בס”ד
By Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron
Painting by: Baruch Nachshon z”l
This painting exhibits primary themes of Lag Baomer. Three sides of the painting carry sentences that talk in praise of Rabbin Shimon Bar Yohai. The fourth/bottom side mentions a sentence mentioned by Rabbi Akiva, who is also a primary figure connected to Lag Baomer, for according to our tradition, the students of Rabbi Akiva ceased to die on Lag Baomer, and then Rabbi Akiva ordained five primary students, one of which was Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai. This sentence of Rabbi Akiva found in the last Mishna of tractate Yoma, which discusses the laws of Yom Kippur, emphasizes the profound closeness of Hashem to Israel, where Hashem is so-to-speak the purifying “mikveh” of Israel. From R’ Nachshon’s juxtaposition of this to Rashbi and Lag Baomer it seems that he wished to connect the secrets of the Torah, the internal aspects of the Torah, to this deep connection between Hashem and Israel, for it is the internal Torah which teaches how Israel are so deeply part of the Divine light emanating from the Creator and His Holy Presence. Indeed, one of the terms seen in this painting [closer to the center] is Zohar HaShechina, a term that quite clearly ties the Kabbalistic work of the Zohar with the Zohar – light – of the Holy Presence.
Another explanation may make a connection between Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai amd Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov, leader of the Hasidic movement, which is strongly based on the internal Torah of the Kabbalah. This may be the meaning of Shema Yisrael found here, which aside of making a connection to the proclamation of Hashem’s Unity, which is a deep matter discussed at length in the Kabbalah, there may also be a hint in the word Shema to the name Rabbi Shimon and in the word Yisrael to Rabbi Yisrael [Baal Shem Tov].
The Sefer Torah seen in the bonfire seems also to suggest how Lag Baomer is part of the Omer Count leading up to the Giving of the Torah on Shavuot. Of course an important part of receiving the entire Torah is the connection to the internal Torah, the Zohar, and the Kabbalah.
We see twelve Hasidim dancing [one is upside down], and twelve drops of fire. This matter may hint to the twelve tribes of Israel, mentioned also in Rabbi Akiva’s exclamation: “Happy are you Israel!” Twelve and Twelve also correspond to the twenty four books of the Tanach read on Shavuot. The twelve tribes of Israel may also hint to the unity of Israel and the love between Israel, as Rabbi Akiva taught that “love your fellowman as yourself is a major rule of the Torah.” The Tania teaches that loving your fellowman is most strongly achieved when we contemplate the internal soul of our fellowman in the sense that Israel are all one group soul united with the One God. Of course, this contemplation is compounded in Hebron, the City of Unity-Hibur, and also a focal point of the Holy Presence. In the light of the Holy Presence we realize how we are all united as one group soul with the One God – “Shema Yisrael Hashem Eloheinu Hashem Ehad!”