Lag Ba'omer marks the day of death of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai.

Rabbi Shimon wrote the Zohar, a book that contains the deep hidden secrets of the Torah. One of the key lessons he taught us was the power of each individual Jew. Everyone has a portion and a letter in the Torah. If even one letter is slightly cracked, the Torah becomes pasul (invalid). This teaches us that every Jew is essential and that together we comprise the word of Hashem. If even one person doesn't live up to his potential, then the Torah in a sense becomes flawed. The world cannot function at its fullest state. Rabbi Shimon taught that every person contains great holiness that deserves respect. When we rejoice on Lag Ba'omer, we not only mark the death of Rabbi Shimon, but celebrate his life and the lessons he left us.

The seven weeks of sefirah parallel the seven species for which the land of Israel is praised for. Lag Ba'Omer falls out in the fifth week, which corresponds to the rimon (pomegranate), the same letters as Miron, the city where rabbi Shimon is buried. The sages said, "Even the empty ones among Israel are filled with mitzvot like a rimon." This echoes the message of Rabbi Shimon. Every Jew, no matter how low he has fallen, deserves respect.

The bonfires on Lag Ba'Omer signify the fiery passion for Hashem that is awakened within us on this day. Rabbi Shimon taught that if we would know the tremendous love Hashem has for us, we would be filled with a deep reciprocal love for Him that would erupt within us.

Lag Ba'Omer is a time to recognize our significance, to feel and awaken within ourselves our connection to Hashem, to sense his deep love for us. It is a day of intense prayer, when we can pour out our hearts in supplication before our Creator. It is a time to pause and experience that feeling of the heavens opening up and accepting our prayers. May all our deepest wishes be answered for good.

In Parshat Acharei Mot, the Torah tells us, "Rise in the presence of an older person, honor the presence of a sage, and revere Hashem." There's a disagreement between the commentators whether the two parts of the verse are connected or if they are two distinct mitzvot.

According to Rashi following one view in the Gemara, the two sections of the verse explain one another. The commandment tells us to rise and honor a sage who is both elderly and righteous. Other opinions maintain that these are two separate mitzvot. One should rise and honor anyone over the age of seventy even if he is not learned, and the other is to show respect to a sage even if he is young. Jewish lawfollows the latter view.

The commentators ask, what is the Torah adding with the concluding statement "[You shall] revere Hashem?" Rashi explains that the commandments mentioned can be easily violated. One can easily pretend not to notice an old man entering the room. Therefore, the Torah cautions us to fear Hashem because He surely knows our true intentions.

What is yirat Hashem (fear of Hashem)? Fear of Hashem is found in our innermost being where no one can see. It is that secret part of the self where we uphold our relationship withthe One Above. Fear of Hashem means maintaining our standards as if we were being watched by others.

The Gemara says, "Greater is the one who is commanded to do than the one who is not." Every mitzvah affects us. Each time we do a good deed it brings us to a greater level of yirat shamayim and it deepens our relationship with Hashem. The Chassidic sefarim explain the last verse in the prayers of Malchiyot on Rosh Hashana. "Ub'etoratcha katuv lemor shema yisrael." The Torah can be distilled into one verse, "Shema Yisrael." It is kabalat ol, acceptance of the yoke of Hashem's kingship. The mitzvot should breed within us a level of closeness, of feeling Hashem's presence at all times. If mitzvot were voluntary we would miss that feeling of obligation, of being forced, which is meant to lead us to the awareness of Hashem's presence in our life at all times.

If this world was a world where man was the center of reality, then it would be better if man took the initiative and did the will of Hashem. However, Hashem is the focus of the world and we are meant to subordinate ourselves to Him. One who is commanded expresses a different level of commitment. Having yirat Hashem means recognizing that Hashem sets the standards of one's life

The Lev Eliyahu notes this clearly. Sometimes people try to find kulot, the easy way out in keeping Torah. This reflects insensitivity to the yoke of heaven. Embracing the mitzvot even when it's not easy is an expression of yirat Hashem.

We are enjoined to respect elderly people because they have life wisdom. A person with life experience and the wisdom it brings has seen the hand of Hashem. Encountering an elderly person reorients one's life. You realize that it's not about the outer trappings, it's about the soul. This creates a deepening relationship with the One Above.

