Great Jewish Teachers

[Henaynei]

http://members.aol.com/lazera/pictures/chofetz.jpg The Chofetz Chaim (http://members.aol.com/lazera/ChofetzChaim.htm)
Rabbi Yisroel Meir HaKohen 1838 – 1933
Rabbi Yisroel Meir HaKohen was one of the greatest figures in modern Jewish history. He was recognized as both an outstanding scholar and an extraordinarily righteous man. His impact on Judaism was phenomenal. It is interesting to note that, despite his great stature, he refused to accept any rabbinical position and supported himself from a small grocery run by his saintly wife in the town of Radin where they lived. Rabbi Yisroel Meir devoted himself to the study and teaching of Torah.

Rabbi Yisroel Meir is perhaps best known for his campaign to teach his fellow Jews about the laws of Lashon Hara (http://members.aol.com/lazera/lashonhara.html) (forbidden speech). When he was 35 (1873) he published his first book, Chofetz Chaim, which was devoted to this topic. (The name comes from Tehillim (Psalms) 34, "Who is the man that desires life (chofetz chaim)… keep your tongue from evil…") He later published two more books on this subject. As has often happened to Judaism's great leaders, Rabbi Yisroel Meir became known by the name of his book and is known worldwide as the Chofetz Chaim.

The Chofetz Chaim wrote on many subjects and ultimately published over 20 books. Some important ones are Ahavas Chesed (http://bn.bfast.com/booklink/click?sourceid=20127904&ISBN=0873061675) (Love of Kindness) on the mitzvah of lending money, Machaneh Yisroel (The Jewish Camp) for Jews serving in non-Jewish armies, and Nidchei Yisroel (The Scattered of Israel) for Jews who moved to places where there were few religious Jews, particularly America. He wrote books about the importance of Torah study and many other important issues.

Probably the most important book he wrote was the Mishna Berurah, a six-volume commentary on Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim (which deals with the laws of daily life and holidays). This book may be the most important halachic (Jewish law) work of our time.

© Eliezer C. Abrahamson (Abrahamson@juno.com) Related Books Available from Barnes & Noble:

http://service.bfast.com/bfast/serve?bfmid=2181&sourceid=20127904&bfpid=0899064620&bfmtype=bookChafetz Chaim (http://service.bfast.com/bfast/click?bfmid=2181&sourceid=20127904&bfpid=0899064620&bfmtype=book) - The Life and Works of Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan of Radin.

Books written by the Chofetz Chaim:

http://bn.bfast.com/booklink/serve?sourceid=20127904&ISBN=0873061675Ahavath Chesed (http://bn.bfast.com/booklink/click?sourceid=20127904&ISBN=0873061675) - The commandment of loving kindness.

http://bn.bfast.com/booklink/serve?sourceid=20127904&ISBN=0873064941Concise Book of Mitzvoth (http://bn.bfast.com/booklink/click?sourceid=20127904&ISBN=0873064941) - A basic list of the mitzvos which are applicable today.

http://bn.bfast.com/booklink/serve?sourceid=20127904&ISBN=0944070973Tzipisa LeYeshuah (http://bn.bfast.com/booklink/click?sourceid=20127904&ISBN=0944070973) - The Chofetz Chaim on awaiting mashiach (the messiah).



http://service.bfast.com/bfast/serve?bfmid=2181&sourceid=20127904&bfpid=0899063217&bfmtype=bookChofetz Chaim: A Lesson a Day (http://service.bfast.com/bfast/click?bfmid=2181&sourceid=20127904&bfpid=0899063217&bfmtype=book) - Based on the Chofetz Chaim's major works on the laws of proper speech.

Mishnah Berurah (http://bn.bfast.com/booklink/click?sourceid=20127904&is_search=Y&title=Mishnah+Berurah&match=exact&options=and) - The Chofetz Chaim's magnus opus, numerous volumes.

[Toney]

I do not know if Henny intended to begin a thread on great Jewish teachers of the modern era or not.

http://www.msnusers.com/2c19e35eqk4acjg7b8c3th3eu6/Documents/Pictures%2FReligious%2Frebe%5Fface.jpg



Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of whom I knew very little several months ago, is IMO one of the most remarkable men of our time. His influence with the Lubavitch movement lives on in many ways: his picture adorns billboards throughout Israel promising blessings to Likud members who vote against the Disengagement Plan this Sunday.

His spirituality reminds me of Christian mystics with whom I am more familiar, like Padre Pio, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross and others, all of whom were influenced by Kabbalistic spirituality.

