The Ari was born in Yerushalayim in 1534. By the time he was eight, he was recognized as a wonder-child, a prodigy who already outshone the greatest minds of Yerushalayim. At this tender age, he had already mastered the intricacies of the Talmud and committed dozens of volumes to memory.
The Ari's father passed away while he was still a child. Under the pressure of poverty, his mother went to Egypt, where they lived with her brother, Mordecai Frances, a wealthy tax agent. The Ari's brilliance continued to shine. The young prodigy was placed under the tutelage of Rav Betzalel Ashkenazi (1520-1592), best known for his important Talmudic commentary, the Shita Mekubetzes (Embracing System). There is also evidence that the young lad also studied under the great Radbaz, Rav Dovid ben Zimri (1480-1573), who was then the chief Rav of Cairo. By the time he was fifteen, his expertise in Talmud had overwhelmed all the sages in Egypt. According to a reliable account, the Ari himself also wrote a large Talmudic commentary around this time. Had he remained nothing more than a Talmudic scholar, he would have joined the ranks of the greatest of all times.
The Chida said on him that the way he reached such a high level was that Eliyahu HaNavi purified him with ashes of a Parah Adumah. The Arizal is respected and accepted by all the great Rabbonim of the Ashkenazim (chassidim and non-chassidim), Sefardim and Teimanim. Besides Kabbalistic Seforim, the Arizal is very often quoted in halachic works, such as the Magen Avrohom, Be'er Heitiv and Mishna Berura. He is the foremost Kabbalist of the last five-hundred years and was a Gilgul (reincarnated spark) of Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai.
At this time he married his uncle's daughter. At age seventeen, he discovered the Zohar, obtaining his own manuscript copy. Later, he spent fifteen years meditating, at first with his master, Rav Betzalel Ashkenazi, and then alone, reaching the highest levels of kedusha. Eventually, he spent two years meditating in a hut near the Nile, utterly isolated, not speaking to any human being. The only time he would return home would be on Erev Shabbos, just before dark. But even at home, he would not speak. When it was absolutely necessary for him to say something, he would say it in the fewest possible words, and only in Loshon HaKodesh.
It is accepted that the Ari became worthy of Ruach HaKodesh. At times, Eliyohu HaNovi revealed himself to him and taught him the mysteries of the Torah. Every night his soul ascended to heaven. Angels would escort him, asking which academy he chose to visit. Sometimes it would be that of Rav Shimon bar Yochai. He also visited the academies of Rav Akiva and Rav Eliezer HaGodol, and on occasion the academies of the Nevi’im.
At the end of this period, he received a command from Eliyohu HaNovi to go to Eretz Yisrael. He arrived in Tzefas during the summer of 1570, and began by concealing his gifts completely. He was only there a short time when the Ramak (Rav Moshe Cordovero, 1522-1570), head of the Tzefas Mekubolim, died on June 26, 1570 (23rd of Tammuz, 5330). By identifying the heavenly pillar of fire that followed the great Mekubol’s funeral procession, the Ari established himself as the new leader.
