Published:
August 2, 2019
Originally recorded:
July 30, 1987
Rav Berg shares that the master kabbalists known as tzadikim do not leave the physical world involuntarily, but rather choose the day on which they will leave—creating a window in time for us to call upon them for support. Just as Rav Shimon bar Yochai left during the period of judgment called the Omer, the Ari left on the fifth of Av to assist us during the period of judgment known as the Nine Days.
When a kabbalistic sage leaves the world, a window of support and connection with all of the energy they have revealed during their life becomes available to us, particularly through study or visiting their grave site. An especially powerful time to connect with the support of the righteous is on their Hilulah, the day that they departed our physical world. Hilulah literally means a day of celebration and by staying up late at night,sometimes until sunrise, studying about their lives and the wisdom they revealed we are able to tap into their energy and assistance to transform our own lives.