Presented for 5 Av, the day of the Arizal’s passing.
By Nechama Bar
In the alleyways of Yerushalayim, between the crowded houses full of charm and holiness, adorned with ancient Yerushalmi stone, was a small, simple home. A holy man lived there by the name of Rabbi Shlomo Luria Ashkenazi.
For many years, R’ Shlomo and his righteous wife prayed for a child. They spent hours pleading, and their T’hillim were saturated with the tears of their prayers.
One day, Eliyahu HaNavi appeared to R’ Shlomo and said to him, “Your prayers were accepted. You will merit to have a son who will illuminate the eyes of Israel. Through him will be revealed the wisdom of the kabbala and all the wisdom of the world.”
Eliyahu’s words were fulfilled and they had a son. Their joy was boundless.
In little Yitzchok’s early years one could see he was unlike other children. He was gifted with a good head and unusual abilities. Aside from that, he was G-d fearing and beautified mitzvos. Whoever saw him could see that the spirit of Hashem rested upon him.
The boy grew up and gave much nachas to his parents, but then a terrible tragedy took place. R’ Shlomo passed away and Yitzchok became an orphan at the age of eight.
His righteous mother accepted G-d’s decree silently. Since she did not have enough money to support herself and young Yitzchok, she decided to go to Egypt where her brother, R’ Mordechai, lived.
R’ Mordechai welcomed them and took care of all their needs. He derived much nachas from Yitzchok and allowed him to sit and learn undisturbed.
Some years went by and Yitzchok became great in the knowledge of Torah. His uncle Mordechai suggested that he marry his daughter who was G-d fearing and of good character. Yitzchok married his cousin and they established a pure, happy home together.
For many years, R’ Yitzchok secluded himself and spent hours learning Torah. One day, as he learned, Eliyahu HaNavi appeared to him and said, “I was sent by heaven to reveal to you the deep secrets of the Torah.”
R’ Yitzchok was thrilled by this revelation and from then on, spent hours learning kabbala with Eliyahu.
One day, Eliyahu said to R’ Yitzchok, “The time has come for you to return to Eretz Yisroel. Go to Tzfas where you can spread your teachings. In Tzfas you will meet R’ Chaim Vital. You must transmit all the wisdom you have learned to him for he will succeed you. In the Holy Land you will be able to become even more elevated and reach heights you cannot reach here. Since you will not live long, you must hurry and go there.”
Yitzchok obeyed Eliyahu and packed his belongings and moved with his family to Eretz Yisroel, to Tzfas.
In those days, there was a small community in Tzfas that numbered just 2000 people. Although the community was small in number, it was great in quality. In Tzfas there were great Torah scholars who were knowledgeable in both Nigleh and Nistar. R’ Yitzchok joined a group of kabbalists (those who learn kabbala). At first, he concealed his greatness but slowly his greatness became known and many students came to learn from him.
The Ari wasn’t satisfied with that. He looked forward to meeting the outstanding student, R’ Chaim Vital, who was going to succeed him.
At that time, R’ Chaim Vital was living in Damascus, Syria. Every night, the soul of the Ari would ascend and speak with the soul of R’ Chaim Vital, trying to convince him to move to Eretz Yisroel.
“R’ Chaim,” said the Ari to him, “You should know that I came to this world to rectify your soul and to convey to you the deep secrets of the Torah that have not been revealed since the creation of the world.”
At first, R’ Chaim refused. But after the Ari continued to beg him, he decided to move to Eretz Yisroel and see who this R’ Yitzchok was, whom he had never met.
R’ Chaim Vital moved to Tzfas and went to the home of the Ari. He had a difficult question about a statement in the Zohar and he decided to ask R’ Yitzchok in order to see how wise he was.
R’ Chaim asked his question and to his great surprise, the Ari began to explain matters in a most wondrous, deep way until R’ Chaim became frightened by the force of his holiness. R’ Chaim took the opportunity and asked another question in the Zohar. The Ari explained this too, in a most wonderful way. When he asked his third question, the Ari refused to answer and said, “You can hear up until this point and no more.”
R’ Chaim left the room in despair. He yearned to learn more and more from the holy Ari. What should he do now?
In sorrow, he went to an inn, put on sackcloth and ashes and all night he prayed to Hashem from the depths of his heart that the Ari agree to accept him and teach him the secrets of the Torah.
In the morning, when R’ Chaim went to the Ari’s house, the Ari said to him, “In the merit of your prayers last night, which came from the depths of your heart, you will merit to learn the secrets of the Torah.”
From then on, R’ Chaim joined the holy group of disciples. He would sit with them and listen avidly to every word that R’ Yitzchok said. To his great sorrow though, he could not absorb the teachings and he would forget them immediately. He pleaded with his teacher to help him.
One day, the Ari took R’ Chaim to the nearby city of Teveria. There they rented a small boat and set sail. When they reached a certain point, the Ari drew a bit of water and gave it to R’ Chaim to drink. “From now on, you will not forget what you learn and it will be engraved deeply in your mind, for you drank from the well of Miriam the Prophetess which ended up here.” And so it was.
R’ Chaim Vital learned from the holy Ari until the Ari’s passing on the fifth of Av 5332 (1572). R’ Chaim then collected all of R’ Yitzchok’s teachings, along with material of his own, in a seifer called Eitz Chaim.