This women&#39;s class was presented on Tuesday Parshas Behar, 16&nbsp;Iyar, 5779, May 21, 2019 at the Ohr Chaim Shul, Monsey, NY&nbsp;

6329_zakifnatif_kiss_edite_r02.0909.jpeg

22_ac_women_monsey_lag_baomer_5779.e9a4.pdf

21_6329_rabbi_yy_jacobson_women_s_lag_baomer_class_5779.44a3.mp4

21_6329_rabbi_yy_jacobson_women_s_lag_baomer_class_5779.44a3.mp3

rachel

rabbi akiva

mikvah

children

lag baomer

burial

beis hachayim

beis olam

tradition

memory

jewish history

reb akiva students

jewish calendar

cemeteries

How Reb Akiva and His Wife Transformed Jewish History

Women's Lag Ba'omer Class

He Lost 24,000 Disciples; Then He Started All Over Again

This weekly women&#39;s class was presented on Tuesday, Parshas Emor, 15 Iyar, 5781, April 27, 2021, live from Rabbi YY Jacobson&#39;s home in Monsey, NY.

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22_women_class_5781.f981.pdf

21_8056_womens_class_lag_baomer_5781.16be.mp4

21_8056_womens_class_lag_baomer_5781.16be.mp3

When We Love Our Spouse Unconditionally, Miracles Begin to Flow

Women's Class Lag Baomer 

Getting Divorced? Throw a Party

Rabbi YY Jacobson&nbsp;presented this lecture at a Siyum and&nbsp;Hachnasat Sefer Torah by Reb Leizer Scheiner, on Lag Baomer, 5776, May 25, 2016.

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21_7512_rabbi_yy_jacobson_leozer_scheiner_hachnosas_sefer_torah_lag_baomer_2016.1eb7.mp4

21_7512_rabbi_yy_jacobson_leozer_scheiner_hachnosas_sefer_torah_lag_baomer_2016.1eb7.mp3

sefer torah

rashbi

erez derei

shlomo halberstam

reb shimon bar yochai

bobover rebbe

siyum hashas

“I Can Exempt the Entire World From Judgment,” Rashbi Said. But How?

Reb Shimon's Approach to Life: Look at the Inside, Not the Outside

This lecture was presented Lag Baomer, 5778, May 3, 2018, at a Seudas Hodah, a thanksgiving celebration, for the&nbsp;miraculous&nbsp;birth of Hadasah Miriam Klein, hosted by her parents, Ari and Naomi Klein.

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21_yyj_24000_judgmental_jews.197f.mp4

21_yyj_24000_judgmental_jews.197f.mp3

romance

marriage

gratitude

divorce

love

shimon ben yochaei

reb akiva

judgementalisim

When You Are  Judgmental, Your Torah Is Lost

Lag Baomer/Seudas Hodah Lecture

24,000 Judgmental Jews 

This women&#39;s class was presented on Tuesday, 29 Nissan 5777, April 25, 2017, at Ohr Chaim Shul, Monsey, NY.

Rabbi Akiva taught his students to love. But they could still not learn to respect their colleagues. Why?

There are people you like but you don&#39;t love; there are people you love but you may not like. There are people that you love and you like, and there are people, well, that you don&#39;t love and you don&#39;t like either. You love your parents. You love your brothers. You love your sisters. But you don&#39;t necessarily like them&hellip; Sometimes you love your husband, but you have a hard time liking him.

What is the difference between &quot;liking&quot; and &quot;loving&quot;? What is the difference between anti-Semites who hate Jews and Jews who dislike Jews? Why do we count both &quot;day&quot; and the &quot;week&quot; in the counting of the Omer? Why are there so many couples who &ldquo;fall in love,&rdquo; but after some time, they find themselves so far apart?

The class explores two concepts: Love vs. respect. The Hebrew word for love, Ahavah, is the same numerical value as the word Echad, oneness. Love grows out of our oneness and sameness. Respect grows out of appreciating our differences. Both are crucial in relationships between families, communities and nations.

4204_boundaries.9ff0.jpg

21_womens_class_4_25_17_love_and_respect.a8cd.mp4

21_womens_class_4_25_17_love_and_respect.a8cd.mp3

You Love Other Jews, But Can You Respect Them?

You Love Your Wife, But Do You Respect Her? You Love Your Children, But Do You Respect Them?

For Men, Women and Children,&nbsp;Wednesday, May 2, 2018, 8:00 pm, at 20 Forshay Road in the tent. Hot food and live music by Ben Shimon.

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21_rabbi_yy_jacobson_lag_beomer_5778.e933.mp4

21_rabbi_yy_jacobson_lag_beomer_5778.e933.mp3

rubashkin

With Rabbi YY and Reb Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin

Lag Baomer Farbrengen

Lag Baomer 5778 Kumzitz

Rabbi Akiva taught his students to love. But they could still not learn to respect their colleagues. Why?

