Hillulah Rabbah Supplement

page 48 to Sefer Hillulah DeRashbi, Talmud Yerushalmi Shevii 9.1 |insert on

page 23 oI our translation|

"Let's see what's going on in the world," Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai said to his
son Rabbi Elazar. As they stood at the entrance to the cave, they saw a hunter
trapping birds with a net. As the bird was about to be trapped they heard a Bat
Kol | : lit. small voice or whisper) is a heavenly or divine voice which proclaims Gd's will or
judgment| announce, "Free!" The bird escaped Irom the net and was saved. "Isn't
that amazing!" exclaimed Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai to his son Rabbi Elazar.
"Even a bird will be protected iI Hashem wants it to live! II Hashem sent us a
message to come out oI the cave, then certainly He wants us to live and we'll be
protected--just like the bird." The two righteous men were no longer aIraid to leave
their hiding place.



page 203 to Sefer Hillulah DeRashbi, Zohar Hadash, Parshat Ki Tavo |insert on
page 76 oI our translation|


It happened that some Tannaim were learning Torah together and they had a very
diIIicult question that they could not answer. Rabbi Yehuda Bar Ilai got up and
said, "What a shame that Bar Yohai is not with us and that no one knows where he
is! He could have helped us answer our question." One morning a Iew days later
one oI those Tannaim named Rabbi Yosei Bar Yehudah was walking when he saw
a dove. Rabbi Yosei called out to the dove, "Oh dove, Oh dove! You have been
trustworthy since the Flood in the days oI Noah. Please be trustworthy again and
bring something Ior me to the place where Bar Yohai is hiding." The dove circled
and came to rest in Iront oI him. Rabbi Yosei wrote the diIIicult question on a
piece oI paper which the dove picked up with its beak. Then it Ilew oII to bring the
note to the cave.

When Rabbi Shimon read the note, he began to cry. "Why are you crying?" his
son Rabbi Elazar asked him. "I am crying because we can not be together with the
other great Sages," answered Rabbi Shimon, "and also because the answer to
their question is a hidden matter and we don't know it." As soon as Rabbi Shimon
said these words, Eliyahu HaNavi appeared in the cave and explained the answer to
him. Rabbi Shimon wrote the answer on a piece oI paper and put it in the dove's
beak. The dove then hurried to carry the note back to Rabbi Yosei, who was in the
same spot where the dove had leIt him, even though it was not already evening.

"O dove!" Rabbi Yosei said happily. "You are more trustworthy than any other
bird in the sky!" Rabbi Yosei took the note out oI the dove's beak and quickly
went to tell the other Sages what had happened, and to show them the answer that
he had received. When Rabbi Yehudah Bar Ilai read the note, he cried, "Even
though we don't know where Rabbi Shimon is hiding, he continues to teach us and
Hashem continues to make miracles Ior him!"

Here's the detailed version:
In one Torah session oI their Iriends in the Holy Committee (great Rabbis called Tannaim` who actually
could enliven the dead!) a Irightening question came up which no one could Iind the answer to:

As we said, there are two places in the Torah that list curses; in Parshat B`chukotai in Leviticus there
are 49 and in Parshat Ki Tavo in Deuteronomy, twice that number; 98.

It is accepted that the Iirst bunch reIer to the First Temple while the latter curses reIer to those that
accompanied and Iollowed the destruction oI the Second Temple 490 years later. (Which explains why
the second batch is longer; AIter the First Temple the exile was only 70 years while aIter the Second
Temple almost 2,000 years has past.)

But suddenly a Irightening question arouse; aIter the Iirst curses there are words oI consolation and
promises that the Jews will return Irom exile as it says, 'I will remember the covenant oI Jacob etc. and
although you are in the land oI your enemies I will not despise you etc (26:42,45)

But aIter the second curses there are no consolations and no promises oI rebuilding!

They pondered this Ior hours and could not Iind an answer. 'The only one that can help us they
concluded, 'is Rebbe Shimon bar Yochai and his son. But where can we Iind them?

The Zohar continues that the next day one oI the group, Rebbe Yosi bar Yehuda, saw a Iormation oI
birds in the sky Iollowed by a dove. He called to the dove and said; From the time oI the Ilood you
were IaithIul to do your job and you represent the Jewish people please take this question to Rebbe
Shimon bar Yochi`. He wrote the question on a paper the dove swooped down, picked it up in its beak
and miraculously Ilew directly to the cave where Rabbi Shimon and his son were sitting and presented
them the note.

They opened it, saw it was Irom the holy committee and began to weep when they remembered their
holy Iriends. But when they calmed down and read the question they began weeping even more
broken-heartedly; Rabbi Shimon cried out in pain.

Oy OY! What will happen when the later generations ask this question and cannot answer it? Will they
not be conIused and stop awaiting the redemption!?` And both oI them continued their uncontrollable
crying.

Suddenly Elijah the Prophet appeared beIore them and said;

'Rabbi Shimon and son! Happy are you that G-d has sent me to comIort your sorrow and dry your
tears.

'Know that these curses in Ki Tavo` are really the greatest blessings possible. Indeed, the greatest
blessings, rewards and comIorts that Israel will receive in the days oI Moshiach are hinted at in these
apparently harsh sentences.

'It can be compared to a king that loves his only son. Although he may get mad at him, yell at him and
even strike him, still he loves him deeply and when he shows hard anger because oI his son`s misdeeds
then his mercy is really aroused. So The Holy one Blessed be He; although He curses, his words are
really in love although they appear to be the opposite.

