http://www.ou.org/chagim/roshchodesh/iyar/roshch.htm
Rosh Chodesh Iyar
Iyar and Rosh Chodesh Iyar, in Context of Year
1 Nisan (30 days)
2 Iyar (29 days - Rosh Chodesh always 2 days)
3 Sivan (30 days)
4 Tammuz
5 Av
6 Elul
7 Tishrei
8 Cheshvan
9 Kislev
10 Tevet
11 Shevat
12 Adar
Biblical Significance of Rosh Chodesh Iyar
The first Rosh Chodesh after the Exodus fell on Shabbat, and the Jewish People found themselves, after the great miracle of "Kriat Yam Suf," the Splitting of the Sea of Reeds, at Marah. That place was given its name, which means "bitter," by the fact that the water there was, in fact, quite bitter, and not drinkable.
The people, having exhausted their supply of water, turned to Moshe, and asked, "What shall we drink?" Seeing the legitimacy of their complaint, Moshe brought it, so to speak, to G-d's attention. Whereupon, Hashem indicated to Moshe a certain tree, and told him to throw it into the water. This was very peculiar, because the tree itself was also bitter. However, once it entered the water, the waters turned sweeter than the best bottled water!
How is that possible, you ask? Bitter with bitter, yielding sweet? Two answers, of course, are possible. The first is that Hashem may have been working outside the realm of the Laws of Nature, and it was an "open miracle." Alternatively, having created them, the Creator was intimately familiar with the chemical make-up of both the tree and the water, and "knew," so to speak, that when this bitter ingredient reacted with the other bitter ingredient, the result would be sweet!
On the first of Iyar, in the second year after the Exodus, the first census of the Jewish People began, at the command of G-d. A unique feature of this census was that each member of the People of Israel knew and could trace his or her lineage back to the sons of Yaakov, some two hundred years earlier.
As a result of the census, each individual found his or her exact place in the tribe, and each tribe took its place in the four-fold formation of tribes. Each formation consisted of three tribes, and each had its own flag, reflecting the characteristics of its component tribes. The formations arrayed themselves around the Mishkan when they camped, and when the People moved through the desert, they marched in these formations as well, led by the pillar of cloud. A fantastic and formidable sight!
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http://www.ou.org/chagim/roshchodesh/iyar/month.htm
Chodesh Iyar
The Month of Iyar
The name "Iyar" is, like the others in the Hebrew Calendar, of Babylonian origin. The Torah itself refers to the month as the "Second Month," with relation to Nisan, the First of the Months.
It is also referred to in the Bible (Melachim Aleph, Ch. 6) as "Chodesh Ziv," meaning the Month of Splendor." This is because of the splendor of the sun during this month, when it has reached the height of its brilliance, but does not yet burn with the (sometimes harmful) intensity that it does in the late summer months.
Another reason for the use of this name is that the "Targum," Translation from the Aramaic, of the word "Ziv," is "Nitzan," meaning blossom. And this is the time of year when lovely flower blossoms appear in Eretz Yisrael, as it says in "Shir HaShirim," the Song of Songs, by Shlomo HaMelech, "HaNitzanim niru ba'aretz, et hazamir higia;" "Blossoms have appeared in the Land; the time for song has arrived." (Shir HaShirim, 2:12)
Yet another reason is that all the Jews who left Egypt, many of whom had known nothing but slavery for some two hundred years, had numerous physical blemishes and injuries to show for the "pleasure" of that experience, an eye missing here, an ear there, broken limbs all over. Yet they were all returned miraculously "to their splendor," by the Healer of the World, prior to their meeting at Sinai with G-d to receive the Torah.
The "Mazal," the Zodiac Sign
The Sign of the Month is an ox eating grass, corresponding to the fact that this is the last month in the warm season in Eretz Yisrael that the ox can find enough grass to satisfy its appetite from the grass of the field.
The fourteenth of Iyar is known as the "Second Pesach" because it was on that date that Jews had a "second chance" at participating in the rituals of Pesach, if they'd been unable to do so in Nisan, because of ritual uncleanness or because they had been far away from home at that time. In particular, they were given the opportunity to bring a Pesach sacrifice and eat it with Matzah and Marror a month after the original Holiday.
