The Journey to Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai on Lag BaOmer Sweetens the Judgments

The journey and celebration of Lag BaOmer sweeten the harsh judgment of this day

When we arrive at the counting of the Omer at the level of Hod she-be-Hod, there is an intensification of judgments! Hod she-be-Hod represents harsh judgments! By traveling to Rashbi on this day, and by celebrating Lag BaOmer, we sweeten all the judgments and all the severities; through Rabbi Shimon, all judgments are sweetened. On the day of the tzaddik’s hillula, the day of the tzaddik’s passing, he sweetens all judgments! He takes upon himself all the yetzer hara, all the sins, and all the evil thoughts! He draws all the yetzer hara out of everyone’s mind, subduing and nullifying all judgments. It is just as it was with Reb Zusha and the Noam Elimelech, when the 'Baal Davar' (the adversary) came to them and said, 'You will yet see what I will do to you!' Everything was because they took upon themselves the entire yetzer hara of all the Jewish people, and they answered him, 'You do your part, and we will do ours.'

Through the power of previous generations, the tzaddik of the generation rises twofold

The entire generation of later tzaddikim merits twice as much as the tzaddikim of previous generations; they possess the power of the earlier tzaddikim! They merit twofold from the previous tzaddikim! Rashbi possesses all the power from the previous tzaddikim! The Shevet Mussar says that later tzaddikim can be even greater than the tzaddikim of previous generations, and the concept of 'the decline of the generations' refers to a separate matter.

In the merit of his self-sacrifice, Rabbi Shimon merited to transmit the Torah to the entire Jewish people

When our Sages entered the vineyard in Yavne, they said, 'The Torah is destined to be forgotten from Israel,' and Rabbi Shimon promised that through him, the Torah would not be forgotten from Israel. What is the meaning of this? Everyone knows the Torah will not be forgotten from Israel! Every child knows the Torah will not be forgotten! Rather, the question was: through which Tanna would the Torah not be forgotten? Which Tanna would merit that the chain of Torah would continue through him? All the Tannaim said they did not see that they had the power to continue the Torah to future generations; they received the Torah, they kept the Torah, and they studied the Torah, but to continue the Torah to the generations is only for the unique individuals of the generations.

Rashbi merited to continue the Torah in the merit of his self-sacrifice. He stood firmly against the Romans and was sentenced to death; after that, he entered the cave and studied with self-sacrifice until he attained such levels of understanding that he could say that through him, the Torah would not be forgotten from Israel. He reached such levels that in any darkness that exists, no matter what darkness it may be, he can illuminate the light.

Rabbi Shimon is entirely fire

Why do we travel to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai? Why do we light bonfires? It is all because Rabbi Shimon was entirely fire! Rabbi Shimon was a bonfire of fire! A torch of fire! All 248 limbs of Rabbi Shimon were made of fire! Because twice the word 'lapid' (torch) has the numerical value of 248 (Ramach); all 248 limbs of Rabbi Shimon were a torch for Hashem.

The moment Rabbi Shimon began to speak words of Torah, he was surrounded by flames of fire! All his surroundings were a flame of fire! And also on the day of the hillula of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, fire descends from heaven. 33 days after the Seder night, after Pesach, we merit great awe! A revelation of the Shechinah! A revelation of fire! All the mountains surrounding the tomb of Rashbi blaze with fire, because if in his lifetime fire blazed around him, then all the more so after his passing! For tzaddikim are greater in their death than in their lifetime.

One who does not believe in the tzaddik is like an idolater

If a person does not believe in the tzaddikim, does not believe that the tzaddikim are alive and existing, does not travel to Rashbi, and does not believe that Rashbi is alive and existing, then it is as if he is worshipping idols! It is as if he is bowing down to flies! As the Gemara says in Tractate Shabbat (83b), the moment the tzaddik disappears, the moment Gideon passed away, they abandoned Hashem! They had to be attached to something! So they went to bow down to flies, they went to cling to flies, they made themselves pocket-flies! Because when one does not go to the tzaddikim, when one does not believe in the tzaddikim, then there is no faith in Hashem! And the intellect begins to warp, and warp, and warp without end! Until they reach actual idol worship! And therefore, those who do not travel to Meron, those who do not travel to Rabbi Shimon, those who do not believe in the tzaddikim, they are mocking Rashbi! Because by not traveling to him, by not going up to Meron, it is as if they are making a pilgrimage to Gaza; they are making a pilgrimage to Gaza! It is very simple! Because they must be attached to something.

