לע”נ רחל בת אברהם צבי שוואקי
Lag Ba’omer – A joyous day. A sacred day.
Hundreds of thousands of Yidden – seemingly endless throngs of every kind of Jew in the world – make their way to the small northern village of Meron, to the kever of Rabi Shimon Bar Yochai. Of course, celebrations are not reserved exclusively for Meron. All throughout Eretz Yisroel, bonfires blaze as far as the eye can see.
The famous reason for the joy of Lag Ba’omer is that the students of Rabi Akiva ceased dying on this day. But the reason they stopped dying was because there were no more students left! Is that a reason to celebrate? No. We rejoice in the fact that Rabi Akiva did not succumb to despair after his monumental loss. We marvel at his exceptional fortitude in gathering five new students and transmitting to them the Torah She’baal Peh that we have today.
Furthermore, Rabi Shimon Bar Yochai was one of those five students of Rabi Akiva, and on this day – the day of his passing – he taught his students the P’nimius haTorah – the inner dimension, the soul, the radiant light of G-dliness within the Torah. He revealed the secrets of the Torah – how to find the Divine spark within others and within oneself.
We know that without the Torah we are deaf and blind. The thick fog of physicality blocks us from seeing the inner reality, the source of life, the sod beneath the surface. However, the light of Torah sheds a penetrating, illuminating understanding on every aspect of creation; it enables us to see the process through which Hashem created the world, to gaze into the depths of existence, to behold the His Malchus, and to uncover sparks of His presence, present, in everything – especially ourselves.
That’s right! No bonfire required! By revealing the P’nimius haTorah, Rabi Shimon made us fully aware that we need only to look within ourselves to find a roaring fire, a G-dly soul, thirsty for true meaning and a burning desire for the Divine. Lag Ba’omer is a day on which we can fan those inner flames until they become an enduring source of warmth and light, able, then, to ignite and illuminate the way for others as well. And that is something to celebrate.
”Time to light the fire now…”
Aish was composed by Yitzy Waldner, written by Miraim Israeli, and is sung by the spirited songster Yaakov Shwekey on his 2018 album Musica. We wish Yaakov and the entire Shwekey family our heartfelt condolences upon the loss of their dear mother. Min haShamayim tenachamu – may Hashem provide you the needed comfort during this most difficult time.
Wishing each of you a lechtigen Lag Ba’omer!
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