AriZal: An acronym standing for Elo-ki Rabbi Yitzchok the G-dly Rabbi Yitzchok of blessed memory, otherwise known as Rabbi Yitzchok Luria. He was undisputedly the greatest practitioner and expounder of Kabbala since Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, author of the Zohar. The Ari Hakodosh founded a new school in Kabbalistic thought, known as "the system of the Ari." Rabbi Yitzchak Luria ben Shlomo Ashkenazi, whose father was related to the famous Maharshal, was born in the Old City of Jerusalem in 5294 (1534) in what is now the Old Yishuv Court Museum and passed away on the 5th of Av 5332 (1572 CE). He is buried in the Old Cemetery of Zefat, where tens of thousands make the pilgrimage to his graveside every year.
When the Ari was still a child, Rabbi Shlomo passed away. In 1541, unable to support the family, the Ari's mother, with her family, traveled to Egypt, where the family lived with her brother, Mordechai Frances, a wealthy tax collector. The boy's brilliance continued to shine in pilpul [Talmudic dialectic] and logic. Rabbi David ben Zimra (Radbaz) taught the Ari both the revealed and concealed aspects of the Torah. The Ari also studied under Rabbi Betzalel Ashkenazi, the author of Shittah Mekubetzet. He studied with Rabbi Betzalel Ashkenazi. On numerous occasions, Eliyohu Hanovi revealed himself and taught the Ari the mysteries of the Torah. Sometimes he would visit Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, or Rabbi Akiva or Rabbi Eliezer the Great or the heavenly academies of the ancient prophets.
In 5330 (1570 CE), Elyohu Hanovie told him to move to Zefat, where he would meet Rabbi Chaim Vital, the man to whom he was destined to transmit the keys to the ancient knowledge and who became his chief disciple. When he first arrived in Zefat, he then joined the circle of students who studied Kabbala under Rabbi Moshe Cordovero (Ramak), until the Ramak passed on soon afterwards. Other students of the Ari are Rabbi Yisrael Sarug, Rabbi Shmuel Ozida (author of Midrash Shmuel), Rabbi Yitzchak Cohen, Rabbi Masud HaMaaravi, and Rabbi Gedalia.
