Lag Ba’omer is here ! We gather together with other Yidden and sing slow, heartfelt niggunim filled with yearning. We link arms and dance around the blazing bonfire. We celebrate Rebbe Shimon’s light and love with all of our hearts and souls. Still, despite all the festivities, many of us can’t help but feeling a little bit out of place on Lag Ba’omer…
While we enjoy the divrei Torah about Rebbe Shimon’s incredible Torah revelations and take strength in his declaration that “With this sefer, the Zohar HaKadosh, we will leave redemption amidst great Mercy”, while we sing with great fervor in ‘Bar Yochai’, “His Torah protects us, it is the light of our eyes”, and “Fortunate is the nation that studies your teachings, fortunate are those who experience your mysteries etc.”, a small voice within reminds us that… we may have actually never opened a Zohar HaKadosh.
Rebbe Shimon’s Torah is not, in fact, part of our learning regimen, and, if we are under 40, we’re not even sure if we are allowed to study it! The voice challenges us – what connection do we have with Bar Yochai? How can we fully grasp the greatness of this soul, the redemptive revelation of this particular Tzadik – captured in metaphor by the dancing flames of the madurah with their awesome light and warmth – if we have no access to the Torah of Kabbalah that he revealed?
Rav Moshe Wolfson, shlita writes that it is possible for every Jew to have a personal connection to Rebbe Shimon and his Torah, regardless of how inadequate their familiarity with Kabbalah may be. This is because if a Jew has a connection with any of the seforim that were built on Rebbe Shimon’s revelations, he is also included in those who “study his teachings.”
Particularly, any teaching from the works of Chassidus (deriving from the teachings of another “Rashbi” – R‘ebbe Y‘israel B‘aal S‘hem), which are more accessible today than ever before in so many different forms – this is the Torah of Rebbe Shimon. This is his light, his gift of geulah from the darkness of a constricted consciousness.
This Lag Ba’omer, let’s make a commitment to being counted among those who are bringing the geulah closer by engaging in the study of pnimius haTorah. While the Zohar might be yet out of reach for some, there is so much of that same light at our very fingertips – if only we care to grab hold of it. If only we allow ourselves to feel it grabbing hold of us, gently enveloping us with love, clarity, depth, and the warmth of Hashem’s closeness.
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 35 Lag Ba’omer Edition.