Abstract
As is well known,seder qabbalat shabbatis an innovation of Kabbalistic circles in Safed of the sixteenth century.¹ It was accepted by Jewish communities throughout the world over the course of the succeeding two hundred years, spreading with the popularity of the Safed-based Kabbalistic revival and the image of the ari and other Kabbalists as conveyed in the highly successful hagiographic literature of the age. The liturgical form represented byqabbalat shabbatcan best be appreciated in the context of some parallel liturgical creations of these circles. These would include tiqqunim or sedarim for midnight vigils, for Yom Kippur