Gates of Wisdom

"Behold that before the emanations were emanated and the creatures were created,
The Upper Simple Light had filled the whole existence.
And there was no vacancy, such as an empty air, a hollow,
But all was filled with that Simple, Boundless Light.
And there was no such part as head, or end,
But everything was One, Simple Light, balanced evenly and equally,
And it was called “the Light of Ein Sof (Infinity).”
And when upon His simple will, came the desire to create the worlds and emanate the emanations,
To bring to light the perfection of His deeds, His names, His appellations,
Which was the cause of the creation of the worlds,
Then the Ein Sof restricted Himself, in His middle point, precisely at the center,
And He restricted that Light, and drew far off to the sides around that middle point.
And there remained an empty space, an empty air, a vacuum
Precisely from the middle point.
And that restriction was equally around that empty, middle point,
So that the space was evenly circled around it.
And after the restriction, when the vacant space remained empty
Precisely in the middle of the Light of Ein Sof,
A place was formed, where the Emanations, Creations, Formations, and Actions might reside.
Then from the Light of Ein Sof, a single line hung down from Above, lowered into that space.
And through that line, He emanated, created, formed, and made all the worlds.
Prior to these four worlds, there was one Light of Ein Sof, whose Name is One, in wondrous, hidden unity,
And even in the angels closest to Him
There is no force and no attainment in The Ein Sof,
As there is no mind of a created that could attain Him,
For He has no place, no boundary, no name."

~ Ari, The Tree of Life
Rabbi Isaac Luria -- Yitzchak (1534-1572) who was known as the "Ari', an acronym for Adoneinu Rabbeinu Issac [our master, our rabbi, Issac], was the greatest Kabbalist in 16th century Zephath (Safed), a city in northern Israel famed for its Kabbalist population. He was also one of the most influential individuals in the history and evolution of the wisdom of Kabbalah.

Kabbalists kept the wisdom of Kabbalah hidden for 1,500 years prior to the Ari. Kabbalists were reluctant to publicize their work because they feared it would be misinterpreted. "The generation," they said, "is not yet ready."

Humanity had been waiting for many centuries for the right guide to open the gates of the wisdom of Kabbalah to the public. Finally, with the arrival of the Ari in Zephath and the public's subsequent exposure to The Book of Zohar, it appeared that it was now time to introduce the secrets of Kabbalah to the masses.

Isaac Luria refused to commit his seminal teachings to written form. When his disciples pleaded him to do so, he replied: "It is impossible because all things are interrelated. I can hardly open my mouth to speak without feeling as though the sea burst its dams and overflowed. How than shall I express what my soul had received, and how can I put it down in a book?''

"There are not enough words to measure his holy work in our favor. The doors of attainment were locked and bolted, and he came and opened them for us. Thus, all who wish to enter the King's palace need only purity and sanctity, and to go and bathe and shave their hair and wear clean clothes, to properly stand before the sublime Kingship..."

- Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag (Baal HaSulam), "Introduction to the Book, Panim Meirot uMasbirot,"

~ The Ashkenazi Ari Synagogue was built in the sixteenth century on the northern fringes of the Sephardic neighborhood in the Old City of Safed. It is named after Rabbi Issac (Yitzchak) Luria. He died at age 38, three years after he arrived in Safed.