Weekly Chasidic Story #976 (s5776-48 / 4 Menachem-Av 5776)

Wake Up!

Once, the holy Arizal of Tsfat, Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, came to Rabbi Avraham Halevi Bruchim with grave tidings: "It has been disclosed to me that all the years allotted to you have passed....I see only one possibility for you to live."

Seasonal: Av 5 (this year: Aug. 8-9) is the 444th yahrzeit of the holy Ari.

Wake Up!

Millions of shining pin dots of lights spotted the black sky, and not a rustle or breath of sound was heard as Rabbi Avraham Halevi Bruchim made his nightly rounds through the narrow, winding streets of Safed.

Every night, without fail, Rabbi Avraham walked up and down the streets calling to the sleeping inhabitants: "Awake, awake, Jews; Awake Reb Yaakov! Get up, Reb Yehezkel!" -- calling each by his name until sleep was shaken away and they rose to address the Creator of the Universe.

According to custom, it was time to begin praying the "Tikun Chatzot" - the midnight supplication prayers, so the sleeping scholars of the city had to be roused from their slumber. It was time to remember and mourn the Holy Temple, and plead with the Master of the Universe to fulfill His promise to rebuild the Holy Temple.

The age-old custom of praying for the Holy Temple was emphasized by the Safed kabbalists and maintained with great devotion in Safed, and the scholars who lived there never overslept thanks to the dedication of Avraham Halevi Bruchim.

He persistently called the people of Safed to their prayer and study until the many study halls were filled and the voices of the Jews blended into a melodious spiritual symphony of prayer and study spiraling through the starry skies in a crescendo which reached all the way up to the Celestial throne.

The holy Arizal, Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, the famed Kabbalist, lived at this time and knew the tzadik Avraham Halevi very well.

Once, the Arizal came to Reb Avraham with grave tidings: "It has been disclosed to me that your life is coming to its end. All the years allotted to you have passed.

However,” the Ari continued, “I see one possibility for you to live. If you travel to Jerusalem and pour out your heart in prayer at the Western Wall, G-d may look favorably upon your prayer. If you are granted a vision of the Shechina, the Divine Presence, it will be a sign that your petition has been accepted and you will live another 22 years."

Rabbi Avraham Halevi immediately did as the Ari had instructed him.
He travelled to Jerusalem and prepared himself to storm the Heavens by fasting for three full days and nights.

When he finally reached his destination, he was ready. The prayer rose from the depths of his soul and he wept and begged the Al-mighty to spare his life.

When he lifted his eyes to gaze at the Wall, he saw a vision of the Shechina, the G-dly Presence and the glory of what he saw cause him to fall upon his face on the stones. He wept from the great and turbulent emotion until he fainted.

In his unconscious state he dreamt that the Shechina again appeared to him and said, "My son Avraham, take comfort, for there is hope for your future. Your sons will return to their borders, for I will return the captives from their exiles, and I Myself will comfort them."

Rabbi Avraham awoke from his faint in elevated spirits, filled with joy.

He returned to Safed and resumed his activities there.

One day the Ari met him on the street. "I see by looking at your face that you had success in Jerusalem and that you did see the Shechina. You will surely live another 22 years."

The prediction of the Ari was realized. Rabbi Avraham lived 22 more years, bringing many Jews to prayer and repentance.

A full 22 years after this event occurred, he passed away to his eternal reward.

The Ari said of him that he was a reincarnation of the Prophet Jeremiah, who also called his fellow Jews to repentance before the destruction of the First Holy Temple.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Source:  Supplemented by Yerachmiel Tilles from //LChaimWeekly.org (1181).

Biographic note:
Rabbi Yitzchak Luria (1534-5 Av 1572), Known as "the holy Ari," revolutionized the study of Kabbalah and its integration into mainstream Judaism during the two years he spent in Zefat before his death at age 38 . (For a more full biography) (For teachings of the Ari translated into English)  (To send a prayer to be read at his gravesite, go to http://www.kabbalaonline-shop.com/ )

Connection: Seasonal (2)
1- Monday night-Tuesday is the yahrzeit of the holy ARI and thus the occasion of a major pilgrimage of tens of thousands of people to our holy city of Tsfat (Safed).
2- The first nine days of the Jewish month of Menachem-Av constitute the most intense period of mourning for the destroyed Temples.

Yerachmiel Tilles is co-founder and associate director of Ascent-of-Safed, and chief editor of this website (and of KabbalaOnline.org). He has hundreds of published stories to his credit, and many have been translated into other languages. He tells them live at Ascent nearly every Saturday night.

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