As Lag BaOmer approaches, Sephardic Chief Rabbi Rav Dovid Yosef issued a strong warning regarding the dangers in northern Israel and attempts by some individuals to evade police restrictions in order to reach the kever of Rav Shimon Bar Yochai in Meron in defiance of official directives.

The rabbi made clear that such actions should not be viewed as religious devotion, but rather as a direct violation of Torah principles. He dismissed claims that traveling to the site under dangerous conditions constitutes “mesirus nefesh” on behalf of the tzaddik.

He explained that the Torah instructs “and you shall live by them,” emphasizing that mitzvos are meant to preserve life, not endanger it. When security authorities are united in determining that a situation poses a threat, he said, halacha requires that their guidance be followed.

“A person must not put himself in danger claiming ‘God will protect me.’ What is that supposed to be? What kind of claim is that – people have lost their senses over these matters. They are not thinking logically… In the Shulchan Aruch, when a doctor determines that a patient must eat on Yom Kippur, he must follow the doctor’s ruling. So will he then say he is observant of the commandments…? Me, for the sake of Yom Kippur… If something happens to this man, not only will he not die sanctifying God’s name but he will lose his life, plain and simple,” warned the Rabbi.

He added that the risks increase significantly when large crowds are involved, noting the potential for chaos and tragedy. “All the more so here: when there is a larger group of people and, heaven forbid, something happens, first there is a greater chance they will be harmed as I said, and second the public will not be able to escape and they will trample one another and the disaster will return again; therefore one who guards his life should distance himself from this, not to ascend to Meron under any circumstances,” he concluded.