Rabbi Shimon and his son remained in the cave for 12 years, involved in nothing but the study of Torah. When the time for prayer arrived, they would put on their clothes, pray and then return to the sand. In order to preserve their clothes from wearing out, they each dug a deep hole, removed their clothes and buried themselves neck-deep in the sand (out of modesty, they wanted to be covered.) They would spend the entire day studying Torah in this way. Rabbi Shimon and his son had no change of clothes. But apart from the cave to live in, they had no way of surviving but a miracle occurred and a carob tree grew in the cave and a stream of water appeared. Rabbi Shimon and his son Elazar fled to a cave in the northern region of Israel. Rabbi Shimon and his son survived by eating the fruit of a carob tree whilst in hiding from the Romans The Romans then sentenced him to death, and he was forced to go into hiding. When the Romans outlawed the study of Torah, Rabbi Shimon spoke out against them. Rabbi Shimon endured terrible persecution to ensure that the Torah would not be forgotten in the difficult time of the Roman occupation. He was an activist against the Romans and is believed by many to have written the Zohar (an important book about Jewish mysticism). Shimon Bar Yochai was one of Rabbi Akiva’s leading students. The students, however, would go to a cave deep in the woods and there they would study Torah with Rabbi Akiva. When the Romans saw them, they would think nothing of it. Rabbi Akiva told his students to dress up as hunters and pretend they were going hunting (with bows and arrows). She convinced him to study and consequently, he became a very learned and well-respected rabbi). (Before becoming a rabbi, Akiva was a poor shepherd who married a woman named Rachel. Rabbi Akivaĭespite this prohibition, Rabbi Akiva was determined to keep the study of Torah alive. The events commemorated on Lag baOmer occurred about 2,000 years ago, during the period when the Romans ruled Palestine (the name they gave to the land of Israel) and the Jews were forbidden to study Torah or practise any form of Judaism. ![]() Lag baOmer has become a day of joyous celebration. On this day it is said that Rabbi Shimon revealed fundamental teachings of the Zohar (the key text of Jewish Mysticism). Lag baOmer also marks the ‘yahrzeit’ (death anniversary) of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, who was a student of Rabbi Akiva. However, on the thirty-third day of this Omer Period, his students stopped dying because of the epidemic. This sad event and others took place during the Counting of the Omer. On Lag baOmer we recall that 24,000 of his disciples died in an epidemic – this was a problem not only because of the loss of life, but also because his students were the future (religious) leadership of the Jewish people. ![]() ![]() Rabbi Akiva, who witnessed the destruction of the Second Temple, was the greatest Torah sage of his generation. In ancient times, Hebrew letters were also used as numbers and the number 33 was written with the Hebrew letters lamed and gimmel, hence the name ‘Lag baOmer’ which literally means ’33rd in the Omer’. Lag baOmer is celebrated on the 18th of the Hebrew month of Iyar, which is the thirty-third day of counting the Omer. Lag baOmer – the 33rd Day of the Counting of the Omer Bonfires are often lit in celebration of Lag baOmer.
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