Lag BaOmer ( he, , ''LaG Bāʿōmer''), also Lag B'Omer or Lag LaOmer, is a
Jewish religious holiday celebrated on the 33rd day of the
Counting of the Omer
Counting of the Omer (, Sefirat HaOmer, sometimes abbreviated as Sefira or the Omer) is an important verbal counting of each of the forty-nine days starting with the Wave Offering of a sheaf of ripe grain with a sacrifice immediately following ...
, which occurs on the 18th day of the
Hebrew month
The Hebrew calendar ( he, הַלּוּחַ הָעִבְרִי, translit=HaLuah HaIvri), also called the Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today for Jewish religious observance, and as an official calendar of the state of Israel. ...
of
Iyar.
According to some
Rishonim
''Rishonim'' (; he, ; sing. he, , ''Rishon'', "the first ones") were the leading rabbis and '' poskim'' who lived approximately during the 11th to 15th centuries, in the era before the writing of the ''Shulchan Aruch'' ( he, , "Set Table", a ...
, it is the day on which the plague that killed
Rabbi Akiva's 24,000 disciples came to an end, and for this reason the mourning period of
Sefirat HaOmer concludes on Lag BaOmer in many communities.
According to modern
kabbalistic
Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...
tradition, this day is the
Celebration of
Simeon ben Yochai and/or the anniversary of his death. According to a late medieval tradition, Simeon ben Yochai is buried in Meron, and this association has spawned several well-known customs and practices on Lag BaOmer, including the lighting of
bonfire
A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used either for informal disposal of burnable waste material or as part of a celebration.
Etymology
The earliest recorded uses of the word date back to the late 15th century, with the Catho ...
s and pilgrimages to
Meron.
[ ]
Additionally, in modern-day Israel, the holiday also serves to commemorate the
Bar Kokhba Revolt
The Bar Kokhba revolt ( he, , links=yes, ''Mereḏ Bar Kōḵḇāʾ''), or the 'Jewish Expedition' as the Romans named it ( la, Expeditio Judaica), was a rebellion by the Jews of the Roman province of Judea, led by Simon bar Kokhba, ag ...
against the Romans.
Etymology
![Lag Ba'Omer bonfire Tel Aviv Israel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Lag_Ba%27Omer_bonfire_Tel_Aviv_Israel.jpg)
Lag BaOmer is Hebrew for "33rd
ayin the
Omer". (The
Hebrew letter
The Hebrew alphabet ( he, אָלֶף־בֵּית עִבְרִי, ), known variously by scholars as the Ktav Ashuri, Jewish script, square script and block script, is an abjad script used in the writing of the Hebrew language and other Jewish ...
ל (
lamed) or "L" has the numerical value of 30 and ג (
gimmel
Gimel is the third letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician Gīml , Hebrew Gimel , Aramaic Gāmal , Syriac Gāmal , and Arabic (in alphabetical order; fifth in spelling order). Its sound value in the original Phoenician and in all ...
) or "G" has the numerical value of 3. A vowel sound is conventionally added for pronunciation purposes.)
Some Jews call this holiday Lag LaOmer, which means "33rd
ay''of'' the Omer", as opposed to Lag BaOmer, "33rd
ay''in'' the Omer". Lag BaOmer is the traditional method of counting by some
Ashkenazi
Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
and
Hasidic
Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism ( Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of conte ...
Jews; Lag LaOmer is the count used by
Sephardi Jews
Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...
. Lag LaOmer is also the name used by
Yosef Karo, who was a Sepharadi, in his ''
Shulchan Aruch
The ''Shulchan Aruch'' ( he, שֻׁלְחָן עָרוּך , literally: "Set Table"), sometimes dubbed in English as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in Judaism. It was authored in Safed (today in ...
'' (''Orach Chaim'' 493:2, and cf. 489:1 where BaOmer is inserted by a
glossator).
