In honor of Lag B’Omer and Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai
There is a light that can’t always be seen with the eyes. But it’s there — hidden, tucked within each breath, each soul. It’s the light of the Infinite, a spark of Hashem, placed inside you with intention. It can’t always be measured or explained — but it can be felt. In the way you show up. In the way your presence heals, inspires, or creates. Each soul is drawn toward something it alone was created to do.
Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, the great sage and mystic of the Zohar, knew this light well. He was a man of truth — and he spoke it boldly, even when it was dangerous. When he condemned the Roman Empire for their corruption and injustice, they sentenced him to death. He went into hiding — on the run for his life — and took refuge in a cave.
Thirteen years. No comfort. No audience. Just earth, water, carob — and the fire of Divine learning.
But here’s the miracle: It was because of the darkness, not just despite it, that the light emerged. The cave became more than shelter — it became a womb of revelation. A hidden place where the soul of Torah was born anew. From exile came the Zohar — the sacred teachings that remind us that the soul is not separate from Hashem…It is a spark of the Divine.
King David wrote: “כִּי עִמְּךָ מְקוֹר חַיִּים, בְּאוֹרְךָ נִרְאֶה אוֹר” “For with You is the source of life; in Your light, we see light” (Tehillim 36:10).
And the Zohar teaches: “נֵר יְיָ נִשְׁמַת אָדָם” — “The soul of a person is the lamp of Hashem” (Zohar II:92b).
So don’t doubt your light. Even if it’s hidden, even if it’s shaped by challenge — it’s real. You are here with purpose. And the world needs the light only you can bring.
What light within you is waiting to be revealed?
In the merit of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, may each of us tap into the unique light that Hashem has placed within us — so that we can elevate the world, shine that light brightly, and help bring the Geulah closer, with the coming of Moshiach speedily in our days, Amen!
