Chapter 19
Ten Places that Kabbalists Visit
In This Chapter
Discovering the sacred places on the Kabbalistic map
Paying one’s respects closer to home
Kabbalisticly speaking, holiness is everywhere, but some places have a special status within the world of Kabbalah. This chapter covers some of the highlights of a Kabbalistic travelogue.
Jerusalem
When Kabbalists pray three times a day, they face toward Jerusalem. Jerusalem, which archaeological findings indicate has existed since the third millennium BCE, was the capital of the Jewish kingdoms of Israel, Judah, and Judea during both the First and Second Temple periods.
The name Jerusalem likely comes from a contraction of two words:
Yerusha (yeh-roo-sha; heritage or inheritance)
Salem (sah-lem; whole or peace)
According to the book of Genesis in the Bible, shalem is the original name of Jerusalem (Genesis 14:18).
Historical Jerusalem
According to Jewish tradition, Jerusalem was founded by the ancestors of Abraham, Shem, and Ever. In approximately 1000 BCE, King David conquered Jerusalem and declared it the capital of the kingdom of Israel. In 960 BCE, King Solomon built the First Temple there, but in 596 BCE, the Babylonians conquered the city, destroyed the city walls, and burned the Temple.
Eventually, the Jews who fled Jerusalem were allowed to return to the holy city and rebuild the Temple. Jerusalem was the capital of Judah and remained central to Jewish worship for centuries.
After the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE, any hopes for the reestablishment of Jewish sovereignty in the land were dashed. In 135 CE, the Romans, under Hadrian, suppressed the Bar Kochva uprising (known as the fall of Bethar), killing 580,000 Jews. The Romans ran a plow over Jerusalem to completely destroy the Holy City and banned the Jews from living there. Jerusalem didn’t serve as the capital of any state until 1948, when the modern state of Israel was established with Jerusalem as its capital. In spite of the city’s turbulent history, Jews have been living in Jerusalem continuously for over two millennia.
Prayers of remembrance and longing for Jerusalem appear a number of times in the Jewish liturgy that Kabbalists have recited for centuries. Three times each day, Kabbalists recite traditional prayers that include the hope that Jerusalem and the line of King David are restored.
Jerusalem today
Today, visitors to Jerusalem see a crossroads of three major religious traditions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Particularly visible are the great number of Hasidim who live and worship in the holy city.
Generally speaking, the fact that Jerusalem was the site of both Holy Temples is what makes it so central to Jews. The Torah, for example, defines the three major holy days of Sukkot, Pesach, and Shavuot as part of the Pilgrim Festivals, when Jews from far and wide came to Jerusalem to participate in the spiritual rituals performed in the Holy Temple. Kabbalists today hope for and imagine a rebuilding of the Holy Temple on the Temple Mount site of the previous temples.
Another interesting site in Jerusalem is the Ramban Synagogue. The famous Kabbalist, Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman, known by the acronym Ramban (rahm-bahn ), established a synagogue on Mount Zion that moved to the Old City of Jerusalem in 1400. The original columns of the synagogue are still standing, and today, the synagogue functions on a regular basis and has become a popular site for those exploring Jewish history in general and the history of Kabbalah in particular.
The most famous pilgrimage site in Jerusalem today is the Western Wall, which was a huge retaining wall for the temple that was constructed on the Temple Mount. Great numbers of visitors to Israel are drawn to this ancient wall and express their heartfelt prayers there, as Jews have done for many centuries.
Tzfat
The city of Tzfat (tzeh-faht ) is located in northern Israel in the mountains of the upper Galilee. Tzfat is considered to be one of the four Jewish holy cities in Israel, together with Jerusalem, Hebron and Tiberias. (You may find references to the city spelled Safed, Zefat, Tsfat, Zfat, Safad, Safes, Safet, and Tzfat.)
According to one legend, Tzfat is where Shem (the son of Noah) and Ever (the grandson of Noah) established a yeshiva in which the patriarch Jacob studied for many years.