This is a very unique Holiday, because it is rare that we find an instance of a "second chance" being granted to perform a commandment. In general, the rule followed is "avar zemano, batel korbano;" literally, "if the proper time for the sacrifice has passed, it can no longer be brought." More generally, if one is presented with an opportunity to achieve something good in the world, he or she should be sure to take advantage of it before it becomes "too late" one way or another.
Why is Pesach different from all the other holidays?
Perhaps it is because of the importance of Pesach in the life of the Jew. Pesach is that time of year in which a Jew most closely identifies with his People. He "bonds," to use a terribly over-used word, with the Jewish People over space and time, reliving its tragedies and its triumphs. It is "designed" to be a truly "once-in-a-lifetime," or at least, once-in-a-year, experience!
But, if because of circumstances he could not control, he was not able to participate the first time around, in Nisan, the Torah allows him a "second chance," in Iyar.
Iyar is a month of tragedy and triumph, encompassing "Yom HaZikaron,"commemorating those who gave their lives for Eretz Yisrael, and "Yom Yerushalayim," the day marking the return of the Jewish People, with the help of G-d, to their capital city and the Temple Mount.
Let us not fail to take advantage of this "Second Chance" that we have been given to build a Jewish State and Jewish lives that will reflect G-dly principles, in their full "Ziv," or Splendor.
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October 5, 1995
Many puzzling questions surround the little understood holiday of Lag Ba'Omer - the thirty third day of the counting of the Omer.
The Mystery of Lag Ba'Omer
Rabbi Pinchas Stolper
Thirty-three days following the first day of Passover, Jews celebrate a "minor" holiday called Lag Ba'Omer, the thirty third day of the Omer. It is an oasis of joy in the midst of the sad Sefirah period which is almost unnoticed by most contemporary Jews. Yet it contains historic lessons of such great severity -- that this generation must not only unravel the mystery of Lag Ba'Omer but will discover that its own fate is wrapped in the crevices of its secrets.
The seven weeks between Passover and Shavuot are the days of the "Counting of the Omer," the harvest festivities which were observed in Eretz-Israel when the Temple stood on Mt. Moriah in Jerusalem.
This fifty day period should have been a time of joyful anticipation. Having experienced the Exodus from Egypt on Pesach, every Jew literally "counts the days" from the first night of Passover until Mattan Torah - the revelation of Torah at Mt. Sinai which took place on Shavuot, exactly fifty days after the Exodus. While the Exodus marks the physical birth of the Jewish nation -- the Giving of Torah completes the process through the spiritual birth of the Jewish nation.
Each year, as we celebrate the Seder on Passover, we are commanded to "see ourselves as though each of us actually experienced the Exodus." It therefore follows that we must prepare ourselves during the Sefirah period (counting of the Omer), to once again accept the Torah on Shavuot -- to make our freedom spiritually complete.
Clearly then, the Sefirah days should have been days of joy, but instead, they are observed as a period of semi-mourning. Weddings, music and haircuts are not permitted, some do not shave during this entire period. It is on the sad side of Sefirah that we come across the holiday of Lag Ba'Omer, the one day during this sad period when our mourning is halted, when sadness is forbidden.
What is the reason for sadness during what should have been a period of joyful anticipation? The reason, the Babylonian Talmud tells us, [Yevamot:62:2] is that during this period, Rabbi Akiva's 24,000 students, who lived 1,850 years ago in the Roman dominated Land of Israel, died from a mysterious G-d sent plague. Why did they die? Because the Talmud teaches, "they did not show proper respect to one another." Lag Ba'Omer is celebrated on the thirty-third day because on that day the plague ended and Rabbi Akiva's students stopped dying.
This explanation leaves us with a number of difficulties and still more unanswered questions.
Why does this event, the death of Rabbi Akiva's students, tragic as it was, merit thirty-two days of mourning when greater tragedies in Jewish history, such as the destruction of both Temples or the breaking of the Stone Tablets of the Covenant by Moses, are marked by a single day of mourning. In terms of numbers, the massacres of the Spanish Inquisition, the Crusades, the Chemelnitsky pogroms, and the Holocaust which destroyed European Jewry and cost six-million Jewish lives far overshadow the death of Rabbi Akiva's students. Yet, these tragic events are not commemorated by even one special day of mourning. Why is the death of Rabbi Akiva's students given so much more weight?
