Lag B’omer is a day of celebration for hundreds of thousands worldwide. It is also a day of mourning and remembrance. A day where 45 neshamot lost their lives last year in Meron and the end of the death of 24,000 thousand students of Rabbi Akiva. Chazal say that the reason there were so many students who died was due to the fact that they didn’t “Love your neighbor as yourself” – ואהבת לרעך כמוך ((Leviticus 19:18)

Jews are referred to as a whole, as Klal Yisroel, as a singular unit. Yes, we each are unique, no two people are the same, and each of us has our own path to travel in this world. Nevertheless, we all do depend on each other!

Once we begin going our own way and not looking out for our fellow Yid and we just do our own thing, we are not just affecting ourselves but we are creating bad middot and going away from the path of Torah. We are ultimately disengaging from the achdut and responsibility we have for one another.

The symbole of Lag B’Omer, is a bonire. Fire is a single flame that is constantly going up no matter which way you hold the match or candle. The flame rises and grows higher. Just like the flame, every person needs to be able to lift himself or herself above the natural and into the supernatural. To jump beyond our reality, to rise to the surface. The Torah is there to be our guide and help us achieve our potential.

Just like fire, we can rise high above! The light of the fire will come down in the end, it will not last, but we must find the spark within our heart and we must ignite the infinite power of the soul and direct it to infinite good.

 Every Jew’s neshama must be set aflame. To connect back to Hashem, to connect to His Mitzvot, His Torah.

May we use each and every letter within the Torah to warm our hearts, to spark our actions and to warm our bodies.