HaRav Dov Begonis Head of Jerusalem's Yeshivat Machon Meir.
Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (Rashbi) merited that the day of his passing, Lag Ba’Omer, became a day of hilula (celebration of the soul), when myriads of Jews light bonfires in his honor. Whether the bonfires be towering or small, they symbolize memorial lights, “soul candles,” for his noble and elevated soul.
The rising flames also symbolize the great light of the inner Torah which he revealed in the world. He merited to be among the spiritually elite - those who beheld the Divine Presence, who gazed through a luminous lens. Rashbi attained this level through his self-sacrifice. He was willing to exempt the entire world from strict judgment by bearing their sins himself, like loving parents who are willing to suffer so that their children will not endure hardship (see Sukkah 45b).
Rashbi especially felt deeply for the honor of Israel and the Land of Israel. He could not tolerate that a foreign nation, the Romans, ruled over the People and the Land of Israel. Valorously he spoke out against them. As a result, the Romans persecuted him and sought to kill him, and he was forced to hide in a cave with his son for twelve years.
Rashbi’s self-sacrifice for the People and the Land of Israel stemmed from a clear and unwavering faith and understanding of who the People of Israel are, what their mission is, and what the significance of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel is — for Israel and for all humanity. And it was not only Rashbi who recognized this deep connection between the People and the Land; all the great Kabbalists who followed in his path such as Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi, the Ramban, the holy Ari, the Ramchal, the students of the Baal Shem Tov, the disciples of the Vilna Gaon, Rabbi Kook, and others, gave their lives for the Land of Israel and made Aliyah despite hardships and dangers.
Today, as we joyfully sing, “Bar Yochai, anointed with joy above your fellows,” we must remember that he attained what he did through his self-sacrifice for the People of Israel, the Torah of Israel, and the Land of Israel. And not only Rashbi, but all those who follow in his path throughout the generations, especially in our generation, the generation of revival and the ingathering of exiles - whether they are aware of it or not - are sustained by the merit of that self-sacrifice for Am Yisrael, Torat Yisrael, and Eretz Yisrael. Through it, they bring merit to the entire generation and to all generations.
And the day is not far off when the verse will be fulfilled among us: “Bar Yochai, happy is she who bore you, happy the people who learn from you, and happy are those who stand within your secrets, clothed in the breastplate of your perfections and lights...”
With hope for victory and complete redemption. Happy Lag Ba’Omer.
