The holiday of Lag Ba’Omer (the 33^rd day of the Omer) is celebrated in honor of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, the author of The Book of Zohar, who passed away on this day.

In The Book of Zohar, in the chapter “Idra Zuta,” portion “Ha’azinu,” the passing of Rabbi Shimon is described as follows: “For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore” (Psalm 133).

Rabbi Aba said, “Rabbi Shimon did not finish saying ‘life’ before his words subsided. And I wrote, and thought to write some more, but I did not hear.

I did not raise my head for the light was great and I could not look.

Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Aba took him from his place on the bed that is made like a ladder in order to raise him on his bed. The whole house was filled with fragrances. They lifted him to his bed, and only Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Aba served him.

After the bed left the house, it rose in the air, and fire was blazing before it. They heard a voice: “Come in and come and gather for the celebration of Rabbi Shimon”

The Zohar uses such vivid descriptions because it is written in the language of Midrash (allegory). But of course, it is not speaking of physical death, it speaks of the soul’s departure, which enters the state of the end of correction (Gmar Tikkun). That is why this is such a significant event, and why the entire system that includes his students receives such a special light.

It is not describing the death of a person, but rather the thinning of a spiritual Partzuf. First, the light enters and clothes the Partzuf, forming within it Ta’amim, Nekudot, Tagin, and Otiyot. The clothing of the light in the Partzuf and its departure make the vessel fit for use. In this way, the soul of Rabbi Shimon reaches its final action, its last degree, the collective end of correction. This is what The Zohar tells us.

All the other companions, the souls that depended on him and emerged from his Partzuf, which was filled with light and was now releasing it, then received all the light that departed from him. These were the ones who were attached to him, connected to him, who participated in the drawing of the light, and in its departure.

The departure of a Kabbalist means that all the light he had drawn into his soul together with his students, and accumulated for the sake of all humanity, is now being released and transmitted to all other souls. Now this light becomes like a glow, a surrounding light, which he bestows upon others. His departure symbolizes this transmission of light.

That is why we celebrate this day with such joy, because we have received this upper light, called “Zohar,” which is capable of correcting all souls, uniting them, and raising each one to the level of the Creator.

This is why this day is called the Festival of Light, the light that returns us to our source, the light of correction. Each person must ask themselves: “Am I truly using this light?”

This light has been given to us, but are we using it, and are we realizing our potential through it? That is what it means to take part in the celebration of Lag Ba’Omer.
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From KabTV’s: Lag B’Omer, 5/17/11

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The path of the Torah is such that in every state you are given a chance (through various means like the group, books, and study) to advance toward the recognition of evil. Through study, you draw the “allure of holiness” upon yourself.

You begin to sense, at least a little, that there is such a thing as bestowal. From this, you feel yourself sinking ever more deeply into slavery, in Egypt. That is why it is said that the longer the sons of Israel remained in Egypt, the more they felt they were enslaved.

Eventually, you reach a state where the gap (the tension) between that “allure of holiness” you received from above and your current state, your actual qualities, becomes so great that you feel you must escape this state at any cost. You want to run from it, but you don’t know how.

Why did the Creator arrange this feeling of contradiction within you? It is so that for the first time, you would turn to Him and establish a connection with Him. The sons of Israel did not want a connection with the Creator. Even at the giving of the Torah, they did not aspire to address the Creator directly; instead, they asked Moses to speak with the Creator and then relay what was said to them.

The need for connection with the Creator is not inherent in human nature because such a connection places obligations on a person and feels burdensome. It comes only through the light that descends upon a person during study.

This light determines the next state, the tension, the measure of recognition of evil. A person cannot leave their state on their own, but the light gives them the strength to turn to the Creator with a request. There is no other means.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/7/26, Rabash, “The Connection between Passover, Matza, and Maror”

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Question: Why is it that our group, which exerts tremendous effort in study and in everything possible, is still not at the level that, seemingly, corresponds to its efforts?

Answer: I look at it completely differently.

We exist within a system called the soul of Adam HaRishon. We are a part of this soul, united across all countries by one goal, which is to lead many people, if not everyone, forward. We have no right to focus solely on ourselves.

If what is currently placed upon me is to lead several million people, then until I have the strength to do so, I, because I am connected with them, will not be able to advance even a millimeter. Therefore, one should not check whether I have advanced. That millimeter of progress will come only when I have the strength to lead all those millions of people, down to the very last person. Then I will advance.

For now, one should measure progress by how much strength I have gained to lead yet more people, and then even more. And although I have still not advanced forward even a millimeter, I am constantly accumulating strength. Those millions are beginning to awaken; they are becoming capable of moving.