The Rebbe (http://www.chabad.org/therebbe/default.asp)

In his name, may we confer upon someone a double portion of kindness and ask for his Holy blessing.

Shalom

[Henaynei]

I do not know if Henny intended to begin a thread on great Jewish teachers of the modern era or not. Yer, Hen-peckin' Egg-layin' RIGHT I did!!!

[Sephania]

Toney are you saying this about Schneerson?

Shalom

[Toney]

Toney are you saying this about Schneerson?

Shalom


Shalom Zayit,

As you know I am a neophyte, therefore I hope you will afford me a little latitude in praising a man who was and remains even now controversial. I have read much about the Rebbe’s life and spirituality including the ‘search for warts’ expositions written by his detractors, which unfazed me.

Yes, I meant what I wrote although I re-worded it. Today I hope to perform a mitzvah in his name and by doing so to obtain a double portion of his blessing and spirit; by a single act of kindness to hasten the coming of HaMelekh HaMoshiach.

[Henaynei]

In his name, may we confer upon someone a double portion of kindness and ask for his Holy blessing.
I could be wrong, but I think Toney was saying in our obedience to HaShem's command to bless the poor, and give a joyful double portion, may we then ask HaSehm for a portion of the blessing with which He blessed R` Schneerson, a man of learning, charity and humility who lived to bring honor to the Holy Name.

[Henaynei]

http://members.aol.com/lazera/pictures/rmoshe.jpg Rabbi Moshe Feinstein 1895 – 1986 (http://members.aol.com/lazera/Feinstein.htm)

Rabbi Moshe Feinstein was born in the year 1895 in Uzda, near Minsk, Belorussia where his father was rabbi. In 1921 he became rabbi of Luban, near Minsk, where he remained till he came to the United States in 1937. In America he became the Rosh Yeshiva (dean) of Mesivta Tiferes Yerushalayim, a yeshiva in New York.

Rabbi Feinstein became the leading halachic (religious law) authority of his time and his rulings were accepted worldwide. Rabbi Feinstein was a dedicated and selfless leader for the Jewish people to whom anyone could approach at any time with any problem.

Rabbi Feinstein's halachic decisions have been published in a multi-volumed collection titled Igros Moshe (The Letters of Moshe). He also published several volumes of in depth discussions about the Talmud.

Rabbi Moshe Feinstein was one of the last great leaders and sages from Europe and was a representative of the greatness the Jewish people had before the destruction of the Jewish communities during World War II. We were greatly privileged to have such a giant here in America. When he passed away in 1986 the Jewish people lost a great and caring leader and one of our last connections to the greatness of European Jewry.

Now we have to make our own leaders.

© Eliezer C. Abrahamson (Abrahamson@juno.com)

Related Books Available from Barnes & Noble:

http://bn.bfast.com/booklink/serve?sourceid=20127904&ISBN=0899064809Reb Moshe: The Life and Ideals of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (http://bn.bfast.com/booklink/click?sourceid=20127904&ISBN=0899064809) - An excellent biography.

http://bn.bfast.com/booklink/serve?sourceid=20127904&ISBN=089906437XDarash Moshe (http://bn.bfast.com/booklink/click?sourceid=20127904&ISBN=089906437X) - A collection of Rabbi Feinstein's commentaries on the Bible.

[Toney]

I could be wrong, but I think Toney was saying in our obedience to HaShem's command to bless the poor, and give a joyful double portion, may we then ask HaSehm for a portion of the blessing with which He blessed R` Schneerson, a man of learning, charity and humility who lived to bring honor to the Holy Name.

B"H

My most favourite line from my most favourite movie, Titanic, occurs after old Rose painfully watches an animated forensic presenttion of the great ship’s demise. Allow me to paraphrase:

Thank you, Henaynei, for that fine logistical analysis. I assure you the experience of it was quite different.

The experience of what?

Sue Fishkoff in her study of Chabad, The Rebbe’s Army, writes affectionately of the young shlichim (missionaries) who are most responsible for the success of the movement. One 19-year old told of her meeting with Shneerson back in 1969 prior to being sent to Bal Harbour, Florida. “It’s not me,” she said, referring to her and her husband’s accomplishments. “It’s the Rebbe working through me.”

The Hassidim call this process bittul. The Greeks call it kenosis. All mystical traditions call it something – an experience of the numinous that causes one to sublimate his or her ego, so the I can become Thou.

