Send a Prayer to the grave of R. Yitzchak Luria (The Ari)

Passed away (yartzeit) on the 5th of Av. He is buried in the Old Cemetery of Safed. Rabbi Yitzchak Luria Ashkenazi - the Holy Ari z"l (Rabbi Yitzchak Luria Ashkenazi ben Shlomo) lived from 5294-5332 / 1534-1572 c.e. Rabbi Chayim Vital (the major disciple of the Ariz"l), in his "Introduction to Sha'ar HaHakdamot", printed at the beginning of all editions of Etz Chayim, writes: "The Ari overflowed with Torah. He was thoroughly expert in Tanach, Mishnah, Talmud, Pilpul, Midrash, Agadah, Ma'aseh Bereshit and Ma'aseh Merkavah. He was expert in the language of trees, the language of birds, and the speech of angels. He could read faces in the manner outlined in the Zohar (2:74b). He could discern all that any individual had done, and could see what they would do in the future. He knew the mysteries of Gilgul [Reincarnation], who had been born previously, and who was here for the first time. He could look at a person and tell him how he was connected to the Supernal Man, and how he was related to Adam. With his eyes he gazed and was able to see the souls of the righteous, both those who had died recently and those who had lived in ancient times. With these he studied the true mysteries. By a person's scent he was able to know all that he had done, an ability that the Zohar attributes to the "holy Yenuka". It was as if all these mysteries were lying in his bosom, waiting to be activated whenever he desired. He did not have to seclude himself to seek them out. All this we saw with our own eyes. These are not things that we heard from others. They were wondrous things that had not been seen on earth since the time of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. None of this was attained through Magic, heaven forbid. There is a strong prohibition against these arts. Instead, it came automatically, as a result of his saintliness and asceticism, after many years of study in both the ancient and the newer Kabbalistic texts. He then increased his piety, asceticism, purity and holiness until he reached a level where Eliyahu would constantly reveal himself to him, speaking to him "mouth to mouth," teaching him these mysteries."