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Daily Chizuk #0651
Holidays / Yamim Tovim
Patient Understanding: Seeing the Goodness One Day
Lag Baomer: The Power Of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai
On Lag B’Omer, we celebrate the light of Torah that Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai illuminated the world with. On this day, the anniversary of his death, he revealed to his students the greatest secrets of Torah and told them to proclaim it a day of celebration. While Rabbi Shimon was hiding in the cave, he had the zechut to learn Torah with Eliyahu HaNavi, until he eventually became one of the greatest sages of all times. Throughout the generations, hundreds of thousands of Jews have received yeshuot from Hashem by praying at the kever of Rabbi Shimon. How did he become so great? He himself told his son-in-law it was because of the difficulty involved in his learning Torah day and night in a dark cave, buried in sand to the point that his skin became filled with cracks. Hashem did not make a miracle for him there and provide him with luxurious accommodations to help him learn better. Hashem knew it was going to be the toil and difficulty that would make Rabbi Shimon who he was meant to become. We can only imagine the dreariness of him being trapped in a cave, worried for his life, not knowing if he’ll ever be able to get out of there.
We hope everybody’s tefilot are answered and that they eventually receive all the yeshuot they are hoping for, but before the yeshuot come, we must take advantage of the opportunity in serving Hashem without them.
Shabbat Shalom!
On Lag B’Omer, we celebrate the light of Torah that Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai illuminated the world with. On this day, the anniversary of his death, he revealed to his students the greatest secrets of Torah and told them to proclaim it a day of celebration. While Rabbi Shimon was hiding in the cave, he had the zechut to learn Torah with Eliyahu HaNavi, until he eventually became one of the greatest sages of all times. Throughout the generations, hundreds of thousands of Jews have received yeshuot from Hashem by praying at the kever of Rabbi Shimon. How did he become so great? He himself told his son-in-law it was because of the difficulty involved in his learning Torah day and night in a dark cave, buried in sand to the point that his skin became filled with cracks. Hashem did not make a miracle for him there and provide him with luxurious accommodations to help him learn better. Hashem knew it was going to be the toil and difficulty that would make Rabbi Shimon who he was meant to become. We can only imagine the dreariness of him being trapped in a cave, worried for his life, not knowing if he’ll ever be able to get out of there.
We hope everybody’s tefilot are answered and that they eventually receive all the yeshuot they are hoping for, but before the yeshuot come, we must take advantage of the opportunity in serving Hashem without them.
Shabbat Shalom!
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