A large fish was caught by the count's servants. Gasping for breath, the fish took some comfort in the words he overheard: "What a beauty! The count will be so happy. After all, the count loves fish."Although he suffered all the way to the castle, the fish consoled himself in the expectation of better things to come, for everyone who saw him exclaimed: "The count will be so happy. He really loves fish."
To his surprise, however, when they reached the castle, instead of being placed in a lagoon or, at the very least, in a large tank, he was brought to the kitchen. There again, he heard the people exclaim: "The count will be so happy. He really loves fish."
Realizing his fate, the fish cried out to the butcher who had raised his knife over his head: "The count does not love fish. He is not thinking about me at all. He loves himself!"
Often, when we speak of "loving another person," what we are really loving is what we can get out of that person or how loving the person makes us feel good.
This story serves as a good introduction to Lag BaOmer, one of Judaism's days of festive celebration. One of the reasons we celebrate is that on this day, a plague that killed thousands of Rabbi Akiva's students ended.
What was the reason for the plague? our Sages explain that Rabbi Akiva's students did not show respect for one another.
That explanation has raised many questions. Rabbi Akiva placed great emphasis on sharing and unity. It was he who taught: "'Love your fellowman as yourself' is a great general principle in the Torah." How then could his students depart from their master's path and fail to show each other respect?
The answer is that really loving someone means going beyond yourself, relating to the person for the person's sake, not for what you can get. Even with the best intentions - and surely Rabbi Akiva's students had the best intentions - our self-interest can get in our way. Quite possibly, we will fail to show a person - even one whom we are trying to love - proper respect and consideration.
Lag BaOmer also commemorates the passing of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, one of the foremost sages of the Talmud and author of the Zohar, the primary text of the Kabala.
Rabbi Shimon perceived these two areas of knowledge not as distinct, self-contained disciplines, but as one composite unit. The legal aspect - Talmud, serves as the body and the mystical element - Zohar - the soul, of one integrated Torah.
This unity within the Torah enabled Rabbi Shimon to perceive the Divine unity within our material world, and moreover, to see this unity expressed even in the material dimensions of his life.
When Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai completed the Zohar, the fundamental text of Jewish mysticism, he was told from heaven: "With this text of yours, the Jewish people will leave exile with mercy." There is a cause and effect relationship here. As people appreciate the mystic truths taught by the Zohar, they will understand the G-dly nature of their own souls, the souls of the people around them and the souls of all of existence.
When people begin thinking and living according to these insights, the society that they produce will reflect the prophecies of knowledge, peace, and unity that accompany the Era of the Redemption. The Redemption will not merely be an abstract ideal; it will be a motif that ripple by ripple makes its way into the fabric of our lives.
Reprinted from Keeping in Touch, published by Sichos In English
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