28 Apr EMOR: 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.
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): “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, K’dai
Rabbi Shimon L’smoch Alav B’fanav V’Shelo
B’fanav. 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.
Chazal (Kiddushin 40.) say, “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 Ma’amarei Rashbi
(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) “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.