How does Jewish law and Jewish mysticism view the reality of the collective vs. the individual? An analysis by the Rogatchover Gaon on the view of Rabbi Akiva in various Talmudic laws reveals a pattern of thought: The collective is not only a sum of many individuals joined together; but there is a transcendent reality in which all of the individual details melt away in a single integrated oneness.

There are two charged terms in the Hebrew language: Love and respect. The first comes from a sense of oneness; the latter is born from a sense of distinctiveness. Can it be that the students of Rabbi Akiva knew how to love but not how to respect?

There are people you like but you don&#39;t love; there are people you love but you may not like. There are people that you love and you like, and there are people, well, that you don&#39;t love and you don&#39;t like either. You love your parents. You love your brothers. You love your sisters. But you don&#39;t necessarily like them&hellip; Sometimes you love your husband, but you have a hard time liking him. What is the difference between &quot;liking&quot; and &quot;loving&quot;? What is the difference between anti-Semites who hate Jews and Jews who dislike Jews? Why do we count both &quot;day&quot; and the &quot;week&quot; in the counting of the Omer? Why are there so many couples who &ldquo;fall in love,&rdquo; but after some time, they find themselves so far apart? What happened to the love? Most of us love our children. But do we respect them?

2393_indaviduality.jpg

22_sefirah 5775 english source sheet.pdf

21_rabbi_yy_jacobson_me_or_we_edited.mp4

21_rabbi_yy_jacobson_me_or_we_edited.mp3

community

respect

sefiras haomer

24000 students

individuality

counting of omer

How to Like the People You Love: The Mistake of Rabbi Akiva’s Students

Me or We? The Individual vs. the Collective in Halacha & Kabbalah

&ldquo;I will terminate (v&#39;hishbati) evil beasts from the land,&rdquo; the Torah states in Bechokosei. The precise meaning of the Hebrew word hashbatah, rendered here as &ldquo;terminate,&rdquo; is debated by our sages.

According to Rabbi Judah, the term implies the utter cessation of a thing&rsquo;s existence. Thus, Rabbi Judah understands the divine promise to &ldquo;terminate evil beasts from the land&rdquo; to mean that in the harmonious world of Moshiach all destructive creatures and forces will be &ldquo;removed from the world.&rdquo; Rabbi Shimon disagrees: in his opinion, hashbatah implies only the termination of a thing&rsquo;s particular characteristics&mdash;in this case, the destructive nature of &ldquo;evil beasts.&rdquo; It is this feature of their being that G-d will eliminate, while they continue to exist in their new harmless and gainful cast.

The class explores that this is the root of several other debates between Rabbi Judah and Rabbi Shimon, concerning the elimination of Chametz, rest on Shabbos, Moshiach, the nature of the Roman Empire, and many other themes in Jewish law.

The class goes on to explore the debate on a physiological and spiritual level. How do we deal with children who are &ldquo;wild animals?&rdquo; How do we deal with our ego and arrogance? And how do we view the essential nature of the world?

2423_chametz.jpg

22_yyj bechukosai- english source sheet.pdf

21_rabbi_yy_jacobson_sunday_class_05102015.mp4

21_rabbi_yy_jacobson_sunday_class_05102015.mp3

shabbat

rabbi shimon bar yochi

chametz

education

reb yehudah

arrogance

Reb Yehuda and Reb Shimon Debate Rome, Shabbos, Chametz, the Ego, and Moshiach

Class Bo/Bechokosei/Lag Baomer

To Be Or Not To Be? Two Paths Diverged in Judaism

In the Beginning

A man comes to the psychiatrist, shouting that he is in dire need of help. The psychiatrist attempts to calm him down but to no avail. The man is in a state of panic, screaming that it is an emergency and he must be helped immediately.&nbsp;

The psychiatrist informs him that if he continues hollering this way, he won't be able to help him. "Please sit down and tell me the whole story from the beginning." The patient finally gives in. He sits down, and starts talking silently: "In the beginning," he says, "I created heaven and earth."

The Birth of Jewish Mysticism

This Friday,&nbsp;known in Hebrew as Lag B'Omer, the thirty-third day of the omer<a id="_edn1" href="javascript: void(0);" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref1')">[1]</a>, is the anniversary of the passing of one of the greatest sages and spiritual giants in Jewish history, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Rabbi Shimon, who lived in Israel under Roman occupation around 165 CE (approximately one hundred years after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E.), was an extraordinary scholar<a id="_edn2" href="javascript: void(0);" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref2')">[2]</a> and author of the Zohar, the most basic work of Kabbalah.

