(8) You shall count off seven weeks of years—seven times seven years—so that the period of seven weeks of years gives you a total of forty-nine years.
(10) and you shall hallow the fiftieth year. You shall proclaim release throughout the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you: each of you shall return to his holding and each of you shall return to his family.
אמר להם הראשונים לא מתו אלא מפני שהיתה עיניהם צרה בתורה זה לזה אתם לא תהיו כן מיד עמדו ומלאו כל ארץ ישראל תורה
[Rabbi Akiva said to his new students:] the first students died because their eyes were narrow in the Torah they shared with each other. Do not be like this. They immediately stood up and filled the land of Israel with Torah.
עץ יוסף, עין יעקב, יבמות סב ב מפני ושם במדרש איתא מפני שהיתה עיניהם צרה אלו לאלו כלומר שהיו שונאים זה לזה ולא היו רוצים לההנות זה לזה בלמוד וכאן פירש שלא נהגו כבוד כו' שלא חש כל אחד מהם על כבוד התורה של חברו דאין כבוד אלא תורה
Etz Yosef on Ein Yaakov Yevamot 62b
And as it is brought in the Midrash (Kohelet Rabbah), "because their eyes were narrow with the Torah they shared with each other." This it to say, that they hated one another, and didn't want to enjoy each other's company in Torah learning, and they weren't respectful with one another, etc., as they were not careful to be respectful of the Torah of their fellow, as there is no such thing as honor except in regards to Torah.
והעמיד [רבי עקיבא] תלמידים הרבה והוה שמדא על התלמידים של ר' עקיבא ...
R' Akiva raised up many students, but a religious persecution waged against his students...
A dilemma was raised before those who were sitting in the study hall: Did Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Yosei, say that askara comes as punishment only for slander, or perhaps he said it was also for slander? Come and hear a resolution to this dilemma from that which was taught in a baraita: When our Sages entered the vineyard in Yavne, Rabbi Yehuda, and Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Yosei, and Rabbi Shimon were there, and a question was asked before them with regard to this plague of askara: Why does it begin in the intestines and end in the mouth? Rabbi Yehuda, son of Rabbi Ila’i, who was the head of the speakers in every place, responded and said: Even though the kidneys advise, and the heart understands, and the tongue shapes the voice that emerges from the mouth, still, the mouth completes the formation of the voice. Therefore, the disease begins in the same place that slander begins and it ends in the mouth...Rabbi Shimon responded and said: This disease comes as a punishment for the sin of dereliction in the study of Torah.
