The Wandering Kabbalist
The Wandering Kabbalist
Historical Profile and Context
During the thirteenth century, Akko was a cosmopolitan port city at the northern end of Haifa Bay where international commerce was bustling and ethnic diversity flourished as Christians, Muslims, and Jews interacted on the street on a daily basis. The city also served as the main gateway for immigration and pilgrimage from Christian Europe to the Holy Land. However, the bloody battle of 1291 between the Christian rulers of the city and the Mameluk Muslim invaders led to the fall of Akko and the collapse of its vibrant Jewish community. These events were pivotal in the life of Isaac ben Samuel of Akko, a mystic who journeyed from the Land of Israel westward through Aragon and Castile and learned new ideas and practices along the way. He escaped during the Muslim reconquest of Akko in 1291 and renewed his adherence to the Kabbalah of Nahmanides under the influence of Solomon Ibn Adret in Catalonia.
Keywords: Akko, Isaac ben Samuel of Akko, Jews, Christians, Muslims, Israel, Nahmanides, Kabbalah, Solomon Ibn Adret, Catalonia
Stanford Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.
