The Mishnas Chassidim writes, "It is a mitzvah to be happy on this day, the joy of Reb Shimon bar Yochai."
The Chida (Moreh b'Etzba 223) writes, "Be happy in honor of Reb Shimon bar Yochai because Lag b'Omer is his hillulah, and it is known that he desired that people rejoice on this day.
The Gemara Shavuos (daf 34b and the discussion begins on daf ג"ל) states, במערבא עליה מחכו שמעון 'ר. The Chasam Sofer taught this Gemara to his students on Lag b'Omer and translated it as, "In Eretz Yisrael, people are rejoicing with Reb Shimon."
The Sar Shalom of Belz zt'l said, "Lag b'Omer is the greatest day of the year."
Tzaddikim would keep in mind the count of the Omer throughout the entire day. For example, whenever Reb Mendel of Riminov zt'l reminded himself of the Omer, he would count again (לעומר... יום היום).
11. Until today, many people testify to this immense joy. In Meron, on Lag b'Omer, no one is getting married, no one was born, yet everyone is extremely happy. People dance for hours – no one knows precisely why. It is a joy beyond nature.
Rebbe Yehoshua of Belz zt'l was present when the Sar Shalom of Belz said this. He immediately lowered his head before his father and said, "Father, give me a brachah."
Reb Moshe Rozvadover zt'l (a grandson of the Ropshitzer Rav zt'l) would tell people to come to him on Lag b'Omer, for it is a day for tefillos and salvations. He said that it is hinted in the pasuk (Tehillim 84:3) חי ל"א אל ירננו ובשרי לבי, "My heart and my flesh praise the living G-d." לבי represents בעומר ב"ל, the 32nd day of the omer. And then comes Lag b'Omer with the merit of ובשרי, roshei teivos of בר שמעון 'ר יוחאי, and then חי ל"א אל ירננו, we will praise Hashem for the salvations we receive on this day.
Reb Moshe Rozvadover would say there isn't a better day in the year than Lag b'Omer. If he could, he would hold onto the sun with his teeth and not let it set, so he wouldn't have to leave Lag b'Omer.
One year, on Lag b'Omer, the Divrei Chaim had a long discussion with him about Lag b'Omer, and when they emerged from the room, Reb Moshe's face shone brightly. Reb Moshe Rozvedover said he received the secret of Lag b'Omer from the Divrei Chaim of Sanz zt'l.
The Beis Aharon writes, "Whoever believes in Reb Shimon receives chizuk from Reb Shimon. Just as Hashem is for everyone, so is Reb Shimon for everyone – even those at a low level."
The Zohar relates that when Reb Shimon was niftar, and the levayah passed Tzipori, the people of Tzipori came out with sticks in their hands and demanded that Reb Shimon be buried in Tzipori. They hit the people who wanted to bring Reb Shimon to Meron. Miraculously, Reb Shimon’s coffin rose in the air and flew to his burial place in Meron. A bas kol announced, "Gather and celebrate the hillulah/holiday of Reb Shimon bar Yochai."
Reb Asher Zelig Margolis zt'l said that this bas kol is heard yearly, calling out to people to celebrate Lag b'Omer. The evidence that the bas kol is heard is the many people who feel drawn to celebrate this special day.
Lag B'Omer Everywhere
A Yid from Eretz Yisrael was once in Ruzhin, and he described Lag b'Omer to the Ruzhiner. He said, "Inside it is like Yom Kippur and outside it is like Simchas Torah." The Ruzhiner praised this description immensely.
Also, the Bnei Yissaschar (Iyar 3:3) writes, "It is confirmed to us from people who tell the truth that at the tzion of Reb Shimon bar Yochai on Lag b'Omer, the joy is supernatural."
The Maharil of Paltishan zt'l writes, "I had the merit of being in Meron on Lag b'Omer (approximately 175 years ago). Brothers and friends, I cannot express in writing the great simchah experienced there! Fortunate are the eyes that beheld it! Whoever was there felt with certainty that the joy was in the merit of Reb Shimon bar Yochai – because he wants people to rejoice on this day."
