The Trip to Rashbi for Lag BaOmer Sweetens All the Judgments – Rabbi Eliezer Berland Shlit”a

THE TRIP AND CELEBRATION OF LAG BAOMER SWEETEN THE HARSH JUDGMENTS OF THIS DAY When we reach the Sefirah of Hod SheBeHod during the Omer Count, there is an intensification of judgments!  Hod SheBeHod is severe judgments!  But through traveling to Rashbi on this day, through celebrating Lag BaOmer, we sweeten all the judgments, all the severities.  Through Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, all the judgments are sweetened!  On the Hilulah day of the Tzaddik, the day of his passing, the Tzaddik sweetens all the judgments.  He takes onto himself the entire yetzer hara (evil inclination), all the sins, all the evil thoughts!  He draws the entire yetzer hara from the minds of everyone and subdues and nullifies all the judgments.  Like it was with Rabbi Zusha and the Noam Elimelech, when the Satan came to them and said, “You will yet see what I will do to you!”  This was all because they had taken onto themselves the entire yetzer hara of all Am Yisrael.  They responded, “You do your part, and we will do ours.” THROUGH THE POWER OF THE PREVIOUS GENERATIONS, THE TZADDIK OF THE GENERATION ASCENDS TWICE AS MUCH In every generation, the later Tzaddikiim merit to twice as much as the Tzaddikim from previous generations.  They have the power of the previous Tzaddikim!  They merit to twice as much as the earlier Tzaddikim.  Rashbi has the power of all the earlier Tzaddikim.  The Shevet Musar says that the later Tzaddikim can be twice as great as the Tzaddikim from earlier generations, and what people call “Yeridat HaDorat” (decline of the generations) is actually a separate matter. IN THE MERIT OF HIS SELF-SACRIFICE, RABBI SHIMON MERITED TO DRAW THE TORAH TO ALL AM YISRAEL When our Sages entered the “Kerem” in Yavneh [the location of the Sanhedrin after the destruction of the Temple], they said that the Torah was destined to be forgotten from Israel.  Rabbi Shimon promised that through him, the Torah would not be forgotten from Israel.  What does that mean?  Everyone knows that the Torah won’t be forgotten from Israel!  Every child knows that the Torah won’t be forgotten!  Rather, the question was through which Tanna the Torah wouldn’t be forgotten.  Which Tanna would merit for the chain of Torah to be continued through him?  All the Tannaim said that they saw that they didn’t have the power to draw the Torah to future generations.  They received the Torah, fulfilled the Torah, learned the Torah, but to continue the Torah forward to future generations could only be through the most unique individuals of the generation. Rashbi merited to pass the Torah on through his self-sacrifice.  He stood strong against the Romans and was sentenced to death.  Afterwards, he entered the cave and learned with self-sacrifice until he merited to such levels that he could say that through him, the Torah would not be forgotten from Israel.  He reached such levels that in every type of darkness there is, no matter what type of darkness that there may be, he can shine light into it. RABBI SHIMON IS ENTIRELY FIRE Why do we travel to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai?  What do we light bonfires?  This is all because Rabbi Shimon was entirely fire!  Rabbi Shimon was a bonfire, a torch of fire!  All 248 organs of Rabbi Shimon were fire!  Because two times “lapid (torch)” is the gematria (numerical value) of 248.  All Rabbi Shimon’s 248 organs were torches for Hashem. The moment that Rabbi Shimon would start speaking words of Torah, he would become surrounded by flames of fire!  All his surroundings were flaming fire.  So too, on the Hilulah of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, fire descends from heaven.  33 days after Seder night, after Passover, we merit to great awe, to a revelation of the Shechinah (Divine Presence), a revelation of the fire.  All the hills surrounding the grave of Rashbi blaze with fire, because if during his lifetime, there was fire blazing around him, then all the more so after his passing.  For Tzaddikim are greater in their deaths than in their lives. WHOEVER DOES NOT BELIEVE IN THE TZADDIK IS LIKE AN IDOLATER If a person doesn’t believe in Tzaddikim, doesn’t believe that Tzaddikim are living and enduring, doesn’t travel to Rashbi, doesn’t believe that Rashbi lives and endures than it’s as if he worships idolatry.  It’s as if he bows down to flies.  