The city flourished in the 1500s, when many great Jewish scholars and mystics made Tzfat their home following the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492. Tzfat functioned as an important spiritual center during this time.
Some of the greatest Kabbalists called the city home, including Rabbi Isaac Luria (the Ari); Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz, who wrote the famous song recited on Friday nights, “L’cha Dodi”; and Rabbi Joseph Karo, the author of the Shulchan Aruch (shool-khan ah-rukh ); the Code of Jewish Law). As well, many of the most holy people in the history of Kabbalah are buried in and around Tzfat. For example, an ancient Jewish cemetery located in the city houses the tomb of the great Kabbalist Rabbi Isaac Luria as well as the graves of Rabbi Moshe ben Zimra, Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz, Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, and Rabbi Joseph Karo. One can also find in Tzfat the tombs of Shem and Ever, the two descendents of Noah, and near Tzfat is the cave where the students of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai are buried.
You may be interested to know that the first printing press in the Middle East was set up in Tzfat, and in 1578, the first Hebrew book printed in Israel was published in Tzfat.
Unfortunately, Tzfat has been the victim of some serious earthquakes as well as plagues and attacks. Yet, in modern times, Tzfat has seen a revival, with many immigrants to modern Israel settling in the historic city. Today, Tzfat has an active community of returnees to Judaism, known as baalei teshuva (bah-ah -lay teh-shoo -vah) and several major centers for the study of Kabbalah, as well as artists who base their work on core images in Kabbalah, such as David Friedman’s studio presents. The beautiful mountain setting of Tzfat and its magnificent views make it a beautiful place to visit or to live.
Meron, Israel
The town of Meron, Israel, contains the tombs of some of the greatest personalities of the Rabbinic period, including Rabbi Yochanan haSandlar, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, Hillel, Shammai, and many of the students of Hillel and Shammai. These tombs have been pilgrimage spots for centuries.
Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, who was one of the great rabbis of the Rabbinic (Talmudic) period, is traditionally thought of as the author of the supreme Kabbalistic work, the Zohar. He was one of the greatest disciples of Rabbi Akiva and earned a reputation as a miracle worker.
It’s generally believed that Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai died on the holy day of Lag B’Omer (lahg beh-oh -mare). Because of this legend, a custom developed over the centuries to observe and celebrate the anniversary date of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai’s death in Meron (his burial place as well as the burial place of his son Rabbi Elazar bar Shimon). This custom is as popular as ever today. Each year, you can see thousands of pilgrims out picnicking and celebrating in and around the city of Meron on this auspicious anniversary of the great sage’s death.
Holy Gravesites in the Holy Land
Visiting the gravesites of holy individuals has been a Jewish custom since time immemorial. The Bible, the Talmud, and the Zohar contain many stories indicating the importance of visiting and praying at the graves of the great holy sages. For example, a Rabbinic legend records that the patriarch Jacob buried his wife Rachel on the side of the road at Beit Lechem (Bethlehem) in order that the site could be visited and prayers could be offered to God based on the great merits of the matriarch Rachel.
In Hebrew, a cemetery is often called a Beit HaChayim (bait hah-khah -yeem; house of life) based on the spiritual idea that the faithful are considered “living” even after they’re dead. A Talmudic teaching says that studying the teachings of a sage at his gravesite is customary and that, when this is done, the lips of the sage move along with the lips of the person who’s currently studying his words. On a similar note, the Zohar contains a teaching that when one prays at holy gravesites, the souls of the holy people can intercede on behalf of the one who prays.
Throughout the land of Israel are many sites containing the graves of the greatest personalities in Jewish history. The Cave of the Patriarchs, for example, located in Chevron (Hebron) includes the burial places of Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, and Isaac and Rebecca. The graves of some of the greatest Talmudic personalities, including Rabbi Akiva and Nachman Ish Gamzu as well as the great medieval philosopher Maimonides, are frequently visited by tourists and the many individuals who know of the tradition to visit the graves of the great sages.
