New on the site: Michi-bot. An intelligent assistant based on the writings of Rabbi Michael Avraham.

Shocking sexual stories in the writings of the Ari?

שו”תShocking sexual stories in the writings of the Ari?
asked 2 years ago

peace. Following your last post (What’s Wrong with Ideology), I was exposed to the website of religious scholar Tomer Persico (you refer to his article there) and I saw in one of the articles (Modern Kabbalah Shares) a reference to Roni Weinstein’s book where he allegedly brings shocking quotes about pathological sexual acts from the writings of the Ari as virtues for his various cures.
I quote from Tomer’s article:
Well, here it comes, Weinstein’s bracketed comments:

Beware of the bruja [witch in Spanish] who kills babies […] As soon as the child is born, put in his mouth a circumcised part of his father (Rach”hu, Sefer HaPe’o’lu’, Rtez)
To cure a person suffering from the disease of the fall, they will take a young man who has never seen a scythe since his birth and remove a layer of semen from him, and that scythe and the layer of semen will be applied to the lips of the patient, and that illness will never return (ibid., sic.)

 

And one more:
A woman had difficulty giving birth to a child and was in danger, and her relatives came to the rabbi’s house to make a correction for her to save her. The rabbi [the Ari] replied: It is true that she is in danger and she has two sons in her womb and she has a correction if it is found. God [they said to him, the rabbi] will tell us a story. He said to them, the correction is that a man who has never seen a drop of blood in his life should come and put his covenant in her mouth and she would immediately give birth and be saved. God knows who this man is and we will go to him. God knows, and I have no right to reveal it so as not to bring shame on others. But they did this and issued a proclamation throughout the city: Who is the man who knows for himself that he has never seen a drop of blood in his life, let him come and save three souls from Israel [the woman who is having difficulty giving birth and the twins in her womb]. So they did. And when the gaon Muharem [our teacher Rabbi Moshe] Galanti the Elder heard, he immediately got up and came with them and put his covenant in her mouth and she would immediately give birth. (The History of the Ari, compiled by Meir Benyahu, Ben Zvi Institute, pp. 224-225)

 
From the way Tomer responds to things there, it seems that the things really appear in Harry’s writings – and I quote again, this time, the words of Tomer himself:
“So first of all, I’m interested to know whether someone who believes everything that Rabbi Chaim Vital writes about the upper worlds, or everything that is written in the name of the Ari about them, also believes what they write about healing the sick. And I’m interested if he believes, whether he will try Vital’s or the Ari’s advice for complete healing, and if he doesn’t believe, how he excuses himself that Vital, the Ari’s senior student, or the Ari himself, could have uttered such crazy nonsense on the one hand, and on the other hand, discovered the truth about the Infinite, Blessed be He. But that’s a side note.”
I tried to look for the source but couldn’t find it. Are the things actually written in Harry’s words? Is this familiar? Known?
 
And if so – what the hell???
 
 

Leave a Reply

0 Answers
מיכי Staff answered 2 years ago

I am not familiar with these quotes, but there are certainly things of this kind there, so I assume that it does exist there. Many people have superstitions, especially those who are obsessed with mystical hallucinations. But that does not mean that it is not accompanied by good spiritual intuition. On the contrary, in many cases it comes together. Therefore, it is possible and desirable to ignore the nonsense written there (and also in Maggid Meishrim LeRik, who was not a clear mystic) and focus on ideas and insights.

דב replied 2 years ago

This is not in the words of the Ari, but in the diary of R. Chaim Vital

מיכי Staff replied 2 years ago

Indeed, it is only necessary to remember that what is called the writings of the Ari are also largely from the Hebrews.

Leave a Reply

Back to top button