The Piyyut - Bar Yohai
An Imaginal* Commentary for Lag Ba'omer
One of the things celebrated on Lag Ba’omer is the yahrzeit of Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai. This tradition began in the 16th century (Though the HIDA [18th century, Israel and Italy] claimed the tradition was based on faulty copying, a conclusion which has been affirmed by contemporary research into Lurianic manuscripts) and the center of these celebrations has been at the gravesite of R Shimon in Meron ever since. Notably, the R Shimon celebrated on this day is not the figure depicted in the second century texts, but rather R Shimon as depicted in the Zohar (13th century, Spain) the great mystical master of his generation, and all generations until the coming of the messiah. His death is described in the Zohar as the mystical culmination of his life, a conscious merging into the dynamics of the life of God. It is this peak experience which is celebrated on Lag Ba’omer allowing the echoes of that moment to continue reverberating through our own lives. (Though it is worth noting that Yehuda Liebes, in “Messiah of the Zohar” has convincingly argued that the Zohar itself presents R Shimeo’s death as occurring on Yom Kippur) The occasion is marked with Zohar learning, bonfires, and songs created in his honor.
The Zohar (2:178) describes practices of spirit ascent and descent anchored in the recitation or singing of “songs of true lineage”. These songs, the Zohar explains, are constructed as guides or maps for the practitioner to follow. The Zohar lists nine modes of composition that serve as guides, including songs structured around a sequence of Sefirot, the letters of different divine names, the names of tzaddikim and more.
One of the most popular songs written in R Shimon’s honor is the piyyut “Bar Yoḥai” by R Shimon Lavie (d. 1585, Tripoli, Libya). This piyyut is structured around two such maps as described in the Zohar. The stanzas of the song follow the sequence of sefirot from the most concrete (Malkhut) to the most abstract (Keter), and the opening letters of the stanzas spell out the name – שמעון לביא. Each stanza describes R Shimon Bar Yoḥai using terminology associated with one of the sefirot and phrases that evoke particular texts, stories and images that are connected to that sefirah. Many interpretations of this song focus on analyzing these textual associations. (see in particular the book ביאור השיר בר יוחאי by RYAZ Margaliot)
In the commentary offered below I attempt something slightly different. Having studied the textual associations, and being a practitioner of sefirot (for my understanding of sefirot as tools of practice see my - Sefirot HaOmer ) I share here an envisioning of the journey through the sefirot as evoked by the images of this particular song.
While the song is written as a description of Bar Yoḥai, its form and methodology invite the practitioner to follow Bar Yoḥai on his journey through the sefirot. For purposes of practice, whenever the word “you” appears in the commentary it should be understood as referring to both Bar Yoḥai and the practitioner.
In practice, the sefirot can follow different sequences. In this particular piyyut the sefirot are organized as a circle – נעוץ סופן בתחילתן. As a result, instead of a dynamic of going up a ladder and then down, in this song we move through the sefirot and end up at the end of the song in the same place we began. It is a loop trail rather than an out and back trail.
To get the most out of this practice, I suggest that you:
Know the meaning of the words of the song.
Practice imagining the images of the different stanzas.
Sing the song slowly, and let the words evoke the images in your mind.
Try doing this alone and with friends.
Do this more than once. Like every practice, you will get better with practice.
To help facilitate practice, I have separated the stanzas of the song from each other, and inserted the name of the sefirah each stanza is evoking. Each stanza is presented with a mostly literal English translation (created by Akiva Sanders, accessed from The Open Siddur Project ) and followed by my envisioning.
* I use the term imaginal as established by Henry Corbin, who created it in order to avoid the association of "imaginary" with "not real".
The Piyyut
בַּר יוֹחַאי נִמְשַׁחְתָּ אַשְׁרֶיךָ שֶׁמֶן שָׂשׂוֹן מֵחֲבֵרֶיךָ
Bar Yoḥai, you have been anointed with joyful oil, fortunate one, more than your companions.
Bar Yoḥai you are the anointed one, a high priest who joyously enters the temple and the holy of holies for us. Like the high priest you carry us on your heart as you enter, making it possible for us to describe this journey and to experience it. This is possible, because this mode of Torah is a group endeavor. Bar Yohai may be the greatest of the friends, but the greatness and the anointing come from them, and from the joy of companionship. On this journey you carry us and we carry you.