(The form Lag B'Omer
33rd day of ''an'' Omer"is also sometimes used, though it is not grammatically correct in this setting.) The
Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi
Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Menachem Mendel Schneerson (Modern Hebrew: מנחם מענדל שניאורסון; old-fashioned spelling: מנחם מענדל שניאורסאהן; April 5, 1902 OS – June 12, 1994; AM 11 Nissan 5662 – 3 Tammuz 5754), known to man ...
, writes in his ''
Likkutei Sichos'' that a deeper reason for the term Lag BaOmer is that the Hebrew words ''Lag BaOmer'' (ל״ג בעמר, spelled without the "
vav"), have the same as ''Moshe'' (משה, Moses). He writes that Rabbi
Shimon bar Yochai, whose
yahrzeit is traditionally observed on this day, was mystically a spark of the soul of
Moses
Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu ( Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pr ...
.
Origins
![קבר רשב](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/%D7%A7%D7%91%D7%A8_%D7%A8%D7%A9%D7%91%22%D7%99.jpg)
The origins of Lag BaOmer as a minor festival are unclear. The earliest clear reference to the observance of Lag BaOmer is a brief statement by
Isaac ben Dorbolo Isaac ben Dorbolo was a rabbi, about 1150.
He traveled much, and knew Poland, Russia, Bohemia, France, and Germany from his own observations. Some time after 1140 he visited Rabbeinu Tam in Ramerupt.
In Worms, where he remained for some time, he r ...
(12th century, northern France). It is found in his annotations to ''
Mahzor Vitry
Simhah ben Samuel of Vitry ( he, שמחה בן שמואל מויטרי; died 1105) was a French Talmudist of the 11th and 12th centuries, pupil of Rashi, and the compiler of ''Machzor Vitry''. He lived in Vitry-le-François.
''Machzor Vitry''
...
''. He points out that
Purim
Purim (; , ; see Name below) is a Jewish holiday which commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from Haman, an official of the Achaemenid Empire who was planning to have all of Persia's Jewish subjects killed, as recounted in the Book ...
and Lag BaOmer always fall on the same day of the week, but he says nothing about the origin of the holiday. Lag BaOmer is also mentioned in the early 13th century by
Avraham ben Nathan in his
Sefer HaManhig. The Talmudist
Menachem Meiri in his gloss to ''
Yevamot'' 62b cites the Talmudic passage which states that during the time of Rabbi Akiva, 24,000 of his students died from a divinely-sent plague during the counting of the Omer. The Talmud goes on to say that this was because they did not show proper respect to one another. Meiri named Lag BaOmer as the day when, "according to a tradition of the
geonim", the "plague" ended.
Kabbalistic traditions of traveling to any of several locations around Meron at any of several points in the month of Iyyar date to the medieval period, but it is not clear when, by whom, or in what way Lag baOmer was first connected to
Simeon ben Yochai.
Nachman Krochmal, a 19th-century Jewish theologian, among others, suggests that the deaths of Rabbi Akiva's students was a veiled reference to the defeat of "Akiva's soldiers" by the Romans, and that Lag BaOmer was the day on which Bar Kokhba enjoyed a brief victory.
[
During the Middle Ages, Lag BaOmer became a special holiday for rabbinical students and was called "Scholar's Day". It was customary to rejoice on this day through outdoor sports.]
Kabbalistic significance
Lag BaOmer has another significance based on the Kabbalistic
Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...
custom of assigning a Sefirah
Sefirot (; he, סְפִירוֹת, translit=Səfīrōt, Tiberian: '), meaning '' emanations'', are the 10 attributes/emanations in Kabbalah, through which Ein Sof ( The Infinite) reveals itself and continuously creates both the physical realm a ...
to each day and week of the Omer count. The first week corresponds to ''Chesed'', the second week to ''Gevurah'', etc., and similarly, the first day of each week corresponds to ''Chesed'', the second day to ''Gevurah'', etc. Thus, the 33rd day, which is the fifth day of the fifth week, corresponds to ''Hod she-be-Hod'' (Splendor within he week ofSplendor). As such, Lag BaOmer represents the level of spiritual manifestation or Hod that would precede the more physical manifestation of the 49th day (''Malkhut she-be-Malkhut'', Kingship within he week ofKingship), which immediately precedes the holiday of Shavuot.
