Concerning the שמחה of ל״ג בעומר, we explained in the last שיעור that there are many reasons. But the one reason we were talking about was the reason that this is the day that רב שמעון בן יוחאי passed away. And since the day that a צדיק passes away, all the תורה and עבודה of that צדיק gathers together and shines and is strong on that day, therefore on ל״ג בעומר, the עבודה of רב שמעון בן יוחאי was very strong. And therefore, that is the day we are able and have a special כח to take a lesson from the ways of רב שמעון בן יוחאי and to try to follow in his footsteps at least a little bit as much as possible. What was the specialty of רב שמעון בן יוחאי? So as we mentioned in the last שיעור, the day that he passed away he said that all his lifetime he was בחד קטירא אתקטרנא, he was tied with one knot with השם, his נשמה was ביה אחידא, was מיוחד with השם, ביה להיטא was desirable to השם, and also was דבוק to השם, etc., etc. And it's self-understood that on that day, the day that he passed away, all this was even stronger. His קשר, his knot so to speak, and his unity with השם was even stronger. As it says in the זוהר there, דף רצ״ו עמוד ב׳, that when he passed away, he finished off by saying the פסוק, ״כי שם צוה השם״, and the פסוק continues, ״את הברכה חיים עד העולם״. And he didn't manage, it says in the זוהר there, to finish and say the word חיים. לא סיים בוצינא קדישא למימר חיים. He didn't finish the word חיים, and that's when his נשמה left him. In other words, he finished off with the word חיים. That is to show that his whole lifetime was the fact that he was united with השם, who is אלוקים חיים, and when he passed away, he remained connected to השם with a קשר נצחי, with an eternal קשר, and that's why he finished off, his נשמה left him when he said the word חיים. And since every year, when the same day comes around, the same things happen over again, as the פסוק says, ״הימים האלה נזכרים ונעשים״, these days are remembered and done, which means because they are remembered, that's why they are done, the same thing happens over again, so this of רב שמעון בן יוחאי takes place again every year on ל״ג בעומר. And since every איד has a special connection to רב שמעון בן יוחאי, so every איד is able to take a lesson in this thing. To go a little bit more in detail of the עבודה of רב שמעון בן יוחאי, it says in ירושלמי מסכת סנהדרין פרק א׳ הלכה ב׳ that when רב עקיבא gave סמיכה to his תלמידים, רב מאיר and רב שמעון, he said like this, ישב רב מאיר תחילה, that רב מאיר sit first. So it says there, נתכרכמו פני רב שמעון, so the face of רב שמעון became darkened, he felt bad. So רב עקיבא said to him, דייך שאני ובוראך מכירין כוחך, it's enough for you that I and your Creator recognize your power. Which means that he said to him the reason he couldn't put him in front is because the other תלמידים did not recognize his greatness, and they wouldn't understand why he put him first. So he says, \"I and your Creator and השם recognize your greatness.\"

Now this shows how great רב שמעון בן יוחאי was. Because concerning רב מאיר, who did sit in front, it says in the גמרא in עירובין דף י״ג עמוד ב׳ and דף נ״ג עמוד א׳ that שלא יכלו חביריו לעמוד על סוף דעתו. The חברים of רב מאיר could not enter into the depth of his דעת, which means the חכמים did not understand the greatness of רב מאיר, the greatness of his knowledge. Nevertheless, they understood enough that רב מאיר should sit first. That's why when רב עקיבא set them up, he put רב מאיר first, because he knew that the חכמים would feel that רב מאיר belongs first. So even though the חכמים did not understand the greatness of רב מאיר, but that much understanding they did have in his greatness that he belongs first. But concerning רב שמעון, his greatness was so deep that they didn't even have an understanding in his greatness. It's only as רב עקיבא said, אני ובוראך מכירין כוחך. Just me, רב עקיבא. And רב עקיבא we know was so great that it says in ליקוטי הש״ס of the אריז״ל, סוף ברכות, that he was parallel to השם, כביכול. Concerning the עשרה הרוגי מלכות, the ten חכמים that were killed by the מלכות, and they were כנגד the ten sons of יעקב who sold יוסף, and really they were not ten then, they were only nine there, the tenth they were מצרף, they combined השם, so each one of the עשרה הרוגי מלכות was כנגד one of the שבטים. So it says there in ליקוטי הש״ס that רב עקיבא was כנגד השם. So that's what he said to him, \"It's enough that your Creator and me,\" who is so great, רב עקיבא was so great as we said before, he was כנגד השם, \"so we understand your greatness.