Every society on earth has been traumatized by this pandemic. The feeling of profound loss – in many forms – pervades our world. But the human race is remarkably resilient, and we can start to see the green shoots of hope and recovery. For many, our lives are returning to a new version of normal.
Now, as we begin the daunting challenge of rebuilding our lives, the question is – how do we make up the ground we’ve lost? How do we rebuild?
This week we celebrated Lag B’Omer. During the Omer, we remember the tragedy of the plague that struck down 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva – one of the greatest sages of the Talmud. Rabbi Akiva was already an old man, but he had the courage to start again from the beginning. Lag B’Omer is the day he restarted his yeshiva with just five students – and it was those five students who rekindled the fire of Torah and restored it to the Jewish people.
On Lag B’Omer, the 33-day period of mourning is put on hold as we celebrate Rabbi Akiva’s heroism and tenacity and strength in the face of adversity. We learn this idea of rebounding from a setback from G-d Himself. The Talmud explains that we have a great mitzvah to emulate G-d: “Just as G-d is gracious and compassionate, so too should you be gracious and compassionate.”
Our sages expand this mitzvah to include the act of creation itself. Just like G-d is the ultimate Creator, we, too, are creators. To create is deeply embedded in our souls, which are a reflection of the Divine. And just as G-d created the world, we, too, are called on to create the world; to bring into the world flourishing families and societies, to build institutions and infrastructure and make technological advances that move the world forward.
But it goes further. Our sages of the Talmud relate that before this world was created, there were many other worlds that Hashem created and subsequently destroyed, and then rebuilt again.
From this midrash, we learn that there is not only a mitzvah to create, but also a mitzvah to re-create after a period of destruction; to rebuild after setbacks. We do so on a personal level and we do so on a national and global level, drawing on Hashem’s own example.
It is this spirit of renewal and rededication that has animated so much of Jewish history. And this is the message of Lag B’Omer, of Rabbi Akiva – who, against all odds, rebuilt Torah, and with it, the Jewish people. On this day, we celebrate the light of Torah – the sacred tradition and Divine values that give life to the Jewish people.
And of course, one year ago on Lag B’Omer we experienced the horrific loss of 45 souls as they celebrated this very notion at the grave of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, the author of the Zohar, and one of Rabbi Akiva’s five students, on his yartzheit, which also falls on the 33rd day of the Omer.
So, what do we do with this? While there is no way we can make sense of these tragedies, we can commit to embrace and embody the very lesson that Rabbi Akiva lived for – love of his fellow friend.
What if it really were that simple? What if our biggest job right now is to simply smile a deep inner smile amidst all the madness and shine the light of loving kindness everywhere we go?
*Adapted (significantly) from an article originally shared on aish.com