Customs and practices
While the Counting of the Omer is a semi-mourning period, all restrictions of mourning are lifted for Ashkenazim on the 33rd day of the Omer. The Sephardic custom is to cease mourning the following day, celebrations being allowed on the 34th day of the Omer, ' (). As a result, weddings, parties, listening to music, and haircuts are commonly scheduled to coincide with Lag BaOmer among Ashkenazi Jews
Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
, while Sephardi Jews hold weddings the next day. It is customary mainly among Hassidim that three-year-old boys be given their first haircuts ('). While haircuts may be taken anywhere, if possible, the occasion is traditionally held at the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in Meron, Israel
Meron ( he, מֵירוֹן, ''Meron'') is a moshav in northern Israel. Located on the slopes of Mount Meron in the Upper Galilee near Safed, it falls under the jurisdiction of Merom HaGalil Regional Council.
Meron is most famous for the tomb ...
, or at the Jerusalem grave of Shimon Hatzaddik for those who cannot travel to Meron.
Families go on picnics and outings. Children go out to the fields with their teachers with bows and rubber-tipped arrows. , the prayer for special Divine mercy on one's behalf, is not said on days with a festive character, including Lag BaOmer; when God is showing one a "smiling face," so to speak, as He does especially on the holidays, there is no need to ask for special mercy.
Bonfires
Religious
The most well-known custom of is the lighting of bonfire
A bonfire is a large and controlled outdoor fire, used either for informal disposal of burnable waste material or as part of a celebration.
Etymology
The earliest recorded uses of the word date back to the late 15th century, with the Catho ...
s. The custom may originate in symbolizing the "spiritual light" brought in to the world by Simeon ben Yochai. Some have speculated a connection between the bonfires of Lag BaOmer and the festivals of May Day and Beltane which are celebrated by some European cultures around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice on 1 May, and are also celebrated through large bonfires. In Germany it is also not uncommon to see rural men go out in the woods to shoot arrows at demons on May Day, this custom seems strangely similar to the bow and arrow theme on Lag BaOmer.
Throughout the world celebrants gather on the night and during the day of Lag BaOmer to light fires. A large celebration is held at the Tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and his son Rabbi Eleazar in Meron, where hundreds of thousands usually celebrate with bonfires, torches, song, dancing and feasting. In 1983, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Horowitz of Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
reinstated a century-old tradition among his Hasidim to light a bonfire at the grave of Rabbi Akiva in Tiberias
Tiberias ( ; he, טְבֶרְיָה, ; ar, طبريا, Ṭabariyyā) is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's F ...
on night. The tradition had been abandoned due to murderous attacks on participants in the isolated location. After the bonfire, the Rebbe delivered a , gave blessings, and distributed . Later that same night, the Rebbe cut the hair of three-year-old boys for their Upsherin.
For many years, New York based Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum of Satmar discouraged bonfires, saying it was not the custom to light them outside of the Land of Israel. However, when his father Rabbi Moses Teitelbaum instructed him to organize a large bonfire in the Satmar enclave of Kiryas Joel
Kiryas Joel ( yi, קרית יואל, Kiryas Yoyel, ; often locally abbreviated as KJ) is a village coterminous with the Town of Palm Tree in Orange County, New York, United States. The village shares one government with the Town. The vast major ...
tens of thousands turned up.
Zionist
For Zionists
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Jew ...
(see section below), the bonfires are said to represent the signal fires that the Bar Kokhba rebels lit on the mountaintops to relay messages, or are in remembrance of the Bar Kokhba revolt against the Romans, who had forbidden the kindling of fires that signalled the start of Jewish holidays.
Bows and arrows
Religious
Historically, children across Israel used to go out and play with bows and arrows, reflecting the Midrash
''Midrash'' (;["midrash"]
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...
ic statement that the rainbow (the sign of God's promise to never again destroy the earth with a flood; Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
9:11–13) was not seen during Bar Yochai's lifetime, as his merit protected the world.