It’s a pretty simple concept, really. The Holy Spirit cannot fill that which already is full (of itself).

It is written that a wicked person who is alive, is dead, and a righteous person who is dead, still lives. Our G-d is the G-d of the living and teaches us to bless one another.

Occasionally, in my personal contemplative life, I am actually able to sink the Titanic. Would that I may become better at it.

Interestingly, here's today’s meditation from Chabad:

"If you are awake just because it is day, you are still asleep. The sensation of wakefulness – that is just the day suspending you above your bed. But the 'you' inside still slumbers."

Chabadniks live in the presence of G-d in every moment of every day, as do all mystics. That is their definition of "You Shall be Holy."

May the Rebbe bless you each and all today, and awaken yous with tidings of great joy.

[Hix]

The Rebbe is a great inspiration, as you will notice I have him quoted in my sig. Some of the videos on the Chabad site of his are truely remarkable, Rabbis from all around comming just to hear a motivational message to cleave to Torah and HaShem, do good deeds and love others.

Shalom and G-d bless
~Hix~

[simchat_torah]

which website is that hix?

[Hix]

This one achi: http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/livingtorah.asp?AID=6230

:)
Shalom and G-d bless
~Hix~

[Toney]

The Rebbe is a great inspiration, as you will notice I have him quoted in my sig. Some of the videos on the Chabad site of his are truely remarkable...

Shalom and G-d bless
~Hix~

A wonderful quote it is, achi.

I have been watching the short Chabad videos, which change and relate to each week's Portion, for several weeks now. For me, the Rebbe's teachings have been like cool refreshing water from the Deep Well of Truth.

In the Western mystical tradition (what little of one exists) -- and there is nothing at all Western about Chabad -- the important points have been drowned with piety. It's all quite somber -- Dark Night of the Soul, etc. -- and unattainable, even heterodox to many Christians. Too bad.

The Rebbe teaches us balance: how to be both contemplative and active at the same time. He teaches complete, unequivocal, unmitigated trust in G-d. This, IMHO, is a taste of the spirituality of future generations.

[Henaynei]

Theodor Herzl (http://www.ou.org/about/judaism/rabbis/herzl.htm)
(1860-1904)

Theodor Herzl was the founder of modern Zionism. He arrived at this destiny, one might say, quite by accident. Born in Budapest in 1860, he grew up in a home that was almost totally assimilated from its Jewish roots, and he was educated in the basically secular paths of the German Jewish Enlightenment of his time. In 1878, his family moved to Vienna, and it was not long before Herzl became the Paris correspondent for the Neue Freie Presse, one of the most important Viennese newspapers.

In 1894, in Paris, the seat of the French Revolution, Herzl observed the trial and conviction of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish officer in the French army, who had been unjustly accused of treason because of anti-Semitic prejudice. He also heard the shouts of “Death to the Jews” from the throats of the mob. These experiences convinced him that the only solution for the problems of the Jewish People was to find a land that they could call “home,” far from the false promises of European “Enlightenment” and equal rights for the Jews.

Despite ridicule from Jewish leaders, he published “Der Judenstaat” (The Jewish State) in 1896. In this work, he argued that the Jews are one People and their plight could be transformed into a positive force by the establishment of a Jewish State, with the consent of the great powers. In his Zionist novel, “Altneuland” (Old New Land, 1902), Herzl envisioned a socialist Jewish utopian society, that would arise in the Land of Israel by means of science and technology, and be “a light unto the nations,” borrowing a phrase from the ancient prophets of Israel.

The last eight years of his life were filled with intense activity in behalf of Zionism. Exhausted by his exertions, Herzl died on July 3, 1904. In 1949, a year after the birth of the nation that he had raised from the dust almost by himself, his remains were transferred by airplane to the newly reborn State of Israel.

First Entry in His Diary (1895)

“I have been occupied for some time past with a work which is of immeasurable greatness. I cannot tell today whether I shall bring it to a close. It has the appearance of a gigantic dream. But for days and weeks it has filled me, saturated even my subconsciousness; it accompanies me wherever I go,...”

From “Address to the Rothschild’s” (predecessor to “The Jewish State”)

“I have the solution to the Jewish question. I know it sounds mad; and at the beginning I shall be called mad more than once – until the truth of what I am saying is recognized in all its shattering force...”

From “The Jewish State” (1896)

...No human being is wealthy or powerful enough to transplant a people from one place of residence to another. Only an idea can achieve that. The State idea surely has that power. The Jews have dreamed this princely dream throughout the long night of their history. “Next year in Jerusalem” is our age-old motto. It is now a matter of showing that the vague dream can be transformed into a clear and glowing idea...”