Kabbalah is the official theology of Judaism, its inner spiritual meaning, and&nbsp;Reb Shimon was responsible for revealing the wisdom of the Kabbalah. The Zohar relates, how the most significant revelation came about on the day of Rabbi Shimon's passing, on which he expounded for many hours on the most intimate secrets of the Divine wisdom before he passed on. That day was Lag B'Omer.

Centuries were to pass before the great Kabbalist, Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534-1572), would proclaim, "In these times, we are allowed and duty-bound to reveal this wisdom." More than a&nbsp;century later, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov (1698-1760) and his disciples were to make them accessible to all via the powerful teachings of Chassidus, while other great masters of Kabbalah would teach Jewish mysticism in their own unique way, like Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (1707-1746) and the Vilna Gaon (1720-1797), and many others.&nbsp;But Lag B'Omer remains the day on which "Jewish mysticism" made its first emergence from the womb of secrecy and exclusivity.

Before his passing, Rabbi Shimon instructed his disciples to observe his yahrzeit (the day of his death) as a time of joy and festivity<a id="_edn3" href="javascript: void(0);" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref3')">[3]</a>, since the day of a person's death marks the culminating point of all that he achieved in the course of his life on earth<a id="_edn4" href="javascript: void(0);" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref4')">[4]</a>. Since then, Jews the world over, especially at his resting place in Meron, Israel, celebrate this day with singing, dancing, Torah study, and an increase in acts of love and unity.

Playing with the Bow

One particular custom practiced on the day of Lag B'Omer is unique: Children go to parks and fields to play with bows and arrows.

What is the reason for this peculiar custom? One well-known explanation<a id="_edn5" href="javascript: void(0);" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref5')">[5]</a>&nbsp;is that during Rabbi Shimon's lifetime, no rainbow ever appeared in the sky<a id="_edn6" href="javascript: void(0);" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref6')">[6]</a>. The Torah states<a id="_edn7" href="javascript: void(0);" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref7')">[7]</a> that the rainbow represented G-d's covenant never to destroy the world again even humanity is corrupt. But as long as Rabbi Shimon was alive, his merit and piety alone were enough to ensure that G-d would not regret His creation, with no need for the rainbow.

On the day of Rabbi Shimon's passing, however, the world was in need of the rainbow. So each year on that day we recall this man's greatness by playing with the bow<a id="_edn8" href="javascript: void(0);" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref8')">[8]</a>.

Why Focus on the Negative

Yet, this explanation is enigmatic. First, it seems far-fetched to associate the archer's bow with the celestial rainbow, just because they both include the word 'bow' in English and share the same term in Hebrew, "keshes." Second, according to this interpretation, playing with bows and arrows on the day of Lag B'Omer constitutes a negative symbol, reflecting the tragic potential of humans to destroy the&nbsp;world.

Yet, on the day of Lag B'Omer, we ought to focus on the life of Rabbi Shimon, not on his death! Especially that he himself requested it to be a day of joy, not melancholy. Why would we institute a custom that might hamper the intense joy of the day?&nbsp;

There is another way to explain this interesting tradition. The bow and arrow represent a positive symbol, one that fits into the joyous nature of the day, celebrating the life and vision of Rabbi Shimon. Indeed, Rabbi Shimon's book, the Zohar, states<a id="_edn9" href="javascript: void(0);" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref9')">[9]</a>: "Do not anticipate the coming of Moshiach (Messiah) until you see the shining colors of the rainbow." From the Zohar's perspective, the bow represents a powerfully positive symbol.

Two Types of Weapons

The first weapons devised by man were designed for hand-to-hand combat: the sword, the spear, the ax, and the like. But a person's enemy or prey is not always in arm's-length, or even within sight; soon the warrior and hunter were inventing an array of weapons capable of reaching targets that are a great distance away&nbsp;or that are invisible. Chief among these new weapons was the bow and arrow, invented early on in human history. (The Torah, too, speaks of the bow as a weapon: Isaac and Jacob both discuss it with their sons<a id="_edn10" href="javascript: void(0);" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref10')">[10]</a>.) For many countries and cultures, the bow and arrow have served as the main projectile weapon for a long time.<a id="_edn11" href="javascript: void(0);" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref11')">[11]</a>

The person who invented this weapon had to grasp the paradox that the arrow must first be pulled back toward one's own heart in order to strike the heart of the enemy; and that the more it is drawn toward oneself, the more distant it can reach<a id="_edn12" href="javascript: void(0);" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref12')">[12]</a>.&nbsp;Indeed, virtually all long-range weapons (including the rocket) operate on this principle: they cause an action by the means of an opposite action; they impel up and away by means of a force that is exerted down and back toward the launch point.