מלכות Malchut
בַּר יוֹחַאי שֶׁמֶן מִשְׁחַת קֹדֶשׁ נִמְשַׁחְתָּ מִמִּדַּת הַקֹּדֶשׁ
נָשָׂאתָ צִיץ נֵזֶר הַקֹּדֶשׁ חָבוּשׁ עַל רֹאשְׁךָ פְּאֵרֶךָ
Bar Yoḥai, you were anointed with the oil of holy anointing, coming from the holy attribute You wear the holy priestly crown, your glory, on your head.
Bar Yoḥai, your journey begins in the present, here and now. You are a vessel for the divine forces, all flowing into you, into this moment. The flow is smooth like oil, silent and soothing. It fills you and washes over you. Standing in this flow transforms you. This is when you become a high priest ready to enter the holiest of all holies. The divine forces flow through you, illuminating the entire world. You may feel the light shining out through your forehead filtered through and focused by the four letters of the holy name, the four sections of tefillin.
יסוד Yesod
בַּר יוֹחַאי מוֹשַׁב טוֹב יָשַׁבְתָּ יוֹם נַסְתָּ יוֹם אֲשֶׁר בָּרַחְתָּ
בִּמְעָרַת צוּרִים שֶׁעָמַדְתָּ שָׁם קָנִיתָ הוֹדְךָ וַהֲדָרֶךָ
Bar Yoḥai, you lived in a good dwelling on the day you escaped, the day you ran away, in the cave of stone in which you stood, there you acquired your majesty and your splendor.
Bar Yoḥai, walking into this holiness requires some time of leaving behind the external work of the world and focusing inwards. That is the day on which you fled from everything and took refuge in the cleft of the rock. It is a good place to sit. In that cave you can hear the echoes of God’s voice saying to Moshe – there is room here, with me. You can hear the noise, and the fragile sound of silence that Eliyahu heard. This is how you acquire the honesty and sense of beauty that are necessary for being a channel through which what-is can become what-could-be.
נצח והוד Netzah and Hod
בַּר יוֹחַאי עֲצֵי שִׁטִּים עוֹמְדִים לִמּוּדֵי יְיָ הֵם לוֹמְדִים
אוֹר מֻפְלֶא אוֹר הַיְקוֹד הֵם יוֹקְדִים הֲלֹא הֵמָּה יוֹרוּךָ מוֹרֶיךָ
Bar Yoḥai, they stand like acacia wood, the ones who learn of YHVH, they learn With a wondrous light, a burning light, they burn, are they not the ones shown to you by your teachers?
Bar Yoḥai, you stand between two pillars, two tree trunks which stand as they grew, their lower end on the ground and the upper end reaching towards the treetops. You taught us that what we do in service of God should be aligned with the natural state of what is. Between these two pillars, life is a training ground – the Divine manifesting in the choices of every moment. Depending on your choices they will either shine on you the light of wonder and radical amazement, or they will consume you in a burning fire. Thus, they are your teachers throughout life.
תפארת Tiferet
בַּר יוֹחַאי וְלִשְׂדֵה תַפּוּחִים עָלִיתָ לִלְקוֹט בּוֹ מֶרְקָחִים
סוֹד תּוֹרָה כְּצִיצִים וּפְרָחִים נַעֲשֶׂה אָדָם נֶאֱמַר בַּעֲבוּרֶךָ
Bar Yoḥai, and you went up to the field of apples to gather fragrances, The secret of the Torah, from blossoms and flowers, “Let us make a Human” was said on your account.
Bar Yoḥai, through your choices you became the person you were meant to be, the human walking through the Garden of this world with God. The entire world is Torah and you walk through it gathering the little flowers and blossoms at the tips of the letters to create potions of healing, beauty and sweetness.
גבורה Gevurah
בַּר יוֹחַאי נֶאֱזַרְתָּ בִּגְבוּרָה וּבְמִלְחֶמֶת אֵשׁ דַּת הַשַּׁעְרָה
וְחֶרֶב הוֹצֵאתָ מִתַּעְרָהּ שָׁלַפְתָּ נֶגֶד צוֹרְרֶיךָ
Bar Yoḥai, you clothed yourself in strength and went to the gate in the war of the law And you took a sword and pulled it out before those who oppressed you.
