In the days of the Arizal (Rabbi Yitzchak Luria), there lived in the city of Tsfat a deeply G-d-fearing Jew and great Torah scholar named Rabbi Avraham HaLevi Bruchim. For many years, Rabbi Avraham would rise every night shortly before midnight, walk through the narrow streets of the city, knock on the doors of homes, and awaken the many Torah scholars and kabbalists of Tsfat to the service of G-d.
Within an hour, they would rouse themselves from their beds and hurry to the synagogues to recite Tikkun Chatzot—the midnight lament over the destruction of the Temple—and to cry over the bitterness of the exile.
After reciting Tikkun Chatzot, everyone would study Torah in depth and diligence—both revealed and hidden teachings. A symphony of Torah learning would then echo from the synagogues and spread through the air of Tsfat. Near dawn, they would go to the mikveh, and afterward pray Shacharit calmly and with deep concentration.
Rabbi Avraham's Focus
Rabbi Avraham was a remarkable and unique figure. All his days he lived in poverty and asceticism, working tirelessly to strengthen all matters of holiness in Tsfat. He devoted much time to prayer and Torah study. But the essence of his life and actions was focused on one matter: the exile of the Divine Presence (Shechinah).
Whenever the subject of exile came to his lips, he was filled with deep sorrow. He would rebuke the people in public, urging them to increase their mourning over the destroyed Temple. He spoke so much about the exile of the Shechinah and its redemption that the Arizal himself testified that his soul was a reincarnation of the Prophet Jeremiah.
One day, Rabbi Avraham fell ill. His condition worsened until he reached the very gates of death. The best doctors were summoned, but they gave up hope. His acquaintances resigned themselves to the situation, and even Rabbi Avraham himself seemed to be preparing for his final day.
When the Arizal heard of his grave illness, he quickly came to visit him. He said, "know, Rabbi Avraham, that your days are numbered and you do not have long to live. However, there is still a chance to annul the decree, to rise from your illness, and regain your strength. This can be achieved if you ascend to Jerusalem to pray at the remnant of our holy Temple—the Western Wall. If you go there and pour out heartfelt prayer from the depths of your soul, you will merit to see the holy Shechinah. And if you merit this, you are assured to live many more years."
Journey to Jerusalem
When Rabbi Avraham heard this, he resolved to go to Jerusalem at all costs. In those days, this was no simple matter. The journey was by donkey, over unpaved roads, lasting several days, and it required a significant sum of money—far beyond his means.
Nevertheless, Rabbi Avraham accepted the journey upon himself. Within a few days, his condition improved slightly, until he was able to rise from his sickbed and stand on his feet. When his strength increased further and he felt capable of the long and exhausting journey, he sold his household belongings in order to finance the trip, for he was extremely poor and had no ready money.
When everything was prepared, Rabbi Avraham secluded himself for three days and nights in fasting and prayer in preparation for the journey. Only afterward did he set out to Jerusalem, the holy city.
It was a long and difficult journey for Rabbi Avraham from Tsfat to Jerusalem. Several times it seemed as though his weakened body would not endure the hardships of the road. Only his great faith gave him strength, until he finally arrived in Jerusalem.
The Vision
When he reached the holy city, he did not go to an inn. Instead, he immediately made his way to the Western Wall. It was night. Rabbi Avraham began to pour out his supplications before the Holy One, blessed be He, with loud weeping and heart-rending cries, until his strength was completely exhausted.
Suddenly, in the midst of great fatigue and weakness, he noticed a figure dressed in black, rising like a cloud from the Western Wall up toward the heavens.
Rabbi Avraham understood that this figure, clothed in black, was the holy Shechinah, exiled and dressed in black, rolling in the dust over her children who were in suffering and captivity.
A sharp pain pierced his heart. His whole body trembled, and he fell again on his face, crying bitterly: "Zion, precious as gold—woe to me that I have seen you like this!" From overwhelming sorrow, he fainted.
In a dreamlike vision, he saw the black clad figure approach him, place her hands upon his face, wipe away his tears, and say: "Be comforted, my son Avraham, for there is hope, and the children shall return to their borders. I will yet return to have mercy upon them and gather them in."
Rabbi Avraham awoke from his faint and regained consciousness, repeating to himself what he had seen and heard.
Long Life
A few days later, Rabbi Avraham began his journey back to Tsfat. He returned strengthened, joyful, and uplifted. When the Arizal saw him, he immediately discerned from his face that he had indeed prayed from the depths of his heart and had merited a revelation of the Divine Presence.
The Arizal said to him: "Fortunate are you, for you merited a rare moment of revealed Divine presence amid the great concealment of the bitter exile. All this you merited because your entire life you shared in the sorrow of the Shechinah and because you would awaken Jews each night to weep over the exile. From now on, you are assured long life."
Rabbi Avraham Bruchim merited to live in the holy city of Tsfat for another twenty-two years and to continue his service of G-d in his unique way.
