יריכיך, חמוקי mean to teach us that just as the ירך, the thigh of a person is hidden, so too must the Torah be hidden. It’s not some cheap merchandise that we sell cheaply in the market. It is precious and holy, a פנימיות connection with the Ribbono shel Olam, and its secret must be guarded. It can’t be placed into vessels...
Fueling the Fire
When a person relates to Torah generally, in this world, he has no choice but to connect with it as he sees it. We’re mortals, humans, after all—and this is our way to connect with the Torah sheb’al peh; by learning it as we see it.
But this is only the beginning—a vessel in which the light is contained. The real yearning inside the neshamah of every Yid is to behold this Torah in all of its glory, and to connect with Hashem through it. This Yid never forgets that there are layers upon layers of depth and meaning in the Torah. And this is where Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai—the Moshe Rabbeinu of Torah sheb’al peh—comes in.
On this day of Lag BaOmer, the great light and depth was revealed in this world that everything we see in Torah in this world is only a way to connect to this world—but everything leads to a higher and more exalted place. Just as a fire needs wood, fuel with which it is connected on this world—even as it strives and dances upward.
Desiring the Fire
And this is how a Yid views his avodah in this world. Every mitzvah we perform is merely “fuel”—a physical connection on this world, something for the great light to connect to. The Torah—which commands us to perform this mitzvos—is only the fuel for the great fire of love and yearning and connection to the Ribbono shel Olam to grab onto.
Lag BaOmer is the day that this is revealed within the neshamah of a Yid—his awareness of this awakening and yearning is heightened. A person isn’t always aware of what he is feeling, but on this day he is connected with Rabbi Shimon. On this day, it is revealed with great clarity that we all strive and yearn for elevation—that everything we see before us in this world is only fuel for the great fire of connection to the Ribbono shel Olam.
Grasping Fire
When a person has a challenging day—with ברוחניות or בגשמיות—and he decides to escape to the Ribbono shel Olam, to the ultimate safe space, לי. צר ביום מנוס He runs to the mikvah to purify himself from the depression that he experienced (and perhaps anger as well). He immerses himself with thoughts of kedushah on his mind, and then sits down to learn Torah with great fire and fervor...
He is essentially proclaiming to the Ribbono shel Olam that he was distant, and now I am running to You!—and there is no better way to accomplish this than through grasping at the fire of connection. This Yid has just experienced this idea: grasping at Torah and mitzvos in this world, which are fiery connections that draw and elevate us way up high.
Solutions for Connection
Indeed, Rabbi Shimon teaches us in the Zohar HaKadosh that mitzvos are called eitzos, solutions for the dilemma of how to come close to the Aibishter, to attain Elokus—and this feeling that everything we see in the form of Torah and mitzvos is merely a way to ground our fiery connection to the Ribbono shel Olam is strengthened on this day of Lag BaOmer.
Because on this day, the light of Torah sheb’al peh is revealed. This Torah means that we’re merely grasping onto the “fuel” in this world—while cleaving and leaping upward with great fire. And this day has the secret to igniting the soul with this fire of yearning and connection.
Dancing With Fire
A person who looks at the fire and dances around the fire thinks about this idea—understanding that this is the ultimate metaphor for our connection to Torah and to the Ribbono shel Olam. He knows that the holy, burning fire is the only way we can describe our connection with the Aibishter.
This is the way he comprehends what Torah and Yiddishkeit really is—a burning fire of connection to the Ribbono shel Olam. He then becomes awakened and aroused to desire this connection, and he pleads with Hashem to grant him this connection.
About this way of viewing Torah we say לנו, מגן תורתו the Torah of Rabbi Shimon is a protection for us. This world is filled with hazards and dangers. When we have a spiritual fire that surrounds you, it protects you. When a person learns without the knowledge and awareness that there’s something much deeper and holier here—that Torah is a vehicle to bring us יראה, to bring us back to the proper path—this Torah is less protective from the dangers of Olam HaZeh...
The Torah of Rabbi Shimon is לנו. מגן When we approach Torah and mitzvos with a desire to connect upward, this is a true protection for us—ובגשמיות. ברוחניות
Our only tefillah remains that בעדינו, טוב ימליץ הוא that Rabbi Shimon should advocate for us to connect with the Torah that he has revealed to us.
