Bar Yochai, you were anointed, fortunate are you, with the oil of gladness (joy) above your fellows.
Why? Because at the time of his passing from the world, he was engaged in the matter of the שֶׁמֶן הַמִּשְׁחָה – the oil of joy! Thus, it emerges that the last item Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai was engaged in was the שֶׁמֶן הַמִּשְׁחָה. Rabbi Shimon Lavi then tells us:
Bar Yochai, with the holy anointing oil, you were anointed from the attribute of holiness, you bore the headplate, the crown of holiness...
How is Rashb’i connected to “the headplate, the crown of holiness”? Pay attention to a wonderful thing here: Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai died on Lag Ba’Omer, the 33rd day of Omer. The sefira of that day is הוֹד שֶׁבַּהוֹד – Splendor within Splendor. What does this mean exactly? As we know, there are seven lower sefirot, and the days and weeks of Sefirat HaOmer each reflect one of these attributes:
- חֶסֶד – Kindness (Avraham)
- גְבוּרָה – Strength (Yitzchak)
- תִּפְאֶרֶת – Beauty (Yaacov)
- נֶצַח – Victory (Moshe)
- הוֹד – Splendor (Aharon)
- יְסוֹד – Foundation (Yosef)
- מַלְכוּת – Kingship (David)
Lag Ba’omer is the fifth day (הוֹד) in the fifth week (הוֹד) of the Omer: הוֹד שֶׁבַּהוֹד. The Beit Hamikdash is also called הוֹד, as per the Gemara (Berachot 58a). Thus, Aharon within the Beit Hamikdash is called הוֹד שֶׁבַּהוֹד, and Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai died on הוֹד שֶׁבַּהוֹד. Therefore, Rabbi Shimon Lavi tells us in the piyyut: נָשָׂאתָ צִיץ נֵזֶר הַקֹדֶשׁ – You bore the headplate, the crown of holiness, because Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai has the aspect of the Kohen Gadol in the Kodesh Hakodashim!
Sefer Halekach v’Halibuv addresses a wonderful idea. It’s brought in the sefarim that the Shivat Haminim – the seven species, correspond to the seven sefirot. The seven species are wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates. If we go according to the order of the sefirot, the pomegranate, fifth in order, corresponds to Aharon. The question arises, however: How is Aharon connected to the pomegranate?! The answer is very simple and based on the detail: פַּעֲמֹן זָהָב וְרִמּוֹן פַּעֲמֹן זָהָב וְרִמּוֹן עַל שׁוּלֵי הַמְּעִיל סָבִיב. Along the hem of the Kohen Gadol’s robe were a bell and a pomegranate!
With this, we can understand a wonderful thing. Chazal compare the pomegranate to Mitzvot (Berachot 57a) – and within these bells and pomegranates lie profound depth. It is known that the robe of the Kohen Gadol atoned for lashon hara, so they placed a bell and a pomegranate on his robe because the bell symbolized speech, and the pomegranate came to silence the mouths of the accusers – “How can you speak about another Jew when even the empty ones among them are full of Mitzvot like a pomegranate!”
When Chazal want to describe Rabbi Meir, who learned Torah from Elisha ben Avuya, what do they say about him? That he found a pomegranate, ate its contents, and discarded its peel: רַבִּי מֵאִיר רִמּוֹן מָצָא, תּוֹכוֹ אָכַל, קְלִיפָּתוֹ זָרַק (Chagigah 15b). If so, the entry of the Kohen Gadol into the Kodesh Hakodashim is called הוֹד שֶׁבַּהוֹד, which corresponds to “the pomegranate within the pomegranate,” because the Kohen Gadol “carries on his shoulders” all of Yisrael, even the “pomegranates” – namely, the empty ones (of Mitzvot) among the people! We said that Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai also died on הוֹד שֶׁבַּהוֹד – and where was he buried? In Meron, because מֵירוֹן is comprised of the same letters as רִימּוֹן (pomegranate)!
