Lag B'Omer 5770

I have always loved this day, for many reasons: it marked the end of the abstaining from music for me; as a kid, it meant that the school day had a slightly lighter atmosphere, usually involving a class trip to the park or some such activity; later on, the madurot (bonfires), accompanied by the singing and dancing as we celebrated the life and times of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai; later still, the day took on special significance as the day of my wedding, two years ago today.

Who was Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai? Why is he referred to as the botzina kedusha (the Holy Lamp)? Why is the anniversary of his death a day of such celebration, and why do we celebrate the day the way we do, with dancing and bonfires?

We know that - historically speaking - a major part of the counting of the Omer involves the practices established to mourn the students of Rabbi Akiva, one of the greatest sages to ever live. After witnessing such a catastrophe involving his students - who were from the most venerable, wisest of men - Rabbi Akiva persevered and began to rebuild, taking in another five students. An important point to note is that - due to the fact that Rabbi Akiva was one of the Ten Martyrs, and we don't want to celebrate his life on the day of his tragic death - we include the celebration of Rabbi Akiva's life with that of his greatest student, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. Rabbi Shimon, who was the apotheosis of Rabbi Akiva's teachings, fully incorporating them into his life, and dedicating himself toward the dissemination of his master's Torah.

Indeed, Rabbi Shimon helped to ensure the faithful transmission of the Torah SheBa'al Peh (Oral Law), famously quoting the verse "For it will not be forgotten by their progeny." If you look at the picture posted below, you will see that the verse is written in the archway; the last letters of each word spell out "Yochai", while the verse quoted above it has it's first letters spelling out "Shimon".



Reb Shimshon Pincus OBM, once famously described Rabbi Shimon: rather than being the most scholarly of the students of Rabbi Akiva, with the most breadth of knowledge and grasp of concepts, Rabbi Shimon's strength lay in his ability to explain, to take very difficult ideas - ideas that are the foundation of creation and how everything relates to one another - and clarify their meaning in a way that our finite understanding can begin to grasp such matters. This ability to make things accessible to others was unique to the botzina kadisha, whose revelatory light paved the way for the teachings of the Zohar (which may or may not have been written by Rabbi Shimon himself).
 
Rav Tzvi Meir Zilberberg mentions how today - Lag B'Omer, which is the rectification of the sefira of Hod SheB'Hod (Splendor within Splendor) - is perhaps the most powerful day of the Omer, on top of the all around holiness of this time of year. The gates of Heaven are open, waiting to receive even the most pitiful of prayers, and one can literally change things for himself and his loved ones on this day. An important aspect of the rectification of this day is the increasing of unity among ourselves and our brethren. We celibrate in a way unique to the Jewish nation; we dance together, in a circle. A circle has no beginning, no end, it just continues around in a continuous fluidity (Rav Moshe Weinberger has a lecture on this specific topic that is worth listening to. Follow this link to listen to it, free!); this is symbolic of life itself, and illustrates the Oneness of the Jewish people. Rabbi Shimon himself encouraged his students to unite, because through their cohesiveness, they would merit to plumb the depths of the Torah...

For a few more stories and details about Rabbi Shimon, follow the label "Lag B'Omer" to a post from a few years ago...