In his short life, Isaac Luria (1534–1572) managed to become one of the most consequential figures in the history of Jewish religious thought, cultivating a novel approach to kabbalah that became immensely popular among rabbis from Iran to Amsterdam and that had a profound role in shaping Hasidism as well as both Ashkenazi and Sephardi liturgical practices. Luria wrote very little; it was his disciples who put his teachings on paper. Like many of his contemporaries, he held no official rabbinic position but supported himself through his business endeavors.
Those endeavors are the subject of a rare letter in his own hand, found in the Cairo Genizah. Ben Outhwaite describes this document:
Luria . . . spent most of his working life in Egypt, mainly in Cairo. . . . According to Lawrence Fine, Luria supported himself through trading in “pepper, wine, cucumbers, wheat, and leather”—for which, all bar the cucumbers, we have documentary evidence.
The letter is interesting for the simple details it records about the business activities of the mystic and sage, but also for the colorful Hebrew language in which he communicates them. Luria doesn’t refer to “summer” and “winter,” but to the seasons of heat and the “mightiness of rains.” A relative’s marriage is celebrated in proverbial terms, and he wishes his business associate to “ride upon the heights of prosperity.” He’s polite and witty, and using Hebrew from a variety of sources, even in a run-of-the-mill business communication. Ultimately, from reading this, the impression I get is that it’s a shame that he didn’t write more in his lifetime, since he was evidently a talented writer in Hebrew.
Read more on Cambridge University Library: https://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/collections/departments/taylor-schechter-genizah-research-unit/fragment-month/fotm-2024/fragment-1