אך בצלם יתהלך אישThe Fading Shadow

akh be-tzelem yithallekh ishIn Gamatria ↗

When the shadow thins, hold fast to someone greater.

A soul that leaves without completing its mitzvot must return in another body, and no one knows his day. The Zohar teaches that thirty days before death it is proclaimed above, the soul leaves each night to see its place, and the person's shadow grows dim. R. Yitzḥak came to R. Yehudah sad: his shadow no longer showed when he prayed. He asked him to repeat his teachings in his name, teach his son, and pray at his grave. They went to R. Shimon bar Yoḥai, who saw the angel of death dancing before R. Yitzḥak, held him, and barred the door. A voice said he was R. Shimon's to keep. R. Yitzḥak slept, saw his father, and woke with a shining face. Pray, Kaidanover says, to go from peace to peace.

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