Lag B’Omer has passed, and now we are getting ready for the holiday of Shavuos. Many Jews in the Land of Israel keep the tradition of traveling to Meron to spend Lag B’Omer by the grave of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai (known as the Rashbi), who lived around the time of the destruction of the Second Temple, and who wrote one of the seminal works on Kabbala, the Zohar. Usually, there are tens to hundreds of thousands of people in Meron on Lag B’Omer building bonfires, and many people cut their three-year old sons’ hair here (there is a tradition held by some to cut a boy’s hair for the first time at the age of three). Many people have weddings on Lag B’Omer; I received a call from a friend of mine who is in her mid-seventies and who got married in a very private ceremony on Lag B’Omer. May they enjoy much happiness-and this demonstrates the principle that it’s never too late!
One might think that the day of the passing of such a great sage as the Rashbi would be marked with somber reflection rather than merriment. However, the Rashbi encouraged people to be happy and to celebrate the day of his passing. One reason for this is that he completed his task in the world. The Lubavitcher Rebbe says that when a righteous person passes away, the anniversary of his death is a day of joy, because the holy person does not leave this world until his or her mission is finished. Many souls come back to other bodies and live other lives to finish the tasks they did not complete in a past life (yes, there is an idea of reincarnation in Judaism). However, a person who is perfectly righteous has finished his task, and no longer needs to return to the world in a physical body. It is also said that the soul of the holy person fills the world to a greater degree when he passes away than when he was physically in the world. This is possible, because he is no longer hindered by a physical body.