Rav Ezra of Gerona

Early years

Rav Ezra of Gerona zt"l, known as Rav Ezra ben Shlomo, was one of the first great writers of Kabbalah in Spain. He was born, most likely around 1160, in Gerona, and became a talmid of Rav Yitzchok Sagi Nahor (Isaac the Blind), the blind son of the Ra’avad.

Around the year 1200 Kabbalah reached Gerona. The city soon became one of the foremost centers of hidden Torah, and among the mekubalim of the time it was already known as a mother city in Israel. Rav Ezra was deeply versed in Kabbalah.

The Gerona circle

The Kabbalistic center of Gerona was founded by the talmidim of Rav Yitzchok the Blind, above all by two great writers: the elder, Rav Ezra ben Shlomo, and his younger colleague, Rav Azriel. In later generations the two were often confused with each other, most likely because their names were similar, or with other mekubalim of their time. Careful modern study has since made it possible to tell their approaches apart.

One example is Rav Ezra’s commentary to Shir HaShirim. For years it was attributed to the Ramban (Rav Moshe ben Nachman, 1195–1270), the great Torah commentator of Gerona who was also a mekubal, and a recent edition of the Ramban’s writings still includes it.

These two mekubalim and their talmidim laid the foundation for all later Kabbalistic thought. Much of the terminology and many of the basic ideas that shaped Kabbalah over the next seven centuries took form in Gerona, and its legacy survived intact through great changes in later generations. In their own way the mekubalim of Gerona turned Kabbalah, once hidden and on the margins, into an active spiritual and intellectual force in medieval Jewish life.

Writing the hidden Torah

Not every mekubal welcomed the writing of Kabbalistic books in Gerona. Rav Yitzchok the Blind sent a sharp letter to the city, demanding that these teachings be kept secret and shielded from public discussion. He forbade spreading Kabbalah in written form, warning that a book, once written, cannot be hidden away. The head of the Provençal mekubalim declined an invitation to visit Gerona and sent his nephew, Rav Asher ben Dovid, to guide the circle in the proper way of mystical study.

The letter had lasting effects on the younger mekubalim. It seems they stopped writing Kabbalistic works openly and, at least in part, concealed the full meaning of their outlook. Rav Yonah Gerondi wrote ethical works built on the homilies of Gemara and Midrash, with no Kabbalistic symbolism at all. The Ramban placed in his Torah commentary a number of veiled allusions, introduced by the words “al pi derech ha’emes” (according to the path of truth), which are far from obvious. Rav Yaakov ben Sheshes, one of the leaders of the circle, wrote an ethical work on faith and trust, Sefer HaEmunah VeHaBitachon, and a critique of the Rambam’s approach, Meshiv Devarim Nechochim. Kabbalah does not stand out in either one.

The most important Kabbalistic works of the circle came from Rav Azriel, probably written before the letter ever reached Gerona. It may even be that his large output prompted it. His writings advanced the organizing of Kabbalistic symbols and their application to the many areas of Jewish religious life. Like others in Gerona he was well trained in philosophy, and through him many philosophical terms entered Kabbalah, where they became cherished symbols of an inner spiritual search with new layers of meaning. Some of the deepest expressions of Kabbalah before the Zohar are found in his commentary on the aggados of Chazal and in his shorter essays.

Later years and passing

Rav Ezra passed away in Catalonia on 9 Teves 4988 (1227).