Two Types of Adversaries

One of the fundamental ideas in Kabbalah is that every physical invention and phenomenon originates in the realm of spiritual consciousness. The two types of weapons, the sword and the bow, designed for two different types of foes, exist also on a psychological and spiritual plane.&nbsp;

Every one of us has two types of adversaries: The exposed challenges, those behaviors and emotions that&nbsp;overtly threaten our well-being and happiness. Immoral and hurtful words and deeds, the expression of negative emotions,&nbsp;and outbursts of anger and animosity are openly destructive. But we&nbsp;also possess an entirely different array of skeletons:&nbsp;Our subliminal paradigms and feelings invisible to the conscious brain.&nbsp;

To confront my invisible adversary, the "sword" won't do the trick. I need a&nbsp;new style weapon: the bow and arrow.&nbsp;To confront and conquer my unconscious traumas, pain, and brokenness, I need to pull back and retreat to the core of my soul; I need to open myself to trailblazing pathways that have never been charted. I must discover what I look like on the inside<a id="_edn13" href="javascript: void(0);" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref13')">[13]</a>.

Two Aspects of Torah

Judaism contains these two types of weapons. The Torah, the body of Jewish wisdom transmitted and developed over 3300 years, is generally comprised of two parts, the "niglah" and the "nistar," the revealed Torah, and the concealed part of Torah. The former can be compared to the "sword," the latter to the "bow."&nbsp;

The first stream of Torah, Jewish law and ethics, is like the close-range weapon that could confront&nbsp;the obvious enemy. It delineates for me right from wrong, moral from immoral, holy from profane, good from bad. It teaches us to distinguish between the desirable and the disgraceful, between noble and coarse behavior. It is the foundation of living a moral, meaningful, and good life.&nbsp;

But how about confronting the pain and trauma in the depth of my being? What about the chaos at the core of my consciousness? How about facing my existential loneliness and angst? How about confronting my inner toxic mindset and paradigms? How about my questions about ultimate purpose, meaning, and truth? How about dealing with my inner confusion, anxiety, insanity, and uncertainty? How about the profound pain of life and being?&nbsp;

This is where the "hidden" part of Torah becomes a life-saver. The teachings of Kabbalah and Chassidus are the "quantum mechanics" of Judaism, where infinity and finiteness merge, where paradoxes abide side by side, and where G-d and the human person stand face to face with each other.&nbsp;Just like the bow, the Kabbalah and Chassidic teachings guide the person toward&nbsp;the quintessence of his or her consciousness, uncovering the "fragment of G-d" that constitutes the core of my soul, teaching me how the complex notes of the human psyche are a Divine symphony, and how the entire universe is pulsating infinity.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Both parts of Judaism make up its divine mosaic. People who only learn mysticism, are often disconnected from the concrete, pragmatic and authentic expression of Torah. Conversely, the exclusive study of Jewish law may leave you with the lingering question, what is this all about? How do I find real joy and passion in my life? Can I learn to love freely?&nbsp;

A Complicated World

There was a time in history when the revealed part of the Torah sufficed. The Kabbalah remained concealed from most of the people and only a select few passed it on from generation to generation. But as the world became a much more complicated place, and as the consciousness of redemption and full healing become&nbsp;more manifest, we must extricate the last traumas hidden inside of us, obstructing our full alignment with the Divine. Hence, Divine providence sent the great mystical masters, chief among them Rabbi Shimon, to teach us how to open windows to the super-conscious forces of our soul; how to discover the oneness in all of reality, how to perceive your darkness as a manifestation of infinite light, how to see yourself as an ambassador of love, light, and hope.

Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai gave the Jewish people and the world the bow and arrow.

(This essay is based on a talk delivered by the Lubavitcher Rebbe on Lag B'Omer, 5711, May 24, 1951<a id="_edn14" href="javascript: void(0);" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref14')">[14]</a>).

