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Jewish Practice Jewish Holidays Lag BaOmer Insights
Thirteen Years in a Cave, Now What?
By Levi Avtzon
What's the first thing you do after you leave the cave you've been hiding in for the past thirteen years?
You spend some time with your family (which hopefully has not deserted you).
Arrange a news conference.
Sign a book deal.
Negotiate a major motion picture.
Make the front cover of every tabloid magazine.
End up in rehab.
If you are of more humble stock, you try to return to your humble life, and count your blessings for years to come.
Sentenced A person "inconvenienced" by living in a cave for thirteen years would presumably scoff at the younger generation who call every triviality a traumato death after talking against the Roman regime, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai hid in a cave for thirteen years together with his son Elazar. For thirteen years they wallowed in sand—they were filled with painful sores upon exiting—subsisting only on carobs and water from a tree and stream that miraculously appeared at the cave's entrance. (Click here for the story, as told in the Talmud.)
They exit after thirteen years. What is the first thing on Rabbi Shimon's agenda?
The townspeople tell him about a road under which there is a lost grave. As kohanim (priests) are not permitted to come in contact with a corpse, or even pass over one, they had to take a detour when wishing to travel that route. Rabbi Shimon discerns the location of the body, the grave is marked and the problem corrected.
A person who was "inconvenienced" by living in a cave for thirteen years would presumably feel that he has a monopoly on pain and discomfort, and scoff at the younger generation who call every triviality a trauma.
To try to ease their pain? Forget it.
But here we find Rabbi Shimon doing just that, spending his first moments of freedom helping some kohanim get rid of a relatively small inconvenience!
Is there nothing bigger and more important than helping a person with some minor nuisance after being locked up in a cave for almost a decade and a half?
No, there isn't.
Rabbi Levi Avtzon lives in Johannesburg, South Africa, with his wife Chaya and their children. He is senior rabbi at the Linksfield Senderwood Hebrew Congregation.
Sefira Ross is a freelance designer and illustrator whose original creations grace many Chabad.org pages. Residing in Seattle, Washington, her days are spent between multitasking illustrations and being a mom.
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ruth housman marshfield hills, MA May 26, 2016
Tikkun Olam the healing of the broken places.
It is where meaning is found.
We get such opportunities constantly. He knew this being a Kabbalist. First on the 'list'. Reply
Randi Freedman US May 26, 2016
13 years in bondage? Living in a cave or under a rock does have its advantages if you're properly nourished. Fears are real, terror is real. If you're being persecuted isn't it better to remain true to yourself, selfhood and personality by living under a rock or in a cave? Reply
anonymous ottawa ottawa May 24, 2016
I like the story I have nothing insightful, just want to express my appreciation for this story. I relate a little. I wonder about the need to stay away from corpses, but I guess I can always dig a little deeper if I really want to know. Reply
Yehuda Cahn Baltimore, Maryland, USA via rca.edu May 10, 2012
Understanding a little further A very clever insight, but on the other hand, Rashbi initially did set everything he saw on fire when he emrged from the cave. He was ordered back into the cave until he changed his attitude.
Presumably, he gained an inisght into the concept that Hashem wants a dwelling in the lower realms. He wants us to recognize and serve Him in the physical realm using physical objects. This insight allowed him to realize the importance of helping others. Reply
ruth housman newton, ma April 28, 2010
the geode within We often find ourselves looking at gem stones and for me, the most beautiful of that sparkle occurs in geodes, those balls of rock that when cut open reveal the amethysts and other jewels within. One might compare this cave, where a deeply mystic event occurred, as that cavern of diamonds. Many people, including rabbis, still will not refer to that beautiful, mystical text, the Zohar, the Book of Splendor. Splendor is revealed in many ways, in a sunset, a child's smile, the light that produces so many suns in the reflection of water. Within or without, there is a beauty of apperception that does bring us to our knees. And he saw it. And he obviously lived it, as in this most beautiful story!
This, the poetry of life, the G ODE. Reply
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