An Accompanying Soul

It happened on the 29th of the Jewish month of Menachem-Av, Erev Rosh Chodesh Elul, 5331 (1571). "I want you to go to Kfar Avnis," said Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, the holy Ari, to his main disciple, Rabbi Chaim Vital, "to pray at the graves of Abaye and Rava," He taught him the special yichudim ('Unities') which were necessary, what he had to learn and the prayers he was to say, so that his soul would become bound up with two of the greatest Talmudic sages, thus enabling him to understand the secrets of Torah which they were then discussing in the Heavenly yeshiva.

R' Chaim went to Kfar Avnis. The sun beat down upon his head and he stopped to rest on a mound of stones just outside the village of Biriya. While sitting there, he reviewed all the things his master had taught him so that they would flow smoothly when the time would come to prostrate himself on the grave.

When he arrived, he fulfilled his master's instructions. He prayed, prostrated himself and concentrated upon all the esoteric words which the Ari had prepared for him. Suddenly he felt his heart open up within him and deep secrets became clear which he would never have understood by his own efforts.

R' Chaim returned to Tsfat in excellent spirits and went at once to tell his master what he had succeeded in learning since last seeing him. When he knocked upon the Ari's door and entered, he found him surrounded by the group of people who always attended his lectures. The Ari looked up at R' Chaim standing in the doorway and rose in his honor, exclaiming aloud, "Baruch haba! Blessed is he who has come. Welcome!" He made a place for R' Chaim right next to his own seat. R' Chaim realized that this betokened something, for his master had never shown him such deference before.

When the listeners had gone, he could no longer contain himself and asked, "What have I done to deserve this unusual show of respect and welcome?"

"My dear disciple," R' Yitzchak replied, "The deference I showed you was in respect for Benayahu ben Yehoyada who accompanied you when you entered."

R' Chaim was surprised and asked, "But I only visited the tombs of Abaye and Rava. Their spirits should have escorted me. How did Benayahu's spirit become entwined with mine?"

The Ari explained, "The souls of these two Talmudic greats are sparks of the soul of Benayahu, the chief sage and general at the time of King David, and the order of study and prayer which I told you to go through at their grave is fitting for his soul also. Tell me, did you, somewhere on your way to Kfar Avnis, stop to review what I had taught you?"

R' Chaim nodded his head. "Then," said the Ari, "surely the spot where you stopped off must be the precise location of the tomb of Benayahu ben Yohoyade. That is how his soul came to be bound up with yours!"

Some time later the Ari and his disciples visited many tombs. Along the way, between Kfat Biriya and Kfar Avnis, R' Chaim saw the mound of stones where he had rested on his previous trip. As the group passed this spot, the Ari stopped and said to his followers, "See, this is the grave of Benayahu ben Yehoyada. Let us pray here for we will then merit the revelation of profound things from him."

Only then, did R' Chaim fully understand what his master had told him on that Erev Rosh Chodesh Elul.

 

[Adapted by Yerachmiel Tilles from: "The Arizal - The Life and Times of Rabbi Yitzchak Luria" (Mesorah).]

Biographical note:
For background information on Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, click here:
For background information on Rabbi Chaim Vital, click here:
For background information on Abaye and Rava, click here:
For background information on Benayahu ben Yehoyada, click here:

Editor's notes:
This year, 29 Av - Erev Rosh Chodesh Elul falls on Shabbat, September 3.

The great 20th century sage of Bagdad, Rabbi Yosef Chaim, stated that he was an incarnation of Benayahu ben Yehoyada. For this reason, many of his book titles, including the most famous, Ben Ish Hai, were taken from biblical appellations for Benayahu ben Yehoyada. The yahrzeit of Rabbi Yosef Chaim is on 13 Elul.

This year, the thirteenth of Elul falls on Sept. 17.

 

Yrachmiel Tilles is co-founder and associate director of Ascent-of-Safed, and editor of Ascent Quarterly and the AscentOfSafed.com and KabbalaOnline.org websites. He has hundreds of published stories to his credit.