The most well-known custom of Lag BaOmer is the lighting of bonfires throughout Israel and worldwide wherever religious Jews can be found. ... Some say that as ben Yochai gave spiritual light to the world with the revelation of the Zohar, bonfires are lit to symbolize the impact of his teachings.

Bs''d

There must be something very special about LAG B OMER that ESS AU knows, and try to stop it.....

Guess what....

HA KADOSH BARUH HU always use the evil to use it for something good!

May it be so this year!

The LIGHT OF THE ZOHAR.....

Let's see....

Every Jewish child knows the story of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and his son, Rabbi Elozor. The story is recounted in the Talmud Bavli, maseches Shabbos 33b. Escaping from the Romans, they hid in a cave at Pekiin. A carob tree miraculously emerged from the ground to provide fruit for nourishment, while a spring brought forth water to quench their thirst. There they composed the Zohar HaKadosh. When they finally left the cave, they bathed in the curative waters of Tiveria and continued to disseminate Torah.

We find wondrous descriptions of the holiness of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. The Zohar HaKodosh (2:38a) quotes Shemos 34:23: "Three times each year shall each man appear before the face of his master, the G-d of Israel." The Zohar Hakodosh then asks, what is meant by the face of his master? The answer is that the Zohar is referring to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. In the Zohar Hakodosh (3:144b) we find that he is also considered to be a gilgul of Moshe Rabbenu (according to a sicha of the Slonimer rav).

http://www.chareidi.org/archives5761/emor/EMRfeatures2.htm

RASHBI                  רשבי     רבי שמעון בן יוחאי

ש 300

מ 40

ע 70

ו 6

ן 50

ב2

ן 50

י 10

ו 6

ח8

א 1

י 10

553

RABBI SHIMON BEN YOCHAI   

נחמן בן שמחה 553

    ל'ג 33    יח אייר

Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai
(רבי שמעון בר יוחאי)

RASHBI - Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai

Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai is best known as the author of the Zohar, the classic work of Kabbalah. Explaining God's hidden mysteries, the Kabbalistic tradition was part of...

Breslev Israel staff, 5/9/2020, 21:52

An excerpt from Tzaddik Magazine, Pesach 2000, a project of Nachal Novea Mekor Chochma- Tsfat, Israel

   

Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai is best known as the author of the Zohar, the classic work of Kabbalah. Explaining God's hidden mysteries, the Kabbalistic tradition was part of the Torah received by Moshe (Moses) at Sinai. In the early generations after the Torah was given, Kabbalah was discussed only through allegory and parable, which disguised the concealed secrets of the Torah and protected them from being misused by the unworthy. Until the time of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, explicit Kabbalistic terms were not used openly. By authoring the Zohar, Rabbi Shimon established a new school for understanding the Kabbalah, bringing its wisdom further down into the world. It remained unparalleled until the system of the Arizal – Rabbi Isaac Luria – was introduced in the Holy City of Tsfat in the sixteenth century.

 

Originally, the Zohar consisted of volumes of notes, restricted to a very small secret circle. When the group finally broke up, the manuscripts were hidden in a vault, and were not uncovered until the thirteenth century. They came into the hands of one of the most prominent Kabbalists of the time, Rabbi Moshe de Leon, who edited and published them in the 1290s. The Kabbalists of that generation knew enough about the writings of the Zohar to recognize it as authentic and they accepted the work with virtually no controversy. This led the way for the Arizal's new system in the late 1500s. The Arizal opened the doors to the Zohar of Rabbi Shimon, clarifying its mysteries and teaching the initiated how to apply its wisdom.

 

Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai was born in the Galilee and became a Tanna – one of the Great Sages of the Mishna. Living during the era of the Roman persecutions, he was a disciple of Rabbi Akiva in the second generation after the destruction of the Second Temple. The Talmud recounts that Rabbi Shimon was condemned to death for insulting the Roman government. He and his son, Rabbi Elazar, fled to a cave where they remained for thirteen years, meditating and studying the mysteries of the Torah together. They rose to such a level that they became worthy of mystical revelations from Eliyahu Hanavi (Elijah the Prophet). After twelve years, Rabbi Shimon and his son left the cave and while walking in the fields, saw people working the land, engaging in the mundane affairs of the world instead of learning Torah. They became so disturbed and angry by this that any place they looked upon immediately burnt up. A heavenly voice called out, "You came out of the cave to destroy the world? Go back in!" They returned to the cave and studied for another twelve months. Then they raised their hands to heaven and said, "Merciful Father! Even the wicked aren't judged in Gehinnom for more than twelve months – it is enough to be judged as the wicked are judged." Their prayers were accepted and a heavenly voice told them to exit the cave once again. This time they saw an old man hurrying along with two bundles of fragrant myrtles in his hands. As for the reason, he explained that he was bringing the myrtles 🌿🌿 home in honor of the Shabbat. From this Rabbi Shimon and his son were appeased. They saw how it was possible to reach the highest levels of holiness through everyday actions. Subsequently, Rabbi Shimon established a new school of mysticism based on the Torah secrets he had learned with Eliyahu Hanavi. Seventy years after Rabbi Shimon's passing, his students wrote down his central teachings, forming the main body of the Zohar.