'In Iact they are greatest blessings because these curses are not like the curses in Leviticus which are
Irom severe judgment rather they are in the highest love and severity together. Like a Iather that loves
his son and holds 'a strap to hit him and he shouts, screams loudly and even curses but deep inside he
loves him and iI there are blows they include in them mercy.

'For instance the most severe oI these curses is what it says 'All the diseases and the plagues that are
not written in this book G-d will put away (Ya`alem) upon you until He destroys you. (Deut. 28:61)

'Here the promises oI the Iather to his son are with the greatest love. The Torah does not say the
plagues will put upon you (Ya`aleh) but put away (Ya`alem). Namely G-d will put away and cover the
punishments so they should not be revealed but rather be hidden in their source.

'And what is says 'Until He destroys you 'Until means that G-d will never destroy the Jewish people
although it might seem that He is about to.

'G-d has already promised 'So your seed and your name will stand (Isaiah 66:22) and 'Just as you can
not measure the heavens and earth so I will never despise Israel. (Jer. 31;36).

'So since G-d swore that Israel will never be destroyed thereIore all these curses and diseases are
going to be concealed and will never be revealed to destroy them Ior this will never happen. G-d is
really assuring us here that no matter what we do, He will always love, protect and preserve us. There
is no greater blessing than that.

Similarly, the end oI the curses it says, 'G-d will bring you back to Egypt in ships in the way He said
you will never see them again, and you will be sold yourselI to your enemies as servants but no one will
buy (28:68).

'G-d will bring you back to Egypt` means that G-d promises that He will do miracles in the Iuture
redemption as great or even greater than He did when the Jews leIt Egypt. As it says, Like the days I
took you Irom Egypt I will show you wonders (Micah 7:15).

'In ships` (Aniot) reIers to the poverty (Awniot) that will be in the end oI days. And it also hints at the
ships that all the enemies oI Israel will attack the Jews in with the intention oI destroying G-d`s people.
But G-d will cause the ships to sink and be destroyed in the sea as occurred to the Egyptians in the
Red` Sea.

'Then there will be IulIilled what is written in Isaiah (43:14) 'In ships their rejoicing. Indeed, since the
creation oI the world G-d never demonstrated His power as He did when He took the Jews Irom
Egypt. That is what it meant by, 'In a way you will never see them again. We thought there would
never be such a revelation again. But in Iact in the Iuture redemption G-d will demonstrate even greater
power on our enemies but we will be saved.

'This is hinted in the words, 'You will be sold YOURSELF.` Namely that the Jews` will imagine to
themselves they will be sold as slaves but in Iact, 'But no one will buy namely the Jews will be
unharmed and no one will ever rule over them.

'All this concluded Elijah, 'will be in the end oI days and it all depends on the Jews thinking deeply and
returning to G-d Ior it to actually occur sooner.

When Elijah Iinished Rebbe Shimon wrote his answer on another paper, gave it to the dove and sent it
to the holy committee. When they received it they marveled. 'Happy are we that although we do not
know the place oI Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai nevertheless we can consult him and he can teach us.
Happy is bar Yochi that G-d does miracles through him, he decrees and G-d must IulIill.

This is from R. Gershon Winkler

Listen. Rabbi Shimon happened to have been one oI Akiva's Ioremost
disciples. He was among the Iew who were not stricken by the plague. He
lived and breathed Akiva's teachings, not just studied them. Day aIter day,
as the Great Force oI Darkness hovered over Judea, draining the disciples
oI their liIe breath, Bar Yochai challenged it, stood in its way, tried to avert
it, to drive it away, to send it back to where it came Irom, but to no avail.
A Heavenly Decree was a Heavenly Decree. But Rabbi Shimon was not
one to give up and he persisted relentlessly. By Day 32, The Great Force
oI Darkness began to weaken in the Iace oI Rabbi Shimon's tenacity.
There he stood once again, chanting his prayers and incantations at the
looming Force oI Darkness. Realizing that it could no longer hold out
against the master, the Force oI Darkness complained to God:

"Master oI the Universe! You sent me to wreak this destruction upon these
disciples oI Akiva and Bar Yochai is not allowing me to complete my
task!"
Said God: "Pay no attention to the son oI Yochai and continue IulIilling My
Decree."

The Great Force oI Darkness, empowered by God, returned to cast its
Iatal shadow over the land, but again Bar Yochai was there to block its
path, and this time outright threatening the Spirit oI Darkness: "II you will
not go away, I will utter an incantation upon you that will prevent you Irom
ever again returning to the Heavens! And you will end up like the Iallen
angels Aza and Aza'el."

His words Iurther weakened the Spirit's resolve and it Iled back to the
Heavens, this time terriIied by Bar Yochai's threat. Again, the Great Force
oI Darkness complained to God and again God admonished the Spirit not
to any attention to the threats oI Bar Yochai. When the Spirit oI Darkness
returned to resume its mission, Bar Yochai again blocked its path.

"You dare prevent what God has decreed?!" the Spirit angrily shouted.
"Can't you see that the Light oI Torah has gone out, and it is destined to be
Iorgotten? That Iew can uphold the sacred intent oI its precepts?"

Said Bar Yochai: "Heaven Forbid! For the Light oI Torah will never be
extinguished iI even a Iew are around to carry it, nor will Torah ever be
Iorgotten, Ior her wisdom and inspiration is everlasting and will continue to
shine against all odds and in spite oI all impediments. As long as there is but
even a single soul who believes this, it shall be so!"

In that moment, the Spirit oI Darkness was called back to the Heavens and
a great light shone in its place, accompanied by a still small voice that
declared: "How worthy are you, son oI Yochai, in that God decrees above
and you abolish the decree below" (adapted Irom Tikunei Zohar, Iolios 255a-b
and Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 138b).