Yekutiel Gordon

Born in Vilna, Yekutiel Gordon studied medicine in Padua. There he met Moses Ḥayim Luzzatto and joined his mystical group, becoming one of his prominent disciples. From Padua, Gordon corresponded with several rabbis in Central and Eastern Europe, sharing with them news about Luzzatto. One of his letters (written in 1729), which detailed Luzzatto’s activities and the divine revelation he experienced, fell into the hands of Moses Ḥagiz. Ḥagiz, who feared that Luzzatto’s activities demonstrated similarities to Sabbateanism, asked the rabbis of Venice to excommunicate Luzzatto, leading to a controversy. It seems that Gordon abandoned his medical studies to devote himself to the study of kabbalah and Luzzatto’s activities. He later returned to Eastern Europe, where he spread Luzzatto’s teachings. Gordon left a number of works in manuscript, including commentaries and kabbalistic texts.