by Rabbi Aryeh Gefen
"A person doesn't always find the path that he ought to be taking. For the want of a mentor he might stray onto tortuous sidetracks. Or, he might go right inside without enough advance preparation and lose his bearings due to the powerful, intoxicating aromas of PaRDeS [the acronym of the initial letters of the four levels of Torah interpretation: pshat (simple meaning), remez (allusion or hints), drush (expounding or homiletics) and sod (secret teachings)]. This [danger] led to [the imposition] of protective measures and limitations, as well as to [people's] keeping away from the approaches to the wisdom of the Kabboloh" (from the pamphlet issued when yeshivas Shaar HaShomayim was founded).
Yeshivas Shaar HaShomayim came into being after two distinguished Yerushalmi Yidden shared the same astonishing dream. The yeshiva truly is a Gateway to Heaven within which, over the years, numerous students of all ages and levels have elevated themselves heavenward.
Fascinatingly, its name is taken from a posuk (Bereishis 28:17) that Yaakov Ovinu uttered after the dream in which he saw mal'ochim ascending and descending between heaven and earth.
One night, HaRav Chaim Yehuda Leib Auerbach zt'l awoke suddenly after having dreamed a strange dream. Exhausted, he turned over and quickly dozed off again but soon he woke up again, shaken, after the dream repeated itself. His drowsiness now having disappeared and he being none too interested in trying to fall asleep again just to see the dream a third time, he arose, dressed and went outside into the cool Yerushalayim night.
His footsteps echoing softly in the deserted streets and alleys, he made his way to the Botei Broide neighborhood (adjacent to Machaneh Yehuda), to the home of HaRav Shimon Horowitz zt'l, one of Yerushalayim's great kabboloh scholars.
After a time he became aware of the sound of more footsteps. In the darkness he made out a figure, recognizably Jewish, coming towards him. When the figure came close to him he discovered to his surprise and joy that it was the very person whom he wanted to see — HaRav Shimon Horowitz himself.
"What are you doing out so late?" Rav Shimon asked Rav Chaim Leib.
"I was on my way to see you. I had an amazing dream tonight and I wanted to tell you about it."
"Very interesting. I also had an astonishing dream about you and I was on my way to you."
Conferring on a dark street corner, the two were staggered to discover that they had both dreamed about the same venerable elderly man, his face shining with an otherworldly light, who had forcefully requested of them that his Torah be learned in Yerushalayim.
"My Torah has the power to bring the Shechinah back from its exile," he told them.
Rav Shimon decided that the person who had appeared to them was apparently none other than the holy Arizal, who is known to have regretted the fact that his Torah was not widely circulated among Yerushalayim's Ashkenazi population. The only place where the Ari's kabboloh was then studied in Yerushalayim was the Beis Keil yeshiva which produced scholars of the stature of HaRav Shalom Sharabi (the Rashash), HaRav Yedidiah Aboulafieh and the author of Shemen Sasson.
Then and there the two Ashkenazim decided to open a yeshiva for the study of the Ari's kabboloh. Without fanfare, an initial group formed and began learning in the Old City and very soon the first shiur was being delivered.