Every event in the Jewish calendar was placed there by the Divine hand because it conforms to a pre-set notion of the significance of the seasons and of history. Nature and events correspond and intermesh, certain days and periods are most suited to joy or sadness. Why does the Sefirah mourning coincide with the joyous holidays of Passover and Shavuot, which in turn coincide with the period of harvest festivities?
There also appear to be glaring inconsistencies in the story itself. What were Rabbi Akiva's students guilty of that they deserved to die? If Rabbi Akiva's students died as a result of G-d's punishment for their sins, why should we mourn them? Didn't they deserve their punishment?
Why is Lag Ba'Omer a day of "celebration"? If all that happened on Lag Ba'Omer was but a temporary halt in the dying, wouldn't it be more fitting to set it aside as a memorial day for the twenty-four thousand scholars who died?
What is the connection between Lag Ba'Omer and the revolt against the Romans by Bar Kochba and his army? And how does all of this relate to Rabbi Shimon Bar-Yochai, author of the mystical books of the 'Zohar' who lived in the same era, about whom we sing on Lag Ba'Omer.
And finally, why are all these questions never discussed in the open, as are for example the Four Questions of the Passover Seder?
The answers to these and other questions lie shrouded in the history of a turbulent age and in the mysteries of the Jewish concept of the Messianic era.
First, we must understand that much of the material in the Talmud that deals with political matters was written with a keen sensitivity to the Roman censor. The Talmud could not speak openly concerning the political ramifications of events. In order to obtain a true picture of what happened, we must piece together the story from various historical sources and Talmudic hints. What we discover goes something like this:
The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in the year 70 C.E. Jerusalem and the surrounding countryside lay in ruins from border to border. Scores of thousands died in the fierce fighting and subsequently from persecution and starvation; thousands more were sold as slaves and forced into exile. The Romans considered the Jewish nation defeated, obliterated and done for. The Roman General Titus erected a grand victory monument in Rome which stands to this day that says just that -- the famous Arch of Titus on which is inscribed Judea Capita -- Judea is kaput, finished -- done for.
But even in defeat the spiritual leaders of the Jewish people struggled to rebuild Jewish life and recreate Jewish institutions. They were so successful that around 135 C.E. a Jewish military leader named Bar Kosiba succeeded in organizing a fighting force to rid the Land of Israel of the hated Romans. Thousands rallied to his cause, including the greatest Talmudic scholar of all times, the Tanna Rabbi Akiva ben Yosef, whose insights and brilliant decisions fill the Mishnah.
Many of Rabbi Akiva's contemporaries felt that a new revolt against the Romans was doomed to failure and urged the avoidance of bloodshed. But Bar Kosiba persisted and succeeded in organizing and training a superb military force of 200,000 men. The Talmud relates that Bar Kosiba demanded that each recruit demonstrate his bravery by cutting off a finger -- when the Rabbis protested he substituted a new test, each recruit was expected to uproot a young tree while riding a horse. Such was the level of their bravery and readiness.
Rabbi Akiva disagreed with his Rabbinic colleagues and won over a majority to his point of view. From the military point of view, he felt that a successful revolt was feasible. It is said by some historians that twenty percent of the population of the Roman Empire between Rome and Jerusalem was Jewish.
The pagan foundations of Rome were crumbling. Many Romans were in search of a religious alternative -- which many of them subsequently found in a mitzvah-less Christianity in the following two centuries. Many Romans were attracted to Judaism, and significant numbers converted. There were thousands -- tens of thousands of sympathizers. Some members of the Roman Senate converted to Judaism. If the large numbers of Jews who lived throughout the Roman Empire could be inspired into coordinated anti-Roman revolts, many historians believe that the prospects for toppling Rome were very real.
And if the revolts succeeded and Jews from all over the world united to return and rebuild their homeland, Rabbi Akiva believed that they could bring about the Messianic Era -- the great era of spirituality and universal peace foretold by Israel's Prophets -- the great millennia during which all Jews would return to the land of Israel, the Jerusalem Temple would be rebuilt and Israel would lead the world into an era of justice, spiritual revival, and fulfillment.
