Vayechi: Chapter 19

Rabbi Yitzchak sat sadly

Synopsis

Rabbi Yitzchak asks Rabbi Yehuda for three things that were troubling him. Rabbi Yehuda then asks him why he thinks he is going to die. Rabbi Yitzchak explains that he no longer sees his shadow. They go to see Rabbi Shimon, who protects them from the Angel of Death. Rabbi Shimon asks Rabbi Yitzchak if he has seen his father today, for if so, that means he will die. Rabbi Shimon summons God to prepare to take Rabbi Yehuda away. Rabbi Yitzchak then sleeps and sees his father in his dream, who tells him that they are preparing his chamber in Heaven. Next, Rabbi Shimon asks God that Rabbi Yitzchak will not die, and the wish is granted. Not only that, Rabbi Yitzchak is given seventy places with doors to seventy worlds. Rabbi Yitzchak is then told that he will discover the secrets with Rabbi Shimon upon his death.

Relevance

The profound greatness of Rabbi Shimon is made evident here through his influence and connection to The Creator that allows him to turn aside the Angel of Death on behalf of a fellow rabbi, reversing a decree of death. Moreover, great spiritual worlds and treasures await the rabbi in the World to Come, by virtue of his association to Rabbi Shimon. In effect, this ancient passage is telling us that anyone who truthfully embraces the path of Rabbi Shimon and connects deeply to the Zohar and its wisdom, will have the power to stop the Angel of Death in its tracks and secure a place high in the heavens in the World to Come. The Light emitted here helps to facilitate our connection to the path of the Zohar and deepens our relationship with the giant of all Kabbalists, the master Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.