Dear Friends,
Every year on Lag BaOmer (18 Iyar), we remember the great Tanna (Mishnaic sage) Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, who died on this day about eighteen centuries ago. Rabbi Shimon, who lived in the second century of the Common Era, was one of the greatest teachers of Jewish Law and ethics and is the author of the classic text of Kabbalah, the Zohar. On the day of his passing, Rabbi Shimon instructed his disciples to mark the date as “the day of my joy.”
Another reason we will be celebrating the festival of Lag B’Omer this coming Monday is due to commemorating the end of a plague which nearly killed all the students of the great sage Rabbi Akiva (who was Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochais rabbi and mentor).
The Talmud tells us that Jewish knowledge and learning was almost forgotten due to an illness which almost wiped out all the students of Rabbi Akiva because “they did not act respectively to one another” yet thankfully on Lag B’Omer the epidemic ended.
Rabbi Akiva was not only famous for being a sage of immense piety and holiness, but also a leader of impeccable character with his most famous adage being ‘Vehavta Lerayacha Kamocha- You should love your fellow as you love yourself.’
How could his students seemingly disobey their teacher’s most famous and important lesson?
They say ‘two Jews, three opinions’ and amongst the thousands of students of Rabbi Akiva each had their own unique way of learning and understanding of their master’s teachings.
Thus, it developed a situation in which each student in performing the mitzvah of ‘loving their fellow as much as themselves’ attempted to influence the other’s way of learning and present their own ‘true’ extrapolations of the teachings of Rabbi Akiva. Even though each student had originally righteousness intentions, strife and discord eventually broke out amongst the students of Rabbi Akiva.
The plague eventually ended on Lag BaOmer, which means that they had remedied their actions and began to treat each other with the appropriate level of esteem.
Hence we can learn from this story that despite someone doing a favour for another, a person might think: “Since I helped them, they are now indebted to me.” But Lag BaOmer teaches us that when G-d grants you the position and ability to help another person, you must at the same time be extremely careful to preserve that person’s dignity and respect.
I am so humbled seeing the outpour of support from our community with the Pay It Forward campaign. Over 100 delicious and nutritious meals were delivered by ARK Catering in collaboration with OVK (Our Village Kitchen) in helping those in our community that unfortunately find themselves in a difficult situation.
Let’s take the spirit and message of Lag Baomer and not be complacent! By next week, let’s raise enough funds to assist another 100 people!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Gabi
ARK Centre acknowledges the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of this nation. We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the lands on which our organisation is located and where we conduct our activities. We pay our respects to ancestors and Elders, past, present and emerging. ARK Centre is committed to honouring Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ unique cultural and spiritual relationships to the land, waters and seas and their rich contribution to society.