Rabbi Shimon turns intentional sins into merits and becomes a vessel for new abundance

When a person comes to a tzaddik like Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, then all his intentional sins are turned into merits; he merits that everything is turned into merits. He merits that Rashbi washes him from all the filth of his sins; Rashbi gives him new mochin (intellectual faculties), a new da'at (consciousness), provided he does not fall into the category of 'I will sin and repent.' If there is no 'I will sin and repent,' then Rashbi gives him entirely new mochin, entirely new da'at, entirely new intellect. Rashbi transforms his entire essence, transforms his entire body, gives him a holy body from the Garden of Eden, gives him a new mazal (fortune) for the new year! Because when the body is replaced, when the body is purified, the person’s mazal rises!

Our Rebbe says in Torah 53, Part II: Why does a person have poverty? Why does he not have parnassah? It is all because of the 'serpent’s skin' which is his body! Which he destroyed! He sinned against it! He transgressed against it! By defiling it and dirtying it with desires and terrible impurities, and therefore he has no conduit for parnassah, he has no vessel for abundance. But the moment a person comes to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, the entire body is replaced, the entire body is purified, his entire essence is replaced! The spirit is replaced! The soul is replaced! Everything is replaced! And then he becomes a vessel for new abundance, he becomes a vessel for such abundance that never existed before; he becomes a vessel for such great abundance to the point that he can also influence the entire world.

Lag BaOmer is truly Yom Kippur

Lag BaOmer is truly Yom Kippur, a day on which all sins are forgiven; it is exactly like 'Kol Nidrei,' everything is forgiven! Everything is sweetened! The greatest kindnesses, the most wonderful kindnesses are revealed on it. It is possible on Lag BaOmer to draw down all the mochin, all the healings, and all the salvations for the entire year. It is a day on which one can heal all illnesses! There is no healing in the world that cannot be drawn down on this day; one can heal all cancers, everyone can be blessed with children, everyone can find their shidduch. This day is a day of annulment of vows! Everything is sweetened! Everything is erased! All the transgressions that a person has done, millions of transgressions from the day he was born until this day, transgressions from all his incarnations, everything is forgiven.

A person travels to Meron for 3 hours, gets pushed, suffers there among thousands upon thousands of myriads of people, and through this, all his transgressions are forgiven, all his blemishes of the covenant, everything he sinned his whole life, everything is forgiven for him, and this is what is written, 'Chadi Rabbi Shimon' – Rabbi Shimon rejoices!! Rabbi Shimon rejoices when he sees that hundreds of thousands of people are traveling to him, all of the Jewish people are traveling to him! Every year, more and more people travel to him, and truly no one knows what is happening here, no one can understand this, the matter of this journey. People do not know what they are traveling for, what they are celebrating on Lag BaOmer, but 'Even though he does not see, his mazal sees' – the whole land celebrates, they make bonfires and do not know exactly why and for what reason.

Truly, one must know that the tzaddik is the root of all souls, he is the 'Even Shetiya' (Foundation Stone), he is the root of everyone, he is the root of every single soul, he is the eternal soul! And he merited the eternal soul for all eternity! And all the Jewish people are sparks of this soul! Every soul is a small spark from the tzaddik; the spark of Rashbi is found in every Jew, the soul of Rashbi is found in every Jew. This is a soul that includes all the Jewish people, encompasses the entire world, embraces all the worlds and all the Sefirot, and therefore everyone travels to the tomb of Rashbi to be included in the soul that includes all the Jewish people. And when one already merits and travels to Rashbi, then one must know it is Rashbi who draws us to him! Sweeps us to him! Takes us to him! And anyone who feels Rashbi is immediately swept to him! He is swept to him because this is the root of his soul, he is swept to him because he is a point from Rashbi. Rashbi is the Jewish point that exists in every single Jew.

