R. Meir Ben Halifa Bikayam (d. 1769), kabbalist and crypto-Shabbatean. The family name is rare, and the origin of the family is unknown. Bikayam lived in Izmir (Smyrna). He studied Kabbalah under R. Jacob Wilna, belonged to his circle, and was initiated by him into the “mystery of the Godhead” revealed by Shabbetai Zevi. Bikayam received from his teacher the kabbalistic works of Solomon ha-Levi which the latter had received from his father, Benjamin ha-Levi. Some of the most learned and pious of the Izmir community belonged to his circle. Bikayam was a close friend of R. Hayyim Abulafia and R. Isaac ha-Kohen Rappaport, the rabbis of the community. One of the wealthy Jews of the town, Solomon Ardit, supported him and his circle, and even in his old age (c. 1745) the latter studied Kabbalah under him. The wealthy leader of the Constantinople community, R. Samuel ha-Levi, and R. Moses b. Joshua Soncino of Izmir supported and financed the publication of Bikayam’s books. When he went to Salonika in 1747, Abraham Enriques Miranda and Joseph Enriques Miranda, wealthy men of the community, welcomed him with great honor. There Bikayam also taught Shabbatean Kabbalah to a group of devotees and published two of his books. He returned to Izmir about 1747. His books are all concerned with Kabbalah; his Shabbatean leanings are hinted at, but never explicitly revealed. Bikayam also wrote, Golel Or, on the doctrine of gilgul (transmigration), according to the teachings of Isaac Luria, Hayyim Vital, and Azariah of Fano (Izmir, 1737); Me’ir la-Arez, on the portions of the Pentateuch, according to the principles of Lurianic Kabbalah (Salonika, 1747); Magen Avot, a kabbalistic commentary on Pirkei Avot (Salonika, 1748); Me’orei Or, on the Pentateuch, based on Lurianic Kabbalah (Salonika, 1752); and Kera Mikreh, on atonement for sexual impurities (Salonika, 1752).