Creator Bio
Simeon Ibn Lavi
d. 1580/85
A Moroccan kabbalist of Spanish origin, Simeon Ibn Lavi was raised in Fez. In 1549, while making his way to the land of Israel, he visited Tripoli. Finding the community uneducated and lacking in scholars, Ibn Lavi decided to remain there as a teacher. The Jews of the town considered him their greatest scholar. He composed a commentary on the Zohar on Genesis and Exodus in addition to piyyutim (liturgical poems). He is most famous for his popular poem in praise of Simeon bar Yoḥai (the purported author of the Zohar), which is still sung to this day.
Entries in the Posen Library by This Creator
Primary Source
Hymn to Bar Yohai
Blessed are you, Bar Yohai, you were anointed by your brethren with the oil of joy:Bar Yohai, with the oil of a sacred shareyou were anointed through holy measure, sanctity’s bud you wore like a…