If you say, “Where is the progress? Look how much effort I have invested!” you are approaching this with the wrong measure. Indeed, I have not advanced, but what has been invested has remained within me. I have already acquired these forces; they are within me.

There is a vast number of souls ready to join me, and they are joining. This is all the result. You simply do not want to see it; you are looking at the fact that there is still no visible progress. Correct, I would not say that there is.

There is, but it is extremely subtle, and of course, it does not correspond to the level we would be entitled to reach were we acting alone. But what can be done? I do not calculate how I would advance if I were alone. It does not depend on me, and it is not my function.

Should I simply retreat to commune with the Creator, and that’s it? A person does not choose the time or the state in which they exist or the actions they must perform.

Indeed, we see that this is precisely what is happening: every day dozens, if not hundreds, of people around the world join us. The world is moving toward a state where we will soon see the collective stance people adopt and the attitude to life they embrace; they will all become clear. Within a few years, you will see how everyone already understands you, even if you have done nothing for it. Of course, it’s not that you have done nothing; you are investing your efforts today, and somehow it reaches them. This is the tangible result of our efforts.

So, I do not attempt to evaluate our progress by examining some isolated minute sector, it is impossible to measure this that way. On the other hand, we must be sensitive to it; we must not fall into despair from the fact that we are, seemingly, treading water. We are not treading water. The fact that you continue to publish books, produce films, deliver lessons and lectures, and organize more groups—all of this is having an effect.

Nevertheless, we cannot measure the spiritual level that is destined for us, because until we have guided a specific number of people from the global community, until we have gathered a certain critical mass, we will not be able to rise to that higher plane.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/9/26, Rabash, “It is Forbidden to Hear a Good Thing from a Bad Person”

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Preparation to the Lesson

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1st part of the Lesson — Writings of Rabash, Article 25 “What Is Heaviness of the Head in the Work?” (1987) (1.9.2003)”

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2nd part of the Lesson — Writings of Baal HaSulam, “Study of the Ten Sefirot, Vol. 2, Part 5, Item 46

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3rd part of the Lesson — Studying with Friends

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Comment: Suppose I feel good thanks to a Hisaron, a lack, that has revealed itself.

My Response: This means that you are consuming yourself. It is impossible to feel good because of a deficiency.

Question: But what if a person wants to remind the group of something that needs to be corrected?

Answer: This is not called revealing a lack. After all, the Kli and the light come as one whole. Therefore, if a question arises within the group regarding something that needs to be corrected now, it is permissible. But not in the form of vague generalizations that “we are lost, we do not see the path, we do not know how to get out of this state.” In other words, do not create obstacles, do not burden—awaken.

Both the Kelim and the lights are given to us from above. It is from there that we should receive both difficult and easy questions. But a person should not search for negative things beyond what is given to them from above. If they are not given to me, why should I descend lower? After all, I have the potential to ascend constantly!

If, however, a person drags themselves downward, this is a real Klipa, an impure force, that is operating on them. It is a peculiar Klipa; a person begins to revel in suffering and demonstrates to everyone how they, poor thing, suffer, so that all may see what a “hero” they are.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/7/26, Rabash, “The Connection between Passover, Matza, and Maror”

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Question: Will our adhesion with the Creator contribute to the dissemination of Kabbalah?

Answer: When you go out to disseminate Kabbalah, what are you spreading? Just a piece of paper with something printed on it? You spread what is in your heart, what you cultivate, exalt, and develop in society. That is what you are spreading, after all.

Of course, if we have determined that “there is none else besides Him,” that adhesion with Him, striving toward Him, connecting with Him in everything that happens to us is the most important thing, and separating from Him is the greatest punishment—then, no matter what you do on the street, even if you present it in a different, much lighter form acceptable to the masses, you are still essentially spreading only what is in your heart.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/9/26, Rabash, “It is Forbidden to Hear a Good Thing from a Bad Person”

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Question: We have spoken about the necessity for the whole nation to become aware of our current state. But what form should this awareness take among people like us, those who have already turned to the books and used all the means? What else are we missing?

Answer: At this level, a person cannot see their true state. Even when he has already entered the spiritual realm, he cannot immediately see his state clearly. It does not come instantly. When he first enters spirituality, he is like an infant.

If I am on the very first spiritual degrees, annulling myself before the Creator, this annulment means that I am not working with my Kelim. I see something, but I do not know what it is. I react somehow, but with no greater conscious understanding than a baby in our physical world.

