Lag b’Omer, (the 33rd day of counting from the second day of Passover) is a Jewish holiday that we will be observing this Thursday (May 3). The reason for the celebration of this day originates in the tragic deaths of twenty-four thousand students of the great Sage Rabbi Akiva’s during this period, around the beginning of the second century. According to the Talmud, as a result of this catastrophic event the “world was shrouded in darkness.” The reason they died, the Talmud continues to explain, was because they did not treat each other with sufficient respect.
On the thirty-third day of this period, however, the plague ceased, and for this ray of light that shone in an otherwise dark period, we give thanks to G-d and we celebrate.
There is also a second reason for the celebration of this day known as Lag b’omer: Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, one of Rabbi Akiva’s great disciples (whom he had attracted after the demise of his 24,000 students), passed away on this day. And on this very day he revealed some of the deepest mysterious of Torah, the Kabbalah, to a select group of his disciples. Rabbi Shimon also announced that this day, when his soul will be reunited with its Maker, should be a day of celebration.
Two questions can be raised: First why is the death of a great Sage, Rabbi Shimon, a day that warrants celebration?
Second, is there a connection between the second reason and the first one? At first glance they appear contradictory. The first reason for rejoicing on this day is because Rabbi Akiva’s students ceased dying, while the second reason is because one of Rabbi Akiva’s most illustrious student died!
The answer to both questions lies in a better understanding of how the teachings of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai are the antidote to the chronic divisiveness that plagues the Jewish community, the root cause of the demise of Rabbi Akiva’s students.
Everything in existence has both a visible, external mode as well as an internal, hidden mode. Even the Creator manifests Himself in these two ways. There is G-d’s revealed manifestation and there is the hidden aspect of G-d that is out of our reach.
The Torah, which is G-d’s wisdom, likewise possesses two dimensions: the outer level, including the laws of the Torah that deal with the down-to-earth aspects of life, as well as an inner dimension, the spiritual and mystical concepts that are beyond the reach of most people.
Similarly, every person has his or her outer persona as well as his or her inner core, which we refer to as the soul. And indeed, even the soul is composed of these two dimensions. There is a part of the soul that is expressed routinely in every thought, word or deed, and the part of the soul that remains hidden, that is revealed only in times of great spiritual arousal as well as in times of crises.
For us to connect to our inner personality, one can spend an entire lifetime, since the outer layers of our personality, tend to obscure the light and purity of the inner core. Indeed, the very reason we count the days between Passover and Shavuot—a commandment that is mentioned in this week’s parsha—is to refine our character, thus enabling our G-dly soul to emerge.
There is a second, and more direct approach to eliciting the power of our inner core. By learning the hidden dimension of Torah that is expressive of the hidden and elusive manifestations of G-d, we can touch our soul and cause its flame to burn brightly.
Thus Lag B’omer, the day that Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai revealed the deepest secrets of the Torah and thereby opened the gates of the Torah’s inner precincts, the day that his inner soul was reunited with G-d’s hidden dimension, gave us the power to access our inner soul in ways that were previously reserved for very few people.
Now that we appreciate the cause for celebration on this day of Lagb’Omer—because it is the day that gave us access to the inner facets of Torah and the inner precincts of our soul—we can also understand the link to the first reason for rejoicing on this day.
As noted, this is the day that Rabbi Akiva’s students ceased to die. Now since the reason for their deaths, the Talmud states, was their lack of respect for one another, it implies that on Lag b’omer, the energy to overcome discord and dissent was introduced into the world.
Since Lag b’Omer is the day that unleashed the hidden dimensions of Torah and our souls, we can easily be capable of transcending the differences that keep us apart and are the cause of dissonance. Division amongst people exists because their discourse and interaction is restricted to their outer personalities. When we gain access to our inner personality, our Divine soul, then all the barriers fall to the wayside.
Thus, the cure for disunity and lack of respect and tolerance for each other is exposing ourselves to the inner soul of Torah, by studying the mystical texts of Kabbalah, particularly Chassidic literature that has made Kabbalah accessible to all.
We can now also understand why the Zohar-the principle work of Kabbalah authored by Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai— states that the teachings of Kabbalah will be the catalyst to bring about the future Redemption, whereas the Talmud suggests that achieving genuine Ahavat Yisrael, love of one’s fellow, will bring about this Redemption.
There is no contradiction between these two sources, for they are really saying the same thing in different words. What will usher in the Messianic Age? When we overcome our differences that are generated by the external aspects of our beings, by eliciting our inner soul, through the study of the inner dimension of Torah