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Rabbi Shimon was a "fifth-generation" Tanna, according to the classification of Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz in "The Talmud – A Reference Guide," who flourished in years 135 C.E. - 170 C.E. He was a student of Rabbi Akiva, and a contemporary of Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel II, who was the Nasi, the Scholar-President, and of Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yehudah ben Ilai, among other great contemporaries. He was a complex individual, a Torah giant who was influenced by his father, Yochai, by his great teacher, Rabbi Akiva, and by the events of his day. His main achievement was the authorship of the "Zohar," the Torat HaNistar, the hidden Torah that he received orally from his teacher, Rabbi Akiva. The latter is described in the Talmud as the only one of a group of four outstanding Torah scholars who attempted to enter the "Pardes," the Orchard, a metaphor for the depths of Kabbalah, Jewish Mysticism, who was able to emerge safely.

His father was a man of considerable honor among the Jewish People. Yochai was a pacifist, was well-liked by the Romans, and was a bitter opponent of the revolt against Rome led by Rabbi Akiva and bar Kochba.

Although Shimon was extremely loyal to Rabbi Akiva, he rejected some of his methods of Torah scholarship, such as the inference of laws from "extra" words – prepositions and connectives, in the text of the Torah. He believed that for the purpose of inferring "halachot," rules of Jewish Law, the text should be interpreted plainly. He also rejected the "pilpulistic" method of his colleague, Rabbi Yehudah ben Ilai. He was a believer in using the "Taamei HaMitzvot," the reasons for the commandments, as a guide in understanding them.

How remarkable it is that despite his insistence on learning the simple meaning of the Torah from its plain text, he was the one who saw the Torah as well on an entirely different level, as the "Torat HaSod," the Secret Torah.

Another paradox in the thought of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai is in his attitude towards Rome. In Bereshit 33:4, where Esav kisses Yaakov, there are dots over the word meaning "and he kissed him." Rabbi Shimon says, "It is a well-known principle of Law that Esav hates Yaakov, but here Esav's mercies were aroused, and he kissed him with all his heart." Yet his sense of fairness did not allow him to adopt a leniency even with regard to a hated enemy, and he said "Stealing from an idol-worshipper is called 'stealing,' and is forbidden absolutely."

Once, when Rabbi Shimon was together with Rabbi Yehudah ben Ilai and Rabbi Yose ben Chalafta, Rabbi Yehudah praised the Romans for their construction of markets, bridges and bathhouses. Rabbi Yose remained silent. But Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai said that all those engineering marvels were made for their own self-interest. When the Romans heard this, they rewarded Yehudah by appointing him to a position in government. Rabbi Yose, for not supporting him, was punished by exile. For his disparagement of the Romans, Rabbi Shimon was condemned to death.

To escape this punishment, Rabbi Shimon fled with his son to a cave. There they remained for thirteen years, studying Torah together, both the Revealed and the Hidden Torah. Rabbi Shimon wrote down the latter material for the first time in a book called the "Zohar," Splendor, or Radiance.

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, 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.

Lag BaOmer, according to Tradition, was the day of the petirah of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and, according to his wishes, the Yahtzeit was to be observed as a holiday. This is done throughout the Jewish world, but the main celebration is at Meiron, the burial place of Rabbi Shimon and his son, Elazar, where thousands of Jews gather to light torches, sing (several stanzas of a favorite song and its chorus appear below) and dance in honor of the G-dly Tanna:

"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! Like standing shittim beams,
The teachings of G-d they study;
An extraordinary light is the light of the fire
That they kindle – they, your teachers, will teach you.

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! 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 see You.

Bar Yochai! You were anointed – you are fortunate;
With oil of joy from your fellows."

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/shimon-bar-yochai

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