Gradually, as a person advances and acquires Kelim through which he can receive for the sake of bestowal, he begins to attain the spiritual world as he absorbs it, receives from it, and engages with it through both receiving and giving. But if he does not absorb the surrounding spirituality into his own Kelim, he will be able to distinguish very little within it.

This is understandable. There is no way for one to gain such awareness, because all our learning and attainment come from absorbing something from the outside. What that something is, in and of itself, we do not know; it is Atzmuto (His essence). To the extent that we are able to channel this light through our Kelim of bestowal or Kelim of reception, we build an inner picture within ourselves of the reality around us, a picture of the world, of the Creator.

Therefore, not only we, but also those who have already entered the spiritual degree and are on the very first small steps of the spiritual ladder, are all like babies. Of course, they already have a sense of the Creator, of His presence, and of the fact that He surrounds and fills a person. But to gain awareness and attainment, we must at least somewhat start working with the Kelim of reception.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/7/26, Rabash, “The Connection between Passover, Matza, and Maror”

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Question: What determines creation’s ability to experience the suffering of the Shechina?

Answer: The suffering of the Shechina means that a person who acquires a vessel of bestowal senses suffering in them. To the extent that one feels a desire to bestow to the Creator, he perceives that these vessels are precisely what the Creator wishes to give him. Prior to that, we do not sense this.

When we speak about the suffering of the Shechina, does anyone really feel it? “The Shechina in the dust…” We tend to think that “the Shechina in the dust” is merely a state in which we do not sense the Creator. However, such a state is actually called concealment. When we experience suffering from the fact that the Creator is unable bestow, which I can sense only to the extent of my own desire to bestow to Him, this is what is called the suffering of the Shechina.

In other words, this is similar to two people, one of whom does not sense the other. The latter cries out, weeps, and is miserable, but the first person does not understand what is happening. “Why is he crying? Should I go and ask?” If this person is an absolute stranger to me, then I begin to sense his sorrow only if I have a desire to become closer to him and love him. I begin to feel his suffering according to my own vessels.

Therefore, the suffering of the Shechina because she cannot bestow to me and my suffering because I cannot bestow to her create a common single vessel. We meet inside this vessel and engage in mutual bestowal upon one another, there we exist in bonding. Thus, the Shechina is the place of bonding between the Creator and creation.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 3/24/26, Rabash, “What Is, ‘When Israel Are in Exile, the Shechina Is with Them,’ in the Work?”

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Question: What should you do done in relation to the group in order to constantly maintain readiness for internal war, the inner struggle, and not surrender in it?

Answer: Not surrendering means not forgetting. Only the group can instill such an awareness of this importance to a person. To achieve this independently would cost him a great deal of suffering. It would have to practically engraved in his flesh. Moreover, it would take many years.

However, the group can raise this importance to such a degree that a person will remain constantly sensitive to it, will fear a break in connection, and, as Baal HaSulam writes, disconnecting from the Creator for a single moment will become the greatest punishment in the world for him.

How can I constantly be ready to maintain my connection with the Creator? If He is important to me, then I will maintain a connection with Him. The group has to constantly “drip” this awareness into me, both the group and me together.

Question: How can I establish a relationship between myself and the group, a bond, that will never be broken? After all, the ultimate goal is for me to remain constantly sensitive in my attitude toward the Creator.

Answer: It is not so much about your attitude toward the Creator, but in not disconnecting from Him. You must seek the means to remain as close as possible to that point of connection.

The means to achieve this is the realization of the importance of this state: being united with the Creator. Where does the awareness of importance come from? Experiment; there are a thousand and one factors involved. Perhaps you should read books about it, listen to music, attend lectures, and so on.

It is said that society exerts the greatest influence on a person. After all, books are a part of society. Anything that evokes a reaction within me, anything that originates not from within myself, but from outside, is defined as society. But what influences a person most is the opinion of the people immediately surrounding him. The group must be big enough, significant, and strong to truly instill this awareness deep within him.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/9/26, Rabash, “It is Forbidden to Hear a Good Thing From a Bad Person”

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Question: Is it correct that in order to act opposite to the advice of the will to receive, one must be aware of the importance of making an effort?

Answer: No. The importance of making efforts is only a test. What is required in order to recognize the importance of acting contrary to the advice of the will to receive, is the awareness of this very fact.

One must be aware that the will to receive, that is, the intention we currently have, along with the urges and impulses we experience, always aims to detach us from the Creator, and we must resist this.
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 4/9/26, Rabash, “It is Forbidden to Hear a Good Thing from a Bad Person”

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