The Safed movement and the Kabbalistic mysticism of the 16th century

In the 16th century, the city of Safed (Tsefat), in Upper Galilee, became the center of a kabbalistic renewal of exceptional intensity. Major figures lived and taught there, including Moses Cordovero, who systematized kabbalistic thought, and Isaac Luria (the Ari), whose teachings gave birth to Lurianic Kabbalah with its notions of tzimtzum, the breaking of the vessels, and tikkun. Joseph Karo, also present in Safed, compiled there the Shulchan Aruch, a code of law that became a universal reference for halakhic practice. The city was also a hub of liturgical poetry, from which emerged the celebrated Shabbat hymn Lecha Dodi by Solomon Alkabetz. This center radiated durably upon Jewish spirituality, liturgy, and mystical thought.

Sources & resources

• Encyclopaedia Judaica — 2e éd., Keter/Macmillan
• Sefaria ↗