\" But from here we see that most people could not understand his greatness, which means that רב שמעון בן יוחאי was so great, beyond the grasp even of his חברים, certainly beyond the grasp... grasp of anyone else, especially people from our generation. So לכאורה, on one hand, how can we say that we are able to celebrate the שמחה of רב שמעון בן יוחאי and take a lesson from his עבודה, when he was so great that even the חכמים in his time did not have any understanding in his greatness? On the other hand, we know that רב שמעון בן יוחאי commanded, wanted, that the people should celebrate in the day of his שמחה. As it says in משנת חסידים מסכת אייר, פרק א' משנה ו', that ביום ל״ג בעומר is מצוה לשמוח שמחת רשב״י. It's a מצוה to be happy with the שמחה of רשב״י. And it's told in פרי עץ חיים, שער ספירת העומר פרק ז', and brought down in שולחן ערוך האריז״ל כוונות העומר ג', that one of the תלמידים of the אריז״ל, who used to say נחם everyday—we say נחם only on תשעה באב. נחם is a special תפילה ה׳ should comfort us and rebuild the בית המקדש. So on תשעה באב, when we really feel the חורבן בית המקדש, the destruction of the בית המקדש, we say נחם. Now this תלמיד of the אריז״ל, he used to say נחם everyday. And it's משמע from there that he even used to say נחם on שבת and יום טוב, because he really felt the חורבן בית המקדש. So everyday he דאוונט to ה׳ to rebuild the בית המקדש. He came on ל״ג בעומר to מירון to be משתטח on the קבר of רב שמעון בן יוחאי, and he said נחם there, too. So רב שמעון בן יוחאי was very upset and he punished this תלמיד of the אריז״ל for saying נחם. And he said, \"Why isn't he שמח בשמחתי? Why isn't he happy in my שמחה? Why does he come to disturb my שמחה by saying נחם?\" And the reason is very simple: רב שמעון בן יוחאי was so great, as brought down in ספרים, that he was beyond the חורבן. The חורבן בית המקדש, spiritually, did not affect him. So he didn't want that other people who come to celebrate his שמחה should talk about the חורבן at the time of his שמחה. But what do we see from here? We see that רב שמעון בן יוחאי wanted everybody to celebrate his שמחה. So לכאורה, it seems like there is a

contradiction in רב שמעון בן יוחאי. On one hand, he was so great that nobody, not even the חכמים of his own time, were able to grasp his greatness. And at the same time, we say that everybody is supposed to celebrate the שמחה of רב שמעון בן יוחאי as he wanted, which means that he has a קשר, a connection, to every single איד. And the answer is, this is exactly what רב שמעון בן יוחאי was. רב שמעון בן יוחאי was, on one hand, so great that his greatness was beyond anybody else, and at the same time, he brought down from his greatness to everybody, that every single person has the כח to follow in his footsteps and take part of his greatness and act that same way. And therefore, he wanted that everybody should be שמח בשמחתו, should be happy with his שמחה, because his שמחה has a connection to everybody. And the truth is, we see this concept in רב שמעון בן יוחאי's opinions in הלכה, that on one hand we see the greatness of the great, and at the same time we see how much he lowered it down to everybody. The פסוק says, ״לא ימוש ספר התורה הזה מפיך״. The פסוק in יהושע א' ח'. And in the ברייתא in ברכות דף ל״ה עמוד ב', we find a מחלוקת. The פסוק means that a person should never leave the תורה, should always study תורה. So רבי ישמעאל says that it doesn't mean ככתבו, it doesn't mean exactly as it says, that every person should actually never stop learning תורה, but רבי ישמעאל says that הנהג בהם מנהג דרך ארץ. You have to do your work also. רב שמעון בן יוחאי holds that it means כפשוטו, that a person should learn תורה a whole day. ״אי״, what will happen with all the person's work? So he says if the אידן do the רצון of ה׳, the will of ה׳, ״מלאכתן נעשית על ידי אחרים״. Others will do their work. And the גמרא says, ״הרבה עשו כרבי ישמעאל ועלתה בידן״—many people did like רבי ישמעאל, which means they worked, they also