In this class we look at a small part of the life of Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, known by the acronym Ramchal. We discuss his kabbalistic works, and the rabbis who banned him out of fear that he may be a Sabbatean.
Ramchal was a kabbalist and a rationalist, and in his attempt to combine the two, was kicked out of his home town of Padua. He spent 10 years in Amsterdam where he wrote his most famous books — including Derech Hashem (Way of God) and Mesilat Yesharim (Path of the Just).
He and his family moved eventually to Israel where they died a few years later during a plague. Ramchal was aged 39.