Rabbi Moshe Cordovero (1522-1570), known as the Ramak, was the leading Kabbalist of Tzfat before the arrival of the Ari. His systematic works, especially Pardes Rimonim and Tomer Devorah, organized and explained the entire system of Kabbalah for the first time. He was the teacher of Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz (composer of Lecha Dodi) and the teacher of the Ari. According to tradition, when the Ari arrived in Tzfat, a pillar of fire appeared over the Ramak’s kever at his funeral, visible only to the Ari.