10 Facts About the Ramchal

1.    Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, known as the “Ramchal”, was born in the city of Padua in Italy in 1706. He was the son of Rabbi Jacob Luzzatto, who worked as a fishmonger and his mother Diamente.

2.    The Ramchal had the merit to study with Rabbi Isaiah Bassan, who was very fond of him. He primarily taught him Talmud and Jewish law.

3.    When the Ramchal turned fifteen, Rabbi Bassan had left Padua and assumed the position of the Chief Rabbi of Reggio. As a result of this, the Ramchal began studying alone in his home and joined a group of young men called “seekers of God,” who dealt with the study of Kabbalah together.

4.    The Ramchal had gained recognition for his talents even in his youth. When he was fifteen years old, he already knew the entire Talmud by heart, the teachings of the Ari and the Holy Zohar.

5.    In the year 1726, an angel named “Maggid” revealed himself to the Ramchal and  taught him the deepest secrets of Kabbalah.

6.    The special qualities of the Ramchal along with the revelations he merited to receive, aroused suspicion among many. The damage that the false prophet, Shabtai Tzvi had caused the Jewish people was not yet forgotten, and thus, many people feared and were opposed to the Ramchal’s Kabbalistic connections.

7.    The Ramchal eventually moved to Amsterdam, and worked in diamond polishing as a means to make a living. There he printed his works, “The Way of G-d” and “The Path of the Just” – books on ethics with a subtle Kabbalistic undertone.

8.    His book, “Path of the Just” eventually became a basic religious work, especially during the Mussar Movement. The book later received special praise from the Gaon, Rabbi Eliyahu of Vilna.

9.    In his later years, the Ramchal had the merit to immigrate to Israel, and settled near the port city of Acre. On the 26^th of Iyar, 1746, the Ramchal returned his soul to heaven and was buried near the grave of Rabbi Akiva in Tiberias.

10.  Despite his short life, the Ramchal left behind many writings on mysticism, which became a cornerstone for those who study the wisdom of the Kabbalah.