The Bnei Yissachar writes that the reward for standing up and showing honor to sages and the elderly is fear of heaven. The Yalkut Shimoni explains that this was the merit of the sons of Korach. When Moshe came to speak to Korach they stood in Moshe's honor. When they rose they were infused with yirat Hashem, which motivated them to repent. When a person shows honor to a scholar he shows respect to those who revere Hashem and, by extension, he is honoring Hashem.

The Gemara says that the 24,000 students of Rabbe Akiva died because they didn't honor one another. This seems puzzling. Rabbi Akiva taught, "V'ahavta l'rei'acha kamocha zeh klal gadol ba'Torah". One of the greatest principles in the Torah is brotherly love. How could his own students not live up to his teachings?

The Shem Mishmuel explains that every Jew has a double role. He is an individual; an olam maleh-a complete universe with his own unique personality, challenges, and responsibilities. But he is also a part of Klal Yisrael, the collective of Israel.

The Torah says when the Jews came to Har Sinai, "Vayichan sham yisrael neged hahar." Israel encamped next to the mountain. Vayichan is in the singular form. Earlier, the Torah uses the word, vayachanu, they encamped, in the plural form. Rashi explains the switch of forms. As matan Torah approached, they united as one man with one heart. In a sense, they forfeited their uniqueness and individuality to become a single unit.

Shem Mishmuel teaches that when we are a part of the klal (collective), we are compared to the limbs of one body. Whatever honor one gives oneself is automatically accrued to all the limbs of the body because they are all a part of one whole. When Rabbe Akiva taught V'ahavta l'rei'acha, he emphasized the individuality of every person. Honoring one's friends and neighbors is a function of recognizing that the other person is different and that I can honor and admire the qualities that he has and I don't. Giving kavod means recognizing another person's uniqueness. Every person has something special about him that can serve as a model for others.

The students of Rabbe Akiva interpreted "V'ahavta l'rei'acha kamocha," as connected to the klal rather than respecting the prat (individual). They thought it meant loving one's neighbor as oneself because we are all one, a part of the greater entity of Israel. They forgot about the individuality of each person, and that is why they didn't give proper honor to each other.

When the Torah was given to Am Yisrael it was given on two levels, as a single unit and to each individual person. If the klal falters and turns off the Torah path, the yachid must still remain committed. Every person bears his own responsibility. Although Hashem wants us to be one, he still wants us to function as individuals.

When we count the omer we go from Pesach to Shavuot, through the months of Nissan, Iyar, and Sivan. The respective astrological signs of Nisan, Iyar and Sivan are sheep, ox, and. Shem Mishmuel explains that sheep function as part of a flock. Nisan is the month of the klal. The individual Jew didn't deserve to be redeemed. It was only in the merit of the nation that they left Egypt. Iyar represents the ox. Bulls don't live in herds. Each has its own territory, which it will defend to the death. This represents the individual. Sivan is twins. When we received the Torah we received it on two levels, as a nation and as an individual. A Jew must actualize these two in his daily life.

The mitzva of sefira has a two-fold component too. Counting days represents the improvement of the individual. Every day is unique and has its own rectification. But we also count the weeks. All the days merge into weeks as one unit. During sefira, we must work on ourselves as individuals, but also as a group to achieve ahavat yisrael, love of every Jew as a unique person and as a part of the single unit called Israel.

Lag Ba'Omer, the 33^rd day of the Omer, is exactly a day after two thirds of the count. The Gemara says the night is divided in three. In the last third of the evening, we begin to feel the approach of dawn. In these last sixteen days of sefira, we start to sense the light of the tikun (rectification) of the klal and the prat, which culminates on Shavuot.

Most of sefirat haomer is in Iyar. Iyar is the ox, the individual. When the students of Rabbe Akiva realized that they had emphasized too of much the klal and not enough of the individual, the epidemic stopped.

In our own lives, we must try to attain this balance. When we study Torah, we must learn from our predecessors and our great teachers, the Torah of the nation of Israel. At the same time we must bring to bear our own thinking and sensitivities to what the Torah is saying.

The same is true of marriage. The Torah says that Chava was created to be an ezer knegdo, a helpmate opposite her husband. Although she is meant to become one with her spouse, sometimes she must use her knegdo, her individual self, in order to save the unit. The challenge in marriage is to find that right balance. This also relates to raising children. We have to train our children as part of a klal and also as individuals.

May we merit to live the lesson of Rabbe Akiva, to love every Jew as one, but to respect their unique merits and strengths.