The Prophet Elisha—Bringing Habakkuk Back to Life

The Prophet Elisha—Bringing Habakkuk Back to Life

The great Kabbalist Rabbi Yehuda Fatiya, in his famous book «Minchat Yehuda» (ch. 109), explains King Solomon’s words from Kohelet: “Better a living dog than a dead lion.” He writes that this may allude to the episode involving Gehazi, who was sent by the Prophet Elisha to revive the Shunamite woman’s son. Elisha said to him: “Take my staff in your hand and place it on the boy’s face.” [II Kings 4:29] At the same time, the prophet instructed Gehazi not to speak with anyone along the way and not to allow himself to be distracted by anything. But on the way, he placed the staff on a dead dog and brought it back to life. When he reached his destination and placed the staff on the boy’s face, the boy was not revived. [Rabbi Shmuel Laniado, Kli Yakar] It is known that the son of the Shunamite woman was the Prophet Habakkuk [Zohar II, 44b]. His name has the same gematria as the word אריה (lion), as well as the word בחור (young man). It follows that Habakkuk’s death was the reason the dead dog was brought back to life. This is the meaning of the expression “better a living dog,” because the “dead lion” is Habakkuk, whose gematria is that of “lion.” (Rabbi Yehuda Fatiya, «Minchat Yehuda,» ch. 109, Kohelet) The disciples of the Ari HaKadosh relate the following story about him. Once, Rabbi Isaac Luria arrived late to a wedding. He explained that on the way he had encountered a dog that was barking at him. The Arizal asked it who it was, and the dog replied that it was the gilgul of Gehazi. When the Prophet Elisha instructed Gehazi to revive the Shunamite woman’s son with the staff, Gehazi did not believe in the miracle that was supposed to take place. On the way, he saw a dead dog lying by the roadside and decided to test the power of the prophet’s staff on it. The dog indeed came back to life, but the staff could no longer affect the young man to whom the prophet had sent him. Gehazi’s punishment was therefore to be reincarnated as a dog.   (translated from dailyzoar.com)