________________________

<a id="_ednref1" href="javascript: void(0);" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn1')">[1]</a> The forty-nine-day Omer count begins on the second night of Passover and culminates in the festival of Shavuos. 
<a id="_ednref2" href="javascript: void(0);" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn2')">[2]</a> Almost every one of the Talmud's 523 chapters contains at least one law cited in the name of Rabbi Shimon (see Likkutei Sichot, vol. 12, p. 194). 
<a id="_ednref3" href="javascript: void(0);" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn3')">[3]</a> See Zohar vol. 3 p. 287b; p. 291a. Pri Aitz Chaim Shaar Sefiras Haomer chapter 7; Shaar Hakavanos Sefiras Haomer Derush # 12. Mishnas Chassidim (by Rabbi Amnuel Chei Riki) Mesechte Iyar 1:6. 
<a id="_ednref4" href="javascript: void(0);" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn4')">[4]</a> See Tanya Igeres Hakodesh sections 27-28. 
<a id="_ednref5" href="javascript: void(0);" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn5')">[5]</a> B'nei Yissaschar, Maamarei Chodesh Iyar 3:4. 
<a id="_ednref6" href="javascript: void(0);" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn6')">[6]</a> Jerusalem Talmud, Berachos 9:2. 
<a id="_ednref7" href="javascript: void(0);" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn7')">[7]</a> 9:11-17. 
<a id="_ednref8" href="javascript: void(0);" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn8')">[8]</a> In Hebrew, the word for a bow, "keshes," refers to all bows and arches, including the rainbow and the archer's bow. 
<a id="_ednref9" href="javascript: void(0);" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn9')">[9]</a> Zohar, vol. 1, p. 72b; Tikkunei Zohar, Tikkun 18. 
<a id="_ednref10" href="javascript: void(0);" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn10')">[10]</a> Genesis 27:2; Ibid. 48:22. 
<a id="_ednref11" href="javascript: void(0);" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn11')">[11]</a>&nbsp;In his work "The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State,"&nbsp;Friedrich Engels comprehensively covered the subject of the bow, the conditions under which it was invented, and the value of its invention.&nbsp;Engels wrote:&nbsp;"The bow was already a very complex weapon representing a long period of accumulated experience, refinement of mental power and the coordinated understanding of the relationship between a range of other inventions. Even at its simplest, the bow is rather complex in its overall constitution, combining as it does the bow itself, the string, and the arrow shaft, which must interact mechanically in a complex fashion... The bow and arrow became the decisive weapon in an epoch of savagery. Their appearance heralded a high level of development, and through them, hunting for game became one of the normal branches of labor." 
<a id="_ednref12" href="javascript: void(0);" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn12')">[12]</a> Torah or Hosafos Vayechi 103a; 104d. See also references noted in Toras Menachem Hisvadooyos vol. 3 p. 79 footnote #54.&nbsp; 
<a id="_ednref13" href="javascript: void(0);" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn13')">[13]</a> This presents a deeper insight into the striking story about David and Jonathan's secret encounter, where the latter shot bows and arrows, to notify David if his life was in peril (I Samuel 20:18-22), see Toras Menachem ibid. pp. 57-58 and references noted there. 
<a id="_ednref14" href="javascript: void(0);" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn14')">[14]</a> Published in Toras Menachem Hisvadooyos vol. 3 p. 77-81. For the preparation of this essay and its footnotes, I used another rendition of this talk by the Rebbe, edited by Rabbi Yanki Tauber: https://www.meaningfullife.com/long-range-missile/

Judaism contains two parts: The revealed and the hidden. What is the difference between them and why are they both so necessary?&nbsp;

952_bow_and_arrow.fb14.jpg

22_ac_vayechi_to_5771.pdf

kabbalah

chassidus

bow and arrow

reb shimon ben yochaei

What Is Kabbalah? What Is Chassidus? 

Essay Lag Baomer

The Quantum Mechanics of Judaism

The Secret of the Bow & Arrow: How Kabbalah Transformed the World

58_bowarrowh.jpg

22_lag_baomer-0.pdf

lagbomer.360p.mp4

lagbomer.mp3

shaul

rainbow

dovid

jewiish mysticism

lag b'omer

yonoson

jonathan

inner emotions

How Kabbalah Transformed the World

The Secret of the Bow & Arrow

This class, by Rabbi YY Jacobson, was presented to Jewish women in Melbourne, Australia, on 25 Iyar 5771, May 29, 2011. It explores the methods of marriage in Judaism, and the two paths of passion vs. commitment in building a relationship. It explains the story and reincarnations of Ruth, and the story of an infertile couple who came to Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. It explains the difference between masculine and feminine Judaism and the need for both.

2418_devine.jpg

19_lag beomer.mp3

lag beomer

ruth

intimacy

shikcha

sexuality

boaz

intimacy with divine

Why Rabbi Shimon bar Yochaei Asked a Couple to Throw a Party Before Divorcing

Discovering Feminine Judaism

Lag Baomer

This Friday, April 30, known in Hebrew as Lag B'omer, the thirty-third day of the omer,<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn1" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref1')">[1]</a>&nbsp;is the anniversary of the passing of one of the greatest sages and spiritual giants in Jewish history, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.

Rabbi Shimon, who lived in Israel under Roman occupation around 165 CE (approximately one hundred years after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E.), was an extraordinary scholar<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn2" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref2')">[2]</a>&nbsp;and author of the Zohar, the most basic work of Kabbalah. He was responsible for revealing to the world the wisdom of the Kabbalah, initiating a new era in the development and exposure of Jewish mysticism. The most significant revelation came about on the day of Rabbi Shimon's passing, on which he expounded for many hours on the most intimate secrets of the divine wisdom. That day was 18 Iyar, or Lag B’omer.

Centuries were to pass before the great Kabbalist Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534-1572) would proclaim, "In these times, we are allowed and duty-bound to reveal this wisdom," and Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov (1698-1760) and his disciples were to make them accessible to all via the teachings of Chassidism. But Lag B’omer remains the day on which "Jewish mysticism" -- the spiritual dimension of Judaism --&nbsp;made its first emergence from the womb of secrecy and exclusivity.

