The Ari and His Legacy

The Ari passed away on July 15, 1572 (5th of Av, 5332), barely two years after he had arrived in Tzefas. During his brief stay there, he had assembled a group of approximately a dozen disciples, with Rav Chaim Vital at their head, and they continued to review his teachings. For the most part, it was Rav Chaim who put them into writing. The main works are: Etz Chaim (Tree of Life) and Pri Etz Chaim (Fruit of the Tree of Life), as well as the Eight Gates, which deal with everything from Bible commentary to divine inspiration and reincarnation.

The Ari also authored the liturgical poems "Azamer Bishvachin", "Assader Lis’udossa" and "Benei Heichola", sung at the three Shabbos meals respectively and included in nearly every Chassidic and Sephardi Siddur.

The teachings of the Ari have been afforded status as a primary authority, on the same level as the Zohar itself. Every custom of the Ari was scrutinized, and many were accepted, even against previous practice. The great Polish codifier, Rav Avrohom Gombiner (1635-1683), author of the Mogen Avrohom (Shield of Avrohom), takes the Ari's personal customs as legally binding precedents. In deciding disputes that had remained unresolved for centuries, he often cites the Ari's custom as the final authority. The fact that the Ari had acted in a certain manner was enough to convince this tough-minded legalist that this was the correct opinion.

There are a select number of individuals who live on a plane so high above the rest of humanity that it seems that they are a completely different, higher species of being. They teach, yet we grasp but little, and from the few crumbs that we catch, we can build mountains. Such a person was Rav Yitzchok Luria, the holy Ari, the Lion of Tzefas.

(Compiled from Meditation and Kabbalah by Rav Aryeh Kaplan and from other sources)

HIS SEGULOS:

Tikkun Mem Ches Bereishis Taman Segulah From The Arizal

See Appendix Below

A wondrous segulah for a person to repair and rectify himself, his nefesh, ruach and neshama of his soul and is hewn from the supernal light of our master and teacher the holy Arizal to recite every day after the tefilah the 48th Tikkun, Tikkun Mem Ches from the Tikkunei Zohar.

This segulah removes the precious sparks that were swallowed by the shells and husks of impurity known as the klippos to rectify the pergam habris and keri and may Hashem merit us to rectify and repair all the portions of our souls and may we come before him with no shame to the world of truth.

The benefits of reciting this tikkun daily after davening are:

1. To rectify the three parts of the soul nefesh, ruach and neshamah
2. The Angel of Death the Sam Mem and his group are thereby distanced and flee from him
3. It saves a person from easily seeing Keri
4. He will not see the death of his own children
5. Hashem merits him to have fear of Heaven
6. He is successful in all his endeavors
7. He is saved from falling sickness (epilepsy)
8. His mazal is uplifted and does not falter
9. He shall not be poor and impoverished
10. All his enemies fall beneath his feet
11. He merits long life
12. He merits the coming world of Olam haBah Amen