Zelig was a good bachur, and no one could understand why it was taking him so long to find his bashert. On Lag b'Omer, Zelig's mother traveled by bus to Meron. She wanted to daven that her oldest son Zelig should find a shidduch. As she travelled, she remembered that years before, she and her husband had been married for several years and were not yet blessed with children. They had come to Meron to daven and promised that if they had a son, they would call him Shimon. But somehow, when the miracle occurred and their son was born, they forgot about their promise and named him Zelig.
She immediately called her husband and reminded him of their promise from years before. She said, "Who knows? Perhaps if we had called him Shimon, he would have found his bashert already." The husband replied that he would call his rebbe and ask him what to do. The rebbe advised that they should call their son Shimon Zelig.
The mother davened in Meron at the kever of Reb Shimon bar Yochai, requesting that her son “Shimon Zelig” should become engaged. The following Shabbos, the gabbai gave "Shimon Zelig" an aliyah, establishing his new name. There was another Zelig in the beis medresh. He asked the gabbai, "Why did you call this bachur Shimon Zelig? Isn't his name Zelig?" The gabbai replied, "His father told me that from now on, I should call him Shimon Zelig. I don’t know why."
Zelig had an older daughter. Long ago, he thought that Zelig would be a good shidduch for his daughter, but the names were the same – they were both called Zelig, so he didn't consider it. But now that their names weren't exactly the same, he was willing to go ahead with the shidduch. Shimon Zelig got engaged to Zelig's daughter!
Salvation from Oppression
It states (Shemos 3:9) אותם לוחצים מצרים אשר הלחץ את ראיתי וגם, "I have also seen the oppression that the Egyptians are oppressing them." Rabbeinu b'Chayei explains that the Mitzrim didn't permit them to add to their homes and create more comfortable living conditions. We can, therefore, explain that Reb Shimon הציל הלחוצים means he saves people from their tiny apartments so that they can live comfortably.
Shidduchim
About Reb Shimon, it states (in the song Bar Yochai) הלחוצים הציל, "He saves those who are stressed and worried," and who is more stressed and worried than someone awaiting their shidduch?
This is because we can daven and receive salvations for all our needs – including shidduchim. And as we wrote, this is in Meron and everywhere. In Reb Shimon's merit, no matter where we daven, our tefillos will be answered.
