Sarug (Saruḳ), Israel (Called Also Ashkenazi)

Cabalist of the sixteenth century. A pupil of Isaac Luria, he devoted himself at the death of his master to the propagation of the latter's cabalistic system, for which he gained many adherents in various parts of Italy. Among these the most prominent were Menahem Azariah da Fano, whom he persuaded to spend large sums of money in the acquisition of Luria's manuscripts, and Aaron Berechiah of Modena, author of the "Ma'abar Yabboḳ"("Ma'abar Yabboḳ, Ḳorban Ta'anit," i.). Sarug lectured also in various places in Germany and in Amsterdam. In the latter city one of his disciples was Abraham de Herrera.

Sarug was the author of: a cabalistic essay entitled "Ḳabbalah," published in the "Maẓref la-Ḥokmah" of Joseph Delmedigo (Basel, 1629); "Hanhagot Yosher," or "Tiḳḳun Ḳeri," or "Ḳeri Miḳra" (Salonica, 1752), hodegetics to asceticism; and "Ḳonṭres Ne'im Zemirot Yisrael," a cabalistic commentary on three of Luria's piyyuṭim for Sabbath.

Bibliography:

  * Steinschneider, Cat. Bodl. col. 1173;
  * Grätz, Gesch. x. 420;
  * Fuenn, Keneset Yisrael, p. 700.



S. I. Br.