this power it is not withheld from him; rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, tolerates this affront. He has given this person power and the motion of his limbs, and he uses that power, at that moment, for sin and actions that cause God’s anger. But the Holy One, blessed be He, tolerates it.

The Ari (1534–1572) was born in Jerusalem, studied in Egypt with Rabbi Betzalel Ashkenazi, and secluded himself for many years on an island in the Nile Delta. At age thirty-six, he immigrated to Safed, where he gathered a small group of students. Foremost among them was Rabbi Ĥayyim Vital, who put the words of the Ari into writing. After two years teaching his insights to his close disciples, the Ari died at the age of thirty-eight. The book Etz Ĥayyim, written by Rabbi Ĥayyim Vital, consolidates the Ari’s fundamental kabbalistic approach.

The Ari wrote songs for the Shabbat table: Azamer BiShevaĥin for Shabbat evening, Asader LiSeudata for the day, and Benei Heikhala for the third meal. He may also have written special intentions for one to have while reciting specific prayers. His writings have been edited by various individuals at different times. Multiple versions of the prayer book are attributed to him, and a number of halakhic rulings are cited in his name. The book Shivĥei HaAri praises his holiness and the wonders he performed.

About the Ari:

Everything the Ari attained, namely, that the gates of wisdom opened for him and that he received the divine spirit, was in reward for his boundless joy at the performance of each mitzva, as it is written, “Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and with gladness of heart, from abundance of everything” (Deuteronomy 28:47). “From abundance of everything” [means that serving the Lord is greater than] all the various pleasures of this world, such as gold and precious jewels.

Rabbi Ĥayyim Vital (1542–1620) was the foremost student of the Ari. He was born in Safed, and served as a rabbi in Safed, Jerusalem, and Damascus, where he died. He recorded the lessons he heard from his teacher, and permitted very few individuals to read the manuscripts. The manuscripts were later copied illicitly, having been taken from the Safed geniza. As a result, various editions and versions of the Ari’s writings have been distributed.

Rabbi Ĥayyim Vital’s son, Rabbi Shmuel Vital, reedited the Ari’s work Etz Ĥayyim, arranging it into eight “gates,” including the Gate of Kabbalistic Intentions, the Gate of the Mitzvot, and the Gate of Reincarnation.

Rabbi Ĥayyim Vital wrote Sha’arei Kedusha, a work of Musar written in accordance with kabbalistic principles. Another of his works is Sefer HaĤezyonot, a mystical diary of his dreams and his encounters with significant people.

From Rabbi Ĥayyim Vital:

It is known to wise people that the human body is not the person himself. The body is called mere human flesh…. The person himself is in fact a spiritual being. The body is a garment that the intelligent soul, which is the person himself, wears while still in this world. When a person dies, this garment is removed from the soul, and it will be encased in a pure, clean, spiritual garment.