5 Av · Yahrzeit
Arizal
Rabbi Yitzchak Luria ben Shlomo Ashkenazi – Arizal HaKadosh – Arizal
Yahrzeit – 5 Av;
Resting place – Tzfat, old cemetery;
After the completion of the Talmud, only 4 of all the great Jewish giants of spirit and thought merited the title "kadosh" (holy):
Rabbi Chaim ibn Attar (Or HaChaim), Rabbi Moshe Alshech, Rabbi Shlah HaKadosh, and Rabbi Yitzchak Luria Ashkenazi.
In Hebrew he is usually called Ari HaKadosh or Arizal.
Ari is an acronym of the words "Ashkenazi Rabbi Yitzchak," and at the same time the Hebrew word "arye" means "lion." After the Ari left this world, the abbreviation "zal" – from the words "zichrono livracha" (zechuto tagen aleinu) – began to be added to his name.
The Ari was a potential Mashiach, the redeemer of the entire world, but his contemporaries did not give him the opportunity to reveal himself.
Rabbi Chaim Volozhin wrote in the name of his teacher, the Vilna Gaon:
"Our teacher said that where philosophy ends, Kabbalah begins. And where the kabbalistic teachings of the Ramak end, the teachings of the Ari begin."
The Arizal was born in Jerusalem. According to tradition, the prophet Eliyahu appeared to his father, Rabbi Shlomo, and foretold that a son would be born to him: "And you shall call him by the name Yitzchak, and he will free Israel from beneath the kelipa… through him the study of Kabbalah will be revealed in Israel."
The Ari HaKadosh lost his father (Shlomo) at a very young age, and his mother was forced to move with the family to Egypt, where their wealthy uncle, Rabbi Moshe Franciss, supported the family and cared for all their needs like a truly devoted father. In fact, the Ari married his uncle's daughter, his own cousin.
He studied in the yeshiva of Rabbi David ibn Zimra (the Radbaz), a great and renowned Torah scholar who published more than three thousand halachic responsa. His rabbi was Rabbi Betzalel Ashkenazi, author of the well-known work "Shita Mekubetzet." He spent most of his time in seclusion in a small house on the bank of the Nile, where he studied continuously. There Eliyahu HaNavi appeared to him and taught him the secrets of the Torah known as Sod, or Kabbalah.
Sources of knowledge were opened to him. Moreover, while he slept, his soul would soar to the higher realms until it reached the "metivta d'rekia," the heavenly beit midrash (Heavenly Academy). There, a guardian angel at the door would ask him with whom he wished to study. Sometimes he chose the yeshiva of the Tzadikim mentioned in the Zohar – Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, Rabbi Yeiva Sava (Yanuka), Rabbi Amnuna Saba. They would explain various passages from the Zohar that he had studied that day but had not fully understood. At other times he preferred to attend the yeshiva of Betzalel ben Uri ben Chur, who built the Mishkan, or of Aharon HaKohen. There he learned all the secrets connected with the structure of the Mishkan and the sacred service. At other times he went to study with the prophets, where he pondered the secrets hidden in their visions. The Ari had only to say what he wished, and the angel would lead him to the teacher of his choosing. In this way he managed to attain that which lies beyond human comprehension.
It was Eliyahu HaNavi who instructed him to return to the city of Tzfat in Eretz Yisrael, where he would meet Rabbi Chaim Vital, to whom he was to reveal these secret teachings. And so, in 1570, at the young age of 36, only two and a half years before his death, he settled in the city of Tzfat, known at that time as the center of Kabbalah. There lived the great kabbalist Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, known as the Ramak, author of "Pardes Rimonim" and "Or Yakar," kabbalistic works on the Zohar.
Although the Ramak died at the age of 48, only six months after the Ari's arrival, the Ari called him Moreinu – our teacher. In time, it was the Ari's system of studying Kabbalah that was adopted among those who study its hidden secrets.
Even though the Ari was so young – only 36 – he stood head and shoulders above everyone else, even those much older than him. His holiness and great understanding of both nigleh (the revealed Torah) and nistar (the hidden Torah) were evident to all. There was no area of Torah that eluded him. Even great and powerful people came to drink from his waters, begging to be accepted into his inner circle of students.
However, the Ari himself never wrote down his kabbalistic teachings. The only writings we have from him are some piyutim and beautiful Shabbat zemirot, such as Azamer Bishvachin, Asader Lisudata, and B'nei Heichala, which we sing every Shabbat.
Almost everything we know today was recorded by the Ari's best student, Rabbi Chaim Vital. And it must be remembered that all of this was done within a short span of less than two years, because the Ari passed away at the young age of 38.
