“Stand up! Call out the words, ‘Baruch Sheim kevod Malchuso l’olam va’ed,’ just as you do on Yom Kippur!”

When Reb Klonimus passed away, the Arizal’s family was left without anyone to look after them. The Arizal’s mother’s brother, Reb Mordechai Francis, invited the family to join him in Egypt. In Egypt, the Arizal joined the elite yeshivah of the Radbaz, Reb David Ben Zimra. The Radbaz appointed his prize talmid, Reb Betzalel Ashkenazi, to personally mentor the young child prodigy. Eventually, the Arizal married his cousin, daughter of his uncle R’ Mordechai, at the age of 15.

The Arizal spent years isolated from any other soul, studying ancient scrolls on the banks of the Nile river. It was only on Shabbos that he would return home to his family, and even then, he was careful to speak only lashon hakodesh. During these incredible years, Eliyahu Hanavi would visit the Arizal and teach him the innermost secrets of the Torah.

At the age of 36, after an astounding 20 years of studying in almost complete seclusion, Eliyahu Hanavi instructed the Arizal that it was time to leave Egypt and travel to Tzfas. It was time for the Arizal to spread his knowledge to talmidim.

“There is one talmid in particular whom you must teach. He will be the one to record all your teachings and transcribe them, ensuring they are never lost. In fact, the very reason your soul came down to this earth was for the purpose of teaching this talmid. He resides in Tzfas and his name is Reb Chaim Vital.”

And so, the Arizal returned to Eretz Yisrael.