learned תורה, they had a קביעות in the תורה, but most of their time they spent working, ועלתה בידן, and they succeeded. But כרבי שמעון בן יוחאי, many did like רב שמעון בן יוחאי, ולא עלתה בידן, they didn't succeed. רב שמעון בן יוחאי himself followed that way. He was תורתו אומנותו, as the גמרא says in שבת דף י״א עמוד א'. His business, so to speak, his whole trade, his whole work, everything he did was only תורה. But for others, it was beyond them. But he himself, רב שמעון בן יוחאי, it seems on one hand held that that's the way it's supposed to be. On the other hand, we find in the גמרא שבת דף ל״ג עמוד ב' that when רב שמעון בן יוחאי went out of the cave after the thirteenth year, when he went went out already permanently, and they would see a person getting involved in חיי שעה, in work, so ר' אלעזר punished the person. He would look at him and the person would get burned, because he said, ״מניחין חיי עולם ועוסקין בחיי שעה״. They're leaving the life, the eternal life, and they're getting involved in temporary life. Instead of learning תורה all day, they're working. And it says that wherever ר' אלעזר was מחי, wherever he punished, so ר' שמעון his father was מסי, cured, and he said to him, די לעולם אני ואתה, it's enough for the world, me and you. But most people can't be that way. So לכאורה we see

two extremes in the opinions of ר' שמעון בן יוחאי. On one hand, ר' שמעון בן יוחאי said, and he acted that way, that a person is supposed to be the highest מדרגה, learn תורה, only learning תורה and nothing else, and at the same time he said, די לעולם אני ואתה. When we learn תורה all day, it's enough for the world, but not for everybody. And we see even more, in מנחות דף צ\"ט עמוד ב', ר' שמעון בן יוחאי says, אפילו לא קרא אדם אלא קריאת שמע שחרית וערבית, even if a person only said the שמע in the morning and evening, קיים לא ימוש. He is מקיים the פסוק where it says לא ימוש ספר התורה הזה מפיך, that the ספר תורה should not go away from your mouth, you should always learn תורה. So we see that ר' שמעון בן יוחאי held that even if a person just says the פסוק, קריאת שמע, in the morning and evening, and the rest of the time he's involved in work על פי תורה because he has no other choice, he is יוצא the מצוה of תלמוד תורה all day. Because the rest of the time he is פטור, because אונס רחמנא פטריה. When a person is אונס, he's forced, the תורה פוטר's him. So since there is no choice, the תורה פוטר's him, and he is מקיים the מצוה of לא ימוש. So we see here two extremes in ר' שמעון בן יוחאי. On one hand he says the best thing to do and the right thing would be to learn תורה all day, and at the same time he says if a person does not learn תורה all day, he gets involved in work על פי תורה, then when he does learn, he's מקיים the מצוה of לא ימוש. So what is the פשט? The פשט is that this is what ר' שמעון בן יוחאי stands for: to bring the highest מדרגות down to the lowest. On one hand he had the highest מדרגות and that was his own lifestyle, his own מדרגה, but he brought it down in such a way that could affect every single person. And as we see later, in the גמרא there when he came out of the cave, he asked, איכא מילתא דבעי לתקוני? Is there anything that I could be מתקן, or anything I could fix? He didn't even wait for people to come to him and ask him for help. He himself went around looking is there anything that he could help. And they found that there was a place that the כהנים could not pass because of טומאה, טומאת מת. So he did something to avoid them the trouble of having to go around, etc. etc., and he helped them. So we see that ר' שמעון בן יוחאי not only did he not care about the world, but was completely removed from the world, isolated himself to a high מדרגה and did not have anything to do with the lower world, that is not so. He, when he came out of the cave, and he was at that time in the highest מדרגה, what he cared about, what can he do for the world? And he said, איכא מילתא דבעי לתקוני, is there something that the world needs that I could help the world, and make it easier for people not only in תורה ומצוות, make it easier בכלל אפילו in גשמיות'דיקע things. Because ר' שמעון בן יוחאי's level was so great that he brought down from his high level to the lowest. As the כלל goes, כל הגבוה