Shimon Lavi was a SephardiHakham, kabbalist, physician, astronomer, and poet. He is credited with the founding of religious institutions and the revival of Torah study in Tripoli, Libya, in the mid-sixteenth century, where he served as spiritual leader and dayan for more than three decades. He authored a commentary on the Zohar titled Ketem Paz and the piyyut, "Bar Yochai", a kabbalistic hymn which became widely popular in the Jewish world. Libyan Jews consider him their greatest scholar.
Biography
As a child, Lavi was expelled from his homeland of Spain together with his family in the Spanish Expulsion of 1492. They resettled in Fez, Morocco, where Lavi studied both Torah and Kabbalah. In 1549 Lavi set out to immigrate to Israel, but was kidnapped and held for ransom by "Arab bandits". He was redeemed and came to Tripoli, where he found the community lacking spiritual guidance and decided to settle there instead. Lavi is credited with the founding of the Tripoli Jewish community's religious institutions, the revival of Torah study, and the establishment of takkanot. Serving as a posek and dayan, Lavi put the rabbinical court on a firm footing and appointed more judges to lead the community into the future. In later generations, Tripoli Jews had the custom of reciting a memorial prayer every Yom Kippur eve on behalf of all the judges who had served on the rabbinical court from Lavi's time to the present. Lavi's efforts to revive Torah education also halted the spiritual decline among Tripoli Jewry; 300 years after his death, eleven rabbinical academies were operating in the city. Libyan Jews consider Lavi their greatest scholar. An outstanding kabbalist, Lavi incorporated the study of Jewish mystical texts into the community's daily ritual. The Zohar took its place as a holy book alongside the Tanakh and Talmud, with people reading from it on weekdays, Shabbats, and at special social gatherings. Lavi fixed the prayer rite in Tripoli according to the Sephardi custom. His piyyut, "Bar Yochai", was sung every Friday night by Tripoli Jews to the melody that Lavi himself composed. Lavi also served as a physician to the Turkish governor and represented the Jewish community to the ruling authorities. He was said to be highly respected by the government ministers.
Works
''Ketem Paz''
Around 1570 Lavi authored a commentary on the Zohar. The commentary was noted for its emphasis on the peshat of the Zohar text rather than on derush. In addition to his kabbalistic discussion, Lavi displayed knowledge of and partiality toward alchemy. The manuscript remained in handwritten form until 1795, when wealthy Tripoli Jews arranged for the publication of the commentary for the Book of Genesis only, in two parts. The title of this work, Ketem Paz, was chosen by the Chida, who was in Livorno while the work was being printed there. Additionally, Lavi wrote the commentary Bi'ur Millot Zarot she'b'Sefer HaZohar, which displays his mastery of Spanish and Arabic. This work was published in Yad Ne'eman by Rabbi Avraham Miranda. Lavi also wrote the Seder Tikkunei Kallah, readings for Shavuot night.
"''Bar Yochai''"
Lavi composed numerous piyyutim, the most well-known of which is "Bar Yochai", written in praise of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, author of the Zohar. This composition displays Lavi's mastery of Torah and Kabbalah, as the rhyming stanzas incorporate expressions from the Tanakh, rabbinical teachings and ideas, and expressions from the Zohar and other mystical texts. The first letter of each stanza forms an acrostic of the author's name. Lavi sang the song both in Hebrew and in a Judeo-Arabic translation. The song was brought to Safed, Palestine, and was accepted by the students of the Arizal, who in turn brought it to Europe. It was first printed at the beginning of the seventeenth century in Prague and Krakow. In the 1795 printing of Ketem Paz, this and other compositions by Lavi were included. The song became widely popular in the Jewish world. Customs vary regarding singing the song on the Shabbat, but all communities, Sephardi and Ashkenazi alike, sing it on Lag BaOmer, the Yom Hillula of Shimon bar Yochai.
Tomb
Lavi's tomb in Tripoli was visited by Jewish pilgrims from throughout Libya both during the year and on his Yom Hillula. The tomb was also venerated by Muslims, who called him "Ibn Limam".
