…Shoot bows and Arrows on Lag BaOmer?
Great question! The famous answer is because Chazal say there was never a rainbow during the times of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. A rainbow is a sign from Hashem that he will not destroy the world, like He did in the days of Noach. Because of Rabbi Shimon’s greatness, Hashem never needed to send that sign!
But let’s dig deeper! The Shvilei Pinchas explains that a bow is used to fight an enemy further away. (A sword is used for an enemy close to you.) On Lag Ba’omer, the day Rashbi directed his talmid Rabbi Abba to write down the Zohar, we can now stand here in Olam Hazeh… and reach further away. We now have the Torah of Rabbi Shimon, the Torah of pnimius – so we can reach much higher and further places in avodas Hashem!
The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains that the Zohar says when Moshiach comes – instead of rainbows being lightly colored, they will be bold and bright. The Zohar also says that through this sefer, the Zohar, which reveals deeper secrets of the Torah, we will be taken out of galus! We use a bow and arrow on Lag Ba’omer to hint to that vivid rainbow that we will see very soon iy”H – in the merit of the Torah of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai!
So be careful and have a lichtigeh Lag Ba’omer!
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 35 Lag Ba’omer Edition.
