Lag BaOmer

Lag Ba’omer (also known as Lag La'Omer amongst Sephardic Jews) is celebrated on the 33rd day of the Counting of the Omer, which occurs on the 18th day of the Hebrew month of Iyar. (Usually in May.)

According to the Talmud, 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva died from a divinely sent plague during the Counting of the Omer. In the years that followed, Jews began to celebrate the end of the plague on Lag Ba’omer.

Rabbi Akiva continued with only five students, amongst them Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, who became the greatest teacher of Torah in his generation.

Akiva decided his students should learn to fight the Roman conquerors. To avoid suspicion, they dressed up as hunters carrying bows and arrows, and went to the woods to practice. Eventually, the students joined the Bar Kochba rebels in their fight for freedom.

During the Roman Empire, the Romans believed it was unlucky to marry in May, before the harvest. They believed that the souls of the dead came back to earth at that time to haunt the living, and would only be appeased by fu-nerals, not weddings. This period lasted 32 days, and ended with a festival on the 33rd day. The Roman practice coincided with the Jewish practice of Counting of the Omer, which ended with Lag Ba’omer, on the 33rd day.

In the Middle Ages, Lag Ba’omer became a special holiday for rabbinical students. On this so-called "Scholar's Day," it was customary to practice outdoor sports.

In ancient times farmers used to worry (they actually still do) during the Counting of the Omer, whether the new grain crops would succeed or fail. Israeli spring weather is always unstable. Hot desert winds (sharav) can dry out the seedlings or burn the standing grain. Another danger is locusts, other insects or plant diseases. Until the farmer knows the out-come of his respective harvests, he is not in the mood for private or public celebrations.

While the Counting of the Omer is a semi-mourning period for observant Jews, all re-strictions of mourning are lifted on the 33rd day of the Omer. Amongst Ashkenazi Jews, weddings, parties, listening to music, and haircuts are commonly scheduled to coincide with this day. Sephardi Jews marry on Lad Ba’omer, the 34th day of the Omer.

On the eve of the holiday, huge bonfires are lit all over the country. Children often begin to collect wood after the Pesach holiday.

Some believe that the practice of having these bonfires goes back to the days of Bar Kochba, who lit fires in Jerusalem to sig-nal to other villages and towns that they had captured the capital. In turn, the villages kindled fires which could be seen even further away.

The following day, families enjoy picnics and outings into the woods. Children continue to play with bows and rubber-tipped arrows.

The Meron celebrations date from the time of Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534-1572). Since then it became customary to give three-year-old boys their first haircuts (upsherin) during Lag Ba’o-mer.

Mt. Meron, Israel

Zionist ideology connected Lag Ba’omer to the Bar Kochba revolt against the Roman Empire. The holiday became a symbol for the fighting Jewish spirit.

The Gadna program (youth brigades) of the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) was established on Lag Ba’omer in 1941. Their emblem bears a bow and arrow.

On Lag Ba’omer 1948, the Israeli government ordered the establishment of the Israel Defense Forces.

Excerpt taken from the book: “Remember Observe Rejoice” 

by Petra van der Zande  ©

ISBN 978-965-7542-61-3

Buy the book by clicking this link