The Shabbat which precedes Tisha B'Av is called the "Shabbat of Vision" (see the "vision" article below), after the first word of the Haftorah.

In Tsfat it is also called "Shabbat of the Holy Ari," because Thursday night-Friday, 5 Av (5773: July 11-12) is the yahrzeit of Rabbi YITZCHAK LURIA, the HOLY ARI, the famous Kabbalist of the golden age of Tzefat [Safed] in the 16th century, whose teachings influenced the Chasidic movement and dominate the study of Kabbalah today (see the first four articles and the last).

ATTENTION: Double Prayer Special for 5 Menachem-Av/9 Days of Mourning.
Join thousands at the Arizal's gravesite on his yahrtzeit by sending a prayer, together with your donation, to KabbalaOnline-shop. [It must arrive before July 10, 2013.]