Zionist
In Israel, is a holiday for children and the various youth movements. It is also marked in the Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...
as a week of the program (youth brigades) which were established on in 1941 and which bear the emblem of a bow and arrow.
Parades
The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Menachem Mendel Schneerson (Modern Hebrew: מנחם מענדל שניאורסון; old-fashioned spelling: מנחם מענדל שניאורסאהן; April 5, 1902 OS – June 12, 1994; AM 11 Nissan 5662 – 3 Tammuz 5754), known to man ...
, encouraged parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of s ...
s to be held in Jewish communities around the world as a demonstration of Jewish unity and pride. Chabad sponsors parades as well as rallies, bonfires and barbecues for thousands of participants around the world each year.
Songs
Several traditional songs are associated with the holiday; these are sung around bonfires, at weddings, and at ' held by Hasidic
Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism ( Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of conte ...
Rebbe
A Rebbe ( yi, רבי, translit=rebe) or Admor ( he, אדמו״ר) is the spiritual leader in the Hasidic movement, and the personalities of its dynasties.Heilman, Samuel"The Rebbe and the Resurgence of Orthodox Judaism."''Religion and Spiritu ...
s on . The popular song "'" was composed by Rabbi Shimon Lavi, a 16th-century kabbalist in Tripoli, Libya
Tripoli (; ar, طرابلس الغرب, translit= Ṭarābulus al-Gharb , translation=Western Tripoli) is the capital and largest city of Libya, with a population of about 1.1 million people in 2019. It is located in the northwest of Libya o ...
, in honor of Shimon Bar Yochai. Other songs include "'", a poem arranged as an alphabetical acrostic
An acrostic is a poem or other word composition in which the ''first'' letter (or syllable, or word) of each new line (or paragraph, or other recurring feature in the text) spells out a word, message or the alphabet. The term comes from the F ...
, and "'".
''Tish'' meal
Most Hasidic Rebbes conduct a ' on Lag BaOmer, in addition to or instead of a bonfire. A full meal is usually served, and candles are lit. It is traditional to sing "'", "'", and "'". Among the Satmar Hasidim, "'" is sung at the ' in addition to the other songs. Teachings of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, both from the Talmud and the Zohar, are generally expounded upon by Rebbes at their '. In some Hasidic courts, the Rebbe may shoot a toy bow and arrow during the ', and three-year-old boys may be brought to have a lock of hair cut by the Rebbe as part of their first haircut.
Rabbinic controversy
Some rabbis, namely the '' Chasam Sofer'' and the '' Shoel Umeishiv'', have opposed the celebration of or the practice of certain customs observed on Lag BaOmer. These halachic scholars pointed out that the way Lag BaOmer is observed differs from the traditional manner in which anniversaries of deaths are observed, as Lag BaOmer is observed in a festive way, whereas usually a ''yahrtzeit'' is marked by observances that "bring out the solemn and serious nature of the day". Other issues raised include the practice of throwing clothes into bonfires, which is perceived as wasteful, the fact that the holiday has not been celebrated by earlier sages, and the prohibition of establishing holidays. Nevertheless, these authorities did not ban the holiday.
Other rabbis responded to the aforesaid opposition by explaining that it has been observed by many great rabbis and that expensive clothes are never burned. They relate what happened on the day of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai's death as evidence that the day is very holy and should be celebrated.
Zionism
In modern Israel, early Zionists redefined Lag BaOmer from a rabbinic-oriented celebration to a commemoration of the Bar Kokhba revolt
The Bar Kokhba revolt ( he, , links=yes, ''Mereḏ Bar Kōḵḇāʾ''), or the 'Jewish Expedition' as the Romans named it ( la, Expeditio Judaica), was a rebellion by the Jews of the Roman province of Judea, led by Simon bar Kokhba, ag ...
against the Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
(). According to work published by Yael Zerubavel of Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...
