Jewish Torah: Lag B'Omer: Rav Shimon Bar Yochai's Legacy

lagba om the 33rd day of the OM it's the time that marks the hilula of rabi shimai it's the time that we know RAB shimi ascended to heaven and the description of the death of rabi shim barai is a very powerful one we're in he reveals very deep secrets of Torah right before he leaves this world and there is this great fire that surrounds his house as His Holy Soul is elevated toward heaven and we know that in Israel in particular LBA om is marked by bonfires on every Hilltop that children Scurry around from pesak time collecting wood to make these great bonfires to Mark the fire of Torah the fire that surrounded RAB shim's house the depth of Torah The Passion of Torah that Mark what rabi shimai left his legacy to the Jewish people what indeed was this Legacy of rabish shimai what perhaps is the deeper meaning of these bonfires what is our aod what is our mindset on so we know RAB shimi the one who studied with his done for 13 years isolated in a cave in meon is the one who wrote down the holy words of the zahar the deeper hidden secrets of the Torah and one of the major lessons that rabish shimai transmitted to his students and to us is the power that each and every individual has as a Torah it's a portion in Torah that every individual has a letter in Torah and we know when we look at a say for Torah at a holy Torah scroll if even one letter is slightly cracked if even one letter is slightly rubbed out the Torah is pule were unable to use this Torah we need to put it aside until it can be fixed and that teaches us this fundamental principle that every single Jew is important that every Jew comprises together the word of God as we need to be able to live a living Torah of fulfilling God's word and if one person is not going to live up to their potential then the Torah is somehow scratched the world cannot function in the same level but from this idea rabish shimai is teaching us one of the most fundamental beautiful ideas an idea which serves to counter the death of RAB students who cease dying un like B is that every single person deserves to be respected every person needs to be treated with covo with dignity every person is really a living safer Torah every person is somebody who has tremendous amount of kadha tremendous amount of Holiness when we celebrate unlik ba om we're celebrating not only the death of Rim bohai but more so the life the message of rabish shim bayai the power the beauty the Holiness in each and every person that is why it's not by accident it's brought down in theim that the seven weeks of the S of the count parallel the seven species from which the land of Israel is praised the land of Wheat and barley grape pomegranates and the Order of this verse parallels each one one of the seven weeks the fifth week in which L Omar falls out is the week of the remone of the pomegranate and so by accident the word remon is the same letters as meon the place rimai is buried and our rabbis tell us about the pomegranate even the empty ones among you are filled with mitzvos like a pomegranate that's the message of rabish shimai the message of the pomegranate even empty ones are filled the pomegranate is the fruit paric Salon that is filled with all of the seeds this is the message that we need to take into our own lives when I look at others as well as first and foremost when I look at myself I am special I am great I am holy I'm a letter in the Torah I am somebody who has what to contribute in this world and that my friends is a deeper understanding of the fire the fire represents the fiery passion that should be awakened within us when I realize how special I am realize I have a purpose in this world the fiery passion I have toward God who has put me in this world to do this Mission and likewise to feel the passion that God has toward me as raai taught us if we would just but recognize how much God loves us we would be filled like almost with a volcano with this passion that would erupt within us with this mutual love in the songs of songs it describes I'm surrounded by fires when I look at those bonfires I feel God's intense love for me and I reciprocate with my intense love for God and that's why we wherever we are in lagba om whether we have a physical bonfire or metaphysical bonfire lagba om is a time to be filled with the beautiful recognition of how special I am to feel and to awaken within me my connection to God and how much AES how much God loves me and to work on and to sense and to feel this beautiful intimate relationship and that's why LBA om is the time wherever I may be of intense prayer it's a time to pour out our hearts and supplication to God because when you're madly in love with somebody and you feel that intensity of this relationship it's a time to talk it's a time to converse it's a time to connect and therefore like becomes an auspicious time between PES and CH to pause for a moment and to almost be able to taste that feeling of standing of the heavens opening up on who is I get a taste of it even beforehand as I enter into this time period of the intensity of the relationship and I tap into this intensity by being able to use the time of likea om to feel this love to connect to Hashem and to DB in and to pray these 24 hours in this deep intimate personal connection with God to pour out my heart in supplication and connection with the above