ביותר יורד למטה ביותר, the higher you are, the lower you could go. So he was so great that he was able to bring down from his מדרגות to the lowest מדרגות, and was able to lower himself also to the lowest people and the lowest places, to be able to help there and bring קדושה there too. We also find the גמרא says in סוכה דף מ\"ה עמוד ב', that ר' שמעון בן יוחאי said, יכול אני לפטור את כל העולם כולו מן הדין. I am able to free the whole world of any judgment. Which means that he has a לימוד זכות, he could find certain underlying explanations of merit for all the people to take them away from any דין. They shouldn't be punished for any עבירה that they did. Now we can understand that when ר' שמעון בן יוחאי would get involved in this לימוד זכות, he would have to lower himself from his high מדרגה, lower himself to the level of the עבירות of the people, which means get involved with them and try to be מלמד זכות for them. Nevertheless, he was ready to do that. Which was, in a way, even more than what happened by משה רבינו. By משה רבינו it says השם said to him, לך רד, go down from your מדרגות. Because of the אידן who did a עבירה, you have to go down. But there he was forced to go down, he didn't choose it on his own. ר' שמעון בן יוחאי said he on his own is able to choose to come down and פוטר the whole world from דין, which means get involved with these people who do עבירות and try to elevate them, bring them out from their low level. And this is the greatness of ר' שמעון בן יוחאי. On one hand he is the greatest, and it says in ירושלמי that not even the חכמים in his generation understood his greatness. Also, as the גמרא says that he said on himself, he is from the בני עליה, he is from the top people. And if there's only one great person in the world, it's himself, because it says צדיק יסוד עולם, there's always one צדיק who is the greatest. And this wasn't גאוה, self-understood, because he knew the truth. When a person is an ענו, is humble, it doesn't mean that he doesn't know his מעלות, it just means that he thinks that if somebody else would have his background or his כוחות or what Whatever it is, would be greater than him. But he definitely knew his מדרגה. So he knew that he was the greatest. So he was the greatest in the world, he was the צדיק יסוד עולם. And at the same time, he lowered himself and he said that, \"I am able to pick up the people who did עבירות, pick them up, and פטר them מן הדין.\" So he took from his high מדרגות and lowered it down very low. And therefore, he combined both opinions too. On one hand, he said the highest מדרגה and the best way is to learn תורה all day, and at the same time, he said that if a person is very low and is not able to learn all day, he's also מקיים לא ימיש. So this is also a לימוד זכות on those people. He lowered himself to those people, tried to show that they are also great, and they're also מקיים the ענין of לא ימיש. And we also see that רבי שמעון בן יוחאי, as we said before, who always lived a life of בחד קטירא אתקטרנא, with one knot I am tied to השם, והיה יחיד, is מיוחד with השם, and at the same time, he cared about helping other people who have a problem in not being able to walk and have to go roundabout and couldn't have a shortcut. This shows the greatness of רבי שמעון בן יוחאי, that as great as he was, and he was the greatest, lowered himself to the lowest. From here, we take a lesson too, that this is the עבודה that we're supposed to do, especially when it comes ל״ג בעומר. And the כח of the עבודה of רבי שמעון בן יוחאי is strong, and every person is able to take from him, because every person has a ניצוץ of רבי שמעון בן יוחאי, as we said in the previous שיעור. So everyone is supposed to follow in the footsteps of רבי שמעון בן יוחאי to do the same: try and go to reach the highest מדרגות possible, learn the most תורה, do the most מצות, to reach the highest spiritual מדרגה. But not to isolate himself and not to care about others, on the contrary, to take this highest מדרגות and bring it down to everybody who needs it, and try to bring קדושה to the people who are low and to the world who is low, and by doing that, we'll be following the footsteps of רבי שמעון בן יוחאי, and we will truly be משמח בשמחת רבי שמעון בן יוחאי.