Bar Yoḥai, You rose to the place of fire, fire which is the great teacher from whom we learn that we live our lives in transformation, and that for one form to come into being, another must cease to exist; to become light and heat, the form of wood is destroyed and ashes and energy start new journeys. To walk through a gate is to leave another world behind, and here you learned to wield a mighty sword to cut the strings that hold you back, that tie you to a narrow and limited existence.
חסד Chesed
בַּר יוֹחַאי לִמְקוֹם אַבְנֵי שַׁיִשׁ הִגַּעְתָּ לִפְנֵי אַרְיֵה לַיִשׁ
גַּם גֻּלַּת כּוֹתֶרֶת עַל עַיִשׁ תָּשׁוּרִי וּמִי יְשׁוּרֶךָ
Bar Yoḥai, at the place of marble stones, you came in the face of the lion of Leo, It is your crowning achievement that you beheld to Ursa, but who will behold you?
Bar Yoḥai, you were then able to touch the powerful, roaring love that is the foundation of everything. It is the bedrock of all creation; its vision extends beyond the stars and the constellations. It is right here, right now, in everything. Can you see it?
בינה Binah
בַּר יוֹחַאי בְּקֹדֶשׁ הַקֳּדָשִׁים קַו יָרוֹק מְחַדֵּשׁ חֳדָשִׁים
שֶׁבַע שַׁבָּתוֹת סוֹד חֲמִשִּׁים קָשַׁרְתָּ קִשְׁרֵי שִׁי"ן קְשָׁרֶיךָ
Bar Yoḥai, in the holy of holies a green line renews the months Seven weeks, the secret of fifty, you bound the connections of your Shin knots.
Bar Yoḥai, You stood in the Holy of Holies. The place of change, renewal and rebirth. The glowing line on the horizon where a new day comes into being, the place the moon goes to be born again every month. This is the culmination of the journey through the seven previous gateways, each one reflecting the other six and itself, forty nine gates, this being the fiftieth. This is the mountain top where heaven and earth meet, where the four-pronged Shin of white fire unites with the three-pronged Shin of black fire as they create and embrace each other.
חכמה Hokhmah
בַּר יוֹחַאי יוּ"ד חָכְמָה קְדוּמָה הִשְׁקַפְתָּ לִכְבוֹדוֹ פְּנִימָה
לֵב (שְׁלשִׁים וּשְׁתַּיִם) נְתִיבוֹת רֵאשִׁית תְּרוּמָה אַתְּ כְּרוּב מִמְשַׁח זִיו אוֹרֶךָ
Bar Yoḥai, you perceived the inner glory of the Yud of original knowledge The thirty-two paths, the first offering; you, a cherub, were anointed with the radiance of your light.
Bar Yoḥai, in you, all the paths of the heart coalesced into one point – Being which is beyond dimensions, beyond movement and change. You looked into the primordial singularity from which all being arises. You have become the glowing light hovering over the Ark of the Covenant.
כתר Keter
בַּר יוֹחַאי אוֹר מֻפְלֶא רוּם מַעְלָה יָרֵאתָ מִלְּהַבִּיט כִּי רַב לָהּ
תַּעֲלוּמָה וְאַיִן קוֹרָא לָהּ נַמְתָּ עַיִן לֹא תְשׁוּרֶךָ
Bar Yoḥai, a burning light raised on high, you were afraid to look, because it was so great, You slept; it was a mystery, and it is called nothingness because no eye may see you.
Bar Yoḥai,
A light beyond vision.
The highest of the high.
The pure awe of greatness.
The unnamable,
Unknown,
Unseen.
מלכות Malchut
בַּר יוֹחַאי אַשְׁרֵי יוֹלַדְתֶּךָ אַשְׁרֵי הָעָם הֵם לוֹמְדֶךָ
וְאַשְׁרֵי הָעוֹמְדִים עַל סוֹדֶךָ לְבוּשֵׁי חֹשֶׁן תֻּמֶּיךָ וְאוּרֶיךָ
Bar Yoḥai, how fortunate is your mother, how fortunate are your people, they are your students. And how fortunate are those who stand before your secrets, those who wear the breastplate, your Urim and Tumim.
Bar Yoḥai,
You are a joy to your mother.
A joy to us, here and now, who learn you and from you.
A joy to us who really know you.
A joy to us who put on the garments of your priestly service.
What a wonderful imaginal world. Wish I had a melody, if there ever was such.