Reb Avraham Rozen described the Lag b'Omer he saw (in 1967/ז"תשכ): "Until the morning, no one went to sleep – the joy was so great. Then, the people who were there at night went to sleep, and a new group arrived. The entire day and the following night were the same. I won't burden myself to write the details of the joy I saw there, at every moment, and in various ways. Whoever didn’t see that joy never experienced joy in their life. Some people were jumping like deer, some were singing, some were drinking, and some were clapping their hands and dancing with all their might.... I don’t know how to describe the joy, but I will tell you what I felt at the time. I imagined that Moshiach had arrived, and I was watching the simchas beis hashoevah in Yerushalayim. It was wondrous!"
When people would tell Rebbe Aharon of Belz zt'l that they were traveling to Meron for Lag b'Omer, he would ask them to daven for him there. Once, someone told him that he tried to be in Meron for Lag b'Omer, but it didn't work out. The Belzer Rav replied, "Reb Shimon's kedushah is everywhere!"
The Gemara (Pesachim 51:) states, שמעון 'ר כדאי בפניו ושלא בפניו עליו לסמוך. The Nesivos Shalom of Slonim zt'l said that this hints that we can rely on Reb Shimon's merits even if we can’t travel to Meron.
Chasidim say, "One can be close and far, and one can be far and close." This means a chasid can be physically distant from his Rebbe, but at the same time, he is very close because his heart and desire are to be with the Rebbe. And, one can be close, actually in the same beis medresh as his Rebbe, but if he doesn't want to be there, he is far away. We can compare it to a house next door to a power generation plant, but no wires connect the house to the plant. Despite its proximity to the power plant, the house remains dark. At the same time, there are homes very distant from the plant, but they receive electricity. This is because cables connect their home to the generating plant. So, we see that more important than being near is to be attached. If one attaches himself to Reb Shimon, even from a distance, it will be as if he is close, in Meron, and he will merit salvations b'ruchniyus and b'gashmiyus, and perhaps even more than someone close but whose heart is far away.
Segulah and Miracles of Lag B'Omer
13. There is a segulah for those who need a salvation to bear children to say, "If I have a child, I will name him Shimon after Reb Shimon bar Yochai." Generally, people make this promise at Reb Shimon's tzion.
Someone who didn't have children for many years told us he made this promise in Monroe, New York, on Lag b'Omer. A year later, he had a son.
There's a Yid from America who travels annually to Eretz Yisrael for Lag b’Omer. One year, in ג"תשנ, he was in prison, rachmana litzlan, and couldn’t go. His son comforted him, "You can’t go to Reb Shimon, but I'm certain that Reb Shimon will come to you." The father didn’t know what his son was talking about. On Lag b’Omer, a fire broke out in prison. The Jewish prisoners took advantage of the fire and danced "Bar Yochai..." The next day, due to the fire, they were released. They saw that although they couldn’t go to Reb Shimon, Reb Shimon came to them.
We received a letter that gives us a glimpse into the miracles that occur on Lag b'Omer. It happened year 5777, in the Orenstein neighborhood of Yerushalayim, at the hadlakah of the Boyaner chasidim. We quote the letter:
"My brother was sitting in the front seat, next to the driver. They were driving from France to Switzerland. The car fell off a cliff, and they couldn't get out of the crushed vehicle. Baruch Hashem, first responders (police, firefighters, and paramedics) arrived and sawed open the side of the car so they could get out.
"My brother was hospitalized in critical condition in France. When his condition stabilized, he was transferred to a hospital in Switzerland so that he could be near our family.
"For Pesach, he came to visit family members in Eretz Yisrael. They were happy to see him move about, albeit with crutches, because, initially, the doctors predicted that his legs would be amputated.