With this, we can advance to the next stage. The Gemara says in the name of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (Sukkah 45b): יָכוֹל אֲנִי לִפְטוֹר אֶת כׇּל הָעוֹלָם כּוּלוֹ מִן הַדִּין מִיּוֹם שֶׁנִּבְרֵאתִי עַד עַתָּה. וְאִילְמָלֵי אֱלִיעֶזֶר בְּנִי עִמִּי מִיּוֹם שֶׁנִּבְרָא הָעוֹלָם וְעַד עַכְשָׁיו. וְאִילְמָלֵי יוֹתָם בֶּן עוּזִּי הָיָה עִמָּנוּ מִיּוֹם שֶׁנִּבְרָא הָעוֹלָם עַד סוֹפוֹ.
I am able to absolve the entire world from judgment from the day I was created until now. And if Elazar my son were with me, from the day the world was created until now. And if Yotam ben Uziyahu were with us, from the day the world was created until its end.
Rabbotai, what does it mean that he can absolve the entire world from judgment?! Is there anywhere we see that a person can come and say, “Ribbono Shel Olam, it’s all on me”?! Rashi says, through his merit, he said “I bear all their sins and exempt them from judgment.” The Maharsha adds that he bears their sins through the suffering and pain he and his son endured in the cave, and Rabbeinu Chananel explains his statement in the context of Sedom’s destruction: “If I find there such and such righteous people, I will bear the entire place for their sake.” He adds, that “from the day I was created until now” means in his merit, the world will be sustained and not destroyed even if there is no righteous person there. And “from the day the world was created until now” means there would be no destruction like the flood that occurred in the entire world. The meaning of this is that in the merit of righteous people found in a certain city or generation, Hakadosh Baruch Hu nullifies decrees.
The Zohar relates (Vayera): One day, Rabbi Shimon went out and saw the world dark and gloomy, its light obscured. Rabbi Elazar his son said to him, “Come and let us see what Hakadosh Baruch Hu desires.” They went and found an angel resembling a great mountain, emitting flames of fire from its mouth. Rabbi Shimon said to it, “What do you intend to do?” It said to him, “I intend to destroy the world because there are not thirty righteous people in the generation, for so Hakadosh Baruch Hu said about Avraham” (וְאַבְרָהָם הָיֹה יִהְיֶה – the word יִהְיֶה in gematria is thirty.) Rabbi Shimon said to it, “Please, go before Hakadosh Baruch Hu and tell Him: ‘Bar Yochai is present in the world.’” The angel went before Hakadosh Baruch Hu and said to Him, “Ribbono Shel Olam, it is revealed before You what Bar Yochai said to me.” Hakadosh Baruch Hu said to it, “Go destroy the world and pay no heed to Bar Yochai.” When it returned, Rabbi Shimon saw the angel and said to it, “If you do not leave, I decree upon you that you shall not enter the heavens and will be in the place of Aza and Azael (i.e., Azazel). And when you enter before Hakadosh Baruch Hu, tell Him, ‘If there are not thirty righteous people in the world, let there be twenty, and if there are not twenty, let there be ten, and if there are not ten, let there be two, which are me and my son, and if there are not two, there is one, and that is me, as it is written וְצַדִּיק יְסוֹד עוֹלָם – And the righteous is the foundation of the world.’” At that moment, a voice went forth from the heavens and said:
אַשְׁרֵי חֶלְקְךָ, רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן, שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא גּוֹזֵר לְמַעְלָה, וְאַתָּה מְבַטֵּל לְמַטָּה. בְּוַדַּאי עָלֶיךָ: רְצוֹן יְרֵאָיו יַעֲשֶׂה.
Fortunate is your portion, Rabbi Shimon, for Hakadosh Baruch Hu decrees above, and you nullify below. Certainly, about you it is written: He fulfills the wishes of those who fear Him.
It emerges that the meaning of “I am able to exempt the entire world from judgment” is that Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai has the power to nullify decrees, not that he takes their sins upon himself. But the Ben Yehoyada says this cannot be the case, because the Gemara states as a rule (Sanhedrin 104a): אֵין אַבְרָהָם מַצִּיל אֶת יִשְׁמָעֵאל, אֵין יִצְחָק מַצִּיל אֶת עֵשָׂו. Avraham does not deliver Yishmael from the judgment of Heaven; Yitzchak does not deliver Eisav from judgment.
