Abraham ben Eliezer Halevi

Abraham ben Eliezer Halevi was born in Spain, where he composed several kabbalistic works. Halevi wandered through Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Egypt before settling in Jerusalem, where he immersed himself in holy studies and gained a reputation as a scholar. Although he was a prolific author, most of Halevi’s works have never been published. All his writings are infused with apocalyptic prophecy. He believed that the messianic era would begin to dawn in 1524, and that this would be followed by the messiah’s arrival in 1530 or 1531. He made great efforts to find proof of this in Jewish literature (biblical and postbiblical) and sought to galvanize Jews to repentance.