“...Although I speak here in terms of reason, I am well aware that reason alone will not suffice. Long-term prisoners do not willingly quit their cells. We shall see whether the youth, whom we must have, is ripe; the youth – which irresistibly draws along the aged, bears them up on powerful arms, and transforms rationality into enthusiasm...”

“...Let me repeat once more my opening words: The Jews who will it shall achieve their State.
We shall live at last as free men on our own soil, and in our own homes peacefully die.
The world will be liberated by our freedom, enriched by our wealth, magnified by our greatness.
And whatever we attempt there for our own benefit will redound mightily and beneficially to the good of all mankind.”

[JewishHeart]

Rabi Nachman,

This chasidic Rabi taught "bodedut" or a secret place in Hashem. He taught we need to get alone and speak to Hashem in our own words, a revolutionary concept in Judaism. He taught we should find one mitzva to do and do it with all our hearts. He taught many other things, but "bodedut" is one of the most inspirational in my wife's and my life. There are many people who believe he is the Messiah and sit on his grave to receive his portion, even though I do not believe this. One other interesting note about his followers is they are the most simple living people that constantly dance and sing for joy. Na Nah Nachman Meuman

Rabi Cook- WOW!!! There is a man!!! The man who singlehandedly turned many Orthodox to modern Zionism. WHen many Orthodox did not stand during the moment of silence, Cook and his followers did. Cook paved the way for Orthodox to serve in the IDF. Cook and his followers made friends with the local secular kibbutzim and taught them Torah, not out of judgemet, but out of Zionist cause. Many kibbutzim were inspired by Cook and his followers. There was a division in 1967 though whenever Cook sided with settlements and actively promoted his followers to live there, and the secular kibbutzim strongly disagreed. The relationship has been hurt since.


Last of all, the father of modern messianic Judaism, Yosef Rabinowitz. A Ukrainian Rabi who took a stand for Yeshua and kept on being Jewish!!!!!

[Henaynei]

Last of all, the father of modern messianic Judaism, Yosef Rabinowitz. A Ukrainian Rabi who took a stand for Yeshua and kept on being Jewish!!!!!


Could you direct me to more info on this man? I can find nothing on the net :(

[Talmidah]

Could you direct me to more info on this man? I can find nothing on the net :(
Henny,
Yafet had posted about this man in a couple of posts before. I did a quick search and found this one. Maybe he will have more information for ya....
Yafet's Post (http://christianforums.com/showthread.php?p=875706&highlight=Rabinowitz#post875706)


Okay...I did a quick google search and these were some of the first listings.

Revival Times (http://www.revivaltimes.org/index.php/489.htm)
excerpt: In 1842 Michael Solomon Alexandria became the first Jewish Bishop in Jerusalem. In 1899, one year after Theodore Herzl prophesied the birth of Israel in 50 years time, Joseph Rabinowitz, a rabbi from Moldavia was visited on the Mount of Olives by Yeshua who revealed Himself to him as the Messiah. This began the restoration of the Messianic Jewish movement.

jfjonline book review (http://www.jfjonline.org/pub/bookreviews/mrb04-01/kjaer.htm)
excerpt:
In 1882 a Russian Jew named Joseph Rabinowitz traveled to Eretz Israel to explore the feasibility of a Jewish settlement there. He returned home, as Kai Kjær-Hansen tells us, "with a new-found faith: that Jesus was the Jews' brother and Messiah." ...


Rabinowitz became a believer in Jesus in the 1880s around the time he became convinced that Zionism would not help the Jewish people because it simply left God out of the picture. Many Jews at the end of the nineteenth century were looking to improve their material and political situation. It is understandable then, that Rabinowitz's early view of what faith in Jesus was all about included the belief that it would lead to an improved social and political condition for Jews. Not until later did Rabinowitz arrive at a more orthodox statement that included the work of Jesus as our sin-bearer: is there a lesson here about the growth in understanding of new believers?

Or take his attitude to the Law of Moses: that it was fulfilled in Y'shua but that it should be kept as a point of identity so as not to alienate Jewish people. Is there a lesson here for us—keeping in mind that unlike a hundred years ago, the majority of contemporary Jews are quite secular?

