Rabbi Avraham Azulai

Rabbi Avraham bar Mordechai Azulai - grandson of Rabbi Avraham Ha-Rishon of Marrakesh (born in the same year that Rabbi Moshe Cordovero passed away)   Yahrzeit - 24 Cheshvan Resting place - Hebron   Rabbi Avraham Azulai, an expert in the Kabbalistic systems of the Arizal and the Ramak (Cordovero), wrote an extraordinary book titled "Chesed L'Avraham". He is one of the few kabbalists who recorded teachings that had previously been transmitted only orally. On his way from Morocco to Israel, Rabbi Avraham Azulai's ship sank in a severe storm. Most of his sacred manuscripts were aboard the ship at the time and were lost. Rabbi Azulai was deeply grateful to G-d that he himself had not been on the ship at that moment. From then on, his signature took the form of a ship. He wrote a commentary on the Zohar HaKadosh called "Or HaChama" (Light of the Sun). In his book "Or HaLevana" (Light of the Moon) he wrote corrections (hagahot) to the text of the Zohar. One of his books, "Or HaGanuz" - a commentary on the deep passages of the Zohar - was lost. In "Kanfei Renanim" he summarizes the kavanot of the prayers according to the Arizal. In "Ma'aseh Choshev" he summarizes the kavanot of the mitzvot according to the Arizal. He also wrote a commentary on the Tanach: "Ba'alei Brit Avraham". His books "Perush Yakar Al Shisha Sidrei Mishnah" and "Perush Yakar Al HaLevush" are commentaries on the Mishnah and Halacha. One of Rabbi Azulai's greatest achievements was the retrieval of Rabbi Chaim Vital's manuscripts from his grave in Damascus (Syria). Together with another kabbalist of the time, Rabbi Yaakov Tzemach, Rabbi Avraham Azulai practiced yichudim and She'elot Chalom (dream questions) until they received permission from Rabbi Chaim Vital to open his grave. The great Rabbeinu Chida - Rabbi Yosef Chaim David Azulai - was Rabbi Avraham's great-grandson.   The Sultan's Sword and the Cave of Machpelah Once the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire traveled to the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron. Adorned in traditional royal garments, the Sultan's golden sword, studded with diamonds and precious gems, hung at his side. The Sultan walked from room to room and finally entered the hall named for the Patriarch Yitzchak. In the hall of Yitzchak, the Sultan's attention was drawn to a small round hole in the floor near the wall between the halls of Yitzchak and Avraham. This hole is the holiest place in the entire Tomb of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, for it leads into the caves themselves. According to tradition, it was dug by Adam, the first man, himself. The Sultan leaned over the venerable opening and looked inside, and his precious sword fell into the cave. The Sultan called the officer of the guard and ordered him to lower a soldier down to retrieve his sword. In response to the Sultan's command, the officer immediately chose the nearest soldier - another soldier tied a rope around his waist and lowered the soldier into the cave. As soon as they did this, screams were heard from the cave. They quickly pulled the soldier out, but he was already dead. The Sultan ordered another soldier to be lowered down. His order was carried out, but the soldier met the same fate as his predecessor. The Sultan kept sending soldiers into the cave until it became clear that no one who entered would come out alive. Then the Sultan cried out: "Who will bring back my sword?" The Arabs, exchanging glances, answered without hesitation: "Why not send a Jew? If he dies, no one will care, and if not, you will get your priceless sword back." Thus, the Jews were ordered, on pain of death, to provide a volunteer to be lowered into the caves to retrieve the Sultan's sword. The Jews of Hebron heard what had happened to the Sultan's soldiers. They prayed and fasted, hoping to avert the decree, but realizing they had no choice, they looked at one another - who would dare to enter the holy Cave of the Patriarchs? Then the elderly rabbi of the community, Avraham Azulai, resolved this dilemma: "I will enter the Holy Cave. Do not be afraid." After praying, Rabbi Azulai immersed in a mikveh and dressed in white garments, the traditional garments of the dead. He was lowered into Machpelah, a rope tied around his body. When his feet touched the ground, Rabbi Azulai looked around and discovered that a man was standing beside him. "Who are you?" asked Rabbi Azulai. "I am Eliezer, the servant of Avraham Avinu," the man answered. "How did you get here?" asked Eliezer. Rabbi Azulai told him the whole story. "Wait here while I ask the Holy Fathers whether you may enter." The Fathers agreed, and Rabbi Azulai fainted upon seeing them. They gave him something to smell and he regained consciousness. He said to them: "Why should I leave here and go back up? I have lived my life, and here I have found my forefathers. I want to remain here with you." The Patriarchs insisted: "You must return the sword to the Sultan, for otherwise the entire Jewish community of Hebron will be destroyed. But do not be afraid - in seven days you will return here to be with us." The holy rabbi returned to the hall of Yitzchak with the Sultan's sword. The Sultan was pleased. Seeing that their beloved rabbi had returned alive, the Jews of Hebron declared that day a holiday. Rabbi Azulai spent the following week with his students, teaching them everything he knew. Day and night he studied with them, gave them instructions, and passed on to them all that he knew. Seven days after these events, Rabbi Avraham returned his soul to the Almighty. He was buried in the Jewish cemetery in Hebron.

Limud

The Secret of the Mikveh "You should know that the quantity [of water needed] for a mikveh [to be kosher] is [a volume equal to] 5,760 eggs. The secret of this is that at the end of the year five thousand seven hundred sixty from Creation, [the verse]: 'I, G-d, will remove the unclean spirit from the land...' (Zechariah 13:2) will be fulfilled, as in the verse: 'I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid; and I will remove evil beasts from the land...' (Vayikra 26:6); That is, the forces of spiritual impurity, as mentioned in the Zohar. The hidden meaning is that there are three periods of the future resurrection of the dead, occurring at three different times. The first resurrection of the dead will take place in Eretz Yisrael; the second - outside the Land of Israel, and the third - among the seventy nations and the entire world; This will be the time of the Great Judgment. The third will occur at the end of the year 5760 from the creation of the world (the secular year 2000). (Ma'ayan 2, Nahar 59, B'Sod HaMikveh, Chesed L'Avraham) (https://dailyzohar.com/tzadikim/928-Rabbi-Abraham-ben-Mordecai-Azulai)