The HaAri Synagogues
Rabbi Yitzhak Luria
The two HaAri Synagogues in Tsfat are both named for Rabbi Yitzhak Luria. Rabbi Yitzhak Luria
The HaAri Synagogues
Rabbi Yitzhak Luria
The two HaAri Synagogues in Tsfat are both named for Rabbi Yitzhak Luria. Rabbi Yitzhak Luria was a brilliant and important Kabbalist. Born in Jerusalem in 1534, his teachers recognized him as a prodigy at the age of eight. After years of study and meditation in Palestine and Egypt, he moved to Tsfat in 1570 where he soon established himself as the chief Kabbalist. He was revered and respected by everyone who met him and heard his teachings and arguments. His colleagues and disciples referred to him as the Ari, an acronym for Elo-hi Rabbi Yitzhak. “Elo-hi” is a common preface for God, a title bestowed on no other human. The Ari (which is also a Hebrew word meaning “lion”) is also commonly referred to as the Holy Ari or Arizel (Ari, of blessed memory). The Ari’s Kabbalah writings include the Etz Chaim (a prayer still recited during the Torah service) and have been incorporated into the Kabbalat Shabbat service prayers. His interpretations and teachings were recorded by his disciples and contributed to the Shulkhan Arukh.
The Sephardic HaAri Synagogue
The building of the Sephardic HaAri Synagogue, the oldest in Tsfat, was built three hundred years before the Ari first arrived in Tsfat. Originally dedicated to Eliyahu HaNassi (Elijah the Prophet), it was renamed HaAri in 1580. Located at the bottom of HaAri Street, above the old cemetery, the synagogue looks out onto Mt. Meron and the tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. In 1759 and 1837, violent earthquakes struck Tsfat and destroyed much of HaAri Synagogue. In 1840, Italian Jewish philanthropist Yitzhak Guetta donated the money for the synagogue’s renovation. A plaque dedicated to him hangs above the entrance.
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