Another question the Ben Yehoyada asks relates to a Gemara (Chagigah 15b) that discusses Acher’s (Elisha ben Avuya) death. When Acher died, they said in the heavens: “Let him not be judged, nor let him enter Olam Haba. Let him not be judged – because he engaged in Torah, he is not judged for his evil deeds. Nor let him enter Olam Haba – because he sinned.” Rabbi Meir then said: “It is better for Acher that the heavenly court judge him in Gehinnom first, where his sins will be purged, so that afterward he may merit entering Olam Haba due to his Torah. When I die, I will go to the heavenly court and cause smoke to rise from his grave.” Meaning, Rabbi Meir will ensure there that they judge Acher and he enters Gehinnom, and the sign of this will be smoke rising from his grave. And indeed, when Rabbi Meir died, smoke rose from Acher’s grave. Years later, Rabbi Yochanan said: “Is it strength to burn one’s teacher, as Rabbi Meir does to Acher? There was one student among us who strayed from the path of Torah, and we cannot save him? Acher was initially counted among the sages, and since he was one of us, we must help him. If I take him by the hand, I will bring him out of Gehinnom and bring him to Olam Haba. Who can take him from me? When I die, I will extinguish the smoke rising from his grave.” Meaning, Rabbi Yochanan will bring him out of Gehinnom, and the smoke will cease to rise from there. And indeed, when Rabbi Yochanan died, the smoke ceased from Acher’s grave. A mourner opened his eulogy for Rabbi Yochanan, mentioning his power to bring one out of Gehinnom, and said: “Even the gatekeeper of Gehinnom did not stand before you, our teacher, when you came to bring Acher out from there.”
The question asked by the Ben Yehoyada is: Why did Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yochanan need to argue over who would save Acher? Why did they haggle over who would take on his case in a manner similar to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai’s claim? And it would seem from this Gemara that one cannot take on the case of another’s sins – but rather, they need to be purified in Gehinnom for their sins if they didn’t repent properly!
There are many opinions on this among the commentators, but I would like to go specifically to the wonderful response provided by the Ben Yehoyada himself.
What happens if two people carried a broom from a private domain to a public domain on Shabbat? What is their status – exempt or liable? The Gemara (Shabbat 92b) discusses liability for carrying on Shabbat. If one person carries a loaf to the public domain, they are liable. For two people carrying together, Rabbi Meir holds them liable, whereas Rabbi Yehuda says they are liable only if neither could carry it alone; but if either could, they are exempt. Rabbi Shimon exempts them in all cases, even if neither could carry it alone. The source, and difference of opinions, is based on the word בַּעֲשׂוֹתָהּ and how it indicates liability for an individual completing the entire act versus participating in the act alongside another. Rabbi Yehuda ties liability to necessity of joint effort, while Rabbi Shimon exempts joint actors, focusing on individual responsibility.
The Ben Yehoyada brings another Gemara from Sanhedrin (91a), where Antoninus said to Rebbe: “Behold, the body and the soul can both exempt themselves from judgment. When they come to the day of judgment after a person’s death, each has a valid claim to be exempt from punishment for their sins.” How so? The body says: “Behold, the soul sinned! Proof is that from the day the soul departed from me (the day of death), I lie like a silent stone in the grave. Without the soul, I have no ability to do anything, so all the sins I committed during my life, the soul did, not I.” And the soul says the opposite: “The body sinned! Proof is that from the day I departed from the body, I fly in the air like a bird. Without the body, I do not sin, so all the sins I committed during life, the body did, not I.” Antonius asked, “So how does Hakadosh Baruch Hu punish the soul?” Rebbe responded with a parable about a king’s orchard guarded by a lame and a blind man. The lame, who can see but cannot walk, rides on the blind man’s shoulders, who can walk but cannot see, to steal figs. When the king discovers the theft, both guards deny responsibility, citing their disabilities. The king judges them together by placing the lame on the blind’s shoulders, as they acted as one. Similarly, on the day of judgment, Hakadosh Baruch Hu reunites the soul, from the heavens, and body, from the earth, to judge them as one for their joint sins.