Before his passing, Rabbi Shimon instructed his disciples to observe his yahrzeit (the day of his death) as a time of joy and festivity,<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn3" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref3')">[3]</a>&nbsp;since the day of a person's death marks the culminating point of all that he achieved in the course of his life on earth.<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn4" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref4')">[4]</a>&nbsp;Since then, Jews the world over, especially at his resting place in Meron, Israel, celebrate this day with singing, dancing, kindling fires, Torah study, parades and field trips for children, and an increase in acts of love and unity.

A Wedding?

Yet there is something strange about this day: In many Jewish works, it is called “Helulah D’Rashbi”—the “wedding” anniversary of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Never before has a yartzeit, the anniversary of a person’s death, been described as a “helulah,” a wedding, and for good reason: death and marriage are diametrically opposed. Death terminates a&nbsp;marriage.<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn5" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref5')">[5]</a>

Why would a yartzeit, a day of passing, be called a “wedding?” And why, from all yartzeits, was it the one of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai which first received the title of Hilula-wedding?<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn6" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref6')">[6]</a>

Grab and Eat

The Talmud makes the following observation:<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn7" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref7')">[7]</a>

עירובין נד, א: אמר ליה שמואל לרב יהודה, שיננא! חטוף ואכול חטוף ואישתי, דעלמא דאזלינן מיניה כהלולא דמי.

The sage Shmuel said to his student Rabbi Yehudah: "Sharp one! Grab and eat, grab and drink! The world that we are passing through is like a wedding."

Obviously, the great Talmudic sage Shmuel was not training his disciple, Rabbi Yehudah, for a career in gluttony.&nbsp;What then was he telling him? The 11th-century French Talmudic commentator, Rashi, explains:

חטוף אכול—אם יש לך ממון להנות עצמך אל תמתין עד למחר שמא תמות ושוב אין לך הנאה. דעלמא דאזלינן מיניה גרסינן כהלולא דמי—היום ישנו ולמחר איננו, דומה לחופה שהולכת מהר.

Shmuel's point was to warn his student not to wait until tomorrow to use his money because a person has no assurance that he will be alive tomorrow to enjoy his money. Life is similar to a wedding which swiftly passes.

Sometimes, in our eagerness to think about the&nbsp;long-term—which is important—we forget that life is happening now and we must live in the moment. Some people will never&nbsp;allow themselves to enjoy their wealth and success&nbsp;today because there is always a “tomorrow” they have to save up for. But life is short, and you can’t delay your happiness till tomorrow. &nbsp;John Lennon was not the first to understand that “Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."

This is sound advice. But why, to illustrate the brevity of life, does Shmuel give the example of a wedding?&nbsp;There are other events that pass swiftly. Shmuel could have said, “The world that we are passing through is like a bouquet,” or “like a day,” or “like a dream,” or “like a thunderstorm,” or “like a sun shower.” Why the example of a wedding to describe a fleeting experience?

Clearly, Shmuel is conveying a deeper message to his student than “life is short, live today!” The example of the wedding is essential to the understanding of the message.

The Paradox

At the heart of marriage lay a paradox.

Marriage by definition is a restrictive experience. As long as you are a bachelor you can dance to your own beat. Once married you must dance to two beats—and sometimes they are divergent or conflicting.

Compromise becomes the name of the game. People are different. Men and women are very different. Living together as a husband and wife require each to “reconfigure” the database of his or her psyche, to create space for a new “program” or, more accurately, a new “hard drive.” The self must create space for the other. Every marriage requires some form of self-abnegation.

Yet, on the other hand, marriage elevates the self to infinite heights. It is not only that through marriage one can reach his or her deepest potential; but that without the mating of opposite genders, reproduction is impossible. In the human race, just as in the animal kingdom and even in the botanic world, it is the bonding of female and male that creates offspring.

All of us are mortal. Our creations, too, are mortal. Even our most impressive creations—the Roman Empire, Bear Sterns, Lehman’s Brothers—are subject to decline and death. There is only one exception: Children. They outlive us, and their children outlive&nbsp;them. Your children constitute your link to eternity.&nbsp;We are here today because thousands of years ago our great-great-grandparents married and beard children. Those ancestors are long gone; their creations are long gone; their homes, towns, and cities have long crumbled. But – we are here. And they are here today through us.

When you spend an extra three hours at the office, building your company, you are investing in something which is at best temporary. When you spend that time with your children—reading them a story, playing a game with them, schmoozing with them, bonding with them, listening to them, validating their emotions, and showering them with love and wisdom—you are investing in eternity.