In his Laws of Kings, (Chapter 11:3) Maimonides, in discussing the Messianic era says, "Do not think that the King Messiah must work miracles and signs, create new natural phenomena, restore the dead to life or perform similar miracles. This is not so. For Rabbi Akiva was the wisest of the scholars of the Mishna and was the armor bearer of Bar Kosiba (the actual family name of Bar Kochba) the King. He said concerning Ben Kosiba that he is the King Messiah. Both he and the sages of his generation believed that Bar Kosiba was the King Messiah, until (Bar Kosiba) was killed because of his sins. Once he was killed, it became evident to them that he was not the messiah."
To Bar Kochba and his officers, all seemed to be in readiness; Rome was rotten and corrupt - many captive nations strained at the yoke - rebellion was in the air. Rabbi Akiva (Jerusalem Talmud: Ta'anit 4:15) gave Bar Kosiba a new name, "Bar Kochba" - Son of the Star - in fulfillment of the prophecy -- "a star will go forth from Jacob." Bar Kochba trained an army capable of igniting the powder keg of rebellion and Rabbi Akiva lit it with one of the most dramatic proclamations in Jewish history - he proclaimed that Bar Kochba was the long awaited Messiah.
One of the greatest Torah teachers and leaders of all time, Rabbi Akiva could not have made this crucial and radical declaration unless he was certain. He would never have proclaimed a man Messiah unless he knew. Rabbi Akiva added a new, spiritual dimension to the war of liberation. He attempted to merge the soldiers of the sword with the soldiers of the book - his twenty- four thousand students - each a great Torah scholar and leader.
These outstanding scholars would become the real "army" of the Jewish people, a spiritual and moral force that would bring Torah to the entire world, overcoming anguish, suffering, and the cruel boot of the corrupt Roman Empire. They would soon inaugurate a new era of peace, righteousness, and justice, an era in which "the Knowledge of G-d would cover the earth as water covers the seas." The fact that the Jews were able to unite around a single leader separates this event from the great revolt of the previous century when bitterly divided factions warred with each other inside the walls of Jerusalem even as the Roman army stormed the gates.
The rebellion raged for six years. Bar Kochba's army achieved many initial victories. Many non Jews joined Bar Kochba's army -- it is reported that it grew to 350,000 men -- more men than the Roman Army. Bar Kochba was so successful that Hadrian called in all of his best troops from England and Gaul. Rome felt threatened as never before. On Lag Ba'Omer, it is believed by some, Bar Kochba's army reconquered Jerusalem, and we celebrate that great event today. For four years Jewish independence was restored. Many believe that Bar Kochba actually began to rebuild the Bait Hamikdash, the Temple. Some even believe that he completed the building of the Third Temple.
There were two Roman legions in the country when the uprising began, one in Jerusalem and one near Megido. Both were decimated by Bar Kochba's men. Reinforcements were dispatched from Trans-Jordan, Syria and Egypt but these, too, were mauled. The legion sent from Egypt, the 22nd, disappeared from the listings of military units published in Rome, and scholars speculate that it was cut up so badly, probably around Lachish, that it ceased to exist as an organized force. The Jews apparently employed guerilla tactics - foraying from their underground lairs, ambushing convoys and striking at night.
In desperation, Hadrian sent for his best commander, Julius Severus, who was then engaged in battle at the hills of far off Wales. Severus imported legions from the lands of Britain, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary and Bulgaria. So badly had the Romans been hurt in the bruising campaign that Severus, upon returning to Rome to report to the Senate on his success, omitted the customary formula "I and my army are well."
This was total war. In the middle of the effort to rebuild the Bait Hamikdash the tide turned and Bar Kochba lost the support of Rabbi Akiva and the Sages who backed him. What happened? Bar Kochba had murdered the Tannah Rabbi Elazar. He accused the great Rabbi of revealing the secret entrances of the fortress city of Betar to the Romans. It is now believed that this betrayal was the work of the Jewish Christians who wanted to undermine Bar Kochba. Rabbi Akiva then realized that Bar Kochba no longer possessed the qualities which initially led him to believe that he was the Messiah.
