רבי יצחק לוריא אשכנזי
Rabbi Yitzchak Luria
The Arizal / Ari HaKadosh
כתבי האר״י (כולל עץ חיים, נכתבו ע״י תלמידו ר' חיים ויטאל)
Yahrzeit: ה׳ אב · 1572
Founder of Lurianic Kabbalah. His grave is on the central raised platform.
Kevarim and nesios across Europe and Asia — a section of White Glove Kosher Travel.
Beis hachaim · Israel
בית החיים העתיק צפת
Beis Hachaim Ha'atik (Ancient Tzfat Cemetery)
Safed (Tzfat) · צפת
Navigate to this beis hachaim →Visitor experience
Practical notes from visitors — access, directions, and the condition of the site.
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Who is buried here
Known kevarim
רבי יוסף קארו
Rabbi Yosef Karo
Maran / the Beis Yosef
בית יוסף · שולחן ערוך · כסף משנה
Yahrzeit: י״ג ניסן · 1575
Chief rabbi of Tzfat from 1546.
רבי שלמה הלוי אלקבץ
Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz
Author of Lecha Dodi
לכה דודי · מנות הלוי
Passed 1580; brother-in-law and teacher of the Ramak.
רבי משה קורדובירו
Rabbi Moshe Cordovero
The Ramak
פרדס רימונים · תומר דבורה · אור יקר
Yahrzeit: כ״ג תמוז · 1570
Leading Tzfat kabbalist; his passing preceded the Arizal's arrival.
רבי משה אלשיך
Rabbi Moshe Alshich
The Alshich HaKadosh
תורת משה
Dayan in Tzfat alongside the Beis Yosef and one of the town's great darshanim; his peirush on Chumash is learnt as the Alshich.
רבי משה בן יוסף מטראני
Rabbi Moshe ben Yosef Mitrani
The Mabit
בית אלקים · קרית ספר · שו״ת המבי״ט
Born in Salonica in 1500, av beis din of Tzfat alongside the Beis Yosef, and niftar here in 1580.
רבי אלעזר אזכרי
Rabbi Elazar Azikri
Author of Yedid Nefesh
ספר חרדים · ידיד נפש
1533-1600. Every table that sings Yedid Nefesh at shalosh seudos is singing his words.
רבי יעקב בירב
Rabbi Yaakov Beirav
Who tried to renew semichah
Niftar 1546. He attempted to re-establish semichah in Tzfat - the ordination that had lapsed since the times of the Gemara - and it was he who was mesamech the Beis Yosef. Buried in the Cave of the Elders of Tzfat.
Practical information nearby
Kosher food, lodging, minyanim & more
Gathered from public sources — please confirm details before you rely on them.
כשרות עסןKosher food
Kosher dining in Tzfat Old City
The Old City has multiple strictly kosher meat and dairy restaurants and cafés (e.g. HaAri 8 meat restaurant) within a short walk of the cemetery.
מניניםMinyanim
Ari Ashkenazi Synagogue
Israel Najara Street, Old City, Tzfat
Hours: Reported daily Shacharis ~6:15am, plus Mincha and Maariv ~8:10pm
Historic 16th-century Kabbalist synagogue (rebuilt 1857) a short walk above the cemetery.
מקוהMikvaos
Ari Mikvah (Mikvah of the Arizal) — men only
Spring-fed, icy-cold mikvah at the cemetery entrance below the Ari Sephardic Synagogue, where the Arizal is said to have immersed; reported open 24 hours.
Verification and source
No public access contact has been verified for this cemetery yet.
Read the cemetery source →