Toledot ha-ari (Life of the Ari)

When [Isaac Luria] was sick, he blessed each companion with a suitable blessing for him, in accordance with the spark of his soul. R. ḥayim Vital was not there with them at the time of the blessing, for he was walking from one synagogue to the next with the women and the wise men, in order to pray for the rabbi. The rabbi asked the companions, “Where did R. ḥayim Vital go? I need to bless him like you. I need to place my hands upon him. What he is doing now cannot nullify the decree, for it is a decree imposed by an oath, which is impossible to nullify. Send for him!” The companions did so.

When [ḥayim Vital] came before the rabbi, may his memory be a blessing, he said to him, “I feel sorry for you, my son ḥayim. How am I going to part from you? But what can I do; there is no control over the time of death [see Ecclesiastes 8:8]. Now, my son, sit before me and ask whatever you want from me before my departure, so that you will not later regret your failure to ask for clarifications concerning all your doubts and the difficult questions you now have. Give up praying for me; it is of no use whatsoever.”

He took hold of him and kissed him and blessed him with a special blessing, as befitting the spark of his soul. He instructed the companions to sit before him, while he sat on the bed. He then commanded them as follows, “take care that there be peace among you from now on, and treat each other with respect. If you are worthy, I will return in another transmigration to study with you, and I will reveal secrets to you that I am not allowed to divulge to you at this stage. Make sure that you honor R. ḥayim Vital, as the teaching of life [ḥayim] is within him, and from him will go forth the Torah in Israel [see Isaiah 2:3], for he is a faithful servant to me.”

He then began a sermon and preached secrets and mysteries to them. In the middle of his homily he opened his eyes and looked at the walls of the house, and said, “My companions, how good and how pleasant is this day, that this house is full, as there is not enough room to place even a grain of wheat here. All of the assemblies in the heavens are closed, and the righteous souls have come here, and countless ministering angels with their king at their head have arrived to escort my soul to its proper place. Therefore, after my soul departs, do not let any woman or impure person touch me. Rather, the companions should wash me. After washing me, do not immerse me at my own house, as is customary, but bring me to the house of immersion, and I will immerse myself there.”

While he was speaking these words, he glanced and saw R. Isaac ha-Kohen standing there. He said to him, “Leave here quickly,¹ as not a moment remains until the departure of my soul.” Once R. Isaac left, his soul rested in peace.

Isaac [Luria] was thirty-eight years old, his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated (Deuteronomy 34:7), and his face did not change, as it does with other dead people. Rather, his face glowed like the sun in its might [see Judges 5:31]. All the companions and the other wise men who were present fell to the ground and bellowed with a great weeping, until their lamenting rose to the heavens. R. ḥayim Vital covered himself in ashes, and cried and screamed, “My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen (2 Kings 2:12), there is no comfort for me! [see Lamentations 1:17].” Then the companions immersed and purified themselves and dealt with the washing of his body. Their tears flowed more than the water that they were pouring on him.

After the great washing, they brought his body to the house of immersion, and they said to him as follows, “Our rabbi, we have done that which we were obliged to do, but we do not have permission to immerse you, for the master made us state under oath that we would bring him to the house of immersion, and the master would immerse himself. Now the master is inside of the house of immersion, in the water.” He immediately stood up as straight as a wall within the water, like a living man. He bowed his head and immersed himself four times, corresponding to the four letters of the name of God. After the immersion, they dressed him in valuable clothes, and they declared that the strictures of the priesthood do not apply on that day [see b. Ketubbot 103b].

Next they brought him from his house to the synagogue, walking and weeping, to the point that tears were flowing to the ground like an overflowing stream [see Isaiah 66:12]. Even the gentiles who had known him wept and eulogized him. R. ḥayim Vital and the other companions proceeded barefoot, with torn clothes; they wore sackcloth and had ashes on their heads, as on the ninth of Av. They wept and declared, “Holy Torah: mourn as for an only son [see Jeremiah 6:26] over the departure of this angel, who knows your secrets!”

In his sorrow, R. ḥayim Vital lost his mind on that day, to the extent that when they wished to put him [Luria] to rest in the grave, he [Vital] fell on his [Luria’s] feet and kissed them, and wept and said, “O legs, which rushed to do the will of their Creator! How did they get caught in the web of my transgressions, and how will I control myself when the ark of God is buried and hidden from me?!” With great difficulty, they removed ḥayim Vital from him, and they buried him in the grave of kings (“who are the kings?—the sages” [see b. Gittin 62a]).

Thus he departed to his resting place, leaving the companions and the wise men of Israel in a state of grief and sorrow. May it be God’s will that his merit protect us and all His people of Israel, and rescue them from all sorrow and despair, and that they will be redeemed soon for the sake of His name. Amen; may it be His will!