There was an additional spiritual dimension to the failure of the Messiah-ship of Bar Kochba as well; whether the spiritual failure of Rabbi Akiva's students was the cause -- or whether it was the failure of Bar Kochba to rise to the spiritual heights expected of the Messiah is beyond our knowledge. For then - out of the blue, the great plague Askera descended and struck. The dream collapsed. For reasons that will probably forever remain obscure, the students of Rabbi Akiva were not considered by Heaven to have reached the supreme spiritual heights necessary to bring about the Messianic Age. As great as they were, an important factor was missing.
The Talmud tells us that "Rabbi Akiva's students didn't show proper respect one for the other." Precisely what this phrase refers to we do not know. With greatness comes heightened responsibility and with greatness comes a magnification of reward and punishment. For their failure and deficiencies - which would certainly be counted as minor in a generation such as ours, but which were crucial for great men on their high spiritual level - their mission was cancelled and they died a mysterious death.
With them died the Messianic hope of that era and for thousands of years to come. Bar Kochba was not a false messiah but a failed messiah. In the terrible war which followed, Bar Kochba and his army were destroyed in the great battles defending the fortress city of Betar. The war had been a catastrophe. Dodio Cassius reports the death of 580,000 Jews by Roman swords in addition to those who died of hunger and disease. Some scholars think that the bulk of the Jewish population of Judea was destroyed in battle and in subsequent massacres. One historian believes that the Jews lost a third of their number in the war, perhaps more fatalities than in the Great Revolt of the year 70.
For the survivors, the Bar Kochba uprising marked the great divide between the hope for national independence and dispersal in the Diaspora. The trauma of Betar coming after the fall of Jerusalem effected deep changes in the Jewish people. The stiff necked, stubborn, fanatically independent people that did not hesitate to make repeated suicidal lunges at the mightiest superpower of antiquity lost its warlike instincts. It would be 2,000 years before there would be a Jewish fighting force. As a result, the hope of the Jew for redemption was to be delayed for at least two thousand years. In the great and tragic defeat not only were between half a million to six hundred thousand Jews killed but the Romans were determined, once and for all to uproot the Jewish religion and the Jewish people - to bring an end to their hopes and their dreams.
It is for this reason that we mourn today. The mourning of Sefirah is not for the students alone, but for the failure of the Jewish people to bring about the Messianic Age, for the fall of the curtain on Jewish independence, Jewish hopes and Jewish Messianic ambitions. Every anti-Semitic outbreak for which Jews suffered since that day, every pogrom, massacre, crusade, Holocaust, and banishment that took the toll of so many millions during the two thousand year long and bitter night of exile, wandering and persecution, must be traced directly to the failure of Bar Kochba -- but ultimately to the failure of the students of Rabbi Akiva. This was a tragedy of inestimable proportions to a war-ravaged world suffering under the bitter yoke of Rome as well as to the Jewish people. Rome did not fall at that time, but its fury and rage led to the exile and dismemberment of the Jewish people.
Yet, on that very Lag Ba'Omer day two thousand years ago, a new hidden light of hope emerged. In the midst of defeat, the Tannah, Rabbi Shimon Bar-Yochai revealed to a small number of students the secrets of the mystical Zohar. In the Zohar, in its formulas, disciplines and spirituality, lie the secrets whose seed will bring about the coming of the Messiah. The Zohar's living tradition has kept that hope alive down to this very day. On Lag Ba'Omer the plague stopped, the dream was delayed, but it was not destroyed. It was to be nurtured through the generations -- the stirrings of its realization enliven us today.
Because Lag Ba'Omer deals with the secrets of the future Messianic Age, it cannot be discussed openly or understood as clearly as can the Exodus or other events of the past. Whenever we stand between Passover and Shavuot - between our physical liberation from Egypt and our spiritual elevation during the Revelation at Sinai we recall those chilling events. For today we are also able to celebrate the liberation of Jerusalem and the site of our destroyed Temple. History is bringing together so many crucial events, -- the history of our ancient past is once again coming alive in the land of our fathers.
There are frightening parallels between our own age and the age of Rabbi Akiva and Bar Kochba. Following a frightful Holocaust which many believed would spell the end of the Jewish people, we experienced a restoration of Jewish independence -- once more did a Jewish army score miraculous victories against overwhelming odds. Following the destruction of the great European centers of Torah scholarship, we witnessed the rebuilding of yeshivot in America and in Israel. We experienced a great revival of Torah study. The teshuva movement has brought about a return to Torah for so many who strayed. Jerusalem and the Temple Mount are in our hands.
