The Mezuzah Affixed to the 33rd Gate of Wisdom
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18 Iyyar/LaG b’Omer!
The Dinover Rebbe, Rav Tzvi Elimelekh, taught much about this 33rd day of the Omer, this day we celebrate Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. He said that the point of Lag b’Omer is not to do techinot (supplications), to speak from one’s heart. LaG b’Omer is a time to be happy & not get into your neediness.
And he says there is no true wisdom that is not from the Torah.
He writes of the story where Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai says to his students: go out & find what is the Ultimate Good. The Good that includes all other good. Rabbi Elazar replied, “A good heart”, & Rabban Yochanan accepted this.
LaG b’Omer is the special transition time between the leyv (heart) & the tov (good). Indeed, the gematria of “LaG b’Omer” is 49. There are 32 days of the Omer to count between the second day of Pesach & LaG b’Omer, then 17 days to count between LaG b’Omer & Shavu’ot. The gematria of “leyv” is 32 & that of “tov” is 17. This adds up to 49.
The first letter Tet in the Torah begins the first “tov” in Breyshit. If you see a Tet in your dream, then it’s a good sign. So says the Talmud.
Lignoz ha-or refers to the hiding of the Supernal Light. the
light that G@d separated from the darkness on the first day of
Creation, long before the sun, mmon & stars were created on the
fourth day.
“Geniza” means to put something away permanently, or to bury it, because it is not to be used.
Jastrow has this to say about the root Gimel-Nun-Zayin:
“…to cut off, set aside…to suppress or prohibit, to disappear, be hidden…cover up…”
G@d could see what we would ultimately do, so S/He hid that “First Light” from us.
The 32nd word in the Torah is “tov”. Torah comes out of wisdom on 32 paths which are concealed & on the 33rd day the hidden is beginning to reveal itself. This is LaG b’Omer.
He says that if we patiently engage in the process of counting the Omer, step by step, that we will perceive this revealing. We will develop ha-ro’eh et ha-nolad, the ability to forsee consequences. Have an intution of what may come. & this is by that first, hidden light that you can see the mysteries of Creation. Adam could see the entire world by this light.
If we don’t accomplish something by our own hands, it has no sustainability. We have to make it happen. We have to consciously engage with it to make the lights of Torah shine.
G@d willing, we can get to a point where our heart can submit & accept the leyv tov & that’s when the light can be revealed & we can integrate it. The 32 paths really open up the light of the Torah if we are present in this process.
R’ Shimon bar Yochai was called the Butzina Qadisha - Aramaic for “The Holy Lamp” - because he had access to that light. That’s why his book is called the Zohar. Because one can see all of the everything by the Or Ha-Ganuz.
The function of this Torah is to leave behind a blessing of this hidden light which is the all-inclusive Primordial Good. May it keep us & our children until is revealed the light of the righteous Messiah. This is the light of the anointed King. By the merit of engagging in the light - Zohar - which R’ Shimon bar Yochai left behind.
That’s why we light lamps - & bonfires - on this day of LaG b’Omer.
You won’t see the footsteps of the Messiah until you see the rainbow created by the light of the Zohar.
Yisachar was conceived as a result of the mandrake, the night before Shavu’ot, when we hold a Tiqun Leil. His tribe sat & learned Torah as a result. This is supported by Targum Yonatan.
These words all have the same gematria:
Ba-Torah = in Torah
Et ha-or = the light
TARYA”G = 613 commandments
I hope you all had a firey LaG b’Omer! May we count the next 17 days as steps to readying ourselves for receiving Torah.