He was born in Jerusalem to the Abulafia family and was a student of Rabbi Raphael Abraham Shalom Mizrahi Sharabi, head of the Beit El Kabbalist Yeshiva of Kabbalists and grandson of Rabbi Shalom Mizrachi Sharabi, who was also head of the yeshiva until his death in 1827.

Israel Dov Frumkin described Rabbi Abulafia as "a righteous man oppressed with suffering, earning his livelihood through hard work, a pious saint, sanctified from birth.

"[1] Moshe David Gaon wrote that Abulafia was great both in hidden wisdom and revealed Torah, and that the learning methods of the Ashkenazim were not foreign to him.

[2] [3] His works include the books "Derekh VeShalom" and "Kinyan Piryot" on the Kavanot of the Rashash (Shalom Sharabi).

The doctors were unable to remove the shrapnel from his leg, which caused him pain all his life and eventually led to his death.