All around us world empires are tottering while despair and corruption rages. Once again, the Jewish people has been entrusted with a great and frightful opportunity. Once again we have been given the potential to recreate a Jewish civilization of Torah greatness in our own land. Will we succeed or will our efforts be aborted because of our own failures, our own inability to respect the differences within the Torah community and unite the Jewish people to our cause?
The personality of Rabbi Akiba itself offers frightful lessons and opportunities. It was Rabbi Akiva who understood that "love your fellow as you love yourself" is the over-riding principle which the Torah people must internalize if it is to achieve its goals. Rabbi Akiva, too, is the quintessential ba'al teshuva -- it was he who was forty years old and was unable to distinguish between an aleph and a bet -- it was he who rose to be Jewry's greatest Torah scholar.
Hundreds of thousands of Jews; Americans, Israelis, and Russians are today's potential Rabbi Akivas. The fate of Jewry and the achievement of Heaven's greatest goals are in the hands of this generation. Will we attempt to achieve them or will we withdraw into our own selfish cocoons by refusing to shoulder the responsibilities which history and history's God has set before us?
It is not enough to wait for the Messiah's coming; we must toil to perfect our Torah lives if we are to bring about his speedy arrival. Only if we learn from the lesson of Rabbi Akiva's students will we understand that the coming of the Messiah depends on us.
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http://www.ou.org/chagim/lagbaomer/default.htm
Celebration of Lag BaOmer
Where does the name come from?
The Day is given its name by its count in Sefirat HaOmer, which is thirty-three. How so? - You ask. Like so: The numerical equivalent of the Hebrew letter "lamed" is thirty. Similarly, the numerical equivalent of the letter "gimmel" is three. By higher mathematics, and the use of a high-powered calculator, the sum is thirty-three.
The "lamed" has the "l" sound; the "gimmel" has the hard "g" sound; the combination is written as "Lag," with the "a" having the pronunciation of the "o" in "hot."
"BaOmer" consists of two components:
- Ba , which is a combination of a preposition (yipes! Grammar? - not to worry) and the "definite article;" specifically, in (the preposition), and the, the definite article. Together: in the
- Omer, which refers to the Grain Offering, called the Omer, which was brought in Temple times, and the day on which it was brought, the sixteenth of Nisan, is Day One of the Sefirat HaOmer, the Count of the Omer.
Thus, Lag BaOmer means the thirty-third day in the Count of the Omer.
How do the Jewish People celebrate Lag BaOmer?
- Families go on picnics and outings.
- Children go out to the fields with their teachers with bows and (rubber-tipped) arrows, and bats and balls
- Tachanun, the prayer for special Divine Mercy on one's behalf is not said, because when G-d is showing one a "smiling face," so to speak, as He does especially on the Holidays, there is no need to ask for special mercy.
- In Israel, at Meron, the burial place of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and his son, Rabbi Elazar b'Rabbi Shimon, tens of thousands of Jews gather to celebrate on the "Yahrtzeit," the anniversary of the death of the "godly Tanna," the great scholar who lived in the immediate aftermath of the Second Temple. With torches, song and feasting, the Yahrtzeit is celebrated, which may seem somewhat odd, but which was a specific request by Bar Yochai of his students.
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http://www.ou.org/chagim/lagbaomer/yochai.htm
Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai
Before the Cave
Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai was a student of Rabbi Akiva, who was the spiritual leader of the Bar Kochba Revolt against Rome in 135 CE, which began in glory and ended in tragedy. His teacher was one of the four great Sages who entered the "Pardes," the "Orchard" (not to be confused with the OU's Pardes Program); specifically, who probed the depths of Kabbalah, and came out mentally and spiritually whole. Clearly, Rabbi Akiva was the recipient of a living tradition which he passed on orally to his beloved student, Rabbi Shimon.
As a student of the spiritual leader of the revolt, bar Yochai was pursued relentlessly by the Romans. He and his son, Rabbi Elazar ben Shimon, took refuge in a cave, where they remained for thirteen years.
In the Cave
During those years, Rabbi Shimon studied Torah with his son, the Revealed Torah and the Hidden, or Secret, Torah, the "Torat HaSod," also known as "Kabbalah," and translated, or mistranslated as "Jewish Mysticism."
