Pillar of Fire

July 15 1572 – 5 Av 5332

Safed

Rabbi Isaac Luria, a.k.a. the Arizal (a Hebrew acronym of his
name plus “of blessed memory”), passed away. Born in Jerusalem,
Luria spent most of his short life in Egypt before arriving with his
young family in Safed shortly before the death of Rabbi Moses
Cordovero, the town’s leading kabbalist. It’s unclear whether the
two ever met, but Cordovero allegedly promised that his successor
would see a pillar of fire floating behind the rabbi’s coffin. The
Arizal fulfilled this condition and headed the cabal until his untimely
death only two years later, at age thirty-six. His kabbalistic system,
recorded by disciple Rabbi Hayyim Vital, spread far and wide.