וְאַמַּאי קָרוּ לֵיהּ ״רֹאשׁ הַמְדַבְּרִים בְּכָל מָקוֹם״? דְּיָתְבִי רַבִּי יְהוּדָה וְרַבִּי יוֹסֵי וְרַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן, וְיָתֵיב יְהוּדָה בֶּן גֵּרִים גַּבַּיְיהוּ. פָּתַח רַבִּי יְהוּדָה וְאָמַר: כַּמָּה נָאִים מַעֲשֵׂיהֶן שֶׁל אוּמָּה זוֹ: תִּקְּנוּ שְׁווֹקִים, תִּקְּנוּ גְּשָׁרִים, תִּקְנוּ מֶרְחֲצָאוֹת. רַבִּי יוֹסֵי שָׁתַק. נַעֲנָה רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן יוֹחַאי וְאָמַר: כׇּל מַה שֶּׁתִּקְּנוּ, לֹא תִּקְּנוּ אֶלָּא לְצוֹרֶךְ עַצְמָן. תִּקְּנוּ שְׁווֹקִין — לְהוֹשִׁיב בָּהֶן זוֹנוֹת, מֶרְחֲצָאוֹת — לְעַדֵּן בָּהֶן עַצְמָן, גְּשָׁרִים — לִיטּוֹל מֵהֶן מֶכֶס. הָלַךְ יְהוּדָה בֶּן גֵּרִים וְסִיפֵּר דִּבְרֵיהֶם, וְנִשְׁמְעוּ לַמַּלְכוּת. אָמְרוּ: יְהוּדָה שֶׁעִילָּה — יִתְעַלֶּה. יוֹסֵי שֶׁשָּׁתַק — יִגְלֶה לְצִיפּוֹרִי. שִׁמְעוֹן שֶׁגִּינָּה — יֵהָרֵג. אֲזַל הוּא וּבְרֵיהּ, טְשׁוֹ בֵּי מִדְרְשָׁא. כׇּל יוֹמָא הֲוָה מַתְיָא לְהוּ דְּבֵיתְהוּ רִיפְתָּא וְכוּזָא דְמַיָּא וְכָרְכִי. כִּי תְּקֵיף גְּזֵירְתָא אֲמַר לֵיהּ לִבְרֵיהּ: נָשִׁים דַּעְתָּן קַלָּה עֲלֵיהֶן, דִילְמָא מְצַעֲרִי לַהּ וּמְגַלְּיָא לַן. אֲזַלוּ טְשׁוֹ בִּמְעָרְתָּא. אִיתְרְחִישׁ נִיסָּא אִיבְּרִי לְהוּ חָרוּבָא וְעֵינָא דְמַיָּא, וַהֲווֹ מַשְׁלְחִי מָנַיְיהוּ וַהֲווֹ יָתְבִי עַד צַוְּארַיְיהוּ בְּחָלָא. כּוּלֵּי יוֹמָא גָּרְסִי. בְּעִידָּן צַלּוֹיֵי לָבְשִׁי מִיכַּסּוּ וּמְצַלּוּ, וַהֲדַר מַשְׁלְחִי מָנַיְיהוּ כִּי הֵיכִי דְּלָא לִיבְלוּ. אִיתִּיבוּ תְּרֵיסַר שְׁנֵי בִּמְעָרְתָּא. אֲתָא אֵלִיָּהוּ וְקָם אַפִּיתְחָא דִמְעָרְתָּא, אֲמַר: מַאן לוֹדְעֵיהּ לְבַר יוֹחַי דְּמִית קֵיסָר וּבְטִיל גְּזֵירְתֵיהּ. נְפַקוּ, חֲזוֹ אִינָשֵׁי דְּקָא כָּרְבִי וְזָרְעִי, אָמְרִין: מַנִּיחִין חַיֵּי עוֹלָם וְעוֹסְקִין בְּחַיֵּי שָׁעָה. כׇּל מָקוֹם שֶׁנּוֹתְנִין עֵינֵיהֶן מִיָּד נִשְׂרָף. יָצְתָה בַּת קוֹל וְאָמְרָה לָהֶם: לְהַחֲרִיב עוֹלָמִי יְצָאתֶם?! חִיזְרוּ לִמְעָרַתְכֶם! הֲדוּר אֲזוּל אִיתִּיבוּ תְּרֵיסַר יַרְחֵי שַׁתָּא. אָמְרִי: מִשְׁפַּט רְשָׁעִים בְּגֵיהִנָּם שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר חֹדֶשׁ. יָצְתָה בַּת קוֹל וְאָמְרָה: צְאוּ מִמְּעָרַתְכֶם! נְפַקוּ. כָּל הֵיכָא דַּהֲוָה מָחֵי רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר, הֲוָה מַסֵּי רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן. אָמַר לוֹ: בְּנִי, דַּי לָעוֹלָם אֲנִי וְאַתָּה. בַּהֲדֵי פַּנְיָא דְּמַעֲלֵי שַׁבְּתָא חֲזוֹ הָהוּא סָבָא דַּהֲוָה נָקֵיט תְּרֵי מַדָּאנֵי אָסָא וְרָהֵיט בֵּין הַשְּׁמָשׁוֹת. אֲמַרוּ לֵיהּ: הָנֵי לְמָה לָךְ? אֲמַר לְהוּ: לִכְבוֹד שַׁבָּת. וְתִיסְגֵּי לָךְ בְּחַד! — חַד כְּנֶגֶד ״זָכוֹר״ וְחַד כְּנֶגֶד ״שָׁמוֹר״. אֲמַר לֵיהּ לִבְרֵיהּ: חֲזִי כַּמָּה חֲבִיבִין מִצְוֹת עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל. אִיְּתִיבָה דַּעְתַּיְיהוּ.
