Lag B’Omer – Kabalistic Meaning

For the Kabalah movement, Lag B’Omer is a very important holiday. It’s the day that the secrets of the Zohar (the major book of Kabbalah) were revieled.

This story centers around Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. He was sentenced to death for speaking badly about the Romans. So he went into hiding with his son.

The two of them hid in a cave for 12 years, spending the entire time learning Torah. After 12 years, they heard that the decree for their death had been lifted, so the came out of the cave. The saw some Jews hard at work in the field, and they were so shocked that someone could waste their life on anything other than Torah study. "How could anyone forsake eternal life by indulging in mundane, worldly pursuits?" he said. Rabbi Shimon then cast his gaze upon the farmers -- and they were immediately vaporized, due to the power of Rabbi Shimon's spiritual stature.

At that point, a voice from heaven proclaimed: "My world is not to be destroyed! Return to your cave!"

Rabbi Shimon and his son returned to the cave, in order to learn better how to control their spiritual powers. At the end of one year, a voice from heaven announced: "Emerge from your cave!"

The date that Rabbi Shimon emerged from the cave (both times) was Lag B’Omer.
Rabbi Shimon went on to become the greatest Torah teacher of his generation. When he reached the final day of his life, he called together his students and told them to pay close attention.

The Zohar (3:291b) describes the scene:

Rabbi Shimon spent the entire day in a prophetic stream of consciousness, revealing the deepest mystical secrets of Torah. He told his students: "Until now, I have held the secrets close to my heart. But now, before I die, I wish to reveal all."

These teachings formed the basis of the Zhoar. The date of Rabbi Shimon’s death, was Lag B’Omer.