At the tender age of 38, the Arizal’s soul returned to its Creator. The date was the fifth of Av. His death was miraculous, just as his life had been. He gave strict instructions on how his burial was to be performed, including the request that no one should touch his bier unless that person had immersed in a mikvah. He wanted his body to be brought to his personal mikveh (which still exists and is used daily until today). He said that they should not immerse his body in the waters of the mikveh. How would his body be immersed, then? That, he said, they could leave up to him. Indeed, when they arrived with his body at the mikveh later, he rose up himself and immersed, and then returned!

Just before he died, he told his talmid who was a Kohein to leave the room, because the Angel of Death had entered. He said Vidui and then Shema. Suddenly his lips moved again and his students heard him whisper in Ladino, “Save me from pride!”

His face aflame with holiness, his soul then departed and rose to the heavenly realms.

The Arizal continued  to visit Reb Chaim in his dreams every single night for 20 years. But after 20 years had elapsed, the Arizal came less and less frequently. Reb Chaim guarded the manuscripts containing his teacher’s teachings extremely carefully and revealed them to no one until the very end of his life when he was frail and blind. He became the leader of the students after the Arizal’s passing, as the Arizal himself testified that Reb Chaim’s soul contained a spark of Rabi Elazar, the son of Rabi Shimon bar Yochai.

Reb Chaim was an extraordinary tzaddik and mekubal, as one can only imagine. After he left Tzfas for Yerushalayim, the evil Arab ruler summoned him. He demanded that Reb Chaim use his famous powers to release waters running underneath the city, which had been there since the time of Chizkiyahu Hamelech. If Reb Chaim refused, the ruler said he would take Reb Chaim’s life. Left with no alternative, Reb Chaim escaped the danger by using Hashem’s holy Names and transported himself to Damascus!

Reb Chaim’s holy soul departed this world in 5380, on the 30th of Nissan.

We have tried to give over a small glimpse into the life of the Arizal. It is important to remember that although he was one of the greatest kabbalists to ever exist, his last, crucial message to his students — indeed, all of Tzfas — was the importance of ahavas Yisrael. It was a failure in this specific area that eventually brought about the tragic, devastating plague that claimed so many lives in Tzfas, including the life of the Arizal himself.

The Arizal’s wisdom was equally matched by his fear of Heaven, his burning love for each and every Jew. His contributions to the understanding of the Zohar and the study of Kabbalah changed the Jewish landscape for all time. Later, long after his passing, the Arizal’s Torah would influence the Baal Shem Tov and the entire movement of chassidus, as well as the Gaon of Vilna and his followers. The Arizal joined the ranks of a father and rebbi of all of Klal Yisrael, a tzaddik who merited to contribute to the Jewish People in a monumental way that will continuously endure.

Let us follow, each according to their level, in the footsteps of the Arizal. Let us dedicate our lives to Hashem, and always remember to give all of our heart and soul to the service of Hashem.

May the Arizal’s memory be a brachah for all of our readers and all of Klal Yisrael.

THE END

(Originally featured in Mishpacha Jr., Issue 865)