The Gemara asks: And why did they call [Rabbi Yehudah] the head of the speakers in every place? The Gemara relates that this resulted due to an incident that took place when Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Yosei and Rabbi Shimon were sitting, and Yehuda, son of converts, sat beside them. Rabbi Yehuda opened and said: How pleasant are the actions of this nation, the Romans, as they established marketplaces, established bridges, and established bathhouses. Rabbi Yosei was silent. Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai responded and said: Everything that they established, they established only for their own purposes. They established marketplaces, to place prostitutes in them; bathhouses, to pamper themselves; and bridges, to collect taxes from all who pass over them. Yehuda, son of converts, went and related their statements to his household, and those statements continued to spread until they were heard by the monarchy. They ruled and said: Yehuda, who elevated the Roman regime, shall be elevated and appointed as head of the Sages, the head of the speakers in every place. Yosei, who remained silent, shall be exiled from his home in Judea as punishment, and sent to the city of Tzippori in the Galilee. And Shimon, who denounced the government, shall be killed. Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai and his son, Rabbi Elazar, went and hid in the study hall. Every day Rabbi Shimon’s wife would bring them bread and a jug of water and they would eat. When the decree intensified, Rabbi Shimon said to his son: Women are easily impressionable and, therefore, there is room for concern lest the authorities torture her and she reveal our whereabouts. They went and they hid in a cave. A miracle occurred and a carob tree was created for them as well as a spring of water. They would remove their clothes and sit covered in sand up to their necks. They would study Torah all day in that manner. At the time of prayer, they would dress, cover themselves, and pray, and they would again remove their clothes afterward so that they would not become tattered. They sat in the cave for twelve years. Elijah the Prophet came and stood at the entrance to the cave and said: Who will inform bar Yoḥai that the emperor died and his decree has been abrogated? They emerged from the cave, and saw people who were plowing and sowing. Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai said: These people abandon eternal life of Torah study and engage in temporal life for their own sustenance. The Gemara relates that every place that Rabbi Shimon and his son Rabbi Elazar directed their eyes was immediately burned. A Divine Voice emerged and said to them: Did you emerge from the cave in order to destroy My world? Return to your cave. They again went and sat there for twelve months. They said: The judgment of the wicked in Gehenna lasts for twelve months. Surely their sin was atoned in that time. A Divine Voice emerged and said to them: Emerge from your cave. They emerged. Everywhere that Rabbi Elazar would strike, Rabbi Shimon would heal. Rabbi Shimon said to Rabbi Elazar: My son, you and I suffice for the entire world, as the two of us are engaged in the proper study of Torah. As the sun was setting on Shabbat eve, they saw an elderly man who was holding two bundles of myrtle branches and running at twilight. They said to him: Why do you have these? He said to them: In honor of Shabbat. They said to him: And let one suffice. He answered them: One is corresponding to: “Remember the Shabbat day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8), and one is corresponding to: “Observe the Shabbat day, to keep it holy” (Deuteronomy 5:12). Rabbi Shimon said to his son: See how beloved the mitzvot are to Israel. Their minds were put at ease and they were no longer as upset that people were not engaged in Torah study.
(א) נוֹהֲגִים שֶׁלֹּא לִשָּׂא אִשָּׁה בֵּין פֶּסַח לַעֲצֶרֶת עַד ל''ג לָעֹמֶר, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁבְּאוֹתוֹ זְמַן מֵתוּ תַּלְמִידֵי רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא; אֲבָל לְאָרֵס וּלְקַדֵּשׁ, שַׁפִּיר דָּמִי, וְנִשּׂוּאִין נָמֵי, מִי שֶׁקָּפַץ וְכָנַס אֵין עוֹנְשִׁין אוֹתוֹ. הַגָּה: מִיהוּ מִלַּ''ג בָּעֹמֶר וָאֵילָךְ הַכֹּל שָׁרֵי (אַבּוּדַרְהַם וּבֵית יוֹסֵף וּמִנְהָגִים).
(ב) נוֹהֲגִים שֶׁלֹּא לְהִסְתַּפֵּר עַד ל''ג לָעֹמֶר, שֶׁאוֹמְרִים שֶׁאָז פָּסְקוּ מִלָּמוּת.
(1) It is customary not to get married between Pesach and Shavuot, until Lag BaOmer (the 33rd day), because during that time, the students of Rabbi Akiva died. However, to do "erusin" and "kiddushin" (engagement and betrothal) is OK. And even for "nisuin" (marriage), if someone did so, we do not punish him. Rema: however, from Lag Ba'Omer onwards, all this is permitted (Abudraham, Beit Yosef & Minhagim).
(2) It is customary not to cut one's hair until Lag BaOmer, since it is said that that is when they stopped dying.
תָּאנָא בְּהַהוּא יוֹמָא דְּרִבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בָּעָא לְאִסְתַּלְּקָא מִן עָלְמָא וַהֲוָה מְסַדֵּר מִלּוֹי. אִתְכְּנָשׁוּ חַבְרַיָּא לְבֵי רִבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן. וַהֲווּ קָמֵי רִבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בְּרֵיהּ וְרִבִּי אַבָּא וּשְׁאָר חַבְרַיָּא. וַהֲוָה מַלְיָא בֵיתָא.
