Joseph Zarqa (1722–1798), a student of Isaac Lumbruso, was an influential Tunisian kabbalist. Zarqa’s kabbalistic activity was centered on bringing specifically Lurianic traditions into the practice of North African Jewry. Employed as a scribe, he adapted the Lurianic traditions regarding scribal practices into his own writing of Torah scrolls. When queried regarding matters that fell between halakha and Kabbala, Zarqa was apt to resolve the problem in accordance with the kabbalistic interpretation, advocating the a…