Like it says in the Gemara in Tractate Shabbat (83b), that the moment that the Tzaddik disappears, the moment that Gidon died, the people abandoned Hashem.  They needed to attach themselves to something, so they went and bowed down to flies.  They went to attach themselves to flies.  They made for themselves “pocket flies” [idols of flies to carry around with them].  Because when people don’t go to Tzaddikim, don’t believe in Tzaddikim, then they don’t have faith in Hashem.  The mind begins to become distorted, more and more, without end, until you reach actual idolatry.  Therefore, those who don’t travel to Meron, who don’t travel to Rabbi Shimon, who don’t believe in Tzaddikim – they are mocking Rabbi Shimon!  Because by not travelling to him, by not ascending to Meron, it’s as if they are going on a pilgrimage to Gaza – plain and simple, a pilgrimage to Gaza!  Because people need to attach themselves to something. RABBI SHIMON TURNS DELIBERATE SINS INTO MERITS AND ONE BECOMES A VESSEL FOR NEW ABUNDANCE When a person comes to a Tzaddik like Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, then all his deliberate sins are turned into merits.  He merits for everything to be turned into merits.  He merits for Rashbi to wash him from all the filth of his sins.  Rashbi gives him new mochin (intellects), a new understanding, as long as he isn’t in the category of “I will sin and repent.”  If there’s no “I will sin and repent,” Rashbi gives him totally new mochin, a totally new understanding, a totally 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 (constellation, i.e. “destiny”) for the new year.  Because when the body is transformed and refined, a person’s mazal ascends! Rabbeinu says in Lesson 83 (Likutey Moharan II) – why is a person poor?  Why doesn’t he have livelihood?  It’s all because of the “serpent’s skin,” which is his body, which he destroyed and sinned against by making it impure and filthy through terrible desires and impurity.  Therefore, he has no channel for livelihood, no vessel for abundance.  But the moment that a person comes to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, his entire body is transformed and purified!  Then he has a vessel for new abundance, a vessel for abundance the likes of which has never existed before.  He becomes a vessel for such great abundance to the point that he will also be able to draw abundance to the entire world. LAG BAOMER IS MAMASH YOM KIPPUR Lag BaOmer is mamash Yom Kippur, the day when all one’s iniquities are forgiven, mamash like “Kol Nidrei.”  Everything is forgiven!  Everything is sweetened.  On [this day], the greatest, most wondrous kindnesses are revealed.  It’s possible on Lag BaOmer to draw down all the mochin, every healing, every salvation for the entire year.  This is the day when it’s possible to heal every illness.  There is no healing in the world that can’t be drawn on this day.  It’s possible to heal all cancers.  Everyone can be blessed with children.  Everyone can find their marriage match.  This is a day for annulling vows.  Everything is sweetened!  Everything is erased!  All the transgression that a person did – millions of transgression from their day of birth until this day, transgressions from all previous incarnations – are pardoned. A person travels to Meron for three hours, gets pushed, suffers in a crowd of thousands upon thousands of multitudes of people -- through this all his transgressions are forgiven.  All his blemishes of the covenant, all that he sinned throughout his life is forgiven.  This is the meaning of what is written, “Rabbi Shimon rejoiced” – Rabbi Shimon is happy!!  Rabbi Shimon is happy when he sees that hundreds of thousands of people are travelling to him, that all Am Yisrael are travelling to him!  Every year, more and more come to him, but really no one knows what happens here.  No one can understand the significance of this journey.  People don’t know what they’re travelling for, what they’re celebrating on Lag BaOmer, but “even though they don’t see, their soul sees.”  The whole country celebrates, makes bonfires, without knowing exactly why. Really, one needs to know that the Tzaddik is the root of all souls.  He is the Even HaShetiyah (Foundation Stone), the root of everyone.  He is the root of every single soul, the eternal soul!  And he merited to the eternal soul for eternity.  And all Am Yisrael 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 the soul what encompasses all Am Yisrael, which envelops the entire world, which embraces all the worlds, all the Sefirot (Divine emanations).  