SPIRTUAL LIFE
"The eyes of the Jewish world were on Tzfat. Great scholars and rabbis. Kabbalists and practical men converged here. A convocation as varied as this had not been seen in many generations…" With these words Yitzhak Ben-Zvi and Meir Bnayahu open their book 0n 16th century Tzfat. In their view, Tzfat provided a fitting answer to the Messianic aspirations of the Spanish exiles, which arose in the wake of their cruel banishment. One of the unique aspects of Tzfat's Golden Age was the extraordinary array of wise men who worked in unison and mutual acceptance, each in his field, inspiring and vitalizing one another. During the 60 years of the Golden Age, they conceived their ideas and radiated their wisdom to world Jewry. The flourishing spiritual life here also gave rise to a growing conviction that redemption was at hand. The Kabbalists immersed themselves in mystic studies, convinced that in so doing they would bring about the coming of the Messiah. A date was indeed set for his arrival – the year 1540. When the coming did not materialize, people set their hopes on a new date – 1575. Expression of the importance Tzfat had attained in the 16th century can be found in the controversial issue of rabbinic court, suggested that the current generation of scholars merited the revival of the long-defunct act of rabbinic ordination, as in Talmudic times. He managed to ordain only four rabbis, one of whom was Joseph Caro. Had he not encountered the vehement opposition of Jerusalem's religious leaders, he might have succeeded in his ultimate goal – reestablishing the Sanhedrin and thus, he believed, bringing the Messiah. During this period, many erudite works were written in Tzfat. It was therefore no coincidence that the first printing press in the Middle East was founded here in 1576. it operated for 10 years until it was ransacked by Arab marauders. The most important books of that period, however, were printed in Europe. The Halacha that emanated from Tzfat – Joseph Caro's "Shulchan Aruch" – was rapidly accepted by Jews in the entire Diaspora. In this gigantic work he unified world Jewry by providing it with codified laws that to this day serve as a guide for the religious life of observant Jewry. The Kabbalah of Tzfat, particularly Lurianic Kabbalah, exerted enormous influence on the Jewish world. To existing liturgy were added mystic and poetic expressions of a Kabbalistics nature, Jewish ritual was enriched with new concepts such as the "Tikkun" on the eve of Shavuoth and the custom of "Ushpizin" in Succoth, Sabbath hymns to this day include Shlomo Alkabetz's "Lecha Dodi", and when one concludes the Sabbath Eve prayers by bowing to the west, it is to commemorate the Ari's custom of taking his disciples to the "Field of holy apples" to welcome the Sabbath Queen.
