Rashbi and the message of Lag Ba`omer

On Lag Ba`omer we mark the Yahrtzeit of Rashbi (Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai). Although his gravesite is in Meiron, the cave in which he hid from the Romans is in Peki`in, and according to tradition, can still be seen there today. But there’s a very important message to be learnt from Rashbi and his sojourn - and exit - from the cave ...

Rabbi Noam Himelstein studied in Yeshivat Har Etzion and served in the Tanks Corps of the IDF. He has taught in yeshiva high schools, post-high school women’s seminaries, and headed the Torah MiTzion Kollel in Melbourne, Australia. He currently teaches at Yeshivat Orayta in Jerusalem, and lives with his wife and six children in Neve Daniel, Gush Etzion.