Interestingly, his attitude to the Talmud was that it had no authority (which most Jewish believers would agree with, recognizing the Bible as our authority) and derived from a time of Jewish spiritual darkness (which most would disagree with, recognizing the value of traditional Jewish literature). As we understand that Rabinowitz was a product of his times, in which many rejected traditional Jewish religion, what lesson is there for us in how we look at traditional Judaism?

What about the use of the term rabbi? Rabinowitz was called by that title by some Christians, but for the most part it was the Russian government—who had to grant permission for religious groups to hold public gatherings—that saw him and his followers as Jews, his meeting place as a synagogue and him as a rabbi. Is there a lesson in this for the use of the title "Messianic rabbi" in the modern movement—keeping in mind that the title was bestowed by the governing authorities? What should we say about his evangelistic strategies? The unpronounceable name of God (the "Tetragrammaton," often written YHWH) he pronounced as "Jehovah." Why? According to Orthodox Judaism, only when the Messiah came could the name of God be uttered. Is there a lesson for us in finding bold and creative ways to proclaim the gospel?

mjaa.org (http://www.mjaa.org.au/pages/articles/Messianic_Judaism_History.htm)
excerpt: The next step forward was to establish a church made up of Jewish believers where their Jewishness could be emphasized. There had been at several successful experiences in this regard. One was the Hebrew Christian movement in Kischineff led by Joseph Rabinowitz, a lawyer, who in 1882 founded the first Hebrew Christian community. Rabinowitz took the community of Hebrew Christian believers out of the boundaries of established churches and kept in within the realms of the synagogue.

Rabinowitz (http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hall/8701/religion/mjhist3.htm)
excerpt:The first important modern Jewish Messianic synagogue
was founded in 1882 by Joseph Rabinowitz. Rabinowitz was born at
Resina in 1837 and grew up in Chasidic circles. At 13, he was
betrothed but did not marry until six years later. His future
brother-in-law Jehiel Hershensohn (Lichtenstein)
introduced him to the Brit Chadasha by lending him a Hebrew copy
and remarking that perhaps Yehoshua of Nazareth was the true
Moshiach. Rabinowitz took the Hebrew Brit Chadasha to Jerusalem
with him, and, sitting on the Mount of Olives viewing the Mosque
of Omar where formerly the Temple stood, his mind went back over
the tragic history of his people. Why was Israel suffering? The
answer came to him: "The key to the Holy Land is in the hands of
our brother Yehoshua." Filled with the glory of a great vision,
Rabinowitz returned to his homeland and was immersed in 1885.
Rather than joining an existing congregation, however, he built a
hall which became a Jewish Messianic synagogue. His sermons
became available in Hebrew, Russian and Yiddish and numbered in
the thousands of copies reaching the masses of the Jews in
eastern Europe.

eptv.org (http://www.etpv.org/2003/eomj.html)
excerpt: "Hebrew-Christian" ministries, beginning in 1809 with the founding of the "London Society for the Promotion of Christianity Amongst the Jews", and continuing with the "Hebrew Christian Alliance" (London,1866) and the "Hebrew Christian Alliance" (London, 1925) all expected newly-converted Jews to discard their Jewishness and did not distinguish between biblical and nonbiblical practices. The only real exception to this practice was the work of Joseph Rabinowitz (1837-1899), a Russian-born Jew who experienced a powerful spiritual awakening while visiting Eretz Yisrael ("The Land of Israel"), and later brought forth a styles of worship and meeting that acknowledged the feasts of Israel, shabbat (the sabbath) and the Hebrew language.

[Henaynei]

way kewl - my google search brought up nothing of the sort!! thanks!!

[Talmidah]

way kewl - my google search brought up nothing of the sort!! thanks!!
I used "Joseph Rabinowitz" +messianic. Perhaps you looked under "Yosef Rabinowitz"?

[Henaynei]

I used "Joseph Rabinowitz" +messianic. Perhaps you looked under "Yosef Rabinowitz"?I did and I know better - I'm not awake yet!! http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_6_101v.gif (http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb001)

[Henaynei]

Some background - - - -

http://www.ou.org/about/judaism/rabbis/rshimonbaryochai.htm

Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai
(flourished 135 C.E. – 170 C.E.)
Rabbi Shimon was a “fifth-generation” Tanna, according to the classification of Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz in “The Talmud – A Reference Guide,” who flourished in years 135 C.E. - 170 C.E. He was a student of Rabbi Akiva, and a contemporary of Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel II, who was the Nasi, the Scholar-President, and of Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yehudah ben Ilai, among other great contemporaries. He was a complex individual, a Torah giant who was influenced by his father, Yochai, by his great teacher, Rabbi Akiva, and by the events of his day. His main achievement was the authorship of the “Zohar,” the Torat HaNistar, the hidden Torah that he received orally from his teacher, Rabbi Akiva. The latter is described in the Talmud as the only one of a group of four outstanding Torah scholars who attempted to enter the “Pardes,” the Orchard, a metaphor for the depths of Kabbalah, Jewish Mysticism, who was able to emerge safely.