This is the paradox of marriage: The marital relationship will impose limitations on your life. It will require each party to tame his or her limitless self-expression. When a couple decides to have children, these limitations become even more dramatic. Life revolves not around your desires but your children’s needs. Yet, in this very process, you become limitless and infinite. If you want to remain free and unrestricted in your life, unbound and unlimited, you ensure your finitude. Your life ultimately comes to an end. Conversely, by choosing to become finite you become infinite; by choosing to become limited, through entering into a relationship and building a family, you access infinity and achieve eternity.

[This, of course, is not limited only to those who marry or have children. Even those who for whatever reason could not get married, or have children, their lives are enshrined in eternity, as we will explain below.]&nbsp;

The Ultimate Marriage

This paradox constitutes the very essence of life.

Our marriage to our spouse is essentially our second marriage. All of us experience a first marriage at the moment of birth—when our souls “marry” our bodies and they “move-in” together for life. The soul and the body are two opposites: one is physical and concrete; the other is spiritual and sublime. One enjoys material pleasure; the other pines for transcendence. One craves self-gratification; the other yearns for truth. One sees the objective of life as meeting its needs and cravings; the other—to become one with G-d.

The Farmer

The Midrash presents this parable:<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn8" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref8')">[8]</a>

A farmer once married a princess and she moved to the farm. He was a nice man and treated her respectfully. The first day he taught her how to milk the cows; the second day—how to feed the mules; the third day—how to clean the horses. He gave her a comfortable bed near the stable, teaching her about the crow of the rooster that will awaken her.

Yet her wife was miserable.

He consulted his father-in-law, the king. “I am trying so hard to satisfy your daughter; to no avail. She is miserable. What I’m I to do?”

The king responded: You’re a fine and sincere young man. But you must understand: your wife grew up in royalty; the life of the farm does not speak to her heart. You can't offer her what she needs because you have no concept that it exists.

This is a parable of the soul who married the body. The body is the peasant farmer, offering us Wall Street and condominiums and success and power and all other kinds of potatoes and tomatoes. Most of us live thinking that we are the peasant. That is why however much we have it is never enough. Because we are feeding ourselves the wrong thing. It can be everything the peasant has ever dreamed of, but it's still not enough because the princess has been raised on finer stuff.

Our bodies are nice and polite. They mean well. Our soul is anxious, so the body tells our souls: wait till you see what’s for breakfast. The body gives the soul the most delicious breakfast, lunch, and dinner. But, alas, we still have a void; the void of a soul yearning for something more.

So the body takes the soul on expensive cruises, on fancy vacations, builds for it fancy homes and marvelous cars, label design clothing, and precious jewelry. But the soul still feels a void. Because the soul grew up in royalty; the delights of the “farm” will not do the trick. The soul needs transcendence; it is searching for the Divine.

As the soul enters into a body for a lifelong “marriage,” its self-expression becomes severely limited, as it is living with a partner who does not even understand its language. And unlike marriage where you can run away from your husband for a few hours to get some fresh air, the soul can never leave the body to take a break; it remains confined within the body. Sometimes, like in a marriage, the soul is completely ignored.

Yet, just as in a physical marriage that it is only as a result of the unity between man and woman that they can achieve eternity, so it is with the marriage of soul and body. It is only in this world, while enclothed in the body, that the soul can transcend itself and reach heights completely impossible to reach if it would remain “single” in heaven.

Only in this world, through its arduous work within and with the body, can the soul fulfill G-d’s Mitzvos—the “children” created by the marriage of body and soul—through which it connects to G-d Himself. And it is only on earth that we can experience&nbsp;transformation,&nbsp;completely going out of our fixed limitations and becoming a new person. In heaven, we are what we are. On earth, we can transform ourselves. An addict can experience recovery; an obnoxious self-centered man can become noble and kind; a crooked liar can become an honest human being. In this world, we can make real changes. True growth is possible.

Life On Earth is a Wedding

We can, at last, appreciate what Shmuel said to his student Rabbi Yehudah:&nbsp;"Sharp one! Grab and eat, grab and drink! The world that we are passing through is like a wedding."

A wedding may seem like a limiting experience, yet it is precisely this limitation that allows you to reach your deepest potential, and what is more, lifts you on the wings of eternity. The same is true, suggested the Talmudic sage, concerning the world we pass through. Our journeys in this world may seem so restrictive and stressful, filled with agony, hardships, and pain. Even the most blessed life is filled with the anxiety of the soul confined in a material body. Yet you have to know, said the sage Shmuel, that it is through the work in this world that the soul reaches its deepest potential and experiences radical, infinite, and eternal growth.

It is our journey here on earth that affords us the opportunity, each moment, to become completely one with G-d through performing His mitzvos and saturating the cosmos with His Torah, which can only happen in this world. Hence, “grab and eat! Grab and drink!” Seize the moment! Grab every mitzvah that you can do in this world. Cherish every moment you have. Because what may look like a single fleeting and insignificant moment to you, is really like a wedding, it is a gateway to the deepest of the deep and the holiest of the holy. Every moment spent in this word bringing holiness and goodness into our world carries within it the most awesome potential--the potential to fulfill G-d's plan and become One with His essence.