Rabbi Shimon wrote down the latter material, for the first time, in a book called the "Zohar," meaning "Splendor" or "Radiance." This mystical tradition, kept alive by the RAMBAN, in his Commentary to the Bible, and others, resurfaced with a vengeance in the sixteenth century, and became the splendor and the glory of the "Ari" (the "Lion"), Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, and his followers in "Tzefat," or Safed, Palestine. It also became the basis of the unique spirituality of Chassidut, founded in the eighteenth century, by Yisrael ben Eliezer, the "Baal Shem Tov," in Eastern Europe.
The first time Rabbi Shimon came out of the cave, he was completely "out of tune" with the people of his generation. He observed Jews farming the land, and engaged in other normal pursuits, and made known his disapproval, "How can people engage themselves in matters of this world and neglect matters of the next world?"
Whereupon a Heavenly Voice was heard, which said "Bar Yochai, go back to the cave! You are no longer fit for the company of other human beings."
Rabbi Shimon went back to the cave, reoriented his perspective to some extent, and emerged again. This time, he was able to interact with the people of his generation, and become a great teacher of Torah, the Revealed and the Hidden.
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http://www.ou.org/chagim/lagbaomer/song.htm
Bar Yochai Song
For the Kabbalistically inclined, the following enchanting Shabbat "zemer," festive song, is shown below. It was composed by Shimon ibn Lavi, who had fled as a child from the Spanish Inquisition, and arrived in Fez, Morocco, where he remained until 1549. He later set out for Eretz Yisrael, but on his way there, as fate would have it, he stopped in Tunis, where he remained as the community's teacher till his death in 1588.
It is written in honor of the "G-dly Tanna," Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, author of the Zohar. It is sung mainly in Sefardic Jewish communities on Shabbat, but on Lag BaOmer, it is sung by most Jewish communities.
(The following translation is found in "Zemirot L'Shabbat," "Sabbath Songs," A New Translation with a Commentary Anthologized from Talmudic, Midrashic, and Rabbinic Sources; from the ArtScroll Mesorah Series).
Bar Yochai! You were anointed
- you are fortunate -
With oil of joy from your fellows.
Bar Yochai! With oil of sacred anointment
were you anointed from the holy measure
You bore the headplate, a crown of holiness,
bound upon your head is your glory.
Bar Yochai! You were anointed - you are fortunate -
With oil of joy from your fellows.
Bar Yochai! In a goodly dwelling did you settle
on the day you ran, the day you fled,
In rocky caves where you stopped -
there you acquired your glory and your strength.
Bar Yochai! You were anointed - you are fortunate -
With oil of joy from your fellows.
Bar Yochai! Like standing shittim beams,
the teachings of God they study
An extraordinary light is the light of the fire
that they kindle - they, your teachers, will teach you.
Bar Yochai! You were anointed - you are fortunate -
With oil of joy from your fellows.
Bar Yochai! You came to a Field of Apples
and entered it to pick confections:
The mystery of Torah with blossoms and flowers -
'Let us create man' was said because of You.
Bar Yochai! You were anointed - you are fortunate -
With oil of joy from Your fellows.
Bar Yochai! You were girded with strength,
and in the war of the fiery Torah up to the gate
You pulled a sword from its scabbard,
you drew it against your enemies.
Bar Yochai! You were anointed - you are fortunate -
With oil of joy from your fellows.
Bar Yochai! To a place of marble stones,
you arrived, and before a huge lion.
Even a rounded crown upon a constellation's star
you perceived - but none can perceive you.
Bar Yochai! You were anointed - you are fortunate -
With oil of joy from your fellows.
Bar Yochai! In the Holy of Holies,
a green line creates new manifestations
Seven weeks are the secret of the fifty,
you bound the bonds of Shin as your bonds.
Bar Yochai! You were anointed - you are fortunate -
With oil of joy from your fellows.
Bar Yochai! The Yud of earliest wisdom,
you gazed into its innermost honor,
The thirty-two paths of the very first tithe,
you are like a cherub anointed with the glow
of your illumination.
Bar Yochai! You were anointed - you are fortunate -
With oil of joy from your fellows.
Bar Yochai! At a wondrous light in lofty heights
you feared to stare for it is great.
