British rock singer Sir Elton John’s 2016 concert in Israel, reported by The JewishPress.com two weeks here by The JewishPress.com will be staged in Tel Aviv on May 26, which is Lag’Omer.
The holiday marks the anniversary of death of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, known as the Rashbi, a student of Rabbi Akiva. Lag B’Omer traditionally is the day on which he revealed deep mystical secrets of Kabbalah as written in the Zohar.
The concert in Yarkon Park is part of the 68-year-old singer’s Wonderful Crazy Night Tour 2016
Shuki Weiss, the producer of the concert, said. “I’m happy that we have the honor to present in Israel one of the biggest artists in the world will give all of us a few hours of a different reality.”
“Different” is an understatement on Lab B’Omer, noted most prominently with the burning of bonfires the evening before.
The Rashbi and his son Rabbi Eliezer, according to the Talmud, hid in a cave from the Romans for 12 years.
The Talmudic Shabbat tractate, page 33, relates:
Elijah came and stood at the entrance to the cave and exclaimed, ‘Who will inform the son of Yochai that the emperor is dead and his decree annulled?’ So they emerged.
Seeing a man plowing and sowing, they exclaimed, ‘They forsake life eternal and engage in life temporal!’ Whatever they cast their eyes upon was immediately burnt up.
Thereupon a Heavenly Echo came forth and cried out, ‘Have you emerged to destroy My world: Return to your cave!’
After another year in the cave, Rashbi and his son Rabbi Eliezer emerged again:
On the eve of the Shabbat before sunset they saw an old man holding two bundles of myrtle and running at twilight. ‘What are these for?’ they asked him. “They are in honor of the Shabbat, he replied.
‘But one should suffice you. [He responded] ‘One is for Remember and one for Observe’ [referring to the two different wordings in the Ten Commandments].
Said [Rashbi] to his son, ‘See how precious are the commandments to Israel.’
Maybe Sir Elton will light a bonfire on stage in memory of Rashbi.