Based on this Gemara, we can understand Rabbi Shimon’s claim of being able to exempt the entire world from judgment. It is because Rabbi Shimon rules: “Even if one could not have carried it alone and they carried it together – they are exempt!” But the Halacha is not ruled like him, but like the Chachamim who hold them liable. Rabbi Shimon said: “Fine. The Halacha is not like me, but at least my generation I can exempt from judgment!” And why was the Halacha not ruled like him? Because if we rule like Rabbi Shimon, we wouldn’t receive reward for Mitzvot. If for sins one cannot do without the other – i.e., the body cannot act without the soul – so too in Mitzvot. Meaning, it is better to receive punishment for one’s sins and then be able to receive one’s reward for Mitzvot!
The Ben Yehoyada addresses how Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai claimed he could exempt the world from judgment, despite the principle that a righteous person’s merit can only help protect the living from harm in this world but cannot save the wicked from Gehinnom (which is why Yitzchak did not save Eisav and Rabbi Meir did not save Acher, only helping bring him to Gehinnom to be judged there). Furthermore, he addresses why Rashb'i didn’t save the people of his generation if he could – what prevented him?
He explains this using the parable of the lame and blind guard, where both are judged together for joint actions. Rabbi Shimon, unlike Chazal, holds that two who act together when neither are capable alone, are exempt, as each is merely a helper. According to his view, the body and soul would be exempt from the punishment of sins since they too are considered helpers who cannot act on their own. Thus, he believed body and soul should be exempt from punishment.
However, two problems stand in his way. Firstly, he could not derive or learn heavenly judgments from human judgements, and secondly, many disagree with him, and the Halacha follows the Chachamim, who deem both liable for the completed act. Therefore, Rashb'i says, “It is possible that my merit protect (only) my generation; in that Hakadosh Baruch Hu would do this kindness for them to judge them according to my view in heavenly judgements.” However, Rashb'i didn’t actually ask for this – he didn’t daven for it nor request it – as it would lead to a loss from another perspective. Exempting sins based on the body and soul being mere helpers would result in a loss of reward for Mitzvot in Olam Haba, where they’d also be considered mere helpers in the act. Therefore, he did not request that Hakadosh Baruch Hu judge the world in heavenly judgments according to his view, but that He judge them according to the view of the Chachamim, who hold in human judgments that when both individuals cannot execute on their own, each is nonetheless considered to have done a complete act, so that they are punished for the act and then gain reward for Mitzvot afterwards.
And with this, the Ben Yehoyada explains the Pasuk in Tehillim: לֹא יִפְדֶּה אִישׁ אָח לֹא יִתֵּן לֵאלֹהִים כָּפְרוֹ – A brother cannot redeem a man, nor give to G-d his ransom. This refers to the anguish of the punishment of sins. “Cannot redeem” refers to Rabbi Shimon bat Yochai, his son Elazar, and Yotam, who have the merit to absolve or exempt the entire world according to the view that each is considered a helper, but they do not follow this route due to the resultant loss of reward for Mitzvot.
I would like to move from here to one more point, and from there, you can travel to Meron! The Yerushalmi (Kilayim 9:3) recounts the events surrounding Rebbe’s illness and death. The people of Tzipori, distressed by his suffering, threatened to kill anyone announcing his death, so Bar Kappara, with covered head and torn garments, subtly informed them:
He said to them: Earthlings and angels held the Tablets of the Covenant; the angels were stronger and they took away the Tablets. They said to him: Rebbi died. He said to them: You said it! They tore their clothes and the sound of the tearing was heard at Goffta at a distance of three mil.
The Gemara says, miracles occurred that day. It was Erev Shabbat, and all towns gathered to eulogize Rebbe. His aron was brought to eighteen shuls, then to Beit She’arim for burial. The sun stood still, lengthening the day, allowing everyone to return home, fill water barrels, and light candles before Shabbat; when the sun set, a man announced the miracle of the extended day. The people worried they had desecrated Shabbat, but a heavenly voice declared that all who joined Rebbe’s eulogy, except one lazy washer, were destined for Olam Haba. This washer, who usually visited Rebbe daily but was absent that day, was so distraught upon hearing of Rebbe’s death that he threw himself from a roof and died. A bat kol then proclaimed that even the washer was destined for Olam Haba.