Therefore, everyone travels to Rashbi’s grave to be included in this soul that encompasses the entire Jewish people.  When we merit to travel to Rashbi, one needs to know that Rashbi draws us to him, carries us to him, takes us to him.  And anyone who feels Rashbi is immediately carried to him.  One is drawn to him because this is his soul root.  He is drawn to him because he is a point from within Rashbi.  Rashbi is the Jewish point in every Jew. THE TZADDIK IS LIVING AND ENDURING AND TRULY GODLINESS A person needs to travel to Rashbi with self-sacrifice!  Rashbi is calling to us, “Come to me, make the pilgrimage – two or three hours and you’re by me already!”  All the abundance in the world, every blessing in the world – prayer, Torah, holiness, everything that a person needs – one can receive; just come, make the journey.  You need, first of all, to travel!  The Tzaddik is living and enduring and is truly Godliness.  You need to know that when you travel to Rabbi Shimon, you’re not travel to a human being at all!  You need to travel in holy trembling.  Travel by car, bus, two or three hours, and travel with holy trembling, with books, prayers, hitbodedut, a little bit of humming, but not laughing.  No joking or shtuyot (nonsense).  Travel there for the sake of Heaven to be purified and sanctified.   Then Rashbi can draw down to you endless salvations, endless holiness and purity.  He can give you a new soul.  There are no limits with him!  He has no limits and can give you everything.  Everything that you think, everything that you want, he’ll give you – just travel with holy trembling, with seriousness. The “Beit Aharon” says that the highest level in all the verses of Tehillim is: “My soul thirsts for You, my flesh longs for You” – even the body and the flesh turn into soul.  Even the flesh no longer feels any physicality or desire.  The body and flesh are burned through sheer love of Hashem.  This level of “my flesh longs for You” can only be received through Rashbi, through Rashbi’s fire, the fire that blazes around him day and night.  Because “RaShBI” has the same letters as “BeSaRI (my flesh).”  If a person comes to Rashbi in seriousness, dances all the dances, then he merits for all his flesh, all his physicality to be burned away.  He merits to the highest level – “My flesh longs for you.” TRAVEL BECAUSE OF FAITH IN RASHBI AND NOT BECAUSE OF PEER PRESSURE Whoever merits on Lag BaOmer!  Whoever travels in seriousness to Rashbi!  Anyone who cries on Lag BaOmer!  Whoever truly dances on Lag BaOmer!  Not just standing like a fool, dreaming on the side – truly dancing!  Whoever believes that Rashbi is living and enduring, and not because of peer pressure, because others are travelling.  Rather he travel because he believes that Rashbi is living and enduring, and prays with fervor, dances with fervor.  He doesn’t stand on the side during the dancing, as the Rambam says: Anyone who sees people dancing and stands on the side is a complete idiot and heretic, who doesn’t believe in the power of Tzaddikim.  He doesn’t believe in the power of dancing!  He doesn’t believe that Tzaddikim can became spiritually “impregnated” in him.  Because on the Hilulah, Rashbi has to descend down even further to become spiritually impregnated in all those who come to him, and through this, to cancel all decrees. So when one travels to Rashbi with sincerity – to receive his advice, his guidance, to receive from him prayers with kavanah (focused intent).  When one travels to merit to fulfill what is written in the Zohar, to honor the Zohar, to honor the people who listen to the Zohar, those who rise at midnight, those who have love for the Jewish people, who pray vatikin [at sunrise] – they are promised all salvations.  Because everything that the Zohar says is Holy of Holies.  And even if I still haven’t merited to fulfil the words of the Zohar, then fortunate are those who do merit – “Fortunate are those who travel to your grave and learn your sayings.”  So all those who travel sincerely to fulfill the words of Rashbi are promised that Rashbi with become spiritually impregnated in them.  The soul of Rashbi becomes impregnated in them.  Those who travel to Rashbi sincerely and put their heads in the book, in Tehillim, in Gemara, in holy books, who keep their composure and truly long for Rashbi – they will merit for Rashbi to truly become impregnated in them.  They are assured to become true Tzaddikim and to bring the redemption to Am Yisrael in a blink of an eye, Amen.