He knew the secrets of the Zohar by heart, and could quote from it at any time without having the text in front of him. He also taught his students special yichudim and kavanot. But he did not pass on all his knowledge to his students directly. At first he gave them only introductory remarks. Only Rabbi Chaim could receive the full explanations and expand upon his master's words for the benefit of others. His students begged him to write down his teachings so that they could study them more carefully and so that future generations could also benefit from them. But the Ari felt it was best for Rabbi Chaim to write down his lessons as the words left his lips. Rabbi Chaim was a faithful scribe and the only one whom the Ari entrusted with this difficult task; he relied on his sharp understanding, knowing that Rabbi Chaim was best equipped to absorb and convey what he wanted to say.
Rabbi Chaim on the Arizal
The Ari was overflowing with Torah. He was a master of Tanach, Mishnah, Talmud, Pilpul, Midrash, Aggadah, Maaseh Bereishit, and Maaseh Merkavah. He was a master of the language of trees, the language of birds, and the speech of angels. He knew people's thoughts, often even before the thought had entered their minds. He knew what was to come, knew everything that happens here on earth, and what is decreed in the heavens. He knew the secrets of gilgul [reincarnation] – who had been born before, and who was here for the first time.
He could look at a person and tell him how he was connected to the Supernal Man, and how he was connected to Adam. He could speak about people by the light of a candle or in the flame of a fire – he would look and could see the souls of the righteous, both those who had recently died and those who had lived in ancient times. With them he studied the true secrets. By a person's scent he could learn everything that person had done, an ability the Zohar attributes to the holy Yanuka [child] (Zohar 3:188a).
It was as if all these secrets lay within his breast, waiting to be set into motion whenever he wished. He had no need of hitbodedut [seclusion] to seek them out. All this we saw with our own eyes; it is not something we heard from others. These were wondrous things, the like of which had not been seen on earth since the days of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. None of this was achieved through magic, God forbid. There is a strict prohibition against such arts. Instead, it came automatically, as a result of his holiness and asceticism, after many years of studying both ancient and new kabbalistic texts. He then increased his piety, asceticism, purity, and holiness until he reached the level at which Eliyahu HaNavi constantly revealed himself to him, speaking with him "mouth to mouth," teaching him these secrets.
The Ari was by nature a merciful, gentle man who had a deep love for all of G-d's creatures. He was especially careful never to kill insects, even such bothersome ones as a mosquito or a fly! (Sha'ar HaMitzvot, Parashat Noach) And yet he rose up with full force against his wicked neighbors. Once, when those same neighbors mocked his practices and teachings, the Ari angrily rebuked them, saying: "Do you intend to continue in your wicked ways? Know that it is within my power to make the earth swallow you alive!"
Hearing this, the students were frightened. Such behavior was not in keeping with their master's character. They felt compelled to ask for an explanation.
"These neighbors are the gilgul (reincarnation) of Datan and Aviram. They were sent back to earth to correct the wrong they committed in defying Moshe Rabbeinu. Their only hope is to obey and respect me, since my soul comes from the soul of Moshe Rabbeinu. But they refuse to repent, and I was forced to remind them of the punishment they already experienced in the desert."
Kindness to creatures
There was a worthy, G-d-fearing man in the city who spent all his days in repentance. One day he came to the Ari and asked him to reveal any sins he had overlooked and tell him how to atone for them.
The Ari looked at his forehead and said: "You are a complete tzadik. You are without flaw. But there is one thing in your household that requires attention. I see on your forehead a faint trace of 'tza'ar ba'alei chaim,' unkind treatment of animals, which you must correct." The man was deeply saddened to hear this. He tried to recall what he had done to animals, but nothing came to mind. He went home and inquired into his household's affairs. In the end, he discovered that his maid was not feeding the chickens; they had to go searching for food in the neighbors' yard.
The kind man instructed his wife to scatter food every day, not only for his own chickens but for the neighbors' chickens as well. When he returned to the Ari and asked him to look at his forehead again, the Ari happily informed him that the mark had disappeared – the sin had been erased.
A segula from the Arizal for having children
Add extra time to Shabbat both at its beginning and at its end (that is, do not wait until the last moment to light the Shabbat candles, and after Shabbat do not begin working right away, but rather extend the rest of Shabbat).
Stories of the Arizal
Tikkunim of the Arizal
Segulot of the Arizal
May the merit of the Tzadik protect Am Yisrael!
(https://dailyzohar.com/tzadikim/57-Rabbi-Yitzchak-Isaac-Luria)
Pilgrimage site:
Grave: Arizal