454th yahrtzeit 5 AV
BURIED Tzfas
The Arizal was one of the most famous mekubalim in all of history. He revealed the depth of the hidden Torah in a way that every Yid can access if we really try. He lived in Tzfas, where he taught his talmidim the secrets of Torah. He passed away at the very young age of 38.
The king of Syria once made a terrible decree against the local Yidden. He demanded that
they pay him an enormous amount of money, and if they could not, they would be expelled from the land. The Yidden sent two messengers to Tzfas to ask the Arizal to daven for them. The Arizal walked with them until they came to a well. He told them to lower two ropes deep into the well and then pull them back up. When they began pulling, the ropes were very heavy. Finally, they brought them to the top and were amazed to see a beautiful bed attached to the ropes, with a man sleeping on it. They looked closer and saw that it was none other than the king of Syria!
The Arizal woke the king and asked, “Are you the one who made this cruel decree against the Yidden?” “Yes,” the king answered. The Arizal slapped him a few times and then handed him a pitcher. “Now empty this well,” he said. The king looked at the pitcher and saw that there was a large hole in the bottom. “That’s impossible,” he said. “The water will just pour out!” The Arizal replied, “And you think it is possible for the Yidden to pay the amount of money you demanded? If you want to live, annul the decree right now.” The king immediately agreed.
The Arizal then wrote a document stating that the king had received all the money from the Yidden and had the king sign it. After that, they lowered the king back into the well. The next morning, the king woke up in his own room. He thought it had all been a dream and once again sent word that the Yidden must bring him the money. Instead, the Yidden brought him the document with his own signature. When the king saw it, he fainted on the spot! When he recovered, he canceled the decree, sent the Yidden many gifts, and from that day on treated them kindly.
The Arizal’s kever
English translation: It is good to accept to love every Jew before davening, one should say the following with a whole heart: “I hereby accept upon myself the mitzvah to love your fellow like yourself, and I love every single one of the Jewish people.”
I WANNA BE LIKE …
The Arizal
Let us all try to learn from the Arizal to always look for the pnimiyus of our avodas Hashem. We should not only do mitzvos because we know we have to, but also try to understand their deeper meaning. By doing that, we can build a stronger and deeper connection with Hashem.
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 90.