Such hiddenness that one calls her, 'Naught'.
You declared that no eye could glimpse You.
Bar Yochai! You were anointed - you are fortunate -
With oil of joy from your fellows.
Bar Yochai! Fortunate is she who bore you,
fortunate is the people that learns from you,
And fortunate are those who can plumb your mystery,
garbed in the priestly breastplate
and Your Ineffable Name,
Bar Yochai! You were anointed - you are fortunate -
With oil of joy from your fellows.
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From: A local Kollel (Torah Study Place)
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Comment: Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai was a great sage as I believe the Zohar says, he had the power over the angel of death which told him that it was time to leave the earth and asked him when he would like to do so. He chose the date and afterwards the plague stopped. Before his passing, he revealed massive secrets from the Torah that the heavens allowed and only then, past away. His body, afterwards levitated and chose its resting place. More here.
Rabbi Akiva, Rashbi's Rabbi, achieved a great level himself when only he, survived a spiritual ascent. About Rabbi Akiva from OU here and from Wikipedia here.
To add to it all we must ALWAYS keep in mind that HaKadosh Baruch Hu, The Holy One
Blessed is He, is the only one to be glorified. He and no one else. HE is the one who gives us the Grace of having these Tzadikim and the grace of having mercy upon this world.
We should strive to be like the Tzadikim and achieve in our own level and never use whatever we learn in the wrong way for that would be disgracing Hashem and Hashem's name and G-d forbid, strengthening the opposite side. Glorify Him by doing and acting in accordance with Torah and its laws with humility, modesty and reverence whether one is a Jew or a Noachide.
Prayer/Wish: Hashem, may we not come upon tests or stumbling blocks in our journey. May we always achieve and proclaim Your Glory by our actions and grants us in making ourselves a place for You to always reside in us.
Hilulah Day | Name (Click on the name to view more info.) |
|---|---|
| 1 | Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk Chassidic leader, student of the Maggid of Mezritch. |
| 1 | Rabbi Natan Shapira father of the famous tzaddik, Rabbi Natan Neta Shapira - the Megale Amukot. |
| 2 | Rabbi Shmuel Shmelke Halevi of Nikolsburg Chassidic leader. |
| 3 | Choni HaMe'agel A sage from the Second Temple period. |
| 7 | Rabbi Shlomoh Efraim of Luntchitz - Kli Yakar - Kli Yakar Famous for his Torah commentary named Kli Yakar. |
| 10 | Eli Kohen Gadol (High priest) Served as Kohen Gadol during the era of the Judges in Israel. |
| 11 | Rabbi Yehudah Tzvi of Stretin Chassidic leader and the foremost student of Rabbi Uri of Starlisk. |
| 11 | Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Horowitz of Ropshitz Chassidic leader, teacher of Rabbi Chaim of Sanz. Author of the book 'Zerah Kodesh', chassidic-style commentary on the Torah. |
| 14 | Rabbi Meir Ba'al HaNess Tanna - Forth generation. |
| 14 | Rabbi Yehudah Tzvi of Stretin Chassidic leader, great granson of the tzaddik (by the same name) Rabbi Yehudah Tzvi of Stretin. |
| 17 | Rabbi Moshe Chaim Efraim of Sadilkov Chassidic leader, grandson of the Baal Shem Tov. Author of the book 'Degel Machaneh Efraim'. |
| 18 | Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai- Rashbi - Rashbi Tana, student of Rabbi Akiva. Author of the Zohar, the main text of Kabbalah. |
| 18 | Rabbi Moshe Isserles - REMA - REMA Head rabbi of the Jewish community in Cracow, Poland. He was a major authority on halachah and wrote the 'Mappah' on the 'Shulchan Aruch'. |
| 19 | Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Rymanov Chassidic leader. Student of Rabbi Elimelech of Lizensk. |
| 20 | Rabbi Mordechai of Chernobyl Chassidic leader and supporter of the Nistarim (hidden tzaddikim). |
| 26 | Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato- The Ramchal - The Ramchal kabbalist, ethicist, poet. |
| 29 | Shmuel (Samuel) The Prophet The last judge of Israel before the Kingdom era. Anointed Shaul as the first king of Israel, and later on King David as his successor. |
SINAILIVE
