Isaac Luria — the Ari (1534–1572)

Born in Jerusalem and raised in Cairo, Isaac Luria settled in Safed around 1570 and taught there for barely two years — entirely orally — before his death at 38. His Kabbalah of tzimtzum (divine contraction), shevirat ha-kelim (the shattering of the vessels), and tikkun (repair) was recorded by his disciple Hayyim Vital (Etz Chaim, 1573) and reshaped Jewish mysticism, prayer customs, and, two centuries later, Hasidism. ◈ The Jerusalem Post