Lag Ba’omer feelings

PinkFridge

Tue, May 09 2023, 6:30 am

amother Hibiscus wrote:

When you think about it, what is the whole essence of the day?

A plague that killed tens of thousands of yeshiva boys, good striving growing dedicated students, stopped. After decimating pretty much all of Rabbi Akiva's students, it stopped just short of wiping out all of them. How joyful! Let's dance! Only MOST were killed, but not all! Hurray!

And Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, a tremendous leader of the Jewish people, passed away. What a great simcha! Let us celebrate!
.

One of the things we celebrate is our resilience: Rabbi Akiva lost thousands of students who weren't transformed by Torah. Yet he persevered. (And it just occurred to me: did Rabbi Akiva perseverate over any feelings of failure? Not that I'm judging him or blaming him ch"v. But it's something that some of us can identify with in our own ways.) He re-created. We just saw, in this last centuries, survivors who recreated worlds. That we have this capacity - think epigenetics, maaseh avos, etc. - IS something to celebrate.

And then there's the whole Rav Shimon angle. (Which, as a Litvak, I'm still exploring.)

amother

Papaya

Tue, May 09 2023, 6:41 am

PinkFridge wrote:

Rabi Shimon was one of the five students of Rabi Akiva who continued to teach Torah after the other students perished. It is all connected to the same story of rising from the ashes and rebuilding.

It's also connected to the failure of the bar kochba revolt, which Rabi Akiva believed was to be the coming of Mashiach.

Onajourney7

Tue, May 09 2023, 6:43 am

I photographed one of the victims kids last week. The little boy is getting his hair cut today and the siblings joined for the pre upsherin session. All I could think about was this poor boy who doesn’t have a father to cut his hair. After the session I just cried, so , no. You’re not alone.

PinkFridge

Tue, May 09 2023, 7:14 am

amother Papaya wrote:

Re Rabi Shimon: Good point, and I knew that. And I also know that when someone departs, the day the die, that they completed their mission, is more important to commemorate than the day the potential was unleashed (so we don't celebrate birthdays like American legal holidays). And while there's a machlokes over whether or not Rabi Shimon wrote the Zohar, there's no machlokes over the importance of kabbalah. Still trying to dig deepe.

What's the connection to Bar Kochba?

PinkFridge

Tue, May 09 2023, 7:16 am

Onajourney7 wrote:

These milestones will always be painful. And yet, the families deserve to be able to experience them b'simcha and for us to be mesameiach with them. May Hashem give them the kochos to do so.

amother

Papaya

Tue, May 09 2023, 9:35 am

PinkFridge wrote:

You know what? I'm not sure. I had heard that historians believe the plague described in the gemara may actually have been a battle of bar kochba, but I actually don't know if that theory is widely considered plausible.

I did some googling, and all I'm seeing is that modern Zionism turned lag b'omer into a celebration of bar kochba's heroism. Unclear to me how that association came to be.

Lag B'omer is a very mysterious holiday!