23. What distinguishes Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai from the other sages of the Talmud?
The Zohar tells us that the sages of the Talmud related to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai as being on a much higher level than them and praises him with great and wonderful praises. The reason for this was that he was the source of the esoteric aspect of the Torah. Indeed his level was wondrous and mighty even compared to the other Sages.
The special thing about Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (his acronym is ‘Rashbi’) was not just that he occupied himself with learning the internal and esoteric aspects of the Torah, because there were other sages who also occupied themselves with those things, but that he knew how to unify and connect all the aspects of the Torah. Other sages occupied themselves with either the revealed aspect of the Torah (oral law) or the hidden or inner explanation. Rashbi, in addition to the fact that his learning itself was on a higher level than others, actually broke down the barrier between the revealed and hidden aspects of the Torah and illuminated the revealed Torah with insight from the esoteric Torah.
Therefore, Lag BaOmer, the day of his passing, is a very happy day. ‘Simcha’—happiness, breaks boundaries. On that day (the anniversary of the passing) his soul rises up to higher and higher spiritual planes and this creates potential for us to break out of all the boundaries of exile and reveal the true and complete redemption!