On Lag B'Omer, we celebrate the end of the plague that smote 24,000 (!) students of the great Talmudic sage, Rabbi Akiva. Each a respected Torah scholar, they were punished for not respecting one another and stopped dying on this day.

It is very hard to understand how these Torah giants could have erred so terribly, especially considering the fact that their teacher's fundamental principle was "Love your fellow Jew as yourself". The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains that Rabbi Akiva's students did keep the mitzvah of loving their fellow Jews, yet they did not give special honor to each other. Because each of these students was a gifted individual, they all deserved honor, yet they did not give this to each other. It was not enough to only love each other and not do harm or insult one another. They were also required to give each other extra respect. So too, we must remember that every Jew is an entire world unto him or herself. The Almighty is paying special attention to every single Jew. When we keep this in mind, it reminds us that we must be careful to give genuine honor to each and every Jew. Their respect of one another, which in turn affected the Torah they learned and taught…

Similarly, it is interesting to note that of the 24,000 students that died, we do not know the name of even one of them. After their passing, Rabbi Akiva had new students, though fewer. However, these new disciples are known by name as famous Torah luminaries. These men put in the extra effort to honor each other. Their mutual respect affected their learning so much so that their teachings and deeds are famous even today. This demonstrates the qualitative difference in the attitudes of Rabbi Akiva's followers. Those that he acquired after Lag B'Omer were scrupulous in not only loving one another, but they especially expressed their respect of one another, which in turn affected the Torah they learned and taught - and succeeded in elevating them to much higher heights. If each of us lived totally alone, we could be satisfied with just thinking, but G‑d created a world of action and interaction…

One of the best vehicles of acting on our love and respect for other Jewish people relates to this week's Torah portion, Emor. "Emor", in Hebrew, means "say". If each of us lived totally alone, we could be satisfied with just thinking, but G‑d created a world of action and interaction. He wanted us to be challenged by and succeed in our social relationships. How do we share thoughts and feelings with other people? Through talking to them.

The Rebbe explains how parashat Emor teaches us that thought alone is not enough. We may have the most sublime thoughts, but without speech, they will not amount to much. If you have a nice thought, share it out loud with someone.

G‑d created a world where we have influence on others. He wanted us to talk to one another. The purpose of speech is that our good thoughts should positively influence other Jews and the world at large. G‑d also wants us to talk about each other (good things, of course!). When G‑d speaks, it has an eternal affect on the universe…

When G‑d speaks, it has an eternal affect on the universe. Because we are intrinsically connected to G‑d, also our spoken words have tremendous effects. When we speak well of another Jew, it actually has an influence on him or her. (This happens even if the person is well out of earshot!) Those positive words we have to say can actually change another person for the better.

So here are a few lessons from Lag B'Omer and parashat Emor: Love and respect your fellow Jew and speak nicely to and about each other! May we achieve true love for one another and immediately merit the redemption.

Chag Sameach, Shaul

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