Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai
Our brilliant light is not meant to blind or burn the world but to illuminate it.
Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, known as the Rashbi, is one of the universe’s most giant figures. A Mishnaic sage who famously spent 13 years in a cave with his soon hiding from the Romans, the Rashbi was also the conveyer of the mystical, Kabalistic secrets, documented in the seminal work of the Zohar. On Lag b’Omer, the Rashbi called in the society of his holy brethren, and told them that his soul is ready to be reunified with its creator. The Rashbi compelled his students to celebrate the day of his reunification with mystical joy and bonfire illumination. Till this very day, hundreds of thousands of people celebrate at his resting place in the northern Israeli hills of Meron.
The Kabbala of Curses
To understand the deeper meaning of these blessings dressed up in the “garments” of “curses” requires a penetrating look into the forces that lay beneath the surface of existence in general.
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Coping with the Meron Tragedy: An Open Discussion and Q&A w/ Rabbi Simon Jacobson
An Open Discussion and Q&A w/ Rabbi Simon Jacobson
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Oy Rashbi! How Can We Celebrate Lag B’Omer in Face of Tragedy
What are we to make of the horrific loss of 45 people and many more injured at this year’s festive Lag B’omer celebration on Mount Meron? They came to honor Rabbi Shimeon bar Yochai, a 2nd century sage and mystic. They danced through the night in love, joy and unity. And then…
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The Kabbalah of Curses
The 49 curses listed in the Torah portion of Bechukosei evokes an interesting question: what possible benefit can be found in these curses?
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The Rashbi
The Rashbi is the author of the classic Kabbalistic work, the Holy Zohar (‘Book of Splendor’), first published in 1558. This is a fact sheet on the Rashbi.
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The Kabbala of Curses
The 49 curses listed in the Torah portion of Bechukosei evokes an interesting question: what possible benefit can be found in these curses?
Read More