Sar Shalom Sharabi was born in
Jewish Sharab,
Yemen. He moved to Jerusalem, then under
Ottoman rule, in fulfilment of a vow. On his way he stayed in India, Baghdad and Damascus. In Damascus, he was involved in a dispute of
Halacha over the minimum olive size
kezayit of matzah that one should eat at the Pesach
Seder. In Jerusalem, he made a strong impression on the local rabbinic sages, and is frequently mentioned in their books. At Bet El Yeshiva, he belonged to a group of 12
mekubalim along with
Hida,
Torat Hakham, Rabbi Yom-Tov Algazi and other sages of Sephardic and Yemenite congregations. He remained at Bet El Yeshiva until his death, eventually becoming
Rosh Yeshiva. He himself was a devotee of the teachings of Rabbi
Isaac Luria, and a principal innovator within Lurianic
Kabbalah. Popular tradition links his departure from Yemen with a miracle that occurred after a rich Muslim woman tried to seduce him. In Bet El, he worked as a servant and hid his learning from others; when his knowledge of Kabbalah was accidentally discovered, he became a member of the kabbalistic circle. According to legend, the prophet
Elijah appeared to him, and he is understood by the major Kabbalists as being himself the
Gilgul of the
Arizal. His grandson,
Solomon Moses Hai Gagin Sharabi, wrote a poem of praise on his mastery of the
Etz Hayyim and ''Shemonah She'arim'' of
Hayyim Vital. Members of Bet El continue to
prostrate themselves on his grave on the
Mount of Olives on the anniversary of his death. Sharabi is credited with the miracle that opened the
Kotel to Jews. ==Writings==