Holy Gravesites in Europe
Some of the most illustrious personalities who devoted their lives to learning and teaching Kabbalah were buried in Eastern Europe, and their gravesites have been established as pilgrimage places over the generations.
A custom of writing out prayer requests and reading them aloud at these gravesites has developed over time. Some pilgrims then tear the paper to symbolize the prayer being delivered, and they leave the scraps of paper in front of the grave. While in Hungary, I visited the grave of one of the great Kabbalists, known as the Kallover Rebbe. When I arrived at his grave, I found a large number of scraps of paper on the ground, indicating that, even in recent days, pilgrims came to pour their hearts out in prayer at the grave of this great Kabbalist.
The Baal Shem Tov (Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer), the founder of Hasidism, which spread the fundamental ideas of Kabbalah to the masses, was buried in the last town in which he lived, Medzhibus, in the Ukraine. His clearly marked grave remains there, and to this day, thousands of people devoted to the Kabbalistic teachings of the Baal Shem Tov visit his grave each year.
Another great Kabbalistic personality, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, is buried in Eastern Europe. Shortly before he died in 1810, Rabbi Nachman arrived in the town of Uman, Ukraine, and his grave there remains a shrine and is regularly visited by his followers and admirers.
There are many other grave sites of illustrious rabbis in Eastern Europe as well.
A Holy Gravesite in the United States
Montefiore Cemetery in Queens, New York, is the final resting place of two great contemporary Kabbalists, Rabbi Joseph Isaac Schneerson and Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Rabbi Joseph Isaac Schneerson was the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, and after his death, the new Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, frequently visited his father-in-law’s gravesite with his prayers and the prayers of thousands of others.
When the seventh Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson died, he was laid to rest beside his father-in-law. Each year thousands of people visit the graves of both rabbis and pour out their hearts in prayer.
A well-known custom at the Western Wall in Jerusalem is writing a prayer to God, folding it up, and sticking it into one of the cracks in the wall. These notes are known as kvitlach (kvit-lakh). In a similar manner, when visiting the grave of the last two Lubavitcher Rebbes, it’s customary to write kvitlach and read them before the graves. These pieces of paper usually contain heartfelt prayers and requests to these great holy men asking them to join in support of the prayers.
Today, a visitation center built adjacent to the graves of these two great Kabbalists is open 24 hours a day, and it isn’t unusual to find people at the graves of these great Kabbalists at all hours of the day and night.
The Mikvah
A mikvah (mihk -vah) is a natural body of water or a gathering of water that’s connected to a source of natural water. A mikvah contains about 200 gallons of water and is uniquely designed for immersion. Jewish and Kabbalistic tradition identifies water as the source of all living things, so a mikvah has to be filled with living waters, which means that it has to flow from a source that’s never dormant. A mikvah can be filled with rainwater, fresh spring water, or melted snow.
In traditional Jewish life, a married woman uses a mikvah in conjunction with her monthly menstrual cycle. However, in the world of Kabbalah and specifically in the Hasidic world today, men as well as women use mikvahs. Some Hasidic men visit the mikvah and immerse themselves in its waters every Friday afternoon before the arrival of Shabbat, but others are known to visit the mikvah every day, 363 days a year (the days of Tisha B’Av and Yom Kippur are exempted; see Chapter 11).
When I visited the city of Tzfat (see the entry earlier in this chapter), one of the places pointed out to me was the mikvah of the Ari, Rabbi Isaac Luria. According to tradition, this natural gathering of waters in a cave in the hills of Tzfat is the very mikvah used by the great Kabbalists centuries ago. Like countless people before me, I recited my prayers, prepared myself spiritually and physically, and submerged myself in the icy waters of the mikvah of the Ari. It was a particularly moving experience because
I truly felt a sense of continuity from one generation to another, tracing back centuries to the Ari himself. So many Kabbalists and students of Jewish tradition have taken those same steps and entered the same living waters.
By stripping down and fully submerging myself in the living waters, I truly felt a sense of purification, and that, of course, is precisely what the mikvah is about.
