Rachel Aberlin or ''Rachel ha-Ashkenaziah'' (fl. 1582–1609), was a Jewish mystic. She is described in the '' Sefer ha-Ḥezyonot'' ("The Book of Visions") by Hayyim Vital. She was an influential figure of the early Sabbateanism and a spiritual leader of women. She was married to Judah Aberlin (d. 1582), a leader of the Jewish community of

Safed Safed (known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as Tzfat; Sephardi Hebrew, Sephardic Hebrew & Modern Hebrew: צְפַת ''Tsfat'', Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation, Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzfas'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Ṣǝp̄aṯ''; ar, صفد, ''Ṣafad''), i ...

in Jerusalem and

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

. After the death of her husband, she acted as the patron of religious Jewish leaders and was herself a leading religious figure, known for regularly experiencing mystical visions, from pillars of fire to Elijah the Prophet. She was reportedly "accustomed to seeing visions, demons, souls, and angels," and made prophecies of the future. Her date of death is not recorded but she made an intervention in a case of spirit possession involving a young woman in Damascus in 1609.

References

* Emily Taitz, Sondra Henry & Cheryl Tallan,
The JPS Guide to Jewish Women: 600 B.C.E.to 1900 C.E.
', 2003 {{DEFAULTSORT:Aberlin, Rachel 16th-century Jews from the Ottoman Empire 16th-century religious leaders Jewish mysticism 17th-century Jews from the Ottoman Empire 17th-century women from the Ottoman Empire 16th-century women from the Ottoman Empire Sabbateans Jewish women Jews from Ottoman Palestine

See also

References