The Ben Yehoyada writes an innovative idea on this Gemara. Who permitted him to kill himself with his own hands? It cannot be, as some suggest, due to his belief that he desecrated Shabbat, and that prohibition carries the penalty of stoning. First, it was involuntary (accidental). Second, even an involuntary prohibition does not apply, since in truth the sun did not set, and he worked permissibly. Who permitted him, a known sage and master of Torah, to destroy himself with his own hands? He writes: “It seems to me, that he did not throw himself from a very high roof, and he was careful to fall on his feet in a way that he would not die, only that he would have a broken leg as atonement for not going with those who accompanied Rebbe. However, from the heavens, they caused him to fall backward, and his neck was broken. Thus, he did not intend to kill himself with his own hands.”
Rabbotai, I never understood this Yerushalmi. What does it mean, “Everyone except the washer”? What do you want from the washer, so he wasn’t at the funeral?! Was he obligated to attend? For years, I searched for a commentator that explains this but found none. This week, however, I saw in the Rama MiPano something wondrous! He writes that the washer is none other than Lavan Ha’Arami – Lavan the Aramean. The question arises: What is the connection between Lavan and that washer?!
I said to myself it must be very simple. It is written in the Arizal that Rebbe is a spark of Yaacov Avinu, and therefore they called him Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, because the Arizal says נשי"א is an acronym for נִשְׁמָתוֹ שֶׁל יַעֲקֹב אָבִינוּ – the soul of Yaacov Avinu! If Rebbe is the root of the soul of Yaacov Avinu – who caused trouble for Yaacov? Lavan – he is the washer. Therefore, a bat kol went forth and said: “Everyone who was at the funeral of Rebbe [who is Yaacov Avinu] is destined for the life of Olam Haba,” but this washer, who is Lavan who caused trouble for Yaacov Avinu – he can forget about it!
The commentators ask a tremendous question: What merit did Rebbe have that specifically those who were at his funeral merited to be destined for the life of Olam Haba? Rebbe rules that the essence of Yom Kippur atones even without Teshuva (repentance), but the Chachamim disagree and say there is no such thing as Yom Kippur atoning without Teshuva.
Rabbi Menachem Tzvi Taksin writes in Orach Yesharim that his teacher, Rav Yisrael Salanter, before Kol Nidrei wept greatly and began saying: “Woe to us, what shall we do, for the Halacha follows Rebbe against his colleague, but not against his colleagues.” Rebbe holds that Yom Kippur atones even without repentance, as the day itself atones, but Chazal hold that Yom Kippur atones only with Teshuva. He said that if we were to rule that the Halacha follows Rebbe even against his colleagues, we would have no fear of the awe of Yom HaDin, for the day would atone for our sins on its own. But now, since the Halacha follows Chazal, we must perform true Teshuva, and only then will the day itself also atone. Within his words, he also explained why on the day of Rebbe’s death a bat kol proclaimed, “All who were at Rebbe’s funeral are destined for the life of Olam Haba,” and why this bat kol did not proclaim the same at the passing other Tanna’im. The Zohar says that the day a Tanna passes is called his hilula, and on that day, they rule in the heavenly academy according to that Tanna’s rulings and judgments. It is well-known from their statement that just as Yom Kippur atones, so too does the death of the righteous atone, thus, according to Rebbe, who holds that Yom Kippur atones even without Teshuva, so too did the day of his passing atone like Yom Kippur without repentance. And since they ruled in the heavenly academy on that day according to all his rulings, his passing atoned even without Teshuva. Therefore, all who were present at his levaya were atoned for and are destined for Olam Haba.
This means that on the day of a sage’s passing, they rule in heaven according to his rulings! Based on this principle, we can now understand a wonderful idea! Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai says: “Even though one could not carry it out alone and two carried it out together – they are exempt.” But we do not rule like him! However, on the day of his passing – Lag Ba’Omer – they do rule like him, just as was the case with...
