Moses ben Jacob Cordovero

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Title page from Moses Cordovero's Pardes Rimonim.

Moses ben Jacob Cordovero or Moshe Cordevero (1522-1570) (Hebrew: משה קורדובירו) known by the acronym the Ramak (רמ"ק), was a pre-modern rabbi and one of the greatest scholars of Judaism's Kabbalah. He is without a doubt the greatest Jewish mystical thinker of all time - a figure without whom 16th century Safed and its impact on later Kabbalistic thought cannot reach any fruition.

His birthplace is unknown, but the name Cordovero indicates that his family originated in Córdoba, Spain and perhaps fled from there during the expulsion of 1492 during the Spanish Inquisition. His Hebrew signature, however, [Cordoeiro] strongly suggests Portuguese affiliations as well.

The Ramak was either born in, or moved to Safed in the Land of Israel, the city that was soon to become famed as a center of Kabbalah and mystical creativity. Albeit not involved in mystical studies until his twentieth year, RaMaK gained a reputation as an extraordinary genius and a prolific writer. Besides his knowledge in Kabbalah, he was a Talmudic scholar and a man of commanding mastery in philosophical thought who was respected in these fields. Contrary to popular belief, however, Ramak was NOT one of the rabbis who received the special semicha ("ordination") from Rabbi Jacob Berab in 1538, alongside Rabbi Yosef Karo (Cordovero's teacher in Halakha), Rabbi Moshe of Trani, Rabbi Yosef Sagis, and Rabbi Moshe Alshich. As a whole, Ramak's future posterity was in speculative and preformative Kabballah, but during his own lifetime he was the renowned head of the Yeshiva for Portugesse immigrants in Safed. Recent scholarship has found records that show that during this time period he made his living dealing in pearls.

According to his own testimony in the introduction to Pardes Rimonim, Ramak heard at the age of twenty 1542a "heavenly voice" urging him to study Kabbalah with his brother-in-law, Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz, composer of the mystical song Lecha Dodi. He was thus initiated into the mysteries of the Zohar. The young Ramak not only mastered the text, but decided to organize the Kabbalistic themes leading to his day and present them in an organized fashion. This led to the composition of his first book, Pardes Rimonim ("Orchard of Pomegranates"), which was completed in 1548 and secured Ramak's reputation as a brilliant Kabbalist and a lucid thinker.The Pardes, as it is known, was a systemization of all Kabbalistic thought up to that time and featured the author's attempt at a reconciliation of various early schools with the conceptual teachings of the Zohar in order to demonstrate an essential unity and self-consistent philosophical basis of Kabbalah.

His second work - a magnum opus titled Ohr Yakar ("Precious Light") - was a 16 volume commentary on the Zoharic literature in its entirety and a work to which Ramak had devoted most of his life (the modern publication of this great work has started during the mid 1960's and reached fruition in 2004 Jerusalem). Some parts of Ohr Yakar have been published under separate titles, such as Shiur Qomah, Tefilah le-Moshe etc.

Some other books for which the Ramak is known are Tomer Devorah ("Palm Tree [of] Deborah"), in which he utilizes the Kabbalistic concepts of the Sephirot ("Divine attributes") to illuminate a system of morals and ethics, Ohr Neerav, a justification of and insistence upon the importance of Kabbalah study and an introduction to the methods explicated in pardes Rimonim, Elimah Rabbati, a highly abstract treatise on kabbalistic concerns revolving around the Godhead and His relationship to the Sefirot, and Sefer Gerushin, a short and intimate composition which features the highly devotional slant of Ramak, as well as his asceticism and religious piety. Certain parts of Ramak's works are still in form of manuscripts, whereas his existing writings suggest many other compositions which he either intended to write or had actually written - but were lost.

Around 1550, the Ramak founded a Kabbalah academy in Safed, which he led for twenty or so years, until his death. According to Jewish legend, it was reported that the prophet Elijah revealed himself to him. Among his disciples were many of the luminaries of Safed, including Rabbi Eliyahu di Vidas, author of Reshit Chochmah ("Beginning [of] Wisdom"), and Rabbi Chaim Vital, who later became the official recorder and disseminator of the teachings of Rabbi Isaac Luria.

Ramak was survived by a wife whose name remains unknown (it is known that she was Solomon Alkabetz' sister) and by a son named Gedaliah (1562-1625). Gedaliah was the impetus behind the publication of some of RaMak's books in Venice, Italy circa 1584-7. Gedaliah was buried in Jerusalem, where he had spent most of his adult life after returning from Venice.

[edit] Among RaMak's most visible books

"Pardes Rimonim" ("An Orchard of Pomegranates") - Ramak's first book, which secured his reputation as a mystical genius.
Ohr Yakar ("A Precious Light") - A Magnum opus of some 16 volumes in its extant manuscript form, which had occupied Ramak throughout his adult life - a classic commentary on the Zohar, Sefer Yetzirah and the Zoharic literary offshoots. Its publication ended around 2005 in Jerusalem (some 22 volumes). Certain parts of it - such as Tefilah le-Moshe and Shiur Qomah - were also published independently.
Tomer Devorah ("Palm tree [of] Deborah") which exists in an English translation by Rabbi Moshe Miller (1993).
"Eilima Rabbati" - of which 2/3 are still unpublished!
Ohr Neerav (A Pleasant Light")- exists in an Annotated English translation by Ira Robinson (1994).
" Sefer Gerushin" ("The Book of Banishments") - a disclosure of Ramak's fellowship and their devotional piety in the Galilean outskirts of Safed.