The Power of Lag B’Omer

The Power of Lag B’Omer

This weekend is Lag B’Omer, the day that Rav Shimon bar Yochai, the author of the Zohar, left the world. This particular point in time gives us a great spiritual opportunity: the opportunity for renewal, to be who we are, and to reach greater heights.

When we get stuck inside ourselves, we are already full. The Creator has no room to help us. But when we turn and busy ourselves with others, then we have the opportunity to grow on our spiritual level.

One such powerful example of this concept was demonstrated by a group of Kabbalah students from Mexico who, in June 2011, put in the time, effort, and energy to share the Zohar in Chihuahua, Mexico.* 

Prior to the distribution, I had met with the governor of Chihuahua, Cesar Horacio Duarte Jaquez, to discuss the situation in his state. One of the poorest states in Mexico, Chihuahua also had one of the highest violence and homicide rates in the Western world. 

This team of Kabbalah volunteers distributed close to 5000 copies of the Zohar . And just hours after the Zohars entered Mexico, there was a shift. As one student put it:

“Seventy-two, yes. Seventy-two hours after the arrival of the Zohars in Juarez, it was reported that for the first time in years, a period of 24 hours had passed without any murders in the city. This was a very clear message that this peace was the result of a revelation of a large amount of Light, through the Zohar and the Zohar Project .”

One year later, homicides and kidnappings had fallen by more than 60%. In October 2012 alone, in fact, the murder rate in Ciudad Juarez (the seat of the municipality of Juarez in Chihuahua) had dropped by a startling 88% from the same month in 2010: to 28 murders, down from the 253 from only two years earlier. 

There is no such thing as the sun that does not shine. When it is pouring rain and the sky is the grayest, the sun is there—and so is the Creator. We just need to open ourselves enough to let in that Light and then in turn to share it with others.

*For more information on the Zohar Project and how you can be a part of it, http://zohar.com/zoharproject .