This world, and every moment we enjoy in it, is like a wedding—it is a portal to infinity. Grab every opportunity to study Torah, to observe mitzvos, to serve G-d, to do a favor to another person, because you can’t do any of this in heaven’s paradise.

The Gift of Kabbalah

This is why it was the yartzeit of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai that came to be defined as “Hilula,” as a wedding. For he was the one who gave the Jewish world the gift of Kabbalah, the study of Jewish mysticism and spirituality. What is Kabbalah, or its child Chassidism?

On the surface, Judaism is all about structure—performing fixed laws at certain times, places, in certain ways. Each mitzvah has its detailed, fixed structure etched in stone. Halacha, Jewish law, is restrictive: it obliges the Jew to do many things and to abstain from many others, and there are fixed times for everything. Came Kabbalah and revealed how each of these mitzvos is a portal to infinity, to transcend structure and touch the Divine. Kabbalah and Chassidism focus extensively on the inner meaning of every aspect and detail of Jewish law and observance, demonstrating its cosmic significance and spiritual Divine power.

The teachings of Kabbalah and Chassidism explain at length the significance and purpose of every moment in this world; the sacred quality of the body; the mystery of every physical phenomenon; the depth and holiness of every creature in this world. Rabbi Shimon, in other words, is the one who showed us that life is a “wedding”—a place where limitations are opportunities for infinity.

The final day of a person’s earthly life says the mystics, marks the point at which “all his deeds, teachings and work” achieve their culminating perfection and the zenith of their impact upon our lives.<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn9" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref9')">[9]</a>&nbsp;So each Lag BaOmer, we celebrate Rabbi Shimon’s life and the revelation of the esoteric soul of Torah. We dance with the soul who showed us how life was a wedding, an opportunity to merge paradoxes and connect to eternity.<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_edn10" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_ednref10')">[10]</a>

__________________________

<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref1" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn1')">[1]</a>&nbsp;The forty-nine-day Omer count begins on the second night of Passover and culminates in the festival of Shavuos.

<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref2" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn2')">[2]</a>&nbsp;Almost every one of the Talmud's 523 chapters contains at least one law cited in the name of Rabbi Shimon (see Likkutei Sichot, vol. XII, p. 194).

<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref3" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn3')">[3]</a>&nbsp;See Zohar vol. 3 p. 287b; p. 291a. Pri Aitz Chaim Shaar Sefiras Haomer chapter 7; Shaar Hakavanos Sefiras Haomer Derush # 12. Mishnas Chassidim (by Rabbi Amnuel Chei Riki) Mesechte Iyar 1:6.

<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref4" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn4')">[4]</a>&nbsp;See Tanya Igeres Hakodesh sections 27-28.

<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref5" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn5')">[5]</a>&nbsp;Mishna Kidushin 1:1

<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref6" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn6')">[6]</a>&nbsp;Subsequently, other yartzeits of tzaddikim have been dubbed “Yom Hahelula,” a marriage day, but the first was the yartzeit of Rabbi Shimon.

<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref7" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn7')">[7]</a>&nbsp;Eiruvin 54a

<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref8" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn8')">[8]</a>&nbsp;Midrash Rabah Kohelet.

<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref9" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn9')">[9]</a>&nbsp;Tanya Igeres Hakodesh ch. 27-28

<a href="javascript: void(0);" id="_ednref10" onclick="ty.scrollTo('_edn10')">[10]</a>&nbsp;This essay is based on a discourse by Rabbi Dov Ber, the Miteler Rebbe (1733-1827), Maamari Admur Haemtzei Vayikra vol. 2 Maamar Lehavin Einyan Helulah D’Rashbi. As well as on the discourses with the same beginning of the year 5654 (1894) by the Rebbe Rashab, and the above discourse by the Lubavitcher Rebbe from the years 5730 (1970), 5737 (1977) and Maamar Shabbos Vayeitzei, 10 Kislev 5746 (1985), published in Sefer Hamaamarim Melukat.

There is something strange about this day: In many Jewish works it is called &ldquo;Helulah D&rsquo;Rashbi&rdquo;&mdash;the &ldquo;wedding&rdquo; anniversary of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Never before has a yartzeit, the anniversary of a person&rsquo;s death, been described as a &ldquo;helulah,&rdquo; a wedding, and for good reason: Death and marriage are diametrically opposed. Death terminates marriage. Why would a yartzeit, a day of passing, be called a &ldquo;wedding?&rdquo; And why, from all yartzeits, was it the one of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochei which first received the title of Hilula-wedding?

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