Quick Facts
- Born:
- 1522
- Died:
- 1570, Safed, Palestine [now Ẕefat, Israel] (aged 48)
- Subjects Of Study:
- Kabbala
- “Sefer ha-zohar”
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies.
Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Moses ben Jacob Cordovero
Jewish mystic
Moses ben Jacob Cordovero (born 1522—died 1570, Safed, Palestine [now Ẕefat, Israel]) was a Galilean rabbi who organized and codified the Zoharistic Kabbala. He was the teacher of another leading Kabbalist, Isaac Luria.
Little is known of Cordovero’s origin and early life. He was a disciple of Joseph Karo. His first major systematic work was Pardes rimonim, which he had completed by the age of 27. His second work of this type, Elimah rabati, was completed 10 years later. In these works and in his extensive commentary on the Sefer ha-zohar (the classic text of Jewish esoteric mysticism), Cordovero attempted to summarize and synthesize kabbalistic thought to that time and to put forth his own interpretive kabbalistic system.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors.
By clicking “Sign Up”, you consent to the Britannica
Privacy Policy
and
Terms of Use.