, a number of Lag BaOmer traditions were reinterpreted by Zionist ideologues to focus on the victory of the Bar Kokhba rebels rather than their ultimate defeat at Betar three years later. The plague that decimated Rabbi Akiva's 24,000 disciples was explained as a veiled reference to the revolt; the 33rd day when the plague ended was explained as the day of Bar Kokhba
Simon ben Koseba or Cosiba ( he, שִׁמְעוֹן בַּר כֹסֵבָא, translit= Šīmʾōn bar Ḵōsēḇaʾ ; died 135 CE), commonly known as Bar Kokhba ( he, שִׁמְעוֹן בַּר כּוֹכְבָא, translit=Šīmʾōn bar ...
's victory. By the late 1940s, Israeli textbooks for schoolchildren painted Bar Kokhba as the hero while Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and Rabbi Akiva stood on the sidelines, cheering him on. This interpretation lent itself to singing and dancing around bonfires by night to celebrate Bar Kokhba's victory, and playing with bows and arrows by day to remember the actions of Bar Kokhba's rebel forces.[Zerubavel, Yael]
"Bar Kokhba's Image in Modern Israeli Culture"
in ''The Bar Kokhba War Reconsidered: New perspectives on the Second Jewish Revolt against Rome'', Peter Schäfer, ed. Mohr Siebeck, 2003, pp. 282–286. .
This interpretation of the holiday reinforced the Zionist reading of Jewish history and underscored their efforts to establish an independent Jewish state. As Benjamin Lau writes in '' Haaretz'':
This is how Lag Ba'omer became a part of the Israeli-Zionist psyche during the first years of Zionism and Israel. A clear distinction became evident between Jews and Israelis in the way the day was celebrated: The religious Jews lit torches in Rashbi's himon bar Yochai'shonor and sang songs about him, while young Israelis, sitting around an alternative bonfire, sang about a hero "whom the entire nation loved" and focused on the image of a powerful hero who galloped on a lion in his charges against the Romans.
In modern Israel, Lag BaOmer is "a symbol for the fighting Jewish spirit". The Palmach division of the Haganah was established on Lag BaOmer 1941, and the government order creating the Israel Defense Forces was issued on Lag BaOmer 1948. Beginning in 2004, the Israeli government designated Lag BaOmer as the day for saluting the IDF reserves.
See also
* Hebrew numerals
* Jewish and Israeli holidays 2000–2050
__NOTOC__
This is an almanac-like listing of major Jewish holidays from 2000 to 2050. All Jewish holidays begin at sunset on the evening before the date shown. On holidays marked "*", Jews are not permitted to work
Work may refer to:
* Work (hu ...
* Sephirot
Sefirot (; he, סְפִירוֹת, translit=Səfīrōt, Tiberian: '), meaning '' emanations'', are the 10 attributes/emanations in Kabbalah, through which Ein Sof (The Infinite) reveals itself and continuously creates both the physical realm an ...
, the 10 attributes/emanations found in Kabbalah.
* Significance of numbers in Judaism
Significance is a synonym for importance. It can also refer to:
* ''Significance'' (magazine), a magazine published by the Royal Statistical Society and the American Statistical Association
* Significance (policy debate), a stock issue in polic ...
* Hillula of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai
Every year on ''Lag BaOmer'', some 200,000 people flock to the 'Yom Hillula' (day of rejoicing) at the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in Meron, Israel. Schwartz (1999), p. 47. The highlight of the event is the traditional bonfire lit after nig ...
References
Sources
*
External links
Lag BaOmer articles on aish.com
Chai Rotel in Meron
* ttp://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/11701-omer-lag-be Jewish Encyclopedia article on Lag BaOmer
Lag B'omer Parade
The Great Parade
Lag BaOmerHistory
an
Customs
on Shulchanaruchharav.com
{{Authority control
Fire in religion
Hebrew names of Jewish holy days
Iyar observances
Jews and Judaism in the Roman Empire
Minor Jewish holidays
Traditions involving fire