Hayyim ben Joseph Vital
Hayyim ben Joseph Vital (; Safed, October 23, 1542 (Julian calendar) and October 11, 1542 (Gregorian Calendar) – Damascus, 23 April 1620) was a rabbi in Safed and the foremost disciple of Isaac Luria. He recorded much of his master's teachings. After Vital's death, his writings began to spread and led to a "powerful impact on various circles throughout the Jewish world." Early life Born in Safed, as a young boy Hayyim Vital was educated by the scholar Moshe Alshich. Joseph Karo is said to have paid special attention to Vital's early talents and in 1557 requested that Alshich take special care in his education as he was destined to succeed his teacher in the world of Torah study. That same year, Vital first became acquainted with the kabbalist Isaac Luria, who would have a lasting influence on him. Vital apparently married at a young age. It was an unhappy marriage, and when he left his wife, the prophet Elijah appeared to him in a dream and led him to a beautiful garden, where he saw the pious of all ages, in the form of birds, flying through the garden and studying the Mishnah. In the center of the garden was God seated on a throne that was surrounded by the pious, resting on elaborate tapestries. Convinced by this vision that he was destined to become a kabbalist, Vital devoted the following two and a half years to the study of alchemy. Upon completing his studies, Elijah appeared to him again in a vision and told him that he would succeed in his efforts and write a commentary on the Zohar. Study with Cordovero When Luria arrived in Safed, Rabbi Moses ben Jacob Cordovero had been the principal figure in the kabbalistic community for numerous years. "Cordovero was the teacher of what appears to have been a relatively loose knit circle of disciples. The most important were Elijah de Vidas, Abraham Galante, Moses Galante, Hayyim Vital, Abraham ben Eliezer ha-Levi Berukhim, Elazar ben Moshe Azikri, Samuel Gallico, and an important kabbalist who studied with Cordovero for a short while in the 1560s, Mordechai Dato." There's evidence to suggest that Isaac Luria also regarded Moses Cordovero as his teacher. Joseph Sambari (1640-1703), an Egyptian chronicler, testified that Cordovero was 'the Ari's teacher for a very short time.' Luria probably arrived in early 1570, and Cordovero died on June 27 that year (the 23d day of Tammuz). Bereft of their most prominent authority and teacher, the kabbalists looked for new guidance, and Isaac Luria helped fill the vacuum left by Cordovero's passing. Student of Isaac Luria In 1570 Vital became a student of Isaac Luria, the foremost kabbalist of the day. In a study of Lurianic mysticism, Lawrence Fine writes: Vital provides us with the names of 38 individuals who according to him, made up Luria's discipleship... According to him, the fellowship was divided into four hierarchically ordered groups. The first and most important, was composed of 11 men, listed in this