His father was a man of considerable honor among the Jewish People. Yochai was a pacifist, was well-liked by the Romans, and was a bitter opponent of the revolt against Rome led by Rabbi Akiva and bar Kochba.

Although Shimon was extremely loyal to Rabbi Akiva, he rejected some of his methods of Torah scholarship, such as the inference of laws from “extra” words – prepositions and connectives, in the text of the Torah. He believed that for the purpose of inferring “halachot,” rules of Jewish Law, the text should be interpreted plainly. He also rejected the “pilpulistic” method of his colleague, Rabbi Yehudah ben Ilai. He was a believer in using the “Taamei HaMitzvot,” the reasons for the commandments, as a guide in understanding them.

How remarkable it is that despite his insistence on learning the simple meaning of the Torah from its plain text, he was the one who saw the Torah as well on an entirely different level, as the “Torat HaSod,” the Secret Torah.

Another paradox in the thought of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai is in his attitude towards Rome. In Bereshit 33:4, where Esav kisses Yaakov, there are dots over the word meaning “and he kissed him.” Rabbi Shimon says, “It is a well-known principle of Law that Esav hates Yaakov, but here Esav’s mercies were aroused, and he kissed him with all his heart.” Yet his sense of fairness did not allow him to adopt a leniency even with regard to a hated enemy, and he said “Stealing from an idol-worshipper is called ‘stealing,’ and is forbidden absolutely.”

Once, when Rabbi Shimon was together with Rabbi Yehudah ben Ilai and Rabbi Yose ben Chalafta, Rabbi Yehudah praised the Romans for their construction of markets, bridges and bathhouses. Rabbi Yose remained silent. But Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai said that all those engineering marvels were made for their own self-interest. When the Romans heard this, they rewarded Yehudah by appointing him to a position in government. Rabbi Yose, for not supporting him, was punished by exile. For his disparagement of the Romans, Rabbi Shimon was condemned to death.

To escape this punishment, Rabbi Shimon fled with his son to a cave. There they remained for thirteen years, studying Torah together, both the Revealed and the Hidden Torah. Rabbi Shimon wrote down the latter material for the first time in a book called the “Zohar,” Splendor, or Radiance.

The first time Rabbi Shimon came out of the cave, he was completely "out of tune" with the people of his generation. He observed Jews farming the land, and engaged in other normal pursuits, and made known his disapproval, "How can people engage themselves in matters of this world and neglect matters of the next world?" Whereupon a Heavenly Voice was heard, which said "Bar Yochai, go back to the cave! You are no longer fit for the company of other human beings." Rabbi Shimon went back to the cave, reoriented his perspective, and emerged again. This time, he was able to interact with the people of his generation, and become a great teacher of Torah, the Revealed and the Hidden.

Lag BaOmer, according to Tradition, was the day of the petirah of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and, according to his wishes, the Yahtzeit was to be observed as a holiday. This is done throughout the Jewish world, but the main celebration is at Meiron, the burial place of Rabbi Shimon and his son, Elazar, where thousands of Jews gather to light torches, sing (several stanzas of a favorite song and its chorus appear below) and dance in honor of the G-dly Tanna:

“Bar Yochai! You were anointed – You are fortunate;
With oil of joy from your fellows.

Bar Yochai! In a goodly dwelling did you settle
On the day you ran, the day you fled;
In rocky caves where you stopped –
There you acquired your glory and your strength.

Bar Yochai! Like standing shittim beams,
The teachings of G-d they study;
An extraordinary light is the light of the fire
That they kindle – they, your teachers, will teach you.

Bar Yochai! You came to a Field of Apples
And entered it to pick confections;
The mystery of Torah with blossoms and flowers -
‘Let us create man’ was said because of you.

Bar Yochai! At a wondrous light in lofty heights,
You feared to stare for it is great,
Such hiddenness that one calls her, ‘Naught;’
You declared that no eye could see You.

Bar Yochai! You were anointed – you are fortunate;
With oil of joy from your fellows.”

EF