The tzaddik is alive and existing and is actual Divinity

A person must travel to Rashbi with self-sacrifice! Rashbi calls to us – 'Come to me, make a pilgrimage for 2 or 3 hours and you are already with me!' All the abundance in the world, every blessing in the world, prayer, Torah, holiness, everything a person needs, he can receive everything. Just come, travel, you must first of all travel! The tzaddik is alive and existing, he is actual Divinity. One must know that when traveling to Rabbi Shimon, one is not traveling to a human being at all! One must travel with holy awe! You travel by car, by bus for two or three hours, travel with holy awe, with books, with prayer, with hisbodedus, humming a little, not laughing! Not joking! Not doing foolish things! Travel for the sake of Heaven, to be purified, to be sanctified, and then Rashbi will be able to draw down for you endless salvations, endless holiness and purity. He can give you a new soul; nothing is limited for him! He has no limitations, he can give you everything! Everything you think, everything you want, he will give you, just travel with holy awe and seriousness.

The 'Beit Aharon' says that the highest level of all the verses in the Book of Psalms is 'My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You,' that even the body! The flesh! Is turned into a soul; even the flesh no longer feels any physicality, any desires. The body, the flesh, is burned from the intensity of the love of Hashem, and this level of 'my flesh yearns for You' can be received through Rashbi, through the fire of Rashbi, because the fire blazes around him day and night, because Rashbi (רשב"י) are the letters of B.S.R.Y (flesh). A person comes to Rashbi with seriousness, dances all the dances, then he merits that all his flesh, all his physicality is burned! And he reaches the highest level, 'my flesh yearns for You.'

We travel out of faith in Rashbi and not out of social pressure

Everyone who merits on Lag BaOmer! Everyone who travels seriously to Rashbi! Everyone who cries on Lag BaOmer! Everyone who truly dances on Lag BaOmer! Will not stand dreaming, a fool on the side, he will dance truly! He will believe that Rashbi is alive and existing! And he will not travel out of social pressure, he will not travel because the other person is traveling, but rather he will travel because he believes that Rashbi is alive and existing, and he will pray with enthusiasm, he will dance with enthusiasm, he will not stand on the side during the dancing, as the Rambam says that anyone who sees that they are dancing and he stands on the side, then he is a complete idiot! And a complete apikores (heretic)! Who does not believe in the powers of the tzaddikim! Does not believe in the powers of the dancing! Does not believe that the tzaddikim can become 'pregnant' (impregnate their souls) within him! Because Rashbi needs to descend even lower during the hillula! To become 'pregnant' within all those who come to him, and through this, to nullify all the decrees.

So at the hour that one travels to Rashbi truly, to receive his advice, to receive his guidance, to receive from him prayer with intention, one travels to merit to fulfill what is written in the Zohar! One travels to honor the Zohar! To honor the people who listen to the voice of the Zohar! All those who rise at midnight, those who have love of Israel, all those who pray at vatikin, they are promised all the salvations, because everything the Zohar says is holy of holies. And if I have not yet merited to fulfill the words of the Zohar, then 'Happy are those who merit, happy are those who travel to your tomb and study your teachings.' So all those who travel in simplicity to fulfill the words of Rashbi, they are promised that Rashbi becomes 'pregnant' within them! The soul of Rashbi becomes 'pregnant' within them! Those who will travel to Rabbi Shimon truly! And will put their head into the book! Into the Psalms! Into the Gemaras! Into the holy books! And will hold their head! And will hold their heart! And will yearn for Rashbi truly! They will merit that Rashbi will become 'pregnant' within them truly! And they are promised to be true tzaddikim and to bring the Geulah to the Jewish people in the blink of an eye, Amen.