"My brother remained in Eretz Yisrael for some weeks, and on Lag b'Omer, the family brought him to the hadlakah in the Batei Orenstein neighborhood in Yerushalayim. The elder chasidim lit the oil, there was a large flame, and people were dancing to יוחי בר שמעון 'ר אלקי התנא לכבוד". My brother stood next to me, supported by me and his crutches. Suddenly, he tells me, 'I am going to throw my crutches into the fire.' I said, 'Chas v'Shalom! Don't do that.' But my brother courageously and mightily threw one of the crutches into the fire. The music stopped because the musicians saw the commotion and understood what was happening. Then, my brother threw the second crutch into the fire and began walking unassisted. To this day, he can walk on his own. This is the miracle that happened to him on Lag b'Omer." Reb Shimon's merit and his hilulah are wherever you are in the world.
Desire and Attachment to Reb Shimon
14. Someone told me that he was in Meron with his son as a preparation for his son's bar mitzvah. He wanted to learn with his son the portions of Zohar, the sections that discuss bar mitzvah, but he didn't know where it was written. So instead, he began saying Tehillim. Then his son tapped him on his arm and said, "Look at this. I just saw this, and it looks interesting." It was a sefer quoting the Zohar, sections related to a bar mitzvah. The father said that he realized that when one wants to study Reb Shimon's lessons, Hashem helps him do so.
Chazal (Kiddushin 40.) say, מצוה לעשות אדם חשב עשאה כאילו הכתוב עליו מעלה עשאה ולא ונאנס, "If a person wanted to do a mitzvah, but circumstances prevented him from doing it, the pasuk gives him credit as if he performed the mitzvah." The same can be said about going to Meron on Lag b'Omer. If a person wants to go, but circumstances prevent him from getting there, it will be considered as if he were there.
Reb Asher Zelig Margolis zt'l writes in his sefer, "If someone can't go to Meron on Lag b'Omer, or someone lives in chutz l'aretz, he should study the sefer י"רשב מאמרי (a collection of lessons from Reb Shimon bar Yochai) and should be happy with Reb Shimon's hillulah, and he too will have a salvation." Indeed, the Meor Einayim (Shabbos) tells us that learning the lessons of a tzaddik is the same as being at his grave.
Some have the custom on Lag b'Omer to study with a minyan the praises of Reb Shimon bar Yochai. Reb Shimon said (Gittin 67) מדותי שנו, "Study my divrei Torah." Reb Asher Zelig Margolis writes that Reb Shimon is the only Tana who said explicitly that he wants people to study his divrei Torah. This is because Reb Shimon can bring salvation, protection, and blessings to Bnei Yisrael in all generations, so he encourages us to study his divrei Torah. In this merit, he can help Bnei Yisrael.
Teshuvah on Lag B'Omer
Reb Yonason Eibshitz zt'l (Yaaras Dvash vol.2, 11) writes, "It is proper for every yirei shamayim to do teshuvah on Lag b'Omer because Reb Shimon's merit will help him do teshuvah so that the person doesn't spend his life with foolishness, which is a tzaar for this tzaddik."
A hint is that יוחאי בר שמעון is gematriya (Yeshaya 6:10) לו ורפא ושב יבין, "He will understand, do teshuvah, and be healed."
The Sar Shalom of Belz once spoke about the greatness of Lag b'Omer, and his son, Reb Zundel zt'l, summed it up and said, "Lag b'Omer is like Yom Kippur." His father said that he was correct.
The Chasam Sofer (Drashos vol.2 280.) also writes that Lag b'Omer is like Yom Kippur.
One of the songs people sing on Lag b'Omer is אתם מי לפני ישראל אשריכם עקיבא 'ר אמר מטהרים, "Fortunate are you, Yisrael! Before Whom do you purify yourselves and Who purifies you!" These words discuss Yom Kippur – it is the final Mishnah in Masechta Yoma that discusses Yom Kippur – but we sing them on Lag b'Omer because on Lag b'Omer, our souls are cleansed like on Yom Kippur.
We wrote about someone describing Lag b'Omer in Meron to Rebbe Yisrael of Ruzhin zt'l. He said, "Inside, by the tzion, it is like Yom Kippur, and outside, in the courtyard, it is like Simchas Torah." The Ruzhiner zt'l praised this description immensely.
This source is another indication of the association between Lag b'Omer and Yom Kippur, Lag b'Omer, and atonement.