Most cities in the United States with significant Jewish communities maintain at least one mikvah, but these are usually reserved for women who use them in conjunction with their monthly cycles. The mikvahs are also used during conversion ceremonies, when a convert to Judaism is required to enter the mikvah and be submerged to symbolize rebirthing one’s earthly spiritual identity.
Cities and neighborhoods with traditional Hasidic communities usually have mikvahs especially dedicated to use by men who wish to continue the centuries-old tradition. To use a mikvah today, it’s best to contact your local Jewish Federation or Jewish Family Service, who maintain lists of Jewish programs and resources made available across the denominations and neighborhoods.
The Synagogue
A synagogue is obviously a Jewish house of worship, and certainly not all synagogues focus on Kabbalistic tradition. Nevertheless, serious students of Kabbalah have a close connection to the synagogue for a number of reasons.
To participate in a complete prayer service, it’s necessary to pray with nine other people. (In Orthodox circles, the ten people must be men over the age of 13, whereas in liberal Jewish communities, women are also counted in the minyan [min-yahn; quorum].) For example, the mourner’s prayer, known as Mourner’s Kaddish, must be said in the presence of a minyan. In addition, the Kedusha (keh-doo-shah), a particularly sacred part of a daily synagogue service, is recited when a minyan of ten is present.
In the synagogue on Shabbat, the sacred Torah scroll is taken out of its station, known as the aron hakodesh (ah-rone hah-koe-desh; holy ark), and read publicly to the congregation. This custom that Kabbalists have participated in for many centuries is a moving and heart-stirring ritual and one that requires a minyan of ten, according to Jewish law.
Tradition teaches that the Shechina (sheh-khee-nah; presence of God) dwells intimately among a minyan of ten or more who gather together in a synagogue.
The Bedroom
After reading about some of the sacred places in the world of interest to a Kabbalist, you may be thinking it odd to list the bedroom as one of the ten places that Kabbalist’s visit. But by “bedroom,” what I really mean is the marital bedroom.
Kabbalistic literature abounds with erotic metaphors, so much so that a number of studies have been written on the subject. Each points out that the great Kabbalists, when writing about the profound ideas of Kabbalistic tradition, often resort to erotic language. Remember that even the Kabbalist’s weekly Sabbath observance is described as a wedding wherein Kabbalists greet the Sabbath bride.
When a husband and wife who are Kabbalists make love, Kabbalistic tradition teaches that their minds and inner intention should be directed toward heaven. The union of male and female isn’t just a sexual act between two individuals; in a sense, Kabbalists see it as a symbolic act of cosmic proportions. According to Kabbalists, sexuality is in no way dirty or sinful; rather, sex is an exalted act that can have a profound impact on the human soul.
When a husband and wife who follow Kabbalistic tradition enter the marriage chamber, they’re aware that sexuality, like all pleasures of life, is a divine gift from above, and therefore, great care and the highest respect is required to fulfill the encounter appropriately.
Here and Now
Perhaps the most important place for Kabbalists is right here and right now. In a sense, every moment of life has the potential for either sanctity (consciousness of the Creator who gives everything) or debasement (taking life for granted with an absence of consciousness). The Kabbalist’s goal is to bring an awareness and consciousness of God to every moment without exception. When a Kabbalist wakes up in the morning, his or her first thoughts should be that of gratitude to God. And that consciousness should continue throughout the day, until the very last moment before sleep.
Every moment of every day also brings the opportunity for sensitivity to others (or lack of sensitivity). Kabbalistic tradition urges a heightened sense of morality and ethics at all times. The here and now offers abundant opportunities for acts of lovingkindness and efforts to repair the world.
Unlike some religious traditions that set aside certain times and days as sacred, Kabbalists consider every moment sacred. The observance of many holy days on the Jewish calendar doesn’t contradict the basic and fundamental view that all life comes from the Divine and that God creates the world in every moment. Kabbalists don’t put off religion and spirituality for some other time or place; they know that every moment is meant to be seized, that every moment has great spiritual potential, and that every moment is a gift from above.