It has been told: On the day that Rabbi Shim'on was to depart the world, while he was arranging his affairs, the Comrades assembled at his house. Present were Rabbi El'azar, his son, Rabbi Abba, and the other Comrades. The house was full.
Zohar: The Book of Enlightenment, Translated by Daniel Matt, p. 182
אָתוּ טְרִיקִין, וּמָארֵי תְּרִיסִין דִּכְפַר צִפֳּרִי וְטַרְדָאן בְּהוּ (ס''א דצפרי וטרדיא והוו) בְּנֵי מְרוֹנְיָא, צַוְוחִין בִּקְטִירִין, דְּחָשִׁיבוּ דְּלָא יִתְקְבַּר תַּמָּן. בָּתַר דְּנָפַק פּוּרְיָיא, הֲוָה סָלִיק בַּאֲוִירָא. וְאֶשָּׁא הֲוָה לָהִיט קַמֵּיהּ, שָׁמְעוּ קָלָא, עוּלוּ וְאָתוּ, וְאִתְכְּנָשׁוּ לְהִילּוּלָא דְּרִבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן.
Truculent stingers and shield-bearing warriors from Sepphoris came and beset them. The people of Meron banded together and shouted, for they feared he would not be buried there. After the bed emerged from the house, it rose into the air; fire blazed before it. They heard a voice: “Come and enter! Assemble for the wedding celebration of Rabbi Shim'on!"
Zohar: The Book of Enlightenment, Translated by Daniel Matt, p. 188
ו...הנה ר' שמעון בן יוחאי קראוהו בוצינא קדישא כי ע"י נתגלו באיתגליא סודות התורה ה"ס האור כי טוב הגנוז בתורה ע"כ נקרא ספרו הקדוש זה"ר אור המבהיק מסוף העולם ועד סופו או"ר הטוב הגנוז בתורה. ע"כ יומא הדין טוב ימים למתן תורה. אשר מתחיל להתנוצץ האור כי טוב בתו' וכמש"ל. הנה יום הזה ל"ג בעומר. יומא דהילולא דרבי שמעון בן יוחאי בו ביום עלה לשמי מרומים. ומסתמא ביום זה נולד ג"כ כי הקב"ה יושב וממלא שנותיהם של צדיקים מיום אל יום. הנה בו ביום שמתחיל האור כי טוב להאיר מן התורה היינו טוב ימים קודם מתן תורה בו ביום נתגלית הנשמה הקדושה בעולם אשר תגלה דרך אור כי טו"ב בתור'...
...R’ Shimon bar Yochai was called “the holy lamp” because through him were revealed the secrets of Torah, that is the secret of “the light that was good” which is hidden in the Torah. Therefore his holy book is called the Zohar (lit. brilliance), meaning a light which shines from one end of the world to the other – the ‘good light’ which is hidden away in the Torah. That is why this day is the best of days for the giving of Torah. This is when the good light in the Torah began to shone forth, as we have learned. And this day is the 33rd day of the Omer, Lag Baomer. This is the day of the hilulah (lit. rejoicing) of R’ Shimon bar Yochai, the very day on which he ascended to the highest heavens. It also makes sense to assume that he was born on this day as well, because the Holy One sits and completes the years of the righteous from day to day (Kiddushin 38a). The very day on which ‘the light that is good’ began to shine out from the Torah, that is the best of days in the lead up to the giving of the Torah, is the very day on which the holy soul that would reveal the path of ‘the light that is good’ in Torah was itself revealed...
...ולפי דאי' במדרש שמיום שכלה החררה שהוציאו ממצרי' הלכו ג' ימים בלא לחם ואח"כ ירד המן א"כ הי' הורדת המן ביום ל"ג בעומר וראוי' לעשות לזה זכר טוב אך הוא נגד ש"ס פר"ע ושם הארכתי מ"מ לעשותו יום שמחה והדלקה ובמקום ידוע דוקא שיהי' תל תלפיות שהכל נפנים לשם לא ידעתי אם רשאים לעשות כן ...
...as it appears in the midrash, that from the day that the bread which they brought out from Egypt was finished they went three days without - which means that the manna began to come down on Lag B'Omer. It would be appropriate to mark this day in some positive way, even though this seems to be in opposition to the Gemara...